Sep.29 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has denied he manipulated the coverage of Sunday’s Japanese grand prix to exclude Mercedes. The silver cars, finishing first and second at Suzuka after the Singapore slump, were shown for just 5 of the 90 broadcasted minutes of the official race coverage. Bosses Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda admitted they noticed […]
Verstappen needs another year at Toro Rosso – Tost
Sep.29 (GMM) Franz Tost has played down suggestions Max Verstappen is ready to make the big step to Red Bull. With Daniil Kvyat yet to be confirmed officially by the energy drink company’s senior team for 2016, some have suggested bosses are seriously considering a promotion for the teen sensation Verstappen. The 17-year-old currently drives […]
Lotus survives court, Button linked to Renault
Sep.29 (GMM) Renault’s ‘letter of intent’ has given Lotus ten more weeks to finalise the sale of the embattled Enstone team. Mere hours before Lotus faced London’s high court on Monday, Renault announced that it is now committed to completing the deal “in the coming weeks”. Also promised to the court was that a loan […]
Ecclestone admits British GP axe could fall
Sep.29 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed that the running of next year’s British grand prix is in doubt. Amid similar doubts over the future of another historic race, the Italian GP at Monza, Silverstone chief Patrick Allen revealed this week that because he is already a year behind in fees, he cannot “guarantee” the British […]
Alonso snap signals rough seas ahead for McLaren – Prost
Sep.29 (GMM) Suzuka could have been the turning-point in Fernando Alonso’s patience with the McLaren-Honda project. That is the view of F1 legend Alain Prost, a figure closely associated with the glory days of the Anglo-Japanese partnership that was revived for 2015. But at Suzuka on Sunday, within earshot of Honda’s biggest company big-wigs, Alonso […]
Indonesian driver, sponsor linked to Manor for 2016
Sep.29 (GMM) A new candidate has emerged to potentially race for the British backmarker Manor in 2016. The former Marussia squad’s current lineup is Briton Will Stevens alongside Alexander Rossi, although the latter American rookie will sit out Russia next week as he returns to his GP2 duties. Stevens says he hopes to be retained […]
Rosberg says overheating cost him Suzuka lead
Sep.29 (GMM) Nico Rosberg has revealed there was a technical reason he fell behind teammate Lewis Hamilton after starting the Japanese grand prix from pole. According to some, the fact Hamilton won yet again despite starting behind his Mercedes rival in Japan is a clear sign the Briton is unbeatable in 2015. “Hamilton, like Senna […]
Haas confirms Grosjean as ‘lead driver’
Sep.29 (GMM) Romain Grosjean was on Tuesday unveiled as the “lead driver” for when the new American team Haas makes its debut in 2016. The Swiss-born Frenchman will move from Lotus, where he has spent his entire F1 career, dating back to the Enstone based Renault works team in 2009. “I liked the approach of […]
Hakkinen understands Red Bull quit threat
Sep.29 (GMM) Mika Hakkinen says he can understand why Red Bull is threatening to quit formula one over its engine situation. The energy drink company, with two teams on the grid, is in the throes of divorce from its current partner Renault after two sub-standard years in the new ‘power unit’ era. Mercedes, however, is […]
Two teams lodge F1 complaint to European Union
Sep.29 (GMM) Two midfield teams have carried through their threat to formally complain to the European Union about formula one’s governance structure. For months, smaller teams have been bemoaning the inequality in pitlane, describing the income system and rule-making strategy group as an illegal “cartel” and arguing it breaches European competition rules. London’s Times newspaper […]
Button denies Dennis’ claim that 2016 deal is ‘done’
Sep.28 (GMM) There were plenty of shattered pieces to pick up after McLaren-Honda’s struggling collaboration continued to fall apart in Japan. Even Mercedes’ Niki Lauda was drawn into the saga, having suggested that his old team boss Ron Dennis should end the uncertainty about Jenson Button’s future by simply coughing up the agreed money. Lauda […]
Ecclestone scraps April season opener for 2016 calendar
Sep.28 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has re-shaped F1’s 2016 calendar, it emerged on Monday. It was already known that, with the summer break controversially shrunk for next year as Azerbaijan joins the unprecedented 21-race schedule, talks to tweak the provisional calendar were taking place behind closed doors. On the website of the Australian grand prix, tickets […]
Tension rises after Hamilton beats Rosberg in Japan
Sep.28 (GMM) As Nico Rosberg’s title hopes shrank even further in Japan, tension with his teammate and runaway championship leader Lewis Hamilton only increased. Being only the second-best Mercedes in Japan has blown Rosberg’s deficit out from 41 to 48 points, with the German admitting: “It’s going the wrong way, definitely. “I had to win, […]
2015 title like ‘winning the lottery’ – Arrivabene
Sep.28 (GMM) Team boss Maurizio Arrivabene has played down Ferrari’s chances of winning the world championship. After winning in Singapore amid Mercedes’ sudden slump, Sebastian Vettel declared that he would try to make the “impossible possible” by lifting a fourth drivers’ crown this season. But then Mercedes returned to its usual top form at Suzuka, […]
Honda suggests McLaren to blame for ‘negativity’
Sep.28 (GMM) As the struggling McLaren-Honda union hit a new low at Suzuka, Yasuhisa Arai suggests the one-way blame game needs to stop. In front of the Japanese carmaker’s highest-ranking officials at the Honda-owned track, the new alliance with McLaren appeared on the brink of total collapse. Jenson Button is threatening to quit, Fernando Alonso […]
Renault signs letter of intent before Lotus court date
Sep.28 (GMM) A letter of intent from Renault could help Lotus avoid sliding into administration later on Monday. Despite spending the weekend locked out of its hospitality unit at Suzuka, the financially-crippled Enstone team ended the Japanese grand prix declaring it is now positive about the future as Renault is set to make an announcement. […]
Lauda to confront Ecclestone over Mercedes blackout
Sep.28 (GMM) Niki Lauda will travel to London this week to ask F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone about Sunday’s peculiar coverage of the Japanese grand prix. Mercedes, having cruised to a one-two at Suzuka after its Singapore slump, was not alone in wondering why the silver cars were on screen for precisely 5 minutes and 56 […]
Silverstone boss admits 2016 race axe possible
Sep.28 (GMM) A dark cloud has moved above the future of the British grand prix. A report in the Telegraph newspaper quotes Silverstone’s managing director Patrick Allen as saying funding has become a problem, raising the prospect the historic race will be scratched. Writers Christian Sylt, Caroline Reid and Lucy Morson explained that with track […]
Red Bull engine situation now ‘critical’
Sep.28 (GMM) As each day passes, Red Bull’s threat to pull out of formula one is appearing more and more real. “At the moment we have no engine (for 2016),” boss Christian Horner said. “The situation is very critical.” Not only is the situation critical, it was also very fluid throughout the Japanese grand prix […]
Arrivabene defends ‘Vettel better than Schu’ comment
Sep.28 (GMM) Maurizio Arrivabene was on the defensive after suggesting Sebastian Vettel is “better” than the Ferrari legend and F1 great Michael Schumacher. In an Italian newspaper interview, the Ferrari chief said Vettel is better than his German countryman Schumacher “especially in his character”. “Michael was an introvert who opened up to only a small […]