Mar.27 (GMM) Dieter Zetsche says Ferrari’s win at the 2018 season opener is “good for the championship”. He is chairman of Daimler, the parent of Mercedes who have won the past four world championships and are once again favourites in 2018. Speaking to the Italian news agency Ansa, Zetsche said of Sebastian Vettel’s surprise win: […]
Kubica reluctant to comment on Williams situation
Mar.27 (GMM) Robert Kubica is reluctant to comment on Williams’ poor start to the 2018 season. There are already rumours that the Pole and reserve driver could eventually step in to replace either Lance Stroll or Sergey Sirotkin, should Williams’ situation not improve. Lance Stroll criticised the team after Australia, and Russian Sirotkin qualified 19th […]
Italian press says 2018 can be Ferrari’s year
Mar.27 (GMM) Ferrari may not have the best car, but it is in the running for the 2018 world championship. That is the view of the Italian press after the Melbourne season opener. Sebastian Vettel surprisingly beat Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in Melbourne, after a pit strategy in the virtual safety car period played into Ferrari’s […]
Mercedes rivals have no ‘party mode’ – Wurz
Mar.27 (GMM) Alex Wurz has weighed into the debate about Mercedes’ supposed engine “party mode”. After Lewis Hamilton dominated qualifying in Melbourne, some said it was because his car features a “party mode” button that Mercedes’ F1 customers and rivals do not have. That is despite the fact that, prior to the start of the […]
Ecclestone to be back in court in 2019
Mar.27 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone will be back in court next year as the bribery scandal returns. In 2014, the now former F1 supremo escaped jail over corruption charges after paying $100 million to the Munich court. Ecclestone, now 87, had been accused of paying $44 million to a German banker to ensure formula one was […]
Questions remain as F1 looks ahead to Bahrain
Mar.26 (GMM) Questions remain unanswered after Sunday’s 2018 season opener in Melbourne. Max Verstappen, for instance, wonders if viewers might be in for a particularly painful season, given how hard it was to overtake. “It was like Monaco,” the Red Bull driver told the Dutch press. “Even if you are a second or a second […]
Stroll hits out at Williams’ 2018 car
Mar.26 (GMM) Lance Stroll has fired some rare criticism at his F1 employer. Williams has had a tough start to the 2018 season, amid criticism for not signing Robert Kubica as race driver and struggling for pace with its new car. Now after the season opener in Melbourne, Canadian driver Stroll let his frustration tell. […]
Mercedes plays down Haas conspiracy theory
Mar.26 (GMM) Mercedes has played down a conspiracy theory relating to Sebastian Vettel’s surprise win in Melbourne. The reigning champions are investigating how the virtual safety car period cost Lewis Hamilton the race victory. One conspiracy theory is that it is no coincidence that it was the timing of the wheel problems suffered by Ferrari […]
Gap to top teams bigger in 2018 – Hulkenberg
Mar.26 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg says the challengers to F1’s top three teams have “a lot of work to do” to catch up. Like other hopeful midfield teams including McLaren, Renault entered 2018 eager to be closer to the pace set by Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. Hulkenberg said Renault can take positives away from Melbourne, […]
Haas hits back after ‘Ferrari clone’ jibe
Mar.25 (GMM) Haas figures have hit back at Fernando Alonso after the Spaniard said the American team’s 2018 car is a “Ferrari clone”. Haas has emerged as a contender to be ‘best of the rest’ behind the top three teams this year, putting in the spotlight its close ties to Ferrari. Team boss Gunther Steiner […]
Piero Ferrari ‘expects victory’ in 2018
Mar.25 (GMM) Ferrari thinks it has a winning car for 2018. That is despite the clear qualifying defeat to Mercedes in Melbourne. But Ferrari official Piero Ferrari, the son of founder Enzo, told La Gazzetta dello Sport: “I expect a victorious Ferrari. “Our engineers assert that we have a good car and have made good […]
McLaren will challenge top 3 in 2018 – Alonso
Mar.25 (GMM) Fernando Alonso says he is confident McLaren will eventually challenge the top three teams in 2018. However, as the British team began its new Renault-powered era in Melbourne, the Spaniard did not even make it into Q3. “We must start looking at the three top teams,” Alonso told the Movistar broadcaster after qualifying. […]
Wolff eases ‘pressure’ after Bottas crash
Mar.25 (GMM) Toto Wolff says he will try to ease the psychological blow suffered by Valterri Bottas following his qualifying crash in Melbourne. Bottas’ season got off to the worst possible start with a heavy qualifying crash, with his Mercedes predecessor Nico Rosberg saying it will also be a mental blow. When asked about that, […]
Mercedes can’t be beaten until 2021 – Marko
Mar.25 (GMM) All the talk in the Melbourne paddock is about a button on the Mercedes steering wheel that triggers ‘Party mode’. Lewis Hamilton coined the phrase earlier in the weekend, but after going seven tenths quicker than the nearest Ferrari in qualifying, he played it down. “I can assure you we don’t have a […]
2018 ‘could be Raikkonen’s year’ – Villeneuve
Mar.25 (GMM) 2018 could be Kimi Raikkonen’s year in formula one. That is the claim of former world champion Jacques Villeneuve, speaking in Melbourne over a decade after Raikkonen’s only title in 2007. He said he has noticed an increasingly strong Raikkonen at Ferrari in recent years. “He has become a great personality,” Villeneuve told […]
Webber ‘not happy’ with Williams drivers
Mar.24 (GMM) Mark Webber has hit out at Williams’ 2018 driver lineup. Many have criticised the once-great British team’s decision to overlook Robert Kubica in favour of the well-sponsored Russian rookie Sergey Sirotkin. Sirotkin pairs with Lance Stroll, making it among the youngest, least experienced but also the most lucrative ‘pay driver’ F1 lineups of […]
Force India now aiming for 2019 name change
Mar.24 (GMM) Otmar Szafnauer has confirmed that Force India will keep its name throughout the 2018 season. Earlier, it was expected the team would drop the word ‘India’ from its name, perhaps amid negotiations with a buyer or investor. Force India then arrived with the same name in Melbourne, amid reports a mid-season name change […]
Boss happy Renault upsetting ‘establishment’
Mar.24 (GMM) Cyril Abiteboul says it is good that Renault is stirring up some controversies in formula one. The Frenchman is the works team’s boss, and he was asked by RMC about the rumblings concerning the 2018 car’s ‘exhaust blown’ rear wing and the recent hiring of FIA boss Marcin Budkowski. Abiteboul answered: “There is […]
Fingers point at Haas’ Ferrari car ‘clone’
Mar.24 (GMM) Fingers are being pointed at Haas’ surprisingly fast 2018 car in Melbourne. Others are less surprised that the small American team looks set to be ‘best of the rest’ behind the top three outfits this year. “Not particularly (surprised),” Fernando Alonso said in Melbourne. “Their car is a clone of last year’s Ferrari.” […]
Red Bull ‘three, four tenths behind’ – Marko
Mar.24 (GMM) Heads are scratching as to the true pecking order in 2018. Mercedes went into the Melbourne season opener as the favourite, with most thinking Red Bull and then Ferrari trailed closely behind. Once running got underway, some teams estimated Mercedes’ true advantage to be a whopping eight tenths per lap — which would […]