Mar.23 (GMM) Felipe Massa has confirmed the paddock perception that Williams looks set to be ‘best of the rest’ behind F1’s top three teams early in 2017. Many observers believe that Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull are clearly leading the field, with a gap then to the well-known British team Williams. Brazilian driver Massa confirms: […]
Bottas unlikely to beat Hamilton – Symonds
Mar.23 (GMM) It is “a lot to ask” if Valtteri Bottas’ fans are expecting the Finn to beat Lewis Hamilton in 2017. That is the news from Pat Symonds, the now-retired technical boss who knows Bottas well after working with him at Williams for the past few years. Bottas has now moved to Mercedes to […]
McLaren must keep up ‘motivation’ – Hakkinen
Mar.23 (GMM) McLaren-Honda must be focused in order to emerge from its dire current situation. That is the advice of Mika Hakkinen, the team’s 1998 and 1999 world champion who has actively returned to McLaren for 2017 as a partner ambassador. With the blame being put squarely on hapless works engine partner Honda, McLaren had […]
2017 ‘not huge challenge’ for drivers – Berger
Mar.23 (GMM) The beginning of the new era of formula one will not solve all of the sport’s problems. That is the view of F1 legend Gerhard Berger, who is just beginning work as the new boss of the premier German touring car series DTM. But he was asked by Austria’s Krone newspaper to comment […]
Klien tips Raikkonen to shine in 2017
Mar.23 (GMM) One former F1 driver has picked a surprising dark horse for 2017 glory. Ex Red Bull driver Christian Klien says Kimi Raikkonen, who won his only title ten years ago, could be a perfect match for the more aggressive cars of 2017. “I think the new cars will really suit him,” the Austrian […]
Liberty to sell paddock passes to the public
Mar.23 (GMM) F1’s new owners Liberty Media have followed through on a promise to start opening up the paddock to the public. In the Bernie Ecclestone era, the now ousted 86-year-old fiercely guarded the sanctity of the paddock and the elusive ‘passes’ that provided rare access. This approach has been criticised by some, including German […]
Kubica rules out F1 return for now
Mar.23 (GMM) Robert Kubica said he accepts that returning to F1 will for now remain a closed topic. The Pole’s promising F1 career ended abruptly ahead of the 2011 season when he partially severed his wrist, but he is now shaping up to take on the top category at Le Mans in 2017. Not just […]
Stroll debut ‘could be dangerous’ – Villeneuve
Mar.23 (GMM) Jacques Villeneuve has changed his tune about the F1 debut this weekend of his 18-year-old Canadian countryman Lance Stroll. Earlier, the 1997 world champion defended Stroll’s arrival at the highest class of motor racing at such a young age. But he now tells Germany’s Auto Bild: “He’s so smart and talented, but I’m […]
Mercedes ‘interested’ in Vettel – Marko
Mar.23 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel will be on Mercedes’ list when the great German team comes to thinking about the 2017 driver lineup. That is the view of Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko, who brought the German driver into F1 and guided him to four world championships. Vettel subsequently switched to Ferrari, but although hopes are […]
Ricciardo gets Renault boost for Melbourne
Mar.22 (GMM) Local favourite Daniel Ricciardo’s Melbourne hopes got a boost on Wednesday. As the Australian met with the local press ahead of the 2017 season opener, it emerged that Renault has solved the recurring reliability problem with its new power unit. Auto Motor und Sport correspondent Michael Schmidt said: “In the Barcelona tests, the […]
More downforce makes F1 ‘boring’ – Stuck
Mar.22 (GMM) As excitement builds for the new era of F1, German official Hans-Joachim Stuck thinks the sport has taken a wrong turn. Amid criticism of the spectacle in the last few years, the teams have arrived in Melbourne for the 2017 season opener with much faster cars in their luggage. “This idea was proposed […]
Hamilton relationship ‘better’ – Wolff
Mar.22 (GMM) Toto Wolff says his relationship with Lewis Hamilton is “stronger” ahead of the 2017 season. There were obvious tensions in the silver camp after the Abu Dhabi finale last November, when Lewis Hamilton ignored team instructions to not hold up eventual champion Nico Rosberg. “Yes, it was definitely hard,” Hamilton is now quoted […]
Vettel names 2017 Ferrari ‘Gina’
Mar.22 (GMM) 2017 title favourite Sebastian Vettel has continued his tradition of naming his formula one car for the forthcoming season. The German always gives his single seater a female name, and this year his 2017 Ferrari is called ‘Gina’, according to the German newspaper Bild. “The name is Latin and is short for Regina, […]
Schumacher’s ‘favourite’ uncle dies
Mar.22 (GMM) The Schumacher family is grappling with its latest blow, as the F1 legend’s uncle passes away. Bunte, a German weekly newsmagazine, revealed that Karl-Heinz Schumacher – the brother of Michael’s father Rolf – has died after a battle with cancer at the age of 64. The publication said that, like the former Ferrari […]
Todt agrees V10 return ‘unthinkable’
Mar.22 (GMM) Jean Todt has joined fellow F1 boss Ross Brawn in saying a return of loud, normally-aspirated engines in the sport is “unthinkable”. The volume, complexity and expense of the current ‘power unit’ technology has been controversial since its inception, and talks about the rules beyond 2020 are set to begin. But Brawn, who […]
Vettel to Mercedes ‘sounds good’ – Wolff
Mar.21 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel “would fit” into the Mercedes team, according to team boss Toto Wolff. It is the clearest sign yet that the reigning world champions are already looking firmly into the future, having signed Valtteri Bottas only for 2017 following Nico Rosberg’s shock retirement. Fellow Mercedes chief Niki Lauda this week in fact […]
Rosberg-Hamilton relationship ‘negative’ – Wolff
Mar.21 (GMM) The intense relationship between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg had become “negative” for Mercedes. That is the claim of Toto Wolff, as he puts a positive spin on the reigning world champions’ new driver lineup of Hamilton alongside Valtteri Bottas. The team boss insisted he was never really angry at Rosberg for suddenly […]
Wolff carries ‘lucky injury’ into 2017
Mar.21 (GMM) Toto Wolff is carrying a ‘lucky injury’ into the 2017 season. The Mercedes chief revealed to the Stuttgarter Zeitung newspaper that he recently damaged a disc in his back during a tennis coaching session with his 12-year-old daughter. “The coach put tennis balls on the court for a sprint exercise. When the coach […]
Honda says McLaren relationship ‘strong’
Mar.21 (GMM) Honda has hit back at reports its works McLaren collaboration is on the road to tatters. Recently, McLaren did not categorically deny speculation that, in the wake of a dire winter with the new Honda power unit, it has been in contact with Mercedes about the possibility of an engine switch. But now, […]
Ferrari spent ‘100s of millions’ to catch up – Cuquerella
Mar.21 (GMM) Ferrari is on the cusp of a much better season in F1. That is the claim of the Italian marque’s former chief engineer Toni Cuquerella, who was at Ferrari as recently as 2016 but will now be a commentator for Spanish TV. Winter testing has indicated Ferrari might even be ready to take […]