Max Mosley thinks the Senna trial is just 'outrageous'. If there will be a conviction he will seriously reconsider the possibility of looking for other countries to race in besides Italy.

Mosley said: "What has happened to Frank Williams is outrageous. He has never been allowed to see Senna's car. On any rational basis, how can he be criminally responsible for what happened? It beggars belief. In terms of Formula One, the trial is a complete irrelevance. In Senna's case, we know how he died. He was hit by the wheel and the suspension. Our interest is not in why he went off the road, but in what we can do to make sure such an accident never happens again. Over the past three years we have taken many steps to do so. We do so in the knowledge that Formula One is a human business. Drivers make mistakes, mechanics make mistakes, engineers make mistakes. There is a crash at every single grand prix, at every single track. Our job is to make sure that, when those crashes occur, no one is hurt."

He added: "If the Italians really want to have an enormous legal process then that is their right. I happen to think everyone will be found not guilty but, even if they are not, the appeals process is likely to go on for between eight and 12 years. That, in one way, is one of the worst aspects of the trial. It is a waste of time. If we want to race in Italy, we will do so under their laws, but maybe that question will come under consideration in the future."

Eddie Irvine received threatening phone calls after the Irish flag was raised and not the British after his second place during the Argentine Grand Prix.

Irvine commented: "The Tricolour being raised in Argentina caused my parents problems and people who work for me. I want a neutral flag to be raised, which is what I am working on. I'd like the Shamrock raised and then the Londonderry Air played if I won."

Michael Schumacher believes he might be able to give Ferrari another win this weekend in the San Marino Grand Prix: "I am confident we can finish on the podium at the next race. We should be much better suited to the characteristics of the Imola circuit. But it is going to be tough to win. The Williams looks like the best car so far and it is difficult to beat, so it will not be easy for us. But I do think that if we have a bit of luck and everything goes well for us we have a chance."

Schumacher also thinks the lap record will be beaten: "We can expect to see that record quite comprehensively beaten. It will be the same as on the other circuits we have been to so far. This is because of the softer tyres everyone is now running caused by the tyre competition between Goodyear and Bridgestone."

Ferrari will be using the old 046/1 engine during Sunday's race. Ferrari spokesman Claudio Berro said at the Imola track today: "We will only use the new V10 during qualifying on Saturday."

Jacques Villeneuve has blasted the new regulations for the 1998 season and is even threatening to leave Formula One and go back to Indy car racing.

Villeneuve tested the grooved tyres last week and was not happy about them: "It was like driving a Formula Ford car, with a bit more power and downforce. It's ridiculous to drive the pinnacle of race cars like that."

Max Mosley said it was too early to evaluate the new rules but Villeneuve disagreed with him: "It's pure logic, that's fairly simple. I think the best person to ask is the driver. We're the ones sitting in the car and we know how the car reacts."

"Now you can make a small, little change on the car and you can really improve it. There's not much you will be able to do to improve the car, it will be either right or wrong. I think it's going to take a lot away from the driver. Instead of still being the ultimate sport that it is, it's going to become more of a show and a circus," he added.

Max Mosley doesn't agree with Villeneuve. Mosley commented on the Barcelona tests: "I'm delighted it is clear that it is a means of getting speed under control. This is only a first attempt at the tyres. If we have overshot the objective, we may reconsider. When the tyres are optimised, we may decide we need fewer, or smaller grooves. We have tried for 25 years to decrease the influence of aerodynamics, and the cars just got faster and faster. The principle that you attack the tyres is right. If the cars are as quick as they were in 1996, they will be difficult to drive, but the difficulties will be different."

Gerhard Berger will start his 200th Grand Prix this weekend in Imola (Italy). But the Austrian is not very impressed with the number: "The number 200 doesn't tell me a lot."

Berger's debut in Formula One was in 1984 together with Ayrton Senna and Martin Brundle. The Imola weekend always has an effect on Berger because of his accident in the Tamburello corner, which could have cost him his life, and the tragic death of his friend Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger on the Imola track in 1994: "Ayrton was my best friend in Formula One. I had a very close relationship with him. Both deaths were a severe shock for me."

Berger added however: "You always have to keep the World Championship title in mind."