April 21 1996
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's no smoke without fire".....
Hill Looks To Record Books
Jerez Test Times
Silverstone Plans To Keep GP
Frentzen And Williams Linked Again
Ferrari Testing To Destruction
Peugeot Blow For Ligier
New Forti On The Way
Forti Sign Largorce
Inoue History ?
Lola On The Way
Dome Start Testing
Hill Looks To Record Books
Damon Hill has one eye on the record books at the moment. His string of four straight wins puts him joint third on the all time list, an entry he shares with the likes of Brabham, Schumacher, Senna, Fangio, Clark and others.
If he can win in Germany he will move up to the more select second place and join Brabham, Clark and Mansell all of who managed five consecutive wins.
To go first on the list Hill will have to keep winning all the way to Canada, which would match Ascari's fantastic total of nine straight wins. If Hill manages this he will smash Nigel Mansell's record of winning the first five races in a single season.
Damon Hill continues to set the pace at Jerez. He was fastest with a best lap of 1.24.47. There are no race times to compare this to as the Senna chicane has been added since a GP was last held at Jerez. Alain Prost has also been driving at Jerez, managing a best of 1.28.75. ! not bad for a technical consultant :-)
| Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| D. Hill | Williams | 1.24.47 |
| G. Berger | Benetton | 1.24.73 |
| H. H. Frentzen | Sauber | 1.24.93 |
| J. Villeneuve | Williams | 1.25.58 |
| J. Alesi | Benetton | 1.25.73 |
| D. Coulthard | McLaren | 1.28.75 |
Silverstone have issued plans in which they outline track and facilityimprovements designed to keep the British GP at the track. Silverstone hasa contract for the race until 2001 but wants to develop the circuit intothe "World's premiere circuit" and ensure that the British GP stays at thetrack for good.
Frentzen And Williams Linked Again
Driver rumours usually start mid season. This year the rumour machine isputting in an early appearance. Heinz Harald Frentzen has been linked toWilliams again. The team were first said to have approached Frentzenshortly after the death of Ayrton Senna. It is understood that Frentzendeclined their offer on the grounds that he had signed a three year dealwith Sauber. His loyalty as well as his driving ability are said to haveimpressed Williams greatly. Frentzen's contract with Sauber is up at theend of this year and Williams are believed to be at the front of the queue.Other teams that have interests in Frentzen are Arrows (Tom Walkinshawtried to sign Frentzen while at Ligier) and the newly formed Stewart team.Stewart has the added appeal of Ford backing. At Wiliams Villeneuve is on atwo year contract and Hill's current deal ends this year. If Hill continuesto dominate for much of the season Williams could face a tough choice.
Ferrari Testing To Destruction
Ferrari have been testing cars quite literally to destruction this week.Eddie Irvine ran the "new" Ferrari as John Barnard intended it with the newgearbox at Monza. His test session was halted by more cracks in thegearbox, the same situation that ended Michael Schumacher's Australian GP.Schumacher then tested the "new hybrid" Ferrari fitted with a revisedversion of the V10 power plant. The new engine revs higher and is moreflexible throughout the rev range. However this unit began to fade after 28laps and Schumacher had to stop testing too.The new gearbox is being reinforced at the moment, but this is not expectedto be completed until early next week. This will only give Ferrari a day orso of testing before the cars are shipped to Germany for the European GP.Michael Schumacher is said to be determined not to use a hybrid at one ofhis home races.
The rumoured talks between Peugeot and Ligier have been exposed as justrumour this week. Peugeot General Manager Frederic Saint-Geours said that"There is no question of supplying a second team". Peugeot are very happywith their Jordan partnership and look forward to winning races, evenchallenging for the championship next year. Ligier are believed to berenegotiating an engine deal with Mugen-Honda.
The new Forti FG03 will be put through final crash tests this week and willbe built shortly after. One FG03 might be available at the Nurburgring,though it is unclear if it will race or not. The car is expected to makeit's full debut at the San Marino GP next month.
As well as a new car Forti also have a new test driver. Frank Largorce waslast active as the test driver at Ligier in 95. Runner up in the 1994 F3000championship Lagorce is a welcome addition to F1. Better to have driverswith talent than drivers with money. You know who we mean ;-)
Tarso Marques is favourite to fill the Minardi seat for the rest of theyear, but hot on his heels with rumoured sponsorship from Agip isGiancarlo Fisichella. These two drivers seem to be squeezing out Japanesedriver Taki Inoue who is having difficulty with sponsorship so far thisseason.
One of the many teams attempting to get F1 projects ready in time for nextseason, Lola have started work on their chassis. Keith Wiggins (MD atPacific Racing) is overseeing the financial side of the project and he ispleased with the progress.
The Dome F1 project is slightly ahead of Lola and they have started testingtheir F1 car. The team were not out for full speed tests and ran at amodest pace at Suzuka. The real testing is booked for the summer atSilverstone and Magny Cours.
