Formula One News — December 2000

THE Suzuka circuit, which hosts the Japanese Grand Prix, will feature changes for the 2001 World Championship in a bid to increase driver safety in Formula One.

THE German stock market Deutsche Borse has announced tougher new rules for the Neuer Markt exchange following the disastrous collapse of EM.TV's share price recently.

THE final day of testing at Estoril was abandoned on Thursday after teams deemed the circuit was too wet to drive on.

PROST GRAND PRIX announced on Thursday that they had secured their immediate future after signing a lucrative sponsorship deal with television broadcaster Pan-American Sports Network (PSN).

ITALIAN Jarno Trulli believes he could better the performance of reigning world champion Michael Schumacher if he was given a chance in a Ferrari.

THERE are rumors in British marketing circles that the Vodafone Air Touch company may be on the verge of signing a sponsorship deal with Benetton in an effort to increase its exposure around the world.

FORMULA ONE's newest recruit Kimi Raikkonen has expressed his optimism ahead of his first season in the sport after a three-day test in Barcelona with his Sauber team.

JARNO TRULLI topped the times in the final day of testing in Barcelona on Wednesday as he went over a second-and-a-half quicker than Michael Schumacher's pole position time in this year's Spanish Grand Prix.

BENETTON driver Jenson Button revelled in the absence of former BMW-Williams team-mate Ralf Schumacher as he topped the times in testing at Estoril on Wednesday.

BRAZILIAN Antonio Pizzonia has said that he is not ready for the demands of Formula One after testing at Barcelona with Arrows.

THE French motor sport federation (FFSA) hosted its annual awards last night and Ferrari's sporting director Jean Todt walked off with a golden steering wheel having been named as Personality of the Year.

FERRARI sporting director Jean Todt has been rewarded by the French Automotive Federation for his part in securing a double world championship for the Italian marque in 2000.

BRANDS HATCH chief executive Rob Bain vowed on Tuesday that the Kent circuit will not be neglected in the wake of Silverstone Circuit's acquiring of the British Grand Prix for the next 15 years.

ACCORDING to reports in the German newspapers, Bernie Ecclestone is looking at buying a shareholding in the troubled German media company EM.TV, which owns half of his Formula One group of companies.

PROST GRAND PRIX are set to hand Singapore driver Christian Murchinson a path into Formula One, but only if he provides the team with $2 million.

MERCEDES-BENZ motorsport director Jurgen Hubbert has promised that the German engine supplier will be doing everything possible to assist McLaren in closing the gap on double world champions Ferrari in 2001.

TUESDAY's test at the Estoril circuit for the Michelin tire teams was thwarted by wet weather.

THE Moscow tourist authorities have confirmed plans to build a Formula 1 circuit on Nagatino Island with Tom Walkinshaw's TWR overseeing the construction of the facility.

WHICHEVER way you slice it, the British Racing Drivers' Club has pulled off the F1 deal of the new millennium in granting Octagon, the company which owns Brands Hatch Leisure, a lease on their circuit in order to stage the British Grand Prix for what both parties hope is the next 15 years.

NICK HEIDFELD recorded the quickest time for his new Sauber team in the second day of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona on Tuesday.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER has been based in Switzerland for several years now, since an unfortunate interlude with the authorities in Monte Carlo.

ALLAN MCNISH, the Toyota Formula 1 test driver, says that he has been given assurances by Toyota that if he shows well in testing he will be rewarded with a full-time drive in F1 in 2002.

JURGEN SCHREMPP, the chairman of DaimlerChrysler, has been under pressure of late because of problems with the Chrysler Corporation.

JENSON BUTTON has vowed to become more aggressive and push harder next season in a bid to make him a better driver in the future.

MEMBERS of the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) voted unanimously on Monday to support the proposed deal for Silverstone to host the British Grand Prix for the next 15 years under the management of Octagon.