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Button under pressure 23 May 2000 Jenson Button's future with the Williams team is still looking uncertain, after his retirement from the European Grand Prix. The 20 year old damaged the car's nose in a collision with Johnny Herbert's Jaguar, and the water that gradually seeped in caused an electrical fault which halted the car. The young Briton, whose race finished with the cockpit drenched in water, was happy with his performance in his first 'wet' race, realising he had chalked up yet another valuable Formula1 experience. "It was a hell of a weekend but I have learned a lot from it. I have never driven in conditions like that," he said. Button can be forgiven for being confused about his future prospects considering the sudden change in the tone of his team chiefs. A few weeks ago as he was being hailed as the brightest star of the future, with both BMW and Williams bosses lavishing him with praise. Technical Director Patrick Head recently commented about the Somerset lad, "He's a great driver and a great racer. He has to qualify a bit better, but he's well capable of doing that." He knows that he faces pressure from CART ace Juan Pablo Montoya, who is only on loan to Chip Ganassi, for his seat next year. Recent comments from team boss Frank Williams, who openly criticised Button after his qualifying performance on Saturday, will only increase this stress. Sources within the team say former test driver Montoya is favourite in the battle between the two for the drive next season, if they can secure his release from his contract in America. The widely-held belief within the team is that it is Montoya, not Button, who has the ability to beat Ralf Schumacher. There has also been speculation that former world champion, Jacques Villeneuve, is looking to return to the team that he won the title with in 1997. "I would love to drive for Williams again, anyone would," the Canadian has recently been quoted as saying. Button has stayed cool so far, confirming that he will do everything he can to keep the Williams drive, but he has admitted that he is prepared to switch teams, if necessary, in order to stay in Formula1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Fisichella crashes out of testing 24 May 2000 At 16.11 CET this afternoon (Wednesday) Giancarlo Fisichella was involved in a massive accident at the Ricardo Tormo track in Valencia, where many of the teams are currently testing. The crash has severely damaged his car and also the Jordan of Jarno Trulli, but neither driver appears to have sustained serious injury. Fisichella came upon Trulli, who was on his installation lap at the time, at the entrance to the right-handed turn 7 when he was on a timed lap. The Jordan driver moved to the outside to let the Benetton pass but the two touched when Fisichella made contact with the EJ10's right rear wheel. Fisichella's car was launched into the air and flew over Trulli, somersaulting once. Trulli's car was the least badly-damaged of the two but suffered a broken right rear wing, a deflated right rear wheel, a broken camera mount (which is placed near the drivers' head) and there is a hole in the engine cover. The Italian managed to drive his car back to the pits where he told waiting journalists that he was okay. His car was repaired and he soon returned to the track. Talking at the end of the day Trulli commented, "I saw the Benetton coming in my mirrors and moved over to the dirty side of the track. Then I felt a huge bang and was on the radio asking my engineer what had happened when I saw Fisichella flying over me upside down. It was a much bigger bang than on Sunday (when they touched during the European GP) and I was lucky to only have the damage I had. I think he must of lost control because I definitely moved over." Fisichella's car had to be taken back to the Benetton garage by tractor and was very badly damaged. His front left axle is shattered, both front wings are crushed and there is damage to the underside of the car. The team has also confirmed that the monocoque has been broken, which means that the car will never be driven again, it can now only be used as a show car. Fisichella rested for a while in the Benetton motorhome before leaving the circuit for the day. When asked what happened he said that he remembered the car becoming airbourne but nothing after that. Although he sounded as if he was still in shock he commented, "I am OK, I'm not bruised. I really don't remember (what happened) but oh my God!" Turn 7 is a slow corner that is usually taken by Formula1 cars at around 85 km/h. Testing May 24th: Valencia Day 2 24 May 2000 Testing in Valencia today was dominated by the news of Giancarlo Fisichella's crash at Turn 7, when he touched the Jordan of Jarno Trulli and was launched into the air. Thankfully both drivers walked away unhurt and Trulli was able to continue his test programme after repairs had been made to his car. It was a boiling hot day at the Ricardo Tormo circuit today (Wednesday) with a maximum ambient temperature of 32 degress Celsius, and a scorching track temperature of 45 degrees. Jos Verstappen was fastest for Arrows, setting a time that was a second quicker than Fisichella's best effort. The Dutchman was taking part in Bridgestone's tyre development programme and posted his quick time on these tyres, as Heinz-Harald Frentzen did yesterday. Jordan saw both drivers take part in the session, with Frentzen driving in the morning and Trulli in the afternoon. Benetton also had two pilots at the wheel of the same car but this was to allow the shoot-out between Antonio Pizzonia and Giorgio Pantano to begin in earnest. Pantano was on track in the morning, but despite the cooler temperatures and his previous experience of the B200, Pizzonia was still nearly three tenths of a second faster. Sauber's Pedro Diniz spent his day learning the unfamiliar track and then conducting development work for the Monaco Grand Prix. Testing continues for a final day tomorrow. 30 year old British supermodel Naomi Campell and Benetton team boss Flavio Briatore will marry this September, according to several German newspapers today (Wednesday). Briatore is quoted as saying, "I want to go to the altar with her. Naomi has given my life the right direction." In September last year it seemed that their relationship was finished, after two years together, but not long ago the British media reported their reconciliation. Drivers express opinions on new Valencia track 24 May 2000 Another brand new circuit has just been added to the list available to the FIA for Formula1 testing and races, and it opened its gates for the first testing session yesterday (Tuesday). Five teams took part in the session at the Ricardo Tormo track in Valencia, with the first day passing off very smoothly. The majority of teams have found the track to be highly useful to prepare for circuits such as the Hungaroring, but unfortunately not for the next Grand Prix in Monaco on June 4th. Although the downforce level needed in Valencia is very similar, this circuit has many understeer characteristics whereas Monaco is notorious for oversteer. The tarmac is very smooth meaning that the extra soft tyre compound works well, and several teams are now considering returning here for the pre-Hungary test. Formula1.com asked the drivers what they thought of the new circuit and most expressed mixed opinions. Jaguar's test driver Luciano Burti stated his dislike of the track: "It is a Mickey Mouse track! It has lots of corners, but they all have to be taken in first or second gear, and the fastest, which is the first corner, I can do in 4th! It is far too tight, and maybe it is great for motor bikes, but it will be no good for Formula1. It is no good for Monaco either, as it has different characteristics to Monaco. Actually it is quite boring, and so small - why did not they make it bigger?" Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who emerged fastest of the all, backed the efforts of those who had designed Ricardo Tormo: "It was fun, more fun than I had thought. It has quite a few medium speed corners, and I am quite surprised how demanding the track is. It is very similar to Hungary, and I must say it is fun to drive. You only have one line to race, so you have to be precise too. It was not a problem at all, although it is not suitable for Monaco as there is only one quick corner, the others are just medium speed sweeping straights. It would be a very boring race though." Giancarlo Fisichella agreed with the German that the circuit was physically demanding but expressed mixed thoughts on his overall impression: "It is a funny circuit. It is quicker than Monaco but the downforce is very similar. You get plenty of understeer here, and you really have to get it right, you have to be precise in each corner. There are a few corners like those in Malaysia as it is very tight and the kerbs are very flat too. It is a small, nice circuit and safety is not bad although it could be better. It is physically very hard, as there is not enough time to rest! There are no straights!" Jos Verstappen also liked the track, although he felt that it was a good track on which to prepare for Monaco: "I like it. It is pretty good to drive and to prepare for Monaco the circuit is perfect! Of course there needs to be improvements but it is not bad at all. My car responded very well here and there are some good corners. Today was a learning day but I could do some productive work and I enjoyed it very much." According to Ferrari technical director, Ross Brawn, the soft wet tyres (as opposed to the super softs) that Michael Schumacher used to win the European Grand prix, performed flawlessly. Although at the end of the race, when it started to rain heavily, the German had reported that the 'handling had become a bit slippery'. "By this time he had been out on them for over 30 laps!" Brawn joked. "In the wet though, everything worked perfectly well. We had no problems with the soft wet tyres we were running. Rubens wasn't able to overtake as easily as I'd hoped because the conditions were just too tough. If it had been slippery without any spray, then he'd have made some really good progress, but the spray made the visibility so bad and that was the big problem." Technical Manager for Bridgestone, Yoshihiko Ichikawa, observed that every team used the soft wet tyres when they came in for the first unscheduled pit stops due to the rain that began to fall on lap 11. "The cars were much quicker in the wet this year compared to the tyre performance in last year's wet race here at the N�rburgring," he said. "All the drivers were very happy with the performance of the Bridgestone wet tyres." | Latest News!!! | |||||||||||||||||||
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Constructor's Championship 1 Ferrari 62 2 McLaren 52 3 Williams 15 4 Benetton 10 5 Jordan 9 6 BAR 6 Driver's Championship 1 Schumacher M 46 2 Hakkinen 28 3 Coulthard 24 4 Barrichello 16 5 Schumacher R 12 6 Fisichella 10 | |||||||||||||||||||
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