March 2000

28 March 2000 The International Appeal Tribunal will examine McLaren's appeal against Coulthard's disqualification on 3 April in Paris. Meanwhile Max Mosley has defended the pre and post-race checks on the ground that they make F1 safer. The FIA president said that all teams want to go as fast as possible and setup their cars on the very limit of all the critical dimensions, like in Coulthard's case. He added that the pre-race checks often differ from the post-race checks because teams have the time to "prepare" the cars for the pre-race checks, but do not have the chance to do so after the race.

28 March 2000 M. Schumacher has warned that this year each GP will consist of two races: the one on the track and the one afterwards. David Coulthard said that he is relying on FIA to see sense, like they did with Ferrari in Malaysia last year.

27 March 2000 The McLaren team has issued a statement saying that there was structural damage to both the underbody and the chassis of Coulthard's car, that caused the front wing plates to rotate on their axis. the damage was due to the bottoming and vibration caused by the very nature of the Säo Paulo circuit. The team has lodged an appeal against the disqualification.

27 March 2000 McLaren driver David Coulthard, who finished second in the Brazilian GP, has been disqualified on the ground that his front wing was found to be 5 mm longer than the maximum permitted tolerance. It was originally rumoured that five out of the top six finishers were irregular, with Fisichella's car being the only one certainly within the limits, but all other cars were later cleared with the exception of Coulthard's. The Scot's disqualification gives young driver Jenson Button his first point in only his second GP ever.

26 March 2000 M. Schumacher won the Brazilian GP despite suffering problmes with his car in the seconds half of the race. hakkinen had to retire on lap 30 with problems to his car, but other McLaren driver Coulthard managed to finish in second place, despite problems with the gears. Fisichella was on the lowest step of the podium, Frentzen was fourth, Trulli fifth and R. Schumacher sixth.

The finishing times:

1 M.Schumacher GER Ferrari in 1h31'35"271 (average km/h 200.403) 2 D.Coulthard GBR McLaren +4"302 3 G.Fisichella ITA Benetton +39"898 4 H.H.Frentzen GER Jordan +42"268 5 J.Trulli ITA Jordan +1'12"780 6 R.Schumacher GER Williams +1 lap 7 J.Button GBR Williams +1 lap 8 J.Verstappen OLA Arrows +1 lap 9 P.De la Rosa SPA Arrows +1 lap 10 R.Zonta BRA Bar +2 laps 11 G.Mazzacane ARG Minardi +2 laps

26 March 2000 The Sauber team have pulled out of the Brazilian GP following problems with the rear wing that sent Mika Salo straight into the tyre barrier. In a press release the team said that the decision was made to avoid exposing the drivers to unnecessary risk.

25 March 2000 Mika Hakkinen took pole position for the Brazilian GP after a shambolic qualifying session that had to be stopped three times because of advertising hoarding collapsing on the track, in one case just in front of Alesi who could not do anything to avoid hitting it. Heavy rain in the second part of the session meant that the early times could not be improved upon. Coulthard had the second best time, followed by M. Schumacher and local hero Barrichello, in a repeat of the Melbourne grid. Fisichella took fifth position on the grid ahead of Irvine. Jenson Button, in only his second F1 GP ever, outqualified his much more experienced team mate R. Schuamcher by finishing nineth.

The qualifying times:

1. Mika Hakkinen (Fin/McLaren Mercedes) 1'14"111 2. David Coulthard (Gb/McLaren Mercedes) 1'14"285 3. Michael Schumacher (Ger/Ferrari) 1'14"508 4. Rubens Barrichello (Bra/Ferrari) 1'14"636 5. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita/Benetton Supertec) 1'15"375 6. Eddie Irvine (Gb/Jaguar) 1'15"425 7. Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Ger/Jordan Mugen-Honda) 1'15"455 8. Ricardo Zonta (Bra/Bar Honda) 1'15"484 9. Jenson Button (Gb/Williams Bmw) 1'15"490 10. Jacques Villeneuve (Can/Bar Honda) 1'15"515 11. Ralf Schumacher (Ger/Williams Bmw) 1'15"561 12. Jarno Trulli (Ita/Jordan Mugen-Honda) 1'15"627 13. Alexander Wurz (Aut/Benetton Supertec) 1'15"664 14. Jos Verstappen (Hol/Arrows Supertec) 1'15"704 15. Jean Alesi (Fra/Prost Peugeot) 1'15"715 16. Pedro De La Rosa (Spa/Arrows Supertec) 1'16"002 17. Johnny Herbert (Gb/Jaguar) 1'16"250 18. Marc Gené (Spa/Minardi Fondmetal) 1'16"380 19. Nick Heidfeld (Ger/Prost Peugeot) 1'17"112 20. Pedro Paolo Diniz (Bra/Sauber Petronas) 1'17"178 21. Gaston Mazzacane (Arg/Minardi Fondmetal) 1'17"512 22. Mika Salo (Fin/Sauber Petronas) 1'18"703

24 March 2000 Mika Hakkinen proved that he intends to fight for the Championship by putting in the fastest lap time in the second free practice session in Brazil. The Finn lapped in 1'15"896, finishing in front of M. Schumacher (+479), Coulthard (+710) and Barrichello (+717).

Friday second free session times:

1. 1 HAKKINEN McLaren Mercedes 1'15"896 204.390 km/h 2. 3 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1'16"375 + 0'00"479 3. 2 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1'16"606 + 0'00"710 4. 4 BARRICHELLO Ferrari 1'16"613 + 0'00"717 5. 18 DE LA ROSA Arrows Supertec 1'17"217 + 0'01"321 6. 14 ALESI Prost Peugeot 1'17"468 + 0'01"572 7. 19 VERSTAPPEN Arrows Supertec 1'17"641 + 0'01"745 8. 6 TRULLI Jordan Mugen-Honda 1'17"642 + 0'01"746 9. 22 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda 1'17"654 + 0'01"758 10. 11 FISICHELLA Benetton Playlife 1'17"831 + 0'01"935 11. 5 FRENTZEN Jordan Mugen-Honda 1'17"920 + 0'02"024 12. 17 SALO Sauber Petronas 1'17"933 + 0'02"037 13. 7 IRVINE Jaguar 1'17"971 + 0'02"07 14. 9 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW 1'18"024 + 0'02"128 15. 20 GENE Minardi Fondmetal 1'18"248 + 0'02"352 16. 21 MAZZACANE Minardi Fondmetal 1'18"280 + 0'02"384 17. 23 ZONTA BAR Honda 1'18"789 + 0'02"893 18. 16 DINIZ Sauber Petronas 1'19"081 + 0'03"185 19. 12 WURZ Benetton Playlife 1'19"129 + 0'03"233 20. 10 BUTTON Williams BMW 1'19"303 + 0'03"407 21. 8 HERBERT Jaguar 1'19"575 + 0'03"679 22. 15 HEIDFELD Prost Peugeot 1'20"364 + 0'04"468 107% time : 1'21"209

24 March 2000 Rubens Barrichello was fastest in the first free practice session for the joy of his home crowd. The Brazilian lapped in 1'17"631, finishing in front of the two McLaren of Hakkinen (1'17"896) and Coulthard (1'18"040). M. Schumacher was fourth (1'18"562).

Friday first free session times:

1. 4 BARRICHELLO Ferrari 1'17"631 199.822 km/h 2. 1 HAKKINEN McLaren Mercedes 1'17"896 + 0'00"265 3. 2 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1'18"040 + 0'00"409 4. 3 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1'18"562 + 0'00"931 5. 22 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda 1'18"613 + 0'00"982 6. 14 ALESI Prost Peugeot 1'18"909 + 0'01"278 7. 11 FISICHELLA Benetton Playlife 1'19"041 + 0'01"410 8. 5 FRENTZEN Jordan Mugen-Honda 1'19"073 + 0'01"442 9. 17 SALO Sauber Petronas 1'19"078 + 0'01"447 10. 19 VERSTAPPEN Arrows Supertec 1'19"254 + 0'01"623 11. 10 BUTTON Williams BMW 1'19"303 + 0'01"672 12. 6 TRULLI Jordan Mugen-Honda 1'19"330 + 0'01"699 13. 16 DINIZ Sauber Petronas 1'19"419 + 0'01"788 14. 9 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW 1'19"862 + 0'02"231 15. 12 WURZ Benetton Playlife 1'19"946 + 0'02"315 16. 20 GENE Minardi Fondmetal 1'20"094 + 0'02"463 17. 21 MAZZACANE Minardi Fondmetal 1'20"371 + 0'02"740 18. 8 HERBERT Jaguar 1'20"512 + 0'02"881 19. 15 HEIDFELD Prost Peugeot 1'20"890 + 0'03"259 20. 23 ZONTA BAR Honda 1'47"338 + 0'29"707 21. 7 IRVINE Jaguar 1'55"900 + 0'38"269 22. 18 DE LA ROSA Arrows Supertec 59'24"733 + 58'07"102 107% time : 1'23"065

24 March 2000 McLaren have gone back to their old engine, the one they had used in testing, in order to correct the fault that took out both cars in the Australian GP. The engine had been modified just before the opening GP of the season and not tested properly. Hakkinen has also complained about the car handling saying that it goes randomly and suddently from oversteering to understeering. Coulthard said that despite the problems they have faced recently, McLaren is still the best team currently in F1, since they were ahead of the rest when they suffered the hydraulic problems.

22 March 2000 German company Em.Tv Merchandising Ag have announced that they have bought 50 percent of Formula One Motor racing, the society that manages the Formula 1 Championship, for 712.5 million dollars. Em.Tv is planning to buy another share of the company within a year.

21 March 2000 The McLaren mechanics have identified and fixed the hydraulic problems that caused the two MP4/15 to break down during the Australian GP. Ron Dennis said that the real potential of the car will become evident at Imola, while in Brazil they expect Ferrari to be still very close. Ron Dennis also does not believe that Barrichello and M. Schumacher are considered equal at Ferrari.

20 March 2000 Barrichello was reported as saying that if he wins in Brazil, he will want the same car as M. Schuamcher. Ferrari and Barrichello later denied that the Brazilian had ever made that statement and said that the two Ferrari drivers already have the same car.

16 March 2000 Renault has acquired the Benetton F1 team for 120 million dollars. Until 2002 the Benetton team will maintain its brand image, then the livery will be changed to the traditional Renault yellow with black logo. Flavio Briatore, currently working with Renault, will take over control of Benetton from Monday. The team will use SuperTec engines until 2002 engines until 2002 as part of the deal. From 2002 the Renault F1 team will race with its own chassis and engine, that will not be sold to other teams (currently Arrows is using them under the SuperTec brand name).

14 March 2000 FIAT Auto has sold 20 percent of its shares to General Motor in exchange for 5.1 percent of General Motor's shares. Ferrari and Maserati, owned by Gruppo FIAT, are excluded from the deal and remain completely property of FIAT. FIAT Auto and Gruppo FIAT are separate legal entities. Ferrari will maintain its own decisional and financial independence.

13 March 2000 Fisichella was very happy with his car because the reliability is there. His car was damaged by a collision with De La Rosa early on, but he still managed to finish the race in the points, though the handling problems he suffered after the shunt meant that he could not challenge Villenueve. Fisichella said that aerodynamics improvements in the next few races will increase Benetton's chances of good results.

13 March 2000 M. Schumacher said that he had decided to slow down in the second half of the Australian GP because of vibrations to a wheel (he was using the same car he smashed in practice, rebuilt). The Ferrari mechanics had also told him that he should try and save fuel as he was running low and risking running out before the end of the race. Barrichello was happy with his podium position and said that he can't see why he should not be able to beat M. Schumacher in his home race, Interlagos. Jean Todt replied to Ron Dennis' accusation of fixing which driver should win by saying that Dennis should worry about his own cars since are obviouly not reliable.

13 March 2000 Hakkinen was angry about the engine failure suffered by both McLaren cars in the Australian GP (pressure loss in the hydraulic system controlling the pneumatic valves). After the Japanese GP last season he had told McLaren that it was important to get reliability, but now they have ended up giving Ferrari a 16 points advantage with almost no gap between the two teams (last year McLaren was about one second faster than Ferrari, this year they run on similar times). Coulthard, on the other hand, was less pessimistic than his team mate and said that 16 points can be recovered in only one race. The broken engines have been sent to the Research and Development Center in Stuttgart to be studied in detail. The engines will be modified to fix the valves before the Brazilian GP. Ron Dennis said that without the retirements McLaren would have won the race because they are still marginally faster than Ferrari. He added that he is sure Ferrari made Barrichello stop twice to allow M. Schumacher to win the GP.

12 March 2000 Ferrari dominated the first GP of the 2000 season after both McLaren retired early on with engine misfiring problems. M. Schumacher gained his first ever win in Australia in front of his new team mate Barrichello. R. Schumacher gave Williams third place after new driver Willaims Button retired with engine problems. Villeneuve won his first ever points with BAR and his team mate Zonta was promoted to sixth place after Salo was disqualified after the race for using a non-FIA regulation compliant front wing. Fisichella finished fifth despite having suffered damage to his back wing early on in the race.

Finishing times:

1 3 M. Schumacher Ferrari h34:01.987 2 4 R. Barrichello Ferrari +11.415 3 9 R. Schumacher WilliamsF1 +20.009 4 22 J. Villeneuve BAR +44.447 5 11 G. Fisichella Benetton +45.165 6 17 M. Salo Sauber +45.624 (disqualified) 7 23 R. Zonta BAR +46.468 8 12 A. Wurz Benetton +46.915 9 20 M. Gene Minardi +1 lap 10 15 N. Heidfeld Prost +2 laps

Fastest lap:

R. Barrichello Ferrari 1m31.481 on lap 41

11 March 2000 The two McLaren of Hakkinen and Coultahrd will start the first GP of the 2000 season from the front of the grid, with the Ferrari of M. Schumacher and Barrichello on the second row and the Jordan of Frentzen and Trulli on the third. The qulifying session was stopped early after Coulthard wrecked his car after hitting the wall.

Qualifying times:

1. Mika Hakkinen (Fin/ McLaren) 1’30"556 2. David Coulthard (Gb/ McLaren) 1’30"910 3. Michael Schumacher (Ger/ Ferrari) 1’31"075 4. Rubens Barrichello (Bra/ Ferrari) 1’31"102 5. Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Ger/Jordan) 1’31"359 6. Jarno Trulli (Ita/ Jordan) 1’31"504 7. Eddie Irvine (Gb/ Jaguar) 1’31"514 8. Jacques Villeneuve (Can/Bar) 1’31"968 9. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita/Benetton) 1’31"992 10. Mika Salo (Fin/ Sauber) 1’32"018 11. Ralf Schumacher (Ger/Williams) 1’32"220 12. Pedro de la Rosa (Spa/Arrows) 1’32"323 13. Jos Verstappen (Hol/Arrows) 1’32"477 14. Alexander Wurz (Aut/Benetton) 1’32"775 15. Nick Heidfeld (Ger/Prost) 1’33"024 16. Ricardo Zonta (Bra/Bar) 1’33"117 17. Jean Alesi (Fra/Prost) 1’33"197 18. Marc Gené (Spa/Minardi) 1’33"261 19. Pedro Diniz (Bra/Sauber) 1’33"378 20. Johnny Herbert (Gb/Jaguar) 1’33"638 21. Jenson Button (Gb/Williams) 1’33"828 22. Gaston Mazzacane (Arg/Minardi) 1’34"705

10 March 2000 The new F1 season started this morning in Australia. M. Schumacher was fastest in the free practice session before he was involved in a spectacular crash luckily without consequences.

Friday free session times:

1. Michael Schumacher (Ger/Ferrari) 1'32"130 2. David Coulthard (GB/McLaren) 1'32"144 3. Rubens Barrichello (Bra/Ferrari) 1'32"482 4. Mika Hakkinen (Fin/McLaren) 1'32"702 5. Jacques Villeneuve (Can/BAR) 1'33"525 6. Pedro Paolo Diniz (Bra/Sauber) 1'33"597 7. Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Ger/Jordan) 1'33"698 8. Alexander Wurz (Aut/Benetton) 1'33"718 9. Ricardo Zonta (Bra/BAR) 1'33"847 10. Eddie Irvine (Irl/Jaguar) 1'33"899 11. Mika Salo (Fin/Sauber) 1'33"940 12. Gaston Mazzacane (Arg/Minardi) 1'33"988 13 Pedro De La Rosa (Spa/Arrows) 1'34"060 14 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita/Benetton) 1'34"089 15 Jarno Trulli (Ita/Jordan) 1'34"151 16. Ralf Schumacher (Ger/Williams) 1'34"158 17. Johnny Herbert (GB/Jaguar) 1'34"414 18. Jenson Button (GB/Williams) 1'34"547 19. Marc Gené (Spa/Minardi) 1'34"696 20. Jos Verstappen (Hol/Arrows) 1'34"708 21. Jean Alesi (Fra/Prost) 1'35"613 22. Nick Heidfeld (GB/Prost) 1'35"997

9 March 2000 Arrows have presented their car with the new orange livery at Melbourne today.

8 March 2000 Jacques Villeneuve has warned that he might quit British American Racing if the team does not perforrm this season. Rumours have already linked the ex-World Champion with a move to McLaren.

3 March 2000 Arrows have announced another sponsorship deal. chello broadband nv, one of the world's leading broadband internet companies, is one of Arrows' new main sponsors.

3 March 2000 Eurobet, Coral International Ltd.'s online betting businness, has signed a two year sponsorship deal with Arrows. UK mobile firm Orange has also announced a major 70 million pounds three year sponsorship deal with Arrows, which will be known as Orange Arrows F1.

2 March 2000 Lost Boys, a Amsterdam based New Media and Internet leading company, is the new sponsor of the Arrows Formula 1 Team. Part of the agreement is the development of a new web site for the Arrows team (http://www.arrows.com). Arrows have announced that they will launch the new A21 with full liveru in Melbourne on 9 March.

1 March 2000 Arrows have not launched their new car yet and have given no indication of when they intend to do so. As the 2000 F1 season will start in less than two weeks, Arrows might present the car at the first GP.

Last updated on by Federica Massagrande