Grapevine: Silly Season Update

Following the Hungarian Grand Prix, both the Drivers' and the Constructors' Championships are decided, but the silly season is still moving at full swing to see who will fill the final places in the 2002 drivers line-up.

Earlier this week, the Jordan and Benetton announced Italians Giancarlo Fisichella and Jarno Trulli would trade places, confirming something that had been rumoured for some time.

Following the announcement, few top seats are yet to be filled, and Mika Hakkinen's future is certainly the most interesting point. The Finn's manager Keke Rosberg suggested on Wednesday that Hakkinen would be staying for one more year at the team from Woking, but there is still nothing certain.

"I would not be on a holiday at this moment if there was something unclear in Mika Hakkinen's agreement with McLaren," Rosberg said. "The fact that McLaren have not published their continuation agreement with Mika has nothing to do with Mika."

However, on Friday a Mercedes-Benz spokesperson refuted Rosberg's claims that everything is already settled, saying that "there is nothing new regarding the drivers" and that Rosberg's statement was only "a personal opinion."

According to reports in the German media, Hakkinen could be replaced by compatriot Kimi Raikkonen in exchange for Mercedes-Benz engines for the Sauber team, who currently use Ferrari customer untis.

Raikkonen, 21, has impressed in 2001, having scored nine points despite entering Formula One with only 23 single-seater races under his belt.

Having filled one of their seats for 2002, the Jordan team are yet to announce who will drive alongside Fisichella next year, but if Jean Alesi performs in the remaining four races of the season, the veteran Frenchman is expected to end his career driving for his friend Eddie Jordan.

Arrows are also yet to decide who will partner Dutchman Jos Verstappen next season, following an announcement from team boss Tom Walkinshaw suggesting that Brazilian Enrique Bernoldi will leave the Leafield-based outfit at the end of this season.

"Enrique has done a good job of it and he's improved throughout the season as well," Walkinshaw told sports.com. "But we want the best possible driver as Jos's team-mate in 2002 and we expect to make an announcement concerning that at Monza.

"It all depends on the drivers first and who eventually makes themselves available to us."