March 2002

31 March 2002 M. Schumacher took the lead off Montoya moments after the start of the Brazilian GP and kept it to the end, apart from a small interlude when local hero Barrichello went shortly into the lead for the delight of the Brazilian crowd before retiring. Montoya clipped the back of M. Schumacher's Ferrari on lap one while trying to go back in front and lost is front wing. The Colombian went back into the pits for a new nosecone and dropped into 20th place. He eventually finished in fifth. M. Schumacher kept younger brother Ralf behind in the last laps of the race to win. Coulthard finished third to gain his first points of the season, Button was fourt and Salo was sixth.

The finishing times of the Brazilian GP:

1. M. SCHUMACHER Ferrari B in 1h31'43"663 2. R. SCHUMACHER Williams-BMW M + 0"500 3. COULTHARD McLaren-Mercedes M + 59"100 4. BUTTON Renault M + 1'06"800 5. MONTOYA Williams-BMW M + 1'07"500 6. SALO Toyota M +1 lap 7. IRVINE Jaguar-Cosworth M +1 lap 8. DE LA ROSA Jaguar-Cosworth M +1 lap 9. SATO Jordan-Honda B +2 laps 10. VILLENEUVE Bar-Honda B +3 laps(classified though retired) 11. WEBBER Minardi-Asiatech +3 laps 12. RAIKKONEN McLaren-Mercedes M +4 laps(classified though retired) 13. YOONG Minardi-Asiatech M +4 laps

31 March 2002 The Brazilian GP warm-up was stopped for three minutes just before the end for a serious accident involving Bernoldi. The medical car got out immediately when it appeared that Bernoldi was unconscious in his burning Arrows, but Heidfeld failed to see the flags and sliced across the grass between the guardrail and the stopped cars at the exit of the corner, taking the open door of the medical car out. Luckily the paramedic had just had the time to open the door and had not started getting out of the car when Heidfeld went so devastatingly past. Nobody was hurt in the process. M. Schumacher clocked the best lap time of the warm-up, with 1m15.866s.

The morning warm-up times of the Brazilian GP:

1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1m15.866s 2 DE LA ROSA Jaguar 1m16.391s 3 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes 1m16.543s 4 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW 1m16.558s 5 MONTOYA Williams BMW 1m16.608s 6 BARRICHELLO Ferrari 1m16.666s 7 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1m16.679s 8 FRENTZEN Arrows Cosworth 1m17.007s 9 MCNISH Toyota 1m17.222s 10 BERNOLDI Arrows Cosworth 1m17.290s 11 BUTTON Renault 1m17.361s 12 MASSA Sauber Petronas 1m17.371s 13 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas 1m17.412s 14 PANIS BAR Honda 1m17.482s 15 IRVINE Jaguar Cosworth 1m17.496s 16 TRULLI Renault 1m17.676s 17 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda 1m17.676s 18 SALO Toyota 1m17.994s 19 FISICHELLA Jordan Honda 1m18.007s 20 YOONG Minardi Asiatech 1m18.569s 21 WEBBER Minardi Asiatech 1m19.034s 22 SATO Jordan Honda 1m19.071s

30 March 2002 In the qualifying session for the Brazilian GP Montoya convincingly stormed to pole position and stayed there despite the challenge of M. Schumacher, who still managed to keep his younger brother Ralf at bay. Coulthard and Räikkönen settled in fourth and fifth places, ahead of Trulli. Barrichello had to be content with eighth place behind Button, after he was penalised for coming out of the pits under red lights during the morning practice session. Barrichello's penalty was to have his fastest qualifying time taken away.

The qualifying times of the Brazilian GP:

1. MONTOYA Williams-BMW M 1'13"114 (average 212.167 Km/h) 2. M. SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'13"241 3. R. SCHUMACHER Williams-BMW M 1'13"328 4. COULTHARD McLaren-Mercedes M 1'13"565 5. RAIKKONEN McLaren-Mercedes M 1'13"595 6. TRULLI Renault M 1'13"611 7. BUTTON Renault M 1'13"665 8. BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'13"935 9. HEIDFELD Sauber-Ferrari B 1'14"233 10. SALO Toyota M 1'14"443 11. DE LA ROSA Jaguar-Cosworth M 1'14"464 12. MASSA Sauber-Ferrari B 1'14"533 13. IRVINE Jaguar-Cosworth M 1'14"537 14. FISICHELLA Jordan-Honda B 1'14"748 15. VILLENEUVE Bar-Honda B 1'14"760 16. McNISH Toyota M 1'14"990 17. PANIS Bar-Honda B 1'14"996 18. FRENTZEN Arrows-Cosworth B 1'15"112 19. SATO Jordan-Honda B 1'15"296 20. WEBBER Minardi-Asiatech M 1'15"340 21. BERNOLDI Arrows-Cosworth B 1'15"355 22. YOONG Minardi-Asiatech M 1'16"728

29 March 2002 Coulthard was the fastest in the Friday practice for the Brazilian GP. The Scot beat Montoya and McNish. The two Schumacher brothers, Ralf and Michael, clocked the fourth and fifth times and Räikkönen the sixth. Barrichello, on last year's F2001, only managed the seventh time.

The Friday practice times of the Brazilian GP:

1. COULTHARD (McLaren-Mercedes) M 1'15"075 (average 206.625 Km/h) 2. MONTOYA (Williams-BMW) M 1'15"345 3. McNISH (Toyota) M 1'15"450 4. R. SCHUMACHER (Williams-BMW) M 1'15"477 5. M. SCHUMACHER (Ferrari) B 1'15"627 6. RAIKKONEN (McLaren-Mercedes) M 1'15"883 7. BARRICHELLO (Ferrari) B 1'15"933 8. BUTTON (Renault) M 1'16"054 9. VILLENEUVE (Bar-Honda) B 1'16"183 10. DE LA ROSA (Jaguar-Cosworth) M 1'16"289 11. FRENTZEN (Arrows-Cosworth) B 1'16"375 12. BERNOLDI (Arrows-Cosworth) B 1'16"379 13. PANIS (Bar-Honda) B 1'16"391 14. IRVINE (Jaguar-Cosworth) M 1'16"424 15. SALO (Toyota) M 1'16"529 16. FISICHELLA (Jordan-Honda) B 1'16"539 17. MASSA (Sauber-Ferrari) B 1'16"548 18. HEIDFELD (Sauber-Ferrari) B 1'16"573 19. SATO (Jordan-Honda) B 1'17"624 20. WEBBER (Minardi-Asiatech) M 1'17"714 21. TRULLI (Renault) M 1'17"979 22. YOONG (Minardi-Asiatech) M 1'18"426

29 March 2002 Max Mosley said that the Russian GP, which will become part of the schedule in 2004, will not displace the British GP or any non-Europen GP. The GP at risk are the ones that are held in countries where two races are run. These are the GPs held in Italy (the Italian GP and the San Marino GP) and Germany (the German GP and the European GP).

28 March 2002 The Brazilian GP holds a new danger for the general public. Apart from the threat of violent crime, which is ripe in the Säo Paulo area, an epidemic of hemorrhagic fever is currently plaguing the population. The fever is carried by a type of mosquito and since its outbreak two months ago it has already killed 38 people. The local council fears that the rainwater accumulated in the piled up tyres of the barriers could have converted the whole circuit complex into mosquito breeding ground. Manuals on how to identify the symptoms of the fever and what to do to treat the disease are being given to all those entering the circuit.

27 March 2002 Ben Agathangelou, formerly of Renault, is to join Jaguar as the new head of aerodynamics on 1 May 2002. The task of the 30-year-old Briton will be to try and rescue the R3, which has been performing poorly since the start of the season.

27 March 2002 Michelin has brought to Interlagos two new types of tyre, which have been tested last week in Barcelona.

25 March 2002 R. Schumacher has received a fine of 10,000 euros for causing an accident on 30 November 2001. R. Schumacher had been driving his BMW too fast in wet conditions in Cologne and had ran into the back of another car, causing a three-car pile up in which one person had been injured.

24 March 2002 Ferrari have announced that M. Schumacher will drive the new F2002 in Brazil, while Barrichello will use last year's F2001. The recent tests in Spain have shown that the new car is very fast but not yet as reliable as the F2001.

23 March 2002 Jaguar will continue using this year's R3 in Brazil rather than reverting to the R2. Ferrari, despite the testing, have yet to decide whether they will use this season's car, the F2002, next weekend, or whether they will stick with the F2001.

22 March 2002 The signing of a deal to include the Russian GP in the 2003 Formula 1 schedule has been postponed. No explanation was given but speculation is mounting that the circuit could not possibly be completed on time for the 2003 season. Ecclestone, who is still in Russia, has told the BBC that the first Russian GP will take place in 2004 instead.

21 March 2002 BAR's engineering director Malcolm Oastler and chief designer Andy Green are leaving the BAR team as part of a massive reorganisation that sees the departure of 15% of the team's personnel. The annuncement was made by BAR's new team boss David Richards this afternoon, who said that the aim of the restructuring is to give the team a leaner organisation. Oastler has been the team's technical director since BAR was created four years ago and has overseen the design of all four cars. Green, formerly of Jordan, had joined the team in 1999.

21 March 2002 The Russian GP could be making an appearance in the 2003 Formula 1 schedule. Bernie Ecclestone is expected sign a deal with the city authorities in Moscow today. A new circuit complex is currently being built south of Moscow on Nagatino island.

20 March 2002 The FIA Wolrd Council has announced a new measure to try and limit accidents during racing. In the meeting held today in Paris, the FIA decided that any driver found guilty of causing an accident will be penalised 10 places on his qualifying position at the following event. FIA also decided to limit the number of engines to one per weekend from 2004. If a drivers uses more than one engine per weekend, he will lose 10 positions on the starting grid. The restriction was originally intended to come into foce in the 2003 season, but some manufacturers argued that their engine design for next season is already too advanced to be changed now. The HANS neck restraint device, which has been criticised by some drivers as too uncomfortable, will also be compulsory from 2003.

20 March 2002 Helmut Panke of BMW said that the car manufacturers are not actively pursuing a share in Formula 1. The statement follows the Kirch Group's announcement that they are ready to sell part of their share of Slec.

19 March 2002 Olivier Panis is rumoured to be about to sign a two-year deal with BAR. Panis's current contract with BAR is due to expire at the end of this season.

17 March 2002 A shunt between Montoya and M. Schumacher at the start of the Malaysian GP menat a trip back to the pits for a new nosecone for the German and a drive-through penalty for the Colombian. R. Schumacher's one stop strategy and an engine failure for Barrichello meant that the younger Schumacher brother won the race ahead of team mate Montoya. Button was deprived of his first ever podium finish by a suspension problem in the very last lap of the GP. M. Schumacher, who had been working his way back to the front of the pack from the back, took advantage of the young Briton's misfortune to finish third. Button managed to keep fourth place in front of Heidfeld and Massa. The full race report is available from the Reports page.

The finishing times of the Malaysian GP:

1. R. SCHUMACHER (Williams-BMW) M in 1h34'12"912 (average 197.680 Km/h) 2. MONTOYA (Williams-BMW) M a 39"700 3. M. SCHUMACHER (Ferrari) B a 1'01"795 4. BUTTON (Renault) M a 1'09"767 5. HEIDFELD (Sauber-Ferrari) B +1 lap 6. MASSA (Sauber-Ferrari) B +1 lap 7. McNISH (Toyota) M +1 lap 8. VILLENEUVE (Bar-Honda) B +1 lap 9. SATO (Jordan-Honda) B +2 laps 10. DE LA ROSA (Jaguar-Cosworth) M +2 laps 11. FRENTZEN (Arrows-Cosworth) B +2 laps 12. SALO (Toyota) M +3 laps 13. FISICHELLA (Jordan-Honda) B +3 laps

16 March 2002 M. Schumacher redressed the balance during qualifying by beating Montoya to pole position by 0.23 seconds. Barrichello settled in third place ahead of R. Schumacher and the two McLaren drivers Räikk&oum;nen and Coulthard will share the third row of the grid. M. Schumacher said that the car was "perfect".

The qualifying times of the Malaysian GP:

1. M. SCHUMACHER (Ferrari) B 1'35"266 (average 209.464 Km/h) 2. MONTOYA (Williams-BMW) M 1'35"497 3. BARRICHELLO (Ferrari) B 1'35"891 4. R. SCHUMACHER (Williams-BMW) M 1'36"028 5. RAIKKONEN (McLaren-Mercedes) M 1'36"468 6. COULTHARD (McLaren-Mercedes) M 1'36"477 7. HEIDFELD (Sauber-Ferrri) B 1'37"199 8. BUTTON (Renault) M 1'37"245 9. FISICHELLA (Jordan-Honda) B 1'37"536 10. SALO (Toyota) M 1'37"694 11. FRENTZEN (Arrows-Cosworth) B 1'37"919 12. TRULLI (Renault) M 1'37"920 13. VILLENEUVE (Bar-Honda) B 1'38"039 14. MASSA (Sauber-Ferrari) B 1'38"057 15. SATO (Jordan-Honda) B 1'38"141 16. BERNOLDI (Arrows-Cosworth) B 1'38"284 17. DE LA ROSA (Jaguar-Cosworth) M 1'38"374 18. PANIS (Bar-Honda) B 1'38"390 19. McNISH (Toyota) M 1'38"959 20. IRVINE (Jaguar-Cosworth) M 1'39"121 21. WEBBER (Minardi-Asiatech) M 1'39"454 22. YOONG (Minardi-Asiatech) M 1'40"158

16 March 2002 Williams-BMW and Ferrari are about to exchange members of staff. Antonia Terzi, of the Ferrari technical staff, is moving to Wiliams-BMW to replace aerodynamics expert Geof Willis, who moved to BAR. At the same time another aerodynamics engineer, Alessandro Cinelli will move to Ferrari from Williams.

15 March 2002 The Phoenix team situation is hotting up. Despite the fact that FIA claims that the Phoenix Consortium have not bought Prost Grand Prix' right to race, Tom Walkinshaw is rumoured to have a letter sent to Max Mosley by the liquidators of the Prost team confirming that the commercial rights and the entry in the 2002 Formula 1 Championship were part of the package that Charles Nickerson bought for 2.3 million euros. According to Phoenix' French lawyers the rights and benefits of Prost Grand Prix under the Concorde Agreement, including its entry into the 2002 championship, were transferred to Phoenix Finance Ltd in full compliance with French law. The FIA was notified of this fact jointly by the Liquidator and Charles Nickerson on 28th February 2002. A letter from Cosme Rogeau, Prost Grand Prix's administrator, to Max Mosley was also released by Mr Nickerson. The letter clearly states that all the benefits (the entry in the Championship) and rights held by Prost have been transferred to Phoenix. FIA, however, is refusing to back down on its decision that Phoenix has no right to race in the 2002 Championship, and said that the decision was made after consultation with lawyers acting for the French court and in full knowledge of Rogeau's letter. Charles Nickerson might decide to take the FIA to court if they refuse to let the Phoenix team compete in the current Formula 1 Championship. Both Michelin and Bridgestone have denied that they have been approached by Phoenix for a supply a tyres.

15 March 2002 Over 260 firefighters are working round the clock to contain a large fire that has been raging for over two days in a forest barely 15 km away from the Sepang complex. A police spokeperson said that they are doing all they can to make sure that the fire does not reach the circuit.

15 March 2002 Jordan have confirmed that Henri Durand, formerly of Prost Grand Prix, has been hired to replace technical director Eghbal Hamidy, currently on gardening leave. Last year Hamidy was responsible for the design of the EJ11B, which was found lacking by both Alesi and Trulli. Alesi openly stated that the standard EJ11 was better than the upgrade. Hamidy was also criticised for his lack of management skills when a good proportion of Jordan aerodynamic personnel defected to Benetton (now Renault) to follow former technical director Mike Gascoyne. Last-minute problems with the EJ12 are said to have been the last drop that caused the situation to come to a head.

15 March 2002 McLaren came back with a vengeance in Malaysia. Räikkönen topped the Friday free practice table and Coulthard managed to get the second fastest lap time after recovering from a car fire in the first hour. M. Schumacher, who had dominated the Australian GP, came third in front of his younger brother Ralf. New team Toyota claimed the fifth spot with Salo, who kept Montoya in sixth place. Barrichello had to settle for seventh after his car broke down in the second hour. Local hero Yoong had the 19th lap time, but still managed to keep Irvine on a very poor performing Jaguar behind. M. Schumacher said that he is not worried about finishing with only the third fastest lap because he expected McLaren to improve on their Melbourne performance. He also said that the Friday times do not usually reflect what really happens in qualifying and racing and concluded saying that the day had been positive.

The Friday practice times of the Malaysian GP:

1. RAIKKONEN (McLaren-Mercedes) M 1'37"399 (average 204.877 Km/h (26 laps)) 2. COULTHARD (McLaren-Mercedes) M 1'38"038 (18) 3. M.SCHUMACHER (Ferrari) B 1'38"490 (36) 4. R.SCHUMACHER (Williams-BMW) M 1'38"650 (40) 5. SALO (Toyota) M 1'39"066 (36) 6. MONTOYA (Williams-BMW) M 1'39"158 (35) 7. BARRICHELLO (Ferrari) B 1'39"279 (25) 8. BUTTON (Renault) M 1'39"714 (32) 9. TRULLI (Renault) M 1'39"774 (23) 10. HEIDFELD (Sauber-Ferrari) B 1'39"889 (34) 11. McNISH (Toyota) M 1'39"982 (28) 12. DE LA ROSA (Jaguar-Cosworth) M 1'40"147 (36) 13. FRENTZEN (Arrows-Cosworth) B 1'40"576 (27) 14. FISICHELLA (Jordan-Honda) B 1'40"815 (39) 15. BERNOLDI (Arrows-Cosworth) B 1'41"095 (19) 16. SATO (Jordan-Honda) B 1'41"111 (43) 17. VILLENEUVE (Bar-Honda) B 1'41"461 (25) 18. PANIS (Bar-Honda) B 1'41"473 (27) 19. YOONG (Minardi-Asiatech) M 1'41"805 (38) 20. IRVINE (Jaguar-Cosworth) M 1'41"857 (29) 21. MASSA (Sauber-Ferrari) B 1'41"917 (22) 22. WEBBER (Minardi-Asiatech) M 1'44"583 (6)

14 March 2002 The car that Ayrton Senna was driving when he suffered the accident that caused his death has been released by the investigating team after eight years. The car has been brought back to the United Kingdom.

14 March 2002 According to reports, the Phoenix team was not allowed through Malaysian customs because they were not part of the official Formula One Management freight package, which is considered as one entity.

14 March 2002 Rubens Barrichello said that he does not intend to change his approach to starting a race because of what happened in Melbourne. Several people have accused the Brazilian of having caused the shunt with R. Schumacher at the start of the Australian GP, despite a FIA verdict of racing accident, but Barrichello does not believe that it was his fault. M. Schumacher has asked all drivers to be more relaxed at the start of the Malaysian GP.

14 March 2002 Juan Pablo Montoya said that he intends to try and beat M. Schumacher and that he truly believes that he has what it takes to be the next World Champion. He also argued that he can save the 2002 seaosn from the boredom of a Ferrari domination. M. Schumacher replied to the Colombian's challenge saying that he does not believe people are losing interest in Formula 1 because it is too predictable. He also said that he is not interested in what Montoya thinks and that Melbourne was not indicative of how the season will go.

14 March 2002 The weather forecast for Speang for the coming GP weekend predicts sun and no rain. Current temperature is of 33 to 35 degrees Celsius with high humidity.

14 March 2002 Keke Rosberg no longer is Mika Häkkinen's personal manager. The Finn decided that he can look after his own business now that he is no longer racing. Rosberg said that he felt it had been a privilege to work with Häkkinen and that all the paperwork is in place, should he ever decide to go back to Formula 1 racing.

14 March 2002 Ferrari might use the new F2002 in the Brazilian GP, but the final decision has not been taken yet, according to M. Schumacher. During a press conference the German driver said that the team wants to be absolutely sure of the reliability of the car before the decide to use it.

13 March 2002 Jaguar will not follow Ferrari's example and will use a modified version of the R3 in Malaysia, instead of last year's R2. Niki Lauda said that if there are problems with the new R3, they might consider bringing back he R2 in future races.

12 March 2002 FIA have announced that they have made the decision that the two AP04 brought to Malaysia by Phoenix Finance Ltd. (owned by British millionaire Charles Nickerson) cannot take part in the GP next weekend.

12 March 2002 According to unofficial reports, the Prost team has turned up in Malaysia in its new incarnation as Phoenix Grand Prix with two Prost AP04. Gaston Mazzacane, formerly at Prost, has allegedly been asked to be one of the drivers. It's likely that the team turned up just to avoid paying the fine for missing a race and will not actually take part in the GP. However, by doing so the team still risks a fine for bringing the sport into disrepute. The question whether the consortium that acquired the liquidate Prost team has a right to race in Formula 1 is still being debated.

12 March 2002 Former Ferrari, McLaren and Prost designer Henri Durand is rumoured to be about to sign with Jordan as chief designer. Current Jordan technical head Eghbal Hamidy is reported to be at loggerheads with the team due to the poor performance of the EJ12, which is being blamed on some decisions taken by Hamidy. The Italian designer is currently on gardening leave and a split with the Jordan team appears inevitable.

11 March 2002 According to Niki Lauda, in Malaysia Jaguar could perform even worse than they did in Australia. In Albert Park Irvine finished fourth, but only after a series of shunts and accidents took out most of the other cars. Minardi had qualified better than Jaguar on the grid.

10 March 2002 The Benetton single-seater that M. Schumacher used in 1994 when he won his first Championship is to be auctioned on ebay.co.uk. The auction opens on Wednesday on a minimum bid of one pound. The auction will close ten days later.

7 March 2002 According to the Financial Times, Bernie Ecclestone and the major car manufacturers are ready to make the Kirch Group an offer for its share of SLEC. The talks have apparently taken place behind closed doors in Geneva.

7 March 2002 Max Mosley, who has had a long war of words with Ron Dennis over his accusations of preferential treatment for Ferrari, said that the McLaren boss is "in need of counselling". Mosley said that FIA is impartial and the perceived favouritism for McLaren's rivals Ferrari is a figment of Dennis' immagination.

6 March 2002 Ferrari's last year's car could be used well into the current season. Ross Brawn said that the victory in Australian has taken away some of the pressure of getting the new car ready as soon as possible.

6 March 2002 Tom Walkinshaw fully supports FIA's proposal to limit the numbers of engines allowed for a GP weekend. Arrows is one of only two teams who need to pay for their engines and he believes that Formula 1 is heading towards a financial meltdown if the trend of spiralling costs of the last few years continues.

6 March 2002 Jaguar might decide to scrap the new R3 chassis and revert back to last year's R2B from the Malaysian GP, despite Irvine's fourth place in he first GP of the season. The R3 chassis suffers from fundamental aerodynamic and mechanical problems and Jaguar is considering whether to try and fix it, or to scrap it altogether and start again from scratch. If they choose to take the second option, the new chassis is expected to be ready for the summer.

5 March 2002 Brnie Ecclestone told the new owners of Prost, a consortium provisionally name Phoenix headed by Charles Nickerson and backed by TWR boss Tom Walkinshaw, that they have no right to race this season. The consortium has bought two cars, tools and technical drawings for two million pounds, but not the team itself, as this would have meant settling the 20 million pounds debts. According to the Concorde Agreement, any new team has to lodge a bond of 48 million dollars with the FIA before the are allowed to race and Phoenix has not done so. Mosley said that FIA has receveied no communication from the new owners of Prost yet. In related news, Volkswagen has denied the rumours that they are behind the purchase of the Prost assets and that they intend to enter the team into Formula 1 rebadged as Skoda.

4 March 2002 Dieter Hahn, Managing Director of the Kirch group, said that they are ready to sell the Formula 1 broadcast rights to the highest bidder. Kirch's preferred solution would be to find a prtner, but they are also ready to sell the rights outright. Hahn also confirmed that the Kirch Group has already held talks with some parties, including Bernie Ecclestone, over selling the rights.

4 March 2002 Ferrari are debating whether to use last year's car, that outperformed all other teams in Australia, to the Malaysian GP, or whether to use the new car. Ferrari's 2002 contender, the F2002, allegedly has reliability problems, however there have been accusations that the new gearbox is illegal and would cause the car to be disqualified if it took part in a GP.

4 March 2002 The Prost team could come back to Formula 1 rebadged as Skoda. According to the British Observer newspaper, Skoda-owners Volkswagen were behind the purchase of the assets of the bankrupt Prost team with the backing of Tom Walkinshaw. The Prost team might be back in Malaysia under its old name with Czech Thomas Enge and Argentine Gaston Mazzacane as drivers. The team would then enter the 2003 season as Skoda. Volkswagen have been looking for a way into Formula 1 for a while.

3 March 2002 The start of the Australian GP was the scene of high drama, with R. Schumacher flying over Barrichello's car in the leading position at the first corner, taking both out. At the same time back in mid field a massive shunt took out several cars. Both Arrows were later disqualified for two different infractions. After a tightly-fought battle M. Schumacher took the lead from Montoya and went on to win the race in front of the Colombian. Räikkönen was third in his first race for McLaren, while Eddie Irvine clinched fourth place. Australian Webber took fifth place in front of an ecstatic home crowd, having kept Salo at bay, who nonetheless brought home a point for Toyota on the team's debut race. A series of retirements ensured that only eight drivers finished the race. The full race report is available from the Reports page.

The finishing times of the Australian GP:

1. M. Schumacher (Ferrari) in 1h35'36"792 (average 193.011 km/h) 2. Montoya (Williams-BMW) +18"628 3. Räikkönen (McLaren-Mercedes) +25"067 4. Irvine (Jaguar-Cosworth) +1 lap 5. Webber (Minardi-Asiatech) +2 laps 6. Salo (Toyota) +2 laps 7. Yoong (Minardi-Asiatech) +3 laps 8. De la Rosa (Jaguar-Cosworth) +5 laps

2 March 2002 Williams' Patrick Head has alleged that the new FIA regulations favour Ferrari. According to Head, the new proposed measure to reduce costs by banning qualifying engine and limiting the number of engines available to drivers for racing favours teams with Bridgestone tyres. The advantage is given by the fact that Michelin tyres need 10-15 laps to get up to full potential, while Bridgestone tyres are up to speed straight away.

2 March 2002 Rubens Barrichello landed the first pole position of the 2002 season and his first since the 2000 British GP. That Ferrai should get pole position is not a surprise. The surprise is that it was taken by Barrichello rather than M. Schumacher, who will start from the first row alongside his team mate. Several drivers chose to get out early due to the threatening dark clouds gathering over the track. Barrichello scored his fastest lap early on, before the rain started pouring down hindering the other drivers' attempts at beating him. R. Schumacher put himself just behind his older brother, alongisde Coulthard. Other McLaren driver Räikkönen and Montoya will share the third row. Takuma Sato had a poor start to his season, as problems to his gearbox forced him to stop on his first lap out. Since he had distroyed the only available other car during practice, he had to wait for team mate Fisichella to complete his run before he could have a go at qualifying. Due to downpour that hit the last stages of qualifying, Sato he was unable to score a lap time within the 107% rule. He will nonetheless be allowed to start the race from the back of the grid.

The qualifying times from Melbourne:

1. BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'25"843 (average 222.392 Km/h) 2. M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'25"848 3. R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M 1'26"279 4. COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M 1'26"446 5. RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1'27"161 6. MONTOYA Williams BMW M 1'27"249 7. TRULLI Renault M 1'27"710 8. FISICHELLA Jordan Honda B 1'27"869 9. MASSA Sauber Ferrari B 1'27"972 10. HEIDFELD Sauber Ferrari B 1'28"232 11. BUTTON Renault M 1'28"361 12. PANIS BAR Honda B 1'28"381 13. VILLENEUVE BAR Honda B 1'28"657 14. SALO Toyota M 1'29"205 15. FRENTZEN Arrows Cosworth B 1'29"474 16. MCNISH Toyota M 1'29"636 17. BERNOLDI Arrows Cosworth B 1'29"738 18. WEBBER Minardi Asiatech M 1'30"086 19. IRVINE Jaguar Cosworth M 1'30"113 20. DE LA ROSA Jaguar Cosworth M 1'30"192 21. YOONG Minardi Asiatech M 1'31"504 22. SATO Jordan Honda B 1'53"351

1 March 2002 Frentzen and Heidfeld have been fined for speeding in the pit lanes. They have been fined 1,500 and 1,250 US dollars respectively.

1 March 2002 The new owner of the Prost team is British businessman Charles Nickerson. He has acquired all of Prost's cars, copyrights and rights for 2.586 million euros.

1 March 2002 According to unconfirmed pit rumours, outed Arrows driver Jos Verstappen could replace Felipe Massa at Sauber at the San Marino GP. Verstappen has been seen at the Sauber factory in Switzerland. There has been no official confirmation from Sauber.

1 March 2002 The Prost team's assets have been bought by an unnamed party backed by Arrows' boss Tom Walkinshaw. Arrows will provide engineering expertise to the new owners, but Walkinshaw denies that he is the buyer. Minardi boss Paul Stoddart is verey upset about the Prost sale because he had put a bid in for the team, but withdrew it after being told that the deadline had expired. Stoddart has threatened to bring legal action if the prost team competes in the 2002 season. The team's assets were allegedly sold for 2.568 million euros.

1 March 2002 The 2002 Formula 1 season is go! M. Schumacher, running with last year's car, was almost half a second faster than everybody else in the Friday practice, ahead of team mate Barrichello, also on last year's car. The Williams took the third and fourth spots, with R. Schumacher ahead of Montoya. Heidfeld on the Ferrari-powered Sauber had the fifth best lap time and the sixth spot was ocupied by new team Toyota.

The Friday test times from Melbourne:

1 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 1'27.276 2 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Ferrari 1:27.799 3 Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Williams 1:28.821 4 Juan Pablo Montoya (Col) Williams 1:28.870 5 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Sauber 1:29.572 6 Mika Salo (Fin) Toyota 1:29.601 7 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren 1:29.875 8 Felipe Massa (Bra) Sauber 1:29.937 9 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Jordan 1:30.187 10 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Renault 1:30.298 11 David Coulthard (GB) McLaren 1:30.312 12. Jacques Villeneuve (Can) BAR 1:30.352 13 Takuma Sato (Jap) Jordan 1:30.540 14 Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) Jaguar 1:30.566 15 Jenson Button (GB) Renault 1:30.588 16 Allan McNish (GB) Toyota 1:30.602 17 Eddie Irvine (GB) Jaguar 1:30.973 18 Olivier Panis (Fra) BAR 1:31.127 19 Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Ger) Arrows 1:32.465 20 Mark Webber (Aus) Minardi 1:32.696 21 Enrique Bernoldi (Bra) Arrows 1:32.912 22 Alex Yoong (Mal) Minardi 1:44.011

Last updated on by Federica Massagrande