This is the time of year they ...

Published on 14 July 1998 by Verstappen Info Page

This is the time of year they call the Silly Season. According to the rumours every driver is talking to every team. Part of it is true, and part of it isn't. Ofcourse drivers and teams start to be on the lookout for a link for next year. One of the more serious rumours is about Jean Alesi who is said to have received an offer to join Prost next season. He would become Jarno Trulli's partner because Prost allegedly won't continue with Olivier Panis. Engine supplier Peugeot forces the team to have at least one French driver so Jean Alesi is the only serious possibility.

Jan Magnussen, recently laid off by the Stewart team, is rumoured to be the reserve driver for Benetton for the rest of the season. It won't be an official link but the team likes to have a driver on stand-by just in case. Just recently the team had declared that they wouldn't have a test driver for the rest of this season after Jos Verstappen teamed up with Stewart.

The FIA has admitted that the race stewards made a number of mistakes at the British Grand Prix when applying the penalty to the Ferrari team for Michael Schumacher's alleged mistake in lap 43. The penalty wouldn't have affected the race outcome and so McLaren's hope of fighting the decision is most likely in vain. The hearing is expected to take place in Austria on July 24.