SEPTEMBER 15, 1997

Panis back in action

OLIVIER PANIS made a successful return to F1 last week at Magny-Cours, lapping the track in a time which was faster than Michael Schumacher's pole position at the French Grand Prix in June. Panis has been out of action with two broken legs since a crash at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. At the time he was lying third in the World Championship and as this has been a very unpredictable season Panis is still in with a slim chance of regaining that position in the final few races of the year. He is only 13 points behind third-placed Jean Alesi and if he can collect three good scores in the Luxembourg, Japanese and European Grands Prix he could make up the difference.

Panis says that he is not going to make a comeback until he is 100% fit and admits that there is still a lot to be done but he is confident that he will be competitive when he gets back into action.