Formula One News — November 2000

FLAVIO BRIATORE, the chief executive of Benetton, has signed a deal to take over Minardi's five-year contract with 19-year-old Spanish driver Fernando Alonso.

THE Coral bookmaking company, owner of Arrows sponsor Eurobet, has cancelled its plans for a $1.5bn flotation and is now looking for a buyer for the company.

PROST GRAND PRIX driver Jean Alesi escaped unhurt from a high-speed crash as he took part in the Rally of Monza at the weekend.

MINARDI driver Gaston Mazzacane has been linked to both the Arrows and Prost teams as he seems prepared to follow former team-mate Marc Gene out of the struggling Italian team.

THE hottest tip of the weekend's gossip columns is that triple World Champion Jackie Stewart is set to join Sir Jack Brabham and Sir Frank Williams as one of the handful of Formula 1 knights.

GERMAN driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen has expressed his uncertainty as to whether the proposed changes to Formula One in the next season will be beneficial to the sport.

PATRICK HEAD, technical director at BMW-Williams, believes that Michelin will have their work cut out to compete with tire rivals Bridgestone, when the French manufacturer returns to Formula One next year.

PEUGEOT motorsport manager Corrado Provera has revealed that the Prost Grand Prix team knew that the engine manufacturers would be withdrawing from Formula One before last season even started.

COVENTRY CITY FOOTBALL CLUB chairman Bryan Richardson has dismissed reports that Formula One boss Eddie Jordan is set to join the board at the club.

TOM WALKINSHAW has signed an agreement with the Moscow city government to create and develop an international racing facility in Moscow.

FORMULA ONE ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone is set to invest millions of pounds into property in London, according to reports in the British media.

THE British motor racing industry is hoping to go into business with the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration to exchange ideas and information.

WE hear whispers that the Arrows teams is in discussion with Internet company Vivao about a sponsorship for next year.

GAULOISES may be out of Formula 1 at the moment following its split with Prost Grand Prix, but its parent company, the Franco-Spanish tobacco group Altadis says that it is looking to expand its operations in Europe and has the money to buy up smaller companies to make them more competitive with global giants Philip Morris, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco.

FORMULA ONE drivers Jarno Trulli, Olivier Panis, Gaston Mazzacane and Marc Gene will all participate in a special karting race in Spain this weekend.

JAGUAR RACING chairman Neil Ressler believes that his team will be better prepared for next season and is hoping the team will become more competitive.

MARK WEBBER will give the Benetton B200B test car its maiden shakedown run at Silverstone next Friday (1st December) which will also mark the track debut of Renault's radical new 111-degree V10 engine.

JAGUAR RACING is expected to announce shortly that it has signed up two new drivers to be its Junior Team for 2001.

FERRARI have confirmed that Michael Schumacher will not test for the team next month as he continues his recovery from an operation to remove a metal pin from his right leg.

THIS weekend Peugeot Sport goes to Cardiff to try to win the World Rally Championship Drivers' title, to add to the Constructors' title it has already secured with the Peugeot 206.

THE share price of Thomas Haffa's EM.TV media company rose towards the end of last week to just below 30 Euros ($25) but this week the shares have been falling steadily and on Thursday morning they dipped below 20 Euros ($17) for the first time.

BRAZILIAN Ricardo Zonta is hoping to follow in the same footsteps as French driver Olivier Panis after joining Jordan as a test driver and relinquishing his chances of a race drive with another outfit for 2001.

AN advance in technology is ruining Formula One, according to French driver Jean Alesi.

FERNANDO ALONSO's manager Adrian Campos has dismissed reports that the young Spanish driver has signed for Benetton, but would not clarify where his future will lie.