Driver lineups almost set for 2000

INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 17, 1999 -- The United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a year away, but the driver lineup for the inaugural Formula One race at the Brickyard has already virtually been settled. Formula One's "Silly Season" -- the months of rumors about which driver will join which team the next season -- is basically over now that it's been announced that Eddie Irvine has signed for the Stewart-Ford team, which will be renamed Jaguar Racing in 2000. Of the 11 F1 teams that will race at Indy, only Minardi and Arrows have yet to finalize their drivers. Here's a look at how they will line up at the Brickyard for the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis on Sept. 24, 2000: West McLaren-Mercedes: Mika Hakkinen (Finland) and David Coulthard (Scotland) remain with McLaren for another season. It will be 1998 World Champion Hakkinen's seventh full season with the team and Coulthard's fifth. Ferrari: Michael Schumacher (Germany) is back with the famous Italian team for a fifth consecutive season. Two-time World Champion Schumacher will be joined by Rubens Barrichello (Brazil), who moves over from the Stewart-Ford team. Benson & Hedges Jordan-Mugen-Honda: Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Germany) stays on at Jordan for a second season. Jarno Trulli (Italy) will drive for Jordan after spending the last two seasons with Prost. Williams BMW: Williams will have a new engine next season as BMW makes its return to F1. The team's drivers -- Alex Zanardi (Italy) and Ralf Schumacher (Germany) -- both return to the team for a second year. Jaguar Racing: The Stewart-Ford team will be rebranded Jaguar Racing in 2000. Johnny Herbert (England) will be in the second season of his two-year contract with the team, and he will be joined by Irvine (Ireland), who spent four years at Ferrari. Mild Seven Benetton-Playlife: Benetton took up its options on Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) and Alexander Wurz (Austria). Gauloises Prost-Peugeot: The French-based team run by four-time World Champion Alain Prost will have a veteran F1 driver and a rookie in the cockpit next year. With more than 160 Grand Prix starts to his credit, Jean Alesi (France) is the most experienced of the current F1 drivers while Nick Heidfeld (Germany) will make his F1 debut after winning the 1999 FIA Formula 3000 Championship. Red Bull Sauber-Petronas: Pedro Diniz (Brazil) returns to the Swiss team for a second season, and his teammate will be Mika Salo (Finland), who subbed for the injured Michael Schumacher at Ferrari this season. The team will once again use year-old Ferrari engines rebadged with the Petronas label. British American Racing-Honda: Next year will mark the second F1 season for the BAR team, which will run Honda engines. Honda will be officially back in F1 since it pulled out at the end of the 1992 season. Honda did, however, retain its F1 links via its sister company Mugen-Honda. Former Indianapolis 500 winner and 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve (Canada) and Ricardo Zonta (Brazil) remain with BAR next year.

Source: IRL/IMS