Apr.24 (GMM) Valencia could be set to return to the F1 calendar. The streets of the Spanish port city hosted five grands prix until 2012, but those race organisers subsequently faced accusations of corruption. So it is now a Singapore multinational called ARC Resorts that has proposed a new six-star hotel, casino, concert area, shopping […]
Category: Recent stories
Marko accuses Mercedes of ‘helping’ Ferrari catch up
Apr.24 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has accused Mercedes of actively helping Ferrari to catch the reigning world champions in 2015. According to Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda, it is no surprise that Ferrari is much more competitive this year. “If you look at how much we won last year,” said the F1 legend, “it was […]
Ricciardo on ‘same level’ as Vettel – Marko
Apr.24 (GMM) Red Bull is happy with its current driver lineup, Dr Helmut Marko insists. The struggling team lost its quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel to Ferrari over the winter. “It was a relationship that was built up over years but that does not mean we are left with nothing,” team official Dr Helmut Marko […]
No Red Bull comeback until season end – Marko
Apr.23 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has admitted the Red Bull-funded Austrian grand prix trophy will probably be passed into Mercedes’ hands. The June race at the former A1-Ring, now known as the Red Bull Ring, is promoted by the energy drink company. This week, Red Bull’s Marko and Daniel Ricciardo unveiled the carved wood and […]
CVC must act amid ‘dangerous’ F1 omens – Montezemolo
Apr.23 (GMM) Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo thinks formula one needs to urgently reform. And he said the onus is on the sport’s “owners” – headed by major shareholder CVC – to pull F1 from the brink of a lull that is risking its long-term future. “The owners have to invest, they must set […]
Vettel becomes F4 ‘patron’ to back Schumacher son
Apr.23 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has become a patron of this year’s Formula 4 series, the German newspaper Bild reports. The German junior single-seater category kicks off at Oschersleben this weekend. “I know some of the young drivers on the start list,” Ferrari driver Vettel said. All of Vettel’s four titles at Red Bull were won […]
Ferrari won’t rattle engine strategy – Lauda
Apr.23 (GMM) Mercedes will not react to title rival Ferrari’s engine allocation strategy. In Bahrain, the resurgent Ferrari team fitted the second of four allocated ‘power units’ for the season to Sebastian Vettel’s car. Asked if Mercedes will now follow suit and give its contenders a fresh turbo V6 for Spain, team chairman Niki Lauda […]
Wurz backs Sauber over engine cost limits
Apr.23 (GMM) GPDA chief Alex Wurz has backed Sauber over the future direction of F1’s engine rules. Former Williams driver Wurz, now chairman of the F1 drivers’ union, linked on Twitter to a story promoted by a news agency headed by his wife Julia. The story said that amid talks for louder and more powerful […]
Merhi looks set to keep Manor seat for now
Apr.23 (GMM) Roberto Merhi looks set to hang onto his Manor seat at least for another race. While his F1 rivals take the weekend off, 24-year-old Merhi is currently in his native Spain, preparing for the opening race of the Formula Renault 3.5 series. But EFE news agency quoted the Spaniard as indicating he is […]
Button didn’t ‘storm out’ after Bahrain – McLaren
Apr.23 (GMM) McLaren has denied reports Jenson Button lost his temper with the team’s situation after the Bahrain grand prix. The 2009 world champion had a horror weekend of unreliability in the island Kingdom, and then could not even take his Honda-powered car to the grid on Sunday. “The chances of it (the energy recovery […]
Renault is Red Bull’s ‘best chance’ for success
Apr.23 (GMM) Christian Horner on Thursday pinned Red Bull’s hopes on the fate of its current engine supplier. For much of the season so far, the energy drink owned team’s chiefs have been scathing of Renault’s performance. But Red Bull has ruled out building its own engine, apparently failed to woo a Volkswagen brand to […]
Lauda wants Hamilton deal by Spanish GP
Apr.23 (GMM) Yet another deadline is now looming over the finalisation of Lewis Hamilton’s 2016 contract — Barcelona. “Everything will be fixed by the Spanish grand prix on May 10,” Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda is quoted by the Swiss newspaper Blick. Hamilton’s new deal has been delayed and discussed publicly for so long that […]
Raikkonen considered quitting after 2014 – report
Apr.22 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen considered returning to F1 retirement after his disastrous 2014 season, according to a Spanish sports daily. In Bahrain, the Finn bounced back from a slump by running reigning world champion and championship leader Lewis Hamilton close for victory. It came after an horror 2014 for Raikkonen, who was thrashed by his […]
McLaren improvement to be ‘gradual’ – Boullier
Apr.22 (GMM) Fernando Alonso left Bahrain expecting McLaren-Honda to make a “big step” for the start of the forthcoming European season. Having switched from the now-resurgent Ferrari, the Spaniard – as well as fellow champion teammate Jenson Button – have struggled so far in 2015 and are the only drivers except those at Manor yet […]
Stevens deletes ‘ugly’ tweet about Merhi
Apr.22 (GMM) Will Stevens has deleted a tweet described as “ugly” by one well-known Spanish sports daily. After Bahrain, Briton Stevens highlighted the significant gap between his race finishing time and that of his Manor teammate, fellow rookie Roberto Merhi. “Really good race pace today,” Stevens’ ‘tweet’ read, “car felt good and got into a […]
Toro Rosso helping Red Bull to end Renault crisis
Apr.22 (GMM) Red Bull is looking to speed ahead — with the help of its sister team, Renault and an Austrian partner called AVL. Right now, according to Italy’s Omnicorse, a Toro Rosso car is up and running on the sophisticated AVL dynamic test bench in Graz, Austria. It follows a disastrous start to the […]
Hulkenberg not in talks with other teams yet
Apr.22 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg is settling in at his new “second home”. The German headed straight from Bahrain, where he raced with the struggling Force India team, to a test this week at the wheel of Porsche’s Le Mans prototype. Hulkenberg is splitting his time this year between F1 and a sports car programme, culminating […]
Sauber denies testing new Ferrari engine
Apr.22 (GMM) Sauber has denied it ran Ferrari’s next-specification engine during the 2015 winter test season. Following reports Ferrari is planning to introduce a new specification of its 2015 ‘power unit’ in Canada, Bild newspaper claimed that a Barcelona debut has actually been scheduled for the 20-30 horse power boost. “The new engine was already […]
Manager guarding Schumacher’s privacy
Apr.22 (GMM) Michael Schumacher’s manager is reportedly working hard to keep news about the health of her famous client quiet. Ever since the F1 legend and seven time world champion was injured in a late 2013 skiing fall, the Schumacher circle has carefully guarded its privacy. Italy’s Autosprint claims this has been especially true over […]
Rosberg admits he cannot hide bad moods
Apr.22 (GMM) He is not giving up yet, but Nico Rosberg admits he could not hide his bad mood in Bahrain. A bad qualifying session left him six tenths behind teammate Lewis Hamilton, but German Rosberg appeared to have returned to top form on Sunday with a fighting race punctuated by overtaking moves on Ferraris. […]