Formula One News — April 2002

STORY

The Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG roadster, which will appear this autumn and is scheduled to be the next Formula 1 Safety Car was unveiled last week at the New York Motor Show.

The Renault company has decided to extend the use of its Renault Sport name beyond the realms of motor racing and is to launch a range of electric, folding bicycles bearing the name.

Bobby Rahal has spoken of his feelings about being ousted from Jaguar Racing last year.

The parent company of SLEC, the firm which controls the commercial rights of Formula 1, has filed for insolvency.

In the last few days there has been a lot of discussion about whether the FIA Stewards at Grands Prix should be replaced by some form of permanent judge (or judges) who have experience of top-line racing.

Johnny Herbert, who has remained competitive in sports car racing since his departure from Jaguar Racing after the 2000 season, will compete in the Indianapolis 500 with Duesenberg Brothers Racing.

The Kirch media empire, which declared itself insolvent on Monday, is the owner of the commercial rights to Formula 1 racing.

Craig Pollock owns a share of a company which owns 35% of British American Racing.

The latest mad rumor to be thrown into the F1 cauldron is that McLaren is talking to Honda about an engine supply deal.

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Leo Kirch seems to have given up any hope of saving Kirch Media.

The Sunday Times list of the richest people in Britain - which keeps people amused but is not a very reliable guide to real wealth - has concluded that Bernie Ecclestone's fortune is not what it used to be.

On Friday in Brazil the drivers and team managers were shown a presentation about the Head and Neck Support system (HANS) which the FIA wants to make compulsory from the start of next year.

The Sunday Times will publish its annual list of multimillionaires with this week's newspaper and Bernie Ecclestone will once again be in the spotlight.

There has been much talk in recent days of a "new" Honda V10 engine appearing at the San Marino GP at Imola but the reality of the situation is that the engine will be only a slightly different version of the same engine which the Honda teams have been using this year.

Michael and Ralf Schumacher have just agreed a deal with the Finnish mobile phone company Radiolinja.

The San Marino Grand Prix, scheduled for April 14, is expected to feature a few firsts.

Ferrari has been busy as of late, testing continuously at both the Mugello and Fiorano circuits with Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello and Luca Badoer in both F2001 and F2002 chassis.

The Minardi team conducts considerably less testing than many of its competitors, but they spent Friday in Misano, Italy with Mark Webber behind the wheel of a PS02.

Reports in Germany on Thursday indicate that KirchMedia, the owner of the commercial rights to Formula 1 racing, is preparing to seek bankruptcy protection in Munich on Friday.

The Premier 1 racing series, which portrayed itself as a potential rival to Formula 1, is now admitting that the collapse of Reynard Racing Cars could be a problem but says that it has contingency plans to deal with it.

The FIA has just issued a report on safety in Grand Prix racing between 1963-2001 which has been conducted for the federation by its Circuits and Safety Department.

Two of the banks involved in talks to save Kirch Media have decided they have had enough of the wrangling and have withdrawn from the talks.