No More Rumors

[Speed]

At
From: F1Racing.net
Hockenheim on Thursday, Ove Andersson almost confirmed that next year's Toyota drivers would be Mika Salo and Allan McNish, discounting stories that any of the other 14 drivers that have been connected with team has a chance - including the recently liberated Heinz-Harald Frentzen and McLaren's test driver Alexander Wurz.

"I can only re-confirm what I said to you when we announced the car in Paul Ricard," said Andersson, "that we have Mika Salo as one of the drivers and as far as we are concerned Allan McNish is doing a good job for us now and if this continues I see no reason to change. Principally, we have a very good co-operation, and as I said, he will stay in the team if our co-operation continues at the same level. I would say he's confirmed, yes."

[Peter Mallett]

Originally posted by Speed
At
From: F1Racing.net
..........................................................................................
"I can only re-confirm what I said to you when we announced the car in Paul Ricard," said Andersson, "that we have Mika Salo as one of the drivers and as far as we are concerned Allan McNish is doing a good job for us now and if this continues I see no reason to change. Principally, we have a very good co-operation, and as I said, he will stay in the team if our co-operation continues at the same level. I would say he's confirmed, yes."

And I recall Margeret Thatcher saying "Nigel Lawson's position as Chancellor of the Exchequer is untenable" about two weeks before she sacked him.

Watch this space. Personally I think McNish is a better racer than Salo but there's no telling with teams.

[JeremySmith]

Almost confirmed is just what is say's almost...Allan McNish I believe will do well, even though by todays standards he is getting up there in years..Mika Salo, I am just not convinced is the right call,we will see...

[drexel]

I don't think any of those drivers are really there to bring Toyota to the top (sadly). They will be there in its development years, therefore taking the pressure off the organisation. ie Team is new and the drivers aren't reknowned superstars so you can't expect too much.
If they get someone like Frentzen, it will be down the track when they get to the top of the grid, unless they are extremely confident in their first year.

They won't want a proven driver doing poorly because the perception will be that Toyota is terrible rather than the driver. Just ask Eddie J.

[JeremySmith]

The last part of your post Mr Drexel. Good point! BTW down the road Mr Frentzen will be too old for the task..

[JeremySmith]

From Formula1.Com

The competitive times set by Scottish test driver Allan McNish in recent testing at Barcelona had brought him closer to being offered a racing drive with Toyota next year, when they are expected to participate in their first season of formula1.

However, with yesterday's sacking by Jordan of Heinz-Harald Frentzen , who had earlier been rumoured to have met with the Japanese manufacturer over the possibility of a race drive, he may have to work even harder to land the job that he has strived for all season.

"As far as next year goes," said McNish recently, "the situation is the same. I am waiting for the news."

The 31-year-old Scotsman has always dreamt of breaking into formula1, and had hoped that this year of testing with Toyota would be his chance to impress. His colleague Mika Salo already has a 2002 race drive guaranteed, and at the launch earlier this year it looked as if McNish also stood a good chance of competing for Toyota next year.

At the outfit's launch in March, Toyota Motorsport Group (TMG) boss Ove Andersson stated: "McNish will race with us unless something goes drastically wrong. We have worked with Allan during our Le Mans programme and found him technically excellent and a pleasant person to work with."

However, there were strong rumours that TMG had approached Frentzen with the lucrative offer of a race seat in 2002. The German had declined because of his two-year commitment to Jordan. In June a member of his management team denied links to Toyota when contacted by Formula1.com. "We have a two-year contract with Jordan, which was signed last year, so there is really no foundation to the rumours whatsoever," he said. "We are in the middle of a two-year contract."

Now the German is a free agent, following his very public dismissal from Jordan yesterday (Wednesday) and McNish could face a fight to keep his hopes of racing in formula1 alive. An agent for Frentzen also admitted to formula1.com that they had been in talks with other teams yesterday, but he would not specify which ones.

So far McNish has proved a reliable and consistent member of the team, taking on the full load of their testing schedule when Salo was put out of action for over two months, following a high speed accident in his first test session with Toyota. He also proved nine tenths of a second quicker than Salo at a wet and windy Magny-Cours last week.

Frentzen has stated that he is not ready to leave formula1 behind yet, and said about the possibility of driving for Toyota next season: "Nothing is impossible, and of course, we speak to different people now."

No decisions have been reached by Toyota over their second race seat yet, and they do not have to make any agreements public until they confirm their decision to race in 2002 to the FIA on November 15th

Check this out people...This is such a game.

[Liz]

For the record "untenable" means "not supportable." So Ms. Thatcher was giving warning when she said that his position was untenable.

And remember George McGovern's "I am behind him 1,000%" just before he fired his vice president off the ticket?

I hope Nishy gets the drive because he certainly seems to me to have paid his dues. But you never know until the contract is signed.

[Peter Mallett]

Originally posted by Liz
For the record "untenable" means "not supportable." So Ms. Thatcher was giving warning when she said that his position was untenable.

Whoops. But you get my drift.

(Wanders off to find that hookey copy of Websters)

[bghaw]

Hey Liz, even with a contract, one's job is never secure, as we all learned this season... ho hum.

[bella]

i really like allan mcnish, and i think he should get that drive. however, i have a nasty feeling heinz harald's going to be 'parachuted' (to coin another politicians phrase) into this project to give it a bit more credibility.

[EERO]

I suspect McNish's drive is safe. Its just a hunch, but I think he and Salo will be on the Grid in Melbourne next March.

Frentzen's fate will surprise us all.