March 2001

31 March 2001 M. Schumacher will start the Brazilian GP from pole position and will share the front row of the grid with younger brother Ralf. Häkkinen put himself on the second row, alongside Montoya who kept up the pace of the free practice session. Coulthard and Barrichello only managed the third row.

The Brazilian GP qualifying session times:

1. M. Schumacher (Ferrari) 1'13"780 2. R. Schumacher (Williams) 1'14"090 3. Häkkinen (McLaren) 1'14"122 4. Montoya (Williams) 1'14"165 5. Coulthard (McLaren) 1'14"178 6. Barrichello (Ferrari) 1'14"191 7. Trulli (Jordan) 1'14"630 8. Frentzen (Jordan) 1'14"633 9. Heidfeld (Sauber) 1'14"810 10. Räikkönen (Sauber) 1'14"924 11. Panis (Bar) 1'15"046 12. Villeneuve (Bar) 1'15"182 13. Irvine (Jaguar) 1'15"192 14. Burti (Jaguar) 1'15"371 15. Alesi (Prost) 1'15"437 16. Bernoldi (Arrows) 1'15"657 17. Verstappen (Arrows) 1'15"704 18. Fisichella (Benetton) 1'16"175 19. Alonso (Minardi) 1'16"184 20. Button (Benetton) 1'16"229 21. Mazzacane (Prost) 1'16"520 22. Marques (Minardi) 1'16"784

31 March 2001 Montoya surprised everybody by clocking the fastest time in the saturday free practice session for the Brazilian GP. The Colombian finished ahead of Häkkinen, Coulthard, team mate R. Schumacher and current World Champion M. Schumacher.

The Brazilian GP Saturday free practice session times:

1. Montoya (Williams) 1'13"963 2. Häkkinen (McLaren) 1'14"108 3. Coulthard (McLaren) 1'14"182 4. R. Schumacher (Williams) 1'14"282 5. M. Schumacher (Ferrari) 1'14"652 6. Frentzen (Jordan) 1'14"837 7. Barrichello (Ferrari) 1'14"895 8. Räikkönen (Sauber) 1'15"031 9. Panis (Bar) 1'15"039 10. Heidfeld (Sauber) 1'15"096 11. Trulli (Jordan) 1'15"163 12. Irvine (Jaguar) 1'15"409 13. Burti (Jaguar) 1'15"470 14. Alesi (Prost) 1'15"735 15. Verstappen (Arrows) 1'15"972 16. Villeneuve (Bar) 1'16"135 17. Bernoldi (Arrows) 1'16"160 18. Mazzacane (Prost) 1'16"347 19. Button (Benetton) 1'16"411 20. Fisichella (Benetton) 1'16"439 21. Alonso (Minardi) 1'16"602 22. Marques (Minardi) 1'18"212

30 March 2001 David Coulthard was unstoppable in the second free practice session, clocking the fastest time over a second faster than Trulli. M. Schumacher, who is suffering from flu, only lapped in the third fastest time ahead of Montoya.

The Brazilian GP second free practice session times:

1 D. Coulthard Gb McLaren 1'15''220 2 J. Trulli Ita Jordan 1'16''224 3 M. Schumacher Ger Ferrari 1'16''598 4 J. Montoya Col Williams 1'16''851 5 M. Häkkinen Fin McLaren 1'16''882 6 R. Schumacher Ger Williams 1'16''929 7 R. Barrichello Bra Ferrari 1'16''994 8 H. Frentzen Ger Jordan 1'17''072 9 N. Heidfeld Ger Sauber 1'17''102 10 E. Irvine Gb Jaguar 1'17''295 11 L. Burti Bra Jaguar 1'17''430 12 O. Panis Fra BAR 1'17''432 13 J. Villeneuve Can BAR 1'17''455 14 J. Alesi Fra Prost 1'17''518 15 K. Räikkönen Fin Sauber 1'17''712 16 J. Verstappen Ola Arrows 1'17''792 17 G. Fisichella Ita Benetton 1'18''096 18 F. Alonso Spa Minardi 1'18''222 19 E. Bernoldi Bra Arrows 1'18''233 20 G. Mazzacane Arg Prost 1'18''269 21 T. Marques Bra Minardi 1'19''005 22 J. Button Gb Benetton 1'19''585

30 March 2001 Bobby Rahal closely escaped being hit by a television camera belonging to a local station that crashed from the scaffolding onto the team's pit floor during the first free practice session. The Jaguar team warned the organisers that they will not allow the camera to be put back unless they are assured about safety. Other accidents that hit the first day of the Brazilian GP weekend were the tefth of six laptops from the Jaguar garage and of wheel rims and tyres from the Minardi garage. On Thursday Minardi team manager Tony Lees had been attacked by three armed men who stole his watch and his sunglasses, while a Williams van narrowly escaped being hijacked at traffic lights. Brazilian Barrichello had previously commented about the massive increase in crime in the Säo Paulo area in recent years. Last year adverstising hoardings collapsed on the track during qualifying and caused the session to be stopped three times. The race organisers were fined 100,000 US dollars for that accident.

30 March 2001 M. Schumacher clocked the fastest lap time during the first free practice session for the Brazilian GP. The Ferrari driver lapped in 1'16"832 (average 201.900 Km/h), followed by Häkkinen (+ 0.050), Barrichello (+ 0.162) and Coulthard (+ 0.904).

The Brazilian GP first free practice session times:

1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1m16.832s 2 HAKKINEN McLaren Mercedes 1m16.882s 3 BARRICHELLO Ferrari 1m16.994s 4 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1m17.736s 5 PANIS BAR Honda 1m17.759s 6 IRVINE Jaguar 1m17.840s 7 BURTI Jaguar 1m18.141s 8 MONTOYA Williams BMW 1m18.215s 9 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas 1m18.271s 10 TRULLI Jordan Honda 1m18.291s 11 BERNOLDI Arrows Asiatech 1m18.295s 12 FRENTZEN Jordan Honda 1m18.410s 13 RAIKKONEN Sauber Petronas 1m18.601s 14 ALESI Prost Acer 1m18.731s 15 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda 1m18.892s 16 MARQUES Minardi European 1m19.055s 17 VERSTAPPEN Arrows Asiatech 1m19.182s 18 FISICHELLA Benetton Renault 1m19.314s 19 MAZZACANE Prost Acer 1m19.600s 20 BUTTON Benetton Renault 1m19.811s 21 ALONSO Minardi European 1m19.990s 22 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW 1m56.634s

30 March 2001 The Cartel Office, the authority that controls competition in Germany, has given the Kirch group permission to take partial control over the Formula 1 broadcast rights. Kirch will be able to buy off 49 percent of the Speed Investment company immediatly, with the possibility of buying a bigger share of it later. As for today, Speed Investment owns 75 percent of Slec. Because of financial problems, the German manager of Em.TV had allowed Kirch to enter Speed Investment as a financial partner.

30 March 2001 Jaguar have called off a plan to build a state-of-the-art factory and research center near Silverstone because the BRDC, who own the land, wanted too much money to lease it. Other possible sites are being considered and Bobby Rahal has promised a decision within three months.

29 March 2001 Ex-Prost designer Loic Bigois has been recruited by Minardi as their new head of aerodynamics.

29 March 2001 M. Schumacher will not make a dicision regarding his future in Formula 1 until the end of the season, when his contract with Ferrari expires. The current World Champion, who has recently been linked with a possible move to Toyota, wants to concentrate on driving for the time being.

28 March 2001 Rubens Barrichello will use a new helmet design at the Brazilian GP, with the colours of the Brazilian flag in honour of his home country.

28 March 2001 According to this month's issue of the F1 Racing magazine, Renault de-tuned their revolutionary new wide-angle V10 for the Australian and Malaysian GPs, after the engine suffered a series of failures during the pre-season tests.

27 March 2001 According to the F1 Racing magazine, Ferrari are already running with an entirely legal form of Traction Control. The Italian team has found a loophole in FIA's new regulations that has allowed the development of the system, which uses gearboxes to control wheelspin. FIa's new rules for 2001 state that the maximum time allowed for a gear change is 200 milliseconds but there is no minimum time limit specified. Apparently Ferrari's new gearbox can change gear in as little as 30 milliseconds, allowing 170 milliseconds to control wheelspin in the newly selected gear. Ferrari maintain that this is part of the gearchanging process. There had been wild rumours in the paddock for some time that Ferrari has been using Traction Control, that surfaced when Frentzen discussed the fact on his personal website. This prompted M. Schumacher to accuse Frentzen of making a joke of FIA, with the result that the Jordan driver clarified his statements on his website, saying that he had been misinterpreted by the media and that he believed that Ferrari's (and Sauber's) system was not illegal. Todt then challenged anybody who believed the system to be illegal to make an official complaint. Ron Dennis' answer was that he did not believe Ferrari were running an illegal Traction Control system. Traction Control will be fully legalised in Formula 1 from the Spanish GP on 29 April, a move that Ferrari have keenly opposed.

25 March 2001 Mika Salo was taken to hospital after a 220 km/h crash at Paul Ricard. The Finn went straight into a wall and managed to get out of the car unaided. He was taken to hospital by helicopter, where he was found to have no injuries but to be suffering from back pain. He is under doctor's orders to rest for a few days before continuing testing the new Toyota. The crash was apparently caused by the failure of the carbon fibre gearbox components.

24 March 2001 Willi Weber, M. Schumacher's personal manager, has refused to deny the rumour that current World Champion is thinking about buying into the Sauber team as a first step into team management. The Ferrari driver could work for Sauber as a consultant.

23 March 2001 Alan McNish has been confirmed as Mika Salo's team mate at Toyota for the team's 2002 Formula 1 debut. McNish will work alongside Salo in the testing of the new car, which was launched today at the French circuit of Paul Ricard and which is due to start testing almost immediately.

23 March 2001 According to the Financial Times, Bernie Ecclestone has been given conditional rights to Formula 1 broadcast for over a century by FIA. Apparently FIA has approved the sale of Formula 1 broadcast rights to Slec for 100 years starting from 2010, the year of expiry for the current contract held by Ecclestone. In return Ecclestone will pay 309 million US dollars to FIA within 30 days and a further 51 million dollars in the future. It is believed that before the 30 days are over, the manufacturers will reach an agreement over buying 35 percent of Slec, with Ecclestone keeping 25 percent and the rest going to the German groups.

23 March 2001 The British GP could be at risk of being cancelled because of the current foot and mouth epidemics that has shut off most of the British countryside. The circuit is located only one mile from the exclusion zone set up by the British government to try and contain the spread of the virus. Currently 13 out of the 14 entrances to the circuit are closed and all visitors must undergo disinfection procedures. If these restrictions stay in place, the RAC Motorsport Association will not grant the circuit a track license to hold the GP. Several sporting events have already been cancelled in Britain because of the foot and mouth crisis.

22 March 2001 M. Schumacher was fastest in the third test day in Barcelona. The current World Champion clocked the fastest time ahead of BAR test driver Olivier Panis.

The Barcelona test times:

1 M SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1m20.019s 2 PANIS BAR Honda 1m20.756s 3 FRENTZEN Jordan Honda 1m20.928s 4 HAKKINEN McLaren Mercedes 1m20.961s 5 IRVINE Jaguar 1m20.979s 6 BADOER Ferrari 1m21.033s 7 TRULLI Jordan Honda 1m21.723s 8 VERSTAPPEN Arrows Asiatech 1m.21.852s 9 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1m21.854s 10 DE LA ROSA Jaguar 1m21.870s 11 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda 1m21.963s 12 GENE Williams BMW 1m22.067s 13 SERVIA Prost ACER 1m22.137s 14 BERNOLDI Arrows Asiatech 1m22.235s 15 R SCHUMACHER Williams BMW 1m22.266s 16 WEBBER Benetton Renault 1m22.307s 17 BUTTON Benetton Renault 1m25.354s

22 March 2001 Rubens Barrichello has criticised the conditions of the Brazilian GP circuit. The Ferrari driver said that most drivers only go there because they have to, because conditions are terrible, with crumbling tarmac and collapsing panels. Barrichello is also worried about the severe increase in violent crimes in the Säo Paulo area.

22 March 2001 Because of the legal problems of Sagis, the company that manages the Imola circuit, a group of Italian businesses is getting ready to set up a new company to ensure the continuity of the San Marino GP after 2002. It is expected that over 30 billion Italian lire will be required to bring the circuit up to standard, with completely new pits and other structural changes.

22 March 2001 Luciano Burti is rumoured to be in danger of being replaced by test driver Pedro De La Rosa if he fails to perform at the Brazilian GP. Team boss Bobby Rahal refused to deny the rumour.

22 March 2001 Ron Dennis has said that he does not believe that Ferrari are using illegal traction control. He said that Mclaren just had lots of bad luck in Malaysia and everything played into Ferrari's hands.

22 March 2001 R. Schumacher said in an interview with British TV channel ITV that he believes Williams, not McLaren, are Ferrari's main contenders this season. In his opinion the BMW engine is currently the best one and the team also has a very good chassis.

22 March 2001 Barrichello is confident that his contract with Ferrari, which expires at the end of the current season, will be extended. The Brazilian intends to become Ferrari's first driver when M. Schumacher retires.

21 March 2001 Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer was again the fastest in the Barcelona tests, ahead of Frentzen and Wurz.

The Barcelona test times:

1 BADOER Ferrari 1m21.051s 2 FRENTZEN Jordan Honda 1m21.293s 3 WURZ McLaren Mercedes 1m21.370s 4 IRVINE Jaguar 1m21.900s 5 HERBERT Arrows Asiatech 1m21.981s 6 MONTOYA Williams BMW 1m21.999s 7 BERNOLDI Arrows Asiatech 1m22.008s 8 WEBBER Benetton Renault 1m22.419s 9 GENE Williams BMW 1m22.453s 10 DE LA ROSA Jaguar Racing 1m22.568s 11 BUTTON Benetton Renault Sport 1m24.253s 12 SERVIA Prost Acer 1m25.490s

21 March 2001 Jean Todt has challenged whoever believes that Ferrari use an illegal traction control system to make an official complaint. He said to an interview to Bild that everything Ferrari uses is legal and that people are just trying to find excuses as to why the Ferrari cars are superior to the others.

20 March 2001 Ferrari clocked the fastest time with test driver Badoer in the Barcelona tests.

The Barcelona test times:

1 BADOER Ferrari 1m21.031s 2 WURZ McLaren Mercedes 1m21.717s 3 HERBERT Arrows Asiatech 1m22.315s 4 WEBBER Benetton Renault 1m22.419s 5 GENE Williams BMW 1m22.709s

20 March 2001 Dieter Hahn of the Kirch Group has denied that there are any plans to broadcast Formula 1 races exclusively on pay TV. He added that if Bernie Ecclestone believes it necessary for the car manufacturers to enter Slec, the Kirch Group will not try and prevent it. Hahn however criticised the car manufacturers for their plan to start a new series parallel to Formula 1, saying that it would damage everybody's interest. He also reminded them that the current contracts are valid until 2007.

20 March 2001 Ross Brawn has replied to Ron Dennis' suggestion that Ferrari put their drivers' lives at risk by sending them out on intermediate tyres. Dennis had said shortly after the Malaysian GP that they had decided not to put Coulthard and Häkkinen on intermediate because it would have been dangerous, implying that Ferrari had been irresponsible to do so. Brawn told British magazine Autosport that they had tested out the intermediate tyres at Fiorano and knew that they were very good tyres even in fairly deep water.

19 March 2001 Ron Dennis and Norbert Haug have decided to rebuild the MP4-16 almost from scratch. Some observers believe that the new car will be ready for the Spanish GP on 29 April, when electronic aids will become legal.

18 March 2001 M. Schumacher sailed to his sixth win in a row, the first driver to achieve such a result since Ascari won nine races in a row in 1952-53 and the first ever driver to get six straight wins from pole position. All seemed lost for Ferrari on lap three when it started to rain and both cars, in first and second position, slipped on oil left on the track by Panis' car and went out on the gravel. Miraculously both drivers kept their cars going, did not collide and rejoined the rcae. After problems with tyres in the pit stops they both came out on intermediate tyres and their bet paid off, as they finished first and second. Coulthard settled for third place, ahead of Frentzen, a very good R. Schumacher and a lacklustre Häkkinen. A great Verstappen finished just out of the points in seventh place, the last driver to finish on full laps. The full race report is available from the Reports page.

The Sepang finishing times:

1 M. Schumacher Ger Ferrari 1h47'34"801 (average: 170,03 km/h) 2 R. Barrichello Bra Ferrari + 23"660 3 D. Coulthard Gb McLaren + 28"555 4 H. Frentzen Ger Jordan + 46"543 5 R. Schumacher Ger Williams + 48"233 6 M. Häkkinen Fin McLaren + 48"606 7 J. Verstappen Ola Arrows + 1'21"560 8 J. Trulli Ita Jordan + 1 lap 9 J. Alesi Fra Prost + 1 lap 10 L. Burti Bra Jaguar + 1 lap 11 G. Mazzacane Arg Prost + 2 laps 12 J. Button Gb Benetton + 2 laps 13 F. Alonso Spa Minardi + 3 laps 14 T. Marques Bra Minardi + 4 laps Fastest lap: M. Häkkinen Fin McLaren 1'40"962

17 March 2001 M. Schumacher battled it out with his own brother to gain pole posistion for the Malaysian GP. The younger Schumacher had the fastest time twice in teh qualifying session, before being beaten by his older brother and his team mate Barrichello. Häkkinen took fourth place on the grid in the finishing stages of the session, while his team mate Coulthard could only manage a disappointing eighth fastest time. Trulli showed that his performance during the free practice session was not a fluke by placing himself fifth on the grid, in front of a surprising Montoya. Irvine, who had shown off Jaguar's improvement during the practice session, only managed 12th position. Things did not improve for Benetton, with the two drivers only managing the 16th and 17th places on the grid. Arrows' Bernoldi, who qualified in 19th position, will start from the back of the grid after the front wing and parts of his Arrows' bodywork lying on the step plane of the car were found to be less than 100mm and 50mm respectively above the reference plane.

The Sepang qualifying times:

1 M. Schumacher Ger Ferrari 1'35"220 2 R. Barrichello Bra Ferrari 1'35"319 3 R. Schumacher Ger Williams 1'35"511 4 M. Häkkinen Fin McLaren 1'36"040 5 J. Trulli Ita Jordan 1'36"180 6 J. Montoya Col Williams 1'36"218 7 J. Villeneuve Can BAR 1'36"397 8 D. Coulthard Gb McLaren 1'36"417 9 H. Frentzen Ger Jordan 1'36"578 10 O. Panis Fra BAR 1'36"681 11 N. Heidfeld Ger Sauber 1'36"913 12 E. Irvine Gb Jaguar 1'37"140 13 J. Alesi Fra Prost 1'37"406 14 K. Räikkönen Fin Sauber 1'37"728 15 L. Burti Bra Jaguar 1'38"035 16 G. Fisichella Ita Benetton 1'38"086 17 J. Button Gb Benetton 1'38"258 18 J. Verstappen Ned Arrows 1'38"509 19 G. Mazzacane Arg Prost 1'39"006 20 T. Marques Bra Minardi 1'39"714 21 F. Alonso Esp Minardi 1'40"249 - E. Bernoldi Bra Arrows 1'38"708 (relegated to back of grid)

17 March 2001 FIA inspector will examine the Interlagos circuit next Tuesday to assess whether the Brazilian GP can go ahead. A legal row has halted the work at the circuit, after alleged irregularities in awarding the maintainance contract came to light.

16 March 2001 Frentzen said that his words were misinterpreted by the media with regards to his alleged accusations to Ferrari and Sauber of using illegal electronic traction control aids. The Jordan driver said that all he had said was that the two teams use a perfectly legal system that prevents the driven wheels from spinning while accelerating. He has published a clarification of his words on his personal web site (http://www.frentzen.de/).

16 March 2001 Jacques Villeneuve has threatened to quit Formula 1 racing if FIA go ahead with their plan of slowing down the cars. The Canadian said that he would lose his enthusiasm for the sport. He did however also said that drivers who have just had a big crash should be prevented from going straight out again in a spare car.

16 March 2001 Fernando Alonso has announced that, despite driving for Minardi this season, he has a long-term contract with Renault. Alonso's personal manager is Benetton-Renault's manager Flavio Briatore.

16 March 2001 Jarno Trulli came out on top at the free practice session for the Malaysian GP, after putting on a fresh set of tyres for the last few laps. The Jordan driver lapped the fastest time finishing ahead of Ferraru duo M. Schumacher and Barrichello. Coulthard was the fastest McLaren driver clocking the fourth best time, followed by Irvine in a finally competitive Jaguar and Häkkinen on the second Mclaren. Williams did not have a good session, with R. Schumacher in tenth place and Montoya unable to do more than a few laps because of fuel pump problems. It was not a good day for Minardi either, Marques' engine gave up in the second hour and Alonso was forced out by technical problems.

The Sepang free practice times (after two sessions):

1. Trulli (Jordan-Honda) 1'38"846 (average 201,878 km/h) 2. M. Schumacher (Ferrari) 1'38"929 3. Barrichello (Ferrari) 1'38"931 4. Coulthard (McLaren-Mercedes) 1'39"300 5. Irvine (Jaguar-Cosworth) 1'39"520 6. Häkkinen (McLaren-Mercedes) 1'39"861 7. Frentzen (Jordan-Honda) 1'40"197 8. Burti (Jaguar-Cosworth) 1'40"211 9. Panis (Bar-Honda) 1'40"229 10. R. Schumacher (Williams-BMW) 1'40"617 11. Villeneuve (Bar-Honda) 1'41"003 12. Heidfeld (Sauber-Ferrari) 1'41"027 13. Fisichella (Benetton-Renault) 1'41"375 14. Räikkönen (Sauber-Ferrari) 1'41"592 15. Verstappen (Arrows-Asiatech) 1'41"794 16. Alesi (Prost-Ferrari) 1'41"834 17. Button (Benetton-Renault) 1'42"214 18. Bernoldi (Arrows-Asiatech) 1'42"541 19. Mazzacane (Prost-Ferrari) 1'42"563 20. Marques (Minardi-European) 1'42"872 21. Alonso (Minardi-European) 1'43"107 22. Montoya (Williams-BMW) 2'13"188

15 March 2001 M. Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello oppose FIA's plans of trying to reduce the cars' speed. The current World Champion maintains that the better performance of this year's cars compared to last year's is down to the fact that in 2000 the cars were not fully developed by the Australian GP, while this season their are in a more advanced development phase.

15 March 2001 M. Schumacher has called Frentzen's claim that Ferrari already has traction control "stupid" and has accused the Jordan driver to make a joke of FIA. He added that Frentzen had better concentrate on his own performance, rather than accusing others of doing something wrong.

14 March 2001 If M. Schuamcher wins the Malaysian GP, he will have scored six victories in a row. If he manages it, he will be the first driver to achieve six sequential wins in 50 years, the last one having been Alberto Ascari who won nine races in a row in 1952-53.

14 March 2001 Bobby Rahal has denied rumours that there are plans to get rid of Eddie Irvine before the end of the current season to make room for Pedro De la Rosa. He has however confirmed that the Spaniard will have a driving seats at Jaguar in 2002.

14 March 2001 Car manufacturers Renault, Fiat, Daymelr-Chrysler, Bmw and Ford, the Kirch Group and Em.TV are allegedly in talks about getting involved in the management of Formula 1, according to Bloomberg. Mercedes' Juergen Hubbert said that the manufacturers want to keep the broadcast away from pay TV and that they want the sport to maintain credibility.

14 March 2001 Eddie Irvine has backed the call for Formula 1 engines size to be reduced from 3-litre V10s to 2.5-litre V6s in order to reduce speed and increse safety. In the Australian GP, first race of the 2001 season, the cars were some 3 seconds faster than last year, despite the introduction of measures aimed at reducing car speed.

13 March 2001 M. Schumacher, Coulthard and Wurz have written a letter as representatives of the F1 drivers to the family of Graham Beveridge, the marshal who died in the accident during the Australian GP. The letter was read during the funeral of the marshal and will be signed by all drivers in two days time when they gather in Sepang for the Malaysian GP.

13 March 2001 FIA has decided to observe closely the performance of the single-seaters in the Malaysian and Brazilian GPs. The directors of FIA are worried about the speed reached by the cars in the Autralian GP and could introduce slowing measures in order to increase safety. In particular, they want to check on speed on bends, that was higher in Melbourne that what had been previously obtained on slick tyres.

13 March 2001 Over 100,000 pounds have been raised by people involved with F1 for the family of Graham Beveridge, the marshal killed at the Australian GP.

12 March 2001 Frentzen is not backing down on the allegations he made after the Autralian GP that Sauber and Ferrari have been using some form of traction control. He believes that Ferrari managed to exploit a loophole in the current regulations.

12 March 2001 Irvine has denied that there is any truth in the rumour that he will be sacked and replaced by test driver De La Rosa if he fails to get results. He admits that the team needs to improve, but he believes that Jaguar can imporve the car they used in Australia by the Malaysian GP.

11 March 2001 The HANS (Head And Neck Support) system, designed to prevent serious neck and head injury, is likely to become compulsory from next season. Several drivers have complained that the device is uncomfortable and prevents them from turning their heads as much as they would like to. The system could also be used this season, but it is still optional.

10 March 2001 Mika Häkkinen is optimistic about the Malaysian GP. The Finn, who suffered mild concussion when he hit the barrier at Melbourne, believes he can get a good result in Sepang and get his first points of the season. Häkkinen's accident at Albert Park was shown to have been caused by a failed wishbone joint.

8 March 2001 Malaysian TV will not broadcast the Malaysian GP live to try and push the sale of tickets for the event. In 1999 and 2000 70 percent of the tickets had already been sold three weeks before the race. This year, with only 10 days to go, only 30 percent of the tickets have been sold. The GP will be delayed-broadcast at 9.00pm local time, while pay-TV Star Sports will show the race live.

8 March 2001 Following the accident in Melbourne in which a marshal lost his life, FIA has already put forward to World Motorsport Council the proposal to to raise all the fencing at all the Formula One world championships by one metre. FIA's director of communications, Francesco Longanesi, said that this would not have saved the marshal in Melbourne because fence hight has nothing to do with the accident, but it shows that track safety can be improved as well as car safety. The introduction of extra electronic elements into the car would also reduce the number of marshals required on the track.

7 March 2001 Olivier Panis is furious at the FIA's decision to give him a 25 seconds penalty at Melbourne. The BAR driver, who has allegedly overtaken Heidfeld under yellow flag conditions, said that he was penalised without any evidence. The track marshals did not make any report about the event and the penalty was based on accusations made by Heidfeld. Panis said that he overtook Heidfeld on the opposite side of the track to where the yellow flags were displayed and he does not believe that Heidfeld was aware that yellow flags were out at the time he overtook him, because the German tried to close the door on him and even made contact. The penalty dropped Panis out of the points to seventh place. Verstappen too was given a 25 seconds penalty for overtaking Heidfeld under yellow flags.

6 March 2001 The death of the race marshall at Melbourne could have been avoided, according to the experts of the Accident Research Center at Melbourne Monash University. They argue that the barriers are not adequate for Albert Park, though they respect the international standards. Tom Triggs, director of the Center, said that everything is very close to the track at Albert Park and sacrificing safety for the show is not acceptable. The barriers must be modified to be able to cope with racing speeds of 300 km/h or more, he added.

5 March 2001 Jacques Villeneuve is in hospital with bruised ribs and back stiffness, following the accident during the Australian GP in which a track marshal lost his life.

5 March 2001 The track marshal who was killed during the Australian GP has been named as Graham Beveridge, 52, from Queensland. Villeneuve's BAR Honda and R. Schumacher's Williams-Bmw have been impounded while the investigation on the tragic accident is carried out. It appears that a wheel from Villeneuve's car went through a 70cm high by 200cm wide opening in the safety net designed to allow track access in case of accident, hitting the marshal. The teo cars are not expected to be released back to the teams for about six months. Ron Walker, responsable for the Melbourne circuit, maintains that the accident was unavoidable. The circuit had been twice evaluated as reaching the top possible level of safety.

4 March 2001 The first race of the 2001 Formula 1 season, The Australian GP at Melbourne, was marred by the death of a track marshal, who was hit by flying debris after a collision between R. Schumacher and Villeneuve on lap five. Reigning World Champion M. Schumacher went on to win the race ahead of Coulthard, Barrichello, Panis, Heidfeld and Frenzen. Panis was later penalised for not respecting the yellow flag and moved into seventh position, letting rookie Räikkönen into the points in his first ever Formula 1 race. Jos Verstappen also had a 25 seconds penalty added to his time because of yellow flag infringement. Both drivers were penalised for overtaking Heidfeld while the yellow flag was being displayed.

The Melbourne finishing times (including Panis' and Verstappen's 25 seconds penalty):

1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1h38m26.533s 2 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes +1.717s 3 BARRICHELLO Ferrari +33.491s 4 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas +1m11.479s 5 FRENTZEN Jordan Honda +1m12.807s 6 RAIKKONEN Sauber Petronas +1m24.143s 7 PANIS BAR Honda +1m27.050s 8 BURTI Jaguar +1 lap 9 VERSTAPPEN Arrows Asiatech +1 lap 10 ALESI Prost Acer +1 lap 11 IRVINE Jaguar +1 lap 12 ALONSO Minardi European +2 laps 13 FISICHELLA Benetton Renault +3 laps 14 BUTTON Benetton Renault +6 laps 15 MONTOYA Williams BMW +18 laps 16 TRULLI Jordan Honda +20 laps 17 HAKKINEN McLaren Mercedes +33 laps 18 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW +54 laps 19 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda +54 laps 20 MARQUES Minardi European +55 laps 21 BERNOLDI Arrows Asiatech +56 laps 22 MAZZACANE Prost Acer +58 laps Fastest lap: Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1m26.650s

3 March 2001 The issue of Formula 1 broadcast rights will be discussed in a special meeting organised by the FIA World Council on 22 March in Paris.

3 March 2001 The first row of the Melbourne grid will be all red, with M. Schumacher taking pole poeisition and team mate Barrichello qualifying second. Mika Häkkinen took third starting place, in front of Frentzen, R. Schumacher and Coulthard. Tarso Marques, who qualified outside the 107 percent rule, will be allowed to start by steward's decision for "ecceptional circumstances". With 12 minutes to go the session was red flagged because of an accident involving the Jaguar of Luciano Burti, that suffered a suspension failure.

The Melbourne qualifying grid:

1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1m26.892s 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari 1m27.263s 3 HAKKINEN McLaren Mercedes 1m27.461s 4 FRENTZEN Jordan Honda 1m27.658s 5 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW 1m27.719s 6 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1m28.010s 7 TRULLI Jordan Honda 1m28.377s 8 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda 1m28.435s 9 PANIS BAR Honda 1m28.518s 10 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas 1m28.615s 11 MONTOYA Williams BMW 1m28.738s 12 IRVINE Jaguar 1m28.965s 13 RAIKKONEN Sauber Petronas 1m28.993s 14 ALESI Prost Acer 1m29.893s 15 VERSTAPPEN Arrows Asiatech 1m29.934s 16 BUTTON Benetton Renault 1m30.035s 17 FISICHELLA Benetton Renault 1m30.209s 18 BERNOLDI Arrows Asiatech 1m30.520s 19 ALONSO Minardi European 1m30.657s 20 MAZZACANE Prost Acer 1m30.798s 21 BURTI Jaguar 1m30.978s 22 MARQUES Minardi European 1m33.228s

2 March 2001 McLaren-Mercedes took a different stance from the other big manufacturers involved in Formula 1, after saying that they are prepared to talk to the Kirch Group in order to reach an agreement over Formula 1 broadcast rights. BMW, on the other hand, repeated that they will never agree to a compromise with Kirch.

2 March 2001 With only two minutes to go before the end of the free practice session of the Melbourne GP, M. Schumacher lost control of his car at 270 km/h after turn six, while trying to beat team mate Barrichello's best time. The current World Champion's car flew in the air, turning twice on itself and finally landing on the grass the right way up but without a wheel. M. Schumacher was unhurt and was able to walk away frm the scene of the accident. Jean Todt believes that it will be possible to repair the chassis in time for the Saturday qualifying session. Barrichello was fastest ahead of Trulli, M. Schumacher, Coulthard, Häkkinen and R. Schumacher.

The Melbourne free practice times (after two sessions):

1 BARRICHELLO Ferrari 1m28.965s 2 TRULLI Jordan Honda 1m29.267s 3 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1m29.284s 4 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1m29.324s 5 HAKKINEN McLaren Mercedes 1m29.799s 6 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW 1m30.277s 7 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas 1m30.345s 8 FRENTZEN Jordan Honda 1m30.802s 9 ALESI Prost Acer 1m31.089s 10 PANIS BAR Honda 1m31.166s 11 RAIKKONEN Sauber Petronas 1m31.453s 12 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda 1m31.559s 13 IRVINE Jaguar 1m31.573s 14 VERSTAPPEN Arrows Asiatech 1m31.669s 15 MONTOYA Williams BMW 1m31.271s 16 FISICHELLA Benetton Renault 1m32.475s 17 ALONSO Minardi European 1m32.587s 18 BURTI Jaguar 1m33.011s 19 MAZZACANE Prost Acer 1m33.153s 20 BERNOLDI Arrows Asiatech 1m33.203s 21 BUTTON Benetton Renault 1m33.403s 22 MARQUES Minardi European 1m36.463s

2 March 2001 A Belgian court ruled that M. Schumacher must wear the helmets produced by American firm Bell. The German will have to pay a fine for every day he appears with a different helmet.

1 March 2001 Arrows was the last team to present its 2001 contender, the A22, today in Melbourne.

Last updated on by Federica Massagrande