Mar.28 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas is being praised from all sides after his solid Mercedes debut in Melbourne. “Initially he was a Calimero,” joked Italian journalist Giorgio Terruzzi, referring to a popular and cute cartoon baby bird, “but he eventually showed signs of being a Rosberg.” Terruzzi is referring to Nico Rosberg, the driver and reigning […]
Verstappen must wait for faster Red Bull
Mar.28 (GMM) Max Verstappen says he must be patient amid Red Bull’s push to catch top two F1 teams Ferrari and Mercedes in 2017. While some thought the energy drink-owned team was bluffing in the winter, the Dutchman finished fifth in Australia as Red Bull admitted to both chassis and engine deficits. Red Bull said […]
Hamilton keeping fit without trainer in 2017
Mar.28 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton says he is looking forward to battling Sebastian Vettel for the world championship in 2017. Since 2014, with Mercedes basically alone at the front of the field, Hamilton’s battle were confined to an acrimonious inter-team scrap with Nico Rosberg. So with Rosberg retired and Ferrari’s Vettel now in the fray, Hamilton […]
Vandoorne says McLaren slowest car in F1
Mar.27 (GMM) Fernando Alonso is not the only team driver who is highly critical of former F1 grandee McLaren-Honda’s current predicament. Many observers have interpreted Alonso’s post-race comments in Melbourne as a clear sign that his patience is finally up, as the Anglo-Japanese collaboration continues to falter for the third consecutive season. “Optimism? I think […]
FIA to investigate Melbourne spectator invasion
Mar.27 (GMM) Officials are investigating the invasion of the Albert Park circuit by spectators while F1 cars were still completing their post-race in-laps on Sunday. Winner Sebastian Vettel, a lover of F1 history and a racing ‘purist’, admitted he actually enjoyed how trackside spectators breached the circuit perimeter just after he crossed the chequered flag. […]
Lauda scoffs at Raikkonen struggle theory
Mar.27 (GMM) F1 legend Niki Lauda has scoffed at one controversial explanation for Kimi Raikkonen’s Melbourne struggle. The Mercedes team chairman admitted he was surprised by the performance gap between race winner Sebastian Vettel and his Ferrari teammate Raikkonen on Sunday. “I don’t know what went wrong for Kimi,” Lauda told the German broadcaster RTL. […]
Giovinazzi to wear Ferrari red in China
Mar.27 (GMM) Antonio Giovinazzi says he will be back in red gear when he returns to the F1 paddock in two weeks. Ferrari’s new reserve driver got a shock call-up to the race grid in Australia, when Sauber’s Mercedes-backed main driver Pascal Wehrlein pulled out with apparent fitness concerns. Giovinazzi, a standout in GP2 last […]
Mercedes ‘not too far ahead’ – Horner
Mar.27 (GMM) Team boss Christian Horner has denied losing its ‘trick’ suspension system is the reason Red Bull struggled in Australia. Many observers are surprised that, with the rules changing and designer Adrian Newey reportedly fully motivated again, Ferrari and Mercedes turned out with clearly faster cars at the 2017 season opener. Mercedes also removed […]
Montezemolo hails return to winning for Ferrari
Mar.27 (GMM) Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has hailed the Italian marque’s return to victory. Tension between the long-time Ferrari chief and his successor Sergio Marchionne has been obvious, but Montezemolo insisted Ferrari fully deserved to win in Melbourne. “I’m really happy for the men and women of Ferrari,” he is quoted by La […]
Liberty will not set F1 rules – Todt
Mar.27 (GMM) Jean Todt has made clear the FIA will continue to make the rules in formula one. As the Liberty Media era begins in earnest, new F1 sporting boss Ross Brawn said in Melbourne he is prepared to “fight” for changes if the spectacle is not right. FIA president Todt, also in Melbourne, responded: […]
Bottas ‘the right driver’ for Mercedes – Lauda
Mar.27 (GMM) Niki Lauda says Melbourne proved that Mercedes chose “the right driver” to replace reigning world champion Nico Rosberg for 2017. During the season opening Australian grand prix, now retired Rosberg ‘tweeted’ a photo showing him watching the race on TV with his wife and daughter. Many people wanted Mercedes to hire a more […]
Overtaking ‘a problem’ in new F1 – Wolff
Mar.27 (GMM) Although Ferrari won on Sunday, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff gave a thumbs-up to the ‘new’ F1 after the 2017 season opener. On a competitive level, however, Wolff’s colleague Niki Lauda called it a “wake-up call”. “The best wake-up call is early morning, so now we are awake,” said the F1 legend. But the […]
F1 hails ‘red versus silver’ title battle
Mar.27 (GMM) The F1 world and beyond is now looking forward to an intense inter-team battle for the 2017 world championship. For the first time in the ‘power unit’ era, Mercedes looks set to have a real challenger in the form of Ferrari. Sebastian Vettel won in Melbourne, but third force Red Bull’s Christian Horner […]
Suspension not reason for Red Bull struggle – Verstappen
Mar.26 (GMM) Max Verstappen says Red Bull’s place as the third force behind Mercedes and Ferrari has been made obvious to the world in Melbourne. “We are behind,” the Dutchman said after qualifying. “We lack grip and engine power.” The team has been warning for weeks that it is not on the top two teams’ […]
Lowe defends Stroll amid bad debut F1 weekend
Mar.26 (GMM) Paddy Lowe has leapt to Lance Stroll’s defence, as the teen rookie struggles through his first race in formula one. After making notable mistakes in winter testing, 18-year-old Stroll – whose father Lawrence is a billionaire – crashed again in Melbourne practice and lines up dead last on Sunday’s grid. But Williams technical […]
Drivers happy with ‘8G’ new-generation F1 cars
Mar.26 (GMM) F1 drivers say the cars of 2017 are living up to expectations. Laptimes in qualifying were far from the predictions of 4-5 seconds per lap faster, but Max Verstappen said that kind of speed can be expected on circuits other than Melbourne. So when asked if the ‘new’ F1 is on track, the […]
Alonso could quit McLaren mid-season – Webber
Mar.26 (GMM) Mark Webber thinks his long-time F1 friend Fernando Alonso could soon quit McLaren. Australian Webber, who is now a television pundit, said in Melbourne that the third year of struggling with McLaren-Honda could be the imminent tipping point for the talented Spaniard. “Alonso may not stay with the team,” he told the Belgian […]
Giovinazzi can ‘change his life’ on Sunday – Liuzzi
Mar.26 (GMM) Former F1 driver Vitantonio Liuzzi has hailed the return to the grid of an Italian driver. Liuzzi, and his countryman Jarno Trulli, were the last two Italians in F1, but that changed suddenly in Melbourne when Antonio Giovinazzi got the shock call to replace unfit Pascal Wehrlein at Sauber. Liuzzi, now 36 and […]
Sauber talks start amid McLaren-Honda split rumours
Mar.26 (GMM) McLaren and Honda could now be on a fast track to F1 divorce. Paddock speculation in Melbourne is rife that, now into its third year of an unsuccessful works collaboration with Honda, the great British team’s patience with the Japanese carmaker is up. That frustration is palpable in the team’s top driver, Fernando […]
Wehrlein sure of Sauber return in China
Mar.25 (GMM) Pascal Wehrlein on Saturday said he is confident he will be fit enough to return to his Sauber in China. Although he told the German press he was in “no pain” in Melbourne following his back injury nine weeks ago, Wehrlein explained it was simply a lack of physical fitness that prompted his […]