Formula One News — July 2001

THE Asiatech engine company looks to be in trouble with none of the Formula 1 teams showing much interest in using the French-built engines next year - even if they are supplied free of charge.

JAGUAR RACING has renewed its sponsorship deal with the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. The new deal runs through 2004 and speculation suggests that it is worth at least $30m a year to Jaguar.

THE German motoring publication AUTO BILD published a story on Tuesday saying that Mika Hakkinen will retire at the end of the season and that his place will be taken at McLaren by Olivier Panis.

FERRARI president Luca di Montezemolo is continuing the campaign being waged by the automobile manufacturers to try to convince the world that there is the potential for a rival series to the Formula 1 World Championship.

BENETTON has announced a couple of appointments in recent days and one of them is very significant.

THE announcement that Patrizia Spinelli has left Prost Grand Prix is a further indication that the French team is going through troubled times. Despite the best efforts of Alain Prost and his team, which is led by Joan Villadelprat, no money has yet be found and the team has been forced in recent weeks to cut back on its testing schedules in order to save money.

YOU cannot prove that the BMW Formula 1 program is having a vast effect on the company's sales but there is no doubt that the Munich-based car manufacturer is not suffering from its engagement in the sport.

FRANK WILLIAMS is looking forward to taking his Williams team back to Silverstone - the scene of their first ever victory.

AS Honda and Toyota both gear up for major assaults on Formula 1, Japan looks to be on the verge of producing a new generation of F1 drivers to follow in the traditions of Satoru Nakajima, Aguri Suzuki, Ukyo Katayama and others.

POSSIBLY, just possibly, Bobby Rahal may come to think that his failure to recruit McLaren technical chief Adrian Newey might turn out to be the best thing that's happened to Britain's newest F1 team.

INSIDE F1's Young Driver of the Year, Patrick Long, enjoyed a superb weekend's racing on the full Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit to put himself in the thick of the championship battle in Britain's Slick 50 Formula Ford Zetec Championship.

EDDIE IRVINE has told David Coulthard that he is not quick enough to beat Michael Schumacher ahead of next weekend's British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

TOM WALKINSHAW has not been having a good year in Formula 1 with his Arrows team but over in the United States things are looking a bit better with the TWR-built Nissan Infiniti engine winning the Ameristar Casino and Hotel 200, the first Indy Racing League event at the new Kansas Speedway.

EDDIE IRVINE has said he has no intention of changing his aggressive driving style for next weekend's British Grand Prix.

AFTER two weeks of nerves being strained taut as a bow over Tim Henman's roller-coaster ride at Wimbledon, British sports fans will have to spend another week agonizing as another of its heroes,

FORMULA ONE's elder statesman Jean Alesi has said he is ready to stay in the series until he is nearly 40 -- and has set himself a two-year target to help his Prost team get to the top.

JENSON BUTTON's problems with the under-performing Benetton team this season were put into perspective as the young Briton struggled to control his car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on Sunday.

SEVEN Formula One teams paraded their cars at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England on Saturday.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER has spoken out against his perceived arrogant image and indicated that he has always struggled to adhere himself to the English people.

ALEXANDER YOONG went one step closer to a drive with the Minardi team on Friday as he completed a two-day test for them at the Mugello circuit in Italy.

BENETTON's Mark Webber claimed the fastest time in the final day's testing at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain on Friday as he and Mark Gene, with Williams, undertook some wet weather work.

A large proportion of the spectators attending the British Grand Prix at Silverstone will be shuttled into the circuit by a fleet of over 800 coaches as a "park and ride" scheme has been instigated in a bid to ensure there is no repeat of the congestion which marred last year's race.

MCLAREN have struggled throughout the season in qualifying, but at the last Grand Prix, in France, they claimed the second row and team boss Ron Dennis hopes that was the turning point.

MALAYSIAN Alex Yoong was delighted to finally experience the feeling of Formula One when he made his testing debut for Minardi at the Italian circuit of Mugello on Thursday.

COLOMBIAN Juan Pablo Montoya has put a question mark over the Michelin tires on his Williams FW23 as he prepares for the British Grand Prix.