Formula One News — May 1997

HAVING been replaced as technical director of Arrows by John Barnard, Frank Dernie is now looking at his Formula 1 future.

MOST of the Formula 1 teams are reporting that they have received approaches in recent months from British financial institutions wanting to buy equity because Bernie Ecclestone's new financial deal for the Concorde Agreement signatories is so attractive that teams will be making big profits by the end of the current deal in 2001.

MAX MOSLEY has spoken out against the continuing pressure to ban tobacco advertising in motorsport.

CANADA has passed its Tobacco Act and that means that advertising of tobacco products and sports sponsorship will have to stop.

THE Lola Formula 1 team has gone into liquidation with debts which are believed to be in the region of $5m.

AS we predicted in March, Alain Prost is to move his Formula 1 team from Magny-Cours to a new headquarters which will be built near the town of Versailles, in the south-western suburbs of Paris, close to Louis XIV's world-famous chateau.

WHILE Benetton's Flavio Briatore is tipped to be on the verge of buying the Oxford United soccer team, Arrows boss Tom Walkinshaw has diversified his sporting activities by buying control of the Gloucester Rugby Club.

IF you believe the rumors circulating Europe at the moment, the Benetton Family has decided to sell its Formula 1 operation to David Richards's Prodrive team.

ARROWS technical director Frank Dernie is reported to have left the Leafield team at the end of April - presumably as a result of the yet-to-be-announced deal which has been struck between Tom Walkinshaw's team and Ferrari's departing designer John Barnard.

NEWSPAPER reports from London are suggesting that F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has decided to delay or even cancel his plans to float F1 Holdings Ltd. on the stock exchange.