Formula One News — October 2001

Dietrich Mateschitz, the boss of Red Bull, has told an Austrian business magazine Format that he is taking over the Arrows Formula 1 team.

BMW Williams driver Ralf Schumacher has married his fiancee Cora Brinkmann in a private ceremony at his villa near Salzburg.

The FIA has confirmed that it will be moving back to Paris next year. Officially the governing body says it will be back in Paris in January but this will probably depend on rebuilding work which we understand is running slightly behind schedule.

The newly-re-elected FIA President Max Mosley told journalists after the FIA General Assembly in Cologne, Germany that he thinks that Europe has too many races and says that he wants the World Championship to expand to cover the entire globe.

Ferrari went testing at Fiorano on Saturday using a brand new radar system which is designed to show drivers whether there are cars ahead of them on the track and whether or not they are running at normal speeds or slowing down.

A display of photographs documenting the late Ayrton Senna's illustrious career is being planned by his great friend, motor sport photographer Keith Sutton.

If rumors are to be believed there is a new Honda engine being readied for the final round of the 2001 world championship dubbed SS or 'Suzuka Special'.

F1 hopefuls Justin Wilson and Narain Karthikeyan tested for Jordan on Friday at Mugello, while British F3 driver Anthony Davidson and F3000 driver Darren Manning were behind the wheel for BAR.

Testing continued at the Circuit de Catalunya, in Barcelona, on Friday, the third of four scheduled days of testing prior to the Japanese Grand Prix.

Michael Schumacher has declared himself confident about Ferrari's technological assault on the 2002 world championship already, with the 2001 season yet to draw to a close.

The rumor that Arrows may be bidding to land both Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Jean Alesi for 2002, thereby sacrificing Jos Verstappen's contract, has come as a shock to two of the parties.

Felipe Massa's second test with the Sauber should be enough to clinch the rising Brazilian star the second driver with Sauber next season.

Max Mosley has been elected for a third term as President of the FIA, for the third consecutive time.

Jacques Villeneuve has confirmed that he is engaged to his latest girlfriend Elly Green.

It is only a couple of years since Paul Stewart, Sir Jackie Stewart's son, was diagnosed as having cancer. He is now in remission and the signs are that he will make a full recovery.

The Jordan F1 team says that there is no pressure whatsoever from Honda to sign up the 24-year old Japanese driver Takuma Sato as Giancarlo Fisichella's team-mate in 2002.

The CART team owners met in Houston on Thursday and voted that in 2003 the cars should be powered by 3.5-liter normally-aspirated engines.

Casey Mears, the nephew of multiple CART champion Rick Mears, has been named as the replacement for Alex Zanardi by Mo Nunn Racing.

IN a very curious move the FIA has decreed that all Formula 3000 cars will now be the same size as Formula 1 cars.

Two F3000 Champions tested for F1 teams at Mugello on Thursday.

Testing continued in Barcelona on Thursday with four teams participating. McLaren test driver Alexander Wurz set the fastest time of the day, 1m 20.37s, half a second faster than Ralf Schumacher.

Although he has not driven with the engine yet, Juan-Pablo Montoya says that the new 2002 BMW V10 is going to be a step forward from this year's power unit.

Mika Hakkinen, bound for a sabbatical year from F1, has told the German racing magazine Auto Moto und Sport that he sees signs that Michael Schumacher may be beginning to consider retirement.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway F1 circuit is not going to be changed for next year but IMS President Tony George says he is looking at creating a more exciting track in the longer term.

Canada's Nortel Networks, which in recent years has been a big sponsor of the Williams team, has announced that it is cutting staff by 30% having lost $3.6bn so far this year.