Signs look good for some Arrows action in Germany

But he said ‘no’?
By Huw Alban
July 25 2002

It is very hard to write a preview for the German Grand Prix as this site has no idea whether the team will compete or not. All the signs suggest that the team will have a normal weekend at Hockenheim, but there are a couple of chinks despite all the positive news.

Germany 2001 was a difficult affair for Arrows, but at least the team managed to get two cars to the finish. The result was largely due to the massive retirements encountered by the rest of the field, but the team took this in good spirit, pleased that their cars were among the few that finished the race. The 2001 race was one of the few where fans got to see both the Arrows drivers competing with each other – although it was a bit nervy to watch on TV.

So far for this year the signs have been positive for the German Grand Prix. In the FIA press conference today Heinz-Harald Frentzen talked about his team being ready. “I think we are ready to do this race in Hockenheim,” the German driver said today.

“We are going to plan everything as normal and I think we’re racing here, so preparation has been good. The cars are ready and we’re looking forward to it.

“I think Tom is trying to do all he can to keep the team together and I think that, for everybody in the team, it is a difficult time,” Frentzen added, apparently evading a question about whether he had been paid for his services.

“We are trying to solve this problem, we are trying to do our best as well as we can,” Frentzen concluded.

To add to this have been unsubstantiated reports that Heinz-Harald has told Tom Walkinshaw that he will not race for the team in Germany. The reasons are unclear, and there has been no official statement from the team. This site believes that fans should focus on what is real (i.e. Frentzen’s comments in the press conference today) and ignore the rest. The team’s position will become clear tomorrow at 10:00 UK time when the first practice gets under way.