NewsOnF1 - 29 July - 11 August News

9-Aug: Michael Schumacher has indicated that he will not be driving for any other team in Formula 1 and will end his F1 career at Ferrari. He said "I don't want to waste any more time thinking about it. My days as a racing driver will end at Ferrari."
Michael praised the team and his wife for helping him during his career and said "The men here worked day and night, seven days a week, that's the real achievement, especially over such a long period of time.
Corinna gives me such sense of peace, such strength, everything one could ask for from a partner, I owe everything to her."

Cosworth who supply engines to both Jaguar and Arrows this season have confirmed that they are in discussions with a number of teams for engine supply without naming them. It has been reported that the Jordan Grand Prix team is hoping to secure Cosworth power as Honda want to supply just one team. Minardi are also reported to be in talks with Cosworth for an engine supply in 2003. A Cosworth spokesperson said "There has been a great deal of media speculation in the past few days concerning the supply of Cosworth engines to F1 teams next year. As an engine supplier, Cosworth Racing is in discussion with teams about the possible supply of engines for next season. This is perfectly normal practice and in the event of any agreement, an official statement would be made through Cosworth Racing at the appropriate time."

7-Aug: Following reports indicating that the Player's Forsythe team (CART) could be interested in the services of Jacques Villeneuve, David Richards BAR's boss has supported the idea but admits that it will be Villeneuve's decision and said "I would like to see that happen. Player's is a BAT-owned brand in their last year of sponsorship in CART racing, so they would like to have Jacques leading the team. But Jacques has a valid contract with us so it is his call. We need to have a decision by the end of the month and I hope to sit down with Jacques and discuss it further at the Hungarian Grand Prix."

However Villeneueve's manager Craig Pollock indicated that such a deal is highly unlikely and said ""Jacques is in F1, he has his contract in F1 and has no intention of doing anything else. To take a Formula One world champion to CART would cost an absolute fortune. Why would he do it? You're finishing your career.
Considering he is the second-highest paid F1 driver after Michael Schumacher, it would have to be a very substantial offer indeed."

Paul Stoddart has indicated that a decision on whether Alex Yoong will drive in Hungary will be made on Monday and said "I want to set the record straight once and for all, there has been no decision made and that decision will be made on Monday next week. Everything before then is just pure speculation. I can firmly say that we would never desert a driver, but we need to make sure he is confident of qualifying in Hungary and if he is not then we will rest him for a couple of races and help him get his confidence back. It is no different to a footballer - if they suffer a drop in form then they get demoted to the reserves and that is just what we would do with Alex."
Stoddard confirmed that Briton Justin Wilson had a seat fitting and said "He had a fitting, but there is nothing firm in place and it was just done as a precautionary measure."

Justin Wilson who tested for Jordan on a few occasions was ruled out as he was too tall. He said "I flew out and sat in the car but unfortunately I can't quite get in. If they do change drivers, it won't be me. It is getting quite annoying, but they took my measurements for the future and we are still talking."

5-Aug: With Heinz Harald Frentzen leaving Arrows to an unknown destination, expect to see a new driver alongside Enrique Bernoldi most likely with heavy sponsorship backing. Frenchman Sebastian Bourdais tested for Arrows in July and could be a possibility. There is also talk about Sauber's Felipe Massa in a direct swap with Frentzen although that is not expected as Arrows will end up with 2 Brazilian drivers while Sauber will have 2 German drivers.
The reason behind the speculation on Massa's future at the Sauber team is Massa's public disappointment of the team orders applied at Hockenheim. He said "It’s very hard to swallow a thing like this, but he is the boss and is the one who pulls the strings. We argued 10 times, until he ordered we changed our positions on track. I could understand his decision if Nick was able to catch the guys ahead, but he didn’t. In fact, he wasn’t quicker than me. It would make no difference for the team if I was the guy to pick the point. So, why didn’t he ask us to change places again.”
The Sauber team have denied any plans to dump Massa during the season. Their spokesperson said "Peter Sauber has not changed his mind. He has said several times that he would not consider the 2003 driver line-up until the end of August."

Another driver that is expected to be replaced is Minardi's Alex Yoong who failed to qualify this season for the 3rd time. Yoong said "Nothing has been decided yet and personally I must admit that not qualifying at Hockenheim was a big blow for me. We have been on the back foot a bit since Silverstone and I need to change that. Without testing though, Friday practice is a pretty hard time to try and do that on top of everything else. I have not talked to Paul these last couple of day’s but a decision has to be made soon. I have worked bloody hard to get here and there has been a lot of sacrifice for little reward, so I’d be lying if I said I would be content not to be racing at Hungary. What ever happens though I know it would be made in the best interest of the team and I will respect that."
Renault's test driver and ex-Minardi driver Fernando Alonso is strongly tipped to take over especially after Jos Verstappen turned down the drive claiming that their is nothing for him to show at Minardi.

There is also talk about Allan McNish being replaced by CART driver Cristiano De Matta who tested for the team in May this year.
We'll keep you updated!

2-Aug: In a surprise announcement, the Arrows team announced today that they have ended their contract with Heinz Harald Frentzen. Team boss Tom Walkinshaw who is trying everything he can to keep the team afloat indicated that Frentzen wanted to leave due to the uncertainty within the team and said "Heinz told us that due to the uncertainty at Arrows, he wished to stand down and we did not want to stand in his way. I’d like to wish him all the best and thank him for the hard work he put in at Arrows."
Heinz Harald Frentzen said "I’d like to thank the team for the 12 races I have had with them. The team definitely has real potential so I hope they can sort their problems out and realise their goals. I wish every one of them all the best for the future."
The team did not announce who will take over from Frentzen at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Arrows team have been struggling financially and their problems became public at the British Grand Prix when the team didn't take part in Friday practice after failing to pay Cosworth for their engines. The team is trying to secure new investors to pump cash into the team but existing shareholders are blocking such moves.
If the Arrows team makes it to Hungary, it will be interesting to see who will be driving alongside Enrique Bernoldi. It is expected that the driver will be more likely chosen because of his sponsorship!

Heinz Harald Frentzen has so far driven for 5 Formula 1 teams. He started his Formula 1 career with Sauber in 94 and after 3 years he moved to Williams for 2 years. He then moved to Jordan. Last year he was sacked by Eddie Jordan just before the German Grand Prix and he joined the Prost team for the rest of the season. With the Prost team going into liquidation, Arrows decided to sign Frentzen. It will be interesting to see if and which team will he drive for for the rest of the season. If he does make a deal with another team, Minardi are in desperate need for a competent driver to replace Alex Yoong and Stoddart won't have too many contractual problems. Jordan would love to have him back as Eddie tried to get him to drive for them at the French GP when Fisichella crashed in practice. Toyota might be interested and so could Jaguar.

1-Aug: Benjie takes the lead in the 6 'n' Pole Competition following the round of Germany with 2 players in second! ... Overall Results ... Germany Results ... Popular Picks ... Register

30-July: Mark Webber who tested for Jaguar at the end of last month (story) is reported to be close to signing a deal with the team however a Jaguar spokesperson denied any done deals and said "Jaguar Racing has not entered into formal discussions with any driver for 2003 and that includes Mark Webber."
Mark's personal manger also indicated that the deal is not done and that other teams are also interested in him. She said "It's definitely not done. Things are progressing but there's still a lot to be sorted out and other teams are also interested."

Ferrari's Sporting Director Jean Todt has confirmed that Ferrari will do all what they can to help their second driver Rubens Barrichello take second place in the championship as well as Ferrari winning the Constructors title. He said "Everything will be done to achieves those goals but I’m not going to tell you what we are going to do. We will do what we feel we need to do but we are not going to anticipate what we will do. It all depends; each race is different and we will do what we feel is the most appropriate for the interests of the team.”
Todt admitted that they've had some problems on Barrichello's car and said "Yes, we have had some problems. We are not proud of that but we just try to get on top of it, but it’s not easy so that’s why I say there is still a margin to improve ourselves and that’s what we try to do."
As for Michael, Todt was amazed by the reliability record and said "It isn’t something that is always achievable in terms of results, since the Hungarian Grand Prix last year Michael has never retired and that’s amazing."

29-July: Formula 1 takes a break from racing and track testing up until the Hungarian Grand Prix on the 18th of August. While the teams continue to work at their headquarters, the drivers and the race teams usually take the time off and enjoy the break away from it all!

29-July: "The heat was on!" is the title of the 23rd issue from the Diagnosis and Prognosis Series for the 2002 season. In this issue, the Heretic looks at the aftermath of the German Grand Prix - Issue 23

29-July: "Your thoughts on the German Grand Prix" - Topic of the week - Have Your Say