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This week's Grapevine brings you
information fresh from the paddock on:
- Milking the Cash Cow
- Button stirring up Williams
- Picked from the Bunch
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Milking the Cash Cow
The Formula One world is not ready to give up on lucrative sponsorship cash cows, and tobacco money certainly falls under that category.
Some teams have been working to get away from the impending ban - with their Rothmans contract ending, Williams is the latest to move away, looking to BMW, Compaq and Reuters for finance instead. As a result, the team is struggling to meet the budget targets for 2000, and meanwhile BMW is complaining about being bled to meet requirements. Williams budget is certainly the biggest in Formula One which does not rely on tobacco money.
BAR has taken a different approach; being owner by British American Tobacco, they are implicitly tied to tobacco, and will always provide branding, and a return on investment. Furthermore, the tobacco ban does not extend outside the EU, so the paymasters can continue to push any message they choose outside European auspices.
On the other hand, it currently seems the ban on tobacco advertising may not be watertight. Current legislation states all tobacco advertising must cease within Formula One by 2006; however, the FIA's recent letter claiming that the EU Competition Commissioner Mario Monti's actions over the last 18 months are suspect puts things in a different light. If Monti is shown to be out of order, then the whole issue of tobacco advertising is expected to be re-debated.
Bernie Ecclestone believes that tobacco advertising will continue to be an element of Formula One for a long time yet, and Ron Dennis has been quoted as saying "I don't believe anybody can say what the time scale is. What appeared to be a definitive ruling has been proved to not be as definitive as people think. There is obviously legislation that has been put in place by Brussels. There has been a challenge to that legislation, and the dates could be moved."
However the EU case turns out, the big players will be certain to find ways of maintaining their huge budgets, and if tobacco is the only way, they will find a means of managing it.
Button stirring up Williams
Whilst most teams were testing at Barcelona last week, Ferrari "stayed home," and Williams and BAR went to South Africa's Kyalami circuit, searching for hot weather to prove their new designs.
Unfortunately for them, the region has experienced one of the wettest Februarys on record; however, between the breaks, the teams have been working hard to prove their cars, working out the glitches, and establishing which development parts are constructive. Throughout, Jenson Button has been under close scrutiny, not only from the team that signed him, but also the media and public.
To date, his performances have gone down well. Top of the agenda is to get enough miles to qualify for a Superlicence - a pre-requisite for racing. Close second, learning the limits of the Williams FW-22 car, without writing it off, whilst any assistance with developing the car would be well received.
Throughout the period, Button has continued to impress the team, with his enthusiastic approach and willingness to make the most of whatever situations present themselves. On track, he has continued to show impressive consistency, and rapidly closed on Ralf Schumacher for pace. There have been a few off track incidents, particularly in the wet, as changing track conditions proved less than trivial to master; however, the damage has been slight (nose-cones and tyres), and the youngster is being praised for doing so well at exploring the limits of performance in difficult circumstances.
Few are prepared to stick their necks out on the upcoming season; the media with an impression of Button largely reports a wide-eyed, personable youth, but won't commit on whether he will be successful in the Williams environment; possibly because the Zanardi saga is too recent. The team, however, are not so reserved. Behind the scenes, they know they have a superstar in Ralf Schumacher - and it is not much of a secret they hope to take a World Championship with him in the near future - but most view Button in a similar role. They expect him to make mistakes this year, and possibly to have trouble in some races, but the general feeling is that Ralf is due to win a race soon, and Jenson could be close behind...
Picked from the Bunch
The Australian Grand Prix faces annual protests which threaten to close the event down. It appears that this year, there is real danger the event could be cancelled or postponed, from another cause: consistent high temperatures are looking likely to cause the track surface to break up.
Plans to modify Monza's chicanes have been firmed up. The second element of the first corner "double chicane" is to be removed, and the second chicane will be made deeper. These changes are intended to stop the drivers cutting the corners so effectively, and to ensure speeds and run-off areas are better matched in the event of cars coming adrift.
Arrows have left Barcelona in good spirits after Pedro de la Rosa took .3 seconds off the track record; the team believe that aiming for fifth in the Championship is a viable target, and are optimistic about the season ahead.
Michael Schumacher's excellent fitness proved flawed, as a combination of buffeting and cold air entering his helmet caused cramps and minor strain to his neck in a recent practice. Despite advice that he takes a fortnight to recover, the German ace will continue testing for Ferrari.
The FIA are thinking again about Jordan's interpretation of the rules, after the teams EJ10 was revealed with a low cockpit, supplemented with fins to make up the minimum dimension requirements. It is expected the FIA will allow the interpretation, as the car passes all safety tests, and the mechanism only extends a practice most of the teams are employing.
Bridgestone are believed to be under pressure from McLaren to restrict the number of teams it supplies when Michelin arrive in 2001; allegedly, the Woking team has requested Bridgestone cuts its involvement to no more than eight of the twelve teams.
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The Grapevine