May 20 (GMM) Flavio Briatore has backed Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari exit as the “right” thing to do. Earlier this week, veteran F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck told El Confidencial newspaper: “To see Fernando Alonso at the back of the grid is a joke. “I can understand why it came to the point that he said ‘I […]
Former boss slams ‘unprofessional’ Perez
May 20 (GMM) One of Sergio Perez’s former team chiefs has slammed the Mexican driver. Peter Mucke is a well-known name in the formative classes of motor racing, having paved the road to F1 for stars including Sebastian Vettel, Robert Kubica and many others. In 2006, Mucke ran Perez – now with Force India – […]
Rivola returns to work for Ferrari
May 20 (GMM) Massimo Rivola has returned to work for Ferrari. The Maranello team’s sporting director missed the recent Spanish grand prix, amid speculation he had been suspended or dismissed over an internal team scandal. “He needed a week off and we gave it to him,” was all team boss Maurizio Arrivabene would say in […]
Dennis’ Boullier criticism ‘humorous’ – McLaren
May 20 (GMM) McLaren on Wednesday said a journalist misreported what happened in a recent team meeting. Writing for the Daily Mail, correspondent Jonathan McEvoy claimed that, at the post-Spanish grand prix debrief, McLaren supremo Ron Dennis was heavily critical of team boss Eric Boullier. “He said that Boullier had had ‘a good kick in […]
Mercedes denies F1 engines not road-relevant
May 20 (GMM) Mercedes has hit back at claims the ‘power units’ featured in formula one today will never carry over to normal road cars. Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko was the first to make the claim, telling APA news agency last week: “As they are so difficult and complex, it will be impossible to […]
‘Every top team’ eyeing Bottas – Wolff
May 20 (GMM) Every top team has its eye on Valtteri Bottas. That is the claim of Toto Wolff, who is not only the team boss at world champions Mercedes, but also part of the Finnish driver’s management team. In the past days and weeks, the Williams driver has been linked with a potential switch […]
Long wait for Hamilton contract finally ends
May 20 (GMM) The long wait for official news about Lewis Hamilton’s future finally ended on Wednesday. After months of speculation, delays and public negotiations, media reports said the reigning world champion’s new three-year contract will see Hamilton earn about $50 million per season until 2018. “Mercedes is my home and I couldn’t be happier […]
Mercedes on track for Hamilton announcement
May 20 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton’s future remains on track. Recently, as the long wait for an announcement about a new Mercedes deal continued to drive speculation, the world champion promised: “I will have some news for you in Monaco.” Mercedes has now invited members of the media to a “cocktail reception and announcement” on Saturday […]
Mexico confirms 2015 grand prix sold out
May 19 (GMM) An official of November’s Mexican grand prix has confirmed reports the 2015 race is already sold out. We reported last week that while other races, like the Red Bull-promoted Austrian grand prix, are struggling to sell tickets, Mexico sold out “within hours”. After a 23-year absence from the calendar, F1 is returning […]
Ferrari sure upgraded car is better
May 19 (GMM) Ferrari will try again with its new bodywork package in Monaco this weekend, former double world champion Mika Hakkinen believes. The resurgent-in-2015 team had headed to Spain with the significant upgrade and high hopes, only to find that the gap to Mercedes only blew out. “We need to understand if it is […]
F1 and Le Mans ‘not that different’ – Hulkenberg
May 19 (GMM) There is “not much difference” between Nico Hulkenberg’s two cars, according to the German. The Force India driver is heading into a very busy time in his personal 2015 calendar. He races in Monaco this weekend, then heads straight to the pre-Le Mans test, then back to his F1 cockpit in Canada, […]
Merhi keeps Manor seat for Monaco
May 19 (GMM) Manor is heading into the Monaco grand prix with an unchanged driver lineup. There has been speculation that, as Roberto Merhi does not bring significant sponsorship, his race-by-race deal with the former Marussia team could end now. The 24-year-old rookie remains committed to his Formula Renault 3.5 team Pons, and this weekend […]
India not poised for F1 return
May 19 (GMM) India is not poised to return to the F1 calendar any time soon, according to a source. After three editions, the New Delhi race was scrapped after 2013 for reportedly financial and bureaucratic reasons. Officials always said they were hopeful the formerly Jaypee-promoted event might return, but when the provisional 2016 calendar […]
F1 ‘not centre of universe’ – Lopez
May 19 (GMM) When it comes to the last couple of years in formula one, Gerard Lopez admits to a couple of regrets. The Luxembourger, owner of the Lotus team, has kept a low profile in the first quarter of the 2015 season, but he says he has simply been busy with his other businesses. […]
Audi not interested in F1 ‘problems’
May 19 (GMM) Audi has taken a step back from speculation it is contemplating a foray in formula one. Off the back of the ever-burgeoning rumours, the VW brand’s chief Rupert Stadler admitted last week that entering F1 is “an option for Audi”. But on Monday, Stadler was back-pedalling, indicating that the current state of […]
Alonso eyes first points in Monaco
May 19 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has renewed his claim that McLaren-Honda is now on the cusp of scoring its first points of 2015. The Spaniard had headed into Barcelona recently with a similar prediction, but ultimately the race was so disappointing that teammate Jenson Button momentarily broke ranks and declared that the Woking team may […]
Ecclestone still pushing for ‘power unit’ axe
May 19 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone is continuing to rail against F1’s modern-day engine formula. The F1 supremo has always been opposed to the turbo V6 ‘power units’, particularly since their mild sound, fuel restrictions and huge cost to struggling small teams became clear. Alan Kinch, finance director at Williams, told F1 business journalists Christian Sylt […]
Sainz ‘even faster’ than Verstappen
May 19 (GMM) Five races into his F1 career, Carlos Sainz has made an impression. The 20-year-old arrived at Toro Rosso this year as the reigning Formula Renault 3.5 champion, but was totally overshadowed by his teenaged teammate Max Verstappen. But Sainz has also been quick in 2015, earning the praise this week of Jenson […]
Wolff sells stake in racing company HWA
May 19 (GMM) Toto Wolff has continued to narrow his focus on formula one with Mercedes. Since taking over as the German giant’s team boss, the 43-year-old has been diluting his shareholding in the rival Williams team. And on Tuesday it emerged that Wolff has sold his significant stake in HWA, the Mercedes-linked company involved […]
Mercedes expecting two-horse race in 2015
May 18 (GMM) Niki Lauda says he always knew 2015 would be a tougher challenge for Mercedes. The German outfit utterly dominated last year, but so far in 2015 Ferrari has put up a fight. “The higher you climb,” the F1 legend and team chairman told Kolner Express newspaper, “the thinner the air.” Barcelona winner […]