Dec.9 (GMM) Ferrari has played down reports it has signed up F1’s latest alleged espionage protagonist. Bloomberg news agency revealed on Tuesday that Mercedes is suing a power unit engineer Benjamin Hoyle after he allegedly copied confidential data ahead of his move to Ferrari in 2016. But Omnicorse, a specialist Italian publication, quoted Ferrari sources […]
Category: Recent stories
Ecclestone thinks Todt should ‘step back’ from F1
Dec.9 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone thinks FIA president Jean Todt should step back from the front line in formula one. According to the BBC, an increasingly alarmed F1 supremo told the World Motor Sport Council last week that he believes the sport is “in crisis”. “Television audiences are down”, Ecclestone is reported as having informed the […]
Pundits slam Hamilton for late-season behaviour
Dec.9 (GMM) 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has slammed Lewis Hamilton for his behaviour since winning the world championship in October. After wrapping up the title, Hamilton’s earlier-dominant form mysteriously slumped just as teammate Nico Rosberg’s surged. Also obviously slumping, however, was the Briton’s mood, former Williams driver and now television pundit Villeneuve claims. “Maybe […]
Jordan backs Ecclestone, Brundle backs BBC
Dec.8 (GMM) Eddie Jordan has backed Bernie Ecclestone’s view that formula one should usher an independent engine supplier onto the grid. Even though the F1 Commission derailed the supremo’s plan for ‘parallel’ engine rules recently, Ecclestone is still warning that the current situation – with Mercedes and Ferrari wielding enormous power – must change. “This […]
Bottas ‘not very happy’ with 2015 season
Dec.8 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas admits he is “not very happy” with his 2015 season. In the end, the Finn out-scored his Williams teammate Felipe Massa for the second year running, but many believe it was the back-in-form Brazilian’s performance alongside Bottas that deterred Ferrari from signing him up. “I was not very happy with my […]
Perez tips Haas to challenge Force India
Dec.8 (GMM) Sergio Perez has backed Force India to rise to the “huge task” of continuing to raise its game in formula one. Teammate Nico Hulkenberg may have been the high-profile Le Mans winner, but it was Mexican Perez who shone the brightest in 2015 for the Silverstone based team. Force India finished the championship […]
Hamilton seat not in doubt over lifestyle – Wolff
Dec.8 (GMM) Toto Wolff has rubbished reports it could be Lewis Hamilton’s off-track lifestyle that costs the triple world champion his seat at Mercedes. The team boss warned after the Abu Dhabi finale recently that the constant bickering and ill-feeling between Hamilton and teammate Nico Rosberg either stops or the team will have to rethink […]
Briatore denies Alonso to Renault rumours
Dec.8 (GMM) Flavio Briatore has dismissed suggestions Fernando Alonso might be considering a sensational return to lead Renault’s latest works effort in F1. The Enstone based team Lotus has already announced its driver lineup for 2016, with the heavily sponsor-backed Pastor Maldonado and Jolyon Palmer all signed up. But that team has subsequently been bought […]
Sabbatical not right for Alonso – Hakkinen
Dec.8 (GMM) Lowering his guard and taking a sabbatical amid McLaren-Honda’s troubles would not be the right move for Fernando Alonso. That is the advice of fellow former double world champion Mika Hakkinen, whose own one-year sabbatical in 2002 ultimately became full retirement from F1 before he reached his mid-30s. “Personally, I was able to […]
Mercedes sues F1 engineer for espionage
Dec.8 (GMM) World champion team Mercedes on Tuesday confirmed reports it is suing an engineer. The Bloomberg news agency claimed the engineer Benjamin Hoyle, working for the German marque’s F1 engine facility, took documents and data as he prepared to move to Ferrari. Hoyle, who intends to join Ferrari after December, saved a 2015 Hungarian […]
Boss says Hamilton ‘not irreplaceable’
Dec.7 (GMM) An unnamed team boss thinks Mercedes could seriously consider dropping Lewis Hamilton. The German team’s chief, Toto Wolff, warned dramatically after Hamilton won the 2015 title that, for the sake of harmony, the bitterness of the feud between the British driver and his teammate Nico Rosberg must stop. It also followed Hamilton’s sudden […]
Rosberg donates EUR 100,000 to charity
Dec.7 (GMM) Nico Rosberg has donated EUR 100,000 to charity. Recently, the Mercedes driver sold the first family photographs of himself, his wife Vivian and his new baby daughter Alaia to the German newspaper Bild. He has now pledged that 100,000 euros to the Bild-linked ‘Herz fur Kinder’ (Heart for Children) charity, aiding sick children. […]
Verstappen staying at Toro Rosso, eyes 2016 podium
Dec.7 (GMM) Toro Rosso has confirmed officially that Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz are staying at the Faenza based team in 2015. Along with Manor, the two Red Bull-owned teams were the last to formally confirm drivers for 2016, keeping speculation alive that the meteoric rookie Verstappen might be promoted to the senior team after […]
Vettel not taking bait after Hamilton comments
Dec.7 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has declined to hit back with fury at Lewis Hamilton’s recent jibe about his talent. The new triple world champion recently said that because Vettel’s teammates Mark Webber and Kimi Raikkonen were and are not at their peak, “It’s difficult to assess how good he really is”. When asked about Hamilton’s […]
F1 ‘will have different engine’ rules – Ecclestone
Dec.7 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone says the idea of an alternative engine in formula one is not dead yet. Before the recent F1 Commission meeting, the sport’s supremo and FIA president Jean Todt were pushing for an independent supplier of a new, louder and more affordable engine to come in for 2017, with rules to run […]
Rosberg welcomes new tyre rules
Dec.7 (GMM) Nico Rosberg has welcomed the tyre-usage rule changes in formula one for 2016. The governing FIA and Pirelli announced last week that teams and drivers will get more freedom next year, as the range of different tyre compounds available at each grand prix is increased from two to three. The details of the […]
Organiser denies 2016 Russia GP in doubt
Dec.7 (GMM) The future of the Russian grand prix is secure, race organiser Sergei Vorobyov insists. “The F1 round at Sochi is (secure) for many years to come and we know this for sure,” he told the government-linked Russian news agency Tass. His comments follow local Krasnodar deputy governor Igor Galas having told the business […]
Polarising Hamilton a ‘godsend’ for F1 – pundits
Dec.7 (GMM) Two F1 pundits believe Lewis Hamilton – warts and all – is good for formula one. “For formula one, I think he’s a godsend,” said former F1 driver and now German motor racing official Hans-Joachim Stuck. Briton Hamilton, F1’s newest triple world champion, polarises opinion in F1 with his speed and results on […]
Alonso sure sabbatical rumours to continue
Dec.7 (GMM) Fernando Alonso says he will be on the grid in 2016. McLaren supremo Ron Dennis caused a stir at the Abu Dhabi season finale recently when he hinted Spaniard Alonso, arguably the best and highest paid driver in F1, might not return next year if the Honda-powered car is not up to speed. […]
Renault to have Mercedes-like budget – report
Dec.7 (GMM) Renault will power back to the front in formula one with a Mercedes-like annual budget. That is the claim of Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, following the announcement late last week that the French carmaker has decided to definitely buy Lotus. It should mean the struggling Enstone team’s court date over unpaid tax […]