Jun.21 (GMM) As the hybrid power units whirred, Bernie Ecclestone’s “crap” comment echoed around the paddock of the Red Bull Ring. “That’s a good sales strategy,” Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said ironically, when told that the sport’s supremo had used the four-letter word to denounce formula one. But even Ecclestone was surprised when told […]
Wolff admits Mercedes domination not good for F1
Jun.21 (GMM) Toto Wolff has admitted Mercedes’ continuing dominance of formula one is not good for “the show”. As the silver team cruised to yet another peerless victory in Austria, the ever-dwindling global audience suggested it had been yet another boring race. Red Bull, struggling with Renault power, had mischievously predicted long before the chequered […]
Wolff expects fast Ferrari on Sunday
Jun.21 (GMM) “Very good, but strange,” said Niki Lauda, after Mercedes locked out the front row of the grid for Sunday’s Austrian grand prix. He was referring to the way Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg both skidded off the track on their decisive qualifying laps, despite nonetheless powering to first and second at the Red […]
Horner says no to Ferrari ‘customer’ engine
Jun.21 (GMM) Red Bull Racing has ruled out switching to customer Ferrari power. As the former champions’ troubled relationship with Renault continues to crumble, the speculation has been swirling around the paddock of the Red Bull Ring. But team owner Dietrich Mateschitz played it down, arguing that being a mere ‘customer’ of a F1 rival […]
No Red Bull test for Verstappen
Jun.21 (GMM) Max Verstappen has denied rumours he is on the cusp of stepping up a notch in his already meteoric formula one career. Already the youngest racer and points scorer in the sport’s entire history, the 17-year-old Toro Rosso rookie was being linked with a potential move into the lineup of the senior team, […]
Sauber waiting until Spa for new Ferrari
Jun.21 (GMM) Sauber has denied claims it cannot afford to run the latest version of Ferrari’s power unit. When Ferrari’s token-upgraded new specification made its bow in Canada, Felipe Nasr said the Swiss team was “not happy” it had not been made available to customer Sauber. But Sauber chief Monisha Kaltenborn said her engineers are […]
McLaren almost shelved new ‘short nose’
Jun.20 (GMM) McLaren’s all-new ‘short nose’ was almost shelved at the scene of the Austrian grand prix. The British team reportedly tried and failed to pass the FIA’s mandatory crash testing with the new concept in the weeks leading up to its debut on Friday. But even with the crash tests finally passed, the nose […]
Michelin wants F1 to be ‘extreme sport’
Jun.20 (GMM) Michelin has hit back at Bernie Ecclestone’s claim it would not be good for F1 if the French marque won the sport’s 2017 tyre contract. F1’s current supplier Pirelli confirmed on Friday that it is going head-to-head with Michelin for the new deal. “There are definitely only two bidders,” said Pirelli’s Paul Hembery […]
Austria set for ‘silver versus red’ battle
Jun.20 (GMM) Those with a ticket for Sunday’s Austrian grand prix could be in for a ‘silver versus red’ treat. Last year, 90,000 race-day spectators watched on as Red Bull organised the first F1 race in picturesque Spielberg for over a decade. But it is believed only 50,000 will be trackside in 2015. “I suppose […]
Mateschitz will not ‘give up’ – Lauda
Jun.20 (GMM) Dietrich Mateschitz is not poised to quit formula one. That is the claim of fellow Austrian and F1 legend Niki Lauda, as speculation about Red Bull’s future on the grid swirls in the ‘Red Bull Ring’ paddock. Lauda himself is featured in the latest, provocative edition of Red Bull’s ‘Red Bulletin’ magazine entitled […]
Leimer turns hopes to Silverstone
Jun.20 (GMM) Fabio Leimer has his fingers crossed for a Friday practice debut at Silverstone in two weeks. The 2013 GP2 champion had hoped to make his bow in Austria, having signed up as Manor’s new reserve and Friday driver just ahead of the recent Canadian grand prix. Swiss Leimer, 26, did travel to the […]
Ecclestone struggling to sell ‘crap product’
Jun.20 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone says he is struggling to sell a “crap product” to the public in the new era of formula one. The F1 supremo has said consistently that the ‘power unit’ regulations are a major reason for the decline in popularity of the sport he has ruled for decades. “I was talking to […]
Perez hits back at ‘unprofessional’ jibe
Jun.20 (GMM) Sergio Perez has hit back at claims he was “totally unprofessional” and “a slob”. A month ago, the Mexican’s former Formula BMW chief Peter Mucke, who also worked with Sebastian Vettel, Robert Kubica and many others, looked back on Perez’s days as a teenager. “His apartment in Berlin looked like a battlefield. He […]
F1 rules contributed to Canada spin – Raikkonen
Jun.20 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen says Ferrari has made some tweaks in the wake of his spin in Canada recently. The spin cost the Finn a sure podium, and incurred the wrath of his boss Maurizio Arrivabene, just as Raikkonen’s future in red is being hotly debated. “Ferrari has not said exactly what happened,” fellow Finn […]
Todt to watch Mick Schumacher race at Spa
Jun.20 (GMM) FIA president Jean Todt will reportedly watch Mick Schumacher race at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend. Mick, the 16-year-old son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher, is racing with a broken hand this weekend as his first season in single seaters continues in 2015. His father is synonymous with Spa, a fabled F1 circuit in Belgium, […]
Kimi loses cool amid pay-cut reports
Jun.19 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen lost his ice-cool on Thursday amid reports Ferrari is asking him to take a pay-cut. Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport claims the Maranello marque is interested in retaining the Finn for 2016 but only if his EUR 12 million retainer is dropped by 25 per cent. And the report said Ferrari […]
Ricciardo has ‘learned’ from Canada outburst
Jun.19 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo has admitted he is staying at Red Bull for now. Normally F1’s most laughing, grinning and carefree character, the Australian was uncharacteristically grim in Canada amid rumours he might be in the frame to switch to Ferrari. Ricciardo admits he let his emotions show. “Looking at where I was (in Montreal) […]
Gov’t would ‘support’ French GP return – minister
Jun.19 (GMM) A French official says he is “ready” to support the country’s return to the F1 calendar. That is despite F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone insisting “there isn’t a good circuit in France” to host it. “We left France because it didn’t work for anyone,” he told Britain’s Sky. The French broadcaster Canal Plus, however, […]
Haas’ Ferrari alliance ‘very clever’ – Wolff
Jun.19 (GMM) Toto Wolff has hailed as “clever” the approach to formula one being taken by the 2016 American entrant, Haas. Gene Haas, already a co-owner of a Nascar team, is entering F1 next year to promote his California based machine tool company Haas Automation. His technical alliance with Ferrari, however, has raised eyebrows up […]
F1 must be ‘spine-tingling’ again – Surer
Jun.19 (GMM) Former F1 driver Marc Surer has backed those who think the sport needs a re-injection of danger. Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel, and even F1 legend Niki Lauda – although burned and almost killed in his fabled 1976 crash – think safety has given way to boredom in F1. But Felipe Massa, who was […]