Formula One News — September 2002

The best story of the Indianapolis weekend so far has been the report in the Indianapolis Star that during the summer Michael Schumacher visited the Texas Motor Speedway incognito and while he was there decided that it would be fun to do a few laps of the track in a slightly souped-up stock car.

<b>United States Grand Prix Friday Afternoon Free Practice Report</b>

<b>United States Grand Prix Friday Photos</b>

There were suggestions in Indianapolis that Jaguar Racing may be about the hire Sergio Rinland, the composites engineeer who has been at Arrows in recent months.

There are rumors in Holland that the signing of Jos Verstappen by Minardi will be accompanied by deal with fellow countryman Christjian Albers - the stories suggesting that the two men would bring significant backing from Lost Boys with them.

His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, was a guest in the Formula 1 paddock at Indianapolis. The Duke was present to help the Motorsport Industry Association with a presentation.

<b>United States Grand Prix Friday Morning Free Practice Report</b>

NASCAR team owner Ray Evernham showed up at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday to have a look at the Formula 1 cars. Evernham runs the factory Dodge team in the Winston Cup.

Rubens Barrichello's first day of practice in the US ended early when he lost control of his Ferrari coming onto the oval of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and had an accident of the type seldom seen in F1, sliding into the wall.

Jaguar's 'update' Friday was, as expected, a reaffirmation of Ford's commitment to the team's long term success.

Bryan Herta was in the Formula 1 paddock in Indianapolis on Thursday, talking about his hopes to become a Formula 1 driver next year.

The news that Colin McRae is to leave the Ford Motor Company's World Rally Championship team will perhaps have some significant effect on the company's involvement in Formula 1.

The Jaguar Racing team has called the Formula 1 press corps to what they are calling 'an update' this morning in Indianapolis. It is anticipated that this will not have any major announcements but will be simply to establish the current situation after the meeting of Ford Motor Company bosses in Paris on Thursday.

Bernie Ecclestone has not visited very many fly-away races in recent years to avoid the stresses and strains of intercontinental travel but it was planned for the F1 boss to be at Indianapolis this weekend. Mr E has however called off at the last minute, citing urgent business problems.

Red Bull announced the 16 candidates for their F1 Driver Search program Thursday in Indianapolis, and the young Americans will now prepare to head to France for a shootout before the final decision on who will enter the program is made.

Grandprix.com Young Driver Award winner Patrick Long has been named one of the finalists for the Red Bull F1 Driver Search program.

The GPWC held a board meeting Thursday in Paris to discuss its future.

Canadian brewery La Brasserie Labatt has announced a three year deal with the organizers of the Canadian Grand Prix that will see track-side advertising of their Bleue Dry brand of beer, which is aimed at a younger audience of

Fiat continues to suffer from the problems related to its automobile business Fiat Auto and there is increased speculation that the Italian industrial giant may soon decide to sell its share in Ferrari.

For some time now it has seemed inevitable that Renault will sign up Frenchman Sebastian Bourdais to be its test driver in 2003. Bourdais is backed by the FFSA scheme and there has been speculation all season that Renault is one of the major supporters of this initiative, although this has not been confirmed.

Eddie Jordan turned up on the San Remo Rally last weekend and raised a few eyebrows (as usual) by remarking about the dangers of Peugeot's domination of the sport.

The Ford Motor Company top men meet in Paris on Thursday to finalize plans for Formula 1 next year - and all the signs are that the decision will be to push ahead with the Jaguar Racing program as planned.

Williams F1 has hired Dr. John Davis from Minardi. Davis will become o"Aerodynamic Facilities Development Engineergh" and it is expected that his first task will be to oversee the design and the construction of the Williams team's second windtunnel.

BAR boss David Richards has extended an invitation to MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi to test for BAR, a deal that Honda has no doubt encouraged. Rossi won ten of twelve races for Honda this year, in a very Michael Schumacher kind of season.

Helio Castroneves tested for Toyota recently in Europe but he told The Indianapolis Star that it was made clear to him that he was not in the running for a drive in 2003.