Mar.25 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has admitted he is expecting a “tough weekend” in Malaysia. The Spaniard is undoubtedly right. As he watched the season opener on TV from his home in Dubai almost two weeks ago, Alonso’s McLaren-Honda substitute Kevin Magnussen qualified dead last and then broke down even before he got to the grid. […]
Month: March 2015
Barrichello ‘fell asleep’ during 2015 opener
Mar.25 (GMM) A trio of former F1 drivers are hoping the 2015 season opener was just a blip. In Australia, Sauber battled for survival in court with Giedo van der Garde while Manor never left the pits, before the smallest field in recent memory set the scene for what Daniel Ricciardo called a “boring” race […]
Lotus slammed for latest ‘bank account development’ driver
Mar.25 (GMM) Lotus is once again taking criticism after naming another ‘development driver’. A month ago, the Enstone team signed up Carmen Jorda, a 26-year-old female driver, to attend races, work in the simulator and even test the new E23 car. But after never rising above 28th place in her three GP3 championship campaigns so […]
Hockenheim denies blame for German GP demise
Mar.25 (GMM) Hockenheim and Bernie Ecclestone on Wednesday denied responsibility for the demise of the historic German grand prix. The Nurburgring was scheduled to host this year’s July 19 race, but confusion regarding the ownership of the fabled track moved Ecclestone to observe in January: “It can’t be Nurburgring because there’s nobody there”. Talks, then, […]
Renault still hitting back at Red Bull
Mar.25 (GMM) Renault has continued to hit back amid suggestions its turbo V6 ‘power unit’ is the only reason for Red Bull’s 2015 struggle. The French marque’s F1 chief Cyril Abiteboul on Tuesday blasted Red Bull designer Adrian Newey, accusing the Briton of “lying” about the RB11’s only weakness being its engine. However, Abiteboul does […]
Hamilton says new Mercedes deal now close
Mar.25 (GMM) The end of Lewis Hamilton’s protracted negotiations with Mercedes over a new deal beyond 2015 may finally be close. The reigning world champion has conducted his own talks with the German marque, amid swirling rumours of contact with Ferrari, and reports Hamilton recently bought one of the Maranello marque’s rare and expensive LaFerrari […]
F1 set for first wet race of 2015
Mar.24 (GMM) F1 looks to be heading into its first wet race of the season. The current weekend forecast for Sepang indicates a high probability of rain and afternoon storms, even though the weather is notoriously difficult to predict in Kuala Lumpur. Easier to predict, however, is that if it does rain at Sepang, it […]
Hakkinen ‘expected more’ from Raikkonen
Mar.24 (GMM) Mika Hakkinen says he was disappointed with the performance of his countryman Kimi Raikkonen in Australia. When he retired at the end of 2001, Hakkinen recommended McLaren sign Raikkonen to replace him, telling Ron Dennis ‘If you want to win, get the Finn’. Raikkonen won races at McLaren and the title at Ferrari […]
Marko says Max Mosley would fix F1
Mar.24 (GMM) As F1 speeds towards its next battleground, the debate about the very future of the sport will also resume in Malaysia. After the Melbourne opener, Red Bull furiously slammed the current regulations and threatened to pull out if they are not changed soon. “According to our research,” Dr Helmut Marko told Speed Week, […]
Renault accuses Red Bull of ‘lying’
Mar.24 (GMM) Renault’s relationship with works team Red Bull continues to crumble. Cyril Abiteboul, chief of the French carmaker’s F1 engine programme, on Tuesday accused Red Bull technical boss Adrian Newey of lying. He admits that Renault is struggling at the start of 2015, insisting: “I am not looking for excuses”. But he said it […]
Bottas ‘back to normal’ – manager
Mar.24 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas’ manager on Tuesday said he expects the Finn to return to action this weekend in Malaysia. After sitting out Melbourne with his injured lower back and recovering in Indonesia last week, the 25-year-old Finn arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday. He will be at the Sepang circuit on Wednesday. It emerges, […]
Verstappen feared GP2 would ‘stall’ career
Mar.24 (GMM) Max Verstappen says he jumped at the chance to become F1’s youngest-ever race driver for fear his career would otherwise stall. The 17-year-old, whose meteoric rise from karts to formula one within a year has been highly controversial, also received an offer from Mercedes in 2014. The German marque offered to make Verstappen […]
Rumour – Alonso’s steering ‘locked’ before crash?
Mar.24 (GMM) The cause of Fernando Alonso’s mysterious Barcelona testing crash may now be clearer. Until now, McLaren-Honda has insisted the incident that sidelined its star driver for more than a month was not due to a technical failure. Indeed, as recently as Monday, the British team said an exhaustive investigation showed “nothing” abnormal in […]
Silver lining for McLaren is good chassis
Mar.24 (GMM) A silver lining for struggling McLaren-Honda could be the cornering ability of the new MP4-30 car. After Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen qualified dead last in Melbourne, some estimates put the team’s power deficit to pacesetters Mercedes at as much as 150-200 horse power. But the silver lining could be the chassis. “The […]
Sepang ‘not satisfied’ with new F1 deal
Mar.24 (GMM) As the F1 circus touches down in Malaysia, it is possible this week’s race will be the seventeenth and last at Sepang. Early this year, Malaysian race officials travelled to London to discuss their expiring contract with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone. Now, on the eve of the 2015 edition, a deal for next […]
Young athletes is ‘global trend’ – Verstappen
Mar.23 (GMM) F1 is simply adjusting to the new “global trend” of younger athletes. That is the claim of Max Verstappen, who in Melbourne shattered the old record to become the youngest race driver in the history of the sport. The old record was held by Jaime Alguersuari, who was 19 when he made his […]
Alonso, Bottas, Manor all hoping to race
Mar.23 (GMM) McLaren on Monday confirmed reports Fernando Alonso is preparing to return to action this weekend in Malaysia. Spanish media reported on Sunday that, after meeting with FIA-appointed doctors at Cambridge, the 33-year-old got the green-light. McLaren announced on Monday that Alonso will indeed race in Malaysia “subject to a successful final FIA medical […]
New fuel-flow controversy brewing – reports
Mar.23 (GMM) A new controversy surrounding F1’s fuel-flow rules could be brewing. A year has now passed since Daniel Ricciardo was disqualified from the 2014 season opener when his Red Bull-Renault was found to have breached the maximum allowed flow of fuel to his turbo V6 ‘power unit’. Now, the ‘fuel flow’ issue is set […]
Alonso travelling to Malaysia ‘in coming hours’ – report
Mar.23 (GMM) Fernando Alonso on Sunday was cleared by FIA-appointed doctors to travel to the scene of this weekend’s Malaysian grand prix. The Spaniard’s visit to Cambridge University to sit with the three specialists came exactly a month after his mysterious Barcelona crash, which caused him to miss the 2015 season opener in Melbourne. Now, […]
Bottas ‘impatient’ for Malaysia return – manager
Mar.23 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas is “impatient” to return to the cockpit of his Williams this weekend in Malaysia. That is the news of the Finn’s manager Didier Coton, after his 25-year-old charge sat out the 2015 season opener because of a torn disc in his lower back. Bottas travelled straight from Australia to Indonesia, where […]