NEWS ARCHIVE
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COCKPIT COMPLAINTS
SEVERAL Grand Prix drivers were complaining last week in Estoril that they are having trouble with their peripheral vision as a result of the new cockpit regulations introduced by the FIA on the grounds of safety.
FERRARI IN DEEP TROUBLE
FERRARI'S new F310 F1 challenger has not enjoyed the easiest of weeks.
FORTI SIGNS BADOER
FORTI GRAND PRIX RACING has announced that Andrea Montermini is to be joined this year by fellow Italian Luca Badoer.
FRANCO ROCCHI
FRANCO ROCCHI, who spent 25 years in a variety of roles with the Ferrari Competition Department, has died at the age of 72.
HAKKINEN FASTEST AT ESTORIL
THE two weeks of testing at Estoril came to a close last night with Mika Hakkinen having set the fastest time of 1m19.65s in his McLaren-Mercedes MP4/11 last Thursday.
SUPERLICENCE PROBLEMS SMOLDER ON
THE F1 drivers testing at Estoril last Wednesday met in the evening to discuss the current problems with the FIA regarding the Superlicence Application Forms, which the top drivers are unwilling to sign because they say it will compromise their insurance coverage.
THE FUR FLIES OVER PAUL RICARD
THE recent vote by the French Motor Sports Federation (FFSA) to award the 1997-2001 French Grand Prix deal to PaulÊRicard appears to have been made meaningless by the news that the Formula One Constructors Association agreed a deal with Magny-Cours before the FFSA vote took place.
TROUBLE AND THREATS IN MELBOURNE
THE protests against the Australian Grand Prix being held in Albert Park, Melbourne, are intensifying as the race draws closer.
...AND AN OLD ATTACKER RETIRES
LEO MEHL, Goodyear's head of worldwide racing and one of the sport's great characters, is retiring on March 1st, after 22 years in charge of the Akron company's racing activities.
BERNIE IS ATTACKED...
FORMULA 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone flew to Las Vegas last week to discuss final details of the planned 1997 United States Grand Prix in the Nevada city.
BUT SO IS THE MCLAREN
THE new McLaren-Mercedes MP4/11 is going well and the team's technical advisor Alain Prost reckons that it will be winning races in 1996.
LOLA AND PACIFIC
PACIFIC RACING - sister company of the defunct Pacific Grand Prix - has returned to Formula 3000 racing, KeithÊWiggins planning to run two cars in the International Championship this year.
MEANWHILE IN BARCELONA
WHILE other teams were busy at Estoril, Ligier and Sauber chose to go to Barcelona instead, and the weather was slightly better than in Portugal with Ligier running three out of four days without rain.
STEWART BEGINS RECRUITING
STEWART GRAND PRIX has begun recruiting design engineers for its 1997 Formula 1 project.
TEAMS TRADE TIMES IN ESTORIL
THE top F1 teams met head to head last week at Estoril with their new cars: Williams, Benetton, McLaren, Jordan and Minardi all in action at the Portuguese circuit.
THE ARROWS-HART FA17 JOINS THE PARTY
JACKIE OLIVER'S Arrows team shook down the prototype FA17 chassis last week at Silverstone - although the commercial package put together by the team will not be revealed for another week or so.
THE F1 DRIVERS AND THE FIA
THERE is likely to be a kerfuffle in the next two weeks between the international automobile federation (FIA) and the Formula 1 drivers.
THE FERRARI F310 HEADS FOR ESTORIL
FERRARI'S new Formula 1 car - the F310 - will begin testing alongside the other teams at Estoril today.
THE WILLIAMS IS QUICK
THE new Williams-Renault FW18 - which ran for the first time last Monday but was officially launched on Friday - was immediately on the pace at Estoril with Damon Hill setting quick times right from the word go.
...AND TRULLI TO RACE IN BENETTON F3 JUNIOR TEAM
BENETTON also announced plans to run up-and-coming Italian star Jarno Trulli in a "Benetton Junior Team" in the German Formula 3 Championship.
ARROWS TO LAUNCH FA17
THE Arrows team will reveal its Footwork-Hart FA17 this week at Silverstone, and is expected to announce that its 1996 drivers will be Dutchman Jos Verstappen and Brazilian Ricardo Rosset.
BENETTON STRUGGLING WITH THE B196
BENETTON launched its new B196 amid much pomp and circumstance last Monday at Taormina in Sicily with Benetton boss Flavio Briatore predicting that the team of Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger would mount a powerful defense of the titles Michael Schumacher and Johnny Herbert won in 1995.
INOUE JOINS MINARDI
THE Minardi team has confirmed that it has signed a deal with Japanese driver Takachiho Inoue for the 1996 season.
MORE ON PAUL RICARD
THE recent decision by the FFSA, the French national motor sporting federation, to nominate Paul Ricard to host the French Grand Prix between 1997 and 2000 may not be as clear-cut as originally imagined.
PROST TRIES NEW MCLAREN
ALAIN PROST gave the new McLaren-Mercedes MP4/11 its first shakedown tests at Estoril on Saturday - the day before the team's official presentation.
SAUBER'S 1996 PACKAGE UNVEILED
SAUBER last week launched its Sauber-Ford C15 in Switzerland.
SCHUMACHER'S FERRARI DUE THIS WEEK
FERRARI will reveal its new F1 challenger - the 410T - at Maranello on Thursday.
SOSPIRI TO TEST FOR BENETTON...
THE Formula 3000 Champion, Italian Vincenzo Sospiri, has been hired to be Benetton's test driver in 1996.
THE TYRRELL FLIES AT ESTORIL
THE new Tyrrell-Yamaha 024 was the sensation of testing at Estoril last week, setting competitive times throughout the test.
...BUT TROUBLE BREWING OVER F1 TIRES?
THE international automobile federation is on a crash course with the top Formula 1 teams over the question of tire supply in Grand Prix racing.
A LITTLE DISINFORMATION
DISINFORMATION is false or misleading information which is used to confuse or discredit one's opposition.
BLACK BOXES FOR F1
FIA President Max Mosley has revealed that work is pushing ahead on the development of a "black box" recorder, which will be similar to the flight recorders used in the aircraft industry.
COLLARD TO BE TYRRELL'S TESTER?
TYRRELL says that it will nominate a test driver within a couple of weeks and there are indications that the job will go to Frenchman Emmanuel Collard - who was expected to be named Jordan's test driver.
FRENCH GP EN ROUTE TO PAUL RICARD
THE 1997 French Grand Prix will be held at Paul Ricard, the circuit near Toulon in the south of France, and will host the race until the year 2001.
HAKKINEN TESTS AT RICARD
MIKA HAKKINEN secretly tested a McLaren-Mercedes MP4/10 at Paul Ricard over the weekend - although the team made sure that reporters were not allowed in to watch the Finn's performance.
LIGIER'S JS43 RUNS
THE Ligier Formula 1 team launched its new JS43 chassis at Monte Carlo last Monday and ran for the first time a couple of days later at Paul Ricard.
MORE ON THE SENNA INQUIRY
THE Italian authorities are denying that any decision has been made as to whether charges will be brought against members of the Williams team and the Imola organizers as a result of the accident which killed Ayrton Senna.
NEW BENETTON LAUNCHED TODAY
THE Benetton-Renault B196 is being launched today at Taormina in Sicily - the town in which Jean Alesi's family lived before they emigrated to France.
TEAMS GET MORE POWER WITH NEW CONCORDE AGREEMENT
FIA President Max Mosley has revealed that the new Concorde Agreement, which comes into force on January 1, 1997, will give the Formula 1 teams a lot more say in changes to the technical regulations - if they can agree among themselves.
THE NEW TYRRELL
THE Tyrrell Racing Organization unveiled its new Tyrrell-Yamaha 024 last week and the car ran soon afterwards at BrandsÊHatch. It will undergo further testing at Estoril this week.