Month: March 2018

Mar.28 (GMM) Australian grand prix organisers say they are open to tweaking the layout of the Melbourne circuit. Australian Grand Prix Corporation chief Andrew Westacott’s comments come after teams, drivers and fans complained about the lack of overtaking last weekend in the 2018 season opener. “It’s an awesome circuit but so hard to overtake even […]

Toro Rosso-Honda can improve – Gasly

Mar.28 (GMM) Toro Rosso-Honda has the “potential” to improve in 2018. That is the view of the team’s rookie driver Pierre Gasly, after a disappointing first outing for the newly Honda-powered team this season. “We’re fighting with Williams and Force India,” the Frenchman, who retired from the race with an engine failure, said. It has […]

Sponsor backs Mercedes or Ferrari seat for Bottas

Mar.28 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas’ sponsor thinks the Finnish driver will continue to race with a top team beyond 2018. Bottas had a bad start to his season in Australia with a qualifying crash, with Lewis Hamilton saying he missed having his teammate’s support in the race. “Since last year it has become crucial to have […]

Liberty to present 2021 plans in Bahrain

Mar.28 (GMM) Bahrain will set the scene for the next round of tensions between F1 owner Liberty Media and angry top teams Ferrari and Mercedes. The top teams are already threatening to quit formula one after 2020, if Liberty presses ahead with plans for a budget cap and significantly altered engine rules. Publications including France’s […]

Force India admits race for F1 survival

Mar.28 (GMM) Force India is in a race for mere survival, its deputy boss Bob Fernley has admitted. Amid owner and boss Vijay Mallya’s ever deepening legal troubles, his deputy Fernley has revealed he is scrambling to put together the team’s 2018 budget. “The next four weeks will decide if we will survive,” Germany’s Auto […]

Ricciardo penalty ‘wrong’ for F1 – Lauda

Mar.27 (GMM) Niki Lauda has hit out at the FIA for being too hard on Daniel Ricciardo in Australia. Local hero Ricciardo was penalised three places on the grid, after falling foul of a complex new regulation requiring him to slow down during a red flag in practice. But Lauda, the F1 legend and Mercedes […]

Haas will not fire mechanics after blunders

Mar.27 (GMM) Gunther Steiner says Haas will line up with the same set of mechanics next weekend in Bahrain. Although it looked like technical glitches, the American team’s boss confirmed that it was simple finger trouble that meant Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean retired within minutes following bungled pitstops in Australia. “Why should we keep […]

Ferrari win ‘good for F1’ – Zetsche

Mar.27 (GMM) Dieter Zetsche says Ferrari’s win at the 2018 season opener is “good for the championship”. He is chairman of Daimler, the parent of Mercedes who have won the past four world championships and are once again favourites in 2018. Speaking to the Italian news agency Ansa, Zetsche said of Sebastian Vettel’s surprise win: […]

Kubica reluctant to comment on Williams situation

Mar.27 (GMM) Robert Kubica is reluctant to comment on Williams’ poor start to the 2018 season. There are already rumours that the Pole and reserve driver could eventually step in to replace either Lance Stroll or Sergey Sirotkin, should Williams’ situation not improve. Lance Stroll criticised the team after Australia, and Russian Sirotkin qualified 19th […]

Italian press says 2018 can be Ferrari’s year

Mar.27 (GMM) Ferrari may not have the best car, but it is in the running for the 2018 world championship. That is the view of the Italian press after the Melbourne season opener. Sebastian Vettel surprisingly beat Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in Melbourne, after a pit strategy in the virtual safety car period played into Ferrari’s […]

Mercedes rivals have no ‘party mode’ – Wurz

Mar.27 (GMM) Alex Wurz has weighed into the debate about Mercedes’ supposed engine “party mode”. After Lewis Hamilton dominated qualifying in Melbourne, some said it was because his car features a “party mode” button that Mercedes’ F1 customers and rivals do not have. That is despite the fact that, prior to the start of the […]

Ecclestone to be back in court in 2019

Mar.27 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone will be back in court next year as the bribery scandal returns. In 2014, the now former F1 supremo escaped jail over corruption charges after paying $100 million to the Munich court. Ecclestone, now 87, had been accused of paying $44 million to a German banker to ensure formula one was […]

Questions remain as F1 looks ahead to Bahrain

Mar.26 (GMM) Questions remain unanswered after Sunday’s 2018 season opener in Melbourne. Max Verstappen, for instance, wonders if viewers might be in for a particularly painful season, given how hard it was to overtake. “It was like Monaco,” the Red Bull driver told the Dutch press. “Even if you are a second or a second […]

Stroll hits out at Williams’ 2018 car

Mar.26 (GMM) Lance Stroll has fired some rare criticism at his F1 employer. Williams has had a tough start to the 2018 season, amid criticism for not signing Robert Kubica as race driver and struggling for pace with its new car. Now after the season opener in Melbourne, Canadian driver Stroll let his frustration tell. […]

Mercedes plays down Haas conspiracy theory

Mar.26 (GMM) Mercedes has played down a conspiracy theory relating to Sebastian Vettel’s surprise win in Melbourne. The reigning champions are investigating how the virtual safety car period cost Lewis Hamilton the race victory. One conspiracy theory is that it is no coincidence that it was the timing of the wheel problems suffered by Ferrari […]

Gap to top teams bigger in 2018 – Hulkenberg