August 10 1996

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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".....

Previous Issues

Villeneuve Wins In Hungary
Schumacher Takes Pole
Hill Sets Pace On Friday
Salo Confirmed At Tyrrell
Benetton Concentrate On B197
Schumacher Tests At McLaren
Three Car Teams (again)
Williams To Win Constructors Title
Hungary Preview





Villeneuve Wins In Hungary

Damon Hill made another bad start and slipped back to fourth place behind Schumacher, Villeneuve and Alesi.
Jacques Villeneuve drove brilliantly and managed to get in front of Michael Schumacher after the first pit stops. Damon Hill made steady progress to second place and though pushing hard he was never going to get past his team mate.

Gerhard Berger suffered a very similar looking engine failure to the one that cost him victory in the German Grand Prix two weeks ago, leaving his team mate to take third place.

Eddie Irvine and Michael Schumacher both retired from the race, Irvine had gearbox problems, Schumacher's problems are unknown at the moment.

McLaren scored some more valuable points, despite David Coulthard going out with what appeared to be a gear box seizure, when Mika Hakkinen finished fourth.

Ligier again picked up points when Olivier Panis finished fifth and Rubens Barrichello concluded the points finishers in sixth.

Headlines

Schumacher Takes Pole

Michael Schumacher secured his fourth pole of the season with a fantastic second run. Jacques Villeneuve and Damon Hill both tried hard to displace the Ferrari but this time their final runs were not quick enough.

Johnny Herbert had an excellent session qualifyiong in eighth position ahead of his team mate Heinz Harald Frentzen who was tenth fastest.

Eddie Irvine also went well, qualifying fourth to make the first two rows Williams and Ferrari.

Headlines

Hill Sets Pace On Friday

Eddie Irvine and Johnny Herbert set the early pace while Damon Hill was third fastest and Villeneuve struggling in ninth.

In the second session the quickest drivers were Hill, Schumacher and Villeneuve. They were the only three drivrs to eclipse Eddie's early morning time leaving the two Williams and the two Ferrari cars in the top four.

Headlines

Salo Confirmed At Tyrrell

Mika Salo has been confirmed at Tyrrell for 1997. The young Fin will have his third season at the team.

Headlines

Benetton Concentrate On B197

Benetton are focusing all their development work on next year's car. The team feel that there is little more they can do to improve the current car. This season could be the first time since 1988 that Benetton fail to win a race. Lets hope that they have better luck in the remaining meetings.

Headlines

Schumacher Tests At McLaren

Ralf Schumacher will finally get to test a McLaren car this week. He is expected to drive the MP4/11 at Silverstone tomorrow (Thursday). The prospect of a full time drive at McLaren looks some way off though.

Headlines

Three Car Teams (again)

The three car team scenario resurfaced this week. The third car would have to carry the same sponsorship as the other two cars. The three car rule would ease many teams problems with their supposed driver line ups. Williams could run Villeneuve, Hill and Frentzen, McLaren could run Hakkinen, Coulthard and Schumacher. Three cars would also allow Williams to tie up the constructors championship by the French GP.

Headlines

Williams To Win Constructors Title

If Damon Hill or Jacques Villeneuve finish fifth or higher at the Hungaroring, Williams will win their eighth constructors title. This will put them ahead of McLaren and Lotus and level with Ferrari.

Headlines

Hungary Preview

This weekend could see the last ever Hungarian GP. Much criticised, the circuit is slow and offers very little opportunity for overtaking. It is possible to overtake, as Mansell demonstrated in 1989 when he won after starting 12th on the grid. It is also possible for a driver to resist all attempts to pass him as Boutsen did in 1990.In the last three years Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill have won the race, and they will both be looking to win again. Hill won his first ever race at the Hungaroring and will be looking for his third victory at the circuit this weekend.The circuit suits well set up chassis rather than powerful engines so Arrows and Tyrrell have chances of getting higher up the grid than usual.If the track were five times wider, it might make for better racing. As it is, a procession is forecast :-(

Headlines