December 2000

27 January 2001 Jean Todt will stay with Ferrari after his contract expires in 2002, according to Luca di Montezemolo in an interview in the RAI1 news.

22 December 2000 Ferrari denied having agreed a deal with "a well-known French tyre manufacturer" (Michelin) for the supply of tyres in 2002.

21 December 2000 Prost Grand Prix announced today that they have signed a new partner deal with PSN (Pan-American Sports Netowrk). Prost also confirmed that they will use Ferrari engines next year and that Alesi will be one of the drivers. The second driver will be announced in the next few days.

21 December 2000 Bernie Ecclestone has formalised with a letter to Sias his reqest for works at Monza. For 2001 Ecclestone wants new paddocks suitable for Formula 3000 and Porsche Cup, as well as new parking facilities and new security measure. For 2002 he wants new buildings for the pits.

20 December 2000 David Coulthard has asked the McLaren team to give him equal chances as Mika Häkkinen next season.

19 December 2000 Singapore racing driver Christian Murchison has been offered a seat at Prost for 2001, but only if he can come up with a US$2million sponsor. Prost, which lost its main sponsor, Gallois, last season, is looking at starting Murchison in Formula 3000 but the sponsor's name will go on Formula One cars as well.

19 December 2000 R. Schumacher topped the test times at Estoril, despite being sent home on doctor's orders because he is suffering from a flu virus.

The Estoril test times:

1 R. SCHUMACHER Williams BMW 1m31.09s 2 MONTOYA Williams BMW 1m31.90s 3 BUTTON Benetton Renault 1m31.97s 4 IRVINE Jaguar 1m32.11s 5 BURTI Jaguar 1m32.53s 6 GENE Williams BMW 1m33.05s

19 December 2000 Nick Heidfeld made up for his poor first season in Formula 1 by clocking the fastest time in the Barcelona testing, finishing in front of the likes of Trulli, Barrichello, Coulthard and Villeneuve.

The Barcelona test times:

1 HEIDFELD Sauber-Petronas 1m20.132s 2 TRULLI Jordan-Mugen Honda 1m20.207s 3 BARRICHELLO Ferrari 1m20.282s 4 COULTHARD McLaren-Mercedes 1m20.331s 5 VILLENEUVE BAR-Honda 1m20.474s 6 FRENTZEN Jordan Honda 1m20.664s 7 WURZ McLaren-Mercedes 1m20.852s 8 RAIKKONEN Sauber-Petronas 1m21.045s 9 PIZZONIA Arrows-AMT 1m22.520s 10 SATO BAR-Honda 1m23.480s 11 HYNES BAR-Honda 1m24.158s

18 December 2000 Irvine clocked the fastest times in the testing at Estoril.

The Estoril test times:

1 IRVINE Jaguar 1m26.58s 2 BUTTON Benetton Renault 1m29.85s 3 BURTI Jaguar 1m30.52s 4 GENE Williams BMW 1m33.64s

18 December 2000 Panis clocked the fastest time for BAR in the tests in Barcelona. The Frenchman beat Coulthard and Badoer.

The Barcelona test times:

1 PANIS BAR Honda 1m20.61s 2 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1m20.66s 3 BADOER Ferrari 1m21.01s 4 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas 1m21.15s 5 DE LA ROSA Arrows AMT 1m21.27s 6 TRULLI Jordan Honda 1m21.29s 7 FRENTZEN Jordan Honda 1m21.35s 8 WURZ McLaren Mercedes 1m21.70s 9 RAIKKONEN Sauber Petronas 1m22.34s 10 MANNING BAR Honda 1m23.35s 11 PIZZONIA Arrows AMT 1m24.35s 12 SATO BAR Honda 1m24.47s 13 HYNES BAR Honda 1m25.26s

18 December 2000 Giancarlo Fisichella has undergone a successful operation to his right knee. The Benetton driver will have his first post-surgery check on Friday and, if everything works to plan, he will be able to start driving again at the end of January.

18 December 2000 The owners of Silverstone announced that the circuit will host the British GP for the next 16 years. The announcement was made after a special meeting of the British Racing Drivers Club in which a unanimous vote was cast for an agreement with Octagon, owners of Brands Hatch. Octagon hold the rights to host the British GP at Brands Hatch from 2002 to 2017, but due to the problems they have had with their circuits, they decided to offer the exclusive to Silverstone.

18 December 2000 TWR Group has reached an agreement with Moscow Council over the development of a Formula 1 circuit in the Russian capital, according to Moscow daily paper Vedomosti. TWR has already applied for authorisation from FIA and FIM (the International Motorcycling Federation). The new circuit will be built to the south-west of Moscow, in Nagatino, and is expected to take two years to complete. TWR Group will contribute about one quarter of the cost and the rest of the money will come from Russian investors.

17 December 2000 Apparently Mika Häkkinen's new son has been named Hugo Ronan. No official announcement has been made, as Finnish tradition is that the name of a new baby is revealed to non-family only three months after birth.

16 December 2000 Robert Sehli, the disgruntled Mercedes employee who held up the German GP last season, has been awarded damages for unfair dismissal by a French court. Mercedes will have to pay him almost 9,000 pounds compensation.

15 December 2000 Japan's Takuma Sato, 23, will test for BAR next week in Barcelona.

14 December 2000 Button got the top spot in the Barceona tests, ahead of Formula 1 newcomers Alonso and Montoya.

The Barcelona test times:

1 BUTTON Benetton Renault 1m21.20s 2 ALONSO Benetton Renault 1m21.48s 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW 1m22.01s 4 GENE Williams BMW 1m22.31s 5 BURTI Jaguar 1m22.83s 6 ALESI Prost Peugeot 1m22.84s 7 LOTTERER Jaguar 1m23.26s 8 FISICHELLA Benetton Renault 1m23.71s 9 SERVIA Prost Peugeot 1m24.67s 10 XAVIER Prost Peugeot 1m25.55s

14 December 2000 Giancarlo Fisichella will undergo an operation to his right knee on the 18th of December and will not be able to test for Benetton until next year. The operation has become necessary after tests revealed the presence of a microfracture, possibly caused by the accidents he suffered in Monza and Valencia during testing at the end of last season.

14 December 2000 The 2002 Hungarian GP could be under threat after the Hungarian government imposed a tobacco advertising ban. The ban will start on 1 July 2001 for the print media and on 1 January 2002 for all public places. However, Hungarian law says that special events can be exempt from bans and it is expected that the government will decide to make the GP exempt in order to continue hosting it, like it happened for the French and Belgian GPs. The Hungaroring has a contract to host the GP until 2006.

13 December 2000 The Prost team is continuing to test young drivers in order to find a partner for Alesi for next season. Brazilian Formula 3000 driver Enrique Bernoldi is testing today for the French team in Barcelona, while Spaniard Oriol Servia (ChampCars) will test for them tomorrow. Prost are also considering Soheil Ayari (F3000).

13 December 2000 David Coulthard and R. Schumacher dominated the tests in Valencia and Barcelona respectively.

The Valencia test times:

1 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1m14.73s 2 WURZ McLaren Mercedes 1m15.19s 3 BARRICHELLO Ferrari 1m15.37s 4 VERSTAPPEN Arrows-AMT 1m16.05s 5 ZONTA Jordan Honda 1m16.45s 6 FRENTZEN Jordan-Honda 1m16.55s

The Barcelona test times:

1 R. SCHUMACHER Williams BMW 1m20.457s 2 FISICHELLA Benetton Renault 1m20.911s 3 IRVINE Jaguar 1m20.968s 4 MONTOYA Williams BMW 1m21.106s 5 BUTTON Benetton Renault 1m21.182s 6 GENE Williams BMW 1m22.713s 7 BURTI Jaguar 1m22.793s 8 ALONSO Benetton Renault 1m23.010s 9 ALESI Prost Peugeot 1m23.329s 10 BERNOLDI Prost Peugeot 1m23.688s

12 December 2000 Fisichella beat R. Schumacher to the fastest time in today's tests at Barcelona. Irvine, Button, Burti and Formula 1 entrant Montoya followed.

The Barcelona test times:

1 FISICHELLA Benetton Renault 1m20.87s 2 R. SCHUMACHER Williams BMW 1m21.42s 3 IRVINE Jaguar 1m21.80s 4 BUTTON Benetton Renault 1m22.18s 5 BURTI Jaguar 1m22.63s 6 MONTOYA Williams BMW 1m22.71s 7 GENE Williams BMW 1m22.76s 8 ALESI Prost Ferrari 1m23.67s

12 December 2000 Michelin and Prost Grand Prix have agreed a three-year deal for the supply of tyres starting from 2001. Michelin will also supply Williams and Jaguar next season, and Toyota from 2002.

12 December 2000 Giorgio Pantano (British F3 Champion) and Antonio Pizzonia (German F3 Champion) are to test for Prost in Barcelona this week, in a bid to choose a partner for Jean Alesi next season.

11 December 2000 Mika Häkkinen's wife Erja gave birth to a boy this morning, two weeks before the expected due date, at the Princess Grace Hospital in Monaco. Both mother and baby are doing well.

11 December 2000 British motorsport commentator Murray Walker, 77, announced that he is to retire at the end of the 2001 season. Walker is known to the British public as "the voice of Formula 1" and has been commentating on motorsport for the last 51 years.

8 December 2000 The FIA World Council has opened the way to the use of electronics in Formula 1, provided that it is aimed at increasing safety, not just performance. A working group will put together an "electronics package" that will be discussed by team representatives and FIA on 14 February 2001. If an agreement is reached in that occasion, the "electronics package" will be submitted to the World Council that will vote for its adoption at the Spanish GP scheduled for 29 April 2001. Two of the proposals for inclusion in the package are a device to warn a driver that they have a car in front in conditions of low visibility and a device to limit speed automatically both in the pit lane and on the track when the yellow flags are displayed.

8 December 2000 Kimi Räikkönen has been granted the super-license required to compete in the 2001 Formula 1 season. The young Finn will replace Diniz at Sauber and will partner Nick Heidfeld.

7 December 2000 Olivier Panis came out on top for BAR in the last day of the tests at Jerez, finishing ahead of Barrichello and Coulthard.

The Jerez test times:

1 Olivier Panis BAR-Honda 1m23.549s 2 Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 1m23.590s 3 David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1m23.689s 4 Jarno Trulli Jordan-Honda 1m24.025s 5 Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas 1m24.036s 6 Kimi Räikkönen Sauber-Petronas 1m24.175s 7 Alex Wurz McLaren-Mercedes 1m24.576s 8 Darren Manning BAR-Honda 1m24.909s 9 Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW 1m25.051s 10 Jenson Button Benetton-Renault/Supertec 1m25.198s 11 Pedro de la Rosa Arrows-AMT 1m25.477s 12 Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW 1m25.927s 13 Luciano Burti Jaguar 1m25.96s 14 Takuma Sato Jordan-Honda 1m26.22s 15 Eddie Irvine Jaguar 1m26.40s 16 Marc Gené Williams-BMW 1m27.40s

6 December 2000 The next FIA World Council will gather on Thursday morning in Monaco to discuss giving teams total freedom in using electronics in Formula 1. Max Mosley commented that electronics is the doping of Formula 1, admitting to the difficulties encountered by FIA in keeping things under control.

6 December 2000 The European Commission has criticised Leo Kirch's entrance into the world of Formula 1, saying that he could be served with an anti-trust writ over his ownership of Formula 1 TV rights through Em TV. According to the Financial Times, Kirch could obtain the exclusive rights to Formula 1 broadcast, excluding all other parts.

6 December 2000 Gaston Mazzacane said he would like to stay at Minardi one more year, despite rumours that want him heading towards Prost or Arrows.

5 December 2000 Coulthard clocked the best time in the first tests at Jerez, with a time of 1'22"630. Panis on his BAR debut was second fastest, with a best time of 1'23"360. Barrichello had the third best time (1'23"810) and Heidfeld on Sauber the fourth (1'24"050).

The Jerez test times:

1. David Coulthard (McLaren) 1m22.630s 2. Oliver Panis (BAR) 1m23.360s 3. Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari) 1m23.810s 4. Nick Heidfeld (Sauber) 1m24.050s 5. Eddie Irvine (Jaguar) 1m24.330s 6. Darren Manning (BAR) 1m24.490s 7. Kimi Räikkönen (Sauber) 1m24.580s 8. Ricardo Zonta (Jordan) 1m24.590s 9. Jenson Button (Benetton) 1m24.990s 10. Ralf Schumacher (Williams) 1m25.220s 11. Juan P Montoya (Williams) 1m25.357s 12. Pedro de La Rosa (Arrows) 1m25.740s 13. Jarno Trulli (Jordan) 1m25.920s 14. Luciano Burti (Jaguar) 1m26.330s 15. Alex Wurz (McLaren) 1m27.560s 16. Marc Gené (Williams) 1m29.450s

5 December 2000 David Coulthard, currently testing at Jerez, said that he has already beaten both M. Schumacher and Häkkinen on the track and he can beat them for the World Title.

4 December 2000 German TV group Kirch Gruppe are rumoured to have acquired a stake in German media company EmTV, who are part of SLEC, the consortium that ownes the Formula 1 TV rights. Ecclestone does not intend to sell the 50 percent share of TV rights not owned by SLEC.

4 December 2000 BAR have hired 21 year old British driver Anthony Davidson as their new test driver for 2001. Davidson has already raced in Formula Ford Zetec and Formula Ford Winter.

3 December 2000 Bernie Ecclestone has stepped in to help Minardi get an engine deal for next year. Ecclestone ensured that Minardi will get Ford engines, if they find the money to pay for them. The Formula 1 supremo is favourable to Minardi staying in the F1 circus because it gives young drivers the chance to have a go and make a start in their F1 career.

2 December 2000 Silverstone has secured the right to host the British GP for the next 15 years after securing a deal with Octagon, the rights owners. The announcement was made by Jackie Stewart, the current president of the British Racing Drivers Club. He also warned that there is a risk of Britain losing the GP if the facilities are not brought up to standard. Stewart would like the British government to provide some funding towards upgrading the facilities at Silverstone to avoid losing the GP to another country.

1 December 2000 Gary Anderson has had his contract as technical director of Jaguar Racing terminated over the team's poor performance in 2000. Anderson, who had joined Jaguar in 1999, will be replaced by Steve Nichols, who has been working on research and development at McLaren for the last three years. Three more engineers left Jaguar as part of the team restructuration.

1 December 2000 Sauber have been warned by sponsor Red Bull that they must improve their performance, or risk losing the sponsorship deal.

1 December 2000 Team manager Steve Nielsen has left Arrows to join Benetton as test team manager. He is rumoured to have fallen out with Tom Wilkinshaw over his role. Mark Hemsworth and Ken Page will now share his responsibilities at Arrows until a permanent replacement is found.

1 December 2000 Giancarlo Fisichella might have to undergo surgery to his knee to sort out some problems with his kneecaps following the crashes at Monza and Spa last season. The operation would take place on 23 December, preventing the Italian from taking part in the January tests for Benetton.

Last updated on by Federica Massagrande