Thursday January 27th, 2000

The Arrows F1 Team ran its 2000 challenger, the Arrows Supertec A21, for the first time at Silverstone today and also announced that Dutchman Jos Verstappen will partner Pedro de la Rosa this season.

The new car, designed by the Arrows Technical and Design Team, features an improved aerodynamics package and significantly lowered and revised weight distribution. De la Rosa drove it for the first time and will then go with Jos and the team to Barcelona next week to continue testing.

Returning to the garage after his first run in the car Pedro commented, "I am very impressed with the car and the engine worked really well, I am very much looking forward to next weeks testing in Barcelona"

Verstappen was on hand to watch the car run and commenting on his signing he said: "I am happy that the Arrows F1 team has chosen me to drive for them on account of my speed and driving ability and I am looking forward to a full Formula One season. I have been visiting Arrows on a regular basis over the past few weeks and I think the new car has a lot of promise. I am sure that the expertise I have acquired in recent years will help me, together with Pedro, improve the team."

Mike Coughlan, Technical Director, added that, "We have been obviously anxious and excited to put some miles on our new car today. The addition of Eghbal Hamidy, Chief Designer, and John Davis, Head of R&D to my team has proved invaluable in achieving the best possible results. We are quietly confident that the car will provide an ideal foil for the new Supertec engine, which hopefully will give us the power and reliability we need to improve our results during the forthcoming season."

Tom Walkinshaw said, "I am extremely proud of my team, who have worked tirelessly to have the car finished on time. I am also pleased to have an experienced driver like Jos to join Pedro for what will undoubtedly be an exciting year for the team."

Verstappen, who started his Formula One career with Benetton in 1994, first drove for the Arrows team in 1996. He changed to Tyrrell for the 1997 season and joined the Stewart team for the remainder of 1998. Jos most recently worked as a test driver for Honda Racing Development, led by the late Harvey Postlethwaite.