Formula One News — February 2001

FOR some time the management of British American Tobacco has been under investigation for an involvement in international cigarette smuggling in Asia and Latin America.

DAVID COULTHARD broke the lap record at the Valencia track for the second day in a row on Tuesday.

SCOTT LANPHERE, the American executive who took Morgan Grenfell Private Equity into the F1 business, is quitting the venture capitalist organization after a major row with the rest of the board.

MCLAREN's Mika Hakkinen was quickest for the second successive day in testing at Valencia on Sunday as he demonstrated his intent to regain the Formula One world crown.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER's name is literally on the road to success after it was given to a street that leads to his family's karting circuit.

BENETTON driver Jenson Button endured a lonely day of work in testing at Estoril on Monday when he ran alone after Prost ended their work at the Portuguese circuit on Sunday.

BMW-WILLIAMS driver Ralf Schumacher returned to the top of the timesheets at Kyalami on Monday as he enjoyed another trouble-free day in South Africa.

MCLAREN dominated testing at the Valencia circuit on Monday as David Coulthard topped the times, closely followed by the team's test driver Alexander Wurz.

THERE have been reports from Germany suggesting that Marlboro is contemplating an end to its involvement in Formula 1.

THE flotation of Orange is going ahead but the price of the shares has been cut several times in recent weeks with the shares expected to be offered at around $10 each.

THE BBC has fought off stiff competition to win the exclusive radio rights to Formula One for the next five seasons.

AUSTRALIA's largest beer maker Foster's has just reported a 10% increase in its profits and a leap of 21.6% in sales despite slow demand for beer in Australia at the moment.

LEO KIRCH, the man who is trying to get control of the promotional rights to Formula 1, has other things to worry about in addition to the battle over shares in SLEC, the holding company of the Formula One group of companies.

BRAZILIAN Rubens Barrichello finalized Ferrari's seven-day test at Mugello as he finally performed the long-distance run planned for Saturday.

MCLAREN driver Mika Hakkinen topped the times in Saturday's testing at Valencia as he familiarized himself with the team's new MP4/16 chassis.

A consortium of the world's top car makers took another step closer to buying a stake in the Formula 1 business last Friday when the trustees of SLEC, the Ecclestone family trust which controls 50 per cent of F1, held a board meeting to consider such a sale.

EUROPEAN MINARDI will become the fifth Formula One team to sign a deal to run on Michelin tires for the 2001, owner Paul Stoddart has confirmed.

THE Arrows team have decided to change testing venues after adverse weather conditions hindered testing at the Estoril circuit in Portugal.

FERRARI were forced to abandon their proposed schedule for Saturday's testing at Mugello and work on settings for the F2001.

MAX MOSLEY, the president of Formula One's governing body the FIA, has hinted that Beirut could host a Grand Prix in the future.

FORMULA 1 is an absolutely crucial marketing tool for Renault and the company's acquisition of the Benetton team is a crucial step in further enhancing the French car maker's international profile.

RUBENS BARRICHELLO experienced his first taste of Ferrari's 2001 machinery at Mugello on Friday.

THE first effects of the BRDC's 15-year lease of Silverstone Circuit to Octagon have been felt with the internal announcement that the Northamptonshire venue's workforce is to be cut by 31% through the duplication of roles between the two companies.

FORMULA ONE rookie Juan Pablo Montoya damaged his Williams FW23 when he suffered an off-track excursion in testing at Kyalami on Friday.

PROST GRAND PRIX confirmed their plans to find and develop drivers for the future when they announced allegiances with a British Formula Three and Formula Renault teams.