Updated: 2 March 1998, 21:00 GMT
Light practice for Minardi drivers.
(c)M-WEB
21:00 GMT
Location: Melbourne, Australia.
Minardi's two drivers, Tuero and Nakano had a light exercise session on Monday, arranged by the team's doctor. It took place at the Sports and Aquatic Center next to the circuit.
Both drivers agreed that they feel good after the session, according to sources here. Both drivers will continue an extensive exercise session on Tuesday.
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Ferrari first team to complete pits.
(c)M-WEB
21:00 GMT
Location: Melbourne, Australia.
Formula One teams are hard at work to prepare their pits for Sundays Grand Prix at Melbourne in Australia. A Ferrari spokesperson said Monday that the team completed the basic setup of their pits ahead of schedule.
Ferrari is the first team to complete the setup of the pits and will resume rebuilding the three cars on Tuesday afternoon. The spokesperson also said they should be ready on Wednesday.
Jordan said they would only start the rebuild of their cars on Wednesday. Most of the other teams are expect to complete the setup of their pits late Tuesday, following the same schedule as Jordan.
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Minardi will have enough backup engines.
(c)M-WEB
21:00 GMT
Location: Melbourne, Australia.
The Minardi team made sure they have enough backup engines available this weekend at the opening round of the 1998 Formula One season. They will have 6 backup engines here at Melbourne.
The Ford engine maker shipped the 6 engines on Thursday to make sure they arrive at Melbourne well ahead of time.
"It is going to be a highly demanding season - agree Gabriele Rumi and Gian Carlo Minardi. In January, the Team began a delicate period of restructuring. We are working hard to raise our competitiveness. Speaking about results, at present we don't expect any, of course: we are just laying first bricks to re-launch the Team."
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Hill wants to win for himself and the team
(c)M-WEB
18:30 GMT
According to reports, Damon Hill is happy for his new Jordan team-mates to hate him, as long as it means he has helped them smashed the gang of four's grand prix domination.
Hill is prepared to become unpopular as he attempts to live up to his £10million fee and provide the Jordan team with the taste of victory.
Team chief Eddie Jordan's determination to break into the top four of the constructors' championship, the domain of Williams, Ferrari, McLaren and Benetton in recent years - saw him pursueing Hill.
Hill, with his 21 grand prix triumphs, is there to provide the missing ingredient of a winnig combination. Hill said that getting fourth as a team is a possibility and that that is the target they have to set.
Hill, who will make his Formula One debut for Jordan this weekend during the season's opening race at Melbourne, Australia, said that as a driver it's down to him to put pressure on the team and the engine people in order to give him more of everything. He said that if it means he'll become unpopular, then he will have to bear that. The former world champion said that they really have to work very hard in order to move forward. Hill added that the right environment for a race team is to have pressure within, and people pushing each other to never be satisfied with what they have.
After his stressful season with Arrows in 1997, Hill is desperate to regain the winning feeling he enjoyed with the Williams team which reached its crowning glory when he won the 1996 drivers' title.
"There is no point being in Formula One if you just want to tootle around in midfield," said Hill. "Eddie Jordan wants to win and he knows he must put that pressure on himself to achieve the things he has been saying he can achieve," Hill added. He said that last year with Arrows was successful in relative terms because they started off dreadfully, but by the end of the season they were qualifying nearer the front and leading races which was more than they had done before. He said that that was progress and that it is the sort of thing they are looking for in 1998 with Jordan.
Hill said that if they get progress from where the team left off last year, then logically they will win as Jordan finished second a number of times. He said that he's feeling sharp and think he's got better from last year's experience. Hill added that there is plenty more in him and that he wants to prove that this year.
Hill, who will turn 38 in September said that he wants to win for himself, but that nothing would give him more satisfaction than to win a grand prix in a Jordan. "It would mean a lot to me, not just to see Eddie's face," he said.
Hill knows that the title is not possible this year although the first win is, and believes that he could be challenging for it in his second season with the Jordan team.
Hill said that they would never suggest that they can win the world championship at this stage, but that there is a good chance they can win races in 1998. He said that 1999 will hopefully be the year when they can tackle the championship. He added that they've got to build all the time in that direction, but that the first step has to be to win a race, which it the threshold they have got to break through in 1998.
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Herbert concerned about Alesi.
(c)M-WEB
11:00 GMT
Location: Melbourne.
Sauber's Johnny Herbert is concerned about his new teammate Jean Alesi. He said Monday morning, "All I ask is that we are treated equally and I am confident that will happen at Sauber."
Herbert thinks they could learn from each other. He said, "It will be good to have someone like Jean because we can feed off each other." It will be the most experienced partnership on the grid, with Alesi on a total of 135 points and Herbert on 113 points. Herbert has two wins while Alesi only has one.
Herbert said, "It's good that he has only won the one race and I've won two. I've heard things about Jean and that he throws his dummy out of the pram at times, but I've never seen it."
Herbert's season with Michael Schumacher at Benetton was less than pleasant when he had to play second fiddle.
He said, "I am happy to have anybody as a team-mate as long as we both get the same equipment. That didn't happen at Benetton when Michael got all the support. But I have always been treated well by Sauber in the two seasons I've been with them and I can't see that changing."
Herbert is realistic because he expects a few podium finishes this season, but played down the changes of victory. He said, "Hopefully we can get a few more podiums this season. We can't go into the season having only ever had three podium finishes and say that we are going to win races."
Herbert continued by saying, "That's not to say that Sauber won't ever win, but we have to build towards that and put ourselves in the position to win races."
"We'll do that by getting more podiums. If you are regularly running third or fourth then there is more chance of inheriting wins, but we have to get it right technically first. I have won races before and I still believe I can win again, as long as the car is right.''
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Villeneuve eyes second title, with style
(c)REUTERS
By Tim Collings
06:00 GMT
Location: LONDON
Jacques Villeneuve is a man used to doing things his own way, and succeeding.
So when the Canadian says his ambition in 1998 is to win more races than last year, take more pole positions and win a second drivers' title with Williams, it is not just the idle pre-season chat of any old superstar.
The Canadian dislikes talking to the media as much as he hates wasting words or hiding his true views on motor racing matters.
"I dislike all the hype, I don't like to be involved in it and I prefer that if I have to say something, it is something I want to say that is true. I cannot live with myself any other way," he said.
"That is why, also, I have to be careful. I like to say things, but sometimes they are not understood correctly and they get misused and turned back against me....So, nowadays, I have to be more careful too."
In his early days in Formula One when asked about things he disliked -- such as the 1998 technical regulations -- he ended up in trouble with the sport's ruling body for his criticism of them and the profane language he used.
He is just as direct about his rivalry with Michael Schumacher. This climaxed when the German tried to eliminate him from the showdown European Grand Prix in Jerez by trying to ram Villeneuve's Williams off the track.
"I don't give a toss if Michael says this or that, or if he tries to muscle it out with me in some kind of eyeball-to-eyeball way because that stuff does not bother me. And he knows it won't work.
"We are not friends or anything like that anyway -- despite what some people have said. I am sick of Michael trying to claim that we are. I just see him as another driver -- one of the guys I have to beat.
"I know my contest with Michael are going to be what a lot of people want to see this season. Well, I am ready for that. I'm ready to take on anyone at all who is competitive and I don't care if it is Michael or any other driver."
As a boy, the young Villeneuve lived the life of a racing gypsy's son, crossing Canada with his family as his father Gilles' career developed. He then moved to Europe and lived in the south of France.
When his famous Ferrari-driving father was killed, he was sent to a Swiss boarding school, learned to ski fast and left early to go racing in Italy.
By the time he was 21, he had lived in Canada, France, Monaco, Switzerland, Italy and Japan and developed eclectic tastes in a life centred on speed, thrills and a deeply felt code of personal conduct.
This travelled on with him to America where his triumph in the 1995 Indianapolis 500 catapulted him to global fame.
Like his hamburger-eating father Gilles, who preferred to live in caravans at a race track rather than stay in hotels, Jacques is his own man. At last year's French Grand Prix, he decided to die his hair platinum blond.
At 26, he is more in touch with the youth culture of his time than other F1 driver, yet he is also quite evidently an old head on young shoulders.
Rarely, if ever, does Villeneuve mention his father, his life or his influence but it seems clear that he has been touched by Gilles' outlook on life. He wants to win races and titles, but he wants to win them his way.
To keep himself sane and balanced in the face of the euphoria in Canada at his success, he has kept a low profile.
"I have not changed that much and I've tried not to, but it is more difficult to stand in a line and buy milk in a supermarket now," he admitted.
"Of course, it would all change if I spent all my Saturday evenings with a bunch of people in a public place, but I don't do that. I've become more reclusive.
"I've spent most of the winter taking it easy, before the launches and the testing began. I went where people don't know anything about F1. I cut off completely. But, now, I am back in it after a lot of skiing and getting fit."
With his mind clear, refreshed and set, Villeneuve is bidding to become the first driver in Williams' history to win successive titles. He is strengthened by the knowledge that he has done it once, has a competitive car and a superb team.
"I know Heinz-Harald (Frentzen, his team-mate) will be a big challenge to me because he has a lot to prove and he is very fast, but I will enjoy that.
"I like the sport. I love the racing and the speed inside the car, when you go to the edge of the performance. That is why I do it."
Asked during pre-season news conferences, for his predictions and thoughts on the new season which begins in Melbourne with Sunday's Australian Grand Prix, Villeneuve is straight - but careful.
"It is going to be more difficult for everyone with the new rules. There will be more overtaking because of other people's mistakes and pure passing will be more difficult.
"But I do expect Michael Schumacher to be quick. Ferrari have done a lot of testing with their car so they should be well-prepared for the season. They will not have any excuses either this year which is good, too."
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Schumacher faces reality in new era
By Tim Collings
(c)REUTERS
06:00 GMT
Location: LONDON
The psychological reaction of Michael Schumacher to four months of harsh criticism will be the focus of attention when the new Formula One season begins in Melbourne on Sunday.
In the mind and on the track, the battle between Schumacher and a Ferrari team that say 1998 is their year of destiny and world champion Jacques Villeneuve, backed by the most accomplished team in the sport, Williams, is set to dominate the lead-up to the Australian Grand Prix.
During the winter, Ferrari and Williams have kept away from each other during testing of their new narrow-track cars running on grooved tyres, built to comply with a radical set of regulations that aim to improve safety at high speed.
Villeneuve has also kept largely silent as a hurricane of condemnation enveloped Schumacher following the German's attempt to ram him at Jerez in last season's final race showdown.
The Canadian "escaped" the crash to win the drivers' title in only his second season in grand prix racing.
Schumacher was stripped of his second place in the championship by the sport's ruling body, FIA, and his reputation as the finest driver since the late Ayrton Senna was sullied, perhaps irreparably.
Maybe as a result of the storm around Schumacher, Ferrari have done most of their running in Italy, in private. Williams have also kept away from the test sessions in Barcelona, making accurate comparisons with the impressive Mercedes-Benz powered McLaren team -- which has dominated the testing in Spain -- almost impossible.
Winter testing results are notoriously inaccurate for use as a guide to the season ahead, more so this year as teams struggle to adapt to the new regulations which could slow lap times by several seconds and may, if FIA is to be believed, increase overtaking and thrills for the spectators.
Williams, with a settled driver line-up in Villeneuve and German Heinz-Harald Frentzen, the continuity of ex-Renault engines from Mecachrome and with the spectre of Senna's death at Imola behind them, remain the favourites.
But it has been difficult for anyone to ignore the performance of the teams using Bridgestone grooved tyres when running in opposition to those on Goodyears. Goodyear are pulling out of F1 at the end of the year.
McLaren and Benetton regularly topped the times in Barcelona in good conditions, their laps leading to predictions the championship could be led by McLaren's duo of Finland's Mika Hakkinen and Briton David Coulthard this year.
Boosted by the reliability of their latest Mercedes-Benz V10 in testing, both drivers are set to repeat their strong finish to last year.
Coulthard, who won twice last season, warned it was too soon to be optimistic.
"I know it looks good and all the signs are there, but we have not got anything to compare ourselves to yet. You have to be so careful in what you say at this time of year.
"Williams and Ferrari have not tested with us in Barcelona so it is impossible to say much. They were the top teams last year and they are the benchmark for everyone else. We will find out what is really going on when we get to Albert Park."
As the winner of the opening race last year in Australia, Coulthard knows from experience what it is like to be billed as an early-season favourite and then to suffer the deflation of poor form and results afterwards.
"No-one will know for sure what the pattern of the season is likely to be until the first three or four races are over with," he added. "That is when things begin to be revealed, but if a car is good or bad, it cannot be fundamentally changed."
In the view of 1996 champion Briton Damon Hill, who is about to start his first season with Jordan Mugen-Honda after switching from Arrows, the title race is likely to be fought out by "the two Adrian Newey cars, plus Michael."
Hill was referring to former Williams chief designer Newey who joined McLaren last year. His input in both team's cars will be influential, but Hill also believes Schumacher, an ice man with an instinctive feel behind the wheel, will show the mental strength to overcome his recent problems and bounce back.
"It is not Michael's style to buckle under that kind of pressure," he said. "Providing the car is good and has the performance he wants, he will wring the results out of it and put all that behind him. I don't think it can make any difference to his racing ... But we shall have to wait and see."
Ferrari have overcome reliability problems and the strong improvement shown by Schumacher's team-mate Briton Eddie Irvine late last year and in recent testing has shown he could be a threat. On launching their F300 car, Ferrari said their team had run out of excuses and must win their first drivers title since 1979 this year.
Benetton, much-changed after the departure of team-chief Flavio Briatore, with new drivers in Italian Giancarlo Fisichella and Austrian Alexander Wurz, may struggle to win races. But under the guidance of new boss David Richards who switched in January from Goodyear to Bridgestone they could be strong challengers.
Jordan, for whom Hill will partner Schumacher's younger brother Ralf, seem unlikely to shine after a disappointing run-up to the season and may be overshadowed by the progress of the Prost Peugeot team led by Olivier Panis of France and Italian Jarno Trulli.
Of the rest, Sauber Petronas -- where Frenchman Jean Alesi has joined Briton Johnny Herbert -- failed to shine in pre-season, Arrows, for whom Mika Salo of Finland has replaced Hill, have done little testing in their new John Barnard-designed car, and both Stewart and Minardi have struggled to overcome early difficulties with reliability and performance.
But the Tyrrell team, entering its final season before being taken over by British American Racing, has shown good form in testing with Japanese rookie driver Tora Takagi clocking suprisingly fast times and could spring an early surprise -- before the 'big four' settle into their stride.
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Odds for 1998 grand prix season
(c)REUTERS
06:00 GMT
Location: LONDON
Following are odds for the 1998 grand prix season quoted by London bookmakers Ladbrokes -
Drivers' championship:
15-8 Michael Schumacher
5-2 Jacques Villeneuve
4-1 Mika Hakkinen
10-1 Heinz-Harald Frentzen
14-1 David Coulthard
33-1 Damon Hill
Eddie Irvine
40-1 Alexander Wurz
Ralf Schumacher
50-1 Olivier Panis
80-1 Johnny Herbert
Jean Alesi
100-1 Jarno Trulli
Rubens Barichello
150-1 Mika Salo
200-1 Pedro Diniz
Jan Magnussen
Constructors' championship:
13-8 Ferrari
7-4 McLaren
15-8 Williams
16-1 Benetton
33-1 Jordan
50-1 Prost
66-1 Sauber
100-1 Stewart
250-1 Arrows
1,000-1 Tyrrell
5,000-1 Minardi
Odds for the Australian Grand Prix:
2-1 M.Schumacher
3-1 Villeneuve
4-1 Hakinnen
5-1 Coulthard
12-1 Frentzen
20-1 Fisichella
Irvine
25-1 Hill
33-1 R.Schumacher
Wurz
40-1 Panis
66-1 Alesi
Barichello
Herbert
Trulli
100-1 Magnussen
Ladbrokes said they had already seen 10,000 pounds ($16,400) laid on both Schumacher and Villeneuve for the championship. ($ = 0.607 British Pounds)
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Facts and figures on Australian grand prix
(c)REUTERS
06:00 GMT
Location: MELBOURNE
Following are facts and figures on the Australian Grand Prix which takes place in Albert Park, Melbourne, on March 8:
Distance - 5.269km (3.27 mile) street circuit. Race to be held over 58 laps (plus warm-up lap).
Fastest pole position: Jacques Villeneuve, 1:29.369, 1997
Fastest race lap: Heinz-Harald Frentzen, 1:30.585, 1997
1997 winner: David Coulthard
1996 winner: Damon Hill
The Australian Grand Prix was held for the first time in Adelaide in 1985. The race was staged on a street circuit and was the last race of each season.
In 1996, the race was transferred to Melbourne's Albert Park and switched to the start of the season.
Albert Park is also a street circuit, situated just outside the central business district near the beachside district of St. Kilda
The circuit measures 5.269 kilometres (3.27 miles) and the race is held over a total of 58 laps (plus the warm-up lap).
Motor racing had not been held in Albert Park for 40 years. In 1956, the same year Melbourne hosted the Summer Olympics, Albert Park was used to host the so-called Olympics Grand Prix.
The development of the circuit for the Australian Grand Prix cost 25 million Australian dollars and was conducted over a period of 18 months.
The development was strongly criticised by environmentalists who protested about the use of parkland.
In both years the race has been held at Melbourne, the Australian Grand Prix has been named as the best event of the season, the only time one venue has won the award in successive years.
"It is the finest conventional road circuit I've seen, by miles. There is nothing else to compare with it," former British racing driver Sterling Moss said when asked to describe the track.
The Australian Grand Prix draws a crowd of around 400,000 over the four days of qualifying and racing.
The record attendance for a single day is 205,000 for the 1995 Adelaide GP, the last event at that circuit.
The last event at Adelaide was won by Damon Hill, who also won the first race at Melbourne. David Coulthard won last year's event ahead of Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen.
Although a relatively new addition to the Formula One circuits, the Australian Grand Prix has proven to be one of the most dramatic.
Twice, the drivers championship was decided in Adelaide. In 1986, Alain Prost of France and Nigel Mansell went into the final round with the title still undecided.
Mansell looked to have the race, and the championship, at his mercy when he built up a commanding lead in his Williams only to see his bid to win the title for the first time thwarted by a dramatic tyre blowout. This allowed Prost to win the race for McLaren and claim his second title. Prost finished with 72 points to Mansell's 70.
In 1994 Schumacher, in a Benetton, and Damon Hill, in a Williams, went in to the final race separated by just one point.
The championship was decided by a collision when Schumacher turned into Hill after 35 of the 81 laps. Both cars were damaged and out, and Schumacher was champion with 92 points to Hill's 91.
The Australian Grand Prix is also famous for producing the shortest race in the sport's history.
That occurred in 1991 when the race was stopped after just 14 laps because of heavy rain. That race was won by the late Ayrton Senna of Brazil, who also won the 1993 Australian GP, the final victory of his career.
Last year's Australian Grand Prix was also high on drama.
The reigning world champion Damon Hill, who had switched from Williams to Arrows, failed to start the race after a throttle problem on the formation laps.
Jacques Villeneuve, the eventual world champion, crashed out at the first corner after colliding with an unrepentant Eddie Irvine who forced his Ferrari down the inside of Villeneuve.
Villeneuve's Williams' teammate Heinz-Harald Frentzen looked certain to win before spinning off with a brake problem.
The joint exits made it easy for Briton David Coulthard to give McLaren their first victory in 50 outings since Senna's win at Adelaide in 1993.
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Formula One 1998 facts and figures
(c)REUTERS
06:00 GMT
Location: LONDON
Following are a list of drivers and grands prix for the 1998 Formula One season, plus placings in the 1997 season - List of drivers (prefix denotes car number) -
1. Jacques Villeneuve (Canada) Williams
2. Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Germany) Williams
3. Michael Schumacher (Germany) Ferrari
4. Eddie Irvine (Britain) Ferrari
5. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Benetton
6. Alexander Wurz (Austria) Benetton
7. David Coulthard (Britain) MacLaren
8. Mika Hakkinen (Finland) MacLaren
9. Damon Hill (Britain) Jordan
10. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Jordan
11. Olivier Panis (France) Prost
12. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Prost
14. Jean Alesi (France) Sauber
15. Johnny Herbert (Britain) Sauber
16. Pedro Diniz (Brazil) Arrows
17. Mika Salo (Finland) Arrows
18. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Stewart
19. Jan Magnussen (Denmark) Stewart
20. Ricardo Rosset (Brazil) Tyrrell
21. Toranosuke Takaji (Japan) Tyrrell
22. Shinji Nakano (Japan) Minardi
23. Esteban Tuero (Argentina) Minardi
List of grands prix (circuit length, number of laps, total distance, start time GMT) March 8 - Australia, Melbourne (5.302 km, 58, 307.516 km, 0300)
March 29 - Brazil, Sao Paulo (4.292 km, 72, 309.024 km, 1600)
April 12 - Argentina, Buenos Aires (4.259 km, 72, 306.535 km, 1600)
April 26 - San Marino, Imola (4.93 km, 62, 305.696 km, 1200)
May 10 - Spain, Barcelona (4.728 km, 65, 307.336 km, 1200)
May 24 - Monaco, Monte Carlo (3.367 km, 78, 262.626 km, 1230)
June 7 - Canada, Montreal (4.421 km, 69, 305.049 km, 1700)
July 12 - Britain, Silverstone (5.14 km, 60, 308.406 km, 1300)
July 26 - Austria, A1 Ring (4.319 km, 71, 306.649 km, 1200)
Aug 2 - Germany, Hockenheim (6.823 km, 45, 307.022 km, 1200)
Aug 16 - Hungary, Budapest (3.968 km, 77, 305.536 km, 1200)
Aug 30 - Belgium, Spa-Francorchamps (6.968 km, 44, 306.592 km, 1200)
Sept 13 - Italy, Monza (5.770 km, 53, 305.772 km, 1200)
Sept 27 - Luxembourg, Nuerburgring (4.556 km, 67, 305.252 km, 1200)
Nov 1 - Japan, Suzuka (5.864 km, 53, 310.582 km, 0400)
World drivers' championship standings in 1997:
1. Jacques Villeneuve (Canada) 81 points
2. Michael Schumacher (Germany) 78*
3. Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Germany) 42
4 equal. Jean Alesi (France) 36
4 equal. David Coulthard (Britain) 36
6 equal. Gerhard Berger (Austria) 27
6 equal. Mika Hakkinen (Finland) 27
8. Eddie Irvine (Britain) 24
9. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) 20
10. Olivier Panis (France) 16
11. Johnny Herbert (Britain) 15
12. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) 13
13. Damon Hill (Britain) 7
14. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) 6
15. Alexander Wurz (Austria) 4
16. Jarno Trulli (Italy) 3
17 equal. Mika Salo (Finland) 2
17 equal. Shinji Nakano (Japan) 2
17 equal. Pedro Diniz (Brazil) 2
20. Nicola Larini (Italy) 1
* Schumacher had his second place taken away by the sport's ruling body FIA after crashing into Villeneuve at the final grand prix in Jerez. He was allowed to keep his points and race victories.
Constructors' championship :
1. Williams 123 points
2. Ferrari 102
3. Benetton 67
4. McLaren 63
5. Jordan 33
6. Prost 21
7. Sauber 16
8. Arrows 9
9. Stewart 6
10. Tyrrell 2
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