Feb.16 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas has played down reports that he is already a big financial winner in 2017. A report has emerged claiming the Finn’s annual earnings are leaping from EUR 3 million with Williams to a cool 8 million for 2017 after signing with Mercedes. The Finnish media says the 27-year-old now earns more […]
Bottas says Hamilton ‘welcomed me to team’
Feb.16 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas says Lewis Hamilton has welcomed him to the title-winning team. As the Finn signed up with Mercedes for 2017, Hamilton’s father Anthony warned that his son is a “career killer”. But Bottas told the Finnish news agency Suomen Tietotoimisto: “I’m really happy to have Lewis as my teammate. “It’s a great […]
McLaren denies orange 2017 car ‘leaked’
Feb.16 (GMM) McLaren has denied that the secret about its new, predominantly orange livery for 2017 is already out. Team boss Eric Boullier has confirmed that the Honda-powered team will change colour, but a spokesperson denied that images circulating on the internet are “leaked”. “We’ve seen these fake MCL32 pics,” the team said on Twitter. […]
Insiders play down Ferrari rumours
Feb.16 (GMM) Insiders are playing down rumours Ferrari’s 2017 campaign is already in trouble, long before a single winter testing lap. Eyebrows were raised in Turin earlier this week, when representatives of other F1 teams attended a launch event by tyre supplier Pirelli. Maurizio Arrivabene was conspicuously absent. “I am not far from Maranello, but […]
F1 inches closer to European investigation
Feb.16 (GMM) The European parliament has taken another step closer to initiating an investigation into formula one. We reported this week that parliamentarians were poised to vote, after pressure was applied for the body to look into “competition concerns” regarding governance, tax and conflict of interest in F1. The conflict of interest relates to the […]
Zanardi doubts Bottas can take on Hamilton
Feb.15 (GMM) Former F1 driver Alex Zanardi doubts Mercedes newcomer Valtteri Bottas can take on his teammate Lewis Hamilton in 2017. Finn Bottas has been drafted in to succeed the suddenly-retired Nico Rosberg, who quit the German team after winning the world championship. Bottas is saying he can take on triple world champion Hamilton, while […]
Pirelli wants wet track for Barcelona test
Feb.15 (GMM) F1’s official tyre supplier wants a full day of official winter testing to take place on a wet track. There will be only eight days of official running in Barcelona before Melbourne, and teams are traditionally nervous in the winter about losing pre-season mileage due to rain. Indeed, Pirelli chief Paul Hembery chuckled […]
Fans to see ‘real’ F1 passing in 2017
Feb.15 (GMM) F1 fans will see more “real” overtaking in 2017, according to Pirelli. Some are worried that, as downforce increases dramatically this year, the shorter braking distances could mean much less overtaking. But a key criticism of F1 in the past few years is that the overtaking aid ‘DRS’ has ramped up artificial passing […]
McLaren ‘neutral’ amid F1 suspension battle
Feb.15 (GMM) Eric Boullier says McLaren is staying out of the fight over controversial suspension designs in 2017. A big battle between Mercedes and Red Bull, who will race so-called ‘active suspension’-mimicking designs this year, and Ferrari could result in an official protest being lodged in Melbourne. Explaining how the fight broke out, McLaren chief […]
Boullier confirms colour change for McLaren
Feb.15 (GMM) Eric Boullier has confirmed rumours that McLaren will change livery colour for 2017. With the exit of Ron Dennis, who was vocally opposed to reverting to the British team’s iconic orange, McLaren is now hinting at the change with graphics on social media and its official website. “You will see a change in […]
New McLaren ‘a lot faster’ – Vandoorne
Feb.15 (GMM) Stoffel Vandoorne has confirmed claims that F1 drivers have been preparing hard for 2017. New drivers like the Belgian, and younger drivers including Esteban Ocon and Carlos Sainz, have been working harder than ever for this year’s much faster cars. It has emerged that Sainz has put on 4 kilograms of muscle, and […]
Gutierrez eyes F1 reserve role for 2017
Feb.15 (GMM) Esteban Gutierrez admits a personal mistake meant he had to look outside of F1 for 2017 to continue his racing career. After a year out to be Ferrari’s reserve driver, the 25-year-old Mexican made his return to the grid in 2016 with the new American team Haas. But Gutierrez is now looking to […]
Pirelli embracing ‘challenge’ of faster F1 – boss
Feb.14 (GMM) Pirelli is happy in formula one and embracing the “very important challenge” of the much faster 2017 cars. That is the claim of Marco Tronchetti Provera, who is the chief executive of F1’s Italian tyre supplier. Pirelli’s involvement in F1 since 2011 has often been controversial, but Provera insisted: “F1 gave Pirelli a […]
Rosberg predicts 2017 podium for McLaren
Feb.14 (GMM) World champion Nico Rosberg is tipping a better season for the once-great F1 team McLaren-Honda. Despite having arguably the best driver – Fernando Alonso – at the wheel for the past two seasons, McLaren has struggled notably with Honda power. But Rosberg, who in 2016 won the title for Mercedes before retiring, said: […]
Bottas not settling for second place
Feb.14 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas has confirmed reports that he had to split with his manager Toto Wolff before signing up with Mercedes for 2017. Since making his F1 debut for Williams in 2013, the Finn has been managed by the now Mercedes chief. But now that he is replacing reigning world champion Nico Rosberg at […]
F1 faces potential $168m fine – report
Feb.14 (GMM) F1 is inching closer to a full investigation by the European Commission. That is the claim of London’s Times newspaper, revealing that politicians want the body to look into how prize money is distributed, tax arrangements, and the FIA’s financial windfall as a result of the Liberty Media buyout. In the parliament’s latest […]
Suspension dispute still raging before test
Feb.14 (GMM) A question mark continues to hang above the legality of the fastest two cars ahead of the 2017 season. Although the new Mercedes and Red Bull cars are yet to be launched, it is already known that they will feature the same 2016-style suspension concept that some are comparing to outlawed active suspension. […]
Dallara hits out at F1’s radical new rules
Feb.13 (GMM) F1 car designer Gian Paolo Dallara has hit at out the sport’s 2017 rules revolution. The 80-year-old, whose company is involved in collaboration with the Ferrari-linked American team Haas, doubts the much faster cars this year will actually make the F1 ‘show’ better. “As an engineer I do not know why they decided […]
Physio doubts Alonso set to retire
Feb.13 (GMM) Fernando Alonso’s long-time physio does not think the Spaniard is shaping up to quit formula one. Alonso, 35, is set to begin the last season on his current McLaren-Honda contract, and has warned that unless 2017 is more enjoyable he could hang up his F1 helmet. But Fabrizio Borra, the two-time champion’s ever-present […]
Magnussen admits he voted against Halo for 2018
Feb.13 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen has admitted he was among the group of F1 drivers who actively voted against introducing ‘Halo’ next year. The controversial cockpit-protection concept was already delayed for 2017, and now it emerges that following a driver vote, it might be put on the back burner for a further year. A German media […]