F1 Hot News
By Andrew Maitland
July 7, 2002
Driver Analysis: Qualifying
1- Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams): 'I do not know where that
came from. We did quite a few changes to the car throughout
qualifying and obviously it paid off.'
2- Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari): 'I have no complaints,
especially after seat-belt and traffic problems, but I still
pushed for a time.'
3- Michael Schumacher (Ferrari): 'The car was good in the
first sector but not in the next two. We changed the nose, but
never got the balance right.'
4- Ralf Schumacher (Williams): 'At the end it became difficult
and I could not improve. It will be hard to challenge Ferrari
in the race.'
5- Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren): 'The car lost power, so I had to
take the spare. I'm sure I would have made a better time in my
6- David Coulthard (McLaren): 'We expected this. The car felt
good, although I had understeer. So far our race performance
has been better than qualifying.'
7- Jarno Trulli (Renault): 'We solved most of our setup
problems, so the car didn't feel too bad. Jenson isn't where
he should be on the grid.'
8- Mika Salo (Toyota): 'I had a flat battery during qualifying
but no other major problems. The car worked well in the sun,
and 8th is more than good.'
9- Jacques Villeneuve (BAR): 'The car seems to suit the
high-speed corners. The gearbox played up on downshifts, and
we will be very fast if its wet.'
10- Nick Heidfeld (Sauber): 'I could have improved by half a
second, but Montoya blocked me. He's happy, he's on pole, but
that was not acceptable.'
11- Felipe Massa (Sauber): 'Struggled with understeer, and
eventually enhanced the balance. I lost a bit of time in the
12- Jenson Button (Renault): 'Disappointing, even more so at
Silverstone. The engine went in Becketts, so I qualified the
badly setup T-car.'
13- Olivier Panis (BAR): 'I only had two fast laps after
morning problems. I did my utmost to go as fast as possible
but I was missing a lot of track time.'
14- Takuma Sato (Jordan): 'I had a problem with the nose, and
a lot of nervousness in high speed corners. The tires were
15- Allan McNish (Toyota): 'We need more traction, and got
held up by Raikkonen on my best run. Just one of those
16- Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Arrows): 'We tried very hard today
but caught traffic. I had three runs and on the one that
mattered I had traffic.'
17- Giancarlo Fisichella (Jordan): 'A terrible day, in which I
lost most morning running. In qualifying, the engine went. The
T-car was not the same.'
18- Enrique Bernoldi (Arrows): 'We are still struggling
slightly for optimum balance in qualifying trim but I am
hopeful for a good race.'
19- Eddie Irvine (Jaguar): 'Don't forget the fact that I have
hardly tested this new package. For now, at least we have a
much better car over a race distance.'
20- Mark Webber (Minardi): 'A positive day. I really enjoyed
today, the car and setup were very good. I'm sorry for Alex,
21- Pedro de la Rosa (Jaguar): 'The coolant leak problem was
then followed by an electrical misfire and just managed to
DNQ- Alex Yoong (Minardi): 'I gave it my best shot today, but
unfortunately, it wasn't good enough. The lack of power
steering was to blame.'
Silverstone Still 'Chaotic'
Many million of pounds later, and Max Mosley thinks
Silverstone traffic is still a 'chaotic' problem.
After nearly losing the British Grand Prix, Octagon
Motorsports have been working feverishly to ensure that the
Northamptonshire's notorious traffic and parking nightmares
With the revised Dadford road and new car-parks up and running
for 2002, however, the FIA President admits that this year's
meeting has been a 'huge improvement'.
'So far, so good,' Mosley told reporters. 'When the new roads
are finished it will be really night and day compared to the
While access and entry to the facility are better, Mosley says
that a good 'system of signs and routes and roads' is still
missing from the Northamptonshire facility. 'It's a little bit
chaotic in the circuit,' he added.
'The people in charge could be better, too', he hastened to
add. 'But you can't expect to do everything at once. Hopefully
next year they'll have proper access roads, proper
organisation in the circuit. Apparently it's much better than
it's ever been so far on a Saturday. But today (Sunday) will
To assist in making the British Grand Prix a more orderly
affair, race-day attendance has been reduced from 90,000 last
year to just 60,000 Grand Prix patrons. Nevertheless, twenty
thousand cars will put the new system to test later today.
'When you've got that number of cars coming to the circuit, it
will be our acid test,' said Rob Bain, head of Octagon.
Yoong Fails The Grade
Malaysia's first Formula One driver, Alex Yoong, has once
again failed to qualify for a 2002 Grand Prix.
After falling short of the 107% rule at the San Marino Grand
Prix in April, the 25-year-old failed the Silverstone grade by
two tenths of a second.
'I gave it my best shot today, but unfortunately, it wasn't
good enough,' a disconsolate Yoong said. 'I'm obviously
extremely disappointed to have missed making the grid for
tomorrow's race, particularly by such a small margin'.
While the gap to 107% is relatively small, however, Yoong's
measly 1.24.785 was a mammoth 2.5 seconds shy of teammate Mark
Webber, who split the heavily-revised R3b Jaguars of Eddie
Irvine and Pedro de la Rosa.
'Silverstone is a tough circuit', continued the Malaysian,
'And with my relative lack of experience racing or testing
here, it would have helped a lot if there had been the
opportunity to run in the dry yesterday.
'There wasn't, however, and the car was also suffering from
some rear instability under braking which didn't help matters.
'The biggest problem, though, was that we lost a lot of time
in the quick corners, a factor that was due, at least in part,
I believe, to the lack of power steering on the cars this
For talented Aussie Mark Webber, however - also grappling with
the heavy PS02 wheel - qualifying at Silverstone was a
'The guys did a really good job with the car and made
absolutely the right decisions with the tires and set-up.
'I'm sorry for Alex, though', the 25-year-old hastened to add.
'To have missed out by such a small margin today is tough, but
I'm sure he'll bounce back for the next race.'
Team chief Paul Stoddart, relying heavily on the Malaysian
sponsorship brought to Minardi by Yoong, remained supportive
of his man. 'Unfortunately, despite a valiant effort, Alex's
lack of experience of the tough Silverstone circuit meant he
missed out', said the Australian.
'I am totally confident that if he had been able to run in dry
conditions during yesterday's practice sessions, he would
easily have made the field today.
'Unfortunately, though, it was not to be, and now all we can
do is focus on our preparations for tomorrow's British Grand
For the record, Minardi driver Tarso Marques failed to make
the 107% grade at Silverstone last year.
Short-Term Support From Frentzen
While throwing his short-term support behind the flailing
Arrows team, Heinz-Harald Frentzen has admitted that his mind
will soon wander onto new projects.
After his unceremonious ousting from the Jordan team after
last year's Silverstone race, the German found himself in a
similar predicament at Alain Prost's outfit.
Knowing the score, however, the 33-year-old has vowed to do
'everything in [his] power' to help Tom Walkinshaw's team out
of hot water.
'I will do everything I can to help the team,' he promised. 'I
am supporting them as much as I can. I am not the kind of guy
who really does not do a complete job here, even if it is
A loyal and honest driver, Frentzen admitted that his future
in the sport probably does not lie with the Orange-clad
Leafield team. 'There is a time when I have to think about
what I am going to do in the future', he said.
'This is quite normal. But right now, I am still married to
Arrows and I don't speak about another marriage until it is
over. And even though it is difficult, it is still a very
'When the going gets tough the tough get going.'
Arrows Sale To Go Ahead
As a Cosworth engine barked into life in the Arrows garage
yesterday, the F1 community heaved a collective sigh of
Instantly, everyone knew that Tom Walkinshaw had somehow got
his hands on the Electronic Control Units (ECU) which govern
the customer V10 powerplants. Niki Lauda, heading Ford's
Premier Performance Division, had yesterday vowed to hide the
vital ECU's until $7m of overdue payments were made.
'I paid for the engines myself,' Walkinshaw revealed. 'I can
tell you 100 percent this company has never traded
fraudulently and has never been insolvent but I can understand
the judge getting to where he did get to because he did not
have all the information in front of the court.'
As Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Enrique Bernoldi steered their
A23s out of pitlane, Tom Walkinshaw confirmed that the sale of
his Leafield concern will go ahead as soon as possible.
'We are negotiating now with three different parties who are
interested in maybe acquiring the team as a whole or in making
a partial investment in the team and that will continue over
the next couple of weeks,' The Scot said.
'We had confirmation from two of them (on Friday) that they
still want to continue with the negotiations and hopefully
that will be sorted before Magny-Cours.'
Shareholders Morgan Grenfell have been granted an injunction
preventing the sale of Arrows' Concorde Agreement signature to
the 'interesting parties'; headed by Energy Drinks company Red
'I think Arrows will complete the season,' Walkinshaw
confirmed. 'Common sense should prevail.
'You can't have injunctions that bleed a company dry for a
long period of time.'
Schumi's Reign To End?
Outspoken Ulsterman Eddie Irvine agrees that Michael
Schumacher's Formula One career is coming to an end.
Concurring with 1996 world champion Damon Hill's assertion
that the Ferrari ace will hang his helmet up at the end of the
year, the 37-year-old Jaguar pilot says that Schumacher's work
at Ferrari is nearly done.
'I've not always agreed with Damon Hill's views but his
thoughts of Michael retiring at the end of the season -
despite having a contract until 2004 - is not at all
unrealistic,' Eddie told the Sun.
Irvine points to Rubens Barrichello's new scarlet contract and
the 'perfect' F2002 as evidence that the quadruple world
champion is winding up his seven-year stint at the Scuderia.
'I thought it was very strange when the team gave Rubens a
two-year deal recently. Why not just one for a year because he
has nowhere else to go?
'And because the Ferrari is now such a perfect car Rubens is
now matching Michael's pace. In a bad car Michael is THE man.
His skills can overcome a tricky machine and that's where he
has always had an edge over his partner.
'If Rubens starts regularly beating him, Michael may feel he
is losing it or that the car is so good that it doesn't matter
who drives it.'
Should Schumacher drive to his second British Grand Prix win
today, another dominant win at Magny-Cours in two weeks will
seal his fifth title crown.
The German remains adamant that while he has no thoughts of
early retirement, team management is certainly not an option
when he finally hangs up his gloves.
'I am very sure that leading a team is not something I'd
like', he said. 'That option is ruled out.
'I only have to look at (Ferrari chief) Jean Todt to know that
leading a team is not something I could ever do. That man is
working at least 16 hours a day.
'I have no idea where he finds the energy to do that every
Mercedes Move Closer To McLaren
McLaren's Managing Director, Martin Whitmarsh, has made it
clear that DaimlerChrysler are becoming 'increasingly
involved' in Mercedes' Grand Prix project.
Responding to claims that Mercedes' engine-builder Ilmor were
becoming closer to the McLaren group, Whitmarsh makes it clear
that manufacturer DaimlerChrysler is the one looking to
consolidate links with the Woking team.
'Clearly, DaimlerChrysler are becoming increasingly involved
in the program', said the Briton. 'As a team, DaimlerChrysler,
Ilmor and McLaren are trying to work together and there is
always a competitive edge in any team'.
As the McLaren MP4-17 contender fails to set the Formula One
world on fire, fingers of blame are pointing more or less
squarely on an underperforming Mercedes V10 powerplant.
'The chassis people will always look to the engine people to
do a better job, and vice versa', he adds. 'When you're not as
competitive as you thought you were going to be at the
beginning of the year, then there's always people looking at
each other within the team, trying to wonder if their partners
are going to do a better job.
'That creates some tension, it's not always negative but it
can be if it becomes excessive. But we're working together'.
With the enormous resource and support brought to McLaren by
Mercedes' German mother company, Whitmarsh admits that McLaren
are 'Not doing a good enough job'.
'But we're not doing a good enough job for ourselves', he
hastily adds. 'We will strive to do better next year.'
McLaren contenders Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard
respectively reside the third row of the grid for today's
British Grand Prix.
Schu Makes No Apology
Michael Schumacher has responded to growing concern that his
scarlet dominance in 2002 is making Formula One predictable
Back-to-back wins at the next two Formula One events will see
the German wrap up the drivers' crown in record time this
year; title celebrations a distinct possibility for the
Magny-Cours event in two weeks.
After tight championship battles in his '94, '95 and 2000
world championship spoils, however, Michael Schumacher makes
no apology for painting 2002 scarlet red.
'As far as I'm concerned there has often been two drivers
going for the title, and then there has been years like now,'
Schumacher said at Silverstone. 'I seem to remember the
English found it great when Nigel Mansell was leading by a big
Losing out to his rivals from 1996 to 1999 respectively, the
German thinks he has paid his dues and now deserves to revel
in the superb dominance of Scuderia Ferrari's F2002 contender.
'I have raced in an era when there have been a number of
drivers going for the title, so it's more than fair now', he
says firmly. 'It doesn't happen too often that you get an
experience like I am having right now, although there have
been certain battles this year.'
Winning at Australia, Schumacher opened up a four-race winning
streak between Brazil to Austria, topping it off with his
sixth 2002 victory at the June 9 Canadian Grand Prix.
If he wins at Silverstone today, it will mark only his second
victory at the Northamptonshire track.
Renault Drive For Alonso?
Team chief Flavio Briatore is paving the way for 20-year-old
protégé Fernando Alonso's 2003 debut for Renault.
As current Enstone pilot Jenson Button's future becomes ever
uncertain, the Italian team boss is making noises that the
young Spaniard will partner Jarno Trulli in the R203.
'Alonso is very special,' Briatore said at Silverstone.
'Obviously, the British press supports British drivers, the
Italian press supports Italians and so on.
'But, honestly, I couldn't care less about nationality. What
we want is the quickest driver.'
While a decision on driver line-up is not expected for at
least a month, the team's tester impressed all with his stint
behind the wheel of the Jaguar last month at Silverstone.
'The watch doesn't always tell the story because performances
are always disguised by fuel loads, tires and so on', Flavio
continued. 'But the team always knows...'
For the record, Alonso pipped Jag regular Pedro de la Rosa in
difficult circuit conditions.
The youngster debuted for Paul Stoddart's Minardi team last
year, ultimately pulled into the Renault testing role in view
of a 2003 race-drive.
Heidfeld Slams Montoya
Sauber ace Nick Heidfeld lashed out at British Grand Prix
pole-sitter Juan Pablo Montoya after qualifying yesterday.
As the 25-year-old German posted a green-sector on his final
flying lap, a preparatory Montoya cruised his FW24 around the
5.1km Northamptonshire track oblivious to the continuing
'I'm really unhappy with the session', Heidfeld barked after
qualifying hour. 'I could have improved my time by half a
second on my final lap, but Montoya blocked me.
'He was on his out lap, so I don't know what he was thinking.
I nearly hit him at Priory. He ruined my best lap.
'I'm very disappointed because the car has been really good
here all weekend. He's happy, he's on pole, but that was not
Peter Sauber, the Hinwil-team's chief, echoed his young
charger's anger at the Colombian. 'I am very disappointed with
what happened on Nick's outing', the Swiss principal said.
'A significant improvement was ruined by Montoya.'
Nick Heidfeld lines up in tenth spot, although half a second
quicker could have seen him in the top seven.
'Callous' Irvine Hits Out
As Northamptonshire awakes for the 2002 British Grand Prix,
Eddie Irvine has been musing about Michael Schumacher's
leg-breaking accident at Silverstone three years ago.
While the German revealed just days ago that the 200kmh impact
at Stowe-corner still haunts him, former team-mate Irvine lets
slip that for him 'It was the happiest moment of my career.'
As the field roared towards Stowe for the first time in the
1999 British Grand Prix, Eddie Irvine's Ferrari led Schumacher
on the approach to the rapid right hander.
Countering the official line that a brake failure led to the
great German's broken leg, Irvine reveals a slightly different
tale. 'I was really energized for the race because the car was
great and I knew I would do well but I was also hacked off
with Michael', the 37-year-old reveals.
'He had been quoted as saying that I had only helped him a
couple of times when the truth was that I had moved over for
him several more times without the team even asking me. It was
my job to help him gain as many points as possible.
'I felt his comments were ungracious so when I flew past him
at the start I decided to brake so late going into the corner
that there would be no way he could come by me without sliding
'He braked, locked up, came off the brakes and then tried to
sweep by me. But then he had to brake again when he realised
he wasn't going to make it and that's when a nipple in the
brakes snapped and sent him straight into the tire wall.'
Unlike the majority of the sympathetic racing world, Irvine
admits to unbridled joy as news of an injured Michael
Schumacher filtered in ahead of the re-start. 'Once the team
had told me he was OK I can remember sitting in the car trying
to contain my joy at his misfortune because it meant I would
at last be able to challenge for the 1999 world crown'.
'Now before anyone starts accusing me of being callous let's
put something straight - there is not a driver in the pit-lane
who wouldn't rejoice at someone else's grief if it was going
to benefit them. Every test driver hopes that a team's normal
line-up may suffer a problem so that they can be instantly
called on as a replacement.
'Formula One racers are all totally selfish because if they
didn't think about me, me, me they would just be trodden into
'If Rubens Barrichello breaks down in a race, fans are
probably thinking: 'Oh what a shame'. My view is always:
'Great, that's moved me up a place - who's going to be next?'
'It's a dog eat dog situation and you can't afford to take any
prisoners. I have always said that F1 is a war and it really
'Take Ayrton Senna's tragic death in 1994. It was a
frightening reminder what can happen to even the finest driver
in the world - but it didn't stop several racers from phoning
Frank Williams the following day asking for the chance to take
Ayrton's place in the team.
'There's a fine line between showing respect for such an
appalling incident or missing a golden opportunity for a top
drive. That's why I have no qualms in admitting that Michael's
crash was a fantastic break for me - and an unlucky one for
While there is little doubt that Michael would have cruised to
the 1999 title, the Ulsterman remains firm that the German
'Only has himself to blame.'
Positive Response To GPWC
Formula One team principals have responded positively to the
proposed 'breakaway' series' invitation to contest their title
The directors of the new series - dubbed GPWC - met with
representatives of all Formula One teams at Silverstone
yesterday, to 'Discuss the future of the GPWC series.'
Unveiling new details of the Grand Prix World Championship
series, the Directors outlined plans to 'Ensure long term
stability for the sport', as well as ways to improve the
economic benefits for all participating teams.
GPWC guaranteed that free-to-air television would comprise the
primary platform for the racing series, as well as assuring
that business operation would operate on a 'fully transparent
'While Teams (in Formula One) currently participate only in
television and computer game revenue, GPWC proposes to channel
all grand prix generated income such as that from TV rights,
promotion of races, trackside advertising, hospitality and
merchandising' to the GPWC teams.
The GPWC, made up of representatives of Ford, DaimlerChrysler,
BMW, Renault and Fiat, proposed the alternative racing series
fundamentally to avoid the poor funds distribution and unclear
long-term stability of Formula One.
Emerging from the meeting, Eddie Jordan said 'The meeting was
very useful and informative. There is a lot to digest. We look
forward to our next meeting.'
Sir Frank Williams added 'I listened with interest. There are
questions still to be asked and resolved, but there is still
plenty of time to do this. I look forward to our next
Jürgen Hubbert said 'It was a constructive meeting with the
The Teams received the proposal very positively, and will
discuss with the manufacturers in detail solutions further to
prix racing in the future.'
GPWC Holdings BV is chaired by Claudio Berro, of the
New Jaguar Fails To Roar
The much-hyped revisions to the dismal R3 Jaguar package
failed to fulfil their promise in the first two days of the
British Grand Prix meeting.
Ulsterman Eddie Irvine, having pinned his future to the
heavily-revised aerodynamics package adorning his R3b at
Silverstone, ended the day just ahead of Mark Webber's
Minardi, in nineteenth place.
'Of course we would have liked to have qualified higher today,
but don't forget the fact that I have hardly tested this new
package,' the 37-year-old said.
'Apart from a couple of hours in Barcelona last Thursday
combined with the Free Practice sessions here, the team's
knowledge of this package is still quite limited.
'It will take time for us to understand and exploit the new
development. We certainly have more downforce and the handling
has also improved, but there are still some issues we need to
While the R3b failed to deliver in ultimate lap pace, Irvine
is confident that he has a better race car under him for
today's Silverstone race.
'This we will do as part of our on-going aerodynamic program,
but for now, at least we have a much better car over a race
Pedro de la Rosa endured 'one of those days' in the sister
Jaguar, the Spaniard failing to post a competitive time until
the final seconds of the hour-long session.
'Things like this happen in motorsport and today simply wasn't
my day,' he said.
'The coolant leak problem was then followed by an electrical
misfire and as the clock ticked, I began wondering whether I
would actually qualify at all for tomorrow's race', he said
'Having got in the car, I pushed very hard on my out lap and
managed to get across the finishing line within four seconds
of the session being declared finished. The new aero package
is an improvement in many areas, but we still do not know
enough about it yet.
Lauda 'Disappointed' With R3b
Despite the ultimate failure of Jaguar's all-new aerodynamic
package, Niki Lauda remains firm that the Milton-Keynes team
simply haven't tapped the R3b's potential.
With the Minardi of Mark Webber sandwiching the R3b pairing,
the Austrian team chief admits to feeling disappointed as
today's British Grand Prix looms.
'I am obviously disappointed with our qualifying positions,
but we knew this weekend would mark the first step in what is
an on-going aerodynamic program', he said.
'We ran the new package in Barcelona for the first time last
week and combined with yesterday's wet Free Practice sessions,
we haven't had anywhere near enough time to understand it
fully. There are definite improvements in certain areas, but
we still need to extract more and address some issues.
'The challenge, however, is finding that extra speed at a
quicker pace than our competitors. Nobody is resting on their
laurels in Formula One and while we have certainly taken a
step forward in finding more downforce, our competition has
also moved forward.
'We will continue pushing forward and I am sure we will
exploit the package to its full potential - something we
haven't seen in the very short time since it arrived on the
car a week ago'.
While points are out of the question for today's 60-lap Grand
Prix, Eddie Irvine and Pedro de la Rosa will be frantically
collecting data to fine-tune the aero-revisions.
'Tomorrow's race will be tough', Lauda adds, 'But it will also
be the first time that we'll see this new aero package in race
conditions and we will learn a great deal from this.'
As the English sun began to fade at Silverstone International,
we asked Eddie Irvine what he hoped for his home British Grand
'I just pray it doesn't rain', he said, turning his eyes to
the darkening skies.
Race Day News From Silverstone
- We have been reliably informed that un-forecast rain could
spoil today's British Grand Prix at Silverstone. While the
ominous, dark clouds have somewhat cleared, a low cloud base
threatens to dump intermittent showers on the Northamptonshire
circuit later this afternoon. 'Around 3 o'clock', we were
told, 'Rain is a distinct possibility'. Ambient temperature
should reach 20°C.
- Czech driver Tomas Enge converted his pole-position into a
commanding F3000 win at Silverstone yesterday afternoon. Still
second in the championship, the Arden Team Russia driver is
now just nine points behind series leader Sebastien Bourdais.
Winning by 13 seconds, Enge reported 'The car was nearly
perfect and I could push as much as I wanted.' Ricardo
Sperafico followed Bourdais home to complete the podium.
- The annual Silverstone Ball was attended by Formula One
stars Giancarlo Fisichella, Takuma Sato, Nick Heidfeld, Felipe
Massa, Enrique Bernoldi and Mark Webber; although he crowd
saved their biggest cheer for home-town hero Jenson Button.
On This F1 Day...
Two ex-Formula One drivers share July 7 as a birthday, the
oldest of whom being the deceased Jo Siffert who would have
turned 66 today.
One of the great sports car drivers and winner of the 1968
British Grand Prix as a private entry for Rob Walker, he was
killed in a non-championship race at Brands Hatch in '71.
We also extend a cheery birthday note to Alessandro Nannini, a
very promising driver whose right arm was saved after being
severed in a helicopter crash. He returned to touring car
racing in 1992 after finishing his F1 career in 1990 for
Killed on this day in 1968 was Frenchman Jo Schlesser. In the
French Grand Prix, his career was cut short when his works
Honda car crashed on lap two at Rouen.
On that sad day in July, Belgian Jacky Ickx netted his first
Grand Prix win for Ferrari. After his grand prix career,
spanning a further 7 wins, he took up long distance rallying,
winning the 1983 Paris-Dakar.
Ickx was also World Sports Car Champion in 1982 and '83.
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