Formula One News — December 2000

BENETTON driver Giancarlo Fisichella successfully underwent an operation on his right knee in a Rome hospital today (Monday).

JURGEN SCHREMPP, the chairman of DaimlerChrysler, has been under pressure of late because of problems with the Chrysler Corporation.

ALLAN MCNISH, the Toyota Formula 1 test driver, says that he has been given assurances by Toyota that if he shows well in testing he will be rewarded with a full-time drive in F1 in 2002.

NEW British American Racing driver Olivier Panis set the fastest time on the first day of a three-day testing session in Barcelona on Monday, seeing off the challenge of Briton David Coulthard in a McLaren-Mercedes.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER has been based in Switzerland for several years now, since an unfortunate interlude with the authorities in Monte Carlo.

MCLAREN chairman Ron Dennis has expressed the view that it is not only commercially desirable, but also absolutely crucial to his team's entire F1 future, that the TAG McLaren group continues to expand and diversify.

JENSON BUTTON has vowed to become more aggressive and push harder next season in a bid to make him a better driver in the future.

MEMBERS of the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) voted unanimously on Monday to support the proposed deal for Silverstone to host the British Grand Prix for the next 15 years under the management of Octagon.

MOTOR RACING get a lot of bad publicity when there is a fatal accident.

IT has been announced that there is to be a change in the top management of Interpublic, the company which owns the Brands Hatch racing circuit.

BRITISH Formula Three Champion Antonio Pizzonia will test for the Arrows in Barcelona on Monday, it has been confirmed.

PROST driver Jean Alesi has criticized the FIA for the possible reintroduction of traction control after the first quarter of the 2001 season, saying that it could lead to cheating.

FERRARI president Luca di Montezemolo has said he is considering retirement from the helm of the Italian Formula One team after one of the best year's in the company's history.

FIA president Max Mosley has echoed the thoughts of many F1 insiders by roundly criticizing the decision of the FIA Formula 1 commission - of which he is a member - for permitting the young Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen to have a super licence.

TRADITIONALLY, the Bugatti name has meant to things: luxury and performance.

THE Emir of Bahrain, who has ambitions to host a Grand Prix as early as 2002, is doing his best to give the state a less totalitarian image.

THE British Grand Prix's future at Silverstone is expected to be secured on Monday at an EGM of the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC).

TOP grand prix teams Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes could find themselves coming under intensifying attack from lesser rivals next season as French tire maker Michelin this week fired the opening salvos in a grand prix tire war.

ROBERT SEHLI, the sacked Mercedes-Benz worker who protested against his dismissal during the German Grand Prix, has won a court case entitling him to compensation from the car manufacturer.

PROST GRAND PRIX chairman Alain Prost has said he will not rush into making a decision on who will partner Jean Alesi in the French team next season.

THREE-TIME Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher has paid tribute to his boyhood hero Ayrton Senna.

RALF SCHUMACHER has dismissed reports that he has a problem with new BMW-Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya.

FERRARI driver Rubens Barrichello recorded the quickest lap time on the final day of testing at the Valencia circuit, Spain, on Friday.

JORDAN have agreed a three-year partnership deal with World of Internet.com AG (WoI) and expect to seal the deal today (Friday).