Formula One News — February 2001

WORLD CHAMPION Michael Schumacher is set to be given honorary citizenship of the Italian town of Modena.

FERRARI's sporting director Jean Todt was honored with the Cross of a Knight of the Legion of Honor at a special ceremony in Paris on Saturday.

ARROWS sponsor Orange is not worth as much as parent company France Telecom had hoped. The French telecommunications giant bought Orange a year ago for $51bn.

GERMAN Heinz-Harald Frentzen is convinced that Jordan will regain the 'best of the rest' spot in third position this year and has backed his boss to take the team to the top of Formula One.

BRITON Jenson Button has said he will err on the side of caution in his bid to become a Formula One world champion - but promised it will definitely happen.

THE Elf oil company, which will shortly be announced as a major sponsor of the Benetton team, is looking over its shoulder at deals which were done in the early 1990s when the firm was a state-owned company.

NEW Minardi owner Paul Stoddart has said the team's 2001 car is finished and ready to go in the opening race of the season in Melbourne, Australia on March 4th.

WORLD CHAMPION Michael Schumacher completed the third and final day of testing for Ferrari at Fiorano, Italy on Saturday after continuing the development of the new F2001 car.

TOYOTA MOTORSPORT is continuing to build up its infrastructure in Cologne and has just hired Italian Gianfranco Fantuzzi to be the team coordinator, working with team manager Ange Pasquali.

JACQUES VILLENEUVE has praised British American Racing's new car as he puts it through its paces in testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona.

HONDA managing director Takefumi Hosaka believes British American Racing development driver Takuma Sato can one day become Formula One world champion.

RUBENS BARRICHELLO ended Ferrari's three-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, by topping the timesheet with a lap time half-a-second quicker than any other driver at the track on Saturday.

YOUNG Italian driver Giorgio Pantano has praised McLaren's Formula One operation after he took part in a two-day private test at Jerez this week.

BENETTON test driver Mark Webber has signed a contract to drive for F3000 team Super Nova, ending speculation that he could be on his way to Minardi.

MINARDI tested their 2001 monocoque this week and are on course to take to the grid in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 4 after it passed crucial examinations.

SPANIARD Pedro de la Rosa has said he will take a role as a test driver for the new season, providing he is promised a full drive for 2002.

FORMULA ONE ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone has said he has no intentions of selling his controlling stake in the sport to car manufacturers.

ARROWS new A22 chassis had a short-lived debut at Silverstone on Friday -- when it lasted just one lap.

WORLD CHAMPION Michael Schumacher heaped praise on the Ferrari team after he completed another trouble-free day of testing in the F2001 at Fiorano on Friday.

FRENCHMAN Olivier Panis topped the times for the second successive day at Barcelona as he outpaced his nearest rival by over half-a-second at the Circuit de Catalunya.

MAX MOSLEY, the president of Formula One's governing body the FIA, will speak at "The Rules of the Game" conference in Brussels later this month it has been confirmed.

ITALIAN driver Fabrizio Giovanardi said he enjoyed his first experience in a Formula One car after he tested Ferrari's F12000 car at Vairano, Italy, on Thursday.

SPANIARD Pedro de la Rosa has been left with a rush to find a race drive for the 2001 season after being dropped by Arrows on Wednesday.

OLIVIER PANIS returned to testing for British American Racing at the Circuit de Catalunya on Thursday and proceeded to set the quickest lap time of the day.