Jun.14 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas says it is still “too early” to talk about the possible extension of his contract. After Nico Rosberg’s shock retirement, Mercedes signed the Finn only for 2017 and there have been rumours Fernando Alonso or Sebastian Vettel could move to the German team to replace him. However, team management and Lewis […]
Palmer has ‘no explanation’ amid rumours
Jun.14 (GMM) Jolyon Palmer says he has “no explanation” for his struggle to keep up with his teammate Nico Hulkenberg at Renault so far in 2017. Team boss Cyril Abiteboul recently gave the Briton a hurry-up, amid rumours a mid-season driver change – potentially involving tester Sergey Sirotkin or even Robert Kubica – might be […]
Verstappen worried about Red Bull for 2018
Jun.13 (GMM) Max Verstappen says he is worried not only about Red Bull’s performance this year, but also for 2018. The young Dutchman is already under contract for next year, but after retiring in Montreal he insisted 2017 has been “completely crap” so far. Team boss Christian Horner excused the 19-year-old, though. “He knows how […]
Bottas ‘much better’ teammate than Rosberg – Hamilton
Jun.13 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton says his relationship with new teammate Valtteri Bottas is working perfectly. After the inter-team acrimony of the past ended when Nico Rosberg retired, Mercedes replaced the German with Finn Bottas but only on a one-year deal. But Hamilton sounds keen for the new partnership to continue in 2018. Asked to compare […]
Father, Williams say Stroll deserves F1 seat
Jun.13 (GMM) Lawrence Stroll’s father and boss say the under-fire 18-year-old has now proven he deserves to be in formula one. After qualifying ten places behind teammate Felipe Massa ahead of his seventh race of his young career, Stroll was given the label of perhaps the worst rookie in F1 history by Jacques Villeneuve. But […]
Michael Douglas tips Alonso to quit F1
Jun.13 (GMM) Hollywood legend Michael Douglas has tipped Fernando Alonso to leave F1 at the end of the season. Famous American actor Douglas is an avid and long-time F1 fan and a personal friend of McLaren co-owner Mansour Ojjeh. He was a McLaren guest over the weekend in Montreal, and told Spain’s Marca sports newspaper: […]
‘No information’ about Honda upgrade – Alonso
Jun.13 (GMM) Rumours are growing by the day that the works McLaren-Honda partnership is now definitely doomed. It seems the final straw for the British team was Montreal, where Honda failed to deliver on a promise to upgrade its woefully unreliable and underperforming power unit. Then, Fernando Alonso retired within sight of the team’s first […]
Perez denies ignoring team order
Jun.13 (GMM) Mercedes chiefs think rival team Force India made a mistake in Montreal. Actually, the mistake may have been made by Sergio Perez alone, after he arguably cost his own teammate Esteban Ocon a podium on Sunday by refusing to obey team orders. But Mexican Perez denies he was actually asked to let Ocon […]
Stroll ‘worst F1 rookie ever’ – Villeneuve
Jun.12 (GMM) Jacques Villeneuve has ramped up his criticism of countryman Lance Stroll, following a difficult opening third of the 18-year-old Canadian’s rookie F1 season. Before the season, 1997 world champion Villeneuve actually defended Stroll, saying he deserved his Williams seat despite the millions in funding provided by his billionaire father Lawrence. Stroll then finally […]
Sainz ‘sure’ Renault will improve 2017 engine
Jun.12 (GMM) Carlos Sainz has responded to claims Renault will no longer update its engine in 2017. Paddock rumblings in Montreal suggested that amid pressure from customers Red Bull and Toro Rosso, Renault was struggling to deliver a scheduled mid-season upgrade for its turbo V6. But it is now reported Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul has […]
Lauda agrees 25 races too many for F1
Jun.12 (GMM) Niki Lauda has backed top drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton over criticising plans to expand the F1 race calendar. Under the watch of new F1 owners Liberty Media, the schedule will increase from 20 to 21 races in 2018, amid apparent plans for up to 25 grands prix in the near future. […]
Championship ‘long enough’ for Hamilton win – Lauda
Jun.12 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton is back in the fight for the world championship. That is the news from Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda, after last week saying the Briton needed a retirement from Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in order to have a real chance. “No, that was exaggerated,” the F1 legend told Osterreich newspaper. “The championship […]
Alonso not ruling out 2018 Indycar switch
Jun.12 (GMM) Fernando Alonso is no longer ruling out quitting F1 at the end of the year. Earlier, the Spaniard said that despite the difficulty of his last three seasons with McLaren-Honda, he was fully committed to trying to win a third title beyond 2017. But that was before he obviously enjoyed the experience of […]
Wolff not commenting on McLaren rumours
Jun.12 (GMM) Toto Wolff has counted himself out of speculation regarding the dubious future of the McLaren-Honda collaboration. Rumours were rife throughout the Montreal weekend, with many now expecting McLaren to dump Honda and simply buy a customer engine for 2018, perhaps from Mercedes. “At the moment I do not want to participate in these […]
Sainz, Kvyat relationship hits road bump
Jun.12 (GMM) The relationship between Toro Rosso drivers Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat has hit a bump in the road. In Montreal qualifying, Spaniard Sainz hit out about supposed unfair treatment when it came to getting an aerodynamic ‘draft’ on the straight. “We change the order the cars go out at every race and everyone […]
No McLaren Indycar team for now – Brown
Jun.11 (GMM) Zak Brown has played down rumours McLaren could launch a full-time Indycar team. Fernando Alonso was recently competitive as he skipped Monaco to do the Indy 500, with a McLaren-Honda entry supported by the top Andretti team. “Yes, I would like to see McLaren at the Indy 500 regularly,” executive Brown is quoted […]
Red Bull can’t write off 2017 car – Verstappen
Jun.11 (GMM) Red Bull cannot simply write off 2017 in order to get ready for a full championship challenge in 2018. That is the view of Max Verstappen, after Mercedes and Ferrari’s engine advantage over Red Bull’s Renault power became all too clear in Q3 in Montreal. “As expected, they turned up the performance in […]
Pirelli ‘listened to Vettel’ about 2017 tyres
Jun.11 (GMM) Toto Wolff has denied Sebastian Vettel gave Ferrari a big head-start in his bid for the 2017 title. With Ferrari revelling on Pirelli’s new tyres and Mercedes often struggling, some see a link between Vettel’s close involvement with the Italian supplier’s 2017 development programme. Mercedes, on the other hand, did most of its […]
Vettel ‘most complete driver’ – Villeneuve
Jun.11 (GMM) Jacques Villeneuve has tipped Sebastian Vettel to win the 2017 title. Vettel currently leads Lewis Hamilton by 25 points, and although the Mercedes is on pole in Montreal, local hero Villeneuve thinks it will be the Ferrari star who wins his fifth crown in 2017. Why? “Because he has no weaknesses and it […]
Audi in F1 engine talks ‘good’ – boss
Jun.11 (GMM) Audi is no longer ruling out a future in formula one. In past years, the VW brand has given a clearer ‘No’ to speculation it might launch a foray. But recently, Lamborghini chief Stefano Domenicali has been representing Volkswagen and Audi at F1 meetings about the post-2020 engine regulations. However, Audi motor sport […]