Formula One News — August 2001

TO the great delight of his supporters, regularly spotted at Grands Prix the world over carrying Dutch national colors and 'Jos the Boss' placards, Jos Verstappen will be putting on a demonstration of his Arrows F1 car at Zandvoort on 8 September, between the Belgian and Italian Grands Prix.

WHILE some of the Formula 1 team bosses are keeping their noses to the grindstone, others have taken the opportunity for a few days off.

IT seems likely that the current showdown on the engine regulations for Formula 1 will see the current generation of 3.0-liter, 18,000 rpm 'screamers' killed off by the start of 2003 as concerns mount over the prodigious power available to the top F1 teams.

HONDA's head of racing development has suggested that its struggle to get on the pace of the likes of Mercedes-Benz and BMW is in part due to lacking the expertise of teams like Williams and McLaren, with whom it raced to a string of titles in the 1980s and '90s.

MIKA SALO, the former Tyrrell, BAR and Ferrari driver leading the way into Formula 1 for Toyota has expressed dissatisfaction with the 2001 test program's progress to date.

TURKISH AUTOMOBILE FEDERATION chief Mumtaz Tahincioglu has announced his intention to bring a Grand Prix to Istanbul, declaring: "Formula One would bring economic advantages to Turkey. My aim is to take on this project and overcome all obstacles."

TOYOTA abandoned its three day test at Silverstone a day early citing power steering failure for its lack of track time.

JEAN ALESI and Jordan will have a chance to dip a toe in the water of their new partnership before the Hungarian Grand Prix, thanks to a clause in the enforced 'holiday' during the three weeks between the German and Hungarian Grands Prix.

LIKE Jean Alesi at Jordan, Heinz-Harald Frentzen will be allowed to conduct a maximum of 30 miles in his shakedown test at Magny-Cours tomorrow (Friday), as he gets used to his new team.

EUROPEAN MINARDI has some tweaks for its PS01 chassis prior to the Hungarian Grand Prix, which will be run in during a 30-mile test at Ferrari's Fiorano test track next Wednesday.

THE worst-kept secret in Formula 1 was revealed today (Wednseday), with the announcement that Jean Alesi will drive for Jordan for the remainder of the season.

ARROWS test driver Johnny Herbert is off to the United States this weekend for a test in the Indy Racing League and it is looking increasingly likely that the English driver will make a new career in the American series next year.

TOYOTA's developing Formula 1 program made its first appearance on British soil when it arrived for an exclusive test at Silverstone on Tuesday.

THE governing body of British motor sport, the MSA, has denied that it was contacted by the FIA president Max Mosley over concerns that the traffic arrangements are below par for the British Grand Prix.

PEDRO DINIZ has returned to Europe after a trip to Brazil and there is speculation that he will shortly bid $75m to buy the remainder of the Prost F1 team.

BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO, the parent company of British American Racing, is buying into the Korean tobacco market, following the decision of the Korean government to end the monopoly on manufacturing which previously existing in the country.

FORMER world champion Nigel Mansell is to join celebrations marking Scuderia Ferrari's 68-year history at the top of motor sport at this year's Silverstone Historic Festival.

THE bodies of the pilot of Joao Paulo Diniz's Augusta helicopter and his fashion model girlfriend have been recovered from the coast off the family's hometown of Sao Paulo over a week after the aircraft crashed.

NIKI LAUDA has spoken out in favor of the decision by his department, Ford's Premier Performance Division, to split the efforts of Cosworth and Pi Research with the groups third arm, Jaguar Racing, and the Arrows team in 2002.

FERRARI president Luca Montezemolo, expects his man Michael Schumacher to seal the 2001 drivers' title as soon as the sport's August break comes to an end in Hungary on August 17-19.

THERE are often discussions in Formula 1 circles about whether the bubble of growth that envelopes the sport will eventually pop and what will occur when that happens.

IT is not long ago that Tommy Suharto was the man trying to promote the idea of a Grand Prix in Indonesia. He was head of the country's national sporting authority and an active racer in his own right.

IN a case that has important implications in the automobile world, the California Supreme Court this week ruled that a firearms manufacturing company cannot be held legally responsible for the use of the weapons it produces.

THE flow of sons of famous fathers seem never ending in Formula 1. After Hill and Villeneuve, the sport is awaiting the arrival of a new Fabi, one of the Cheever gang, another Rosberg is on the way and now from Brazil comes word of a new Piquet.

AS we suggested would happen Belgian brewing giant Interbrew has bought the Germany brewing company Beck's for $1.58 billion.