JULY 3, 1995

Driver changes for Silverstone

KEEP an eye open for a number of driver changes before the British GP in a fortnight. We hear on the grapevine that there will be a change at Pacific and possibly two new drivers at Arrows.

Italian Andrea Montermini is rumored to have run out of sponsorship money for Pacific and a new driver is expected at Silverstone. The team is not saying who that might be but Hideki Noda is definitely out of the picture. Jos Verstappen is a possible candidate because the team's chief backer Ursus is a Dutch vodka company. Other names which have been mentioned are Swiss Jean-Denis Deletraz (who is rumored to have a deal for the last four races of the year) and Jan Lammers. We also hear that there could be a young unknown put in the car, if he can get a superlicense.

The changes at Footwork are also based on financial necessity. Gianni Morbidelli has no backing and, despite the fact that the team wants to keep him, the financial situation is becoming too much of a drain on team boss Jackie Oliver. Portugal's Pedro Lamy is believed to have money available; and Italian Max Papis, Footwork's test driver, is also pushing hard for a drive. We hear that there may be problems with Taki Inoue's sponsorship, and if that is the case, he may also be replaced.