Formula One News — May 2002

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.

Despite the fact that there was no grand prix this weekend, there were quite a few F1 names racing around the world.

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.

Renaud Derlot and Bruno Besson gave the Signature team a 1-2 result at Pau on Monday.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The CART organization in the United States is to move from Troy, Michigan to Indianapolis this weekend.

ABC has named John Watson and Ben Edwards as it two lead commentators for the Monaco Grand Prix.

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.

The Monaco Grand Prix circuit is planning to make some significant changes to the race track for the race in 2003.

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.

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.

Toranosuke Takagi returned to Formula 1 this week at the wheel of a Toyota F12 at Paul Ricard.

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.

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.

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 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.