Mar.13 (GMM) Giedo van der Garde is still in the Albert Park paddock on Friday, even though Sauber’s two other contracted race drivers were seated in the cars. But Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr went nowhere in Friday practice, highlighting the depth of the legal crisis at the struggling Swiss team. Earlier, Dutchman van der […]
Van der Garde to race Sauber in Malaysia
Mar.13 (GMM) Giedo van der Garde arrived at Albert Park early on Friday and headed straight into the Sauber garage. The development followed his lawyers filing a contempt of court action against the Swiss team in which Sauber was instructed to compile a list of its assets currently in Melbourne. The van der Garde camp, […]
Sauber silent amid van der Garde saga
Mar.13 (GMM) Buried in the Giedo van der Garde saga, Sauber is silent. The embattled Swiss team has not issued a ‘tweet’ since Monday, and while it is usually one of the first to publish post-session statements to the media, nothing was immediately forthcoming after Friday practice. And when the release finally did emerge, Sauber […]
Hamilton says newspaper report ‘piece of rubbish’
Mar.13 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton has slammed a newspaper report that suggested he was demanding $1.5 million per week to sign a new Mercedes deal. Boss Toto Wolff has already rubbished the claims, telling a reporter “You must question where you get your drugs from”. The original report, labelled as exclusive by the London newspaper The […]
Red Bull slams Renault in Australia
Mar.13 (GMM) Red Bull has slammed its engine partner Renault, after a difficult start to the 2015 world championship campaign in Australia. Star driver Daniel Ricciardo could not run at all in Friday’s second practice session due to an engine problem, and in the morning had been just tenth fastest. It emerges that the team […]
Alonso mystery rolls on as Melbourne practice begins
Mar.13 (GMM) As the cars begin to roar in Melbourne, the uncertainty about Fernando Alonso’s return to action at McLaren-Honda remain. The Spaniard tweeted a ‘selfie’ showing off his muscular form in the gym and promising he will be back to work “soon”. But team boss Eric Boullier on Friday morning said that whether that […]
Magnussen ‘surprised’ after Melbourne crash
Mar.13 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen swiftly took responsibility after crashing his McLaren-Honda in Melbourne practice. The Dane is filling in for Fernando Alonso this weekend, as the Spaniard continues to recover from his mysterious Barcelona testing crash. After returning to the paddock, Magnussen initially told Sky’s pitlane reporter Ted Kravitz he was “surprised” to have lost […]
Manor not up and running in Melbourne
Mar.13 (GMM) The 2015 season is off to a stuttering start in Melbourne, with only 8 of the 10 teams actually firing up their engines in Friday practice. Sauber is embroiled in the Giedo van der Garde chaos, while the engines at resurrected Manor stayed silent for entirely different reasons. After its computers were wiped […]
Williams also rejects wind tunnel ban
Mar.13 (GMM) Williams has joined Mercedes in hitting out at a proposal to ban wind tunnels in formula one. The proposal, admittedly “extreme” and “controversial” in the words of boss Christian Horner, has come from the Red Bull camp. He says the sport’s enormous costs need to be cut, but it should also be remembered […]
Sauber loses appeal, Perez backs van der Garde
Mar.12 (GMM) Sergio Perez has sided with Giedo van der Garde over his legal dispute with Sauber. Dutchman van der Garde’s court battle with Sauber has been criticised in some quarters for endangering the very survival of the already struggling team. Melbourne’s Age newspaper claims the Hinwil camp, having now lost its appeal against van […]
FIA still investigating Alonso crash
Mar.12 (GMM) The FIA is still investigating Fernando Alonso’s mysterious Barcelona testing crash last month. The Spanish driver is sitting out Melbourne amid ongoing speculation about his medical condition and what caused him to hit the wall on February 22. “We are working with McLaren and our medical department is still looking at all the […]
Wolff hits out at wind tunnel ban proposal
Mar.12 (GMM) Mercedes has hit out at Red Bull’s suggestion that wind tunnels should be banned from formula one. As smaller teams struggle for survival, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner proposed a novel solution to help cut costs — ban the wind tunnel. The Briton’s Mercedes counterpart, Toto Wolff, scoffed at the suggestion. “I […]
Software could sideline Manor in Australia
Mar.12 (GMM) Against all the odds, Manor made it to Australia and on Thursday both cars soared through scrutineering for the 2015 season opener. But the team might not be able to run in Melbourne. Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport reports that the problem is simple but significant — software. Correspondent Michael Schmidt wrote: “During […]
Van der Garde has no super licence – report
Mar.12 (GMM) Giedo van der Garde’s bid to race for Sauber in Melbourne could stumble at the final hurdle. It has been established that the Dutchman has a valid contract and, despite the Swiss team’s court appeal on Thursday, he looks set to win his legal case. But the question being asked in the Albert […]
Red Bull pushing to run short nose in Melbourne
Mar.12 (GMM) Red Bull is still pushing to introduce a new bodywork package including a short nose for its 2015 car. Rumours in the Melbourne paddock suggested the team’s bid to draw closer to dominant Mercedes this weekend had not succeeded because the new nose failed the crash test. But Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko […]
Teams late in tyre, hotel payments – report
Mar.12 (GMM) Tyres for the 2015 season opener were only released by Pirelli to three teams one day ago, it has emerged. As small teams struggle to survive, Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport reports that three teams had failed to pay the official tyre supplier as recently as March 11 — Wednesday. The news follows […]
Vettel names first Ferrari ‘Eva’
Mar.12 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has named his first Ferrari ‘Eva’. The quadruple world champion has continued his personal tradition of giving his F1 machine a female nickname after switching from Red Bull to the fabled Maranello team. The big question now is whether ‘Eva’ is able to take the title fight to dominant Mercedes in […]
Dennis now admits Alonso crash ‘a mystery’
Mar.12 (GMM) Ron Dennis has admitted bungling the Fernando Alonso saga, finally now joining those who agree the Barcelona test crash is a “mystery”. Since the Spaniard hit the wall on February 22, McLaren has claimed it was a “normal” incident and a mere concussion for the team’s new star driver. But supremo Dennis insisted […]
Alonso could also miss Malaysia
Mar.12 (GMM) Already absent in Australia, attention is now turning to whether Fernando Alonso will be back in action in Malaysia in just over two weeks. Officially, the Spaniard is simply sitting out a 21-day period in the wake of his February 22 concussion. McLaren-Honda supremo Ron Dennis confirmed that to reporters in Melbourne, but […]
Whitmarsh joins Newey at America’s Cup team
Mar.12 (GMM) Former McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh has re-emerged in the world of America’s Cup racing. After 25 years with the Woking team, the 56-year-old Briton was ousted ahead of the 2014 season, and has kept a low profile ever since. “I’ve been travelling,” he told London’s Telegraph. “Formula one is a sport that […]