Formula One News — December 2002

Alex Yoong is Malaysian by nationality but he comes from Chinese antecedents and after the recent Minardi two-seater display in Beijing Yoong told Chinese reporters that he would be the perfect vehicle for Chinese companies wanting to promote their goods in the West.

The news that Takuma Sato is to be a test driver for British American Racing in 2003 raises one important question: what caused the Japanese rising star to give up waiting for Jordan?

Sheffield is a town in Yorkshire which was once famous for its steel. Cutlery manufactured in Sheffield was famous throughout the world. In motor racing circles Sheffield is best-known as the home of Justin Wilson, the 6ft3in 24-year-old who has just been signed by Minardi.

Minardi boss Paul Stoddart as confirmed that Dutchman Christjian Albers has a contract with the team but that the deal is dependent on finance - as we reported exclusively 10 days ago. Albers is now in competition for the second Minardi seat with his fellow countryman Jos Verstappen.

Takuma Sato has been dropped as the second Jordan driver and has signed up to be the third driver with British American Racing. Sato will join Anthony Davidson on the BAR test team, reviving the line-up of 2001.

Renault team principals are in the process of deciding who will be the team's third driver in 2003 after a series of test to try out youngsters. The team tested four hopesfuls, three of them French and at the moment it seems that the favourites to get the drive are Sebastian Bourdais and Franck Montagny.

Bernie Ecclestone says that F1's sliding TV figures are not all down to a drop of interest in the sport. Ecclestone said that other issues had to be taken into account, including the French election which had a major impact on figures in France while the British GP was hit by the Wimbledon Finals tennis.

The Minardi team has confirmed that Justin Wilson be driving for the Faenza-based team next season. Wilson has impressed the team in recent months with his speed as a test and demonstration driver.

Mika Hakkinen is to take part in the Arctic Lapland Rally (or as the Finns call it the Tunturi-ralli), a round of the European Rally Championship, from January 24-26 at the wheel of a privately-entered Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution WRC2 rally car, prepared by the Ralliart team.

The Grand Prix World Championship company is aiming to run its own Formula 1-style series in 2008 and has plans to establish a system of regulation outside the FIA umbrella. This is not an easy thing to achieve.

There has been a lot of bad news in F1 in recent months but it is nice to be able to report a major sponsorship deal which is being extended.

The Press Association is reporting that Britain's Justin Wilson will be named as Minardi's first signing of 2003 tomorrow at a press conference in London. Our sources confirm that this is indeed the case and so the lanky Yorkshireman, who won the 2001 International Formula 3000 Championship will finally get his chance.

The FIA has confirmed that at least three teams have agreed to restrict their testing to just 10 days between March and October 2003 in exchange for the opportunity to run an unlimited number of cars in a two-hour session on Friday morning at each Grand Prix.

Morgan Grenfell's case against Arrows and Tom Walkinshaw continues this week until adjourning for the Christmas vacation on Wednesday. Counsel for the parties will deliver their written submissions to the judge, Mr Justice Pumfrey, by e-mail by January 2 and a judgement should be delivered on January 7.

The announcement from Minardi that it is going to announce something on Tuesday morning at a press conference at London's Heathrow Hilton has led to the predictable speculation that the team is about to announce a deal with Jos Verstappen. Our sources say that this not what is going to happen.

Flavio Briatore told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Saturday that he hopes that Renault will be in a position to win the World Championship in 2006. Between now and then, Briatore said, the team should be building up its position and scoring regular top three finishes.

Kimi Raikkonen ended the week of testing in Jerez on top of the timesheet for McLaren. The young Finn completed over 50 laps of the Spanish circuit, finishing the day just tenths quicker than Mark Webber in the Jaguar and Anthony Davidson for BAR.

The annual trophies for the best F1 promoter and the best TV coverage have been awarded this year to the Hungarian GP and to the Austrian TV station ORF.

Despite numerous denials Christjian Albers did sign a contract with Minardi a couple of weeks ago but we understand that nothing has yet been announced because the promised sponsorship money which Albers was going to supply to the team has not yet turned up.

It is anticipated that there will soon be an announcement that there will be a two-hour testing session at every Grand Prix in 2003. We understand that enough teams have agreed that they wish to sign up the idea and as a result, it will go ahead.

The Formula 1 team bosses have been called to a new meeting by the FIA in order to hear new proposals to cut costs and make the sport more interesting.

The FIA World Motor Sport Council voted to send a letter from FIA Max Mosley to European Health Commissioner David Byrne, attacking the Commission's decision to ban tobacco sponsorship from July 31 2005.

The FIA has voted to create the FIA Academy which will be responsible for determining annual awards and prizes for exceptional achievement in road safety, the environment and mobility and for individual achievement in motor sport.

Stories suggesting that Jos Verrstappen and Christjian Albers may work together at Minardi have been rubbished by Verstappen's manager Huub Rothengatter.

Octagon Motorsports, the company which owns Brands Hatch has said that it is not planning to sell the Kent circuit for housing. The company is under pressure from its US parent Interpublic to improve its performance.