Arrows hopeful of engine extension.
The stirring performances of the Arrows A21 has given the team hope that it may secure a Supertec engine deal for the future.
The Leafield outfit has used the current, uprated, Supertec unit to good effect this season and, although it has yet to score a championship point, has racked up impressive speed trap figures and testing performances. Both Pedro de la Rosa and Jos Verstappen have qualified in the top ten - a far cry from the back of the grid showings of 1999 - and team boss Tom Walkinshaw is confident of securing an extension to his engine contract.
The stirring performances of the Arrows A21 has given the team hope that it may secure a Supertec engine deal for the future.
The Leafield outfit has used the current, uprated, Supertec unit to good effect this season and, although it has yet to score a championship point, has racked up impressive speed trap figures and testing performances. Both Pedro de la Rosa and Jos Verstappen have qualified in the top ten - a far cry from the back of the grid showings of 1999 - and team boss Tom Walkinshaw is confident of securing an extension to his engine contract.
''If Supertec decides to have a second team next year, we have first option on that supply,'' he revealed in Spain last weekend, ''I hope to have a decision on that in the next few weeks.''
The situation is clouded slightly by the return of Renault, on whose engines the Supertec unit is based. The Regie will return with a works outfit in 2002, having bought out the Benetton team in March. Benetton uses Playlife-badged Supertec engines, and is considered to be the French company's number one customer.
