Formula One News — February 2001

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER ensured Ferrari's problems on the new F2001 were temporary as he continued development work on the car at Mugello on Wednesday.

FERRARI's sporting director Jean Todt and all the key members of Ferrari's design team will remain with the Italian outfit until the end of 2004, it was confirmed on Wednesday.

ARROWS new-boy Enrique Bernoldi underlined his growing reputation when he topped the times on the opening day of testing at Estoril, Portugal, on Wednesday.

DAVID COULTHARD has postponed his plans to marry top model Heidi Wichinski in a bid to focus his entire efforts on winning the 2001 World Championship in the McLaren-Mercedes MP4/15 which was unveiled at the Valencia circuit here today.

THE news that Neil Ressler is to retire from the Ford Motor Company is not really a surprise.

THE plans for there to be a Grand Prix in India within five years could be hit badly by news from Delhi that the government has drawn up a new bill which will ban smoking in public places and stop all tobacco advertising and sponsorships.

THE German media company Bertelsmann has become Europe's biggest free-over-air TV company by acquiring an extra 30% in the RTL company, which holds the terrestrial TV rights for Formula 1 in Germany.

ONE has to be impressed by the skill with which Craig Pollock and Adrian Reynard run British American Racing from their respective home addresses in Monaco (in the case of Pollock) and the chic Swiss resort of Chesieres (in the case of Reynard).

PROST GRAND PRIX announced on Tuesday night they have signed Spanish driver Pedro de la Rosa as the team's reserve and test-driver next season.

NIKI LAUDA was confirmed as the new chief executive officer of the Premier Performance Division of the Premier Automotive Group in London on Tuesday.

THERE was a big surprise on Tuesday when Toyota announced that a "basic agreement" has been reached with Exxon Mobil for a technical partnership in Formula 1.

JEAN-PIERRE BOUDY, the technical director of the old Peugeot Sport, has left the company, which has now been reorganized by its new owner Asiatech.

PROST GRAND PRIX's former chief designer Loic Bigois has departed the team.

THE rumor at the Michelin launch in Paris yesterday was that Alain Prost may be looking at ways of getting Pedro de la Rosa to drive for him in place of signed driver Gaston Mazzacane.

FERNANDO ALONSO has been confirmed as a European Minardi driver for the 2001 season, by his manager Adrian Campos.

NO sooner has Repsol-YPF left Arrows than word comes from the City of London that Eurobet is unlikely to continue supporting Arrows next year.

THE FINANCIAL TIMES in London is reporting that Bernie Ecclestone may lose the rights to the Formula 1 World Championship after 2010 unless he pays the $360m he has agreed to pay to the federation.

BENETTON technical director Mike Gascoyne believes that the new B201 challenger, unveiled in Venice today (Tuesday), will develop into a car capable of challenging for third place in the Championship by the middle of the season.

ALAIN PROST has praised the design of his new car, declaring: "This year will be completely different to 2000 for Prost."

WORLD CHAMPION Michael Schumacher is set to be given honorary citizenship of the Italian town of Modena.

TOYOTA MOTORSPORT president Ove Andersson has indicated that the team is set to start testing their new Formula One car in March.

TRIPLE World Champion Michael Schumacher completed only six laps of testing at the Mugello circuit on Monday as a problem with the engine injection system hindered the new Ferrari F2001 car.

NIKI LAUDA, the retired triple world champion, is expected to be confirmed tomorrow (Tuesday) in a senior management consultancy position with the Jaguar formula one team.

MICHELIN have said that they do not expect a win in their first season back in Formula One as a tire supplier.