Making the headlines 2001-04-12

By Erica Southey - Motorsport.com Safety Measures at Imola Following the deaths of two marshals, safety measures have been set in place for the San Marino GP at Imola this weekend. With 250 000 people expected to attend the Easter weekend ...

By Erica Southey - Motorsport.com

Safety Measures at Imola
Following the deaths of two marshals, safety measures have been set in place for the San Marino GP at Imola this weekend.

With 250 000 people expected to attend the Easter weekend festivities, officials have called on the services of seven ambulances and two helicopter crews, should an incident happen.

It ain't over till its over - Mika Häkkinen
Despite a gloomy start to the 2001 Formula One season, Mika Häkkinen says, his title chances are far from over. The Flying Finn is currently trailing his team-mate in points and is yet to perform in the manner his fans have grown accustomed to. Häkkinen says that the actual McLaren challenge will start at the onset of the European season. Häkkinen is known for his perseverance and catching up quickly under pressure. Häkkinen:

"Although I have had a disappointing start to the year, I am not going to hide away in a box," "I'm going to try and look at the facts. It is no use just going and hiding and being sorry for myself. This has given me time to clear my mind and start over again. I feel that we are getting a good car for Imola and all I have to do is keep my positive attitude. There is no reason to get too excited about our win in Brazil, but it was good that we got points and Michael Schumacher's winning streak was cut down."

007: The name is Dennis - Ron Dennis
After a comment from Eddie Jordan, McLaren Team Boss, Ron Dennis called for stricter measures regarding pitlane 'spying'. Dennis said that photographers sneak into garages after-hours taking pictures of cars, which is common practice, but that it should be controlled. He asks that a limit should be placed on how far photographers can go when taking pictures of the opposition's cars.

Dennis "This kind of thing goes with the pitch," he explained to Autosport. "It's a very competitive sport and taking pictures of other people's cars is an understandable practice as long as you don't overstep the line, like taking pictures inside the garage at night. I don't particularly like other team members standing in front of the garage during practice. I would rather have a code of conduct because it would be the same for everyone."

Wrong set-up - Ferrari
The wrong set-up is the reason for Michael Schumacher's mediocre performance at the Brazilian GP where he was passed by rookie Juan-Pablo Montoya and David Coulthard.

Spokesperson for the team, Claudio Berro explains: "Computer analysis after the race confirmed that in Brazil we didn't have the right set-up for the car. We realised this immediately and then tests confirmed that the car didn't have enough downforce.

"After Montoya had passed Schumacher following the safety-car period, the car was slow in accelerating out of corners and on the wet surface it was difficult to drive."

Berro quickly followed on to say that this is a once off mistake and won't be repeated at Imola.

Herbert to Le Mans
Johnny Herbert secured a seat with Audi in this year's Le Mans 24 hour Race. Herbert is no stranger to Le Mans. He raced for Mazda in 1991 and won. Herbert will join Ralf Kelleners and Didier Theys with ex Formula 1 driver, Thierry Boutsen managing the team.
Apart from Le Mans, Herbert has a test session in the pipeline with ChampCar team, Sigma.