Formula One News — February 2002

Jordan Grand Prix announced a three year partnership with communications solutions company Damovo Wednesday.

The new Sky TV Formula 1 coverage in Britain is to feature John Watson.

Australia will have another driver in topline racing in Europe this year with the announcement that Rob Nguyen has joined Team Astromega to be team mate to Mario Haberfeld.

The commercial rights for Formula 1 are up for sale.

Testing continued in mostly wet conditions at Silverstone Wednesday, but the track dried for a brief period in midmorning, allowing some useful dry runs for some of the teams.

Frank Williams says that he is still interested in the career of Jenson Button - even if the youngster had a difficult year in 2001.

Ferrari, McLaren and Williams all continued with their preseason test schedules Wednesday.

Health officials from the European countries have issued what they are calling the Warsaw Declaration for a Tobacco-Free Europe, throwing their support behind the World Health Organization's plans to ban tobacco advertising around the world.

According to the highly-influential Wall Street Journal the Kirch Group could have debts and liabilities of $11.35bn - more than twice the accepted figure.

Times are tough in the car industry at the moment and on Monday the organizers of the 69th Turin Motor Show announced that the show in April is to be cancelled because most of the big car manufacturers have pulled out.

The hit quiz show "Who wants to be a millionaire?" helped out a Jaguar Racing designer on Monday, Chris Martin one of John Russell's design team at Milton Keynes taking home $50,000 to brighten up his week.

A couple of years ago Brazil's Max Wilson was being talked about as a potential Formula 1 driver.

The Silverstone circuit was busy Tuesday with teams conducting final preparations for the season opening Australian GP.

Jaguar Racing announced a new partnership with DuPont Performance Coatings, a branch of American materials company DuPont.

Final testing began on grand prix tracks in Great Britain, Italy and France for various teams on Monday.

Preseason testing began to wind down over the weekend, with less than a week before the cars are shipped to Melbourne for the first GP of the year.

The Formula 1 engine manufacturers are not that keen on the idea of a one-engine-per-weekend rule which was first suggested to them in December by FIA President Max Mosley.

Ralf Schumacher had a fairly sizeable accident in Estoril at the weekend, wiping the two front wheels off his car as the result of a brake failure.

The Formula 1 teams agreed in October at Suzuka that they would institute their own testing regulations for 2002 as the FIA decided that it was no longer going to be responsible for policing testing.

Patrick Head, the technical director of Williams says that the different characteristics of the Michelin and Bridgestone tires this year could result in some fascinating qualifying and race strategies.

The Kirch Group, who control the commercial rights to Formula One, may be saved temporarily from the brink of bankruptcy by its German creditors.

When Williams Grand Prix Engineering moved to its new factory in Grove, near Wantage, six years ago the team seemed to be a little lost in the vast new facility.

Juan Pablo Montoya will have a new race engineer in 2002, Williams's Tim Preston having decided to stop travelling after two years running Jenson Button and then Montoya.

Sauber finished up preseason testing on Monday in Mugello, but not the way they would have liked.