Jan.31 (GMM) Former F1 driver Robert Doornbos has played down hopes of a Dutch grand prix revival. In recent days and weeks, off the back of Max Verstappen’s meteoric popularity, Zandvoort and Assen have indicated their desire to bid for a grand prix of The Netherlands. But Dutchman Doornbos insisted: “The chances are still small. […]
Lauda denies scaling back F1 involvement
Jan.31 (GMM) Niki Lauda has denied that he is beginning to pull away from formula one. Throughout the team’s ultra-successful ‘power unit’ era, the F1 legend has been Mercedes’ F1 chairman alongside team boss Toto Wolff. But Lauda will no longer be an expert TV pundit for the German broadcaster RTL in 2018, and in […]
Lowe defends Williams’ 2018 driver lineup
Jan.31 (GMM) Paddy Lowe says Williams’ 2018 driver lineup is an “investment” rather than a “gamble”. The British team has been criticised for choosing the well-sponsored Russian rookie Sergey Sirotkin instead of Robert Kubica. He will be paired with the regularly-criticised Lance Stroll, who is also often referred to as a ‘pay driver’. Their combined […]
Brown predicts ‘solid season’ for McLaren
Jan.31 (GMM) Zak Brown insists formula one will remain Fernando Alonso’s “number 1 priority” in 2018. That is despite the fact that it has been announced officially that the Spanish driver will contest not only Le Mans, but other WEC sports car races for Toyota this year. But McLaren executive Brown told the Spanish sports […]
Nurburgring wants 2019 F1 return
Jan.31 (GMM) The Nurburgring has indicated it wants to return to the F1 calendar in 2019. Although there was no German grand prix at all in 2015 or 2017, the country is returning to the schedule this year with an event at Hockenheim. The recent calendar gaps were caused by the Nurburgring’s financial problems, but […]
French GP would welcome 2018 race time shift
Jan.31 (GMM) Paul Ricard has suggested it would welcome a proposal to tweak the start time of its French grand prix this year. We reported this week that, to avoid a clash with a world cup football match involving England, the French GP could be postponed until 4.10pm in late June. “The idea is very […]
Barcelona working to finish resurfacing
Jan.31 (GMM) Operators of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya are rushing to get the track back up and running after a full re-surfacing. We reported this week that Pirelli is concerned that the new track surface could be problematic for F1’s forthcoming winter test season at the Spanish venue. Now, Spain’s Diario AS reports that the […]
Mercedes wants active suspension return – report
Jan.31 (GMM) Mercedes has reportedly suggested that active suspension should be reintroduced in F1. The suggestion follows news that some teams including Red Bull will no longer be able to use a ‘trick’ involving clever systems to lower ride height in corners. The controversy has been the subject of discussions within the F1 technical working […]
Calling Sirotkin pay-driver ‘pure lie’ – backer
Jan.30 (GMM) Calling Sergey Sirotkin a pay-driver is a “pure lie”. That is the claim of Boris Rotenberg, the Russian billionaire who is widely credited for being the new Williams driver’s financial backer. Rotenberg, the co-founder of SMP Bank, also runs SMP Racing, a driver programme he says is similar to Red Bull’s. SMP also […]
Ralf plays down son David Schumacher’s winning F4 start
Jan.30 (GMM) Ralf Schumacher has played down the stunning start to the single seater career of his son David. Ralf, a six-time grand prix winner, was on hand to support the start of his 16-year-old son’s move from karts into car racing at a Middle Eastern Formula 4 series. David was on the podium six […]
Liberty wants to change GP start time
Jan.30 (GMM) The start time of grands prix could be set to change, according to France’s Auto Hebdo. The report claims that, following a recent meeting between Liberty Media and the sport’s broadcasters, “several ideas were tabled including a change to the race starting time”. For years, European races have begun at 2pm, but now […]
Pirelli concerned about new Barcelona surface
Jan.30 (GMM) Pirelli is reportedly concerned that a new track surface in Barcelona could make pre-season F1 testing a challenge next month. Just a month before F1’s only winter testing at the Spanish venue takes place, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya last week announced that a full resurfacing is “underway”. Italy’s Autosprint reports that sole F1 […]
Halo caused teams ‘a lot of work’ – Szafnauer
Jan.29 (GMM) Integrating ‘Halo’ with this year’s cars is a huge challenge for designers. That is the claim of Force India’s sporting chief Otmar Szafnauer, referring to the controversial driver protection that is mandatory from 2018. “The time pressure was created by the Halo,” he told Auto Motor und Sport. “We got the final specifications […]
Alonso wants Indy 500-style orange McLaren
Jan.29 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has admitted he would like McLaren to adopt an all orange colour scheme in F1 this year. Last year, the Spaniard drove the British team’s orange and black livery, but then contested the fabled Indy 500 with an all ‘papaya’ McLaren entry. “I’m happy with any colour, but orange is part […]
F1’s Whiting gives thumbs up to Assen track
Jan.29 (GMM) The Netherlands has taken another step towards F1 with a visit to the Assen circuit by race director Charlie Whiting. De Telegraaf newspaper reports that Whiting gave the track a “positive assessment” during his visit, pointing out that new kerbs, barriers and layout tweaks are necessary. And Assen chief Arjan Bos predicted that […]
Alonso made Honda ‘look bad’ – Marko
Jan.29 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko says Red Bull’s new plan for 2018 is still on track. Recently, Marko said the team had learned from 2017, when it started with a car off Mercedes and Ferrari’s pace. “Based on our experience last year, we gave the engineers a deadline,” he now explains to Auto Motor und […]
McLaren to be competitive in 2018 – Isola
Jan.29 (GMM) McLaren should have a competitive car in 2018. That is the view of Mario Isola, the F1 boss for the sport’s sole tyre supplier Pirelli. “The world championship this year will be interesting,” he told Spain’s Marca sports newspaper. “Last year we saw that Ferrari was very close to Mercedes and also Red […]
2018 Williams ‘more aggressive’ – Sirotkin
Jan.29 (GMM) Sergey Sirotkin says Williams’ 2018 car is “much more aggressive” than its predecessor. It has emerged that the British team will beat many of its competitors to the launch of their new machines, with a Williams reveal event to take place in London next month. Sirotkin, the team’s newly-announced Russian driver, says the […]
‘Facts’ show McLaren better in 2018 – Alonso
Jan.29 (GMM) Fernando Alonso says he is likely to return to Daytona in the future. The Spaniard had a less than perfect endurance sports car debut at the American event in 2018, but he said he now feels “much better prepared” for Le Mans. “I can drive prototypes better than I could two weeks ago,” […]
F1 at risk of political turmoil – Berger
Jan.29 (GMM) Toto Wolff says he misses F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone’s ability to get things done. The Mercedes boss says Liberty Media has been in a “honeymoon period” since succeeding the Ecclestone era, but many are now predicting a fiery showdown with top teams including Ferrari. One criticism from Wolff is that while the Ecclestone […]