NewsOnF1 - March 25

29-Mar: The Toyota Formula 1 team returned to the Paul Ricard track following an unscheduled interruption when Mika Salo crashed the new Toyota following a gearbox failure on Sunday. Toyota's second test driver Allan McNish had his first taste of the Toyota as he covered 8 laps. His comments following the short test were "For the first laps in the F1 car I was very pleased by its feelings and reactions."
Mika Salo complained of back pain following the crash and has been ordered to rest for a couple of weeks by the team doctor.
Toyota will continue testing with Allan McNish behind closed doors until Friday.

Even though Jaguar have assured both Eddie Irvine and Luciano Burti that neither would be replaced by test driver Pedro de la Rosa this season, the pressure is on both to perform as they know that at least one of them will not be driving for the team in 2002 as de la Rosa already signed a contract to drive for Jaguar in 2002. Luciano Burti realises that he is in a difficult situation as his team-mate Eddie Irvine is more experienced and is the number 1 driver in the team. He did vow to do his best to prove himself and said: "Eddie was the first in the team, he is Jaguar's number one driver and he is more experienced. He has more of a chance of continuing with the team next year but that does not mean that it's a certainty. The team has to judge so we will see what happens. The team do not expect me to beat Eddie this season, but if I do, it will be very good for me. If I do a good job this season then I will continue with Jaguar or another team next season; if I do not do a good job then I don't deserve to stay in Formula One."

29-Mar: Rubens Barrichello has blamed the media for interpreting his statements their own way and said "I have a fantastic car to race with in front of my home crowd on a track where I grew up. At the same time, I feel there is more pressure than usual and I am concerned that what I say might get turned around, just as happened in Malaysia with regard to my team- mate. I never said Michael should have stayed behind me, just that we had to be careful, given the track conditions. If there was a problem it was simply down to an incorrect interpretation. I have a great relationship with Schumacher; he is the best driver in the world and I am very happy to have shown I can get so close to him."
As for the claims that his aggressive driving style has caused the two incidents he had with Ralf Schumacher and Heinz Harald Frentzen he said "I don't agree. My driving style has not changed. I have always been a fighter, but when you are in a small team with an uncompetitive car, it is less noticeable. Problems with Heinz Harald and Ralf ? They are the ones who came up to me and not the other way round. This is not a criticism, simply a statement of fact."
His expectations for the race is to try his best and said "Ferrari is very competitive and it is up to us to confirm that again here. We must always keep an eye out for McLaren, who are bound to have some cards up their sleeve. I aim to drive well and be at peace with myself. When I say I want to win, it does not mean I want to beat Michael at all costs."
Barrichello also said that it is too early to talk about renewing his contract as that will be done in June.
Barrichello will be wearing a new helmet at the Brazilian GP with Brazilian colours as a tribute to the crowds.

Team-mate Michael Schumacher has been enjoying himself taking part in a charity soccer match marking the comeback of Brazilian star Ronaldo. Michael Schumacher played on Ronaldo's side and scored a goal from a penalty kick. Ronaldo's side won the match 10-9.

Mika Hakkinen won the Brazilian GP in '98 and '99 but this year it appears to be a lot more difficult for him to win again. Yet he has indicated the his target for the Brazilian GP is to win and said "We always enter a race weekend with the intention of winning and this is the key target for Brazil. The West McLaren Mercedes team and myself are working as hard as possible to secure the desired result. I enjoy racing at Interlagos as the Brazilian fans have a real passion for the sport and the atmosphere is always fantastic"
His team-mate David Coulthard is hoping to that McLaren continue their success on this track and said "Interlagos is a greater physical challenge than some of the other tracks, and it demands a high level of fitness, which I have been focusing on over the winter, the circuit also offers genuine overtaking opportunities, in particular through the first corner, adding to the interest of the race. Historically the Brazilian race has been successful for the McLaren team and I hope we can continue this trend in 2001."

Jacques Villeneuve has yet to finish a race this season after crashing in Melbourne and spinning out in Malaysia. He is hoping to finish at Brazil possibly in the points and in front both Jordans and said "The Brazilian track is very physically demanding and finishing the race is not easy but since I am very fit, I hope I will have an advantage. I hope I can finish the race, I also wish that our two cars finish in front of the Jordans and better still, in front of the Williams. If my car is reliable, I will also gain points."

28-Mar: "Barrichello's home run" is the title of the 7th issue from the Diagnosis and Prognosis Series for the 2001 season. In this issue, the Heretic looks at the upcoming Brazilian Grand Prix - Issue 7

28-Mar: Mika Hakkinen has dominated Pole position for the Brazilian GP since 98 but can he make it 4 in a row ? Since 1987, only Williams and McLaren have won Pole position with 7 each. This year a Williams could do it.
Michael Schumacher has never won Pole at Interlagos, his best grid position was 2nd in '94, '95, and '97. In fact a Ferrari has never won pole at Interlagos. The only time a Ferrari won Pole at a Brazilian GP was in 1985 with Michele Alboreto at the Jacarepagua circuit. This could change this year!
Rubens Barrichello had some good grid positions at Interlagos qualifying in 2nd with Jordan in '96 and 3rd with Stewart in '99. Both inferior cars to the more dominant McLaren and Williams. He could be the one to beat here.
Ayrton Senna holds the all time number of Pole wins with 6 ahead of Mika Hakkinen with 3. McLaren have won 10 Pole positions with Williams a close second with 8.

In terms of wins though, Michael Schumacher has managed to win 3 times ('94, '95 and 2000) despite not starting from Pole. He has managed to finish in the points in every Brazilian race he has participated in with 8 of those finishes on the podium.
Mika Hakkinen won twice both from Pole while Jacques Villeneuve won once.
Rubens Barrichello has not managed to finish the Brazilian GP since '94 when he finished 4th in a Jordan Hart. That was the only time he actually finished the race in 8 attempts. Is he about to break the drought ?
Alain Prost holds the most number of wins with 8 followed by Michael Schumacher and Carlos Reutemann with 3 wins each. McLaren have 9 wins followed by Ferrari with 6 wins and Williams with 5 wins.

27-Mar: "Have McLaren lost their edge ?" Topic of the week - Have Your Say

27-Mar: On several occasions, Michael Schumacher has indicated that using the press to complain doesn't impress him. At the Malaysian GP, his team-mate Rubens Barrichello indicated to the press how sad he was about Michael's overtaking manoeuvre in the wet. A source at Ferrari has come out and indicated that a number of people at Ferrari are not impressed by Barrichello's remarks and said "There is a feeling among a lot of people at Ferrari that they should get rid of Barrichello at the end of the season, this is not the first time he's thrown his toys out of the pram. He comes over as the nice guy but he can be a pain at times. Schumacher is certainly not impressed, and he's not alone."
Technical Director Ross Brawn has told Barrichello to be careful and discuss issues behind closed doors and said "Rubens has to be more careful about what he says, Michael can be hard on the team when he has to, but he does it behind closed doors"
Meanwhile Rubens Barrichello has indicated yet again that his main challenge is to beat Michael Schumacher especially in Brazil and said "My main challenge today is to beat Michael Schumacher. I do not intend to be the number two driver. I wakeup every day wanting to be a champion."

The future of Luciano Burti's seat at Jaguar continues to be a hot topic with rumours still indicating that if he doesn't perform at Brazil he will be replaced by Pedro de la Rosa. Luciano Burti has come out and said that he is looking forward to the Brazilian GP and wants to dispel all the rumours regarding his future and said "I am anticipating a very busy weekend off the track dealing with media speculation concerning my future with Jaguar Racing. My contract with Jaguar Racing expires at the end of this season; not after the Brazilian Grand Prix. My goal now is to help improve the car and finish higher than we have so far managed."
Team boss Bobby Rahal repeated what he said in Malaysia and said "With regard to recent media speculation about the immediate future of Luciano, I can only reiterate my words from Malaysia in that Eddie and Luciano are our drivers."

The Jordan team is hoping to maintain their 3rd place in the constructors' championship this weekend. The Jordan team had good results at the Brazilian GP in the last 2 years. Eddie Jordan said "Third in the Championship is where the team wants to stay. The first two races have gone well for us, but we are up against stiff competition. Heinz has finished third in Brazil for two years running, so if we can maintain that form and see Jarno in the points too, it would be perfect.''
Heinz Harald Frentzen enjoys racing at this track but knows that it is very bumpy and said "I enjoy the circuit and we have seen some good races there in the past with good overtaking manoeuvres. The track was re-surfaced before the 2000 Grand Prix which reduced the lap times, but the bumps are still quite bad. This is a circuit where no tooth-filling is safe."

26-Mar: Mika Salo has suffered the first crash in his new Toyota F1 test car just 2 days after launching the car. It is believed that a gearbox failure caused the car to go straight into the wall at a speed of around 200 kilometres an hour. He was unhurt from the crash and walked away from the car. He was later admitted to hospital for a general check-up and was told to rest for a few days before resuming any testing. The cause of the crash will be investigated by Toyota before any testing continues.

Jenson Button had a fantastic debut season with Williams last year. This year he has been on loan to Benetton and given the Benetton's lack of pace, Jenson Button finds it very frustrating to be a backmarker but he understands the situation and expects it to improve as the season progresses. Button said "It is tough at the moment, but this can only be a good experience for the future. It is not going amazing, but it's what we expected at the start of the season. We knew we would not be winning races. Obviously it is frustrating because I am a racing driver and I want to be winning, but it is a long-term thing. I know Renault are doing a good job, the whole package is going to be good. I am putting in as much as I can. We are making progress. We have still got a long way to go, but I am sure it is going to get better and better and I am sure that next year we will have quite a good package."

25-Mar: An easy win for Ferrari ? The Brazilian Grand Prix Preview is now available ... Race Preview

Brazilian Formula 1 Grand Prix Schedule:

Session	Time (Local / GMT) - World Clock
Friday Practice Session 1 Friday Practice Session 2 Saturday Practice Session 1 Saturday Practice Session 2 Qualifying Session Warm-up Session Race	11 AM SP Time / 2 PM GMT 1 PM SP Time / 4 PM GMT 9 AM SP Time / 12 PM GMT 10:15 AM SP Time / 1:15 PM GMT 1 PM SP Time / 4 PM GMT 9:30 AM SP Time / 1 2:30 PM GMT 2 PM SP Time / 5 PM GMT SP: Sao Paulo
Go to the Brazilian GP Page