April 2000

23 April 2000 David Coulthard won a remarkably dry British GP in front of other McLaren driver Hakkinen and Ferrari's M. Schumacher. The other Schumacher brother, Ralf, was fourth in front of team mate Button and Jordan's Trulli. Pole position driver Barrichello retired from the lead with hydraulic problems.

The finishing times:

1 David Coulthard (Gbr/McLaren-Mercedes) 1h28'50"108 (average: 208.266 km/h) 2 Mika Hakkinen (Fin/McLaren-Mercedes) + 1"477 3 Michael Schumacher (Ger/Ferrari) + 19"917 4 Ralf Schumacher (Ger/Williams-BMW) + 41"312 5 Jenson Button (Gbr/Williams-BMW) + 57"759 6 Jarno Trulli (Ita/Jordan-Mugen Honda) + 1’19"273 7 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita/Benetton-Supertec) + 1 lap 8 Mika Salo (Fin/Sauber-Petronas) +1 lap 9 Alexander Wurz (Aut/Benetton-Supertec) +1 lap 10 Jean Alesi (Fra/Prost-Peugeot) +1 lap 11 Pedro Paolo Diniz (Bra/Sauber-Petronas) + 1 lap 12 Johnny Herbert (Gbr/Jaguar-Cosworth) + 1 lap 13 Eddie Irvine (Gbr/Jaguar-Cosworth) + 1 lap 14 Marc Gene (Spa/Minardi-Ford) + 1 lap 15 Gaston Mazzacane (Arg/Minardi-Ford) + 1 lap 16 Jacques Villeneuve (Can/BAR-Honda) + 4 laps 17 Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Ger/Jordan-Mugen Honda) + 6 laps

23 April 2000 After the heavy rains seen in qualifying, more weather problems have hit Silverstone. This morning's practice session had to be postponed by one and a half hour because of fog drastically reducing visibility. The fog also meant that long queues of cars have built up and the police have warned that some fans will not make it to the circuit on time to see the race.

22 April 2000 Barrichello took the British GP pole position in a qualifying session drier than expected. Jordan driver Frentzen will share the front row with him. McLaren duo Hakkinen and Coulthard will start from the second row. M. Schumacher only managed to clock the fifth best lap time, just ahead of local hero Button.

The Qualifying times:

1. 4 BARRICHELLO Ferrari 1'25"703 215.950 Km/h 2. 5 FRENTZEN Jordan Mugen-Honda 1'25"706 + 0'00"003 3. 1 HAKKINEN McLaren Mercedes 1'25"741 + 0'00"038 4. 2 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1'26"088 + 0'00"385 5. 3 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1'26"161 + 0'00"458 6. 10 BUTTON Williams BMW 1'26"733 + 0'01"030 7. 9 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW 1'26"786 + 0'01"083 8. 19 VERSTAPPEN Arrows Supertec 1'26"793 + 0'01"090 9. 7 IRVINE Jaguar Ford 1'26"818 + 0'01"115 10. 22 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda 1'27"025 + 0'01"322 11. 6 TRULLI Jordan Mugen-Honda 1'27"164 + 0'01"461 12. 11 FISICHELLA Benetton Supertec 1'27"253 + 0'01"550 13. 16 DINIZ Sauber Petronas 1'27"301 + 0'01"598 14. 8 HERBERT Jaguar Ford 1'27"461 + 0'01"758 15. 14 ALESI Prost Peugeot 1'27"559 + 0'01"856 16. 23 ZONTA BAR Honda 1'27"772 + 0'02"069 17. 15 HEIDFELD Prost Peugeot 1'27"806 + 0'02"103 18. 17 SALO Sauber Petronas 1'28"110 + 0'02"407 19. 18 DE LA ROSA Arrows Supertec 1'28"135 + 0'02"432 20. 12 WURZ Benetton Supertec 1'28"205 + 0'02"502 21. 20 GENE Minardi Fondmetal 1'28"253 + 0'02"550 22. 21 MAZZACANE Minardi Fondmetal 1'29"174 + 0'03"471

22 April 2000 Following this year's weather-related fiasco at Silverstone, Ecclestone has promised to return the British GP to its traditional July date next year.

22 April 2000 Hakkinen clocked the best time in the second Saturday session ahead of rival M. Schumacher. Button and Irvine did not take part in the second session because of the damage sustained by their cars in the first session.

The Saturday second practice times:

1 HAKKINEN McLaren Mercedes 1m33.132s 2 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1m33.360s 3 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1m33.414s 4 BARRICHELLO Ferrari 1m33.587s 5 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW 1m33.906s 6 FISICHELLA Benetton Playlife 1m34.466s 7 FRENTZEN Jordan Mugen-Honda 1m34.709s 8 VERSTAPPEN Arrows Supertec 1m34.787s 9 TRULLI Jordan Mugen-Honda 1m34.855s 10 SALO Sauber Petronas 1m34.926s 11 DE LA ROSA Arrows Supertec 1m35.114s 12 HEIDFELD Prost Peugeot 1m35.130s 13 DINIZ Sauber Petronas 1m35.166s 14 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda 1m35.313s 15 ZONTA BAR Honda 1m35.679s 16 ALESI Prost Peugeot 1m35.858s 17 WURZ Benetton Playlife 1m36.013s 18 HERBERT Jaguar 1m36.020s 19 GENE Minardi Fondmetal 1m36.305s 20 MAZZACANE Minardi Fondmetal 1m37.187s 21 BUTTON Williams BMW 1m41.870s 22 IRVINE Jaguar 1m44.323s

22 April 2000 Several people are turning up for the Saturday session at Silverstone by car despite the organisers warning that they would not be allowed in because of the mud. Police are turning people away at roadblocks on all routes leading to the circuit. SHundreds of fans decided to walk miles to see the session.

22 April 2000 David Coulthard clocked the fastest lap in the first session in the Saturday morning practice session, ahead of Hakkinen and M. Schumacher. Button and Irvine were involved in a very nasty accident. Button spun off early in the session into the gravel trap. Button just managed to get out of his car when Irvine lost his Jaguar and cannoned into the stationary Williams. Both drivers were unhurt in the incident.

The Saturday first practice times:

1 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1m33.614s 2 HAKKINEN McLaren Mercedes 1m33.694s 3 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1m34.041s 4 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW 1m34.246s 5 BARRICHELLO Ferrari 1m34.511s 6 FRENTZEN Jordan Mugen-Honda 1m34.709s 7 TRULLI Jordan Mugen-Honda 1m35.006s 8 SALO Sauber Petronas 1m35.308s 9 DINIZ Sauber Petronas 1m35.379s 10 VERSTAPPEN Arrows Supertec 1m35.489s 11 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda 1m35.766s 12 DE LA ROSA Arrows Supertec 1m35.843s 13 ALESI Prost Peugeot 1m35.858s 14 WURZ Benetton Playlife 1m36.013s 15 HERBERT Jaguar 1m36.375s 16 ZONTA BAR Honda 1m36.762s 17 HEIDFELD Prost Peugeot 1m36.789s 18 GENE Minardi Fondmetal 1m37.429s 19 MAZZACANE Minardi Fondmetal 1m38.418s 20 BUTTON Williams BMW 1m41.870s 21 IRVINE Jaguar 1m44.323s 22 FISICHELLA Benetton Playlife no time

22 April 2000 Several drivers have warned that the weather conditions during the Friday free practice session made driving too dangerous. Coulthard told of how he had to take his shoes off after he went out because of the mud, then he had to push the Land Rover sent to recover his car. Hakkinen said that it was dangerous and that the drivers from all teams need to discuss what to do. Both Hakkinen and M. Schumacher said that aquaplaning was a big problem during the practice session. M. Schumacher also warned about the very poor visibility. Villeneuve criticised the marshals for not displaying the yellow flags in the right place, he suddently found Coulthard's stuck car in front of him without almost any warning. Warz warned that modern F1 cars are too low to be driveable in very wet conditions.

22 April 2000 BAR have sued Mika Salo for 350,000 pounds over the amount of time he spent driving for Ferrari last year as M. Schumacher's replacement.

21 April 2000 During the drivers briefing before the British GP, M. Schumacher has been accused by Coulthard, Irvine and Villeneuve of having made a dangerous start at the San Marino GP.

21 April 2000 The second Friday free practice session was stopped after Coulthard went out with hydraulic problems and the Land Rover vehicle sent to retrieve his McLaren got stuck in the mud. Coulthard himself had to help push his car out of the mud, so that it could be towed away as soon as the recovery vehicle was freed. Following the accident, the organisers decided that it was too dangerous to allow the session to carry on and they cancelled it after 25 minutes. The circuit car parks have also been closed to the public wanting to travel by car on the Saturday with the promise of a full ticket refund. Only coaches (17 seats or more) will be allowed in. Bernie Ecclestone said that the decision to move the British GP to April from its traditional July spot had nothing to do with him.

The Friday second free practice times:

1 FRENTZEN Jordan Mugen-Honda 1m27.683s 2 IRVINE Jaguar 1m28.169s 3 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1m28.525s 4 HAKKINEN McLaren Mercedes 1m28.659s 5 TRULLI Jordan Mugen-Honda 1m28.705s 6 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda 1m28.845s 7 BARRICHELLO Ferrari 1m29.083s 8 WURZ Benetton Playlife 1m29.111s 9 FISICHELLA Benetton Playlife 1m29.214s 10 GENE Minardi Fondmetal 1m29.537s 11 BUTTON Williams BMW 1m29.775s 12 DINIZ Sauber Petronas 1m30.214s 13 DE LA ROSA Arrows Supertec 1m30.279s 14 VERSTAPPEN Arrows Supertec 1m30.313s 15 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW 1m30.593s 16 SALO Sauber Petronas 1m30.643s 17 ALESI Prost Peugeot 1m30.656s 18 HEIDFELD Prost Peugeot 1m31.006s 19 MAZZACANE Minardi Fondmetal 1m31.250s 20 ZONTA BAR Honda 1m31.322s 21 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1m36.425s 22 HERBERT Jaguar 1m39.690s

21 April 2000 The first hour of the Friday free practice session at Silverstone has been heavily influenced by very wet weather. Current Championship leader M. Schumacher only drove for a few laps and achieved the best 20th time.

The Friday first free practice times:

1 FRENTZEN Jordan Mugen-Honda 1m27.683s 2 IRVINE Jaguar 1m28.169s 3 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1m28.525s 4 HAKKINEN McLaren Mercedes 1m28.659s 5 TRULLI Jordan Mugen-Honda 1m28.705s 6 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda 1m28.845s 7 BARRICHELLO Ferrari 1m29.083s 8 WURZ Benetton Playlife 1m29.111s 9 FISICHELLA Benetton Playlife 1m29.214s 10 GENE Minardi Fondmetal 1m29.537s 11 BUTTON Williams BMW 1m29.775s 12 DINIZ Sauber Petronas 1m30.214s 13 DE LA ROSA Arrows Supertec 1m30.279s 14 VERSTAPPEN Arrows Supertec 1m30.313s 15 SALO Sauber Petronas 1m30.643s 16 ALESI Prost Peugeot 1m30.656s 17 HEIDFELD Prost Peugeot 1m31.006s 18 MAZZACANE Minardi Fondmetal 1m31.250s 19 ZONTA BAR Honda 1m31.322s 20 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1m36.425s 21 HERBERT Jaguar No time 22 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW No time

21 April 2000 Yesterday the organisers of the British GP at Silverstone suspended selling tickets for the weekend sessions. The reason they gave was that the incessant rain of the last two weeks has turned the fields around the circuit into mud pools. Spectators to the GP would usually park on those fields but they currently are far too muddy to be used as parking facilities (about 40,000 cars are expected). Bernie Ecclestone too has been unhappy about the heavy rains that are expected to continue on race day and could move the British GP back to its traditional July spot. M. Schumacher has warned that Silverstone can be a dangerous track in heavy wet conditions.

20 April 2000 Shell and Ferrari have extended their sponsorship contract until 2005. As well as sponsoring Ferrari, Shell will also co-operate with the F1 team for the technical development.

20 April 2000 For Norbert Haug Ferrari are the favourite to win the Championship this year, but McLaren still have the chance to fight for the title. He admitted that McLaren will have to work very hard, but nothing is impossible, he concluded.

18 April 2000 The new rules imposed by FIA with regards to the speed limiter state that, whenever it is engaged, the car back light (used when it rains) will start flashing and the fuel door will automatically open. FIA believes that these measures will be enough to ensure that the speed limiter is not used as traction control to aid the driver on bends because it would be evident if it is being used. Drivers will continue to be allowed to engage the speed limiter by pressing a button as they enter the pit lane.

17 April 2000 Speed limiters will now continue to be allowed in F1 cars, but the maximum speed will have to be hardcoded in the software, rather than being passed as an external parameter during races.

15 April 2000 The Jaguar team has denied rumours of a possible early departure of driver Johnny Herbert, after criticism (coming also from team mate Irvine) that he has been making too many mistakes. Luciano Burti is named as a possible replacement, should Herbert really leave the team.

13 April 2000 Brazilian Ricardo Zonta has destroyed his car in a spectacular accident on the Stowe corner at Silverstone, the same spot where M. Schumacher broke his leg last year. The BAR driver got away with just a broken finger, but his car was left in pieces. Some of the debris from the accident flew into a spectators area.

13 April 2000 Jackie Stewart's son Paul has stood down as chief operating officer of the Jaguar Racing Team after being diagnosed with colon cancer. Paul Stewart is currently undergoing chemiotherapy at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and his condition is described as 'treatable'. He retains his position as an executive director until the situation is reviewed when the course of treatment is completed.

13 April 2000 FIA have changed their mind about banning the use of the pit lane speed limiting devices. From a fax FIA sent out yesterday, it appears that the use of the devices will be allowed, but with very strict parameter settings.

11 April 2000 Benetton driver Giancarlo Fisichella has stated on Italian radio that a Formula 1 team is cheating by using illegal electronic devices during the GPs. The Italian said that, with regards to electronics the important thing is for everybody to be on the same level, but that unfortunately someone is cheating. Fisichella refused to name the team, but his statement ties in with Max Mosley's allegation that a so far unnamed team has cheated during the 1999 F1 season. With the new rules on electronics in force from the British GP, the FIA will be able to look at the telemetry from the cars so, concluded Fisichella, it will be possible to find out whether the control is actually coming from the driver or from something else. Jarno Trulli also spoke about the use of electrnics in F1 and said that the richer teams have had an unfair advantage.

10 April 2000 Heinz-Harald Frentzen and his wife Tanja are today celebrating the birth of their first daughter Lea, who was born at 12:50pm in France.

9 April 2000 M. Schumacher won the San Marino GP thanks to a daring pit stop strategy, with Hakkinen, who had led for most of the race, finishing second. Coulthard, who managed to overtake Barrichello in the pits after being stuck behind the Brazilian for most of the race, finished third with the Ferrari driver in fourth. Villeneuve was fifth and Salo sixth.

The finishing times:

1. Michael Schumacher (Germany) Ferrari 1h31'39"776 (ave: 200.043 kph) 2. Mika Hakkinen (Finland) McLaren +1"168 3. David Coulthard (Britain) McLaren +51"008 4. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Ferrari +89"276 5. Jacques Villeneuve (Canada) BAR +1 lap 6. Mika Salo (Finland) Sauber +1 lap 7. Eddie Irvine (Britain) Jaguar +1 lap 8. Pedro Diniz (Brazil) Sauber +1 lap 9. Alexander Wurz (Austria) Benetton +1 lap 10. Johnny Herbert (Britain) Jaguar +1 lap 11. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Benetton +1 lap 12. Ricardo Zonta (Brazil) BAR +1 lap 13. Gaston Mazzacane (Argentina) Minardi +2 laps 14. Jos Verstappen (Netherlands) Arrows +3 laps

10 April 2000 Heinz-Harald Frentzen and his wife Tanja are today celebrating the birth of their first daughter Lea, who was born at 12:50pm in France.

9 April 2000 In a ITV interview Max Mosley revealed today that the team suspected to have cheated last year is a "mid-ranking" one. It is likely to have been either Williams, Benetton or Stewart, or perhaps even Jordan.

8 April 2000 Hakkinen stole pole position for the San Marino GP from M. Schumacher by only 00"091. Coulthard and Barrichello will share the second row, while R. Schumacher had the fifth best time and Frentzen the sixth.

The qualifying times:

1. 1 HAKKINEN McLaren Mercedes 1'24"714 209.632 km/h 2. 3 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1'24"805 + 0'00"091 3. 2 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1'25"014 + 0'00"300 4. 4 BARRICHELLO Ferrari 1'25"242 + 0'00"528 5. 9 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW 1'25"871 + 0'01"157 6. 5 FRENTZEN Jordan Mugen-Hond 1'25"892 + 0'01"178 7. 7 IRVINE Jaguar 1'25"929 + 0'01"215 8. 6 TRULLI Jordan Mugen-Hond 1'26"002 + 0'01"288 9. 22 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda 1'26"124 + 0'01"410 10. 16 DINIZ Sauber Petronas 1'26"238 + 0'01"524 11. 12 WURZ Benetton Playlife 1'26"281 + 0'01"567 12. 17 SALO Sauber Petronas 1'26"336 + 0'01"622 13. 18 DE LA ROSA Arrows Supertec 1'26"349 + 0'01"635 14. 23 ZONTA BAR Honda 1'26"814 + 0'02"100 15. 14 ALESI Prost Peugeot 1'26"824 + 0'02"110 16. 19 VERSTAPPEN Arrows Supertec 1'26"845 + 0'02"131 17. 8 HERBERT Jaguar 1'27"051 + 0'02"337 18. 10 BUTTON Williams BMW 1'27"135 + 0'02"421 19. 11 FISICHELLA Benetton Playlife 1'27"253 + 0'02"539 20. 21 MAZZACANE Minardi Fondmetal 1'28"161 + 0'03"447 21. 20 GENE Minardi Fondmetal 1'28"333 + 0'03"619 22. 15 HEIDFELD Prost Peugeot 1'28"361 + 0'03"647 107% time : 1'30"644

7 April 2000 FIA said that they have obtained information showing that a team cheated last year. They did not reveal the name of the team but warned that if the cheating is proved to have happened, retroactive measures against the team might be taken.

7 April 2000 M. Schumacher had the best time again in the second Friday free practice, ahead of team mate Barrichello, Coulthard, Frentzen, Trulli and Hakkinen.

The Friday second free practice times:

1. 3 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1'26"944 204.256 km/h 2. 4 BARRICHELLO Ferrari 1'27"317 + 0'00"373 3. 2 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1'27"372 + 0'00"428 4. 5 FRENTZEN Jordan Mugen-Hond 1'27"730 + 0'00"786 5. 6 TRULLI Jordan Mugen-Hond 1'27"795 + 0'00"851 6. 1 HAKKINEN McLaren Mercedes * 1'28"021 + 0'01"077 7. 8 HERBERT Jaguar 1'28"139 + 0'01"195 8. 11 FISICHELLA Benetton Playlife 1'28"236 + 0'01"292 9. 9 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW 1'28"372 + 0'01"428 10. 17 SALO Sauber Petronas * 1'28"555 + 0'01"611 11. 7 IRVINE Jaguar 1'28"566 + 0'01"622 12. 12 WURZ Benetton Playlife 1'28"771 + 0'01"827 13. 14 ALESI Prost Peugeot 1'28"950 + 0'02"006 14. 21 MAZZACANE Minardi Fondmetal 1'28"952 + 0'02"008 15. 19 VERSTAPPEN Arrows Supertec 1'28"975 + 0'02"031 16. 18 DE LA ROSA Arrows Supertec 1'28"985 + 0'02"041 17. 23 ZONTA BAR Honda 1'29"097 + 0'02"153 18. 15 HEIDFELD Prost Peugeot 1'29"113 + 0'02"169 19. 16 DINIZ Sauber Petronas 1'29"307 + 0'02"363 20. 10 BUTTON Williams BMW 1'29"326 + 0'02"382 21. 20 GENE Minardi Fondmetal * 1'29"412 + 0'02"468 22. 22 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda 7'53"474 + 6'26"530 107% time : 1'33"030

7 April 2000 M. Schumacher was fastest in the Friday first free practice ahead of Coulthard, Irvine, Hakkinen, Frentzen and R. Schumacher.

The Friday first free practice times:

1. 3 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1'27"270 203.493 km/h 2. 2 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1'27"478 + 0'00"208 3. 7 IRVINE Jaguar 1'28"566 + 0'01"296 4. 1 HAKKINEN McLaren Mercedes 1'28"649 + 0'01"379 5. 5 FRENTZEN Jordan Mugen-Hond 1'29"129 + 0'01"859 6. 9 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW 1'29"216 + 0'01"946 7. 11 FISICHELLA Benetton Playlife 1'29"304 + 0'02"034 8. 16 DINIZ Sauber Petronas 1'29"327 + 0'02"057 9. 18 DE LA ROSA Arrows Supertec 1'29"529 + 0'02"259 10. 4 BARRICHELLO Ferrari 1'29"557 + 0'02"287 11. 19 VERSTAPPEN Arrows Supertec 1'29"576 + 0'02"306 12. 12 WURZ Benetton Playlife 1'29"710 + 0'02"440 13. 23 ZONTA BAR Honda 1'29"713 + 0'02"443 14. 14 ALESI Prost Peugeot 1'29"870 + 0'02"600 15. 17 SALO Sauber Petronas 1'29"924 + 0'02"654 16. 6 TRULLI Jordan Mugen-Hond 1'29"984 + 0'02"714 17. 20 GENE Minardi Fondmetal 1'30"494 + 0'03"224 18. 10 BUTTON Williams BMW 1'30"817 + 0'03"547 19. 8 HERBERT Jaguar 1'30"896 + 0'03"626 20. 21 MAZZACANE Minardi Fondmetal 1'31"055 + 0'03"785 21. 22 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda 11'10"593 + 9'43"323 22. 15 HEIDFELD Prost Peugeot 29'49"717 + 28'22"447 107% time : 1'33"379

7 April 2000 Coulthard is optimistic about his and Mclaren's chances in the rest of the Championship despite the blow of being disqualified from the Brazilian GP, while his team mate Hakkinen is worried and says that he cannot find the words to describe how serious McLaren's situation is. According to the current World Champion the problems are so bad that the team has doen all it could to fix them, but nobody can be sure that they are solved. Current Driver Championship leader M. Schumacher thinks that he has 70% chances of winning the San Marino GP.

7 April 2000 Sauber has redesigned the wings that had failed in the Brazilian GP prompting the team to retire rather than put the drivers at risk.

7 April 2000 FIA has threatened to take several GPs out of Europe unless they are given a free hand in handling tobacco advertising and TV rights by the European Union. FIA said they will consider the EU to be just one country and therefore allowed to have only one GP, like the US. The contracts for 2001 will not be renewed until the EU gives an answer.

7 April 2000 The San Marino GP will be the last one in which teams are allowed to use advanced electronic techniques to manage the cars. From the British GP onwards teams will be allowed only one sensor to control the engine rpm and only one engine mapping. No automatic changes to fuel supply during the race will be allowed, nor will electronic gadgets to regulate car speed in the pit lane. These measures have been approved by FIA, who admit that their inspectors could no longer understand whether the various electronic gadgets complied to the rules.

7 April 2000 Ferrari have launched the new online Ferrari World Club. The club consists of a website (http://www.club.ferrari.com), a monthly magazine and a membership pack. The subscription to the club costs 100 euros for the European Union and Switzerland, and 120 euros for the rest of the world. The website offers news and info on the drivers, a chat area, personal email, online simulation of driving the F1-2000 and photographs. Subscriptions can be made through the website or over the phone (+39 0125 810820).

6 April 2000 FIA has fined the organisers of the Brazilian GP 100,000 USD over the collapse of the advertising hoardings on the circuit. The organisers have also been ordered to carry out an investigation on the causes of the collapses.

5 April 2000 Only two race into the 2000 season and the 2001 silly season has already started. Jacques Villeneuve has allegedly already started discussing the renewal of his contract at BAR for next year with Craig Pollock. The Canadian is rumoured to be wanted by Renault (ie the current Benetton team) and Flavio Briatore has often expressed his admiration for Villeneuve as a driver. Rumours that McLaren were also interested in the ex-World Champion have been denied.

5 April 2000 David Coulthard took a positive attitude to FIA's decision and said that he is not going to let the disqualification from the Brazilian GP get in the way of the rest of his season. The Scot likes the Imola circuit, where next Sunday GP will take place, a lot and expect to perform well there.

5 April 2000 McLaren and Mercedes have released a press statement saying that they are disappointed by FIA's appeal verdict, but that it will not distract them from concentrating their attention into getting their Championship run started in San Marino on Sunday. Current Championship leaders Ferrari have said that they have no comments to make on the issue, while M. Schumacher still considers Hakkinen to be his main adversary for the title.

4 April 2000 The FIA Appeal Tribunal has confirmed the disqualification of David Coulthard's McLaren-Mercedes. The McLaren team had appealed against the decision, arguing that the bad conditions of the circuit in Brazil had cause damage to the car, making it irregular. FIA rejected the argument on the ground that the track surface was equally bad for everybody, but the other teams had taken the fact into account and compensated for it.

3 April 2000 The names of the five judges who will decide on McLaren's appeal against disqualification tomorrow morning have been made public. The judges are Philippe Roberti de Winghe from Belgium (president), H.L. Duijm from Holland, Josè Macedo e Cunha from Portugal, Reginald Redmond from Ireland and Pedro Romero from Spain.

1 April 2000 Willy Rampf is Sauber team's new technical director. Formerly Chief Engineer, he replaces Leo Ress and with be involved with bot the factory and the circuit work.

Last updated on by Federica Massagrande