Apr.12 (GMM) New F1 sporting boss Ross Brawn wants to use secret team data to spice up the show for fans. Currently, the teams’ vast and impressive information-collecting abilities and technologies are almost entirely secret. But with Liberty Media having swept in to succeed the Bernie Ecclestone era, Brawn’s plan to add value for the […]
Turkey set for F1 return
Apr.12 (GMM) Turkey could be set to return to the F1 calendar. With its popular Hermann Tilke-penned circuit, Istanbul Park was on the schedule between 2005 and 2011, until the government decided not to proceed for cost reasons. But now, the Daily Sabah newspaper reports that Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan met this week in […]
Marko tips Vettel to beat Hamilton in 2017
Apr.12 (GMM) Red Bull official Dr Helmut Marko has tipped his former protege Sebastian Vettel to win the 2017 world championship. As head of the energy drink company’s driver programme, Marko brought the then teenaged Vettel into F1 a decade ago. He went on to win all four of his world championships with Red Bull, […]
Hamilton ‘right’ to respect Vettel battle more – Lauda
Apr.12 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton respects his new battle with Sebastian Vettel more than his acrimonious former scrap with now retired world champion Nico Rosberg, Niki Lauda has suggested. Ever since Rosberg decided to quit F1, Hamilton has been giving hints that he does not fully acknowledge the retired German’s talent. “Well, this is the first […]
Brown denies McLaren to build own engine
Apr.12 (GMM) Zak Brown has shot down rumours McLaren could solve its current engine crisis by building its own ‘power unit’. Currently, the once-great British team is struggling for the third consecutive year with works engine partner Honda. But reports emerged recently that, fresh from splitting with the Red Bull-Renault project, F1 engine guru Mario […]
Red Bull planning ‘new car’ for Barcelona
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 […]