Apr.12 (GMM) Red Bull will take “a new car” to next month’s Spanish grand prix in Barcelona. That is the news from top team official Dr Helmut Marko, who said Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo are doing the best possible “damage limitation” until then. “The drivers are our advantage at the moment,” he told Auto […]
Ricciardo, Verstappen ‘best’ in F1 – Marko
Apr.12 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko thinks Red Bull has “the best” overall driver lineup in formula one. The comments follow speculation in the Italian media that Ferrari might be lining up Daniel Ricciardo to replace Kimi Raikkonen next season. And Ricciardo’s current Red Bull teammate, Max Verstappen, was also linked with a potential switch to […]
Shanghai happier with post-Ecclestone era
Apr.11 (GMM) With Liberty Media now in charge of F1, organisers of the Chinese grand prix say hopes are high the Shanghai race will stay on the calendar. Actually, China’s latest multiple year contract is up for renewal, but officials met last weekend with Chase Carey, the new F1 chief executive. “We haven’t talked about […]
Honda to test new engine in Bahrain – report
Apr.11 (GMM) Honda is working hard to have a new specification of its struggling 2017 engine ready to test after Bahrain. After the China-Bahrain double header, teams will remain on the island Kingdom for a rare in-season test, and sources in Japan claim Honda wants to have an improved power unit to run. According to […]
Marchionne not commenting on future post 2019
Apr.11 (GMM) Sergio Marchionne has refused to comment on reports he will stay in charge at Ferrari beyond 2019. During the Shanghai weekend, reports from Italy suggested the 64-year-old will definitely step down as president of the Ferrari parent Fiat Chrysler. But other reports claim Marchionne will in fact “stay at Ferrari until at least […]
Marchionne not hitting back at Lauda jibe
Apr.11 (GMM) Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne has declined to hit back at a jibe made by Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda. Earlier, former Ferrari driver Lauda claimed the great Maranello marque was struggling in F1 because of its Italian “spaghetti” culture. Now, referring to new technical boss Mattia Binotto, Lauda said: “You consider Binotto to […]
‘Relieved’ Wehrlein set for Bahrain return
Apr.11 (GMM) Pascal Wehrlein will make his return to the Sauber cockpit this weekend in Bahrain. That is the claim of the Munich newspaper TZ, even though it was thought possible Ferrari reserve Antonio Giovinazzi will stay in the car for now despite his Shanghai crashes. German Wehrlein has reportedly been training hard to recover […]
Hamilton-Vettel battle to be season-long – Lauda
Apr.11 (GMM) Niki Lauda thinks F1 is heading for a season-long battle between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. For the first time in the ‘power unit’ era, Mercedes has a genuine championship challenger this year in the form of a resurgent Ferrari. Hamilton and Vettel have each won a race and finished second so far, […]
FIA may clarify grid position rules – Salo
Apr.11 (GMM) F1 could introduce a rule clarification after Sebastian Vettel started Sunday’s Chinese grand prix out of position. Officials “noted” but did not penalise the Ferrari driver for being left of his painted grid ‘box’ in Shanghai. “I didn’t want to be on the line on the wet track, and there is nothing in […]
‘Key figure’ in Ferrari surge is Binotto – Lauda
Apr.10 (GMM) Niki Lauda has credited Ferrari’s technical boss for the boost in performance enjoyed by the Italian team in 2017. Earlier, the F1 legend and Mercedes team chairman said Ferrari’s recent slump was because it was relying too heavily on haphazard Italian engineers. Told that the fact Mattia Binotto is now in charge of […]
Ferrari criticises Raikkonen after China
Apr.10 (GMM) Ferrari has openly criticised Kimi Raikkonen after Sunday’s Chinese grand prix. The Italian marque was not alone. The influential sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport said after Shanghai that the difference between Raikkonen and his teammate Sebastian Vettel was the latter’s overtakes. “Kimi never even tried,” it noted. But the criticism went all […]
Wehrlein heading for Bahrain comeback – Wolff
Apr.10 (GMM) Pascal Wehrlein is shaping up to make his return to the Sauber cockpit in Bahrain. That is the view of one of his bosses, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff. Currently, German Wehrlein is reportedly recovering his fitness after injuring his back in a race of champions crash in the winter. In China, Wolff denied […]
McLaren ‘faster in corners than Williams’ – Vandoorne
Apr.10 (GMM) Stoffel Vandoorne has isolated Honda amid McLaren’s current performance crisis. His teammate Fernando Alonso joked in China that his surprisingly strong performance in both qualifying and the race was with “divine” involvement, due to the extreme lack of power from the Japanese-made power unit. Belgian Vandoorne concurs: “The car feels pretty good. “When […]
F1 ‘passing problem’ smaller after China
Apr.10 (GMM) The ‘overtaking problem’ with F1’s faster new cars took a back seat in Shanghai. After Melbourne, the paddock collectively worried that while the new cars are faster and more spectacular, the greater aerodynamic drag makes passing significantly rarer. But the overtaking on Sunday was spectacular, featuring Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in […]
Pundit questions Ferrari wing ‘flex’
Apr.10 (GMM) Former F1 driver Christian Danner has raised doubts about the legality of Ferrari’s 2017 car. The Maranello team is raising eyebrows for the step it has managed to take since last year, powering Sebastian Vettel to the joint lead in the championship after two races. But on-board camera footage of the red racer […]
Horner wants clarity over Vettel grid start
Apr.10 (GMM) Christian Horner has called on F1’s governing body to clarify the rule about where drivers need to start grands prix. Race officials merely “noted” but did not penalise the Ferrari driver for being left of his painted grid ‘box’ at the start of the Chinese grand prix. “I can understand what Seb wanted […]
Hamilton predicts ‘closest’ fight with Vettel
Apr.10 (GMM) F1 heads to the third race of the season with a genuine championship battle between Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel now shaping up. The pair have each won a grand prix and finished second so far in 2017, with one analysis saying the Ferrari is better in warmer conditions while the […]
No engine improvement date set – Honda
Apr.9 (GMM) Honda is still not promising when it will be able to substantially fix its badly struggling 2017 engine. As it emerges McLaren boss Eric Boullier met with Mercedes’ Andy Cowell in Shanghai, Honda was left to admit that the British team’s biggest problem is the power unit it is supplying. But earlier in […]
FIA moves to stop ‘T-wing’ flexing
Apr.9 (GMM) The FIA has targeted the unpopular engine cover ‘T-wings’ and fins, with a view to ridding F1 of them in the future. That plan is also backed by new F1 sporting boss Ross Brawn. And their resolve was given more ammunition in Shanghai, when the ‘T-wing’ on Valtteri Bottas’ Mercedes broke off in […]
Red Bull gap not easy to close – Verstappen
Apr.9 (GMM) Red Bull’s drivers admit it will take time for the team to get close to the top two teams in 2017. If the pecking order was unclear after Melbourne, the 1.5 second gap from the new Red Bull to the much-faster Mercedes and Ferrari is now fairly obvious in China. But the biggest […]