Mar.30 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko left Sepang 400 euros richer — by betting on a Ferrari. Germany’s Sport Bild reports that, in an internal paddock bet, the Red Bull official put his money on his former protege Sebastian Vettel. “I knew that Sebastian could do it,” he said. “You could see it as early as […]
Category: Recent stories
Raikkonen has full support of Arrivabene
Mar.30 (GMM) After two races in 2015, Ferrari is happy with its driver lineup. Having struggled alongside Fernando Alonso last year, Kimi Raikkonen went into the last year of his current contract in 2015 admitting he is not sure if he will still be wearing red next season. But so far, although Alonso’s successor Sebastian […]
Merhi keeps options open amid Manor uncertainty
Mar.30 (GMM) Roberto Merhi is having to keep his options open even after making his grand prix debut on Sunday. For now, the rookie Spaniard is part of the resurrected former Marussia team, Manor, having travelled to Australia and Malaysia in the race driver role. After the troubles of Melbourne, Merhi finally made his F1 […]
Wolff hopes Malaysia stops equalisation ‘nonsense’
Mar.29 (GMM) Toto Wolff on Sunday said he hopes Ferrari’s breakthrough win stops the “nonsense” talk about equalisation. After Australia, Red Bull threatened to quit F1 over Mercedes’ huge supremacy amid the current engine regulations, arguing that only artificial “equalisation” mechanisms can fix the sport’s broken show. But just two weeks later in Malaysia, Sebastian […]
No Hamilton contract news for ‘few more days’
Mar.29 (GMM) The Malaysian grand prix weekend started and ended without Lewis Hamilton’s new Mercedes contract being announced. The reigning world champion entered the Sepang weekend hinting that a deal is now close, after long and repeatedly protracted negotiations. A Spanish newspaper even claimed Hamilton’s signature is now on the page. But as the chequered […]
Honda relying more on McLaren now – Boullier
Mar.29 (GMM) McLaren and Honda are working hard to make their new works collaboration gel. Back together in 2015 after more than two decades apart, the British team hailed Honda’s return as simply the next chapter in an ultra-successful, title-winning tale. But that was before the silver cars lined up dead last in Melbourne, and […]
Ecclestone regrets letting Manor return
Mar.29 (GMM) Manor appears to have lost the backing of Bernie Ecclestone, the most powerful man in formula one. The F1 supremo was furious with the former Marussia team after Australia, claiming it travelled to the 2015 opener with no intention of running its cars. Ecclestone, 84, responded by docking Manor one nineteenth of its […]
Dennis denies Alonso relationship breaking down again
Mar.29 (GMM) Ron Dennis has played down suggestions McLaren’s relationship with Fernando Alonso is once again breaking down. In 2007, paired with rookie Lewis Hamilton and amid the spy scandal, Alonso’s first McLaren tenure ended after just one acrimonious season. The parties are back together in 2015, but some regard it as little more than […]
Malaysia announces new F1 race deal
Mar.29 (GMM) Malaysia will continue to host a grand prix for at least the next three years. As the chequered flag waved on Sepang’s seventeenth F1 race on Sunday, the office of the Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak issued a media statement. It said Sepang has extended its race deal “for another three years until […]
Vettel to be father again – Ecclestone
Mar.29 (GMM) All is well in the world of Sebastian Vettel. The German broke Mercedes’ run of dominance on Sunday, and ended Ferrari’s victory drought, in just the second race of his new contract reportedly worth a staggering $54 million per year. Even Vettel’s personal life seems to be racing ahead perfectly. He lives very […]
Rosberg denies ‘blocking’ Hamilton
Mar.29 (GMM) Nico Rosberg protested his innocence on Saturday, amid suspicions he ‘blocked’ teammate Lewis Hamilton in qualifying. It is a thorny subject in the Mercedes camp, after the pair’s relationship deteriorated last year amid the tense battle for the 2014 title. During a wet qualifying session in Malaysia, Hamilton had to pass a cruising […]
Susie Wolff slams ‘all-female F1’ series idea
Mar.29 (GMM) Susie Wolff has slammed suggestions an all-female version of formula one should be launched. Alarmed at the current state of the sport he built, F1 supremo Ecclestone has been full of ideas in Sepang, such as allocating points for qualifying and mixing up the grids. And according to Britain’s Mirror newspaper, the 84-year-old’s […]
Next hurdle for Manor is 107pc qualifying rule
Mar.28 (GMM) After the silence of Melbourne, Manor finally got its engines running in Malaysia. The resurrected Marussia team cited software problems two weeks ago, but were warned by Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA that another weekend spent idling in the pits would not be tolerated. Whether or not the sponsorless team actually goes racing […]
Alonso upbeat despite Ferrari resurgence
Mar.28 (GMM) McLaren-Honda’s all-champion driver lineup is putting a brave face on its situation. As in Australia, the two MP4-30s were due to line up dead last on the grid in Malaysia. The only cars slower around Sepang are the Manors, who were outside the minimum 107 per cent qualifying time. Those cars would only […]
Susie Wolff ‘disappointed’ with Sutil appointment
Mar.28 (GMM) Susie Wolff has admitted she is surprised and disappointed with Williams’ latest signing. Given Valtteri Bottas’ back issues in Australia, Wolff – the British team’s 32-year-old test and occasional Friday driver – might have expected to be nominated as the official reserve. But media reports after Melbourne suggested it was actually the reserve […]
Boss plays down ‘naughty’ Rosberg-Hamilton move
Mar.28 (GMM) Toto Wolff on Saturday played down suggestions the tension between Mercedes’ drivers could be set to reignite. During qualifying at Sepang, Lewis Hamilton was momentarily delayed when he had to pass his slow-moving teammate on the inside of a corner. Reportedly, the reigning world champion complained afterwards on the radio. On British television […]
‘No change’ after Pirelli’s China buyout – Hembery
Mar.28 (GMM) Pirelli’s F1 project is “business as usual” despite the EUR 7 billion takeover of the historic Italian company by China. It emerged earlier this week that state-owned China National Chemical has secured control of Pirelli, which until now has been in Italian hands for more than 140 years. Pirelli chief executive Marco Tronchetti […]
Manipulating excitement would kill F1 – Lauda
Mar.28 (GMM) Niki Lauda says Mercedes is staying out of the political debate surrounding the team’s ongoing dominance of formula one. After Melbourne, Red Bull – threatening even to quit the sport in protest – called for drastic measures as the current rules and Mercedes’ unchallenged position of superiority are “killing” the sport. When asked […]
Malaysia not ruling out night race
Mar.28 (GMM) Malaysia is looking into switching to a night race format in the future. Organisers of the now 17-year-old Sepang race have been in talks with Bernie Ecclestone about extending the contract beyond this year. A deal is now close. “We have made an understanding to our stakeholders that we extend by three years […]
Alonso role meant no Indycar for Magnussen
Mar.28 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen has admitted he let an opportunity to race in Indycar this year slide when Fernando Alonso had his Barcelona testing crash. With McLaren-Honda preferring an all-champion lineup of Alonso and Jenson Button for 2015, the Dane was relegated to the reserve role but still leaving the door open to race opportunities […]