Making the headlines - 2001-03-17

By Erica Southey - Motorsport.com

Enrique Bernoldi penalised -. Enrique Bernoldi in the Arrows, will start from the back of the grid at tomorrow's Malaysian GP. His qualifying times were disallowed after his car failed post-qualifying scrutineering. A statement by the FIA read: "The stewards permit to start the race from the back of the grid. The front wing and parts of the bodywork lying on the step plane of car 15 were found to be less than 100mm and 50mm respectively above the reference plane."

Max Moseley on speed of cars - He was quoted by ITV as saying: "I was intensely irritated. We sat the Technical Working Group down and said 'we know there will be a tyre war, we know speeds will go up, so we must do something'." The FIA president is adamant that he will do something about the speed of the cars, despite pleas from drivers not to make the cars slower. He responded by saying he has the interest of safety and the sport at heart.

Databoxes handed over to authorities - Following the death of the marshal at the Australian GP the databoxes of Jacques Villeneuve's BAR-Honda and Ralf Schumacher's BMW Williams were handed over to authorities. Craig Pollock and Patrick Head said it is a mere formality. There are speculations that Ralf braked too early, but Head says the data proves that Ralf's breaking was consistent. He said: "Looking at the data, Ralf's braking was fairly consistent, but the Michelin tyres had dipped in the early laps and produced a bit of understeer," he explained. "I think Jacques thought that he could overtake and, whatever it was, there was a misjudgement and they hit each other. Fundamentally, the car came to a halt with Jacques safe, but all eight wheel ties parted and we have to have a good look at that. It is very different with cars when they are off the ground. In simple terms, I think the car survived quite well but the wheel ties failed to do their job and I am sure that some well balanced technical attention to that will be a good thing."

Brazilian GP hangs in the balance - Behind schedule and amidst a legal battle, the Brazilian GP hangs in the balance. Work at the Interlagos circuit has halted following a legal dispute regarding a tender awarded to a third party instead of one of the two initial bidders who were asked to put out tenders for the renovations of the track. The fate of the Brazilian GP will be made known on Tuesday, when FIA inspectors will view the track. Who can remember the chaos last year when advertising boards fell on the track while cars were out? Brazil has already lost the ChampCar series following a legal battle over money. Let's hope this will not be the fate for the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.