Formula One News — April 2001

FRESH from his maiden Grand Prix win, Ralf Schumacher has expressed his concern that his BMW-Williams team's traction control system is not 100 per cent ready as they prepare to introduce it at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

FORMULA ONE's governing body, the Federation Internationale l'Automobile (FIA), confirmed on Tuesday that they have signed a 100-year agreement with SLEC for the commercial and broadcasting rights to the sport.

DAVID COULTHARD may expect to be the focus of attention as he is currently joint leader of the world championship but he has received some unwanted attention in the British tabloid newspapers this weekend.

THE British Grand Prix will be unaffected by the foot and mouth epidemic, as the counties of Northamptonshire and Leicestershire have been pronounced ”foot and mouth free' by the British government's Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries.

AS the teams prepare to go head to head on the racetrack with traction control for the first time since 1993, Arrows driver Jos Verstappen is looking forward to a new start.

BMW-Williams driver Ralf Schumacher was reportedly caught speeding near his home in Austria this weekend.

WORD on the street in America is that CART team owner Chip Ganassi has decided that he is not very keen on going to the Indianapolis 500 this year with two rookie drivers: former Williams test driver Bruno Junqueira and Frenchman Nicolas Minassian and is looking to replace them for the race.

SAUBER's young star Kimi Raikkonen will continue to race on despite no announcement on his superlicence.

THE F1 fraternity needs to think very carefully before blundering into too intense a political battle on the subject of the sport's future beyond the expiry of the current Concorde agreement.

NIKI LAUDA, the chief advisor to Jaguar Racing, has said that the Prost team enquired about the availability of test-driver Pedro de la Rosa before signing Luciano Burti.

THREE Jordan team members will run this weekend's London marathon, to prove that driver Jarno Trulli is not the only long-distance runner among the Silverstone-based team's ranks.

DAVID COULTHARD has said that he has been pleasantly surprised by the effect of the electronic traction control systems which will be reintroduced in time for next Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix Barcelona.

THE Ford Motor Company is continuing its robust defense of its products in the scandal over accidents involving its Explorer sports utility vehicle and Firestone tires.

THE proposed race Formula 1-standard race circuit in Moscow's Nagatino floodlands has been given final approval by the 'Moscow Group', a cartel of politicians, industrialists, entrepreneurs and media owners who oversee the banking, trade, transport and construction issues within the city.

BAHRAIN, the Gulf emirate which is hoping to hold a Grand Prix in the next few years, is continuing its policy of presenting the world with a new image and has hit on the idea of a man versus machine chess competition as it latest publicity stunt.

COSWORTH chief engineer Nick Hayes is confident that Jaguar will be one of the main beneficiaries of the re-introduction of traction control and said that the driver aid will have a variable effect on all the teams within Formula One.

TOM WALKINSHAW has not been very lucky with his recent crop of sponsors for the Arrows team.

JAGUAR RACING chief executive officer Bobby Rahal has reaffirmed a warning to Formula One ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone that the sport's breakaway manufacturers are serious about their threat to set up a rival series.

THE shifting sands of the Formula 1 driver market have seen a South American shuffle this week, as Jaguar Racing and Prost Grand Prix have sought to field stronger driver line-ups for the remaining 13 rounds of this season.

FERRARI tested their full electronic program at Mugello, Italy on Friday but were hampered by rain which disrupted their work during the afternoon.

SPANIARD Marc Gene took time out from his testing duties with Williams on Friday to chauffeur Catalan Culture Minister Jordi Vilajoana around the Circuit de Catalunya to see the new scoreboard that will be on view at the Spanish Grand Prix.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER topped the times at the end of the second day of testing at the Mugello circuit in Italy as three teams accumulated data on Thursday.

MCLAREN pair Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard topped the final day of testing at Silverstone as changeable weather conditions caused a few problems for the drivers.

THE progression of Williams engine supplier BMW, which has helped Williams move into a race-winning position, has impressed the team's technical director Patrick Head.

PEDRO DE LA ROSA's promotion to a full time member of the Jaguar formula one team has been dramatically accelerated with the announcement that he will replace Luciano Burti as Eddie Irvine's team-mate as from the Spanish grand prix at Barcelona on 29 April.