for Barrichello and Coulthard to race fairly as both drivers were ordered by their teams to assist their teammates in the Championship battle. Following the United States Grand Prix on 24 September, the teams conducted testing sessions at various racing circuits across Europe between 26 and 29 September to prepare for the Grand Prix. McLaren's test driver Olivier Panis flew to the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours to undertake preparations for Suzuka and development work on their 2001 car. Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer spent two days at the Fiorano Circuit testing mechanical components and ran on an artificially wet track for testing of Bridgestone's wet weather tyre compounds. Williams, with rookie competitor Jenson Button, went to the Circuito do Estoril for two days and tried wet weather tyres and different aerodynamic configurations. Prost travelled to Magny-Cours and their test driver Stéphane Sarrazin collected three days of chassis design data for the upcoming AP04 chassis. Benetton opted to not test but their test driver Mark Webber tried developments at the Circuit de Catalunya that were incorporated into their 2001 car. At the drivers meeting held the Friday afternoon before the event, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Race Director Charlie Whiting announced that any potential blocking manoeuvres that interfered with the World Championship battle would result in a driver being shown a waved black and white flag to indicate unsportsmanlike conduct, before giving a black flag to signal disqualification from the race. The penalty also had a potential ban for up to three Formula One World Championship events for any driver found to have breached the new ruling. Ralf Schumacher agreed with the penalties. However, McLaren team principal Ron Dennis was more vocal in opposing the new rules as he believed they were arbitrary and were against choosing team tactics. He was also unhappy with the inclusion of Italian lawyer Roberto Causo as a race steward because Dennis held the view that any decision would be biased towards Ferrari. Some teams had made modifications to their cars in preparation for the event but, with two races of the season remaining, several squads instead focused on developing the cars that they would enter for the 2001 season. Ferrari introduced a new rectangular shaped front wing to replace their arrow-shaped front wing. Honda introduced a more powerful version of its V10 engine for Saturday's qualifying session and the race. Sauber brought lighter components