Formula One Ready to Hit the Road Again

Formula One's hibernation has ended and the roar of V10 engines will be heard once again next week, reverberating around racetracks at full throttle.

Two teams, newcomers Toyota and British American Racing (BAR), have already unveiled their new cars and are ready to hit the road with them. Jaguar follow their example on Friday at their Milton Keynes factory in central England and will be heading to Barcelona immediately after the launch of the R3 to start serious testing on Monday.

A team spokesman said the R2 would be used at first, with some 2002 parts on it, with the new car likely to get its first outing next Tuesday. Team principal Niki Lauda, a three-times World Champion but now 52 years old, is scheduled to test it himself on the following weekend at the Valencia track.

McLaren, Jordan and Toyota will also be in Barcelona with the Japanese debutants finally able to assess their car against rival machines. The factories may remain silent on New Year's Day but January 1 has been marked on everyone's calendar as the end of the official testing ban imposed after 2001's final race in Japan on October 14.

Toyota alone were given an extra month, as newcomers. Since then the drivers have had to do what they can to sharpen their skills, unable to put miles behind them in testing for what has seemed to some an interminable break and to others a much-needed respite.

Extended Holiday

Ferrari's four-times World Champion Michael Schumacher has competed in some fairly serious kart races but has been enjoying an extended family holiday and is unlikely to report back for duty at Maranello until the latter part of January.

Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper reported that the German was expected to resume testing between January 19 and 21 at Spain's Valencia circuit after Ferrari's annual skiing excursion in Madonna di Campiglio. Brazilian teammate Rubens Barrichello will also enjoy more time with his young family.

But the champions can still count on Brazilian Luciano Burti, signed up as a second test driver alongside their Italian regular Luca Badoer, to put in the miles. Badoer has at least driven the Ferrari since the end of the season, entertaining fans with a brief demonstration at the Bologna motor show in December.

Like most teams, Ferrari will start testing with last year's car plus a few development additions. However Schumacher assured fans at the weekend that he expected the team to start the new season in Australia on March 3 with the 2002 car.

New Faces

Three newcomers will be able to step up their pre-season preparations - Japan's Takuma Sato at Jordan, Scotland's Allan McNish at Toyota and Brazilian Felipe Massa at Sauber. Sato has already driven last year's EJ11 car, getting in it last month at Silverstone with International Automobile Federation (FIA) permission for a film shoot to promote the team's EJ10 sports drink.

The Japanese has also driven Formula Three cars since the end of the season, including 86 familiarisation laps at Interlagos in Brazil. McLaren will be at Barcelona from Monday with Finland's Kimi Raikkonen getting his first taste of the 2001 car after switching from Ferrari-powered Sauber.

The 22-year-old Raikkonen has so far got no closer than having his seat fitting at the team's factory while Scotland's David Coulthard, the 2001 runner-up, knows the set-up well. Other new faces could also be in the pipeline once Prost's financial fate is decided, with Arrows and Minardi yet to confirm their line-ups.

Prost, in receivership and looking unlikely to make the starting grid, have given themselves a January 14 deadline to find a rescuer with deep pockets. That means that German Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who may or may not have already agreed a deal with Arrows after ending the season at Prost, could also be back on track soon.