Mar.30 (GMM) Felipe Massa thinks F1 drivers will be tested physically in 2017. That is despite the fact that the sport’s new era, characterised by the much faster cars of 2017, kicked off with every driver except the recently-injured Pascal Wehrlein coping physically in Australia. But F1 veteran and Williams driver Massa said Melbourne was […]
Only DRS makes passing possible now – Massa
Mar.30 (GMM) Felipe Massa thinks F1’s controversial drag reduction system (DRS) is the only thing providing a glimmer of hope about overtaking in 2017. Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg said after the 2017 season opener last weekend that the new, faster cars this year have made overtaking “almost possible”. “It’s a lot harder to get past now, […]
Massa doubts Alonso will quit McLaren in 2017
Mar.30 (GMM) Felipe Massa does not think his old Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso is poised to quit McLaren-Honda and F1. Spaniard Alonso is obviously frustrated amid the current McLaren-Honda situation, and his old friend Mark Webber thinks it is possible he will quit mid-season. There are even reports in Spain that Alonso could leave the […]
Mario Illien working with McLaren – report
Mar.30 (GMM) Audi will not be the only manufacturer not already competing in F1 that will be present for a meeting in Paris on Friday. We reported earlier that the German marque intended to send a representative as the FIA hosts a meeting to discuss the future of F1’s engine rules beyond 2020. Germany’s Auto […]
Ferrari to let Giovinazzi race on for Sauber
Mar.30 (GMM) Ferrari has decided to make its official reserve driver available to Sauber for the forthcoming China-Bahrain double header. That is the claim of the authoritative Italian daily La Gazzetta dello Sport, after Antonio Giovinazzi was loaned to Sauber in Australia to replace Pascal Wehrlein. If Wehrlein continues to be unfit ahead of the […]
Ferrari to shine in China too – Alesi
Mar.30 (GMM) Jean Alesi thinks his former F1 team, the great Maranello marque Ferrari, is finally ready to challenge for the title. The Frenchman, whose only win for the Italian team was in 1995, said Ferrari’s decade-long wait for a world championship could now be over. “The step into the new regulations was very unclear,” […]
Former F1 drivers to get paddock passes
Mar.30 (GMM) Former F1 drivers will find it much easier to attend grands prix in future. In the Bernie Ecclestone era, even though they had entertained the spectators as the ‘gladiators’ of the past, former F1 stars were among those who found it hard to get paddock passes. “There are times I would have come […]
Prince invites Ecclestone to Bahrain GP
Mar.30 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone will attend his first race of the 2017 season in Bahrain next month. It is not unusual for the 86-year-old to skip some of the early-season ‘flyaway’ grands prix, but his absence was felt particularly in Australia as it was the first race since he was ousted as F1 chief executive. […]
Audi to attend next F1 engine meeting
Mar.29 (GMM) The Volkswagen brand Audi will attend a forthcoming meeting about the future of F1’s engine regulations. That is the claim of the German-language Spox.com, which says the meeting hosted by the FIA will take place in Paris on Friday to discuss what the next engine formula might look like beyond 2021. Notwithstanding the […]
Pundits doubt McLaren will axe Honda
Mar.29 (GMM) Two F1 pundits have played down reports McLaren could be about to sensationally dump Honda. Given the great British team’s disastrous start to its third season with the Japanese marque, rumours swept the Melbourne paddock that talks between McLaren and Mercedes have now begun. McLaren didn’t deny it, and team boss Eric Boullier […]
Raikkonen will struggle to catch Vettel – Lauda
Mar.29 (GMM) Another win for Sebastian Vettel could set up a very difficult season for his Ferrari teammate. That is the view of Niki Lauda, who said the gap between Melbourne winner Vettel and his teammate Kimi Raikkonen was “unusual”. “If Sebastian gets a momentum with this victory, then the whole team gets behind him […]
Fast Ferrari means Vettel will stay – Haug
Mar.29 (GMM) The chance Sebastian Vettel will stay with Ferrari beyond 2017 stepped up a notch in Melbourne. That is the view of former Mercedes chief Norbert Haug, not long after his successor in silver – Toto Wolff – said German Vettel would be a “good fit” at the German marque. Ferrari, whose contract with […]
McLaren contract stopped Alonso talks – Wolff
Mar.29 (GMM) Toto Wolff says it was mainly a contractual issue that halted negotiations between Mercedes and Fernando Alonso ahead of the 2017 season. With McLaren-Honda now deep in crisis, but Alonso dropping strong hints that he wants to race on beyond his expiring deal, Mercedes chief Wolff earlier said it was a clash of […]
No F1 return for Bridgestone
Mar.29 (GMM) Bridgestone is not looking to return to F1 any time soon. The Japanese marque was synonymous with the sport in both the ‘tyre war’ and single supplier eras until 2011, when Pirelli took over. But Bridgestone has just signed up as a major sponsor of the Olympics, with the brand’s European chief Robin […]
Stroll expects more difficult races in 2017
Mar.29 (GMM) Lance Stroll says he is sure he will have more difficult races as he gets up to speed in F1. The teenage rookie had a mistake-strewn winter, and he then crashed in Melbourne practice before starting his debut grand prix last. Stroll admits the much faster 2017 cars are hard to drive. “When […]
High costs hurting F1 ‘show’ – Todt
Mar.29 (GMM) As far as the F1 pecking order is concerned, Jean Todt says he likes what he has seen so far in 2017. “It’s good,” he told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, “because a competitive Ferrari is essential for formula one.” And the FIA president also said Mercedes is obviously “still very strong” this […]
Mick Schumacher admits father ‘my idol’
Mar.29 (GMM) Mick Schumacher has broken his long public silence about his father, admitting the F1 legend and former Ferrari and Mercedes driver is “my idol”. Schumacher, who has just turned 18, is stepping up to the highly competitive European F3 series this year, which is widely regarded as a potential final step before formula […]
Alonso could race for five more years – Brown
Mar.28 (GMM) McLaren would be willing to sign up Fernando Alonso for five more years, new team executive Zak Brown has hinted. The Spaniard has been with McLaren-Honda since he left Ferrari after 2014, but he is now letting his frustration with the hapless Anglo-Japanese collaboration show. But Zak Brown, McLaren’s new executive, thinks there […]
Ex boss wants Giovinazzi to replace Raikkonen
Mar.28 (GMM) Antonio Giovinazzi has put himself in pole position for a Ferrari race seat. That is the view of the great Maranello marque’s former boss Cesare Fiorio, after Italian Giovinazzi made his surprise race debut for the Ferrari customer Sauber in Melbourne. “What Antonio did in Melbourne was outstanding, particularly as he was woken […]
Lauda not commenting on McLaren engine rumours
Mar.28 (GMM) Niki Lauda has dodged speculation Mercedes could step in to help McLaren solve its performance crisis. Rumours swept the Melbourne paddock last weekend that, now into its third hapless season with works engine partner and sponsor Honda, McLaren is finally looking for the exit. The rumour goes that Eric Boullier is behind a […]