Jan.31 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas’ personal sponsor is happy to pay a little more in 2017, as the Finn prepares to charge for wins and the title at Mercedes. Until now, Finnish conglomerate Wihuri has backed Bottas’ career by sponsoring the 27-year-old at Williams. Wihuri chief Antti Aarnio-Wihuri, a 76-year-old billionaire, says he started supporting Bottas […]
Month: January 2017
Williams admits sponsor wanted older driver
Jan.31 (GMM) Williams deputy Claire Williams has admitted the British team’s options were narrow as it looked to replace the Mercedes-bound Valtteri Bottas for 2017. A few days after winning the world championship, Nico Rosberg stunned the F1 world by quitting Mercedes and the sport, prompting a phone call to Williams by Toto Wolff. “Pretty […]
Ecclestone exit ‘an opportunity’ for F1 – Kaltenborn
Jan.31 (GMM) Monisha Kaltenborn says the departure of F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone could be remembered as a positive “turning point” for the sport. Kaltenborn runs the small and struggling Sauber team, whose disenchantment with F1’s existing regime prompted it and Force India to lodge a protest with the European Commission. Now, she has told German […]
Silverstone sees Ecclestone exit as British GP boost
Jan.31 (GMM) Silverstone is sounding more hopeful about a future on the F1 calendar, in the days after Bernie Ecclestone lost his job as the sport’s chief executive. Ecclestone was notoriously hard on struggling European promoters, and while his successor Chase Carey says new contract talks are not on the cards, he has made it […]
Todt wants less pressure on Schumacher son Mick
Jan.31 (GMM) FIA president Jean Todt has urged the collective motor racing world to ease the pressure on the shoulders of Mick Schumacher. Todt, the former Ferrari boss, is arguably the closest friend of F1 legend Michael Schumacher, whose 17-year-old son Mick is set to charge into European F3 this year. However, Mick is already […]
F1 rumour surrounds Lowe ‘gardening leave’
Jan.31 (GMM) Force India is arguing against Paddy Lowe being allowed to start work at Williams early in 2017. That is the claim of Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, amid widespread claims that Lowe – the recently departed Mercedes technical boss – is poised to switch to Williams. However, “The parties are still negotiating,” revealed […]
Prost wants ‘less mood swings’ from Ferrari
Jan.30 (GMM) Alain Prost has urged Ferrari to be calmer as it heads into the 2017 season. Early last year, the great Maranello team made bold predictions of race wins and the title, only to get to the end of the season without a single victory. Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said Ferrari’s problem is […]
Liberty must reduce F1 ticket prices – Prost
Jan.30 (GMM) Alain Prost says cheaper tickets should be new F1 owner Liberty Media’s first priority. Asked what he would do if he had just taken over, the F1 legend told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica: “Lower prices to get into the circuits. “At the moment it makes no sense. Because with empty grandstands, everything […]
Experts doubt Ecclestone will go quietly
Jan.30 (GMM) The F1 world is poised to discover ‘deposed’ supremo Bernie Ecclestone’s next move. The sport’s long-time but now former chief executive has denied reports he is planning a breakaway series, but some commentators are refusing to believe the 86-year-old Briton will simply fade into the night. “Why should a man, who has always […]
Big teams to pressure F1 over income – pundit
Jan.30 (GMM) F1 must be prepared to call Ferrari’s bluff in pursuit of a fairer income distribution system for the teams. That is the claim of former F1 driver Christian Danner, referring to reports new owner Liberty Media intends to take away Ferrari’s huge $100 million bonus payments in the future. Ferrari is yet to […]
Wolff set to sign new Mercedes deal
Jan.30 (GMM) Toto Wolff has indicated he is definitely heading towards a new contract with Mercedes. The Austrian heads Mercedes’ entire motor sport programme, and is the team boss at the title-winning F1 team and also a shareholder. But his contract with the German marque is set to end this year. Wolff, 45, told Frankfurter […]
Austin would welcome more US races
Jan.30 (GMM) US grand prix organisers say they would welcome more American races. F1’s new owners, the US media group Liberty Media, are keen to expand the calendar to up to 25 races, with potential events in US cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas or New York. Bobby Epstein, boss of the only US race […]
FIA ‘fair’ amid $80m windfall controversy – Carey
Jan.30 (GMM) Chase Carey says the FIA is “fair” and “even-handed”, amid a bubbling controversy that could spell trouble for Liberty Media’s F1 buyout. Because the governing body owns a 1 per cent stake in F1’s commercial rights, some believe the fact the FIA had to approve the Liberty deal as a regulator reveals a […]
Haas deal allows early F1 payment for Force India
Jan.30 (GMM) A deal has been struck whereby Force India will get an advance on its official F1 prize money early in 2017. That is the news from Auto Motor und Sport, having earlier reported that the American team Haas vetoed the move to help its fellow small team. But correspondent Michael Schmidt reports that […]
F1 ‘must not give up’ on hybrid engines – Wolff
Jan.30 (GMM) Toto Wolff says F1 should not give up on its ‘hybrid’ engine era. Mercedes has utterly dominated in the quieter, controversial ‘power unit’ era since 2014, with even new F1 chief Ross Brawn admitting the sport should think about how it proceeds with the next engine rules for 2020. But Mercedes chief Wolff […]
Vettel welcomes driver penalty rule tweak
Jan.30 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has welcomed news that less driver penalties will be handed out in 2017. A rule tweak means that stewards no longer have to investigate incidents identified by Charlie Whiting, while only drivers “wholly or predominantly to blame” for incidents can be punished. Ferrari driver Vettel told the German newspaper Bild am […]
‘Too soon’ to say less overtaking in 2017 – Sainz
Jan.30 (GMM) Carlos Sainz says F1 commentators should wait for the season to begin before declaring that overtaking is more difficult in 2017. Because cornering speeds will be higher, top speeds lower and braking distances shorter, many are worried that although the cars will be faster this year, there may be much less overtaking. “How […]
2017 cars ‘brutally fast’ – Hulkenberg
Jan.30 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg has tried the 2017-spec regulations in the Renault simulator — and he says the new cars will be “brutally fast”. To address criticism the cars had become too slow, F1 has dramatically changed the aerodynamic and tyre rules for the new season. “The new car feels brutally fast,” German Hulkenberg, who […]
Administrator says Manor to ‘close its doors’
Jan.28 (GMM) Only ten teams will make it to the grid as the 2017 season begins in Australia in March. There were hopes the backmarker Manor could exit administration if a buyer was found before the end of January, as funds to test in Spain next month and race in Melbourne had dried up. But […]
Ecclestone denies ‘breakaway’ series claims
Jan.28 (GMM) Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has denied reports he is planning to set up a ‘breakaway’ series. Authoritative sources had hinted at the 86-year-old’s move, perhaps bolstered by his long-time associate Flavio Briatore who told La Gazzetta dello Sport this week that Liberty ousting Ecclestone was “not very smart”. But in a statement […]