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                  *** February 14th 1996 ***
                   ***  Issue Number 13 ***
                        4 Weeks To Go
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                        In This Issue


           *Hill Off At Estoril
           *MP4/11 Debuts
           *Villeneuve Won't Help Hill
           *Hakkinen Looking Promising
           *Williams Launch FW18
           *Benetton Still Troubled
           *Tyrrell 024 Looking Good
           *No News From Forti
           *Delayed Release For Arrows
           *Ferrari Due Soon



Hill Off At Estoril

Damon Hill slid off a wet track at Estoril when his brakes failed in a
corner. Hill was driving the new FW18 and was unhurt in the off, the car
sustained no damage either. Bad weather at Estoril is hampering testing.
After his spin Hill completed his 30 lap test session with a best time of
1.36.53




MP4/11 Debuts

Alain Prost drove the new McLaren MP4/11 on Saturday, before the car was
officially launched on Sunday. The MP4/11 is a completely new car, Ron
Dennis said that  "normally you would get a 25% carry over from your old
car to a new one, more if it is an evolution. The MP4/11 has perhaps 7.5%
of the MP4/10."
Alain Prost was said to be very pleased with the car, adding that it
"responded very well to changes made to it", which is the hallmark of a
great GP car.
To look at, the car is very different from last years model. The very
pointed nose has gone in favour of a squared off chisel shaped one. The
higher cockpit sides give the car a much more stylish profile, one which is
accentuated by the Red and White colouring of the McLaren. It looks good,
let's hope it goes well.
On shakedown tests Prost managed a time of 1.22.99.




Villeneuve Won't Help Hill

Jacques Villeneuve has said that he is not in the Williams team to help
Hill. He is there to win races for himself. He has also commented on the
"roughness" of F1 and stated that he was willing to give as good as he
gets.




Hakkinen Looking Promising

Week by week,  Mika Hakkinen continues to recover at a remarkable rate. His
behind closed doors test session at Paul Ricard ended with a fastest lap of
1.07.1. It is looking increasingly likely that he may be able participate
in the Australian GP.




Wiliams launch FW18

The Williams FW18 evolution of the FW17 was formally launched on Monday
morning. Both Jacques Villeneuve and Damon Hill have praised the car and
look forward to testing it fully. The new RS8 engine from Renault is also
said to be a significant improvement over last year.



Benetton Still Troubled

Benetton are still sorting out teething troubles with the B196. A string of
glitches have interrupted their Estoril testing session. Alesi was dogged
by electrical and then gearbox problems. He did complete his test session
(eventually) and recorded a best time of 1.22.37. Berger took over the car
from Alesi, and he too suffered minor mechanical problems. Berger only
managed a total of 12 laps and recorded a best time of 1.23.90. On a more
positive note, Gerhard was happy with the B196 and said that he was
comfortable in the cockpit. The B195 was too small for him !!




Tyrrell 024 Looking Good

The new Tyrrell continues to impress the F1 world. Mika Salo managed a
fastest time of 1.21.66 at Estoril, compared to his 1995 qualifying time of
1.23.94. Two seconds is a very impressive increase.Katayama also posted a
much improved time of 1.22.29 again almost (well almost exactly actually !)
two seconds faster than his 1995 qualifying time (1.24.287). If the Tyrrell
car really is two seconds faster it will be qualifying on the front three
rows of most GP. The most impressive aspect of the Tyrrell times is that
none of the other teams have shown such an improvement. Villeneuve posted a
fastest lap of 1.21.51 at Estoril last week, compared to Coulthard's 1995
pole position qualifying time of 1.20.537.




No News From Forti

Forti have still not named their second driver,(anyone got a few spare
weekends this summer ??). The smart money is on Luca Badoer, especially as
Gianni Morbidelli is no longer in the frame.




Delayed Release For Arrows

The FA17 was due to be released today (Feb 14th) but it now looks like it
will be delayed by a few days. Jackie Oliver is said to be confident that
it we be unveiled this week.




Ferrari Due Soon

The overdue Ferrari 410T is set for its official launch tomorrow (Thursday
15th). Production delays are blamed for the cars late arrival.

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None of these articles are guaranteed 100% true, accurate or correct. We
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contradicted by next weeks, such is life :-)
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