AUGUST 25, 1997
The men without drives
Hill, Berger and Alesi have all been talking to Jordan in recent days. All three have also talked to Prost and Sauber. Having announced that he is quitting Benetton and having seen the doors close at Williams and McLaren, Berger may now decide that he does not want to continue in F1 as none of the drives available offer the possibility for him to challenge for the WorldÊChampionship - which has always been his dream.
Alesi has been spending a lot of his time talking to Eddie Jordan because he is not likely to stay at Benetton and Prost is not showing much interest in him. Sauber is rumored to be planning to offer him a deal but is waiting to see if Hill comes back to them having been rejected by McLaren. The Swiss team made a strong pitch for Damon Hill, offering him a three-year deal worth $20m, but Hill could not commit himself because of his negotiations with McLaren. As a result Sauber decided that Damon's attitude did not demonstrate enough enthusiasm for the Sauber Petronas team and terminated the talks. They may be reopened.
Prost is also a strong possibility and one point which is worth bearing in mind is that Damon's decision may not be based only on money or where Ecclestone wants him to race. The tire supplies for 1998 are also very important and Damon may consider it a better idea to go to a team which will offer him the chance to be the number one Bridgestone runner rather than one of many of the top drivers on Goodyears. This thinking would make Arrows and Prost the most attractive destinations for Damon.
Now that McLaren has settled its drivers we expect movement on the driver market to be rapid in the run-up to the Italian GP at Monza.