By Huw Alban
April 27 2002

At 08:00 today came the official announcement from the OrangeArrows team that all Jos Verstappen fans have been dreading - "Frentzen and Bernoldi to race for OrangeArrows in 2002". This ends months of speculation, but now Jos Verstappen will be looking for another drive. The official team announcement came in the form of a quote from team boss Tom Walkinshaw.

"We're very pleased that Heinz-Harald is joining the team. He is a recognised top-line driver and has proved his mettle by winning three Grands Prix during his career. We are at an important stage in the development of OrangeArrows and feel that Heinz-Harald has the necessary experience to help us move forward."

Heinz-Harald Frentzen will get to drive the new Cosworth A23 today at the Valencia test, alongside team mate Enrique Bernoldi. "I'm very much looking forward to racing for OrangeArrows", was Frentzen's comment on todays news. "The team has a fantastic facility and a lot of very talented and dedicated people. All the ingredients are there to take a major step forward and I'm convinced we will be successful."

The official team announcement also stated that Arrows had "company with Dutch driver, Jos Verstappen."

It's a very sad day for all Jos Verstappen fans who passionately wanted to see Jos Verstappen drive the Orange and black cars, but alas it was not to be. This site will also miss the Dutchman's fans - I have enjoyed the banter with you all, and wish you all the best where Jos ends up driving next. As a result of today's announcement the Jos Verstappen Fan Campaign will be removed - thank you to all you made the effort to sign it. I'm sorry that we were unable to make a difference - but at least we all tried.