Damon Hill showed optimism as he unveiled the blue and white Arrows-Yamaha A18 together with team-mate Pedro Diniz in Birmingham (England) today: "I think it's a sexy little number. I've got a great winning record and there's no reason I can't win a Grand Prix in this car. I've had a good period celebrating the championship , but now I've had enough champagne and I'm raring to go again. There's every opportunity for this team to do extremely well, but I'm also under no illusions." He added however: "I don't see why I can't win. The car's very slim, very impressive and I was very excited when I saw it last night."

The Arrows A-18: photo by Arrows International

Giancarlo Fisichella has signed a two year contract with the Jordan-Peugeot team. The Italian driver will team up with Ralf Schumacher, who will get a hard time staying ahead of Fisichella. Fisichella drove some races for Minardi last season and showed some pretty impressive things.

Martin Brundle, who was hoping for a Jordan drive again in 1997, may quit Formula One now because there are no seats left. The Briton said: "I am very, very disappointed. It's a strange decision. They already had one inexperienced driver: now they got two."

The British Silverstone circuit is improved this season so that it is faster and safer.

Copse Corner is re-shaped while Priory, Booklands and Luffield Loop are totally rebuild. The circuit is resurfaced. The project has cost about 4.5 million pounds.

Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher was unable to continue testing the new Ferrari F310b because of heavy snow at their home track at Maranello. The tests scheduled for the rest of the week are now also cancelled.

The contract of the designer of the F310b, John Barnard, ends at the end of this year. He is already linked to a new team run by Alain Prost, if Prost get's it off the ground. Barnard was expected to go when Ross Brawn came from Benetton to Ferrari just before Christmas last year. Barnard however wants to stay with Ferrari and has already started talks: "I want to stay in Formula One and I would like to continue working with Ferrari. But I cannot say yet what the future will hold. I would be very interested in working with Alain, but that is altogether another matter. For now, I am hoping to form a good relationship with Ross (Brawn) and to work well with him. I think he will be taking some of the weight off my shoulders!"

Ross Brawn said about going to Ferrari and teaming up with Michael Schumacher again: "We know each other well and have worked successfully before, but Michael was not the reason I took this job. I came here because I wanted to take the opportunity. It was as simple as that, now I am looking forward to working with John (Barnard) and everyone else. I can see plenty of scope already."

After the Grand Prix of Canada to be in doubt it's now the turn of the Belgium Grand Prix. The Government of Wallonia, the French speaking part of Belgium, warned that the GP might be threatened by a new law banning tobacco legislation just like in Canada. Robert Collignon, social premier of Wallonia, said he would do everything he can to ditch the law or at least modify it. The law was approved by the Belgium parlement last Tuesday and will come into play on January 1, 1999.

Teams who are going to use Bridgestone tyres this season may make the season very surprising and interesting. Ligier and Benetton were testing at Jerez (Spain) over the last two days. Olivier Panis, in the Ligier with Bridgestone tyres, was substantially faster, on a wet and on a dry track, than both Gerhard Berger, in the 1996 Benetton with Goodyear tyres, and Jean Alesi, in 1997 car.