Formula One News — October 1999

AN appeals court in Miami, Florida, has dealt the tobacco industry another harsh blow by ruling that tobacco companies cannot stop the jury which found them guilty of fraud and conspiracy in July, from awarding a lump sum of damages to be shared among the thousands people involved in a class action brought by sick smokers and the families of those who have died from tobacco-related diseases.

WHILE most of the Formula 1 drivers stayed out in Asia after the Malaysian Grand Prix, Luca Badoer and Olivier Panis flew back to Europe to undertake testing work, Badoer for Ferrari and Panis for McLaren.

THE Nissan Motor Company announced last week that it is closing five factories and cutting 21,000 jobs as part of its restructuring plan.

THE Victorian state premier Jeff Kennett, the man who lured Grand Prix racing to Melbourne, resigned last week after it became clear that he would not be able to form a new state government.

AS exclusively predicted by INSIDE F1, the Sauber team has now confirmed that Fritz Kaiser has sold his stake in the team to team founder Peter Sauber and major shareholder Dietrich Mateschitz, the boss of the Red Bull energy drink company.

BRANDS HATCH LEISURE PLC, the company which runs the Brands Hatch racing circuit in England, has confirmed that it has received a "preliminary approach" that could lead to a takeover bid.

THE FIA International Court of Appeal has overturned the exclusion of the Ferrari team from the results of the Malaysian Grand Prix, a move which means that Eddie Irvine goes to the final round of the year with a four point advantage over Finland's Mika Hakkinen.

THE Tyrrell Formula 1 team may have disappeared a year ago but business related to the operation is still being settled.

AMERICAN racing magnate Roger Penske has announced that his CART team will run with Honda engines next season after two seasons without a victory with Mercedes-Benz.

OLIVIER PANIS says he is not going to sign for the Arrows team but says he has a chance of an interesting job in Formula 1 next year.

THE Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica and the Minardi team have announced their intention to work together more closely in the future - but details of the arrangement have yet to be hammered out.

FORMULA 1 hopeful Jason Watt is in a critical condition in a hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark, following a motorcycle accident while he was doing a photographic shoot for a Danish motorcycle magazine.

A number of senior Formula 1 engineers are on the move in the weeks ahead with the major player being Dr. John Davis, who has been head of research and development at Jordan Grand Prix for the last couple of years.

THE Toyota Motor Corporation has now officially confirmed that it is closing down its World Rally Championship program at the end of the season.

THE Ford Motor Company is close to a deal to acquire land on which it will build its planned motor racing campus - and despite a variety of rumors it seems that it will be at the Gateway Park industrial estate, just outside Northampton.

MIKA HAKKINEN is the 1999 Formula 1 World Champion - at least on paper.

THERE are renewed doubts about the future of the French Grand Prix following the revelation that the international automobile federation is involved in a serious dispute with the French tax authorities and the governing body of motor sport may decide that it does not want to be involved in any activities in France until the problems are solved.

TOM WALKINSHAW is keeping his cards close to his chest as usual but we believe that the boss of the Arrows Formula 1 team has set his sights on hiring either Juan-Pablo Montoya or Dario Franchitti, depending on which one wins the CART Championship this year.

BRITISH AMERICAN RACING continues to chase a World Championship point in Malaysia, but the retirements of both Jacques Villeneuve and Ricardo Zonta meant that the Brackley team again failed to score and with only the Japanese GP remaining looks likely to go into next season without the benefit of television and travel money.

IN recent days there has been some speculation that David Hunt - the owner of the Team Lotus name - has been having talks with Tom Walkinshaw of the Arrows team about joining forces.

HAVING said that sitting out the last two races of the year was "the only reasonable decision", Michael Schumacher decided at the end of the week to be unreasonable and agreed to race in Malaysia and Japan to support Eddie Irvine's bid for the Formula 1 World Championship.

WE understand that Honda is to run one of the prototype Formula 1 chassis built earlier this year by the now-defunct HRD operation at Pembrey, in Wales, later this week.

LORD HESKETH, the President of the British Racing Drivers' Club - which controls the Silverstone racing circuit - has resigned.

THE FIA announced last week that the French Grand Prix will be staying at Magny-Cours until after the 2004 event.

THE FIA World Motor Sport Council, which met in Paris last week, announced a variety of calendars for the 2000 season but the Formula 1 dates were less than conclusive with six races still to be settled.