Updated: 9 February 1998, 21:30 GMT
Updated: 9 February 1998, 21:30 GMT |
All the information is (c) 1998 M-WEB and/or Reuters |
The launch of the 1998 Formula One cars, only on Auto Race Net
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Benetton drivers test positive.
(c)M-WEB
21:30 GMT
Location: Barcelona, Spain.
The Benetton team's test at the Circuit de Cataluny in Barcelona, Spain was very successful according to reports Monday.
Rainy weather conditions gave the team the chance to test the wet weather Bridgstone tyres for the first time since the switch from Goodyear to Bridgestone. Benetton's former test driver, who signed a contract for 1998, Alexander Wurz, worked on the setup and the balance of the car on Monday and Tuesday.
He completed 113 laps and managed a fastest time of 1:26.02 seconds. The team's other driver, Giancarlo Fisichella, a former Jordan driver, concentrated on wet weather reliability on Thursday.
The Italian completed 35 laps on one set of tyres. He also completed a race distance with a fastest time of 1:24.78 seconds.
Fisichella continued on Friday with a tyre program and setup work. He set a fastest time of 1:24.21 seconds.
Benetton will continue with their test session at Barcelona this week.
Tuero's denied super-licence
(c)M-WEB
18:30 GMT
Last week, the FIA denied the 19-year old Argentinian driver a super-licence to race in Formula One.
It was announced in December that Tuero would join the Minardi Formula One team and pilot the team's new M198. Giancarlo Minardi offered Tuero the opportunity to test Minardi's hybrid '98 spec car last season at Mugello. Tuero completed hundreds of kilometers and impressed the team with speed and sponsorship. These test sessions and Tuero's financial backing coupled with his Italian F2000 success justified the decision for Minardi to announce the Argentine as one of their drivers.
According to reports, the FIA handbook states that in order for a pilot to get a super-licence, he must meet one of the following :
While Tuero might qualify for one of these pre-requisites, the FIA seemed to have solid footing on denying Tuero a super-license.
According to reports, Giancarlo Minardi spent the whole week to reverse the decision of the FIA. The FIA responded that Tuero must perform 400 kilometers of tests over two days at Barcelona and a final decision will be made. Tuero then tested with no FIA representatives, as reported by the Italian press earlier, present for the test.
By the end of the week, the FIA announced Tuero would be granted a super-license, according to reports on Monday.
Ralf set eyes on consistence.
(c)M-WEB
13:45 GMT
Location: Cologne
German's Ralf Schumacher made it clear on Sunday that he intends to finish all the races in 1998. Ralf's Wild West tactics during the 1997 season earned him a bad reputation and he wants to change that reputation.
Ralf Schumacher caused a couple of drivers to retire after driving into them during the 1997 season. Even his brother Michael Schumacher suffered when Ralf took him out at a critical time in 1997. Other drivers like Herbert and Hill retired after Ralf took them out of a race.
Ralf will face tough competition from his new teammate Damon Hill.
New factory for Stewart
(c)M-WEB
06:30 GMT
Formula One team owner Jackie Stewart has bought a new factory for his team. The latest reports indicate that Stewart has commenced its move into the new Milton Keynes factory.
Stewart purchased the factory from bearing company SKF and is part of a 5 million-pound deal. The team should be relocated by April according to a spokesperson for the team.
Formula One tussles with new rules
(c)REUTERS
05:30 GMT
By Timothy Collings
Location: LONDON
With less than a month until a new season roars into life in Melbourne, Formula One teams are finding it tough trying to ensure their cars are competitive under new safety regulations.
The introduction of controversial technical rules covering narrower chassis between the wheels and grooved tyres, plus several new driver line-ups, have resulted in frenzied activity during the off season.
Times during early testing showed cars will be several seconds slower in 1998.
But just who will be quickest in practice for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 8 is still very unclear as teams weigh up new engines, tyres, chassis and suspension systems.
"There are going to be major steps made before the start of the season because everyone is still running with questions marks," drivers' champion Jacques Villeneuve said during testing at Barcelona last week.
The rules' upheaval is expected to reduce lap times by up to five seconds and make the cars far more challenging to drive as they will have less downforce and less mechanical grip.
But these changes should make for more exciting racing as drivers struggle to control their sliding machines into corners.
"The new car is very different and more difficult to drive," said Benetton's Austrian driver Alexander Wurz. "But I think the racing will be very close."
Of the teams that have started testing with their 1998 set-ups, defending constructors' champions Williams have been most impressive. They have recorded the best winter testing times to date at the Spanish Grand Prix track, the Circuit de Catlunya, at Barcelona.
German driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen's best lap of one minute 23.40 seconds, set on Friday, was two-tenths faster than that of Jordan's German Ralf Schumacher.
Williams will also benefit from the end of an Italian trial investigating the death of Ayrton Senna in 1994 which occupied the team's attention last season. The Brazilian champion's death led the sport to introduce tougher safety regulations.
Ralf's brother Michael, the former champion who drives for Ferrari, is one of many who believe Mclaren will be the team to beat. The car unveiled last week is the first McLaren to be overseen by former Williams designer Adrian Newey and has a Mercedes engine believed to be a marked improvement on last year's powerplant.
"There is a question mark over tyres but McLaren may be the strongest team. They have a very good package," said Schumacher.
Schumacher was referring to McLaren's decision to switch to Bridgestone tyres -- a move followed by Benetton -- after Goodyear announced in November it would pull out of Formula One at the end of this season.
Goodyear supplied nine teams last year. The switch by Benetton means Bridgestone has reached its supply capacity and can, for now, take on no further teams.
In contrast to Williams, Ferrari -- the first team to launch a 1998 specification car -- ran into a series of early problems when they started testing and no longer appear as confident as they did four weeks ago.
Much of their early running was blighted by difficulties with gearbox electronics and rear suspension. Ferrari have stated publicly there will be no excuses if they do not win their first drivers' championship since 1979 with the new F300.
Both the Prost and Benetton teams also encountered problems with their gearboxes in early running at Barcelona, while Stewart Grand Prix's first major test, at Silverstone last week, saw their car go only 400 metres before an engine problem brought it to a halt.
As the teams struggle with reliability problems, the sport's governing body, FIA, faces questions about how they intend to police the new regulations at races, particularly the problem of worn grooves creating pseudo-slick tyres.
It is a matter that concerns both team bosses and drivers. "Of course, I am worried," Villeneuve said.
"There is no clear rule about when you are going to be disqualified. There is no clear rule about how much of the groove should be left at the end of the race. So nobody knows how much you can use the tyres.
"We will have to wait until a few guys are disqualified to find out what's the limit. Now, nobody knows."
Hirohide Hamashima, the technical director of Bridgestone, is keen to play down these fears and cited the rules, as written, as proof that there is nothing to worry about.
"If there is any suspicion that a manufacturer has tried to cheat, the FIA will check the tyres and make suitable action," he said.
"The current rule requires the grooves to be discernible over at least half the circumference of the tyre -- which means that locking the brakes once or twice will not make the tyre illegal."
But worries about tyre depths are for the future. For now, teams are concentrating on their own particular problems.
"I am not thinking about other people's performances," McLaren boss Ron Dennis said last week.
"It serves no function to predict because you will be as quick or as slow as you make yourself. You have just got to concentrate on the job in hand."
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