February 1997

28 February 1997 A 2 and a half meter high bronze statue of Ayrton Senna is being produced by artist Stefano Pierotti. The statue represents Senna sitting on a cube and will be placed at the entrance of the Imola race track. The second day of the Senna trial opens today in Imola.

27 February 1997 Tyrrell has agreed a sponsorship deal with ICL.

21 February 1997 The Lotus team is planning to get back into F1 racing from 1998.

20 February 1997 Max Mosley said that he would like to see more GPs in the next few years. The number of GPs has already been raised to 17 from 1997, but a 18/19 GPs season could be on the cards ina few years time.

19 February 1997 A spokeperson of FIA in Paris said that FIA is interested in the trial being carried out in a relaxed environment and did not threaten Italy with cancelling 34 races.

19 February 1997 The photograph of the Imola track before Senna's accident is not a new element in the trial bevcause it is part of a photgraphic and video sequence which had been handed in to the Italian magistrates immediately after the accident. The trial is due to start tomorrow.

18 February 1997 Monza town council has extended the contract to hold F1 races until the year 2007.

18 February 1997 FIA's president Max Mosley said that if Williams is found guilty of Senna's death, approval for races in Italy might be withdrawn.

18 February 1997 From this season, all F1 cars will be fitted with an airplane-style black box which will record events before and during an accident.

17 February 1997 The Italian magistrate who carried out the official investigation on the accident leading to Senna's death, Maurizio Passarini, said that the photograph published by the Sunday Times does not change the prosecution's belief that the accident was caused by the steering column breaking.

16 February 1997 The Sunday Times today published a photograph of the Imola track just before Senna's death. An object, which might have caused the accident, can be seen on the track. The trial will start in Bologna next Thursday (20th February).

15 February 1997 Pirelli said that following Bridgestone entry in F1 and Michelin's intention to return to F1 in 1998, they too might consider providing tyres to a F1 team. Pirelli said that they are not scared of the costs involved in producing F1 racing tyres.

13 February 1997 Ex F1 driver Alain Prost bought the Ligier team and renamed it Prost Grand Prix. The new team will use Mugen Honda engine this coming season and has a contract with Peugeot to supply the engine for the two following seasons.

12 February 1997 The new Ferrari car is not good enough to win the next F1 championship, said Michael Schumacher.

11 February 1997 Ferrari has announced that Barnard will no longer work for the Italian team as chief designer. His place will be taken from 17 February by Rory Byrne, formerly of Benetton like technical director Ross Brawn who also moved to Ferrari. Barnard is now the owner of the design office in Shalford (Surrey), where he will work as an independent developer and manufacturer of parts. All of Ferrari's design work has been moved back to Maranello.

Last updated on 25 April 1997 by Federica Massagrande