Formula One News — March 2000

THE German EM.TV & Merchandising company has bought 50% of the Formula 1 holding company SLEC in a deal worth nearly $1.6bn.

THE Red Bull Sauber Petronas team withdrew from the Brazilian Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon after a series of rear wing failures, the cause of which the Swiss team decided could not be analyzed in the time available.

THERE have been rumors circulating for some time that Formula 1 bosses want to introduce a new regulation which forces Formula 1 engine manufacturers to supply two teams if they are called upon to do so.

THERE are increasing rumors that there will be a major shake-up in the Formula 1 calendar in 2001 and 2002.

THE Prefeitura de Sao Paulo, the organization which owns the Interlagos circuit and organizes the Brazilian Grand Prix, invested heavily in preparation for this year's event with major building work being carried out to extend the paddock and the complete resurfacing of the circuit.

WE hear that Jaguar Racing has now given up on its troubled plans to build a motorsport campus near Northampton, because the local authorities have refused planning permission, and that the team is now looking at two alternative sites further afield.

THERE was a great deal of politicking going on in Brazil over a plan by the FIA to introduce dramatic new restrictions on electronic systems - with immediate effect.

JENSON BUTTON became the youngest driver in the history of the Formula 1 World Championship to score a point after David Coulthard was disqualified from his second place in the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos.

MICHELIN is due to begin testing its Formula 1 tires today at the BMW test track at Miramas, near Marseilles.

IT has not been a good week for Tom Walkinshaw. The Scotsman had been hoping that Renault would decide to buy a share of the Arrows team and return to F1 with the Leafield team.

WHEN he is not making money Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone is making money.

THERE has been another shake-up in the management at BMW following the announcement that the Munich company is going to dump its Rover subsidiary.

RICK GORNE has left Reynard Motorsport after nearly 20 years working as Adrian Reynard's right hand man.

THE Renault car company says it has spent $120m to buy the Benetton Formula 1 team.

FORMULA 1 is not expected to be affected in any way by the deal agreed last week between General Motors and Fiat.

IT is only a month since Bernie Ecclestone announced that he had sold 37.5% of the Formula One Holdings empire to the investment company Hellman & Friedman for $1bn. Now it seems the American company may be about to get a very quick profit with suggestions that Ecclestone has convinced the media group EM TV to part with at least $2bn to get joint control of the company.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER says that he is definitely going to keep racing for the next four or five years and will then decide if he wants to continue beyond that.

THERE is considerable speculation in the German press that Bernie Ecclestone has not finished selling shares in his Formula One Holdings empire.

THERE are signs that American racing magnate Roger Penske may be considering a bid to enter Formula 1 once again.

SAUBER PETRONAS driver Mika Salo finished sixth at the Australian Grand Prix but was then excluded from the results when the scrutineers found that the car infringed the F1 technical regulations.

JACQUES VILLENUEVE says that he is not interested in staying at British American Racing if the team does not give him a competitive car in 2001.

THE minimum weight limit in Formula 1 is 600 kilograms, complete with the driver.

THE latest rumors from the Minardi F1 team suggest that the long-awaited deal between the Italian team and the Spanish telecommunications company will go ahead after this week's election which is expected to return the existing government for a second four-year term of office.

THE city of Melbourne is understood to be close to concluding a deal to host the Australian Grand Prix until the year 2012.

TOM WALKINSHAW's Arrows F1 Team has confirmed that Australian rising star Mark Webber will be its test driver this year.