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Source: IRS News
Date: March 4
Subject: Ron Walker continued attacks
Australian Grand Prix chief Ron Walker continued his scathing attacks on German Michael Schumacher on Tuesday during an acrimonious build-up to Sunday's season-opening race. Walker, chairman of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, began his verbal assault on the Ferrari driver on Monday after Schumacher had allegedly criticised the Albert Park circuit.
He maintained his criticism on Tuesday when he appeared on the Channel Seven television news and stood by his descriptions of Schumacher as an overpaid "good-looking prima donna" who was scared of rival Jacques Villeneuve of Canada winning this year's title race. Double world champion Michael Schumacher, reported to be on holiday in Queensland where he is acclimatising ahead of the race, did not respond as Walker raged on, endorsing his earlier published comments. "I expect better form from a sportsman of Schumacher's calibre, who I believe earns in excess of $30 million (U.S.) a year, than to blame our world-class circuit with six passing spots, more than most tracks in the world," he said.
Schumacher had been quoted in the local Herald Sun daily on Monday, saying the Albert Park track was "nothing special" and could be improved both with greater safety measures and better overtaking opportunities. But, Walker told Channel Seven, the track was one of the best in the world and had been approved by all the top teams and the top administrators in the sport. He added that the plans for the track were left unchanged in 1994 following the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola. "He doesn't have the right to make these remarks," said Walker, who added that Formula One's ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone would be "speaking to him when he gets here".
Ecclestone was quoted from London in the Herald Sun on Tuesday saying that Schumacher had been "talking a load of rubbish. It's probably the safest track in the world. He's talking complete nonsense...If he personally doesn't like it, he should go home".
Few team members in the sparsely-populated paddock on Tuesday had anything to add to what they saw as a media-created story. McLaren's British driver David Coulthard said: "If anyone is qualified to given an opinion on track safety, it is Michael. He's an exceptional driver and anyone who thinks otherwise needs his head testing." The new Stewart-Ford team's chairman, triple world champion Jackie Stewart, said: "Racing drivers are highly-strung. They are a different animal to the rest of us."