Jun.6 (GMM) Canadian GP promoter Francois Dumontier says he is happy with the new Liberty Media era. In charge of the race at Montreal, Dumontier told La Presse he formerly had a good relationship with ousted F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone. But Bernie “did everything himself”, he explained. “When Liberty Media took control, things changed, that’s […]
Ricciardo waiting for Hamilton to sign – Marko
Jun.6 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo has put his Red Bull talks on hold until Lewis Hamilton signs a new deal at Mercedes. That is not the claim of F1’s speculative grapevine, but instead that of Dr Helmut Marko, a top official at Red Bull. Red Bull wants Australian Ricciardo to stay, but he is being linked […]
Ricciardo facing penalty in Canada – Newey
Jun.5 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo may not have escaped the threat of looming penalties this weekend in Canada. Last week, we reported that after the Red Bull driver nursed his malfunctioning MGU-K unit to victory in Monaco, the technology seemed to have survived. “It looks like there will be no grid penalty for us in Montreal,” […]
F1 is ‘core business’ for Mercedes – Wolff
Jun.5 (GMM) Toto Wolff has steered Mercedes away from speculation it could join Ferrari in quitting F1. Amid the dispute over the 2021 rules with Liberty Media and the FIA, Ferrari clearly threatened to pull out of the sport. Mercedes, on the other hand, has been supportive of Ferrari but stopped short of issuing a […]
F1 ‘wants to go to Vietnam’ – Carey
Jun.5 (GMM) Vietnam looks set to join Miami as a new grand prix on the calendar in the near future. Liberty Media’s Chase Carey has said he wants Europe to remain the bedrock of F1 whilst expanding further into America and Asia. “Vietnam is a very exciting country,” Carey is quoted by L’Equipe as saying […]
Canada GP not worried about Miami
Jun.5 (GMM) Canadian GP promoter Francois Dumontier says he is not concerned that Miami looks set to join the F1 calendar next year. F1 chief executive Chase Carey said: “We have never hidden that we want to develop F1 in the United States and eventually we would like several races there. “We also believe there […]
Williams will not give up – Claire Williams
Jun.5 (GMM) Williams is not giving up, despite sitting dead last in 2018. The once-dominant British team has hit the skids this year as inexperienced drivers Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin struggle with a poor car. Team deputy Claire Williams denies Williams took too much risk with its 2018 design. “We did not approach the […]
F1 could have bigger wheels by 2020
Jun.5 (GMM) F1 could switch to low-profile, 18-inch wheels by 2020. That is the claim of Auto Motor und Sport, reporting that the change could come a year earlier than the revolutionary new car regulations being planned for 2021. That’s because Pirelli’s contract runs out at the end of next year, with potential rival brands […]
Sex case won’t affect Raikkonen contract – Marchionne
Jun.4 (GMM) A sexual assault matter involving Kimi Raikkonen will not affect Ferrari’s deliberations about his contract for 2019. That is the news from Sergio Marchionne, the Ferrari and Fiat president. Last week, it emerged that Raikkonen had filed a police complaint for harassment and blackmail, after a Montreal waitress accused him of sexually assaulting […]
Ickx backs Vandoorne to become ‘number 1’ driver
Jun.4 (GMM) Jacky Ickx has backed fellow Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne to eventually become a ‘number 1’ driver in formula one. 73-year-old Ickx, who won 8 grands prix during his career until 1979, said Vandoorne has struggled to shine amid McLaren’s obvious problems in the past two years. “The time that passes never comes back, but […]
Rumour – Alfa Romeo shaping up to buy Sauber
Jun.4 (GMM) Sauber looks to be moving ever closer together with Ferrari. Already Ferrari-powered, the Swiss team is this year being title sponsored by Alfa Romeo, which like Ferrari is a Fiat Chrysler brand. It was already conspicuous that Sauber’s new technical boss, replacing the ousted Jorg Zander, will be Simone Resta, who until now […]
Honda tipped to make 40hp step in Canada
Jun.4 (GMM) Honda will take “a considerable step” this weekend in Canada. Like most of the engine manufacturers, the Japanese carmaker will bring an updated ‘power unit’ specification to the Montreal race. Rumours suggest Honda’s step forward will be as much as 40 hp. “I don’t know the exact numbers. I think it’s better to […]
Ferrari working to ‘unbalance’ championship – boss
Jun.4 (GMM) Maurizio Arrivabene says he wants to “unbalance” the world championship starting this weekend in Canada. The Italian, who is the notably reticent team boss at Ferrari, referred to the fact that so far in 2018, the top three teams also including Mercedes and Red Bull have each won two races apiece. It is […]
Williams wins race as F1’s slowest bill payer
Jun.1 (GMM) Williams has emerged as the F1 team that pays its bills the slowest. Also struggling on track in 2018, the once-great British team takes an average of 20 days past the due date before it settles outstanding invoices, the business insights company Dun and Bradstreet found. But interestingly, it was the much bigger-budget […]
Ricciardo better than Verstappen – Villeneuve
Jun.1 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo is a better driver than his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen. That is the claim of Jacques Villeneuve, the always outspoken 1997 world champion. Verstappen, 20, is having an error-strewn 2018 season, but while boss Christian Horner says he needs to “reset”, he backed the young Dutchman to eventually bounce back. […]
Mallya steps down as Force India director
Jun.1 (GMM) Vijay Mallya has stepped down as a director of his own formula one team. A filing at the UK’s Companies House shows that the Indian’s directorship of his team Force India was terminated last Thursday. “According to the British press, Mallya leaves the board of directors due to the need to focus on […]
Red Bull suspects Ferrari DRS illegal
May 31 (GMM) Yet another aspect of Ferrari’s 2018 car may now come under the microscope. After the Maranello team had to remove ‘Halo winglets’ after Barcelona, and amid concerns about oil consumption in the turbo, the FIA ran detailed checks on the car’s supposed ‘double battery’ system in Monaco. Ferrari got the green light, […]
Amid F1 quit rumours, Alonso ‘not happy’ – Sainz snr
May 31 (GMM) The signs are growing ever stronger that Fernando Alonso’s F1 career is coming to an end. This week, a McLaren delegation including Zak Brown, Gil de Ferran and Alonso’s manager Luis Garcia Abad are heading to Detroit for the Indycar race. It seems that Alonso may be central to McLaren’s plans for […]
Kubica could replace Hartley at Toro Rosso
May 31 (GMM) Robert Kubica has emerged as another potential replacement for struggling Toro Rosso driver Brendon Hartley. Dr Helmut Marko, who heads Red Bull’s driver programme, said recently he was not looking to oust New Zealander Hartley mid-season “at the moment”. He now tells Speed Week: “The situation around Brendon is not pleasing. “We […]
Renault eyes Vandoorne for future seat
May 31 (GMM) Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul has admitted he has an eye on Stoffel Vandoorne. Renault might have a vacancy for 2019, as Carlos Sainz is linked with a return to Red Bull to replace Daniel Ricciardo. And Abiteboul has admitted McLaren driver Vandoorne is an attractive option for the future. “Do not say […]