NewsOnF1 - 19 - 25 August News

25-Aug: The Sauber team confirmed today that Heinz Harald Frentzen and Nick Heidfeld will drive for the team in 2003. Current driver Felipe Massa has been offered a test driver role.
Team boss Peter Sauber said "The extension of Nick's contract was a formality. He has done an excellent job for our team and feels at home with us. The decision to replace Felipe Massa was not easy for me. Finally, the decisive factor was Heinz-Harald Frentzen's performance this year, which impressed us deeply. He is not only one of the fastest drivers in Formula One, he also knows how to move a team forward. Furthermore, he has proven that he is still highly motivated. I hope that Felipe Massa will accept our offer as test and substitute driver. We continue to be very interested in his development."

Heinz Harald Frentzen said "I have a very special relationship with Peter Sauber. He brought me into Formula One and paved the way for my career. I am very happy that this has worked out now and that I will compete in my 10-year anniversary in Formula 1 with Team SAUBER PETRONAS.
The performance of Team SAUBER PETRONAS has impressed me tremendously over the years and I am convinced that together we will achieve a lot."

Heinz Harald Frentzen was released from his contract with Arrows earlier this month (story) as the team faces uncertainty over its future. There was speculation that Frentzen would be returning to Jordan or moving to Toyota but now he is confirmed to drive alongside his fellow countryman Nick Heidfeld at Sauber.

23-Aug: Lk takes the lead in the 6 'n' Pole Competition following the round of Hungary by a single point! ... Overall Results ... Hungary Results ... Popular Picks ... Register

22-Aug: The Williams BMW F1 team confirmed today the Juan Pablo Montoya will remain with the team until 2004.
Team boss Frank Williams said "Juan is an outstanding talent, and we are all naturally delighted that the team will stay together for the next two seasons. Both his natural resource of skill and the continuity that this agreement offers will provide a considerable impetus for the team to build a championship challenge in 2003 and 2004."

Juan Pablo Montoya said "I have no doubt that both WilliamsF1 and BMW are completely determined, and have the will to win a Championship title. It is for these reasons that I am delighted to be racing with the BMW WilliamsF1 Team."

Following reports that Red Bull was negotiating with Ford to buy out the Jaguar team, Ford's Vice President Richard Parry-Jones has denied the reports and said "Ford Motor Company management is not in negotiations and is not planning on the sale of Jaguar Racing."

The reports have been fuelled by the recent engine supply deal between Ford and Jordan raising questions about the viability of the poor performing Jaguar F1 team. It is also reported that Red Bull are having difficulty buying out the Arrows team due to existing shareholders blocking such a deal.

Red Bull are reportedly planning to launch the Red Bull Team USA Formula 1 team next season using an existing team as their launch platform. An announcement is expected around the time of the US Grand Prix on the 29th of September.

22-Aug: Following reports that indicated Malaysian driver Alex Yoong will not be driving for Minardi next year, team boss Paul Stoddart has denied any truth to these reports and indicated that a decision has yet to be made with regard to their 2003 driver line-up and said "This is absolute nonsense. I have not said any such thing. My position has been completely consistent whenever I have been asked questions on this subject: no decision has been made on Minardi's driver line-up for 2003. All the names about which there is speculation are worthy of consideration and might be in with a chance, but we're not under any pressure to make a decision at this stage."

Alex Yoong who is expected to return to the driving seat in time for the Italian Grand Prix disregarded those reports as well and believes Paul is giving him a second chance and said "Paul had given me another chance to make good and I intend to apply myself positively in preparation for the Monza tests after SPA. I won't let such speculations which have no basis of truth to bother me."

20-Aug: Ferrari's Sporting Director Jean Todt has admitted that their win in Hungary was an easy one and said "In all fairness, watching from the pit wall, I would say it was probably the easiest one-two we have had because we were much quicker from the start. It was important to have two cars first after the first corner, which happened. It was not easy for Michael but finally, he managed it. Then we knew we had to save the tyres at the beginning and we thought that at the beginning that Ralf might be on a one stop. We thought it was probably not the case, but it could have been, and we were really pulling away quite easily."

Despite Ferrari's superiority over the rest of the field and despite having clinched both World Championships, Todt is reluctant to let his two drivers race against each other and said "We want our drivers to be racing against other competitors, not against each other. We have said that many times before. We are not intending to have both drivers fighting against each other if it is not in the interests of the team. The priority at the moment is to have Rubens second in the championship."

Jean Todt praised Michael Schumacher on his impressive finishing record and believes that his current record of finishes in the points will be one the hardest to beat and said "It’s a fantastic achievement for Michael to score points in each race. Having 112 points in 13 races is an 8.5 points per race average. If you appreciate that you have ten for the first, six for the second, it’s outstanding. I think that will be a record that is very difficult to beat. Probably the most difficult to beat, the number of points per race."

19-Aug: "Your thoughts on the Hungarian Grand Prix" - Topic of the week - Have Your Say