Formula One News — October 2000

BRAZILIAN Pedro Diniz has said that his future will lie with Prost or Sauber after he ruled out a move Italian minnows Minardi.

THE announcement that Telefonica is to withdraw from Formula 1 highlights the tightrope on which Formula 1 teams have to walk when they are dealing with big corporations.

ANYONE who has studied the history of karting will tell you that no driver ever enjoyed the success of a man called Giorgio Pantano.

RUBENS BARRICHELLO enjoyed a mini-break on Queensland's famous Gold Coast last week as he visited the Honda Indy 300 CART festival.

WE suggested as long ago as April that the Honda Motor Company was looking to buy into British American Racing.

AS the Formula One season draws to a close in Sepang this weekend, one man already setting his sights on winning the 2001 world championship is McLaren's David Coulthard.

THIS week should see the announcement that Chevron and Texaco are to merge their operations to create the fourth biggest oil-producing firm in the world behind Exxon/Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell and BP Amoco.

MIKA HAKKINEN has called for Formula One drivers to have more time off for holidays and breaks during the seven-month season.

ANYBODY who accuses Bernie Ecclestone of partiality need think again, pretty seriously.

BRITON Jenson Button has thanked the BMW-Williams team for handing him his chance in Formula One and has said that he is already looking forward to returning.

CANON EUROPA NV have signed a deal with McLaren that sees them re-enter Formula One as 'Official Imaging Solutions Partner' to the team.

PLANS for the major motor manufacturers to take a stake in Bernie Ecclestone's SLEC Formula 1 group could be derailed unless the car makers are given a bigger say in the rule making process.

SEVERAL Formula 1 teams are believed to be pitching Europe's biggest telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom for a major sponsorship deal.

MANY Formula One drivers took a rest from testing this week and had a holiday ahead of the season's final race of the season in Malaysia.

JOHNNY HERBERT is preparing himself for an "emotional" farewell from the Formula One world when he competes in Malaysia.

SPANIARD Pedro de la Rosa was left surprised and delighted that Arrows' first test with the Asia Motor Technologies (AMT) engines that will power their 2001 world championship challenge was completed without any problems.

THOMAS HAFFA, the boss of Formula 1 shareholder EM.TV, could be forgiven for saying "Thank God. It's Friday".

EIGHT European car manufacturers have stepped up their interest in buying a stake in Formula One after writing letters to the two major shareholders in the sport Bernie Ecclestone and EM.TV.

New world champion Michael Schumacher has blasted David Coulthard and Jacques Villeneuve after claiming they are the only two Formula One drivers he has a problem with.

THE Formula 1 world does not appear to be greatly worried about losing its tobacco sponsorship.

BRITISH AMERICAN RACING issued a statement on Friday to refute two separate stories about the team.

OLIVIER PANIS will today (Friday) complete his testing duties for the McLaren team as he gets ready to take up his new role as team-mate to Canadian Jacques Villeneuve at the British American Racing team.

LUCA BADOER on Friday completed Ferrari's final of day of testing in preparation for the Malaysian Grand Prix next week.

MANAGING DIRECTOR Takefumi Hosaka has revealed that he wants to see a Honda Formula One team on the grid, heightening speculation of a buyout of the British American Racing team.

MUGEN-HONDA have said that they plan to make an announcement about their future at the Malaysian Grand Prix next weekend.