Formula One News — September 2000

Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 World Champion, has warned his Formula One rivals that he has improved as a driver in his spell at British American Racing.

Michael Schumacher's manager Willi Weber is in cautious mood ahead of the last two Grands Prix of the season.

AUSTRALIAN Mark Webber has increased his chances of earning a Formula One drive by signing a lucrative sponsorship deal with technology company Computershare.

Bernie Ecclestone says he is not planning to sell his family's stake in the Formula One group of companies and so automobile bosses meeting in Paris will have to decide if they want to push ahead and try to buy the shares held by Thomas Haffa's EM.TV. Haffa is trying to offload his 50% shareholding in F1 but wants to make a big profit from the deal, despite the fact that he is done little since he bought into the sport six months ago.

Malaysian protestors have said they will not disrupt next month's Grand Prix at the Sepang circuit as had been first feared.

The government of Saudi Arabia has become the first to ban Firestone tires, following the recall of 6.5 million of the company's 15-inch tires as a result of a series of tire failures in the United States of America.

Mark Blundell has lost his drive in the CART series after five years in America with the PacWest team.

BMW announced on Friday that they will not participate in next year's German touring car championship in a bid to focus further on their second season in Formula One with Williams.

McLaren technical director Adrian Newey said that the team were satisfied with a "routine" three-day test at the Magny-Cours circuit this week.

Michael Schumacher completed a successful day of testing in Italy on Thursday as the Ferrari team prepared for the Japanese Grand Prix next week.

Tommy Suharto, the son of former Indonesian President General Raden Suharto, was once at the forefront of a plan to host a Grand Prix in Indonesia.

The announcement that Gauloises Blondes is not going to sponsor Prost Grand Prix next year is an earthquake in Formula 1 sponsorship circles.

Jaguar Racing announced on Thursday the appointment of Tomas Scheckter as the team's test driver for the 2001 Formula One World Championship season.

Jordan's Jarno Trulli continued his dominance as he topped the times in day two of testing at Silverstone on Thursday.

Here are the plans for the Ford Motor Company's "Motor Sport Campus" at Silverstone which have been lodged with the local planning authorities in Northampton.

Jean Todt has explained the implications of the Ferrari engine deal which will power the Prost and Sauber teams next year.

Formula One ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone said on Thursday that he was aware of the interest of several car manufacturers to buy into SLEC, his Formula One holding company.

Ferrari's Michael Schumacher has warned his fans that he has not won the World Championship yet and has said that he will not relax until he is crowned champion.

David Coulthard can do nothing right in Michael Schumacher's book, or that's certainly the way it seemed after Sunday's US Grand Prix at Indianapolis where the winning Ferrari driver again wound up the Scot by suggesting he'd squeezed him dangerously during the opening stages in the race.

Tomas Scheckter, the 20-year old son of 1979 World Champion Jody Scheckter, will be confirmed as Jaguar Racing's test driver for the 2001 season at a media conference to be held at Silverstone on Wednesday (28th September).

Italian Jarno Trulli put his feud with Briton Jenson Button behind him as he topped the times in the opening day of testing at Silverstone on Wednesday.

Prost Grand Prix team confirmed on Tuesday that their major sponsor Gauloises Blondes are pulling out of Formula One.

MINARDI chairman Gabriele Rumi has bid a tearful farewell to Formula One after the buyout of his 70 per cent stake in the Italian team by the South American Pan American Sport Network International (PSN) cable and satellite broadcasting company.

ITALIAN brake manufacturers Brembo SpA have completed the buy out of their British counterparts AP Racing in a $43 million deal.

FIVE of the car companies involved in Grand Prix racing are expected later this week to make a bid to buy shares in the Bernie Ecclestone's Formula One group of companies.