I can't help control the excitement as the 1997 F1 season fast approaches! 1996 was a great season, full of drama and tension between individuals, but somewhat of a wash due to the incredible car Williams put on the track. 1997 promises to be better I believe....

First, let us look at the drivers. Schumacher, Villeneuve and Frentzen look to be the favorites from the start. Obviously, the Williams boys are to be feared because...well, they race for Williams! But, as he proved last year, Schumacher may very well be on another level in terms of driving ability and raw talent. He took the Ferrari F310 and made it work....and win. Which brings us to the cars....

The Williams should be very strong. No doubt, the evolution of last year's design will make what was the dominant car even better. And with this being Renault's swan song season, the engine maker should have quite a package resting behind the Williams and Benneton drivers. Question them all you want about it, the new Ferrari is a direct design from last year's Williams. And, though they don't get much points for originality, they seem to have decided that if they give Micheal and Eddie (who was fast when he finished!!) a design that puts reliability over innovation, that it should be good enough to get them the wins...and the Constructor's title as well. As for the rest of the field, Arrow's has TWR and Hill behind them now --things are looking up there! Benneton has to find a way to get more reliability and consistancy from the car. And Stewart racing will make news!! A decent design staff have put together a great looking, and so far, a fast testing car. And, how can you go wrong when you have the factory-backing of Ford and all the resources that offers? Ford is the biggest company in F1 now. And, now that they are serious about racing again, it won't take long for that factory-works V-10 to win with Magnusson and Barrichello behind the wheel.

Then, of course we have the drama and the circus that is F1....the Senna trial, sponsor troubles, Prost and Mansell getting back into it (in different ways...), the possible return of BMW or Porsche to power Williams, and something dear to my heart, the need/possibility of F1 returning to the United States.

Yes, as always, the upcoming F1 season promises much to watch for. Predictions? Schumacher and Ferrari are the World and Constructor Champions, and that Stewart Racing will finish at least three times on the podium. Well that's about it. And thanks again for putting the best magazine on-line out there for us fans to enjoy!

Here's to a Great Season!

hummer@telephonet.com

I find it amazing how many people find the time to write in explaining how Damon Hill doesn't deserve to be World Champion. Even more amazing are the comments about British celebration of a national hero.

Perhaps a measure of his popularity is that he won the award "BBC Sports Personality of the Year" for the second time. Let's look at this word "Personality". Many people equate "Personality" with the ability to talk down the opposition in television interviews, and sell themselves to the public and the media. To my mind being a "Sports Personality" has nothing to do with either of these things.

Any of your readers who have access to BBC will remember the interview that Hill gave either during or shortly after the Italian Grand Prix. Hill had just blown the chance of clinching the championship, and looked a distraught and desperate man. His point in the interview, although the interviewer gave him plenty of escape routes, was unequivocal. Everything was going for him but he made an unforced mistake and threw away his chances.

It is not often that you hear such honesty from professional "sportsmen". That's why he was so deservedly celebrated when he won the championship, winning twice as many races as his nearest rival, and winning every race held outside Europe.

Around the time of the Japanese Grand Prix, there was something of a scandal in England to do with a leading soccer player who was accused of beating his wife. Several newspapers suggested that Damon Hill was a better role model for youngsters than this particular man. Amen to that.

At the start of 1996, everyone expect Villeneuve to blow Hill away. He didn't and in the majority of cases the opposite was true. This was a disappointment to many Villeneuve fans. They should congratulate the winner and consider what went wrong. They should think of all possible ways he might get a better result.

That's what Damon Hill would have done. That's why he made it in the end and why we like him!

Richard Wilton
richard_wilton@MENTORG.COM

I think that Jacques Villeneuve will be the new World Champion this season. He is the next best talent after Schumacher. He demonstrated this by actually doing an amazing over taking manover on the aforementioned Schumacher. William's did well in snapping up this young talent. And with Heinz Harold Frenzen they have an exciting line up.

We here in Britain are also going to have to get used to the commercialism of F1. We have had a change in broadcasters and the new channel will be slapping 2 minute adverts here and there -- right in the middle of all the action. I do not agree with this and wish we could go back to the BBC, but we do have a reprieve: Murray Walker is still commentating... Hooray!

Andy Elliott
ac-elliott@beacon.e-sussex.sch.uk

It appears in my last post here that I mistakenly put down Larini as driving a Tyrrell. I of course know that Larini is the second driver for Sauber and that Tyrrell has Mika Salo and Jos Verstappen as their respective drivers. I thank Jos Seegers for pointing out my error before too many thought I was a complete idiot.

Now, it looks as if some of my analysis for this yet to begin season is off. I have greatly underestimated Prost and Jordan. Both have been impressive in their tests so far. I did not think that Prost would improve so much with what seemed to be so little. This improvement was made before Prost took hold. Prost will probably bring in some more sponsorship and then the team will get even better. Good luck Prost, your team should be quite racey this year. Another win? It's possible if Panis keeps on driving fast and smart.

Now to Jordan. I underestimated everything except the Peugeot engine. The engine has always been good. However, it appears Jordan has a better chassis than I thought they would, previous years seemed to say another mediocre one. Giancarlo Fisichella is proving to me to be a future star, and Ralf Schumacher is no slouch himself in speed. Jordan could pick up a couple podiums. If luck falls their way, a win? Who knows.

Sauber and Stewart should be decent too. Stewart is doing as I expected. Sauber is unproven. They have a good engine, great drivers, and their chassis is usually at worst average. Both teams have good sponsorship too. So far in testing TWR Arrows has not been that impressive. They should end up somewhat competitve at least though. Hill must prove himself to be a good driver. Anyone should do well in the Williams. If HIll stays in the top 10 in qualifying with the Arrows car, he deserved the championship.

Lola is damned with the Ford V8, and it hurts Tyrrell a lot too. Tyrrell has good drivers and usually have at worst an average chassis. Lola should also have a good chassis, they specialize in them. But their engine and drivers are not great at all. We'll see what Rosset and Sospiri can do. Minardi also will be a backmarker. Their chassis will probably be only average, and their driver list isn't awesome. None of them are as good as Fisichella or Lamy. Let's see if Ukyo is any good at all. Can Hart finally get some speed. They do a lot with a little. But it may not be enough for Minardi to pick up a point. Which is too bad, Minardi is my favorite team.

Good luck to all drivers, teams, and crewmembers. I'm looking forward to what your efforts will bring this season to my TV screen. Thank you.

Kevin Wey
terrywey@comic.net

Could somebody wake up Bernie? I just finished reading an article in a British F1 magazine, that as an American, made me furious. Claiming that we Americans "can't or don't want to concentrate" on anything without taking breaks shows, not only his ignorance, but that he needs to be removed from Formula 1 altogether. Further, his statements regarding the safety of our race tracks I take as a personal attack. That we wouldn't ALLOW the FIA to inspect our facilities is ridiculous. I am a licensed course marshall in the Sports Car Club of America and can state with confidence that ALL unsafe conditions are addressed promptly. I also feel that Mid-Ohio, where I participate in Flagging and Communications, is as safe as any facility anywhere. So what if Bernie doesn't like pace cars, I for one don't want to be extricating a driver with a pack of cars bearing down on me at race speed.

I also know of several groups that would LOVE to have a GP but can't get past Mr. Ecclestone and friends. Villenueve's success should prove that CART racing is as much sport as F1, not "lazy racing" as Lauda calls it. I can only pronounce my disappointment in Max Mosley for not trying to bring F1 back to the States.

P.S. Don't judge us by Tony George either. Most of us consider him to be a spoiled rich brat, that when he couldn't get voting rights on CART's board "took his racetrack and went home".

Allen Schutte
aschutte@fuse.net

Gentlemen,

Just two thoughts before this year's F1 battle is truly joined:

1. I think Ferrari has not made the great leap forward that almost everyone expected.

2. It appears to me that Bridgestone is going to give Goodyear fits this year.

If I'm right on either point, it is going to be a very interesting year. I can hardly wait!

Jeff Fisher
j_fisher@mindspring.com

The date of May 1st brings about many memories. I was 18, I was in high school, I was in DeMolay, and Senna died.

There are lots theories as of now. One is that the steering broke, one is that he lifted the gas, thus loosing grip, and even one that he blacked out. The latest is the he hit debris at Tamburello. Where did this fragment hit him? Is this the cause of the apparent hole in his forehead? This is not unlikely considering that he was doing 180mph.

The part that gets me is that Senna could not have made a mistake. I started watching Formula One in 1994 at Brazil, where I saw "God" spin under pressure to catch Schumacher. Is he (Senna) so much of a god that he would not loose grip at a corner?

So, maybe he was great, but think about this. How many times have you said, "I am a great driver" and hit a curb backing up, or turning a corner, or even killing the drive in your standard car? I have, and will continue to do so, so I can only think that when Senna spun at Brazil, he thought "When will I do THIS again, and how will it hurt my chances in the championship?"

I say let it go. We'll never know about the JFK assassination, nor the Senna tragedy. If we must know, as I believe we should, we need to have one of two beliefs. That he died of mechanical or driver error, or this was indeed a conspiracy. If it was a coverup, who benefited? Schumacher indeed did, but Senna was no god, just a talented driver. That's how I will choose to remember Senna.

Steven Daniels
jeanie@brightok.net