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This week's Grapevine brings you
information fresh from the paddock on:
- Jordan pushing for Japan
- Stewart Struggle
- Silly Season Update
- Picked from the Bunch
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Jordan pushing for Japan
With the Spa qualifying session demonstrating that Jordan have caught, and potentially passed, Ferrari in outright performance terms, the team is looking to maintain it's momentum and catch McLaren by the end of the season.
 At this time, the team is hoping for another upgrade to the Mugen-Honda engine for the Japanese Grand Prix. It will incorporate a further reduction to the engine's mass, extended integration of the low friction components, and a projected improvement of 15bhp at the top end. Meanwhile, there are developments expected for the aerodynamics for Malaysia which could deduce drag by as much as five percent, without reducing downforce.
Jordan are optimistic they will be competitive at Monza, despite Ferrari's boosted moral from the return of their lead driver, Michael Schumacher. They believe that it could be a three team battle for the front row of the grid. Furthermore, Malaysia is going to be something of an equaliser, as the circuit will be new to all the drivers. This should provide opportunity for upset – and Jordan plan to capitalise if McLaren slip.
However, with Honda's return to the scene "full time" next year, the team are determined to show they can maintain their progressive developments through to the end of the season. Doing well at the engine supplier's "home" Grand Prix is a pre-requisite, and everyone is pulling hard to make it happen.
Stewart Struggle
With the Spa Grand Prix marking the second disappointing outing in a row for the team, top brass in Ford are starting to be concerned that the team's momentum has been lost, and performance over the remainder of the season could be below expectations.
Critics in Australia commented that the team's performance was credible, but questioned their ability to maintain the development program required to challenge right through the season. At the mid-point, Stewart had managed to get a handle on the reliability issues, without compromising performance, and looked set to quiet their critics.
Recently, developments have been slow to come at Stewart. The team have started looking seriously at next year's car, and some of the resource previously devoted to making things happen this year have been diverted. Accordingly, the pace of development relative to Jordan and Mercedes has slowed – and this has the leadership concerned, as the 2000 challenge cannot afford to suffer from the same problem.
Plans for the remainder of the season include measures to ensure that development progress is maintained, and the team is embarking on an arduous program looking at aerodynamic and suspension improvements for the remaining races. A new evolution of the engine is now due for Monza too...
Silly Season Update
The Silly Season is slowing down, with many teams now decided for next year. This is a roundup of the current situations the teams find themselves in...
 McLaren's line-up is confirmed as Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard. Few were surprised when the announcement came, despite speculation that Coulthard's time had come. Speculations on the future has already started, with some thinking Coulthard is due to be replaced by Zonta in 2001, and Hakkinen believed to retire in favour of Nick Heidfeld in 2002.
Ferrari have not announced who will line up alongside Michael Schumacher in 2000. Rubens Barrichello is hot favourite for the seat, but some think Irvine could fill the role again – depending on his progress this season, and renegotiations of Schumacher's contract to remove the contractual "number one" status.
Jordan has confirmed that Jarno Trulli was signed and will race alongside Heinz-Harald Frentzen next year. It ends months of speculation the Eddie Irvine could move there from Ferrari. Damon Hill was instrumental in selecting his successor – his report that Trulli was impossible to pass in Hungary weighed well with Eddie Jordan.
Williams line-up is confirmed as Ralf Schumacher and Alessandro Zanardi. Many thought Frank Williams' trip watch a CART race was precursor to the Italian swapping seats with Juan Montoya, but everyone has stayed true to contract. Also, Schumacher revealed he has turned down a multimillion dollar offer from Stewart.
Benetton are keeping Giancarlo Fisichella and Alexander Wurz for 2000. Fisichella was in talks with Ferrari, but they fell through very quickly, and Wurz talked to Arrows in case his contract was not renewed.
British American Racing are keeping faith with Ricardo Zonta and Jacques Villeneuve (or perhaps it should be said vice versa?). They have not had the equipment to perform well this year, and the team have no intention to replace them. Villeneuve is believed to have talked to Ferrari and Jordan concerning options in 2000, but now expects to remain with the team, pending promises on development being kept... or he'll return to CART.
 Sauber are so pleased with Pedro Diniz, they will pay him to stay with them next year, rather than demand the millions of pounds the Brazilian has paid in the past. Mika Salo finally returns to the front line full time as his teammate – not a front running team, but certainly better than the back-end teams he has raced for in the past. Speaking of Salo, it appears that he had an understanding with Ford after the German Grand Prix that he would be driving for them next year, but after his lacklustre performance in Hungary, Ford withdrew the offer. Jean Todt is widely believed to have asked Peter Sauber to sign Salo and it is rumoured that Salo's contract has a clause which allows Ferrari to borrow him from the Swiss team if needed.
Stewart are expected to retain Johnny Herbert, and take on Eddie Irvine to challenge strongly in the Constructors Championship in 2000. It's not a done deal, few see anything else happening at this time. Ford is said to announce their line-up soon, and to unravel their 2000 challenger, badged Jaguar and painted in the British Racing Green, at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month.
Prost are changing tack, taking on two new drivers in Jean Alesi and Nick Heidfeld. Alesi was disappointed by Sauber's lack of development through the season and wants to try his hand at Prost before heading to CART. Nick Heidfeld is on loan from McLaren and has plenty of talent to display, for all he'll have ropes to learn in next year.
Arrows are undecided about next year's line-up, but have confirmed interest in Pedro de la Rosa, who has gone well this year. Olivier Panis is thought to be favourite for the other seat, lending experience to the team to go alongside de la Rosa's talent, helping develop the car enough to get it off the back of the grid!
Minardi have not made much noise about their drivers for 2000. They are thought to be considering the return of Shinji Nakano, but nothing is decided until their budget is known. The sponsorship a driver brings to the team will probably weigh slightly higher than the driver's talent in the final makeup...
Picked from the Bunch
A few grapes collected by our friends at RaceFax Online:
Bernie Ecclestone's latest target is Hockenheim. He told the Mannheimer Morgen newspaper that, "There are problems with the track management of the Hockenheimring." He called for a total rebuilding of the track, including shortening the 6.8-km course to the FIA standard of 5 km, and widening of the track from nine yards to 14. RaceFax Online's Euro editor, Robert German, writes that, "local Green Party folk are very likely to block such changes, as cutting down trees is a real no-no that has prevented other mooted changes to the track, set in the pine woods around the town of Hockenheim. Maybe this is Bernie's way of getting the German GP back to the Nurburgring, and freeing up a date for China or Korea."
Eddie Irvine was summoned to Bernie Ecclestone's motorhome, According to Die Welt, after qualifying at Hungary, where he entered with a smile, and left with a less happy expression. Irvine got a 15-minute lecture from Ecclestone, who is said to have been displeased by Irvine's recent critiques of Schumacher. Irvine was reportedly told in the future to think before he opens his mouth, and above all, not to criticise Schumacher. Ecclestone labelled that as cowardice, because Schumacher is injured and not in the best position to defend himself. Bernie also supposedly 'recommended' that Irvine should do a rethink about just why he is in a position to win the championship, and to devote himself to that.
 Flavio Briatore is being taken to court by Guy Ligier, who told the press, "I sold my remaining 18 percent of Ligier to Briatore for three million French Francs. When (the team) was sold to Prost, however, he got 130 million Francs for that. I was taken advantage of. I was being treated for a medical condition, and was not fully capable of making such decisions at the time. Now I want full compensation." A number of Ligier drivers from days past might well feel that Ligier has something in the mental incompetence argument.
Sport Auto magazine took a systematic look at the effect of grooved F1 tires, and found that the only place they really slowed the cars was in the slower corners...
Alessandro Zanardi said, after trying left-foot braking at the Hungaroring, "I thought originally that I had not enough sensitivity with left-foot braking, but meanwhile, I've noticed that with these cars, sensitivity is totally unnecessary. The suspension gives no feedback, because the tires are much too hard. These cars cannot be driven with any finesse at all."
Benetton has acquired the services of several of the men who went from Tyrrell to Honda, which at the time planned to set up its own F1 team. New at Benetton are Rupert Manwaring, the former Tyrrell team manager, who will be Rocco Benetton's right-hand man, and chief designer Tim Desham, chassis expert Chris Radage, aerodynamicist Ben Agethangelou and electronics expert Chris Hills. Also acquired from Honda, Enrique Scalabrone, who designed the Ferrari 641/2.
MotorSport Aktuel reports that the deal by which Honda will supply engines to BAR next year includes an option for
Honda to take over the team completely, at some point in the future. Perhaps after 2006, when the EU tobacco ban may put BAT out of F1?
Rubens Barrichello, widely tipped to be replacing Eddie Irvine next year at Ferrari, has begun an exercise program, including long-distance running and aerobics, because, "I have always had problems breathing properly during races, and wanted to do something about it."
The Estoril track is reported to be ready for a Formula One comeback and its owners are hoping for winter testing to take place there at the very least. João Lagos, organiser of tennis tournaments, is reportedly in talks with Bernie Ecclestone on the matter and his trump card is no Tobacco ads bans, plus government backing and tax exempts for the track - certainly a language Bernie understands well...
German TV station RTL has lost an 2 million viewers during Michael Schumacher's absence and now have an average of 5.5 million viewers - a very significant drop to any TV station. Ads have been cut short too, which means a drop in income for the commercial station. It seems not only Ferrari are anxiously waiting their German star's return!
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The Grapevine