All of the information in this section was obtained from a bloke down the pub, which means that while we believe all the following information to be true, we couldn't swear that it is.
What we will say however, is that usually, "there is no smoke without fire".....
Stewart Racing Ready To Go
Arrows Line Up Decided
Inoue For Tyrrell
Ligier Line Up Decided ??
Silverstone Track Changes
Camel To Sponsor Jordan ?
Sauber Engine Problem
Stewart Racing Ready To Go
The biggest news this week is that Jackie Stewart has confirmed he will be fielding a team in next years FIA Formula 1 championship (1997). The team will be partnered by Ford who have signed a five year deal for engine supply.Ford are the most successful engine manufacturer in the history of F1, but the last decade has seen them loose out to Honda and then Renault powered cars, the only exception being Michael Schumacher winning the drivers championship with a Ford engine in 1994. They have said that they are committed to an F1 project and they expect to put a lot in, around 50 million UKP, but they also expect to get a great deal out of the partnership.The deal with Stewart GP is one of the closest in Formula 1. Ford will be involved with chassis development, aerodynamic and electronics work with the team. Ford say that the technology transfer from F1 to family cars is worth the investment.The official line from Stewart GP is that a single point in their first season would be a success. The team has already attracted masses of media publicity and some of the top staff in F1, such as the Technical Director from Arrows, Alan Jenkins.
Arrows are expected to confirm that their driver lineup for 1996 will be Jos Verstappen and F1 debutante Ricardo Rosset. Ricardo was second in the F3000 championship last year, an impressive feat as it was also his first full season ! Ricardo won twice and finished second once for the Super Nova Team.
Taki Inoue is set to join Tyrrell, his first season in F1 with Arrows was not spectacular. With his place at Arrows being taken by Rosset he has become favourite to fill the vacant Tyrrell seat. Taki also has a huge sponsorship deal which would help lessen the blow of Tyrrell losing their Nokia deal.
Ligier have laid off 37 members of staff in a cost cutting exercise. The team has seen their sponsorship deals shrink as Loto have pulled out, Gitanes have handed over to Gauloises and Elf have reduced their spending. Ligier are now expected to take Pedro Diniz as their second driver. Pedro brings large amounts of cash into the team. Olivier Panis is expected to get the other drive.
The British GP will be faster this year as Copse and Stowe corners are being revised. A team of F1 drivers including Damon Hill, John Watson and Martin Brundle have been working on revised designs for the corners. The Grand Prix Drivers Association representatives Schumacher and Berger have approved the changes. The circuit will undergo further refinements for 1997.The British GP has sold 50,000 of the 90,000 available tickets already. The main Grandstand (31,000) only has 4,000 seats left and the event doesnŐt take place for another seven months!!
Camel may be about to return to F1 sponsorship with the Jordan team. Camel sponsored Lotus and Williams in the late eighties, early nineties.
Swiss GP team Sauber are faced with an engine supply problem from next year. Sauber are currently the Ford works team, but that deal goes to Stewart GP from 1997. Sauber have insisted that they want to continue with Ford engines, though it looks like they will have to switch to customer engines from next year.This will place a heavy financial burden on the team, and decrease their chances of top flight success. To be a top contender in F1 a team must have a good works engine deal.
