Jun.15 (GMM) FIA president Jean Todt made a visit to Maranello last Friday. That is the claim of the well-known Ferrari media insider Leo Turrini, writing on his Quotidiano blog. Before Todt was spotted enjoying the fabled Le Mans 24 hour race at the weekend, he travelled to Ferrari’s Italian headquarters, Turrini said. Tongue in […]
F1 analysis deepens as Hulkenberg wins Le Mans
Jun.15 (GMM) Full-time F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg has described winning the fabled Le Mans 24 hour race as the “best day of my career”. On debut, the 27-year-old veteran of 84 grands prix on Sunday beat the sister Porsche prototype starring former F1 driver Mark Webber. “It’s probably the best day of my career, maybe […]
India GP promoter ‘waiting’ for government help
Jun.15 (GMM) Sameer Gaur, representing the former Indian grand prix promoter Jaypee, says he is “waiting” for the government to put the F1 race back on track. F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said last week New Delhi can return to the calendar as early as 2016 but he is “waiting for the promoters to get back […]
Ferrari should explain Raikkonen spin – Hakkinen
Jun.15 (GMM) Ferrari should clarify the thorny issue of Kimi Raikkonen’s Montreal spin. That is the view of fellow Finn Mika Hakkinen, the former double world champion who thinks there have been mixed messages about the cause of the incident that stopped Raikkonen from finishing on the podium. Amid intense speculation about Raikkonen’s future, team […]
Report links Manor with Honda switch
Jun.15 (GMM) Backmarker Manor is emerging as the front-runner to become Honda’s first F1 customer. The Japanese carmaker returned to F1 in 2015 as the works partner for McLaren, with whom it dominated the sport some decades ago. Honda decided to focus only on McLaren this year, but F1 boss Yasuhisa Arai said recently he […]
Hamilton talks ‘good sex’ with Playboy – reports
Jun.15 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton has talked openly about sex with the famous men’s magazine Playboy, according to German reports. As Bernie Ecclestone enthuses about the reigning world champion being a “super promoter of the sport”, Hamilton reportedly said of sex: “When it comes to good sex, nothing comes close”. “The best thing is probably good […]
Better Renault engine not ready yet
Jun.15 (GMM) Renault-powered teams face a longer wait for performance improvements in 2015. After a dire start to the season for the French manufacturer, boss Cyril Abiteboul said after Canada that with reliability now under control, Renault can finally turn its attention to power. But until a better engine arrives, Red Bull and Toro Rosso […]
Leimer heads to Austria for FIA check – report
Jun.15 (GMM) Fabio Leimer is heading to Austria this week hoping to fire up his Manor chances. The Swiss driver and 2013 GP2 champion was trackside in Canada with the backmarker team recently, in his new role as official reserve. And Blick, the Swiss newspaper whose F1 correspondent is the paddock veteran Roger Benoit, said […]
Berger slams decision to cancel F3 race
Jun.15 (GMM) F1 legend Gerhard Berger has criticised the decision to cancel a recent Formula 3 race at historic Monza. The decision was taken after a spate of terrifying wheel-to-wheel crashes, but Berger thinks it was the wrong message to what is “the best school” for rising driver talent. Until recently, former grand prix winner […]
McLaren ‘short nose’ passes crash test
Jun.15 (GMM) McLaren has put its major upgrade for the Austrian grand prix back on track. We reported last week that a much-needed aerodynamic package for the MP4-30 car was in doubt because the centrepiece – a Mercedes-like ‘short nose’ – had repeatedly failed the mandatory FIA crash tests. A spokesman had told us: “We […]
Marchionne vows to help Monza save F1 race
Jun.12 (GMM) Sergio Marchionne has vowed to help Monza keep its fabled Italian grand prix. Although an important home race for Ferrari, it has however been said that the Maranello marque would not mind if Monza leaves the F1 calendar, as it would open the door for a race at its own Mugello circuit. But […]
Renault plays down fifth engine penalties
Jun.12 (GMM) Renault has played down the impact of the ten-place grid penalties now being served by its F1 customers. The penalties are due to the sport’s long-life engine rules, this year limiting each driver to just four ‘power units’ for the entire 19-race calendar. With dire reliability trouble, the Renault-powered cars burned through their […]
Raikkonen has three races to impress Ferrari
Jun.12 (GMM) July 31 is a key date in the diaries of Ferrari and Kimi Raikkonen. According to Italy’s Corriere dello Sport, it is on that day that Ferrari’s ‘option’ to simply extend the Finnish driver’s current contract runs out. “I’m not worried about it at all. Time will tell,” Raikkonen said recently. But he […]
Manor could delay new car plans until 2016
Jun.12 (GMM) Manor is reportedly contemplating shelving its plans to introduce a new car in 2015. Earlier, having hurriedly modified the 2014 machine for the 2015 rule changes, the former Marussia outfit announced its intention to debut an all-new car after the summer break. But Speed Week now reports that, as the current car is […]
Marchionne tips Mercedes to ‘be reasonable’
Jun.12 (GMM) Sergio Marchionne has tipped Mercedes to be “reasonable” as the sport looks to tweak the engine freeze rules. In recent days, Red Bull chief Christian Horner has warned that unless the current restrictions on engine development are relaxed, the team’s partner Renault could quit the sport. But a lot will depend on Mercedes, […]
Williams expects strong weekend in Austria
Jun.12 (GMM) Williams’ race drivers expect their resurgence from the Monaco slump to hit an even higher gear in Austria next weekend. The British team struggled notably on the twisty turns of Monaco, but then bounced back strongly in Canada as Valtteri Bottas scored his first podium of 2015. And now, Williams is working on […]
Le Mans for ‘real men’ – Hulkenberg
Jun.12 (GMM) Le Mans is a circuit for “real men” of motor racing. That is the claim of Nico Hulkenberg, who has qualified a strong third overall for his debut in the fabled 24 hour race set to take place this weekend. “Driving here is fascinating,” the German, who is combining his part-time Porsche seat […]
Button hopes drivers consulted over F1 future
Jun.12 (GMM) Jenson Button hopes drivers are consulted as formula one steps into a more exciting future. Acknowledging some of the problems with the rules and the current generation of cars, F1 intends to slash 5-6 seconds from average laptimes from 2017. 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen admitted that would be “nice”. “I’m sure something […]
Ricciardo ‘definitely’ staying at Red Bull – Marko
Jun.12 (GMM) Red Bull has ruled Daniel Ricciardo out of the running for a Ferrari seat in 2016. Already linked with the place currently occupied by Kimi Raikkonen, Australian Ricciardo fired the Ferrari rumours even more in Canada when he admitted his growing frustration with Red Bull. “For my career, I need to be aware […]
Missing practice hurts Grosjean ‘quite a lot’
Jun.12 (GMM) Romain Grosjean admitted recently that sitting out Friday practice sessions this year affects his preparation for races. After some early appearances in 2015, Lotus reserve Jolyon Palmer then sat out Friday practice in Monaco and Canada. But the reigning GP2 champion’s management announced on Wednesday that the 24-year-old Briton will be back in […]