Sergey Sirotkin will keep his motor racing career alive at Le Mans. Having been dropped by Williams, the Russian’s backer SMP Racing announced that Sirotkin, 23, will contest Le Mans as well as two other forthcoming WEC events in the top LMP1 category. “I am very glad that I have the honour of defending the […]
Ecclestone to get involved in F1 promoters dispute
Bernie Ecclestone says he is willing to help resolve a dispute between F1 race promoters and Liberty Media. The Formula One Promoters’ Association, representing 16 of the 21 race hosts on the calendar, held a meeting and afterwards revealed that the circuits are threatening to quit the sport. Although not supported by some race hosts […]
Mazepin to test 2017 Mercedes this year
Russian driver Nikita Mazepin will conduct a series of F1 tests in a two-year old Mercedes car this year. The 19-year-old, who steps up to Formula 2 this year, is the son of Russian billionaire Dmitry Mazepin. Last year, Mazepin snr’s company Uralkali tried to take over Force India, but that team ultimately did a […]
Alonso personality ‘not easy’ – Montezemolo
Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has admitted that Fernando Alonso does not have an “easy character”. After retiring from the sport, Spaniard Alonso got his post-F1 career off to a flying start with victory at the Daytona 24 hour. “I am very happy,” said Montezemolo, who lured Alonso to Maranello from Renault in 2010. […]
Schumacher needs time to ‘grow’ – Montezemolo
Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo says Mick Schumacher needs time to “grow” into a F1 driver. Ferrari has signed the son of Ferrari’s five-time world champion Michael Schumacher to its young driver development ‘academy’. Mick, 19, will be managed by former Ferrari team boss and FIA president Jean Todt’s son Nicolas, and will race […]
Verstappen wants fast start in 2019
Max Verstappen thinks he could challenge for the 2019 world championship, but only if the Red Bull-Honda package is fast right from the start. Over the past months, the Dutchman has warned that while Honda could ultimately develop a front-running engine for Red Bull, the package might not be ready to win right from the […]
New Renault car, engine ‘encouraging’ – Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo says the noises coming out of Renault ahead of the 2019 season are “encouraging”. The Australian surprised the F1 world last August when he announced that he is leaving the top team Red Bull to join the works Renault outfit from this year. Some upper management troubles aside, the noises from Renault have […]
Ricciardo backs move to help heavier drivers
Daniel Ricciardo has backed a move that will help F1’s taller and heavier drivers in 2019. Following claims some drivers were dangerously underweight to comply with the previous 734kg ‘driver plus car’ minimum weight, the rules were changed for 2019. Now, the driver (plus the seat) will be weighed separately, and must tip the scales […]
Ferrari may have ‘completely different’ livery
Ferrari could have a markedly different livery for 2019. Italy’s Autosprint reports that when the Maranello-made red car is revealed on February 15, it could be called the SF-90. The ’90’ is a reference to the 90-year anniversary of the founding of Scuderia Ferrari by Enzo Ferrari. Autosprint added: “The bodywork of the 2019 Ferrari […]
Kubica to be ‘stronger than before’ – Ecclestone
Bernie Ecclestone has tipped Robert Kubica to be stronger than ever this year. After an eight year absence due to his permanent right arm injuries, the now 34-year-old Pole is returning to the grid in 2019 with Williams. Former F1 supremo Ecclestone clearly supports the move. “If Robert did not have his accident, he would […]
Bottas vows to return to rallying
Valtteri Bottas says he intends to do more rallying in the future. The Finn made his professional rally debut last week at the Arctic Lapland event in Finland. He finished fifth overall, winning a stage. “After completing the rally, I love rally even more,” said the Mercedes driver. “It is necessary to practice more, and […]
Race promoters threaten to quit F1 calendar
A group of F1 race promoters are preparing to confront the sport’s owner Liberty Media. Led by Silverstone, the race officials are angry with Liberty over the handling of their contracts, with the Daily Mail reporting that they are threatening to leave the calendar. The newspaper said the promoters met for a meeting in London […]
Teams reject Liberty ‘joint launch’ idea
F1 teams rejected Liberty Media’s plans for a joint 2019 car launch event. Earlier, we reported that instead of letting every team reveal their new cars separately, F1 rights holder Liberty wanted a big, joint event to take place. Auto Motor und Sport reports: “The teams rejected the proposal because they did not want to […]
McLaren press officer joins Ferrari
Ferrari has made yet another change to its team ahead of the 2019 season. Earlier, following the 2018 death of president Sergio Marchionne, team boss Maurizio Arrivabene has been ousted and Charles Leclerc appointed as 2019 race driver. Now, Alberto Antonini has left the Maranello team. Antonini, formerly a prominent Italian journalist, was the head […]
Liberty Media could sell F1 – report
Liberty Media could be looking to sell F1 already. The American company, having bought the rights in 2016 and appointed Chase Carey to replace long-time F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone in 2017, is reportedly now considering its place in the sport. According to the sports business news publication johnwallstreet.com, Liberty is “exploring scenarios that would decrease […]
F1 may have to quit petrol engines – Rosberg
2016 world champion Nico Rosberg says F1 may have to give up its fuel-powered engines some day. Since retiring from F1, the German has made several ‘E-mobility’ investments, including in the all-electric single seater series Formula E. Rosberg says battery power could be the future of F1, too. “If the whole world is buying electric […]
Argentine track not targeting F1 race
One Argentinean official says the country is not looking for a place on the F1 calendar. Despite the already bustling calendar, Liberty Media is pushing for new races. Vietnam is joining for 2020, Finland is also linked with a race, and according to F1 business journalist Christian Sylt, rights holder Liberty Media has trademarked the […]
Bottas aims to ‘be better’ in 2019
Valtteri Bottas has got his 2019 season off to a good start with a competitive rally performance. In his first professional rally, at the Arctic Lapland event in Finland, the Mercedes driver finished fifth overall including a stage win. “Tricky but truly enjoyable stages,” Bottas said. For the looming F1 season, however, the pressure is […]
Force India adding blue to 2019 livery
Force India could add the colour blue to its livery for 2019. Last week, the Silverstone based team – set to be officially renamed ‘Racing Point’ following the Lawrence Stroll acquisition – would not comment on reports that the familiar pink will be dropped this year. It followed reports that the team was close to […]
Alonso eyes F1 paddock return for ‘rest’
Although retired from formula one, Fernando Alonso says he is busier than ever. Just hours ago, the Spaniard and 2018 Le Mans winner also won the Daytona 24 hour race. Later this year, he will once again vie for Indy 500 victory, and he has been linked with a Dakar rally tilt for 2020. According […]