Formula One News — July 2001

FERRARI technical director Ross Brawn has praised the F1 regulations which have demanded year-on-year improvements in constructional safety without the need to skimp on weight.

JAGUAR RACING sponsor Beck's could be bought by the giant Belgian brewing firm Interbrew but the deal is unlikely to effect the company's F1 sponsorship program, although Interbrew has usually steered clear of F1 in the past.

THE American National Highway Transport Safety Administration continues to investigate the Firestone tires fitted to the Ford Explorer model in the USA, blamed for the spate of fatal crashes that befell the gigantic 4x4 sports utility vehicle (SUV).

THE Agnelli Family has just announced plans to float 35% of the Juventus soccer team on the Milan Stock Exchange and that will inevitably lead to questions as to whether eventually the Agnellis will also agree to float a percentage of shares in Ferrari.

AN increasingly warm day in Italy saw Eddie Irvine set the fastest time at the end of an intriguing four day test.

THE accord under which the commercial affairs of Formula 1 have been managed for the past 20 years began the protracted process of renegotiation in London this week, after the upheaval in ownership of the sport's commercial rights.

FORMULA 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has praised the new blood in the sport's driving fraternity, and has suggested that the established stars are getting worried.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER has been at pains to play down the testing accident at Monza on Tuesday that demolished his car and saw him returning to Geneva for a few days of physiotherapy.

THE modern media in Formula 1 constantly demands stories and so there is a fairly active story-creation industry which has been developed.

THE quiet three-day test at Valencia ended with Nick Heidfeld getting his Sauber down to a 1m 13.774s, 0.9s better than BAR development driver Patrick Lemarie.

AFTER the damp morning session in which Pedro de la Rosa took the top time for Jaguar, it was his team mate Eddie Irvine who got down to a respectable 1m 24.1s to go fastest of the penultimate day's runners at the classic Monza circuit.

JEAN TODT has two of the most evocative names in Italian motoring under his command - adding Maserati to Ferrari.

MCLAREN boss Ron Dennis has reacted angrily to Toyota's bid to circumvent the post-season testing ban.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER has been given the all-clear to race in Germany after his sizeable accident in testing at Monza on Tuesday morning, which demolished the front end of his Ferrari.

AS the jockeying for position continues within SLEC, Formula 1's rights-holding company, it seems that a novel twist is in the offing courtesy of Thomas Haffa, the boss of struggling German media giant EM.TV.

DAVID COULTHARD left Monza without even having managed a lap having contracted a stomach bug, leaving the BMW Williams team to howl round the Italian circuit faster than all comers by a vast margin.

THERE is a great deal of talk at the moment about the negotiating of a new Concorde Agreement between the car manufacturers, the Formula 1 teams, Bernie Ecclestone and Leo Kirch.

THE second potentially disastrous failure of the three-day Monza test occurred today (Weds), when Jarno Trulli's Jordan suffered a rear wing breakage at the Variante Ascari.

TOYOTA may still be eight months away from their F1 debut, but the Japanese team seems hell-bent on irritating the hell out of its rivals even before it has officially arrived on the Grand Prix grid.

FERRARI has blamed the high speed accident that befell Michael Schumacher yesterday (Tues), on a damaged undertray.

AS the rest of the teams focus on the upcoming German Grand Prix by testing at low-downforce Monza, Sauber has been at Valencia preparing for the more twisty confines of the Hungaroring.

BRITAIN's Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has decided not to challenge the deal by which EM.TV & Merchandising AG, Kirch Beteiligungs GmbH & Co KG and Speed Investments Limited will acquire a further 25% of SLEC Holdings Ltd., the company which holds the commercial rights for Formula 1 racing.

BAR chairman Kenneth Clarke has pulled of a remarkable victory in the election for the leadership of the British conservative party.

THE British Grand Prix came and went and as usual there were problems with traffic. The track has done a lot of work and earthmoving in underway for the construction of the new Silverstone bypass.

JAMES COURTNEY raised eyebrows upon his debut in a Formula 1 car by ending the day faster than either McLaren-Mercedes long standing test driver Darren Manning and Benetton racer Jenson Button.