LATEST NEWS ON MICHAEL SCHUMACHER - JULY 17 1999

What has been established so far, is that the accident was caused by a sudden loss of pressure in the rear brake circuit. This was due to the loosening of a brake bleed nipple on the left rear caliper. The reason for this loosening of the nipple has not yet been established.

This component had been checked as part of the Saturday evening race preparation and there had been no subsequent servicing of that part. The data shows no problem either in the warm up or indeed in the braking manoeuvres for the first half lap of the race.

Ferrari will continue to try to establish the reasons for this failure.

Michael quickly recovers from accident
Michael Schumacher spent a night in Northampton General Hospital after his accident. On July 13 Schumacher was seen by the medical team, who declared themselves very happy with the progress their patient had made. Movement in Schumacher's right ankle and knee is improving and he now only needs minimum amounts of pain killers. After being examined Schumacher was discharged from the Northampton hospital.

It is thought that he will take about 3 months to recover fully from the incident. This would coincide would the last two races of the season; Malaysia and Japan. His championship chances are now, obviously gone. However, he is said to be upbeat about the situation. I imagine that his wife Corinna and their two children will be happy to have him at home for a while.

Mika Salo & Eddie Irvine to challenge McLaren
Mika Salo will take over the no. 3 Ferrari for the time being until Michael is ready to race. This effectively hands Eddie Irvine the no. 1 driver seat. He is only 8 points behind Hakkinen in the drivers' championship so anything could happen. We will keep you informed, as ever.

Designed & maintained by caint.com