Formula One News — May 2002

The Italian Embassy in Brazil is to grant Italian citizenship to Rubens Barrichello, as a way to compensate the humiliation suffered by Barrichello in Austria.

Luca di Montezemolo has backed up Ross Brawn and Jean Todt's decision to ensure that Michael Schumacher won the Austrian GP on Sunday.

Phoenix Finance Ltd. goes to the High Court in London this week for an answer in its case against the FIA and FOM.

Formula 1 is in the firing line today after yesterday's Austrian Grand Prix and it is not just the people in the grandstands and the world media that felt cheated by Ferrari's insistence that Michael Schumacher win the race yesterday.

This morning Formula 1 is being hammered from all sides by public opinion. But F1 is not dead as some might suggest.

It is easy to say that Takuma Sato had a miraculous escape in Austria but a point which should be made is that this miracle was as much to do with the laws of physics as it was to do with good fortune.

The FIA statement on Monday about what happened at the Austrian Grand Prix indicate that the FIA is going to take action against Ferrari at the next meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Paris on June 26.

Takuma Sato has been released from Graz's University Hospital after a night under observation overnight following his accident in yesterday's Austrian Grand Prix.

The Italian gambling commission is reported to have asked the judiciary if it can open an investigation into the result of the Austrian Grand Prix.

Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB has exercised its option to sell its 22% stake in the insolvent Kirch PayTV company and this looks likely to push Taurus Holding, Kirch PayTV's parent company into insolvency.

Following the merger of Williams-BMW title sponsor Compaq with Hewlett Packard, the team has announced that the branding on the car will change over to HP, starting at the British Grand Prix in July.

Indianapolis 500 qualifying on Saturday resulted in an interesting grid headed by former Williams test driver Bruno Junqueira.

Ask any student of nature: elimination of the weakest strengthens the species.

The Ford Motor Company has given a clear message that it intends to remain in Formula 1 in the long-term.

Matthias Lauda, son of triple World Champion Niki Lauda, is to make his racing debut in Spain this weekend in the Formula Nissan championship.

As we exclusively revealed a month ago former F1 driver Danny Sullivan has launched a scheme to find an American driver for Formula 1.

Volkswagen chairman Bernd Pischetsrieder was in the Formula 1 paddock in Austria but the new boss of the giant German car company continues to insist that there are no plans for VW to enter the sport.

The Formula 1 team bosses spent what appears to have been a constructive meeting on Friday evening at the A1 Ring with none of the hysterical shouting matches which have been the case in recent months.

Tomas Enge took pole position for the Formula 3000 race at the A1-Ring beating off Coloni's Giorgio Pantano by just 0.018 seconds in his Arden International car.

Playing in rock and roll bands is all the rage in Formula 1 circles at the moment with Eddie Jordan involved with his V10 group and Damon Hill and his band the Conrods playing tonight at the A1 Ring to keep the many thousands of Michael Schumacher fans happy.

Later this month BMW chairman and chief executive Joachim Milberg will retire after three years in charge of the Munich company.

Gianni Agnelli, the honorary chairman of Fiat and the man who is ultimately in control of Ferrari is expected to remain in hospital in the United States for several weeks being treated for a prostate problem.

There is a lot of speculation in the Formula 1 paddock at the moment about the effects of the recession on the Formula 1 grids.

Ian Ashley was arrested in January when trying to board an airplane to the United States with tools in his briefcase and a pocketknife in his sock.