Formula One News — December 2001

European Minardi F1 chief, Paul Stoddart, has once again bucked apparent commercial trends by announcing that his European Aviation company has purchased five Boeing 747-200 aircraft from British Airways and will shortly begin operating them commercially.

The chief national steward of the Australian Grand Prix Garth Wigston says that no-one can be blamed for the accident in Albert Park last year when a trackside marshal was hit by a flying wheel.

The FIA entry list as issued is as follows although there is a curious switch from the normal arrangements as the teams are not completely in the order in which they finished the 2001 World Championship.

The FIA Formula 1 entry list always reveals a few little secrets and it is significant that Jordan's entry for 2002 does not list a title sponsor.

The crowds at the 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix was rather disappointing in size and the organizers are hoping that a new fast rail link between the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and downtown Kuala Lumpur Sentral station will help to bring more people out to the track from the city.

The inquest into the death of safety Marshal Grahm Beveridge at last year's Australian Grand Prix began Monday. Beveridge was killed when a wheel from Jacques Villeneuve's BAR passed through a gap in the safety fence after an accident with Ralf Schumacher.

This week's announcement of the establishment of a company called GPWC to organize a new World Championship in 2008 does not look like posturing by the automobile manufacturer.

F1 overlord Bernie Ecclestone applied a touch of the brake to the aspirations of the major car makers at the end of a week in which they have threatened to start their own independent series in 2008 unless a new commercial rights deal can be concluded.

Bridgestone Motorsport is auctioning a T-shirt signed by its 2001 drivers in order to raise money for the Taplow Traffic Charity Trust.

Plans by the new Premier 1 Grand Prix circus to visit Argentina sounded interesting but the financial troubles in Buenos Aires look increasingly likely to halt the idea - even if the series does get off the ground.

The troubled EM.TV company is beginning to recover, having got rid of most of its shares in Formula One. The company posted a third-quarter profit of $5.9m.

Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher represent the strongest driver pairing in the F1 business according to Gerhard Berger, the Director of BMW Motorsport Limited.