Formula One News — July 2001

DESPITE Ralf Schumacher's allusions that Juan Pablo Montoya brought about his own German Grand Prix downfall by racing off into the distance in the opening half of the race, Williams Technical Director, Patrick Head, has defended the Colombian's strategy and said that he put no more strain on the car than race winning Ralf himself.

IF, as expected, Jean Alesi leaves Prost Grand Prix to become a Jordan driver, Alain Prost will need to find a replacement.

EDDIE JORDAN has invested $1.5 million into Scottish soccer champions Celtic. The team has qualified, as national champions, for the lucrative European Champions League.

TRADITIONALLY the first drafts of the following year's World Championship calendar begin to circulate in early August and it is expected that F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone will probably give team principals an outline of the calendar when they meet in Hungary in three weeks.

TOYOTA does not really need to raise money for its Formula 1 program.

JORDAN GRAND PRIX has put out a press statement saying that all stories about the team signing up Jean Alesi are "purely speculative".

ALAIN PROST has broken the silence over the tug of war believed to be going on between his team and Jordan Grand Prix over the services of Jean Alesi.

TOYOTA's decision to go testing during the autumn Formula 1 testing ban continues to cause discontent amongst the other Formula 1 teams.

FORMULA 1 team boss Eddie Jordan is rumored to be planning to invest some of his money in buying a British soccer club.

JACQUES VILLENEUVE has decided to stay with British American Racing for 2002 - despite his season-opening declaration that only third place in this year's world championship would be acceptable to secure his services - and launched an all-out assault on the team.

THE latest rumor from the Formula 1 paddock in Hockenheim is that Jean Alesi will leave Prost Grand Prix in the course of the next few weeks and will replace Heinz-Harald Frentzen at Jordan.

THE continuing drama of the Jordan driving squad with Ricardo Zonta currently standing in for the departed Heinz-Harald Frentzen, has seen Zonta admit he doesn't know exactly how long his tenure in the race team will be.

PEDRO PAOLO DINIZ's brother Joao had a lucky escape on Saturday when the helicopter in which he was travelling crashed into the sea off the Brazilian coastline.

MARK BLUNDELL, former F1 driver and Champ Car winner with PacWest is seeking a competitive return to the USA - potentially in the NASCAR Winston Cup.

THE Goodyear comeback in Formula 1 received a big knock on Saturday when Bridgestone announced that its has renewed its deal with Ferrari until the end of the 2004 season.

ARROWS has finally announced that the team has signed a deal to use Cosworth V10 engines next season - as we first reported six weeks ago.

THE rivalry between Michael and Ralf Schumacher is set to reach its zenith tomorrow in the minds of the 120,000 strong crowd expected to flood into Hockenheim tomorrow for the German grand prix.

BRITISH SKY BROADCASTING, Rupert Murdoch's satellite TV business, says it will pull out of the German pay-TV market if its partner Kirch PayTV does not get better results soon.

JORDAN's extraordinary decision to fire Heinz-Harald Frentzen in the week before the Germany Grand Prix has not gone down well with the team's German sponsors Deutsche Bank (and its subsidiaries Danzas and DHL).

GERMANY is still reeling from the sudden shock dismissal of Heinz-Harald Frentzen in the week leading up to his home Grand Prix, with several magazines carrying previews of the weekend's events by the German and an advertising campaign by Jordan's sponsors left a trifle redundant.

ANDY MILLER, the former director of racing at Jaguar Racing, is to return to Formula 3 next season.

EUROPEAN MINARDI will not run the latest modifications to the PS01's aerodynamic package at Hockenheim, the team has revealed.

THE rescue deal between EM.TV and Kirch may be cancelled by the new management at EM.TV.

KEVIN GARNETT, the $20 million per year star of NBA team the Minnesota Timberwolves, has visited the Maranello factory, home of Ferrari.

BAR-HONDA announced today that current drivers Jacques Villeneuve and Olivier Panis will remain with the team for the 2002 season.