Formula One News — December 1997

WAY back in March we thought that Jacques Villeneuve would sweep all before him to win the 1997 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. He should have done. The Williams-Renault FW19 was clearly the best car in the field. When he took pole position by 1.7secs in Melbourne it looked as though we were in for a year of domination. In the end, however, Jacques scrambled to the title in a finale of high drama at Jerez de la Frontera at the end of what had been a very unsatisfying season for the Williams team and for many of the millions of F1 spectators.

A year ago Tom Walkinshaw unveiled Danka Business Systems as the new title sponsor of the Arrows Formula 1 team. The deal was for at least two years. Since then, however, Danka - which is one of the world's largest office machinery firms - has run into serious financial difficulties as a result of its $684m acquisition of the office imaging businesses of Eastman Kodak.

BENETTON has won the race to be the first Grand Prix team to run its 1998 car.

AS we suggested in February (INSIDE F1, Issue 9707), Jackie Stewart has concluded a large sponsorship deal with the telecommunications company MCI.

RICHARD TOMLINSON, who worked as a buyer with Stewart Grand Prix this season, has been jailed for 12 months under Britain's Official Secrets Act.

MICHELIN admitted last week that it is considering an involvement in Formula 1 but that no decision has yet been taken.

THE European Union is making life difficult for Grand Prix racing at the moment and there are signs that this could lead to another showdown between the authorities in Brussels and Grand Prix racing bosses.

THREE and a half years after the death of Ayrton Senna, Frank Williams, Patrick Head and Adrian Newey have finally been cleared of manslaughter charges.

IT has not been a good week for Germany's Mercedes-Benz with the announcement that the firm is stopping production of its second new model because of worries over safety.

JEAN-PIERRE VAN ROSSEM, the former boss of the Moneytron Onyx Formula 1 team, has been jailed for five years for fraud.

THE French Minister of Youth and Sport last week upset the FIA by telling her country's National Assembly that she was still trying to win a place on the 1998 Formula 1 calendar for the French Grand Prix but that: "I end up asking myself whether the international federation does not want to remove Formula 1 from the whole of Europe to go to countries where there are not laws protecting public health".

THE French Grand Prix remains without a place in the 1998 FIA Formula 1 World Championship - despite French government moves to change the law relating to the broadcasting of sporting events.

THE German cigarette industry says it will be challenging the planned European Union ban on tobacco advertising.

FIAT, Italy's largest industrial company, which owns Ferrari has lost the man who had been expected to run the company when the current chairman Cesare Romiti retires.

THE Tyrrell team's plans to build its own half-scale rolling-road windtunnel have been scrapped following the takeover of the team by British American Racing.

THE Belgium Grand Prix remains provisional on the Formula 1 calendar as a result of the recently-introduced anti-tobacco laws in Belgium.

THE Portuguese Grand Prix looks to be in considerable jeopardy with the FIA insisting that the Estoril circuit gives "a binding undertaking" by December 31 to complete renovation work on schedule.

THE only good news for Estoril is that its longtime rival - Jerez de la Frontera - is also in trouble with the FIA as a result of the behavior of the mayor of the town after the European GP in October.

JACKIE STEWART will announce in London this week that he has signed up two major new sponsors for his Grand Prix team.

THE problems of the French, Portuguese, Belgian and Jerez races are good news for the Chinese and the South Africans bids for Grands Prix which have been listed as reserve races for the 1998 World Championship.

SINCE the European tobacco legislation was agreed - with a total ban on tobacco advertising beginning on October 1, 2006 there have been a rush of rumors suggesting alternative circuits to those in Europe.

THE launch of British American Racing answered few questions - and left the important question of engine supply unanswered.

JACKIE STEWART learned the hard way last week that it is better not to talk too loudly against FIA policy.

FORMULA 1 testing began again after the month-long ban with Williams, Benetton, McLaren, Prost, Sauber, Minardi and Arrows all in action at Barcelona.

THE European Health Ministers met in Brussels last week to hammer out a compromise over the banning of tobacco advertising in Europe.