May 14 (GMM) Fernando Alonso says he has no regrets about sitting out the forthcoming Monaco grand prix. Amid the McLaren-Honda crisis, the Spaniard is sitting out F1’s most prestigious race in a fortnight to instead vie for victory at the Indy 500. But Alonso qualified a shock seventh in Barcelona, and Monaco could be […]
‘Nine or ten races’ to keep Alonso – Brown
May 14 (GMM) Zak Brown has admitting time is running out to convince Fernando Alonso to stick with McLaren beyond 2017. With his three-year McLaren-Honda contract expiring, Spaniard Alonso has revealed that he is on the market for 2018 unless the struggling Anglo-Japanese collaboration can promise him a winning car. “What we’ve agreed is that […]
Newey penned Red Bull Barcelona upgrade
May 14 (GMM) Adrian Newey says he played only a “small” role in the initial development of this year’s Red Bull car. Earlier, it was rumoured the radical 2017 regulations had re-fired the famous designer’s interest, but then Red Bull began the season clearly behind Ferrari and Mercedes. “No, my involvement was small,” Newey told […]
Renault hints Alonso return not priority
May 14 (GMM) Cyril Abiteboul has hinted it is not Renault’s priority to push to sign Fernando Alonso for 2018. Amid the McLaren-Honda crisis, Spaniard Alonso is clearly on the market and rumours have linked him with a return to Renault, where he won his two titles over a decade ago. “I know you want […]
Peter Sauber makes rare F1 visit
May 14 (GMM) Team founder Peter Sauber is making a rare visit to a F1 paddock this weekend in Barcelona. No longer involved in any capacity with the Swiss team that still bears his name, the 73-year-old told Sonntagsblick newspaper he was invited to Spain by new Sauber owner Pascal Picci. “When I got out […]
Verstappen committed to Red Bull contract
May 14 (GMM) Max Verstappen says he is happy at Red Bull. Former F1 driver and now veteran commentator Martin Brundle said last week that he can sense the Dutchman’s “frustration” amid the team’s performance struggle early in 2017. It comes amid rumours of a potential switch to Ferrari, but Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko […]
Lauda slams Vettel switch rumours
May 14 (GMM) Niki Lauda has slammed speculation Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel could switch to Mercedes for 2018. However, one Italian journalist says it was Lauda himself who recently confided to friends that Mercedes has inked a ‘pre-agreement’ with the German. “If I was at Mercedes and I could have the best German driver, I would […]
Lauda denies Mercedes to bail out Honda
May 14 (GMM) Niki Lauda has hit back at claims Mercedes is set to bail out its struggling F1 engine rival Honda. In Barcelona, rumours are swirling that Mercedes will either help Honda to develop its uncompetitive and unreliable power unit, equip McLaren with customer engines, or both. McLaren and Mercedes team figures were seen […]
Drivers pushing for hard tyre axe
May 14 (GMM) F1 drivers will reportedly lobby official tyre supplier Pirelli to drop the hardest tyres from its 2017 compound range. The Italian marque’s hard compound selection for Barcelona has been controversial this weekend. “Pirelli has been perhaps a little too conservative,” said Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. “The tyres here are too hard.” Earlier, Pirelli […]
Vandoorne to tweak driving style – Boullier
May 14 (GMM) Stoffel Vandoorne is working on tweaking his driving style to better adapt to formula one. That is the claim of McLaren boss Eric Boullier, when asked by the Belgian newspaper La Derniere Heure why rookie Vandoorne is usually outpaced by teammate Fernando Alonso in 2017. “The reason is simple and Stoffel knows […]
FIA extends DRS zone in Barcelona
May 14 (GMM) F1’s governing body has extended the DRS zone in Barcelona in a bid to boost overtaking. In Russia recently, there was just a single passing move all race, prompting some drivers to raise the issue in their FIA briefing ahead of the Spanish grand prix. So the Barcelona DRS zone has been […]
Vandoorne plays down regular Alonso defeats
May 13 (GMM) Stoffel Vandoorne has played down the fact that he usually trails McLaren-Honda teammate Fernando Alonso’s pace. The Belgian entered F1 this year as a highly rated rookie, but amid the team’s performance crisis is normally outpaced by his experienced teammate. However, Vandoorne is looking on the bright side of the McLaren-Honda crisis. […]
McLaren and Honda to split – report
May 13 (GMM) McLaren and Honda are now on the verge of F1 divorce. That is the sensational claim of Germany’s Auto Bild, as the Anglo-Japanese team’s nightmare collaboration continued in Spain with a first-lap practice failure for Fernando Alonso. After that disastrous session, McLaren owner Mansour Ojjeh and boss Zak Brown reportedly met with […]
Bottas must keep Hamilton points gap small – Massa
May 13 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas needs to keep up his run of good form to avoid serving as Lewis Hamilton’s number 2. That is the view of Felipe Massa, who for the last several years was Bottas’ teammate at Williams. But Bottas has switched to Mercedes for 2017, and in Russia won his first grand […]
Pirelli defends tyre pressure increase
May 13 (GMM) Pirelli has defended its decision to ramp up the mandatory minimum tyre pressures in Barcelona. Following criticism in 2016, F1’s tyre supplier agreed to drop tyre pressures for this year, to the collective relief of the teams and drivers. But in Spain, the pressures were put back up by 2 PSI. Pirelli’s […]
Alonso plays down tennis criticism
May 13 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has responded to criticism of his decision to swap the F1 track for a tennis court on Friday. The Spaniard’s McLaren-Honda nightmare continued in Barcelona practice, when his engine spectacularly failed on the first lap. But instead of staying at the Circuit de Catalunya afterwards, he left with his manager […]
Grosjean names non-GPDA members
May 13 (GMM) Romain Grosjean has hit out at F1 drivers who are not members of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association. The Haas driver has just been appointed a director of the safety-oriented body, which is also led by president Alex Wurz and fellow GPDA director Sebastian Vettel. But Grosjean said there are too many […]
Todt eyes third term as FIA president
May 13 (GMM) FIA president Jean Todt will push to be elected for a third consecutive term as the head of F1’s governing body. The Frenchman confirmed his intentions in a letter that said under his leadership “the FIA is stronger and more united now that it has ever been”. “Over coming months, my team […]
Newey denies ‘new’ Red Bull in Spain
May 13 (GMM) Max Verstappen says Red Bull is “still the third team” in F1, despite high expectations about the team’s car upgrade for Barcelona. Some reports suggested the team’s chassis upgrade warranted the description of the car as a ‘B’ spec. But designer Adrian Newey played that down. “This is not a new car. […]
Mercedes upgrade bigger than Red Bull’s
May 12 (GMM) Mercedes has revealed the most striking car upgrade among its top team rivals in Barcelona. Before the Spanish grand prix weekend, all the talk was of Red Bull and its plans for a supposed ‘B’ car after an uncompetitive start to 2017. But then the RB13 was seen in the Barcelona pits […]