Formula One News — April 2001

YOU'VE heard of the Simpsons, well here comes "Bart" Ecclestone! F1's commercial rights holder is set to be immortalized in a Simpsons-style television carton series based on Grand Prix racing.

JENSON BUTTON's move from Williams to Benetton this season has not only put him down to the back of the grid, but also out of his much loved press attention.

THE balance of the 75 percent stake in Formula One holdings company SLEC currently held by German media giants EM.TV and Kirch will change in September.

PATRICK FAURE, president of Renault Sport, has indicated that the European Car Manufacturers Association (ACEA) are continuing with plans to start a rival series to Formula One.

ACCORDING to Jenson Button's manager David Robertson, concerns over the struggling Benetton driver's shoulder problem have been put to an end by his performance in the Spanish Grand Prix.

DAVID COULTHARD's mature drive in the Spanish Grand Prix indicated that this could perhaps be the year that he claims his first world championship.

MCLAREN chief Ron Dennis has been quick to calm a possible internal disagreement at the team after he falsely accused David Coulthard of a failure before the start of the Spanish Grand Prix.

FORMULA ONE chief Bernie Ecclestone was present at the inaugural awarding of the Grand Prix Bernie awards, named in his honor, at the Circuit de Catalunya on Saturday.

BENETTON driver Jenson Button has dispelled rumors that he will take a break from Formula One following the Spanish Grand Prix.

JEAN TODT believes the deal to hand commercial rights for Formula One to SLEC for the next 100 years will not prevent the carmakers' attempts to form a breakaway championship.

I was in the departure lounge at dawn, waiting to get on the plane to Barcelona when the phone rang and I was told that Michele Alboreto had been killed testing an Audi sportscar at the Lausitzring.

WORLD CHAMPION Michael Schumacher is disgusted by claims from Jaguar boss and former Grand Prix racer Niki Lauda that monkeys could drive in Formula One.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER believes that some of his biggest Formula One rivals are too scared to be his team-mate.

"I will be very disappointed if I do not stay on with Jaguar beyond the end of next year," he said. "If I do not stay on with them, it would mean that we would have failed as a team."

FORMER world champion Mika Hakkinen is expecting the new electronics to open up a wealth of opportunity for the Grand Prix teams after their introduction at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

AS the teams continue to discuss whether traction control will or will not have an effect on Grand Prix racing, Michelin motorsport director Pierre Dupasquier has said he is not expecting a shake-up - yet.

THE MG Rover car company has established a racing subsidiary to be known as MG Sport and Racing Ltd.

DESPITE the BMW-Williams team's impressive performances in the early races of the season, BMW boss Mario Thiessen believes there is another step to make before they become championship challengers.

JORDAN drivers Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Jarno Trulli will have an additional race engineer for the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend, the team have said.

THERE are few clues about what caused the accident which killed Michele Alboreto.

TOYOTA were troubled in testing by high Mistral winds gusting up to 104 kph, which hampered development in preparation for their Grand Prix debut in 2002.

THE Grand Prix fraternity was left reeling tonight after Michele Alboreto, one of the great Italian Ferrari drivers of the contemporary era, was killed testing an Audi R8 sports car at the Lauzitring, near Dresden.

GERMAN Heinz-Harald Frentzen has said that the Circuit de Catalunya will provide less of a challenge for the drivers this weekend but conceded that team mechanics will have their work cut out on the demanding Barcelona circuit.

JAGUAR's decision to hand a full drive to Pedro de la Rosa for the remainder of the season is a good one, according to Briton Eddie Irvine.

THE confirmation that the FIA and SLEC have agreed a deal which will see the promotional rights to the Formula 1 World Championship leased to SLEC for 100 years means two things: the FIA will soon announce the establishment of its planned FIA Foundation and the action will now switch over to a settlement between SLEC and the Formula 1 teams.