The modern track is not that great either, though a downpour of Biblical proportions created one of the best races of last season with Heinz-Harald Frentzen winning for Jordan.July 16: Austrian Grand Prix (Spielberg) The A-1 Ring is as boring as its sounds and not a patch on its predecessor, the Osterreichring. Though don’t tell Irvine that as he triumphed last year in his first race as team leader in the absence of Michael Schumacher.July 30: German Grand Prix (Hockenheim) Over 100,000 fans pack into Hockenheim’s famous stadium section each year hoping to see their hero Michael Schumacher triumph, though he has managed to do so just once so far. That aside, the locals’ main interest is seeing how many empty beer cans they can hang in the nearby trees.August 13: Hungarian Grand Prix (Budapest) The Hungaroring in August is often hot and humid and its amphitheatre style arena offers great viewing for the suntanned spectators, though they rarely see any overtaking. It’s where Nigel Mansell wrapped up the championship in 1992 and Damon Hill so nearly won in 1997 for Arrows.August 27: Belgian Grand Prix (Spa-Francorchamps) Probably the best circuit on the modern F1 calendar and certainly the favourite of most drivers with the awe-inspiring Eau Rouge section and La Source where 13 cars were involved in a massive shunt in 1998 and Hill picked his way through the debris to give Jordan its maiden win.September 10: Italian Grand Prix (Monza) Monza’s famous banked bends may lie in disrepair alongside a section of the new track, but the place breathes motor racing. It’s where the tifosi, Ferrari’s fans, are at their most passionate though there was no compassion as Mika Hakkinen’s tears flowed after he slid out last year.September 24: United States Grand Prix (Indianapolis) Formula One is back in the United States after a nine-year gap and its fitting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway should host the first race though only about half of the famous banked oval will be put to use, the rest of the circuit has been created in the infield.October 8: Japanese Grand Prix (Suzuka) So often the venue for the thrilling season climax, Suzuka has lost that honour to Malaysia. Its unique figure-of-eight lay-out makes it one of the classic venues while the enthusiasm of the locals for Formula One has to be seen to be believed.October 22: Malaysian Grand Prix (Kuala Lumpur) Malaysia arrived on the calendar with a bang last year – even without the post-race controversy over Ferrari’s barge-boards.

The state-of-the art Sepang circuit set a standard others will have to follow The race was not that bad either.. Jenson Button will emerge as Formula One’s bright new star this season, according to former grand prix ace John Watson. Jenson Button will emerge as Formula One’s bright new star this season, according to former grand prix ace John Watson.
Watson has dismissed the fears of ex-world champions Jackie Stewart and Jody Scheckter who believe the 20-year-old should have delayed his entry into motor racing’s big time.Button will become the youngest British driver and the fifth youngest in history when he makes his debut for Williams BMW in the season opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne tomorrow week.”If Jenson is given the opportunity to learn and gets enough track time I have no doubt he will be a little star this year and go on to be a big star in the future,” said Watson.”I don’t agree with what a lot of people have been saying about Jenson. I am far more positive.”It’s strange that Scheckter says that Jenson is too young for Formula One but is quite happy for his son, Tomas, who unlike Button has not yet even competed in a F3 race, to accept a test drive with Jaguar.”Labelling him a rare breed of driver, Watson added: “Jenson has the space and time to drive the car really fast, but also the ability to take on board all the information around him on how the car is performing and report that back to the team.”He will be under pressure in the first race in Australia, that’s for sure.”But Jenson seems able to accept the responsibility and pressures of being a young man driving a very powerful grand prix car for a very professional team like Williams.Watson described Jenson’s test drive with Prost as brilliant.”It was all new to him, but Jenson did things in a car that only an experienced driver would have been expected to do,” said Watson.”Within a short period of time he had gone quicker than Jean Alesi and Nick Heidfeld had managed to do in the car. Prost were very keen to have him.”Four-time world champion Alain Prost offered Button a test drive for this season with the likelihood of a promotion to F1 next year, but within days of that Frank Williams had come calling.Button, who has been racing in single-seaters for just two seasons, will be one of four Brits lining-up on the grid in Melbourne’s Albert Park.McLaren’s David Coulthard carries the best hope of a title challenge, though the contest for supremacy between Johnny Herbert and Eddie Irvine at Jaguar Racing could be the more enthralling.Coulthard, who has hat-trick chasing Mika Hakkinen as team-mate, and Irvine have not turned a wheel in anger yet this season but have already re-opened their war of words of last year.Monaco-based Coulthard has claimed that Rubens Barrichello would be a better driver for Ferrari than Irvine who was replaced despite missing out on the title in the last race.”Barrichello is a better all-round driver than Eddie,” said Coulthard “He’s more professional in the way he goes about things. You’d rely on him because he is more dedicated.”But Irvine hit back, saying that Coulthard cost his team the manufacturers’ championship to Ferrari last year when he retired from the race in Japan.”DC should really concentrate on not spinning off in the last race every year and losing the constructors’ championship for his team.

I’m professional enough not to do that.”I keep reading that David is saying this is the season he intends to win the championship, but he says that every year. He’s just not quick enough.”Irvine, who missed out on the title by just two points, admits a championship challenge in unlikely in his first year with the Jaguar – formerly Stewart – team.The Northern Ireland born racer faces a mighty battle with Herbert who is determined to see off a team-mate who joined in an £18million three-year deal.. If anyone in Ireland was uncertain as to Italy’s attitude towards today’s Six Nations match at Lansdowne Road they only had to see the Azzurri crawling through a hedge yesterday in order to gain access to some football pitches for a loosening-up session following their flight from Rome. If anyone in Ireland was uncertain as to Italy’s attitude towards today’s Six Nations match at Lansdowne Road they only had to see the Azzurri crawling through a hedge yesterday in order to gain access to some football pitches for a loosening-up session following their flight from Rome.
And if that was not enough, their coach, Brad Johnstone, revealed that the forwards had been practising 90 scrums every day – around 20 more than their usual quota – for the last week, in readiness for what is anticipated to be a titanic battle which is likely to be won and lost up front.But there has also been a good deal of confusion surrounding the Italian preparations. Three times in the previous 24 hours they had named their team, the last one finally being settled on yesterday morning, at just about the time when it was discovered that the Aer Lingus rugby pitch earmarked for their brief work-out was waterlogged.Undeterred, the New Zealander Johnstone led his players to some nearby football pitches, access to which was via a gate, but several players opted for the short-cut through the boundary hedge.There will be no short cuts today though.

And if Ireland get as fired up as only they can then the Italians will finish the game looking as if they have been dragged backwards through that self-same hedge.But Ireland’s record against Italy – at home and away – is abysmal. In the four games since March 1995, Ireland have won once, last year in Dublin, and on two of those occasions they have leaked 37 points.No wonder the Ireland captain, Keith Wood, admitted yesterday: “I would have to say that I am pretty nervous at the moment and the team will be nervous too.”We have been so unimpressive against the Italians over the last few years – a 25 per cent return from those four matches is very poor – that we anticipate a very tough battle.”We do not have a divine right to beat Italy It is going to be really tough and really physical. Presumably we are favourites for the match, and I’d like to be favourites going in to every match and winning every match – that would be the ideal situation.”But we are not used to that situation. We have not been made favourites for any match for a long while.

We need to have a really great performance to have any chance of winning. We will have to play as if our lives depended on it.”Their team places will certainly be on the line. The Ireland coach, Warren Gatland, like Johnstone a Kiwi, expects a physical match and will be looking for an improvement from his side on their performance against Scotland.Two weeks ago they went 10-0 down in the opening quarter of the game and then, having scored 44 unanswered points, let in Scotland for two tries in the last 10 minutes. “Early on and late in the game – those are two areas in which I will be expecting to see an improvement,” Gatland said.