Seven years ago when I started my homepage it was very difficult to get some
reliable information on F1, especially in the off season.

The gathering of F1 Racing news is so very complete nowadays that I have ended the activities in this FORMULE ONE RACING page.

I apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Melchert Groot

Thursday December 12, 2002
Source: Yahoo Sports

Ferrari set the pace at a slowly warming Circuit de Catalunya on the second day of testing, with Luca Badoer and Rubens Barrichello getting the better of their only rivals.

Badoer set the pace, just as he had on day one, but took fully 1.7secs from his opening salvo to head off Scuderia race regular Barrichello, who joined the test to double Ferrari's presence in Barcelona. The Brazilian was half a second shy of his Italian team-mate, as both continued to work through the team's various tyre and parts development programmes. Badoer, who had had two different F2002 chassis at his disposal on Wednesday, completed the bulk of the running with 81 laps to Barrichello's 21 tour total.

Ferrari was again partnered by engine customer Sauber at the Catalan circuit, with the Swiss team fielding two cars for 2003 driving strength Nick Heidfeld and Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Once the early morning fog had lifted from the track, both Germans were able to get down to business, although only Heidfeld managed to improve over his first day showing. While Frentzen remained stuck around the 1min 20.3secs mark, his young team-mate shaved almost a second from his previous best to end the day on 1min 19.993secs. Heidfeld worked on furthering the damper programme the team had started on day one, while Frentzen continued to evaluate aerodynamic changes to the interim C21.

Results (12 December):

Luca Badoer Ferrari-Ferrari 1min 18.206secs 81 laps
Rubens Barrichello Ferrari-Ferrari 1min 18.710secs 21 laps
Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas 1min 19.993secs 50 laps
Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Petronas 1min 20.378secs 53 laps

Wednesday December 11, 2002
Source: Yahoo Sports

BRUSSELS - The Belgian Grand Prix's chances of returning to the Formula One calendar have been dealt a blow by the Belgian parliament voting not to postpone a local ban on tobacco advertising.

Spa-Francorchamps, the favourite circuit of Ferrari's world champion Michael Schumacher, was dropped from the 2003 calendar due to the ban but Formula One bosses had hoped it might be reinstated for 2004.

Belgium is due to introduce the ban in August next year, ahead of a planned global ban agreed by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) from the end of 2006.

Five of the 10 Formula One teams entered in the 2003 championship have significant tobacco sponsorship, including champions Ferrari, McLaren and Renault.

The Belgian Senate's Social Affairs Commission last month voted 8-7 in favour of postponing the ban but the legislation had to be passed by both houses to become law and it failed that hurdle on Tuesday night.

After a heated debate, the bill was defeated with 77 against and 71 in favour with two abstentions.

The vote was a blow to the country's southern Wallonia region, where the grand prix is held.

According to some estimates, the four-day event brings in about 25 million euros ($25.18 million) a year for the local economy.

Two other countries on the current Formula One calendar prevent tobacco advertising at their grands prix -- Britain with a voluntary agreement and France with a legal ban -- and teams did not want to be limited at three races.

Villeneuve wants more characters in F1

Wednesday December 11, 2002
Source: Yahoo Sports

LONDON - Formula One needs more characters and fewer "corporate robots", says Canada's outspoken former champion Jacques Villeneuve.

"The sport is short of characters," the weekly Motorsport News quoted the British American Racing (BAR) driver as saying on Wednesday.

"These young, inexperienced drivers are so happy to be a part of it that they never say what they think.

"Losing Jean Alesi hurt the sport. If Eddie Irvine doesn't find a drive next season that will hurt the business too. It's a little bit sad."

Fiery Frenchman Alesi retired at the end of 2001 while Northern Ireland's Irvine, who often targets rivals with acerbic comments, has been linked to Jordan since he left Jaguar in October but still has no deal in place.

"F1 has become a corporate sport and corporations don't want human beings driving, they want robots. Nobody sees the difference. They still see the same cars winning and that's what they want," said Villeneuve.

"What they don't understand is that they won't have any fans watching the racing if they keep doing that."

Villeneuve, who does less corporate work than most of his fellow drivers, said Williams' Colombian driver Juan Pablo Montoya was an exception.

"But a lot of the other drivers haven't even sweated to get into F1. All the other drivers are picked out of Formula Ford because the corporation thinks it can give them the personality it wants," he said.

Villeneuve suggested that characters such as British rally driver Colin McRae or Italian motorcycling champion Valentino Rossi would be the sort of people Formula One needs.

Having had several run-ins with Michael Schumacher on and off the track over the years, the 1997 champion also criticised Jaguar's new line-up of Australian Mark Webber and Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia.

Pizzonia, who recently crashed both a Jaguar saloon car and his race car in Barcelona testing, will make his grand prix debut in Melbourne next March.

"Let's be honest, even Colin McRae couldn't do much worse than the drivers currently at Jaguar," said Villeneuve.

The Canadian is joined by 22-year-old Briton Jenson Button next season in what is likely to be Villeneuve's final year at BAR.

Webber, who switched to Jaguar after a year at Minardi, fired back his own retort.

"I don't know why he's having a pop at the young guys," he said. "Perhaps he's just been a bit short of publicity lately. We intend to prove him wrong next year and I'm sure we will."

Bank launches high court action against Arrows

Tuesday December 10, 2002
Source: Yahoo Sports

LONDON - Investment bank Morgan Grenfell has begun a high court action against Arrows, a week after Formula One's governing body barred the team from competing in next year's championship. Arrows, who could become the second Formula One team this year to fold, made all their staff redundant last week and also face a winding-up petition led by their former driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

The judge in the current hearing is being asked to decide whether a binding agreement was entered into on July 11, 2001, to restructure Arrows' shareholdings and finances and whether previous financial guarantees remain valid.

The hearing, expected to last at least eight days, opened on Tuesday with Morgan Grenfell saying Arrows and team principal Tom Walkinshaw had "substantially diluted" the bank's large investment through a financial restructuring.

Morgan Grenfell says the restructuring caused it "serious prejudice", with Arrows diluting the bank's stake by creating three categories of new shares in its operating company Arrows Grand Prix International Limited (AGPI).

They had also granted security over the assets of AGPI to HSBC Bank.

The court heard that Morgan Grenfell Private Equity had made a 'substantial investment' in Arrows in 1999 by means of equity investment and secured loans through a fund called Morgan Grenfell Equity Partners.

The bank's lawyer Ewan McQuater said that by 2001, the Arrows group was in "serious financial difficulty" and negotiations took place about a possible financial and corporate restructuring.

Morgan Grenfell says these negotiations did not lead to any concluded or binding agreement, but Arrows and Walkinshaw dispute this.

McQuater said his clients discovered in April 2002 that, despite warnings to Arrows to do nothing that was inconsistent with their rights under the 1999 agreements, the Formula One team had "unilaterally taken a series of steps to restructure the group and its finances".

"Those steps were taken in breach of the claimants' rights under the existing finance documents and they have potentially caused serious prejudice to their interests," he said.

Morgan Grenfell won a High Court injunction last May to prevent further such breaches. Arrows and Walkinshaw then failed in a High Court application to be released from their undertakings in July.

Walkinshaw said he had dipped into his own pocket to pay for the team's Cosworth engines to enable them to race at the subsequent British Grand Prix.

But the team missed the last five races of the season, claiming that a sale was imminent and they had been given legal advice not to race until the deal was done, and also deliberately failed to qualify in France.

The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) last week turned down the team's application to compete in next year's championship.

Barcelona test - day three

Thursday December 5, 2002
Source: Yahoo Sports

David Coulthard and McLaren again led the way in Formula One testing, this time setting a mesmerising pace on the third day of running at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.

The Scot's unofficial time of 1min 15.711secs ducked under the testing lap record for the circuit and left the rest of the field standing as he provided a useful morale boost to a McLaren-Mercedes squad hoping to regain its winning ways in 2003.

Coulthard's closest challenger proved to be young Antonio Pizzonia, who enjoyed a largely trouble-free day to take second spot, albeit some 1.7secs adrift of the McLaren. The Brazilian completed almost 100 laps for Jaguar, clearly putting his heavy off of Tuesday to the back of his mind as he out-paced Williams veterans Juan Montoya, Marc Gene and Ralf Schumacher, all were all in action for the Grove team.

Montoya was the best placed of the trio, taking third spot, just a matter of hundredths shy of Pizzonia, while Gene and Schumacher followed in fourth and sixth, all within a second of the Brazilian. Test regular Gene was split from his German team-mate by Olivier Panis, the Wednesday pace-setter seeing his Toyota pushed back down the order, but still recording a creditable fifth fastest lap.

Mark Webber followed Schumacher with the second of the Jaguars, racking up almost as many miles as his new team-mate and pushing the German close in terms of times.

The second McLaren only achieved seventh spot on the timesheets, but this was still notable as the car was driven by young Briton Gary Paffett. The new German F3 champion replaced Alex Wurz alongside Coulthard in an effort to increase his F1 mileage, and also provide an opportunity for him to demonstrate his candidature as a potential second test driver for the Woking marque.

Paffett's pace - he was within a tenth of Schumacher's best effort - allowed him to end the day ahead of more experienced drivers such as Jacques Villeneuve, while the second of the BARs, in the hands of Anthony Davidson, came in ahead of Renault's Fernando Alonso and two F1 rookies who added to their experience throughout the day.

Davidson only managed four laps in total as his Honda-powered 004 was struck by problems, but he still managed to record a faster lap than Alonso's 1min 19.854secs best. Fellow Briton Ralph Firman, the reigning FNippon champion, joined Davidson in the Lucky Strike camp, having seen his test date brought forward ten days, and comfortably headed Portugal's Tiago Monteiro, despite the Renault Development driver moving into his second day of testing.

Leading performances (5 December):

David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1min 15.711secs 68 laps
Antonio Pizzonia Jaguar-Cosworth 1min 17.405secs 98 laps
Juan Montoya Williams-BMW 1min 17.444secs 62 laps
Marc Gene Williams-BMW 1min 17.775secs 61 laps
Olivier Panis Toyota-Toyota 1min 18.038secs 59 laps
Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW 1min 18.150secs 75 laps
Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth 1min 18.213secs 74 laps
Gary Paffett McLaren-Mercedes 1min 18.224secs 63 laps
Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Honda 1min 18.828secs 72 laps
Anthony Davidson BAR-Honda 1min 19.645secs 4 laps
Fernando Alonso Renault-Renault 1min 19.854secs 65 laps
Ralph Firman BAR-Honda 1min 21.045secs 47 laps
Tiago Monteiro Renault-Renault 1min 21.504secs 58 laps

 

Thursday December 5, 2002
Source: Yahoo Sports

LONDON - Troubled Arrows have made their remaining staff redundant after being excluded from next year's Formula One championship, team sources said on Thursday.

"My letter said that the whole staff were being made redundant," one employee, who did not want to be identified, told Reuters.

The source did not know how exactly many staff were affected, since a number of them resigned last month, but local BBC radio put the figure at 160 people.

Employees of team principal Tom Walkinshaw's TWR engineering group were not affected.

"I think it's a fairly standard letter," said another employee. "It just says the money hasn't come from the investors so we're making you all redundant. It does go on to say that they are appealing."

Formula One's governing body, the International Automobile Federation (FIA), issued its official entry list for the 2003 season on Monday with just 10 teams.

Arrows were omitted with a footnote explaining that their application had been turned down for "reasons which have been communicated to the Arrows team".

The British-based team, who have been in Formula One for 25 years and hold the record of 382 starts without a win, said in a statement on Tuesday that they would appeal "to the appropriate body" for reinstatement.

Arrows missed the last five races of the season due to financial problems and also deliberately failed to qualify in France.

German driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen left during the season and title sponsor Orange pulled out at the end.

Walkinshaw had argued force majeure, or unavoidable circumstances, for Arrows's repeated absence from races after saying they had received legal advice not to race pending a sale of the team.

A deal with an unnamed American investor never materialised but Arrows said last month they were close to a deal with a Germany-based group of investors.

Team co-founder Jackie Olivier, who sold his share in the team in 1999, told Autosport magazine on Thursday that he was saddened by the situation.

"If the team goes down, it's sad that the Arrows name will disappear," he said. "Arrows survived in F1 for a long time despite not gaining any real success. I ran it with prudence, always thinking of survival.

"Tom tried to make it successful. I kept it going for 22 years, he buried it in three."

Webber fourth fastest in Barcelona

December 4, 2002

AUSTRALIA's Mark Webber has shown impressive form in his Jaguar to finish fourth fastest on the second day of Formula One testing here.

But Brazilian team-mate Antonio Pizzonia, who crashed heavily in his Jaguar R3C machine on Tuesday and wrote off a Jaguar road car at the circuit last week, struggled again.

He finished more than two seconds behind Webber to claim ninth place, just behind the eighth-placed BAR Honda.

Frenchman Olivier Panis topped the times for Toyota as Renault continued their young driver program.

Panis, who moved to the Germany-based team from British American Racing (BAR) at the end of last season, finished with a time of 1min 17.194secs, less than a tenth of a second faster than Austrian McLaren test driver Alexander Wurz.

But Renault finished at the opposite end of the timesheets as they tested Frenchman Romain Dumas for a second day and gave Portuguese Formula 3000 driver Tiago Montiero his F1 debut.

The two F1 rookies finished in the final two spots with Dumas setting a time of 1min 21.306secs to claim 11th and Montiero 12th in 1min 23.576secs.

They finished behind Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who has vacated his test driver position to replace Briton Jenson Button in the race team next year. He finished 10th with a time of 1min 20.811secs.

Briton David Coulthard was third fastest in the second McLaren.

Williams were out in force with race drivers German Ralf Schumacher and Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya finishing fifth and sixth and test driver Marc Gene seventh

F1 testing, Rosberg's son youngest in F1 test

Monday December 3, 2002
Source: Yahoo Sports

BARCELONA - Finland's Nico Rosberg, the 17-year-old son of 1982 world champion Keke Rosberg, has become the youngest driver ever to take part in Formula One testing, the BMW-Williams team said.

He completed 38 4.73-km laps in an FW24 in Barcelona to claim a personal best time of one minute 21.070 seconds on lap 29 and finished eighth fastest overall, despite a spin.

"It was sensational," said an exhilarated Rosberg. "Now I don't want to drive anything else.

"The first laps were like a game with a playstation -- everything went so fast and seemed so unreal.

Nico's father, who won the world title driving for Williams, was at trackside with friends to witness his son making history on his Formula One testing debut.

"My father had advised me not to attempt too much and just enjoy the whole experience. I think I managed to do that quite well," said the young Rosberg, who was born on 27 June 1985.

Rosberg's run was part of his prize for winning Williams' engine suppliers BMW's junior race category title in Germany.

Among the other drivers Jaguar's Mark Webber survived a strong challenge from Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya to record the fastest time in testing at the Circuit de Catalunya.

The Australian set a best time of one minute 18.177 seconds, just 0.094 ahead of Colombian Montoya.

Webber's Jaguar team mate, Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia, failed to record a time after crashing in the morning.

Pizzonia spun off at the second corner and, according to a team spokesman, caused "extensive" damage to his car.

Last Thursday, Pizzonia rolled and wrote off one of Jaguar's top-of-the-range road cars, a $70,000 (£45,000) S-Type, while driving reporters around the circuit.

McLaren's test driver, Austrian Alex Wurz, was third fastest, and the only driver to join Webber and Montoya in the one minute, 18-second bracket.

Spain's Fernando Alonso, who has taken over at Renault from Briton Jenson Button, was sixth fastest.

Renault also gave Romain Dumas his first F1 test and the French youngster was 11th overall.

BAR's Anthony Davidson, who twice raced for Minardi this year, was seventh fastest, while fellow Briton Gary Paffett, the German Formula Three champion, was ninth for McLaren. He will test for the team again on Thursday.

Champions Ferrari, who tested with Italian Luca Badoer alongside Jaguar, Toyota and BAR at Barcelona last week, have been in action alone at Italy's Mugello circuit -- this time with Brazilian Luciano Burti driving.

Arrows to appeal against F1 exclusion

Monday December 3, 2002
Source: Yahoo Sports

LONDON - Struggling Arrows have told Formula One's governing body that they will fight to be reinstated in next year's championship.

"Arrows is very surprised at being omitted from the list of entrants for the 2003 FIA Formula One world championship published yesterday," Arrows Grand Prix International said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Arrows confirms that it has served notice to the FIA of its intention to appeal to the appropriate body for a hearing to resolve this issue.

"Arrows remains committed to securing the future of the team."

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) issued its entry list on Monday with just 10 teams and a footnote explaining that British-based Arrows's application had been turned down.

FIA sources said the decision was final. New teams wanting to enter the championship must first post a $48 million (31 million pound) bond with the FIA.

Daniele Audetto, commercial director of team owner Tom Walkinshaw's TWR Group and a former Ferrari boss, was quoted in Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper as saying Arrows would appeal to the FIA's F1 commission.

Audetto said Arrows had paid some $300,000 to register their entry by the official deadline and were on the brink of being sold to German businessman Oliver Behring as the representative of a group of Arab investors.

"It's true that they had not yet paid us but they were waiting to do so after the world championship entry had been confirmed," he said.

Arrows, who have been in Formula One for 25 years without ever winning a race, missed the last five grands prix of the season and also deliberately failed to qualify in France as financial troubles took their toll.

Walkinshaw pleaded unavoidable circumstances, saying the team had been given legal advice not to compete while negotiations were underway to sell the team.

The team, who have sought to go into administration, also faces important legal obstacles ahead with creditors seeking payment and German driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen leading a winding up petition.

The absence of Arrows from the 2003 line-up caused concern among some rivals at the continuing dangers to the sport of the harsh financial climate.

Minardi, British American Racing, Jordan and Jaguar have all laid off staff this year while Arrows are in danger of becoming the second failure after the French Prost team folded in January.

"People have got to start taking the issue of there possibly not being enough cars on the grid in future pretty seriously," Jordan's business development director Ian Phillips told The Guardian newspaper.

"It could drop from 20 to 16 cars by the start of the 2004 season and if something isn't done urgently then I would say there is a fair chance of that happening."

2003 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

ENTRY LIST December 2, 2002

N°	DRIVER	TEAM	CONSTRUCTOR
1	MICHAEL SCHUMACHER (D)	SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO	FERRARI
2	RUBENS BARRICHELLO (BR)	SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO	FERRARI
3	JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (CO)	BMW WILLIAMSF1 TEAM	WILLIAMS BMW
4	RALF SCHUMACHER (D)	BMW WILLIAMSF1 TEAM	WILLIAMS BMW
5	DAVID COULTHARD (GB)	WEST MCLAREN MERCEDES	MCLAREN MERCEDES
6	KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN (FIN)	WEST MCLAREN MERCEDES	MCLAREN MERCEDES
7	JARNO TRULLI (I)	MILD SEVEN RENAULT F1 TEAM	RENAULT
8	FERNANDO ALONSO (E)	MILD SEVEN RENAULT F1 TEAM	RENAULT
9	NICK HEIDFELD (D)	SAUBER PETRONAS	SAUBER PETRONAS
10	HEINZ-HARALD FRENTZEN (D)	SAUBER PETRONAS	SAUBER PETRONAS
11	GIANCARLO FISICHELLA (I)	JORDAN FORD	JORDAN FORD
12	TBA	JORDAN FORD	JORDAN FORD
14	MARK WEBBER (AUS)	JAGUAR RACING	JAGUAR COSWORTH
15	ANTONIO PIZZONIA (BR)	JAGUAR RACING	JAGUAR COSWORTH
16	JACQUES VILLENEUVE (CDN)	LUCKY STRIKE BAR HONDA	BAR HONDA
17	JENSON BUTTON	LUCKY STRIKE BAR HONDA	BAR HONDA
18	TBA	TBA MINARDI TBA	MINARDI COSWORTH
19	TBA	TBA MINARDI TBA	MINARDI COSWORTH
20	OLIVIER PANIS (F)	PANASONIC TOYOTA RACING	TOYOTA
21	CHRISTIANO DA MATTA (BR)	PANASONIC TOYOTA RACING	TOYOTA

An application to compete in the 2003 Championship was also received from Arrows Grand Prix International but was declined for reasons which have been communicated to the Arrows team.

December 2, 2002

Formula 1's governing body, the FIA, has today revealed the full entry list for the 2003 World Championship and the big news is that Arrows' request to compete next year has been rejected. A brief statement by the FIA said: "An application to compete in the 2003 Championship was received from Arrows Grand Prix International, but was declined for reasons which have been communicated to the Arrows team."

Arrows missed six races in total in 2002, although it did 'attempt' to qualify in France, although without much effort - and the outfit also appeared in Belgium, albeit for only the first day before returning to base after advice from its lawyers.

The 'will they race or won't they' saga, which ran from the British GP onwards, was a big embarrassment to the sport and, with the team's future still the subject of much debate, it appears that the FIA has been forced to take action, by refusing admission to the 2003 World Championship.

The rest of the 2003 entry-list contains few surprises and, on the driver front, all but three places remain to be confirmed for next year - one at Jordan, and two seats at Minardi.

As is widely known, the Jordan team has still to confirm a major title sponsor, following the exit of Deutsche Post, which was announced in mid-November, while Minardi's title sponsor has also to be firmed up, hence the omission of KL.

2003 FIA Formula One World Championship entry list:

   Driver		Team 		Constructor
1. Michael Schumacher Germany Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
2. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro

3. Juan Pablo Montoya Colombia BMW WilliamsF1 
4. Ralf Schumacher Germany BMW WilliamsF1 

5. David Coulthard Britain West McLaren-Mercedes
6. Kimi Raikkonen Finland West McLaren-Mercedes

7. Jarno Trulli Italy Mild Seven Renault F1 Team
8. Fernando Alonso Spain Mild Seven Renault F1 Team

9. Nick Heidfeld Germany Sauber Petronas
10. Heinz-Harald Frentzen Germany Sauber Petronas

11. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Jordan Ford
12. TBA TBA Jordan Ford

14. Mark Webber Australia Jaguar Racing Cosworth
15. Antonio Pizzonia Brazil Jaguar Racing Cosworth

16. Jacques Villeneuve Canada Lucky Strike BAR Honda
17. Jenson Button Britain Lucky Strike BAR Honda

18. TBA TBA Minardi Cosworth
19. TBA TBA Minardi Cosworth

20. Olivier Panis France Panasonic Toyota Racing
21. Cristiano da Matta Brazil Panasonic Toyota Racing

In accordance with Article 60 of the 2003 Formula One Sporting Regulations, drivers may be nominated and/or changed until 16.00 hrs on 6 March 2003.

Minardi confirm Cosworth engine deal

Monday December 2, 2002
Source: Yahoo Sports

LONDON - Minardi will use Cosworth engines next season, the Formula One team's principal Paul Stoddart said on Monday.

"The engine will give us a significant increase in horsepower over the engine that we had this year and also a nice reduction in weight," the Australian said at the annual Autosport awards ceremony in London.

"Simply put, it gives Minardi the most competitive engine it has had in its 19 year history."

Stoddart said the contract with the Ford-owned engine maker had been agreed and was for one year. Cosworth will also supply Ford-owned Jaguar and Jordan in 2003.

Minardi, ninth overall in 2002 thanks to two points scored by Australian Mark Webber, had a free supply of Asiatech engines last season but that company has since closed down.

Test role for Japanese driver

November 29, 2002

FORMULA One outfit BAR Honda have offered Japanese driver Kosuke Matsuura the chance to test with the team at the Jerez circuit in Spain next month.

Matsuura, 23, was runner-up in this year's German Formula Three Championship and can now look forward to three days of testing at Jerez from December 15.

David Richards, BAR team principal, said in a statement: "Kosuke is an extremely confident young talent and we congratulate him on his achievements this year."

Yasuhiro Wada, general manager of Honda's motor sport division, added: "I applaud Kosuke Matsuura on his efforts in German Formula 3 over the last two years, and am very pleased that he will be participating in a Formula One test.

"I'd like to continue to strengthen our international links to enable graduates from our driver development programs, such as Takuma Sato and Kosuke Matsuura, to perform on world motor sport's biggest stage."

Coulthard quickest in Valencia testing

29 Nov 2002 2002
Source: Yahoo Sports

VALENCIA, Spain - Briton David Coulthard finished fastest of three drivers on the final day of Formula One testing at the Spanish circuit of Valencia.

Coulthard, who finished fifth for McLaren in this year's world championship, worked on developing his current car after his team revealed they will not use their new machine in the opening four races of next year.

His lap of one minute and 27.430 seconds was almost a second faster than Williams rival Marc Gene, who completed the most laps with 57, while Italian Jarno Trulli was third for Renault.

Ferrari were also in action in Italy, with Brazilian Luciano Burti testing out parts for the 2003 car at their Mugello test circuit.

Webber team-mate writes off Jaguar

AUSTRALIA's Mark Webber has driven his Jaguar to second fastest in Formula One testing here, but once again has been upstaged by his controversial new team-mate.

Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia destroyed a $US70,000 ($126,057) Jaguar saloon car in a spectacular crash as he gave three passengers a ride at the test track.

"I was in the car, I was driving it but I'm okay," said the 23-year-old.

Jaguar spokesman Nav Sidhu said Pizzonia, who makes his grand prix debut in Australia in March, rolled the luxury car after accelerating flat out into the first corner of the Circuit de Catalunya.

None of the passengers sustained serious injury but the car, brought back on a flatbed truck with the roof caved in and rear windows smashed, was declared a write off.

"They went off at around 155m/ph and somersaulted into a tyre wall, so it was certainly not a small shunt. But they are all fine," said Sidhu.

"Antonio was driving an S-type R for a promotional activity that we are undertaking for a magazine. From having seen the footage, it looks like he went into the first corner too fast and lost control of the car.

Sidhu said the driver, who went to the medical centre after the accident, is due to continue testing at the circuit today.

"They are all a bit shocked as one would expect. There is probably a bit of bruising which will manifest itself overnight," added the spokesman.

Pizzonia joined Jaguar last month after previously being the Williams test driver. He has a reputation for being very quick on the track, and was fastest in testing at Barcelona on Wednesday, but with a few rough edges.

Popularly nicknamed "Jungle Boy" in Britain because he comes from the Brazilian Amazon city of Manaus, Pizzonia is seen as one of Formula One's bright new prospects.

The accident capped what Sidhu admitted had been a "Week from Hell" for the Ford-owned team, with a swathe of redundancies announced last week followed by the abrupt dismissal of Jaguar principal Niki Lauda on Tuesday.

The team's testing has also been difficult, with Webber having limited track time on Tuesday and Wednesday due to problems with the new Cosworth engine.

Italian driver Luca Badoer drove his Ferrari to the quickest time on the third day of testing.

Webber was more than a second and-a-half behind Badoer's time of 1min 17.141.

Meanwhile, at Valencia, Finland's McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen was quickest setting a time of 1:10.673 after 109 laps with team-mate David Coulthard second fastest with 1:11.286.

Barcelona times:

1. Luca Badoer (Ita) Ferrari 1min 17.141sec, 2. Mark Webber (Aus) Jaguar 1:18.692, 3. Oliver Panis (Fra) Toyota 1:19.129, 4. Anthony Davidson (Gbr) BAR 1:19.536, 5. Cristiano Da Matta (Bra) Toyota 1:20.400, 6. Antonio Pizzonia (Bra) Jaguar 1:21.190.

Valencia times:

1. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren 1:10.673, 2. David Coulthard (Gbr) McLaren 1:11.286, 3. Juan Pablo Montoya (Col) Williams 1:12.147, 4. Marc Gene (Spa) Williams 1:13.510, 5. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Sauber 1:13.746, 6. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Williams 1:14.004, 7. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Renault 1:14.175

Barcelona test - day one: 26 November.

Source: Yahoo Sports
November 26, 2002

Veteran Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer set the quickest time today [Tuesday] during testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.

Badoer completed 83 laps in the Ferrari F2002, while working on a tyre development programme for next year. His best time was a 1 minute 18.889 seconds, nearly a second up on Brazilian, Antonio Pizzonia, who was second.

Pizzonia had a successful day in his first outing as an official Jaguar driver. He completed a solid 68 laps and second overall was a good reward at the end of day one. His team-mate, Mark Webber though had a less productive day after mechanical problems kept him confined to the garage. The Australian thus failed to set a proper time after venturing out just three times.

Olivier Panis was third in his first outing for Toyota, driving the intermediary TF102B car, while team-mate Cristiano da Matta, was fifth, although technical problems sidelined him for half the day.

The two Toyota's sandwiched the sole BAR-Honda, driven by test driver Anthony Davidson, the only other car at the track.

Leading times (26 Nov) - Barcelona:

1. Luca Badoer Ferrari 1m 18.889s 83 laps
2. Antonio Pizzonia Jaguar-Cosworth 1m 19.797s 68 laps
3. Olivier Panis Toyota 1m 19.854s 43 laps
4. Anthony Davidson BAR-Honda 1m 21.733s 58 laps
5. Cristiano da Matta Toyota 1m 21.925s 43 laps
6. Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth n/a 3 laps

Montoya fastest as Formula One returns to action

Source: Yahoo Sports
November 26, 2002

VALENCIA, Spain - Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya claimed the fastest time of the day when Formula One's testing period began in Spain on Tuesday.

The teams have remained at their European factories since the season ending Japanese Grand Prix last month, but nine of the 11 outfits on the grid returned to action to test parts for next season.

Williams driver Montoya, who finished third in the world championship behind dominant Ferrari pairing German Michael Schumacher and Brazilian Rubens Barrichello this year, was fastest with a time of one minute and 13.346 seconds.

The McLaren pairing of Austrian Alexander Wurz and Finn Kimi Raikkonen were second and third, while Italian Giorgio Pantano claimed the fourth fastest time in the second Williams.

German Nick Heidfeld and Italian Jarno Trulli were the only two other race drivers in action, finishing fifth and sixth respectively for Sauber and Renault.

Ferrari, meanwhile, topped the times at the other test, at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, as Italian Luca Badoer out-paced six other drivers.

Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia, who had his first test for Jaguar since signing to partner Australian Mark Webber at the team next year, finished the day behind Badoer in second place.

Frenchman Olivier Panis and Brazilian Cristiano Da Matta made their debuts for Toyota and finished third and fifth respectively.

Briton Anthony Davidson was fourth for British American Racing, but Webber suffered a tortuous opening day in his Jaguar, completing just three laps and failing to set a time.

Leading times (26 Nov) - Valencia:

1. Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW 1m 13.346s 52 laps
2. Kimi Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes 1m 13.574s 57 laps
3. Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas 1m 15.017s 48 laps
4. Alex Wurz McLaren-Mercedes 1m 15.097s 15 laps
5. Jarno Trulli Renault 1m 15.376s 36 laps
6. Giorgio Pantano Williams-BMW 1m 15.531s 69 laps
7. Marc Gene Williams-BMW 1m 15.958s 12 laps
8. Franck Montagny Minardi-European 1m 17.031s 28 laps
9. Sergei Zlobin Minardi-European 1m 17.302s 29 laps

FORMULA ONE UPDATE

Monday, Nevember 25 2002
Source: Yahoo Sports

Formula One's new faces begin the countdown to the 2003 season on Tuesday as Ferrari's five times world champion Michael Schumacher settles in for an extended winter break.

Schumacher, multiple record-breaker in 2002, has been relaxing at home with his family since the season ended on October 13 and the German intends to stay away from the racetrack until well into the New Year.

"He probably won't be in the car again until mid January," said his spokeswoman Sabine Kehm as Ferrari prepared to hit the track in Barcelona on Tuesday when the six-week post season testing ban ends.

A Ferrari spokesman said Italian test driver Luca Badoer would kick off tyre testing in Barcelona for Formula One's dominant team with Brazilian Luciano Burti working on components at Mugello in Italy from Wednesday.

Jordan, with a Ford Cosworth engine replacing their 2002 Honda power plant next season, will also be sitting out testing until they have their new EJ13 car ready in January.

The new season starts in Australia on March 9 with revamped qualifying rules and a new system awarding points to the top eight finishers.

"The Ford Cosworth engine is comprehensively different from the Honda we used this year, so there will have to be an entirely new chassis and a new gearbox before we can run it," said Jordan's design director Henri Durand.

"When you have a radically different package, it's irrelevant and impractical to build an interim car."

Toyota, with an all-new lineup of Brazilian debutant Cristiano da Matta and France's Olivier Panis, will join Ferrari in Barcelona along with Jaguar and British American Racing.

Da Matta, the newly-crowned CART champion, will be given plenty of time in this year's TF102 to get him up to speed as quickly as possible while Panis, making his Toyota debut after leaving BAR, will be in a hybrid TF102B.

The Brazilian will then head for Toyota's southern French test track of Le Castellet on December 2 for a week in the more recent development car.

Jaguar's new pairing of Australian Mark Webber and Antonio Pizzonia, another Brazilian debutant, will get down to serious work after replacing Briton Eddie Irvine and Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa at the Ford-owned team.

Both will be testing Cosworth's new 90 degree V10 engine ahead of the launch of the new R4 on January 13.

BAR will rely on Briton Anthony Davidson to test 'under the skin' systems such as transmission and electronic components until Briton Jenson Button can join the team when his contract with Renault expires at the end of the year.

Renault, with Italian Jarno Trulli at the wheel, are in Valencia with a hybrid car combining the new R23's engine and gearbox inside the aerodynamic package of last season's R202.

McLaren, Williams, Sauber and Minardi will also be in Valencia this week.

McLaren boast a full complement, with Finland's Kimi Raikkonen, Briton David Coulthard and Austrian test driver Alex Wurz all due on track this week.

At Williams, Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya returns from his honeymoon to test with Spaniard Marc Gene and young Italians Giorgio Pantano and Vitantonio Liuzzi.

The BMW-powered team need to replace Pizzonia, their tester last season, and are trying out a number of new faces.

Minardi, hoping to announce a Cosworth engine deal soon, have Russian tester Sergei Zlobin and French hopeful Franck Montagny in a 2001 PS01 car with a 2002 gearbox powered by their own Ford-based European V10 engines.

Arrows submit entry for 2003 championship

Source: Yahoo Sports
November 15, 2002

LONDON - The struggling Arrows Formula One team intend to race on next year after meeting an official deadline to enter the 2003 championship.

"We have entered," a team spokeswoman said on Friday. "The entry has gone in."

The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) had no comment other than saying that the official entry list for 2003 would be published in early December.

Arrows, who missed the last five of this year's 17 races, say they are now close to a rescue deal with a Germany-based group of investors after their financial problems threatened to submerge them.

The 2003 season starts in Australia in March.

FIA sources said earlier in the week that the 10 other teams that competed in the 2002 championship had all submitted their entries.

Each team must pay a substantial deposit with their application as well as listing provisional drivers and engine maker.

Arrows, who this week sought legal protection from creditors by seeking to go into administration while their future was resolved, still have plenty of problems to overcome.

Several key staff have left, including technical director Mike Coughlan and German driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen, whose name features on a winding up petition against the team.

Engine makers Cosworth have litigation against Arrows, the team's primary sponsor Orange have withdrawn from Formula One and there is a lingering question mark over their right to compete after missing races.

But the team said in a statement last Tuesday that they had agreed and signed contracts with the Germany-based investors "for the introduction of substantial new equity."

Minardi sign Russian as test driver

Source: Yahoo Sports
November 15, 2002

MOSCOW - Minardi have signed Russian Sergei Zlobin to be their test driver next year, the Formula One team's managing director Giancarlo Minardi said.
"We will work closely with Sergei so one day he could drive a Formula One car for us," Minardi told a news conference in Moscow after presenting his car to the Russian media.

"I can be more specific about his future in Formula One racing after we have a few tests in Valencia later this month."

Earlier this year, the 32-year-old Zlobin became the first Russian to test a Formula One car when he was given a run-out by Minardi at the team's training facility in Fiorano, Italy, as part of a sponsorship deal involving Russian gas giant Gazprom.

Minardi said he has yet to sign a contract with Gazprom for 2003. "But we're still talking, so hopefully we can finalise a deal in he near future."

The Italian also said he has not made a decision on his two drivers for next season.

FORMULA ONE UPDATE

Friday 8 November 2002

NEWS FROM THE TEAMS

SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO: TESTS IN SPAIN AND ITALY - (1st - 221 points)

Ferrari is working hard on its new wind tunnel and the engine test beds. The new car will probably be launched at the end of February and, like last year, it is possible that the team will start the new season with the F2002. Ross Brawn has recovered from his back problems and is now back at work. The Scuderia will be testing on two fronts before the end of the season, starting in Barcelona on 26 November with Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello mainly tyre testing. Later they will run in Jerez and Barcelona. Test driver Luca Badoer will run at Fiorano and Mugello, testing mechanical and electronic components for the new car. Ferrari is not commenting on the subject of a second test driver.

BMW WILLIAMSF1 TEAM: NEW DRIVERS TO BE ASSESSED - (2nd - 92 points)

The BMW Williams team will test Giorgio Pantano and Vitantonio Liuzzi at Valencia from 26 November for a three day assessment as part of the team's commitment to develop young driving talent. Pantono (23) was runner-up in the 2002 FIA Formula 3000 International Championship and Liuzzi (21), a former karting world champion, has just completed a season in the German F3 championship. Williams will be there for five days. Their schedule is for Juan Pablo Montoya, Marc Gene and Pantano to run on 26 November, after which the schedule runs 27th (Montoya, Gene, Pantano (am)/Liuzzi(pm)); 28th (Montoya, Gene and Liuzzi) then 29-30 (Gene). The programme will also include more testing of the new type P83 BMW V10 engine which has covered 1289km in the FW24 test car. The team will run from 3-5 December at Barcelona during the course of which Nico Rosberg, son of the 1982 world champion Keke Rosberg, will be given a run.

WEST McLAREN MERCEDES: TESTS PLANNED AT VALENCIA - (3rd - 65 points)

The McLaren Mercedes team is expected to start testing with two cars at Spain's Valencia circuit on 26 November, one being an interim test car with the revised transmission and rear-end package which will be evolved into the definitive MP4/17D which David Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen will race in the Australian Grand Prix next March. The second car used during the tests will be a standard-spec MP4/17. The team is expected to continue testing at Jerez during December. Raikkonen and Alex Wurz will drive on 26-27 November followed by Raikkonen/Coulthard on 28 November. The team then moves to Barcelona from 3-5 December and Jerez from 12-14 December.

MILD SEVEN RENAULT F1 TEAM: INTERIM CAR FOR SPAIN- (4th - 23 points)

The Renault team will take one interim development car and a standard R202 to the Valencia test from 26-28 November followed by Barcelona (3-5 December) and Jerez (10-14 December). Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso will share the driving. The interim car will feature next year's mechanical package which is being developed in preparation for the official launch of the R203 which is expected in January.

SAUBER PETRONAS: HEIDFELD FOR VALENCIA - (5th - 11 points)

The Sauber Petronas team will resume testing with Nick Heidfeld from 26 November in Valencia while Heinz-Harald Frentzen will have his first winter test with the team from 5-7 December at Jerez, sharing one chassis with Heidfeld. For the last of the three test sessions (11-13 December) Sauber will field two cars for both drivers.

The test programme will include components for the new C22, aerodynamic parts and tyres. The Ferrari typ 051 engine will only be available for the new car which should be ready by mid-January. In connection with the new testing regulations, the team is still debating the best way to go. Commented Peter Sauber: "It needs careful analysis to weigh up the benefits in terms of money and extra time on the race track against the disadvantages in terms of development. If we accept the ten days' restriction, then we would expand our programme on those ten days from one to two cars."

DHL JORDAN HONDA: NO INTERIM CAR - (6th - 9 points)

The Jordan squad, which will be switching to the 72-degree Cosworth V10 engine next season, is not building an interim test car but concentrating all its efforts on finalising the design of the new EJ-13 which should be ready for its official unveiling during the second full week of January.

JAGUAR RACING: NEW DRIVERS, ENGINE TO TEST - (7th - 8 points)

Newly recruited Jaguar drivers Mark Webber and Antonio Pizzonia will sample the team's interim test car fitted with the new 90-degree Cosworth V10 engine for the first time at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya between 26-28 November. The new Jaguar R4 will be officially unveiled on January 13 next, definitely in the UK.

LUCKY STRIKE BAR HONDA: DAVIDSON FOR BARCELONA - (8th - 7 points)

The BAR-Honda team will resume testing on 26 November at Barcelona where Anthony Davidson will be testing a number of systems for the new 005, particularly electronic software and sensors. Work on the new car continues and two chassis are close to completion. Technical director Geoff Willis said: "We have some interesting new parts for next year and have generated some innovative designs."

KL MINARDI ASIATECH : OLD CAR AT VALENCIA - (9th - 2 points)

Minardi will be testing at Valencia from 26-28 November using the old PS01 fitted with the old Cosworth engine, they aim to evaluate Frenchman Frank Montagny, winner of the 2001 Nissan Championship, and Sergei Zoblin. The team is in no hurry to disclose its drivers. Minardi has already received a 2002 72-degree V10 Cosworth engine and is planning to start the year with an evolution of the 2002 car fitted with this engine, although no official announcement has been made. Minardi is hoping that two other teams will decide to skip private testing in exchange for Friday morning tests on race weekend as the regulations will only permit this if three teams choose it.

PANASONIC TOYOTA RACING: DA MATTA TO HAVE FIRST TEST - (10th - 2 points)

Newly crowned CART champion Cristiano da Matta will have his first outing as a fully fledged member of the team at Barcelona from 26-28 November where he joins Olivier Panis for an intensive programme of testing. The drivers will used the interim development version of the TF102 fitted with next year's new V10 engine and the longitudinal seven-speed gearbox. The team will then test at Paul Ricard (2-5 December) and Barcelona (3-5 December) with one driver at each of the two circuits.

ORANGE ARROWS (11th - 2 points)

No news about the team's plans.

Da Matta leaves CART for Formula One

November 5, 2002
Source: Yahoo Sports

LONDON - Newly-crowned CART champion Cristiano da Matta will switch to Formula One next season after signing a two-year contract with Toyota.

The Japanese manufacturer confirmed the worst-kept secret in Formula One on Tuesday with a statement saying the 29-year-old Brazilian would partner French driver Olivier Panis in the team's second season.

Da Matta, who won his CART title for the Newman-Haas team, follows in the footsteps of Canadian Jacques Villeneuve and Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya in using the U.S. based championship as a stepping stone to grands prix.

"I have accomplished one of my goals by winning the CART driver's championship title...Now I am ready for the next challenge," Da Matta said in a statement.

The Brazilian, whose Newman/Haas team use Toyota engines, had been seen as the front-runner for the seat since he tested for Toyota in May.

However, he had sent out ambivalent signals, saying only last month that he was still undecided.

"I wouldn't want to go to Formula One just to participate. I am not going to make up the numbers," he had said earlier.

Toyota, debutants this season, will start 2003 with a completely new line-up after discarding Finland's Mika Salo and Briton Allan McNish.

"(Da Matta's) long-term partnership with Toyota and his natural driving talent will prove an essential asset to us as our Formula One programme enters an exciting new stage of development," said Tsutomu Tomita, chairman of Toyota Motorsport.

Da Matta is a comparatively late entrant to Formula One and arrives after failing to make the breakthrough from Formula 3000.

He went to America in 1997 to compete in the Indy Lights series and finished that season as rookie of the year in third place overall.

He moved up to CART in 1999 with the Arciero Wells team and joined Newman/Haas last year. The Brazilian has won seven times so far this season and taken seven poles.

Toyota's announcement leaves just Minardi, unless struggling Arrows manage to stay in business, with clear vacancies in Formula One for next season.

Mosley dismisses qualifying cost fears

LONDON - Max Mosley, head of Formula One's governing body, has dismissed a suggestion that next year's rule changes for grand prix qualifying could send costs soaring for teams.

"The claim that teams will build special qualifying cars which will drive up costs by millions is nonsense," the International Automobile Federation (FIA) president said on Monday.

"In any event, teams have to race the car that was scrutineered," he added.

"If there were substantial differences between the car used for qualifying and the car used for the race, the team would have problems with the scrutineers."

Mosley was responding to comments made by McLaren's influential designer Adrian Newey, who told the BBC in an interview that the rule changes announced on October 28 were "not thought through".

The changes were aimed at both livening up a sport suffering from dwindling television audiences after a season of Ferrari domination and to save costs for teams struggling in tough economic conditions.

Newey suggested that some of the richer teams could build special lightweight cars, perhaps stripped even of their radiators, for one-lap qualifying.

"There is a real chance that people will build qualifying cars," said Newey. "At the moment you need a car that is capable of 12 laps, with short turnaround between each run.

"Under the new rules, there is one flying lap and then you put it (the car) away again.

"Engine-wise, that means lower mileage so you can take things to more of an extreme. Revs is obvious but there are others as well.

"With the chassis, cooling springs to mind. You don't need to worry about heavy radiators, and taken to an extreme you might not have any radiators at all."

Mosley disputed that there would be much to change.

"Teams already change a number of elements on the car for qualifying, hence the difference in lap times between qualifying and the race.

"The best advice is that anything that could be done for a single lap during the course of one hour could be done for two, three or even four single laps -- i.e. for the previous system."

Newey said teams needed to do something to close down loopholes in the regulations.

"The teams need to sit down and say 'let's not try to be clever with each other -- what avenues are open and how can we close them?"

Team principals, who agreed the new qualifying format at a meeting of the FIA's Formula One commission, are due to meet again on December 4 to discuss changes to the technical regulations that could reduce costs.

Measures to be considered are expected to include the banning of some electronic aids such as two-way telemetry, which enables teams to modify cars engine systems and send instructions while they are lapping.

"The only way you can overtake is by changing both the cars and the tracks," Jaguar boss Niki Lauda said after the last meeting. "We have to do the cars."

McLaren designer fears F1 costs will rise

November 4, 2002
Source: Yahoo Sports

LONDON - Changes to Formula One qualifying could lead to soaring costs rather than savings for teams, McLaren designer Adrian Newey has said.

Newey said the rule changes announced on October 28 were "not thought through" and suggested that some of the richer teams could build special lightweight cars for one-lap qualifying only.

"There is a real chance that people will build qualifying cars," Newey told the BBC on Monday. "At the moment you need a car that is capable of 12 laps, with short turnaround between each run.

"Under the new rules, there is one flying lap and then you put it (the car) away again.

"Engine-wise, that means lower mileage so you can take things to more of an extreme. Revs is obvious but there are others as well.

"With the chassis, cooling springs to mind. You don't need to worry about heavy radiators, and taken to an extreme you might not have any radiators at all."

Newey said teams needed to do something to close down loopholes in the regulations.

"The teams need to sit down and say 'let's not try to be clever with each other -- what avenues are open and how can we close them?"

Team principals are due to meet again on December 4 to discuss changes to the technical regulations that could reduce costs and improve the show.

Nico Rosberg to test with Williams in December

Thursday October 31, 2002

LONDON - Nico Rosberg, son of former champion Keke, will test a Williams Formula One car in Barcelona on December 3, the team said on Thursday.

The 17-year-old Finn was invited to test the 2002 FW24 car after winning the Formula BMW ADAC championship in Germany earlier this month.

Father Keke won his 1982 title with Williams.

F1 COMMISSION PRESS CONFERENCE

MONDAY 28TH 0CTOBER, 2002

WITH
MAX MOSLEY, FIA PRESIDENT
BERNIE ECCLESTONE, FOM PRESIDENT

Opening statement by FIA President, Max Mosley

I’ll go straight to what has come out of today’s meeting.

First of all, qualifying. At Formula One races from now on there will be two qualifying sessions on Friday and Saturday from 13.00 hrs to 14.00 hrs. Qualifying will be one flying lap for each car, cars will run one at a time. The running order on Friday will follow the Championship (at the first race of 2003 we will use the 2002 Championship) with the Championship leader going out first and second in the championship running second and so on. The running order on Saturday will be determined by the Friday times which do not count for the grid so that the fastest on Friday will run last on Saturday, the second fastest second last and so on.

This is a completely new system for qualifying which is going to put pressure on drivers to get the job done in just one single flying lap, each of them going out individually, one at a time.

The practice schedule will stay the same as it is at present. That is to say from 11.00 hrs 12.00 hrs on Friday, and then of course the qualifying session. On Saturday from 09.00 hrs to 9.45 and10.15 to 11.00 hrs. But, if by December 15th at least three teams undertake to the FIA to run no more than 10 car-days of private testing between 1st March and 1st November, the teams which have given this undertaking will be able to test at each event from 09.00 hrs to 11.00 hrs on Friday morning. They may use their spare car and their test driver during this period, so it becomes a complete test session from 09.00 to 11.00 and then a normal practice session open to al the teams from 11.00 until 12.00.

We’re going to do this provided of course at least three teams undertake to restrict themselves to 10 days of private testing during the period 1st March to 1st November. Next we are changing the Formula One points system.

Instead of the present 10, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1, it will be 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. So down to eighth places, with everybody except first getting two more points than they get currently, and then the seventh and the eighth respectively getting two points and one point. That will have the effect of making it more difficult for a championship winner to emerge quickly.

Then team orders: team orders which interfere with the race result are prohibited. There will be no more team orders which can interfere with the race and the result of the race.

The Belgian Grand Prix. There was not unanimous agreement by the teams to run at the 2003 Belgian Grand Prix without tobacco advertising. This event has, therefore, been removed from the championship calendar for 2003.

Finally, on tyres, each team will be allowed two different dry tyres at each event. Previously, as you know, each tyre company would provide two tyres only for all its teams and each team had to choose a tyre from the same two tyres. They will no longer have that restriction. Those are the important points to emphasise. Apart from that, we’ve discussed a number of other issues, including the problem of overtaking and it was agreed that we need to look not only at the chassis but also at circuit configuration to increase the ease with which teams can overtake. But everyone recognises that before you can overtake a car, first you have to catch it.

We also discussed the HANS system which is a big change for the drivers and we decided that everybody will have to wear the HANS system in 2003, but they can modify it if they have physical difficulty fitting it, provided the Safety Commission agree the modification. That is a very brief outline of what was decided. A press release setting out the points that I’ve just been through will be available very shortly. In fact, as you leave the meeting you’ll be able to pick it up. Now, both Bernie and I will be happy to try and answer any question that anybody might like to put.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: Two questions for you both, please. Could you just clarify when they run in qualifying on Friday, will they run for the whole season in the previous season’s World Championship order or will they run in the running world championship order, race to race?

MM: It will be the World Championship running order. In the very first race we will use the previous year’s Championship. After that, as the Championship progresses, so will the running order.

Q: And the other question was will the car going out on its second run, on its ‘out lap’, actually be running at the same time as the first car coming in on its ‘in lap’, because of the mathematics of running 20 cars, you’re not going to quite get it done in an hour, are you?

MM: It will be done well within the hour. The scheme will vary from circuit to circuit as the lap times vary but in principle as the first car crosses the line at the end of its flying lap the next car will go out. The precise schedule and the way it will all be arranged with a slot for each car will be sorted out circuit by circuit, but the essence of it is that when a car is on its flying lap there will be no other car on a flying lap at the same time.

Q: Clearly you’ve got some changes here but they are not nearly as radical as some of those that were mooted. How confident are you and why are you confident that these changes will be enough to bring viewers back to Formula One?

MM: Well, I’m going to ask Bernie in a moment to give his view on this, but what we have to achieve is a fine line - on the one side not doing enough and on the other side doing too much. There were some very radical proposals being discussed during the last three or four weeks and even quite recently we were talking about perhaps reversing the first 10 places on the grid and giving them championship points for qualifying. But on balance it seems that what we’re doing is likely to produce a significant change and it would have been a mistake to do too much in one go. But, Bernie, what’s your view?

BE: Firstly, I don’t really know why there’s been a decline in the television audience for sport in general, most programmes have declined. We’ve held up much better than lots of other sports, we’re talking about worldwide apart from just Formula One. And we hope that what’s happened will liven up things - not that I think it needs it. We are Formula One, not touring car championships, so we don’t change the regulations, we want to stay as we are and make racing racing. And I’m quite sure that both Ron and Frank who are obviously competitive teams are not happy being where they are, they’re not used to losing, they’re winners by heart and I’m sure that they’re going to chase Ferrari next year.

Q: Is there any way back in for Spa if the Belgian Government changes its tobacco legislation? And there’s also some speculation that if F1 doesn’t happen, maybe a chance of a Champ Car race there? Is there any possibility of that?

BE: What is going to happen I think is the Government is quite convinced that the laws will be changed for next year and that we will be back in 2004. I don’t believe we are going to see CART racing there at all.

Q: Could you explain the decision regarding Spa?

MM: The decision on Francorchamps is very simple. The World Motorsport Council decided that unless all the teams were prepared to agree to race there without tobacco sponsorship then it could not be in the calendar because that would have been a breach of the arrangements that have been made with the teams.

Our proposed tobacco ban doesn’t come in until 2006. The teams said ‘no we’re not prepared to race without our current sponsorship’ this is because sponsors who were paying for the teams to race would not have been given what they had paid for. Therefore this event comes off the calendar. It could come back on in 2004 if there’s an exemption.

As far as the EU is and the rest of the world is concerned the date that is being talked about for a complete ban of tobacco sponsorship in Formula One is 2006, not 2003.

Q: What about swapping with the Austrian Grand Prix. Is that not possible?

MM: We can’t change the calendar around in that way for various reasons.

Q: What does this do for your costs - what kind of financial impact does it have for you?

MM: The biggest financial impact on the entire Formula One field is the testing change because the provision that teams that don’t want to test extensively have the option to have an extra two hours on the Friday is very valuable.

We think that will induce a large number of teams not to go for unlimited testing as they do at the moment. This will save a great deal of money and we hope that the advantages of following the test scheme where they run for two hours on Friday will be so great that eventually all the teams will adopt it. The saving then would be between two and three hundred million dollars a year for Formula One as a whole.

BE: Max, I think it’s better to point out it’s nothing to do with whether the teams are rich or poor, or big or small or whatever they might be, this is open to everyone and as Max quite rightly points out probably when they go away and have a look at things they’ll realise that perhaps the best thing to do is abandon all this expensive testing and concentrate on what’s being proposed.

MM: Absolutely.

Q: What about the proposals to reduce to number of engines and all the cost-saving proposals that were being discussed in Japan?

MM: The only cost saving proposal that we’ve got through so far is this reduction in testing and even that is voluntary, but we think that testing was the biggest single item. And we’ll keep on plugging away with the engines but at least we’ve got the single engine through for 2004. We’d like to see more, but it’s the testing that’s the really big, big cost saving.

Q: Two questions. Why was the idea of adding ballast thrown out and also will there just be 16 races next year or is there another circuit coming?

MM: Answering the second question first, there will be just 16 races. The ballast was thrown out because people felt that it was probably better to try and find a solution where we didn’t put anyone under any sort of difficulty. There was an evolution of the ballast idea which was to make people who got points in the world championship to run with more fuel in qualifying. But in the end I think we all felt we’d really like to see whoever it may be, Schumacher or whoever, running in the best possible condition, going as fast as he possibly could, without any form of restriction. We hope the new qualifying system will shake the grid up so that we’ll see some of the top drivers a bit behind and having to overtake which could lead to quite a bit of interest.

BE: I think it was thrown out, basically, because it was too heavy so they decided to throw it overboard. But what we’re trying to do is to encourage the teams that are capable of beating, if we’re talking about Ferrari, to beat Ferrari rather than trying to give them a handout. They don’t want a handout. They want to beat their competitors fair and square.

MM: It remains to be seen whether they succeed.

Q: How quickly will the FIA police the team orders ban, because obviously it’s fairly easy for a team to deliberately botch a pit stop or delay a car mechanically rather than instruct them to pull over on the last lap?

MM: We will watch them very carefully and if there is suspision then we’ll take it in front of the stewards and invite the stewards to draw an inference. But the teams themselves I think have realised that going on with team orders as we’ve seen them this year is completely against the interests of everyone in Formula One so I don’t think we’ll see that in the future.

BE: I think as Max has pointed out to the teams, if it’s possible for you (the questioner), as you’ve just said, to see what somebody’s just done, then, for sure, it’s possible for the Stewards.

Q: There might be a slight perception with sporting fans, certainly in this country, that Grand Prix is just getting boring. Is that fair?

MM: Bernie’s the expert …

BE: I’ve been around regrettably people think much too long and I haven’t seen an awful lot of changes. All this business about overtaking. It’s never been that. This year, I suppose, we’ve had a team and a driver that’s quite outstanding and it’s a pity there was not somebody else in the team that was just as outstanding as Michael, but I wouldn’t say it’s boring by any means. Nobody watches 125 motorcycle racing where they overtake 50 times a lap so Formula One’s still Formula One and people that understand Formula One appreciate how it’s run.

MM: I think we’ve been a bit spoilt, this is one of the problems we’ve had. Of the last seven years we had five that went to the last race before the championship was decided, so people got used to that sort of very close racing. I think with what’s happening now, with the qualifying plus a substantial advantage to those teams that follow our test procedures plus this liberalisation of the tyres, it will be surprising if we don’t se close racing next season. In the end, as I’ve said many, many times, it’s something outside the control of the governing body. Close racing, competitive racing depends on the leading teams all doing a good job, and not just one of them. But they seem very confident they’re going to. It remains to be seen whether they succeed, but I think they probably will.

Q: Have you any reason that the big three, the richest three, teams will actually sign up for the deal with testing on a Friday morning or will thy continue go their own way and test as much as they like?

MM: At the moment they’re not showing any desire to sign up to it but we believe that when the system evolves and they see what happens I think you’ll find that they will sign up to it. Everybody for this year has to sign up by 15th December if they want to so once they’ve committed they’ll be stuck out in the cold for the whole of the season if they don’t sign up for the Friday morning testing by 15th December.

Q: But it may suit them to continue to do their 100 days’ testing out in Fiorano or wherever.

MM: It may well do if they can afford it. It’s the other teams that can’t. What we hope is that the system will demonstrate such an advantage for the teams that have signed up that the following year even the richest teams will sign up. But the immediate priority is to look after the teams that really shouldn’t be wasting a great deal of money or don’t want to waste a great deal of money.

Q: Can I just ask as whether you think this will have any effect on the manufacturers’ idea to go their own way and have the GPWC?

MM: I really think that it’s difficult to take that too seriously. I don’t want to be unkind, but the thing is that they’re talking about going their own way in 2008. Now I don’t know if I’ll be here in 2008 or Bernie will be here in 2008. The only certainty is that none of the current members of GPWC, the individuals, will still be in their jobs in 2008, with the possible exception of Luca di Montezemelo.

On top of that, we’ve had all this talk for two years, but we have no sporting regulations from them, we have no technical regulations, there is nothing to show that there is any serious intention to do anything even in 2008. In any event it is all so far into the future it’s difficult to predict what is really going to happen so it’s difficult to get too interested in what they say. They don’t appear so far to be serious.

BE: They’ve all got super navigation equipment in their cars, they just don’t seem to have plotted which way they want to go.

Q: Has there been any discussion at all about the reduction in the electronics and the influence that that has on the car and giving a bit more back to the drivers?

MM: Yes. Those items require the unanimous agreement of the teams. The most obvious example would be that the two-way telemetry with the cars ought probably to be got rid of. And what we’ve arranged is that the teams will meet at the beginning of December and try and reach unanimous agreement on a whole list of measures of that kind that won’t make any particular difference on the outside but which could save money and make things easier, more and economical for them.

Q: At the last race in Suzuka there were five teams talking about taking the FOA to arbitration over money paid to Minardi. Is there any development on that? Was that discussed?

MM: Whether that actually goes all the way remains to be seen. I think it’s highly undesirable that it should but it’s not actually a matter over which we have any control. BE: In short what actually happened was we paid Minardi because the FIA told us we had to, but anyway, we did pay them, and at the time most of the teams agreed this is what should happen. They’ve thought about it and thought maybe they should have had the money. As they can’t agree they decided to seek arbitration to find out what happens. That means in the worst case we’ll have to pay twice if we lose.

Q: What do you say to the ordinary racing fan who isn’t into the technical details of the sport about tyre strategies or the braking. I don’t understand any of that. What do you say to those people who want to sit down on a Sunday afternoon, watch a car race, not a car procession and not really a chess match on Tarmac?

MM: What I’d say to them is they ought before they watch on Sunday if they spare the time watch the qualifying on Saturday because they will see a completely new form of qualifying which in all probability will result in several of the fastest drivers in their efforts to get at the front of the grid making a mistake and being much further back than they would normally expect to be.

On Sunday that will result in those drivers being forced to overtake a number of cars before they can get to the front if indeed they can get to the front at all. At the moment, those drivers would start on the front of the grid and probably just drive away. On top of that I would say to that fan that, listening to the teams that compete at the front, other than Ferrari, they’re all very confident they’re going to be able to take Ferrari on next year. They’ve done it in the past, and they point out that it took Ferrari 21 years before they started winning like they have this year.

You’ve got several teams that have won repeatedly and won World Championships in the last 10 years currently behind Ferrari who’ve every intention of getting in front. So, obviously, the fan that you’re talking about will make his judgement at the first two or three races, but I think he will find that, having watched the first two or three races and the qualifying, he’ll find it very difficult not to watch the rest of the season.

BE: The answer is, I think, well, quite simple. If I watch golf, I know who to put my one on. The best people win. If I watch tennis, it’s the same thing. The same people keep winning. If I watch any of the major sports, generally there’s a superstar amongst them and you can guarantee that’s the one that’s going to win. I don’t know any World Championships at the moment that have gone down to the wire like, as Max said, we’ve had five out of seven in the past, you think of motorcycle racing when Valentino (Rossi) won the championship before the season finished. As I said, it goes for almost everything.

Q: Again, it’s technical detail. Watching qualifying is not sitting down on Sunday afternoon just watching the race. You have to be an enthusiast … I’m speaking for someone who just wants to watch a car race, rather than being involved in tyres, qualifying and that kind of thing.

BE: Fifty per cent of the race viewing audience watch qualifying. Don’t forget that’s on a Saturday when people are perhaps shopping or doing something else. So I think you’ll find there’s a big, big interest in qualifying. As Max said, this new change is probably going to make it a lot more exciting than it was in the past.

MM: I think you’ll get a big audience on the Saturday and, interestingly, the television companies are now talking about covering the Friday qualifying, the one that determines the order of running on the Saturday. And that shows that they think people are going to want to watch, so, hopefully, they’re right. But we shall see. Most people work on Friday, but it’s still good if it’s shown for those that are not working.

BE: And, hopefully, we’re going to be able to be effectively the host broadcaster so you’ll get a lot more cameras. We’ve got about 80 cameras at a race, all the cars have two or three onboard cameras, which at the moment you don’t see on free-over-air television. You have to subscribe to one of the pay companies and in England it’s obviously Sky. So we can make it a lot more exciting because there are a lot more things go on that you don’t currently see so I think you’ll see a big, big, big increase in viewing audience for free-over-air television.

THE 2003 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX

Paris, October 29, 2002

On October 1st, 2002, the FIA World Motor Sport Council decided that unless the teams competing in the 2003 FIA Formula One World Championship agreed unanimously to participate in the 2003 Belgian Grand Prix without tobacco sponsorship, this event could not remain part of the World Championship. The decision was endorsed the following day by the FIA General Assembly.

Yesterday the teams confirmed that none of them was prepared to race at Spa with a tobacco ban in place. Several of the teams currently have contracts which preclude them racing at any additional events without tobacco sponsorship. The 2003 event has therefore been definitively removed from the World Championship.

The FIA and the teams hope that measures can be enacted in Belgium which will allow the event to comply with the proposed world-wide ban on tobacco sponsorship scheduled to come in to effect at the end of 2006. It could then be considered for inclusion in the 2004 World Championship.

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