Formula One News — January 2001

JAGUAR RACING is out to "seek respectability" in the F1 pit lanes and has to face the reality that success may take some time to achieve, warned the team's chief executive officer Bobby Rahal at the launch of the Jaguar R2 grand prix challenger this morning (Tuesday) where communications giant AT&T was also confirmed as a new sponsor.

GERMAN Ralf Schumacher continued his dominance on the second day of testing at Jerez on Tuesday as he powered his BMW-Williams to the top of the timesheets.

JENSON BUTTON has said he is pleased with his level of fitness after attending Benetton's training camp in Lanzarote.

THE Arrows Formula One team announced on Monday that Michael Ainsley-Cowlishaw has joined the team as race team manager.

BMW-WILLIAMS driver Ralf Schumacher topped the times on the first day of testing at Jerez on Monday.

JENSON BUTTON would have rammed Damon Hill off the road had he been competing in the 1994 Australian Grand Prix - if it meant his winning the World Championship.

JORDAN GRAND PRIX announced on Monday that the launch of their 2001 world championship challenger will be screened live on the Internet.

JAGUAR's new chief operating officer Bobby Rahal has promised that the changes he has made will boost the team's chances of Formula One success, on the eve of the launch of their 2001 challenger.

IT seems that barely a month passes without some new rumors about a new candidate for a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

THE Ferrari Gallery, close to the team's Maranello base in Italy, has announced a record number of visitors after 157,000 people visited in the year 2000.

SPANISH driver Fernando Alonso has said he will announce his Formula One future within the next two weeks -- with Minardi favorite to secure his services.

THE first tests of the 2001 season will begin tomorrow at Jerez in southern Spain with Williams and Benetton both in action for three days.

THE convoluted political battles over the control of EM.TV, the German media company which controls 50% of the Formula One group of companies, continues with "white knight" Leo Kirch now rumored to be pushing for the removal of the current management at EM.TV.

IT seems that winning a World Championship with Ferrari is nowadays considered as important as winning wars in the old days.

THE Jordan-Honda formula one team have shrugged aside suggestions that it is facing a any sort of crisis after it was announced that their chief designer Mark Smith has quit to join the rival Benetton squad x just over a week before their new car is due to be unveiled.

ANANDA MIKOLA has signed a two-year contract to race for the Astromega team in Formula 3000.

FORMULA 1 has enjoyed a large amount of money in recent years from mobile telephone companies which are keen to link their image with the fast, high-technology of Grand Prix racing.

FERRARI drivers Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello are set to conclude their final week of vacation in a northern Italy ski-resort before getting down to the serious business of Formula One testing.

NIKI LAUDA will remain associated with the airline that carries his name as the man in charge at the Milan-based Lauda-Air Italy, according to aviation sources which also believe that the former triple World Champion's recent resignation as boss of the entire company could have major repercussions for the Austrian airline market.

THE EM.TV share price took another dive on Friday morning following reports in the Wall Street Journal Europe that the company's deal with Leo Kirch may not go through.

PROST GRAND PRIX have confirmed they have captured two of Minardi's key mechanics as they prepare to unveil their 2001 challenger.

THE announcement that Jordan Grand Prix is to lose its chief designer Mark Smith to Benetton is the latest in a series of high-profile engineers who have left the Silverstone team.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EUROPE is reporting that the talks between Kirch and EM.TV have broken down over the price being paid for EM.TV's stake in Formula 1.

THREE-TIME Formula One World Champion Jackie Stewart is urging the British Government to offer financial assistance to turn Silverstone into the best Grand Prix circuit.