JULY 15, 1996

Goodyear and Stewart

THE new Stewart Grand Prix team has yet to conclude an agreement with a Formula 1 tire manufacturer and the word on the street at Silverstone was that Jackie Stewart's new operation has not been able to conclude a deal with Goodyear.

THE new Stewart Grand Prix team has yet to conclude an agreement with a Formula 1 tire manufacturer and the word on the street at Silverstone was that Jackie Stewart's new operation has not been able to conclude a deal with Goodyear.

Stewart will want a Goodyear deal, so that the team can find out where it stands in relation to other operations, but would like to get a special arrangement with Goodyear to keep costs to a minimum. Goodyear has already signed deals with most of the top F1 teams and is only waiting for Benetton to decide. It does not need Stewart.

Stewart will not want to sign up with Bridgestone as the Japanese tiremaker is making no secret of its desire to center its program around Arrows - which is now owned by Tom Walkinshaw, a fellow countryman of Stewart. The two men do not get on and the concept of Jackie using tires designed for Tom's cars is unlikely. It is therefore expected that Jackie will lower his demands to Goodyear and will probably end up as a Goodyear paying customer.

Stewart is soon expected to announce that it has signed Dane Jan Magnussen for 1997. David Sears, Magnussen's manager, says that Jan will definitely be in F1 next year but refuses to say with which team this will be. Sears will not keep Jan at McLaren for another year unless there are guarantees that Magnussen will get to race.