Formula One News — October 2001

Eddie Irvine is not a man given to moderation and his latest attack in his column in the British tabloid newspaper The Sun is yet another attack on a fellow driver.

The 30th annual Formula Ford Festival takes place at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, England this weekend (October 20-21), the former home of the British Grand Prix playing host to a multitude of young Formula 1 hopefuls.

The Arrows team has confirmed that Red Bull will continue to be one of its sponsors in 2002.

Not the first time, it seems that the 'sparks' of the Benetton factory at Enstone have found themselves in the spotlight of the FIA's technical hawks with new regulations being put in place over the winter to limit the advances being made in engine software and driver aids.

The Kirch Group has raised more than a billion dollars in the last few days by the sale of the TV rights to the 2002 and 2006 World Cup soccer competition.

The FIA International Court of Appeal will meet on October 27 to hear the Jordan team's appeal against the exclusion of Jarno Trulli from fourth place at the recent United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis.

Alain Prost has met with Marie-George Buffet, the French Minister of Youth and Sports in his continuing campaign to secure funds for his struggling team.

The final round of the World Karting Championship to be held at Kerpen, Germany, on October 28 will feature World Champion Michael Schumacher in action against the top young talents of the day.

Jaguar Racing has sold its Formula 3 team a new consortium made up of John Uprichard of Van Diemen, Roly Vincini of P1 Motorsport and John Sweeney of Sweeney Racing.

The latest whispers in Northamptonshire are that the TAG McLaren group is in the process of trying to buy into Ilmor Engineering, the engine-building company which designs and manufactures Mercedes-Benz F1 engines.

Since the Japanese Grand Prix the Formula 1 circus has exploded across the world with team members and the media taking the opportunity for a much-needed break after nearly eight months on the road.

The new one-make Formula 1 rival, Premier 1 Grand Prix, has unveiled a new deal with Reynard Motorsport to produce its homogenous chassis design.

Irishwoman racer Sarah Kavanagh has been in the news quite a lot since we broke the story last week suggesting that she is about to be named as the second test driver to one of the top four Grand Prix teams.

Michael Schumacher has returned to his home in Switzerland after ending his record-breaking championship year with victory at Suzuka in the Japanese Grand Prix - his ninth of the year.

Volkswagen is reportedly looking at Jordan Grand Prix as a possible route into Formula 1 in the future. The story was reported this week in the German business magazine Focus.

Nigel Stepney, the director of racing at Ferrari, is expected to be announced soon in a new role at Jaguar Racing.

Formula 1 may face a commercially bruising time during any economic recession which may be just round the corner, but the doomsayers aren't having it all their own way. Some predict a more moderate impact on the sport, serious though it might be.

McLaren is still to confirm where its tire supply for 2002 will be coming from as the team focuses on creating the MP4/17 challenger with which David Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen will bid to stop Michael Schumacher and Ferrari taking a third successive season by storm.

The seriousness of the Jaguar F1 team's long term ambitions has become clearer this week, initially with the news that it has clinched a deal to purchase the Arrows wind tunnel.

While the Formula 1 circus was concentrating on the departures of Mika Hakkinen and Jean Alesi, there was almost no mention in Suzuka that the Japanese GP was also the last race for the Benetton team - at least in name anyway.

The Kirch Group which now controls the majority of the shares of the Formula One group of companies is to be merged into its subsidiary ProSiebenSAT1 in order to become listed in the stock exchange in Germany.

There have been rumors from time to time that Lotus, the Malaysian-controlled sports car company with a famous racing name, might be used at some point as the Malaysians gear up for a stronger presence in Grand Prix racing.

The Jordan team's appeal against Jarno Trulli's disqualification from fourth place in the US Grand Prix will be heard at the International Court of Appeal in Paris, France, on Friday 26th October.

Scuderia Ferrari is returning home to Maranello for a gigantic reception after sealing its third consecutive manufacturers' title and Michael Schumacher's fourth world championship - his second with Ferrari - after beating all comers for the second season in a row.

David Coulthard has reaffirmed his belief that he is the man to take the fight to Ferrari and Michael Schumacher in 2002... if he gets the car to do the job.