NEWS ARCHIVE
TAKUMA SATO
There has been a lot of negative comment in recent days about the recent performances of Jordan driver Takuma Sato.
BRITISH GP TIMETABLE ANNOUNCED
The British GP organizers have now published the program of events and the racing follows much the same lines as most Grands Prix with supporting events from the Formula 3000 teams and from the Porsche Michelin Supercup.
IT'S PARTY TIME IN THE UK
The British will be celebrating the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in the course of the next four days with Monday and Tuesday having been declared national holidays and a string of events being planned all over the country.
LAUDA RUMORS
There have been rumors doing the rounds about the future of Niki Lauda at Jaguar Racing for some time - but there is nothing much to back them up.
POOK TALKS TO FORMULA 3000 TEAMS
There are rumors in the United States that CART chief executive Chris Pook has been talking to a number of Formula 3000 team about the possibility of them switching to the US-based open-wheeler series next year.
THOSE NAUGHTY DUTCHMEN...
Jos Verstappen has an extraordinary amount of support from his fellow countrymen and there was more than a little discontent over the winter when Jos was dumped at the last moment by the Arrows team to make way for Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH - RUN THREE CARS
CART has been going through a bit of a rough patch of late with several teams struggling to make ends meet in the difficult economic circumstances.
MORE ABOUT THE CHANGES AT MONACO
The Automobile Club de Monaco gave details of the work that is being planned for the circuit in the years ahead.
NO WORD YET FROM LE MANS
There has been no reaction so far from the Automobile Club de l'Ouest about the aerodynamic problems which the FIA has warned could occur with the current sports cars.
QUIETLY IMPRESSIVE...
It has not been much remarked but the progress of Australian driver Rob Nguyen in Formula 3000 this year has been remarkable.
RENAULT AND NISSAN
Yesterday marked the first board meeting of Renault-Nissan BV, the holding company of the Franco-Japanese automobile company and is a sign of the increasing integration between the two firms.
REVISED BAR004 TO BE USED IN CANADA
BAR, the only team yet to score championship points in 2002, will introduce a revised version of the BAR004 in Montreal next weekend.
SAB AND MILLER
South African Breweries is one of the world's most powerful brewing companies and is currently in the process of buying Miller Brewing from the Philip Morris group of companies.
TEAMS WRAP UP SILVERSTONE TEST
Rubens Barrichello was the fastest man at Silverstone Thursday, for the third and final day of testing at the British circuit before the teams head to Montreal for the Canadian GP.
THE MANAGEMENT OF FIAT
Paolo Cantarella has been one of the major players in the Grand Prix World Championship BV company's planning for an independent World Championship after the end of the current Concorde Agreement in 2008.
THE MANUFACTURERS MEET AGAIN
The automobile manufacturers involved in Formula 1 met again at Monaco on Saturday to keep in touch with the latest developments with regard to the Kirch situation.
THE POWER OF SOCCER
Formula 1 is a huge international sport but faced with the power of the soccer World Cup it is unlikely that there will many column inches left available in newspapers around the world for the Grand Prix circus in the next four weeks of football mania.
WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH... SELL ANYTHING
Jordan Grand Prix was left with a pile of automotive rubble after Takuma Sato's accident in Austria, from which the Japanese driver emerged with only a few bruises.
EX-JORDAN MAN LINKS UP WITH EX-F1 DRIVER
Jim Vale, formerly the team manager of Jordan, has joined forces with former Grand Prix driver Larry Perkins to run his Melbourne-based touring car team.
FIAT COULD SELL ITS CAR DIVISION
Although it will have no effect on Ferrari, the giant Italian firm Fiat could sell its loss-making automobile operations to General Motors.
MECACHROME AND IRL
Mecachrome, the engineering company which enjoys close links with Renault Sport, looks likely to be building the Infiniti engines for the Indy Racing League.
MONZA FAILS TO FALL FOR CICCIOLINA
The Hungarian-born porn star Ilona Staller, better known as Cicciolina, has failed in her bid to become the mayor of the town of Monza.
MORE BAD WEATHER FOR TESTING AT SILVERSTONE
The weather remained poor for the second day of testing at Silverstone, where Rubens Barrichello set the pace, ahead of McLaren drivers Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard.
MORE ON MECACHROME...
It is perhaps worth noting that Mecachrome's rumored move to work with Infiniti in the Indy Racing League makes a lot of sense given the recent announcement that the company has opened a factory in Montreal, in league with the Aero company.
CONTROVERSY ACROSS THE WATER
Formula 1 is not the only racing series in the world to get itself in a tangle over its rules and regulations.
KIRCH "PARALYZED BY DIVERGING INTERESTS"
There are to be meetings this week to try to reorganize unravel the complicated situation surrounding the Kirch group of companies.
RAIN HAMPERS DAY ONE OF SILVERSTONE TEST
With the Canadian GP coming up in two weeks, many of the teams were back testing Tuesday at Silverstone.
RENAULT OFF THE HOOK
The FIA has announced that Renault Sport and Jarno Trulli will keep the points they scored for fourth place in Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix after its software was found to be legal.
ALONSO IN A JAGUAR
The announcement on Monday that Spain's Fernando Alonso is to test a Jaguar-Cosworth R3 this week has a number of interesting ramifications.
GENICHI KAWAKAMI
Genichi Kawakami, the man who turned Yamaha from being a musical instrument maker into one of the world's leading motorcycle firms and an important automotive businesses, has died at the age of 90.
HOW WILL LAMBORGHINI SELL THE MURCIELAGO?
The Lamborghini company is currently embarking on a major sales drive to sell its new 580 horsepower V12 Murcielago supercar.
JACQUES THE AMBASSADOR
Jacques Villeneuve has never been one to get too excited about diplomacy, the Canadian having a tendency to say what he thinks rather than being told what to say.
RENAULT CLARIFIES MONACO PROBLEMS
Renault Sport has issued a clarification about the problems with the electronic box on Jarno Trulli's car at Monaco.
TAG HEUER AND MCLAREN
McLaren International and TAG Heuer have announced an extension to their sponsorship deal which has already been going on for 15 years.
A SOFTWARE PROBLEM?
The Monaco Grand Prix was a great event for Formula 1 but there was a slight cloud over the event in the evening when it was found that there was a problem with "a programmable device" on Jarno Trulli's Renault.
BOURDAIS WINS MONACO FORMULA 3000 RACE
Sebastien Bourdais won the Monaco Formula 3000 Grand Prix on Saturday with a clean race from lights-out to checkered flag.
ECCLESTONE LOOKING TO SORT OUT KIRCH PROBLEMS
Bernie Ecclestone says that his main priority is to extricate Formula 1 from the problems associated with the collapse of the Kirch empire.
MONEY IN MONACO
It may just be because people like to come to the Monaco Grand Prix but the boats on the harbor in Monaco this year featured a large number of big players from huge global companies.
RECOGNITION FOR JACKY ICKX
Jacky Ickx was recently recognized for this work by the Monaco Government which made him an Officer in the Order of Saint Charles.
AN OLD FACE IN THE CROWD
The Monaco Grand Prix has thousands of visitors each year and amongst them are always a few faces from the past in Formula 1.
BOURDAIS TAKES POLE FOR MONACO F3000
Sebastien Bourdais took pole position for the Formula 3000 race at Monaco.
COUGHLAN AND MCLAREN
On Thursday morning Arrows technical director Mike Coughlan was seen poking around outside the McLaren motorhome, clearly looking to see if there was someone inside to chat to.
CURTAINS FOR PITLANE SCREENS
The FIA has issued a statement which suggests that screens, covers and other obstructions which in any way obscure any part of the car in the pitlane or the garages must be removed unless express permission is given by the FIA Safety Delegate.
MOSLEY APOLOGIZES TO AUSTRIAN CHANCELLOR
The international automobile federation president Max Mosley had written to Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schussel to apologize for any embarrassment caused to Schussel by the thousands of fans in the grandstands at the A1 Ring boo-ing Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello at the end of the recent Austrian GP.
TEAM ORDERS - A HEALTH WARNING
Achille Varzi won the 1936 Grand Prix of Tripoli after Auto Union's team manager Karl Feuereissen ordered Hans Stuck to slow down and ordered Varzi to drive flat out.
WHAT? AGAIN...
It seems that rarely a day goes by at the moment when Arrows or an associated company is not in the High Court in London over one issue or another.
A MAJOR REVAMP FOR THE F1 RULES COMING?
There was much talk in the paddock at Monaco about suggestions of how the sport should react to the current problems with the recession.
FIA HIGHLIGHTS SPORTS CAR PROBLEM
The FIA has announced that it has discovered a serious problem with the current sports car and sports prototype designs - and that could have a dramatic effect on the sport in the months ahead.
FORD TO SPONSOR THE DALLAS COWBOYS
The Ford Motor Company is in negotiation with the Dallas Cowboys NFL team over a giant sponsorship deal.
HONDA GOES TO IRL WITH ILMOR!
The American Honda Company has announced that it will be entering the Indy Racing League next season with engines designed and built by Ilmor - which is part-owned by DaimlerChrysler, Honda's rival in Formula 1.
RED BULL PROJECT PUSHES AHEAD
Danny Sullivan was much in evidence in the Formula 1 paddock in Monaco, continuing to wheel and deal to put together his plans for a scheme to find young American drivers to take to Formula 1.
SPONSORSHIP RUMORS IN MONACO
The latest whispers in the Formula 1 paddock is that Orange may be planning a major presence in the World Rally Championship next year rather than continuing to support the Arrows F1 team.
WATKINS JOINS BAR
Alistair Watkins has been appointed the corporate marketing director of British American Racing.
WELCOME TO MONACO
On January 8, 1297 Francois Grimaldi, an Italian pirate disguised himself as a monk and wangled his way through the gates of the fortress of Monaco. As a result the castle was overrun by pirates.
WHAT FUTURE FOR PHOENIX FINANCE?
Charles Nickerson, one of the people behind the Phoenix Finance Ltd. bid for Prost Grand Prix, says that Phoenix has not given up yet.
THE PHOENIX CASE
The case between Phoenix Finance Ltd. and the FIA, FOM and FOA was heard in the High Court in London at the start of last week by the Rt Hon Sir Andrew Morritt.
GAILLARDOT JOINS JAGUAR RACING
Vincent Gaillardot has joined Jaguar Racing.
JACQUES ATTACKS MICHAEL
Jacques Villeneuve has never been backwards in coming forward and the 1997 World Champion did not miss the opportunity to make his feelings known about the recent Ferrari team orders "scandal" in Austria.
MONACO IN ALL ITS SPLENDOR
You want to go to Monaco for the Grand Prix?
SILVERSTONE UNVEILS NEW ROAD
The new Dadford Road dual carriageway was opened yesterday by Formula 3000 Champion Justin Wilson driving a Jordan-Honda F1 car.
TOYOTA ANNOUNCES SPONSORSHIP DEAL WITH AVEX
Toyota Motorsport announced Wednesday a that they have agreed to a multi-year deal with Avex that names the Japanese record company a sponsor partner of Panasonic Toyota Racing.
WALKINSHAW TO QUIT RUGBY ROLES
Tom Walkinshaw is to retire from his role as chairman of Premier Rugby.
ALBERT PARK IS A WINNER
The supporters of Albert Park have something to shout about - in fact rather more than those who have been shouting about how the park needs to be saved.
MIA LOOKS TO ALTERNATIVE FUELS
The Motorsport Industry Association is to hold a two-day technology program on June 5-6 at the Jaguar Cars plant in Coventry.
MINARDI LAYS OFF 15 STAFF
The Minardi team has been forced to cut back on its staff numbers because of the squeeze in finances for the F1 teams.
MONACO ANNOUNCES NEW PITS BY 2006
Monaco has revealed details of its plans to upgrade its outdated pitlane.
MONACO MINUS...
The Monaco Grand Prix will have one well-known paddock figure missing.
PHOENIX FINANCE LOSES
Phoenix Finance Ltd. has lost their case in the High Court in London against the FIA and FOM.
THE GHOST OF REYNARD
Some of those who were involved in the now defunct Reynard Motorsport operation have got together to form a new company called Apollo Racing Design Limited.
WILLIAMS WILL HAVE A "B" VERSION OF THE FW24
The Williams team is not admitting it officially at the moment but there will be a "B" version of the FW24 which the team will introduce later this year.
THIS WEEK
This week is the biggest of the year in motor racing.
NASCAR SHOWS THE WAY
NASCAR is to help fund a school which will train professional automotive service technicians.
THE PROBLEM WITH A BEIRUT GP
Yesterday we ran a story about the plan to host a Grand Prix in Beirut. The locals are optimistic and have even gone as far as to advertise their race in Bernie Ecclestone's Formula 1 Magazine.
BEIRUT RACE TRACK COMPANY DECLARES A PROFIT
Solidere, the company which is redeveloping central Beirut and is behind the plan to run a Grand Prix in the streets of the city, has announced that it made a profit of $1.9m last year.
CURRENT AND FORMER F1 STARS IN ACTION OVER THE WEEKEND
Despite the fact that there was no grand prix this weekend, there were quite a few F1 names racing around the world.
DERLOT WINS PAU
Renaud Derlot and Bruno Besson gave the Signature team a 1-2 result at Pau on Monday.
HERBERT MISSES OUT ON INDIANAPOLIS QUALIFYING
Johnny Herbert failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, having to fly off to race an Audi sports car before being able to get up to speed at the Speedway.
ITALIAN STRIKES TO HIT FERRARI?
Most of the work that is done these days on Formula 1 cars is done by the teams themselves but there are always parts which require outside manufacturing.
KIRCH REJECTS BSKYB'S OPTION
The Kirch Group has said that BSkyB has no right to trigger an option which would result in the collapse of Taurus Holding, the holding company of the entire Kirch group.
PRINCE RAINIER OUT OF HOSPITAL
Monaco's Prince Rainier went into hospital last week because of bronchial problems but he is expected to be out of hospital again before the start of the city's biggest week of the year: the Grand Prix week.
SAFETY ENGINEERS HONORED
The University of Nebraska engineers who developed the "soft" walls which have been fitted in recent weeks at Indianapolis have been awarded the Louis Schwitzer Award.
WHAT EVIL DEEDS ARE THESE?
The news that five Formula 1 teams are supposed to have joined forces to act as a rival to Bernie Ecclestone's companies is really not a story which should be taken too seriously.
A LITTLE REMINDER
The Monaco Grand Prix usually takes place on the Ascension Day weekend which means that Friday is a holiday in the principality and so there is no racing.
CART MOVES TO INDIANAPOLIS
The CART organization in the United States is to move from Troy, Michigan to Indianapolis this weekend.
DA MATTA TRIES TOYOTA F1 CAR
CART series frontrunner Cristiano da Matta has always wanted to race in Formula 1 and thanks to Toyota was able to have his first runs in an F1 car on Friday at Paul Ricard.
MONACO TRACK CHANGES FOR NEXT YEAR
The Monaco Grand Prix circuit is planning to make some significant changes to the race track for the race in 2003.
THE BIG WEEK
For the next 10 days motor racing around the world is in the media spotlight, with the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500 and one of NASCAR's biggest events of the year at Charlotte as well.
WATTIE & BEN BACK TOGETHER AGAIN
ABC has named John Watson and Ben Edwards as it two lead commentators for the Monaco Grand Prix.
WHAT ABOUT JOHN BARNARD?
Since the demise of Prost Grand Prix there has been no word at all about the future of John Barnard and his B3 Technologies company in Shalford, Surrey.
YOONG TO RACE AT MONACO IN PETERSON LOTUS
Alex Yoong is to take part in tomorrow's Historic Grand Prix of Monaco at the wheel of a Lotus 72. The car in question was used by Ronnie Peterson to win four Grand Prix victories in the course of 1973.
DA MATTA TAKES HIS TURN
A day after Tora Takagi got his chance behind the wheel of the Toyota TF102, fellow CART star Cristiano da Matta took his turn Friday.
FRENTZEN LEADS FINAL DAY AT PAUL RICARD
The final day of testing at the Paul Ricard circuit went off without a hitch Friday, as Heinz-Harald Frentzen led all drivers testing for Arrows.
TAKAGI AT PAUL RICARD
Toranosuke Takagi returned to Formula 1 this week at the wheel of a Toyota F12 at Paul Ricard.
TEAMS UNITE TO BUY KIRCH SHARES?
Five of the teams competing in Formula One have formed a company, GPT Ltd., aimed at buying the majority of the commercial rights to Formula One from the recently defunct Kirch group.
FERRARI UNLIKELY TO FACE FRAUD CHARGES
Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello and the Ferrari team could face legal actions as a result of what happened at the end of the Austrian Grand Prix.
HAKKINEN TO APPEAR IN MONACO
Mika Hakkinen is to visit the Monaco GP next week.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEAN REDELE!
Jean Redale, the founder of Alpine - one of the key players in bringing Renault into frontline motor racing, celebrates his 80th birthday tomorrow.
MICHAEL NOT HAVING A GOOD WEEK
Despite picking up an award for International Sportsman of the Year on Tuesday, Michael Schumacher has not been having a good week with all the negative publicity.
NOW THERE ISN'T A CRISIS IN F1...
A week is a long time in Formula 1 politics.
OCTAGON CONSIDERING SELLING MORE TICKETS TO BRITISH GP
Octagon Motorsports, the organizers of the British GP, are considering offering 5,000 more tickets to the race on July 7th.
RISING STARS GATHER AT PAU
This weekend will see the first international Formula 3 race of the year on the streets of Pau, in the south-west France and the cream of the current Formula 3 runners will be present, racing one another on Michelin tires, which will hopefully mean that no-one gains an unfair advantage.
TEAMS CONTINUE DEVELOPMENT AT VALENCIA
Testing at the Valencia circuit in Spain continued Thursday, as the teams continue to prepare for the Monaco GP in just over a week.
TEAMS SHORTEN PAUL RICARD TO SIMULATE MONACO
The teams testing at the Paul Ricard circuit in southern France decided to run on the shorter configuration of the circuit on Thursday because it more closely resembles the tight Monaco circuit they will visit next week.
ZONTA SHOWS THEM HOW TO DO IT
Riccardo Zonta may have lost out on any chance in Formula 1 this year but the Brazilian, who has driven for both British American Racing and Jordan, is keen to get back into Grand Prix racing.
THE FERRARI FLOTATION
The partial flotation of Ferrari SpA, the company which builds Ferrari and Maserati road cars and which oversees Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, will have no effect on the way in which the company is run.
A NEW BOSS FOR BOSS
Hugo Boss is McLaren's longest established partner, the two companies having worked together since the 1980s and as a result Boss has acquired a very clear and well-established brand as one of the world's leading suit makers.
AND STILL IT COMES...
The furor surrounding the Austrian Grand Prix has still not died down with e-mails still flooding in from all over the world. Here are a few of the comments we have received.
ENGE WINS OVERSHADOWED FORMULA 3000 IN AUSTRIA
Tomas Enge, who has hopes of getting back into Formula 1 next year, won a dominant victory in the A1 Ring Formula 3000 race.
MIKE COUGHLAN'S FUTURE
A few months ago we suggested that Mike Coughlan, the technical director of Arrows, was coming to the end of his contract and that he might be looking around for work with a bigger team.
ORANGE OPTIONS
The Orange mobile phone company is currently in the process of deciding what to do in Formula 1 next year with the options being to stay with Arrows, to switch to another team, to concentrate on trackside signage or to forget Formula 1 and look elsewhere.
PREMIER 1 POPS UP AGAIN
Many people in Formula 1 circles has thought that the demise of Reynard meant the end of the planned Premier 1 Grand Prix motor racing series which is due to kick off next year.
PROST SALES ALL WEEK...
The first of four sales of Prost cars and equipment took place 10 days ago with 12 cars going under the hammer at the Palais de Congres in Paris.
TESTING CONTINUES AT VALENCIA
Testing at the Valencia circuit resumed Wednesday where Jordan joined the mix, just days after scoring their first championship points of the year.
THE FLOOD CONTINUES...
One would have thought that the reaction to Ferrari's actions in Austrian would have slowed by now but we are still receiving e-mails on the subject.
BARRICHELLO TO BE GIVEN ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP
The Italian Embassy in Brazil is to grant Italian citizenship to Rubens Barrichello, as a way to compensate the humiliation suffered by Barrichello in Austria.
ECCLESTONE AND THE CAR MANUFACTURERS
Bernie Ecclestone, the boss of the Formula One group of companies, says that he does not believe that the automobile manufacturers are going to start their own World Championship.
FERRARI DEFENDS ITSELF
Luca di Montezemolo has backed up Ross Brawn and Jean Todt's decision to ensure that Michael Schumacher won the Austrian GP on Sunday.
FIAT ANNOUNCES FERRARI FLOAT
Fiat has announced that it is going to sell shares in the Ferrari company and is hoping to raise $900m from the sale.
PREPARATIONS FOR MONACO UNDERWAY
Some of the teams resumed testing on Tuesday in preparation for Monaco in just two weeks time.
SCHUMACHER MISSES INTERNATIONAL SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR PARTY
Michael Schumacher did not turn up yesterday evening at the Variety Club's annual awards dinner in London at which he was due to be given an award as International Sportsman of the Year.
SIR JACKIE STEWART WARNS FIA
Jackie Stewart has warned the FIA not to ban Ferrari because of the effect it will have on the British Grand Prix if the Italian team is not allowed to take part.
THE AUSTRIAN MESS - MORE REACTION
Many of the hundreds of e-mails that we have received in the last few hours suggest that Bernie Ecclestone is somehow to blame for what happened in Austria.
THE POSITIVE ASPECTS OF AUSTRIA
This morning Formula 1 is being hammered from all sides by public opinion. But F1 is not dead as some might suggest.
ANOTHER KIRCH COMPANY ABOUT TO GO
Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB has exercised its option to sell its 22% stake in the insolvent Kirch PayTV company and this looks likely to push Taurus Holding, Kirch PayTV's parent company into insolvency.
FERRARI IS IN TROUBLE...
The FIA statement on Monday about what happened at the Austrian Grand Prix indicate that the FIA is going to take action against Ferrari at the next meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Paris on June 26.
ITALIAN AUTHORITIES TO INVESTIGATE AUSTRIAN RESULT
The Italian gambling commission is reported to have asked the judiciary if it can open an investigation into the result of the Austrian Grand Prix.
PHOENIX CASE TODAY
Phoenix Finance Ltd. goes to the High Court in London this week for an answer in its case against the FIA and FOM.
SATO OUT OF HOSPITAL
Takuma Sato has been released from Graz's University Hospital after a night under observation overnight following his accident in yesterday's Austrian Grand Prix.
SATO WAS NOT LUCKY
It is easy to say that Takuma Sato had a miraculous escape in Austria but a point which should be made is that this miracle was as much to do with the laws of physics as it was to do with good fortune.
THE REACTION OUT THERE...
Formula 1 is in the firing line today after yesterday's Austrian Grand Prix and it is not just the people in the grandstands and the world media that felt cheated by Ferrari's insistence that Michael Schumacher win the race yesterday.
FORMULA 1 AND THE WILDEBEEST
Ask any student of nature: elimination of the weakest strengthens the species.
A GOOD IDEA...
Indianapolis 500 qualifying on Saturday resulted in an interesting grid headed by former Williams test driver Bruno Junqueira.
WILLIAMS TITLE SPONSORSHIP TO CHANGE TO HP
Following the merger of Williams-BMW title sponsor Compaq with Hewlett Packard, the team has announced that the branding on the car will change over to HP, starting at the British Grand Prix in July.
DAMON HILL AND THE CONRODS
Playing in rock and roll bands is all the rage in Formula 1 circles at the moment with Eddie Jordan involved with his V10 group and Damon Hill and his band the Conrods playing tonight at the A1 Ring to keep the many thousands of Michael Schumacher fans happy.
ENGE ON POLE FOR AUSTRIAN FORMULA 3000
Tomas Enge took pole position for the Formula 3000 race at the A1-Ring beating off Coloni's Giorgio Pantano by just 0.018 seconds in his Arden International car.
FORD GIVES LONG-TERM COMMITMENT TO F1
The Ford Motor Company has given a clear message that it intends to remain in Formula 1 in the long-term.
LAUDA JR. TAKES TO THE TRACKS
Matthias Lauda, son of triple World Champion Niki Lauda, is to make his racing debut in Spain this weekend in the Formula Nissan championship.
SULLIVAN LAUNCHES F1 DRIVER SCHEME
As we exclusively revealed a month ago former F1 driver Danny Sullivan has launched a scheme to find an American driver for Formula 1.
TEAM BOSSES REPORT NOTHING MUCH TO REPORT
The Formula 1 team bosses spent what appears to have been a constructive meeting on Friday evening at the A1 Ring with none of the hysterical shouting matches which have been the case in recent months.
VOLKSWAGEN SAYS NO F1
Volkswagen chairman Bernd Pischetsrieder was in the Formula 1 paddock in Austria but the new boss of the giant German car company continues to insist that there are no plans for VW to enter the sport.
THE SILLY SEASON BEGINS
The signing of Rubens Barrichello for Ferrari in 2003 and 2004 is the start of the 2003 silly season as the best drive available is now settled and so the focus will switch to who will drive next year for McLaren, Renault F1 and Sauber.
AGNELLI IN HOSPITAL FOR TESTS
Gianni Agnelli, the honorary chairman of Fiat and the man who is ultimately in control of Ferrari is expected to remain in hospital in the United States for several weeks being treated for a prostate problem.
ASHLEY IN THE CLEAR
Ian Ashley was arrested in January when trying to board an airplane to the United States with tools in his briefcase and a pocketknife in his sock.
BMW MANAGEMENT CHANGING
Later this month BMW chairman and chief executive Joachim Milberg will retire after three years in charge of the Munich company.
HEAD SQUASHES NEW GEARBOX RUMORS
Williams Technical Director Patrick Head spent part of Thursday's press conference putting to rest rumors that the team is working on a new gearbox for the FW24.
IF I COULD BE LIKE JACQUES
In true Williams tradition, Ralf Schumacher arrived at the A1-Ring with a blond head of hair.
NO SHORTAGE OF CARS FOR F1
There is a lot of speculation in the Formula 1 paddock at the moment about the effects of the recession on the Formula 1 grids.
PREMIERE TV BOSS HOPEFUL
Georg Kofler, the boss of German payTV channel Premiere is hopeful that investment can be found to keep the channel afloat.
VOLKSWAGEN'S PRESS CONFERENCE
Volkswagen will announce on Wednesday that it is to enter a factory team in the Paris-Dakar Rally for lady racer Jutta Kleinschmidt.
FERRARI SIGNS BARRICHELLO THROUGH 2004
Ferrari announced Thursday that they have signed Rubens Barrichello to a new contract through the 2004 season.
WHAT NOW FOR KIRCH?
The Bavarian courts have appointed lawyer Joseph Fuchsl as the administrator of Kirch PayTV, his job being to decide whether or not the business can be turned into a viable operation or whether it should be closed down and the assets sold off to pay as much of the debts as possible.
THE COLLAPSE OF KIRCHPAYTV
The bankruptcy of KirchPayTV GmbH & Co has been expected for almost a month but its effect could still be a dramatic one for Formula 1 - or at least for the Formula One group of companies.
BAHRAIN GOES TO THE POLLS
Bahrain, which is now the clear favorite to host a Grand Prix in the Middle East in 2004, this week marked a new breakthrough in its democratization program with the first elections to be held for 27 years.
FERRARI DRIVERS DO BUSINESS
Michael and Ralf Schumacher have recently announced a deal with a Helsinki-based telecommunications company called Sports Telecom.
GILLES VILLENEUVE - 20 YEARS TODAY
The great Canadian racer Gilles Villeneuve was killed at Zolder 20 years ago today while qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.
KIRCH PAYTV GOES TO THE WALL
There is bad news in F1 circles this morning with the announcement in Munich that KirchPayTV has gone into administration, following the acceptance by the management that the company cannot pay its debts.
PEUGEOT DENIES F1 PLANS
Peugeot Sport boss Corrado Provera has told Motorsport News magazine in England that the idea of the company returning to Formula 1 is "a silly rumour".
TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO IN AUSTRIA...
Alan Jones, the 1980 Formula 1 World Champion, has been reminiscing in recent days about his first Grand Prix victory, scored in Austria in 1977.
AUSTRALIANS GO TO WUHAN
A number of representatives from the Australian Grand Prix Corporation were spotted this week in Hong Kong apparently on their way to visit the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
DEUTSCHE BANK LOOKS TO SELL MERCEDES SHARES
The German banking giant Deutsche Bank gets a new chief executive shortly and Josef Ackermann is expected to embark on a program to raise the company's share price, which has been suffering of late.
HOW MUCH DOES AN F1 CAR COST?
The French authorities have put the 12 Prost Grand Prix chassis up for sale - with a price tag of $900,000.
INDIANAPOLIS "SOFT WALLS" HELPS SAVE MCGEHEE
Robby McGehee began his Indianapolis 500 testing program with a major crash which demolished his Cahill Racing Dallara-Chevrolet.
KIRCH BETEILIGUNG TO OFFLOAD SPRINGER?
Kirch Beteiligung, the embattled firm which owns the majority of the Formula One group of companies, is trying to sell its 40% stake in German publishing company Axel Springer in order to stay afloat.
LE MANS HONORS DEREK BELL
Derek Bell is best known for his five victories in the Le Mans 24 Hours.
MAJOR WORK AT MAGNY-COURS
There is major rebuilding work going on at Magny-Cours at the moment in preparation for the French GP.
NELSON JR. JOINS FORMULA RENAULT IN BRAZIL
Nelson Piquet Jr., the 16-year-old son of triple World Champion Nelson Piquet, is to compete in the new Brazilian Formula Renault series.
SILVERSTONE HOPES THAT WORK WILL BE DONE ON TIME
There are no longer thought to be any worries about the future of the British Grand Prix, but work on the roads around the circuit is still not finished although it is hoped that everything will be done in time for the British GP.
THERE IS NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN
The news from America that Tomas Scheckter has got into trouble with the Indy Racing League authorities is no big surprise.
TYRRELL TRIBUTE AT GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED
There will be a tribute to the late Ken Tyrrell at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed in mid-July.
WILLI DUNGL
Willi Dungl, the Austrian sports and fitness expert, has died at the age of 64.
BANKERS CHASING F1 MONEY
In recent times the banks have been looking for ways to raise more money and a few of them have hit on the idea of trying to convince wealthy people in sports and entertainment to let them manage their investment portfolios.
CASTROL TRIES NEW SPORTING ROUTE...
Castrol, a major sponsor of BMW Williams and a backer of Jaguar Racing is to expand its sporting sponsorships with a two-year deal which will feature English soccer player David Beckham.
JAPAN LOVES FERRARI!
The "Artedinamica, Ferrari and Maserati" exhibition at the Tokyo Museum of Modern Art has had 10,000 visitors in a week, a record attendance figure for the famous gallery.
KIRCH TO SUE DEUTSCHE BANK BOSS
Leo Kirch is not a happy man at the man, his life's work having fallen apart in recent weeks.
ORANGE TO EXPAND IN THE UNITED STATES?
France Telecom may be about to expand the Orange mobile phone brand into the United States of America.
TEAM BOSSES TO MEET IN AUSTRIA
The next round of political maneuvers takes place this weekend in Austria with the Formula 1 team bosses called together by Bernie Ecclestone to try to find ways to cut costs.
THOMSON GOES TO ASIATECH
The Asiatech firm admits that it is building up towards becoming a Formula 1 team in its own right and the latest confirmation of this is the hiring of one of Formula 1's most experienced composite designers Ian Thomson.
TOYOTA MOTORSPORT - A YEAR ON
A year ago this week Toyota announced that it was parting company with its technical director Andre Cortanze after very poor performances by the team's F1 prototype chassis.
WHY FORD IS STAYING IN F1...
It is currently the vogue to question whether, in these times of economic caution, whether one can be certain that the automobile manufacturers are committed the sport of whether they will axe sporting programs to meet savings targets.
MORE RUMBLINGS FROM THE BANKS
The boss of the Bavarian state bank Werner Schmidt has told German financial journalists that the bank could join forces with JP Morgan and Lehman Brothers and sell the Kirch stake in the Formula One group of companies.
THE LATEST SMOKING BATTLES
Everyone now seems to agree that tobacco money is going to leave Formula 1 on October 1, 2006.
A NICE PLAN...
The FIA is showing an alarming tendency to think laterally at the moment and has come up with an unusual idea to try to stop Formula 1 teams wasting time and money testing between races.
COSWORTH SHOPPING FOR TEAMS FOR NEXT YEAR?
Cosworth Racing says that it is happy to supply three teams with its engines next season.
LONGANESI GOES
As we suggested would happen a week ago, the FIA has announced that Francesco Longanesi Cattani, the head of the federation's External Relations Department has departed "to pursue a prestigious new opportunity".
TEAMS WRAP UP VALENCIA TEST
The teams wrapping up testing at the Valencia circuit in Spain were again greeted by wet weather conditions on Friday.
THE ROUT IN TELEVISION CONTINUES...
Just a couple of days after ABC in the United States kicked out its chief executive, Britain's ITV has followed suit with Stuart Prebble resigning from his position as chief executive.
TOYOTA'S TEST-FEST
It looks likely that Toyota Motorsport is going to test most of its United States-based hotshots before the end of the season.
WHAT IS EDDIE JORDAN DOING?
This week Eddie Jordan took his new rock and roll band V10 to Germany to play at a Deutsche Post function in Bonn.
ADRIAN NEWEY AND MCLAREN
A year ago Adrian Newey signed a contract to join Jaguar Racing.
CONFLICTING VIEWS OVER F1 IN PARLIAMENT
The recent days have seen Formula 1 back in parliament in Britain with debates over the tobacco legislation which is currently pending.
FIAT'S RESTRUCTURING
As we suggested yesterday, there is a major restructuring coming at Fiat with the group announcing plans to save $4bn in the course of the next three years thanks to restructuring and selling off non-core assets.
RAIN SLOWS TESTING AT VALENCIA
The teams testing at the Valencia circuit on Thursday were able to get in half a day's worth of dry testing before the skies opened up around lunchtime.
RENAULT SPORT'S OTHER ENGINE
French aircraft engine manufacturer SMA, which is jointly owned by Renault Sport, the European Aeronautic Defense and Space company and the Societe Nationale d'Etude et de Construction de Moteurs d'Aviation, is to put the light aircraft engine it designed into production at a new factory in Bourges.
THE VERSTAPPEN FACTOR?
It may not be a very big country but Holland is very keen on Formula 1 racing.
EIGHT YEARS AGO TODAY...
Eight years ago today we were at Imola undergoing the worst weekend in modern Formula 1 history.
A SIGNIFICANT SHAKE-UP?
ABC Television has had a shake-up of management in recent weeks following a poor performance in the ratings in recent months.
DA MATTA TO TEST FOR TOYOTA
Cristiano da Matta, the star of CART, is to test a Formula 1 car at the end of May at Paul Ricard.
HP FOR WILLIAMS?
The lengthy battle surrounding the merger of Compaq and Hewlett-Packard is over following Walter Hewlett's decision not to pursue the matter further.
JAGUAR JOINS VALENCIA TEST
Testing continued at Valencia on Wednesday, where Jaguar joined the four teams that began testing at the Spanish circuit on Tuesday.
MORE ON ARROWS...
investigations have revealed some more details of the takeover of Arrows Grand Prix International by a company called Motorsport Holdings.
MOSCOW DELAYS AGAIN - RACE IN DOUBT
The plans for a Russian Grand Prix have been put on hold again with the problem apparently being one of finance, with the Moscow city authorities no longer wanting to put any money into the project.
NO REST FOR THE F1 TEAMS
May 1st may be a holiday for most of the world but that will not stop the Formula 1 teams as they continue their intensive test and development programs in preparation for the Austrian GP.
TV COMPANIES HAMMERED
The current problems for television companies were highlighted on Tuesday afternoon when shares in Vivendi Universal, M6 and TF1 TV stations in France dived after the publication of reports saying that advertising revenues are going to remain weak.
WHY FARM SUBSIDIES ARE IMPORTANT IN F1
The subject of government subsidies to farmers may not seem to have that much importance in the high-octane world of Formula 1 but the Formula 1 money supply could be affected because of the tobacco issue.
