Formula One News — January 2002

Testing got underway for the first time since the end of the 2001 season Monday in Barcelona with Williams' young test driver Antonio Pizzonia setting the early pace.

The familiar ritual of pre-season F1 testing kicked off at Barcelona yesterday with nine of the current 12 F1 teams turning up to start what amounts to the long slog towards the first race of the season in Melbourne on March 3.

The newly-renamed KL Minardi Asiatech team won't be traveling to Barcelona with the rest of the F1 circus this week, but will instead begin its pre-season program at Valencia on January 15.

Possibly a little miffed by his boss Niki Lauda's suggestion that the current generation of Formula 1 cars could be driven by monkeys or grandmothers, the Catalan driver is looking forward to the triple champion's return to the cockpit with some relish.

The sound of V10 engines is at last ringing out after the three-month enforced drought since the end of last season's Japanese Grand Prix, and the current hot spot is the Circuit de Catalunya.

Former Reynard director Rick Gorne is to join Lola Cars International Ltd. with immediate effect, as a Consultant and adviser in Business Development.

One of the teams which will be missing from testing for the next few weeks will be Orange Arrows which has been waiting for the delivery of its first Cosworth V10 engines.

The winter testing ban is over and on Monday the leading teams will be in action again with Williams starting off the testing at Barcelona on Monday with three interim cars.

In just over a week the next James Bond movie begins filming at Pinewood Studios and MGM and Eon Productions have decided to run a 007 logo on the Jaguar Formula 1 car this year.

The BMW Williams team does not have much space available on its cars at the moment but the end of the 2001 season marked the finish of the team's three-year relationship with Canada's Nortel Networks.

Rumors are currently circulating suggesting that Mark Webber is getting ever closer to a deal to lead the Minardi team in 2003.

Jacques Villeneuve has not been exactly ecstatic about the ousting of his mentor Craig Pollock as the head of British American Racing and the Canadian driver has been dropping some hints to pressmen about the future.

After much confusion and several controversial meetings, the Formula 1 team bosses agreed in November to new testing regulations which will see a continued midseason ban and additional breaks in testing after the final race and over the Christmas period.

The launch season is always a time of hype and high expectations. The danger of being a Formula 1 journalist is that one can be swept along in all the warm woolly optimism of the season.

It seems that Petronas, the Malaysian national oil company, has decided against buying the Sepang racing circuit to avoid criticism that an oil company has no need for such a facility.

The protest by Prost employees at the French Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry drew attention to the team's plight - as it was intended to do.

Sauber has announced that the Commercial Vehicle Division of DaimlerChrysler Schweiz AG, parent company of Mercedes-Benz, has become a technical supplier to the team.

Michael Schumacher has reputedly insured himself to the value of $81 million for the coming season with the renowned Lloyds of London.

In a world where legislation is usually against tobacco companies, the Turkish government has just announced plans to open up its tobacco industry.

The West McLaren Mercedes team is to launch its new MP4/17 car in Barcelona on January 19, which is very early compared to usual McLaren launches.

Jenson Button has decided to end his relationship with his management team.

As we predicted recently Rick Gorne has departed Reynard Racing Cars, having been unable to put together a deal to rebuild the company as he would have liked.

Jaguar Racing team leader Eddie Irvine says that he believes his age is no handicap when it comes to taking on young rising stars such as Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button over the next few F1 seasons.

Every F1 team apart from Arrows and Minardi will be out at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya next week as the first major test of the 2002 season starts the countdown towards the opening Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 3rd.