Formula One News — December 2001

The British Government's New Year's Honours List featured no recognition at all for the motorsport business - not even a medal for England's first World Rally Champion Richard Burns.

The testing ban, which has kept the Formula 1 teams in check for the last 10 weeks, is over and testing can begin although it is not expected that there will be much action this week as teams decided to give their employees a break over the Christmas and New Year holidays.

French daily sports newspaper L'Equipe has named Michael Schumacher as their sportsman of 2001 just days after naming his team, Ferrari, as team of 2001.

Ford's Premier Performance Division CEO Niki Lauda has given 2003 as the deadline for seeing the team break out of the bottom half of the Formula 1 field rather than 2002.

Reigning champion Michael Schumacher has sent a clear signal that he will not be best pleased to begin next season in the much-revised Ferrari F2001 with which he took victory in the Japanese Grand Prix last October.

Tom Walkinshaw has always had a lot of things on his plate.

British Honours are awarded on merit, for exceptional achievement or service.

The impact of Formula 1 in the United States of America is still minimal despite the positive reception of the sport in the last 18 months.

The survival of Prost Grand Prix will get little air time in France in the next few weeks as attention in France turns to the annual Paris-Dakar extravaganza.

A stockbroker trading on his association with the late triple champion Ayrton Senna has been set a gigantic fine in the wake of a 'heinous' campaign of fraud.

David Richards may have hit the headlines in his new role as BAR F1 team principal, but his decision to take over this role has dismayed some rally team chiefs who suspect he will not have sufficient time available to concentrate on his position as commercial rights holder for the World Rally Championship.

Jacques Villeneuve has indicated that he will decide on whether or not to stay with British American Racing after his first test in the BAR 004 which starts at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya on 7 January.

The Asiatech engine company's future is on the line in 2002.

The organizers of the Malaysian Grand Prix are hoping to attract 100,000 spectators for the event in March and has been targeting a number of countries in the region in an effort to ensure that there is a larger crowd than there was last year.

Michael Schumacher will be joined by a whole host of Formula 1 talent in 2002 as the F1 paddock gets neighborly in Switzerland.

The derelict oval circuit at Sitges-Terramar in Catalunya is preparing for restoration for a limited amount of historic events each year, to be renamed as the Motor Sport Resort.

The complicated dealings of Europe's media companies may not seem to have much of an influence on the future of Formula 1 but they are rather more significant than they would appear to be.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen says that he has not signed any deal with Arrows - although he has admitted talking in depth to the team about a deal.

With all the sensible drives for 2002 now sorted out, the attention of the F1 team bosses and the driver managers will be shifting towards what will happen in 2003 with one or two variables which will make the market pretty interesting in the months ahead.

The Renault Sport Formula 1 team has lent its facilities to British hot air ballooning duo Andy Elson and Colin Prescott, who are aiming to set a new altitude record.

As we suggested a month ago Heinz-Harald Frentzen is to drive for Arrows in 2002, although the announcement is still not official at the moment.

The big question being discussed in Formula 1 circles at the moment is how much Prodrive will have agreed to pay to buy out the partners in British American Racing.

Ferrari has been named team of the year by the French daily sports newspaper L'Equipe, easily outrunning the nearest challengers by taking nearly 28% of the vote.

The rebuilding work at the Hockenheimring in Germany will begin on January 2 with the $50m upgrading of the circuit which hosts the German Grand Prix.

Amid the financial and political maelstrom that is Argentina at the present time, former Brabham, Ferrari, Lotus and Williams F1 driver Carlos Reutemann, is reportedly considering running for the presidency.