Jun.2 (GMM) Bob Bell’s shock switch to the F1 backmarker Manor has added fuel to speculation about the future of engine supplier Renault. Earlier, former Mercedes technical chief Bell was said to have returned to Renault, where in 2009 he emerged through the ‘crashgate’ scandal to be the works team’s boss. After that, Renault sold […]
Category: Recent stories
Russian GP company bankrupt – reports
Jun.2 (GMM) A company involved in the Russian grand prix has been declared bankrupt. Media outlets including the Spanish agency EFE said Formula Sochi, owned by the government, was declared bankrupt on Monday in a Russian court. With the key backing of president Vladimir Putin, Russia held its first modern world championship race last October, […]
Lowe plays down Mercedes’ Monaco blunder
Jun.2 (GMM) Mercedes on Tuesday appeared keen to put the strategy blunder of Monaco into the past. The late pitstop cost Lewis Hamilton a sure second career victory in the Principality, but the world champion said in a team statement: “I think everything that needs to be said about Monaco has already been said.” Hamilton […]
Small teams resisting ‘customer car’ push
Jun.2 (GMM) F1’s smaller teams are pushing back hard against the latest moves to introduce ‘customer cars’. Four teams – Manor, Force India, Sauber and Lotus – are reportedly at risk of financial collapse, and perhaps as soon as 2015, according to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport. They are pleading for lower engine bills and […]
All eyes on engine ‘tokens’ for Canada
Jun.2 (GMM) It is not clear if Ferrari and Honda will deploy their performance-upgraded engines this weekend in Canada. The FIA this week has informed all the teams that the aforementioned two engine manufacturers have spent the first in-season ‘tokens’ of 2015 to up the speed of the respective power units. In the rear of […]
Kaltenborn feared jail over van der Garde saga
Jun.1 (GMM) Monisha Kaltenborn has admitted she feared starting her 2015 season in jail. Until now, the Sauber chief has not spoken at length about the ‘Giedo van der Garde saga’ that risked derailing the Swiss team earlier this year. “There was a real risk,” Kaltenborn admitted, when asked by UOL Esporte if suggestions the […]
‘French paparazzi’ invading Schumacher privacy
Jun.1 (GMM) Sabine Kehm has pointed the finger at the “French paparazzi” for trying to invade Michael Schumacher’s privacy. It emerged last week that ever since the F1 legend returned to his luxury Swiss villa on Lake Geneva last September, the media has gone to great lengths to capture an image of him. Der Spiegel […]
Hamilton yet to explain ‘Portier moment’
Jun.1 (GMM) Mercedes is yet to explain why Lewis Hamilton stopped on track immediately after the Monaco grand prix. Following the strategy bungle that cost the Briton a sure victory, Hamilton’s car stopped momentarily in the Portier corner before resuming its slow return to the pits. Some compared the Portier ‘moment’ to Ayrton Senna’s legendary […]
Bosses vote Hamilton best driver in F1
Jun.1 (GMM) Team bosses have voted Lewis Hamilton the best driver in formula one today. Germany’s Auto Bild magazine ran the survey amongst all ten rival team principals in the paddock, with Mercedes’ reigning world champion emerging at the front ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso. “This means a lot to me,” Briton Hamilton […]
F1 drivers ‘all looking to Le Mans’ – Dumas
Jun.1 (GMM) F1 drivers are now taking the world of prototype sports cars seriously. That is the claim of Romain Dumas, a French driver who races for Porsche in the increasingly high-profile world endurance championship (WEC). WEC’s profile has been lifted even more in recent times by Dumas’ Porsche teammates: famous ex-F1 driver Mark Webber, […]
Manor signs up Bob Bell
Jun.1 (GMM) Backmarker Manor on Monday said it has signed up highly-respected F1 manager and engineer Bob Bell. Ulsterman Bell resigned as Mercedes’ technical director a year ago, formally leaving the German giant last November. Most recently, it was reported the 57-year-old, who served as Renault’s interim team boss after the ‘crash-gate’ scandal of 2009, […]
Monza, not Mugello, should host F1 – Arrivabene
Jun.1 (GMM) Monza should be the permanent home of the Italian grand prix. That is the claim of Maurizio Arrivabene, Ferrari’s team boss. At the weekend, he made a visit to Mugello, which has often been mentioned as a potential alternative venue for the Italian grand prix. Monza’s current place on the schedule is in […]
German broadcaster wants F1 to improve
Jun.1 (GMM) RTL, F1’s free-to-air broadcaster in Germany, wants the sport to improve. We reported last week that, with the traditional market already losing its grand prix in 2015, Germany’s main television host may now also be eyeing the F1 exit. “It is said that RTL will invest all its energy into football,” said the […]
Verstappen getting on with ‘rival’ Sainz
Jun.1 (GMM) Max Verstappen says he is still getting on well with his rookie teammate. The young Toro Rosso duo, whose combined age is an amazing 37, have been making their mark on formula one so far in 2015. Spaniard Carlos Sainz, 20, knows what the target is. At the weekend, he demonstrated a Red […]
F1 can learn from MotoGP – Arrivabene
Jun.1 (GMM) F1 can learn from its two-wheeled equivalent, according to Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene. The Italian made a visit to Mugello at the weekend, as the Ferrari-owned circuit hosted the world of MotoGP. “I believe that this category has a lot to teach formula one,” Arrivabene told Italian media. “Here, if you a […]
Huge driver salaries ‘absurd’ – Mosley
Jun.1 (GMM) F1 teams should have less money to squander on “absurd” driver salaries. That is the view of former FIA president Max Mosley, speaking to the men’s magazine GQ not long after Lewis Hamilton’s lucrative new deal was signed. It is believed Hamilton’s Mercedes deal brings him in line with the dozens of millions […]
Verstappen proves no injuries after crash
Jun.1 (GMM) Max Verstappen has demonstrated he is not injured in the wake of his huge Monaco crash. Many predicted the 17-year-old will suffer physically after his big hit into the Ste Devote barriers, but within days he was testing at his favourite kart circuit in Genk, Belgium. And at the weekend, he demonstrated not […]
Hamilton trains in same Monaco gym – Rosberg
Jun.1 (GMM) Mercedes’ title-duelling duo keep a wary eye on one another while training in the same gym. That is the claim of Nico Rosberg, who with his lucky third-consecutive Monaco victory closed the gap to world champion teammate Lewis Hamilton to just 10 points. The pair has had an often difficult relationship as Mercedes […]
Briatore says Alonso under ‘no pressure’
Jun.1 (GMM) Flavio Briatore has scoffed at claims Fernando Alonso is feeling the “pressure” of his move to McLaren-Honda. Undoubtedly, the trajectory of the Spaniard’s F1 career has been mixed at best since he dominated with Renault a decade ago. He got caught up in the ‘spy’ and ‘crash’-gate scandals at McLaren and Renault, tried […]
Kehm defends handling of Schumacher privacy
May 30 (GMM) Manager Sabine Kehm has defended her handling of the media since Michael Schumacher’s skiing crash seventeen months ago. Kehm and Schumacher’s wife Corinna have often been criticised for guarding privacy so fiercely since the late December 2013 accident. It means the great German has not been seen publicly, while the nature of […]