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11-Feb: Just after 2 days of testing the new F2002 at Fiorano, Michael Schumacher has indicated his surprise at how reliable the new car is out of the box and was confident that he will be driving the new car in Melbourne. He said "It is 99 percent certain I will race at Melbourne with the F2002. In particular I am surprised how reliable it is. There have been no problems up to now and we are confident about the future."
Michael also reiterated his confidence that the F2002 will be faster than the F2001.

The McLaren team have confirmed that French driver Jean Alesi will drive a McLaren Mercedes F1 at a test session a week after the 2002 Australian Grand Prix. Alesi is expected to drive a hybrid MP4-16.
McLaren however have insisted that this is a one off test and they don't have any further planned sessions. Managing Director of McLaren International Martin Whitmarsh said "Jean has an extensive Formula One experience and we are, therefore, pleased to have this opportunity to benefit from his knowledge. The team is looking forward to receiving feedback and input from Jean following his first experience of our car. Following the test, Jean will concentrate on his DTM programme and we currently have no further plans to test together."
Jean Alesi said "Obviously I'm looking forward to sitting behind the wheel of a Formula One car again and I'm sure that driving a West McLaren Mercedes is going to be an experience. I have no plans to return to Formula One competition and am 100 percent committed to my DTM Championship challenge with Mercedes-Benz. However a drive in a West McLaren Mercedes car was missing from my Formula One CV and I'm really looking forward to the challenge."

Jean Alesi announced his retirement from Formula 1 towards the end of last season following the signing of Takuma Sato with Jordan leaving him without a driving seat at the team. He later announced that he was driving in the DTM series. (Story)

11-Feb: Testing has resumed in Barcelona today with 4 teams. Jarno Trulli set the fastest time of the day ahead of Enrique Bernoldi and Takuma Sato.
5 drivers set lap times Takuma Sato covering the most number of laps with 62 followed by Jordan's test driver Marcel Lasee with 60. Enrique Bernoldi ran the least number of laps with 16.

All the teams ran 2002 spec cars and the pace of Trulli on a green track is pretty encouraging for Renault setting a time that was just over 2 seconds slower than the lap record set here earlier this year.
The Arrows team returned to the track for the first time following the rear wing incidents they have suffered last week at Valencia. Even though Bernoldi only managed 16 laps as Arrows were preparing the car for tomorrow, his best time was faster that either of the two Jordan's.

There were no major incidents today however Sato and Trulli stopped on the track suffering mechanical trouble.
Testing was delayed by 1.5 hours due to fog but once it cleared, weather remained dry and sunny for the rest of the day. Testing continues tomorrow.

Click here for the test times from Barcelona

At Fiorano, Michael Schumacher continued the intensive development program for the F2002. Michael covered a total of 46 laps with a best time of 58:669.
Michael continues testing the F2002 tomorrow.

Click here for the test times from Fiorano

At Mugello, Rubens Barrichello commenced testing for Ferrari. Driving the F2001 and concentrating on tyre development, he covered 69 laps with a best time of 1:23.065
Rubens continues testing the F2001 tomorrow.

Click here for the test times from Mugello

10-Feb: On the final day of testing at Valencia, Juan Pablo Montoya in the Williams FW24 dropped the lap time to under the 1:11 mark for the first time. He was 0.8 seconds faster than his team-mate Ralf Schumacher in second with Olivier Panis another 0.8 seconds behind in third.
Only Williams and BAR were testing on the last day with 6 drivers setting lap times. Olivier Panis covered the most number of laps with 80 followed by Ralf Schumacher with 68 and Juan Pablo Montoya with 63.

Montoya's new lap record was 0.6 seconds faster than the previous lap record set by David Coulthard in the new McLaren at the end of last month.
BAR suffered a number of problems with Panis blowing an engine and Villeneuve stopping with a gearbox problem while their test driver Ryo Fukuda spun twice in the BAR003 without causing any damage.

Williams now heads to Estoril for a 3 day test while BAR are expected to head to the Paul Ricard track.

Click here for the test times from Valencia

The Ferrari F2002 was shaken down today for the first time by Michael Schumacher at the Fiorano track. The first signs look very promising with Schumacher covering 67 laps made up of a number of short runs and breaking the lap record in the process. Michael Schumacher has a good feeling about the new car and said "The new car's debut today was very promising. I had a good feeling from the first moment I was driving the F2002."
Yet Technical Director Ross Brawn remains cautious and said "If we have two weeks of testing without problems we will start with the F2002 but if not we will stick with the old."

Michael Schumacher continues testing the F2002 at Fiorano tomorrow while Rubens Barrichello starts another test session at Mugello with the F2001.

Click here for the test times from Fiorano

9-Feb: It looks as if the Melbourne aero package that BAR are testing this week at Valencia is indeed a step forward. Jacques Villeneuve in the BAR004 running a race simulation managed to set the fastest time of the day with a 1:12.967 (fastest time this session so far was a 1:12.404 by Nick Heidfeld - 7/2). Villeneuve was 0.3 seconds faster than Ralf Schumacher while Juan Pablo Montoya was a further 0.2 seconds behind.
Only 2 teams were present today with 5 drivers setting lap times, Ralf Schumacher covered the most number of laps with 112 followed by Ryo Fukuda in the BAR003 with 99 laps and Jacques Villeneuve with 90. Oliver Panis in the second BAR004 covered the least number of laps with 32 laps.

Both Panis and Montoya had engine problems on the track limiting their running time.
Arrows suspended their testing until they fix their rear wing problem.
Both Williams and BAR conclude their testing tomorrow.

Click here for the test times from Valencia

8-Feb: Following the release of the coroner's report into the death of Volunteer Graham Beveridge at the 2001 Australian GP. The FIA confirmed that the 2002 Australian Grand Prix will go ahead as scheduled. The statement read "The FIA has noted the Coroner’s report into the death of Mr Graham Beveridge, a marshal at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix, which was published today.
The FIA is unable to involve itself directly in national inquiries of this kind. To do so on a world-wide basis would consume massive resources without necessarily producing any real progress in motor sport safety. Although the FIA could not create a precedent by making an exception, it endeavoured to give the Melbourne inquiry all possible assistance with letters, reports and information. The resulting Coroner’s report is workman-like and useful.
The FIA sets minimum standards, below which it will not authorise an international motor race. It anticipates that the Australian Grand Prix Corporation will continue to endeavour to exceed these standards.
It must not be forgotten that by far the most dangerous element of a visit to a Grand Prix remains the drive to and from the circuit. It is to be hoped that the Melbourne Coroner and local traffic police can now concentrate once again on road casualties, which remain a very serious and ongoing problem within their jurisdiction as in the rest of the world.
The FIA can now finally confirm that the 2002 Australian Grand Prix will form part of the 2002 FIA Formula One World Championship."

8-Feb: Juan Pablo Montoya topped the timesheets at Valencia today ahead of Pedro de la Rosa and Antonio Pizzonia. Montoya was over 0.8 seconds faster than the best time set by de la Rosa.
5 teams were present with 10 drivers setting lap times. Antonio Pizzonia in the hybrid FW23 covered the most number of laps with 91 followed by Jacques Villeneuve in the BAR004 with 86 and Anthony Davidson in the BAR003 with 81. Heinz Harald Frentzen covered the least number of laps with 20.

The session was interrupted by 2 spectacular offs by Frentzen who twice suffered rear wing failures at high speed and twice managed to save the car and himself from major damage. As a result though Arrows have stopped any further testing until the problem is rectified.
Frentzen still managed to set the 5th fastest time despite the limited running he had.
Juan Pablo Montoya was very pleased with the progress made on the FW24 so far after setting the fastest time of the day.
Pedro de la Rosa in the Jaguar R3 set an impressive time and ended up second fastest however his time is thought to be set in qualifying trim.
Alex Yoong drove the PS02 today and managed to set a reasonable time over half a second faster than his team-mate Mark Webber in the PS01.
Jacques Villeneuve started testing the BAR004 fitted with the Melbourne aero package and was over a second off the pace.

Jaguar and Minardi conclude their testing while Williams and BAR continue for the next 2 days.

Click here for the test times from Valencia

Michael Schumacher set the fastest time on the final day of testing at Mugello for Ferrari. He completed 104 laps with a best time of 1:22.845. Luca Badoer was also present and he completed 29 laps with a best time of 1:24.077. Both tested in F2001 cars and continued the testing program concentrating on tyres and electronics.
Michael Schumacher covered 60 laps with a best time of 1:23.517 while Rubens Barrichello covered 51 laps with a best time of 1:25.439 with his session ending early due to an engine problem on his car.

The session was run under dry conditions
Ferrari now move to Fiorano to start a test session on Sunday. The F2002 is expected to be given its first shakedown then but Ferrari have not confirmed this.

Click here for the test times from Mugello

The McLaren team who are conducting a private test session at Barcelona have suffered a small setback after David Coulthard spun and his car rolled over. Coulthard left the car unaided and the McLaren MP4-17 didn't suffer significant damage. A spokesperson for the team said "We are currently investigating the cause of the accident this afternoon at Barcelona. David is unhurt and an initial investigation shows very little damage to the car."
No times from this test are available.

The Toyota team have concluded a 4 day private test session at Paul Ricard with Mika Salo driving. Mika Salo was satisfied with the progress they've made and said "This has been a nice test. Some new aerodynamic parts arrived, which improved the car and gave us more downforce. We have generally had no major problems and I am happy with what we have achieved."
No times from this test are available.
Toyota are scheduled to test again at Paul Ricard between the 15th and 17th of February before they ship their cars to Melbourne.

8-Feb: State coroner Graeme Johnstone has handed down his findings into the death of Volunteer Graham Beveridge at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix.
The findings were critical of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC) and the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) as they failed to handle the risks of high speed crashes even though they were aware of the gaps in the fencing. The coroner said "Mr Beveridge's death was avoidable. The issue of the potential for debris to go through the gap had been identified by CAMS years prior to the running of the 2001 event at Albert Park. The solution, a partial cage around the opening, was obvious, not difficult to put in place, and should have been constructed by the organisers prior to the death of Mr Beveridge."
But the coroner indicated his satisfaction towards the steps taken by both organisations to enhance the safety of motorsport and particularly raising the height of the fences for this year's race.
The coroner also called on the FIA to continue the development of the wheel tethers and make them stronger so as they don't break in high speed collisions and said "Continuing development of technical systems like tethers is not only desirable but it is essential considering the acknowledged dangerous nature of the sport of motor racing."
The coroner cleared both Jacques Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher of any wrong doing as he found no evidence of either driver breaching racing rules.

Following the release of the coroner's report, Ron Walker, the Chairman of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation confirmed that the 2002 Australian Grand Prix will go ahead as planned on the 3rd of March.

7-Feb: The President of the FIA Max Mosley has indicated that they are planning to reduce the costs in Formula 1 by introducing a rule that allows each car just one engine per grand prix event. He added that they are already in discussions with the Formula 1 teams and was hoping to finalise an agreement before October and said "We need to do something, I imagine it will be one engine per car per weekend, we are discussing it with the teams and they are mostly in favour. The earliest we can do this will be 2003 provided we reach an agreement on this before October."
Mosley also indicated that there have been a lot of interest in buying the Prost's team entry for 2002 but nothing is imminent.

7-Feb: Nick Heidfeld in the Sauber C21 has once again topped the timesheets at Valencia ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya in the Williams FW24 and his team-mate Felipe Massa in the second Sauber.
8 teams were present with 16 drivers setting lap times. Alex Yoong in the Minardi PS01 completed the most number of laps with 81 followed by Juan Pablo Montoya with 77 laps and Nick Heidfeld with 71 laps. Giancarlo Fisichella covered the least number of laps with 19 while Felipe Massa only managed 23 laps as they both crashed during the morning session.
The session was incident packed starting with Frentzen who had his first taste of the Arrows today and stopping on his first lap then Giancarlo Fisichella spun and crashed his EJ12 heavily into the barriers. Minutes later Trulli went off but didn't damage his car. The same can't be said for Felipe Massa who went off damaging his car. Ralf Schumacher, Jacques Villeneuve, Olivier Panis, Nick Heidfeld and Mark Webber all had mechanical troubles.

Heinz Harald Frentzen stepped into the new Arrows A23 almost as soon as the team officially announced his signing. Although his car stopped on the first lap, his first run was impressive as he managed to cover 33 laps and set a time that is over half a second faster than Pedro de la Rosa's in the Jaguar that uses the same engine. Frentzen later commented on his first test by saying “It’s certainly good to be back in the cockpit again after such a long break. I’m getting used to my new team and they are getting used to me. The car feels good so far and the engine feels strong. Of course, we have had the usual problems faced with running a new car, but nothing major, and I can feel there is a strong foundation there to work with. I’m really looking forward to the new season now as I am optimistic about this car.”

Sauber, Renault and Jordan have concluded their testing at Valencia. Sauber will test at Mugello at the end of next week while Renault and Jordan move to Barcelona for 3 days starting on Monday.
The rest of the teams continue their test tomorrow.

Click here for the test times from Valencia

Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello took over the testing duties for Ferrari at Mugello. Both tested in F2001 cars and continued the testing program concentrating on tyres and electronics.
Michael Schumacher covered 60 laps with a best time of 1:23.517 while Rubens Barrichello covered 51 laps with a best time of 1:25.439 with his session ending early due to an engine problem on his car.

The session was mainly wet in the morning drying out in the afternoon.
Testing continues tomorrow with Michael Schumacher and Luca Badoer.

Click here for the test times from Mugello

7-Feb: The Arrows team have finally made an official announcement regarding who will be driving for them in 2002. Following months of speculation, the team announced today that Heinz Harald Frentzen will be driving for the team alongside Enrique Bernoldi. The statement read "After months of speculation, the OrangeArrows team is delighted to announce that Heinz-Harald Frentzen will race alongside Enrique Bernoldi in the 2002 FIA Formula One World Championship.
“We’re very pleased that Heinz-Harald is joining the team”, commented OrangeArrows Team Principal, Tom Walkinshaw. “He is a recognised top-line driver and has proved his mettle by winning three Grands Prix during his career. We are at an important stage in the development of OrangeArrows and feel that Heinz-Harald has the necessary experience to help us move forward.”
The thirty-four year-old German began his Formula One career in 1994 with Sauber. After three years with the Swiss team he moved to Williams where he secured his first F1 victory at the San Marino Grand Prix in 1997 and finished the season as runner-up in the Driver’s World Championship. He left Williams at the end of 1998 and joined Jordan where he notched up another two victories before departing for the Prost team during the 2001 season. He commented, “I’m very much looking forward to racing for OrangeArrows. The team has a fantastic facility and a lot of very talented and dedicated people. All the ingredients are there to take a major step forward and I’m convinced we will be successful."
The team also announced today that it has parted company with Dutch driver, Jos Verstappen. After two years with the team, Verstappen was released from his contract.

It is expected that Jos Verstappen will now move to Toyota for a test driver role.

With this announcement, all 11 teams expected to be at the Australian Grand Prix have now confirmed their driver line-up.

Click here for the 2002 Team and Driver Line-up

Jordan driver Giancarlo Fisichella escaped unhurt this morning after crashing his 2002 spec Jordan EJ12 at the Valencia test session. Fisichella spun into the gravel and then crashed into the barriers backwards. The car suffered significant damage and the team is investigating if it can be repaired at the track. Fisichella underwent a medical check-up at the medical centre and was given the all-clear. He is expected to resume testing in another car after lunch. The team is investigating the cause of the crash.

6-Feb: Giancarlo Fisichella in last year's Jordan set the pace today at Valencia ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya in the Williams FW24 and Nick Heidfeld in the Sauber C21.
8 teams were present with 15 drivers setting lap times. Jenson Button in the Renault R202 covered the most number of laps with 76 followed by Marc Gene in the Williams FW23 with 72 and Giancarlo Fisichella switching between the EJ11 and EJ12 and covering 70 laps. Olivier Panis covered the least number of laps with 12 after having an off.

While Fisichella tested both the EJ11 and EJ12, his fastest time was set in the EJ11 and the new car is still off the pace.
Juan Pablo Montoya was the fastest of the 2002 spec cars over 0.35 seconds faster than Nick Heidfeld with Ralf Schumacher just behind him.
BAR, Arrows and Jaguar joined the test session today. BAR commenced a 5 day test during which they expect to run the Melbourne aerodynamic package.
Enrique Bernoldi gave the Arrows A23 it's first public test and ended up 12th fastest and just under 3 seconds off the pace of the fastest 2002 spec car while Pedro de la Rosa gave Jaguar some comfort by setting the 9th fastest time and just over a second slower than the fastest 2002 spec car.

A number of incidents occurred on the track with Felipe Massa and Olivier Panis going off and slightly damaging their cars. Takuma Sato spun as well in the EJ12 but without damage. Several drivers had their running time cut short due to mechanical problems including Jenson Button and Jacques Villeneuve.

The track conditions were windy which made any set-up work on the cars very difficult. Testing continues tomorrow.

Click here for the test times from Valencia

Luciano Burti joined Luca Badoer at Mugello as they both tested for Ferrari while the rest of the team was busy with the launch of the new car. Both drivers continued tyre and electronics testing. Under wet conditions, Luca Badoer covered 56 laps with a best time of 1:33.198 while Luciano Burti covered 34 laps with a best time of 1:33.378.

Testing continues tomorrow with both Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello.

Click here for the test times from Mugello

6-Feb: Ferrari become the 8th Formula 1 team to officially unveil their 2002 contender, the F2002. The aim was clear, to retain both titles.

Ferrari have optimised the aerodynamic efficiency, lowered the centre of gravity and created the optimum conditions to maximise the performance of the 051 engine and the Bridgestone tyres. All aspects of the car have been completely redesigned to achieve improvements in performance. The chassis is new, both in terms of its design and construction, resulting in a weight reduction and greater structural integrity.

The sides pods, radiators, exhausts and the rear of the car are also completely new, achieving an improvement in the cooling and aerodynamic performance.
On the mechanical side, the 051 engine, like its predecessor is load bearing and mounted longitudinally, as is the transmission. The latter is completely new and novel, especially in the usage of materials and the method of gear selection. The gearbox, cast in titanium, has seven sequential gears, hydraulically operated. The materials used in transmission and engine have been specially developed to reduce weight and bulk.

Managing Director of Sport, Jean Todt indicated their desire to keep winning and said "Clearly we want to continue winning and we will do everything we can to make that possible but we also want to keep our feet on the ground. We know that this year the competition will be tough, as we are also competing against the big manufacturers. They have obviously not come into F1 to lose and will therefore do their utmost to compete with the sport's protagonists right from the start."
He also indicated that they will decide in the coming 2 weeks if they will use the new car for the first race of the season and said "We have a new chassis that will be tested and checked to ensure it is ready for the new F1 season. The new car has of course significant developments in many areas: engine, aerodynamics, electronics and brakes. What I can say is that we are working hard to be able to use it right from the first GP, but the F2001 was and still is a very good car, and this allows us some peace of mind as we have the possibility to choose between the two chassis. We will wait for the tests that we are carrying out until 20th February to see how the car behaves. Then we will make the decision."

Regarding the completely new transmission, Chief designer Rory Byrne said "The transmission is completely new, both in terms of the materials used for the casing and the major internal parts as well as the gear selection mechanism itself. This has resulted in a transmission which is significantly shorter and lighter and has a smoother, faster gearshift. A prototype version of this gearbox has been on test since September 2001 and has met our performance and reliability requirements."
Byrne believes that the F2002 is the best ever Ferrari F1 made and said "To produce this all new car with so many fundamentally different major components has required a tremendous effort from all at GES and I would like to thank everyone for their contribution in producing what I believe will be the best Ferrari F1 car ever."

Michael Schumacher aims to win his 5th title equalling Fangio's record and said "The motivation and objectives are the same: we want to be World Champion again. There is nothing better than winning with Ferrari and I will do everything possible so that we can continue winning together."
And Rubens Barrichello wants to challenge Michael this season and said "I will give and do everything I can to bring this car to victory. I expect to be a stone in Michael's shoe. I am proud to be driving alongside him. I am not far away in terms of speed. But I know that if I can beat the guy then I am doing a really good job. Maybe for some people it is very difficult for them to believe what I say. But I keep on saying the day that I wake up not thinking that I can win the race is the day that I give up - the time to stop."

The F2002 will be the last 2002 spec car to actually run on the track. It will be tested extensively by Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello at Fiorano and Mugello.

2002 Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Page