Tom has taken a lot of stick on this sites message board today over the decision to release Jos Verstappen from his 2002 contract and replace him with Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Tom says that, "Heinz-Harald has the necessary experience to help us move forward," but the majority of fans feel cheated.

As well as commenting on why the team made the driver switch, Walkinshaw has also been setting the record straight on the teams decision to leave testing so late, and how he feels about his teams latest creation.

"The entire factory has put in a lot of hours in the last few months", Walkinshaw commented in the OrangeArrows Valencia test press release today.

"With the test ban in December we had to concentrate our efforts on off-track testing, the bulk of which was done in our wind tunnel in Bedford. We decided against running an interim car in January as we wanted to concentrate fully on the new chassis and I think this will pay off in the long run.

"I've seen the A23 running and talked to the drivers, the designers and the engineers and so far the signs are good but we won't know for sure until we get to Melbourne. Our hope is that we can continue where we left off in 2000 and put the 2001 season behind us. We're very pleased with our new relationship with Cosworth and delighted to be carrying on with Bridgestone as we have always had a very good relationship."

I have to admit that I share Tom's optimistic view at this point. The new car looks very purposefull and with Cosworth power driving it has the outward potential to do the team proud. Heinz-Harald Frentzen is a seasoned race driver, and I'm sure will enjoy the friendly atmosphere at Arrows. Perhaps 2002 will turn out all right after all...

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