Aug.26 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas has refused to confirm or deny reports he has received an offer to switch to Renault for 2017. Williams is openly re-thinking its current driver lineup but is thought to be keen to retain the 26-year-old Finn. So when asked about the Renault rumours, Bottas told the Finnish broadcaster MTV at […]
Haas unmoved over Gutierrez rumours
Aug.26 (GMM) Haas boss Gunther Steiner will not say if Esteban Gutierrez is staying at the new American team for its second season in 2017. At Spa, Steiner was asked about the fact that, when questioned by reporters, Gutierrez had replied somewhat cryptically that he will definitely still be on the grid next year. But […]
Vettel knows Ferrari form will take time
Aug.26 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel says he remains patient as Ferrari builds back up to winning form. Before the summer break, Red Bull overtook Ferrari as the second-fastest team behind Mercedes, just as news was confirmed that technical boss James Allison had left. “We have a lot of good people,” Kimi Raikkonen said at Spa. “That’s […]
Sainz impressed with McLaren progress
Aug.26 (GMM) Carlos Sainz says he has been impressed with the progress being made by McLaren-Honda. After a shocking 2015, the new Anglo-Japanese collaboration has been making gradual progress this year and has arrived at Spa with a new Honda engine that will benefit from a full 7 tokens of performance upgrades. “They are almost […]
Magnussen admits talks with Renault rivals
Aug.26 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen has admitted he has been in contact with other teams because Renault is yet to sign him up for the 2017 season. After the McLaren experience, the Dane returned to the grid this year with the new works Renault team, but the French outfit is believed to be toying with an […]
Public needs ‘miracle’ to see Schumacher again
Aug.26 (GMM) A “miracle” is what is needed if the public wants to ever again see F1 legend Michael Schumacher. That is the downbeat news of Gerd Kramer, on the day that the F1 world celebrated the 25th anniversary of Schumacher’s grand prix debut at Spa in 1991. A quarter of a century on, almost […]
Sauber looks to rebuild tattered team
Aug.26 (GMM) Sauber is starting to rebuild its tattered organisation after almost succumbing to financial woes in 2016. The Swiss team has been bought out and rescued by a mysterious investment group, which reportedly has close ties to Swedish driver Marcus Ericsson. Sauber is not commenting on that, but the outfit has arrived at Spa-Francorchamps […]
New teammate Ocon ‘interesting’ – Wehrlein
Aug.26 (GMM) Pascal Wehrlein used the summer break to sit his theory test for the C1 truck license category. “I will take the practical part after the season,” the Manor driver is quoted by Speed Week, explaining that away from the track, he wants to drive vehicles that exceed 3.5 tonnes. For now, his focus […]
Button to ‘probably’ stay in F1
Aug.26 (GMM) Jenson Button says his plans beyond 2016 will be known “soon”. It is strongly rumoured that McLaren-Honda will end its seven-year relationship with the 2009 world champion by replacing him with Stoffel Vandoorne. Button, 36, has subsequently been linked with a return to Williams. “I am almost there with my thought process and […]
Hamilton not angry but plays down Spa win
Aug.25 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton on Thursday insisted he is not angry with Mercedes as he faces a difficult weekend at Spa. Although rested after the summer break and preparing for the weekend in Belgium with his dogs, the Briton faces losing his championship lead due to a spate of grid penalties. After earlier technical trouble, […]
Hulkenberg to also test Halo at Spa
Aug.25 (GMM) Nico Rosberg will not be the only F1 driver trying the ‘Halo’ cockpit protection device in Friday practice. It has emerged that the Force India of Nico Hulkenberg – an outed opponent of the safety-oriented concept – will also be using Halo at Spa-Francorchamps, ahead of its potential mandatory debut in 2018. “I […]
Vandoorne says he could leave McLaren
Aug.25 (GMM) Stoffel Vandoorne says that if he doesn’t race for McLaren next year, he could go elsewhere in pitlane. The 24-year-old Belgian and reigning GP2 champion has been strongly backed by the British team, and made his grand prix debut for McLaren early in 2016 when Fernando Alonso was injured. But the Woking team […]
Rosberg questions ‘safety freak’ Hamilton
Aug.25 (GMM) Nico Rosberg has all guns blazing as he bids to put his world championship campaign back on track at Spa and beyond. Before the summer break, the German lost his once-significant championship lead to teammate Lewis Hamilton as the British driver strung together four wins. But Rosberg now says there is a “clean […]
Vandoorne ‘definitely’ ready for F1 – Capito
Aug.25 (GMM) McLaren’s incoming chief executive says Stoffel Vandoorne is ready for F1. Early this year, the British team signed up Volkswagen’s world rallying chief Jost Capito to be its new CEO. The German is now ready to start work on 1 September, but says he is not yet involved in any decision-making at McLaren. […]
Schumacher’s fate ‘tragic’ – Brawn
Aug.25 (GMM) 25 years after observing the meteoric start to the most successful career in F1 history, Ross Brawn says the fate of Michael Schumacher is nothing short of “tragic”. Brawn, who was Schumacher’s technical boss at Benetton, Ferrari and Mercedes, says he was already in talks with the then 22-year-old when, at Spa, he […]
Indycar, WEC alternatives fade for Massa
Aug.25 (GMM) Felipe Massa has played down any claims he might keep his racing dream alive for 2017 by switching to Indycar. As Williams reconsiders its next driver lineup, the Brazilian has said he needs a competitive seat in order to stay in F1 for a sixteenth season. But Turun Sanomat, a Finnish newspaper, said […]
Pace step for 2017 ‘like GP2 to F1’ – Hembery
Aug.25 (GMM) Paul Hembery has tipped a huge performance leap for formula one as a result of the rules changes for 2017. In response to dwindling spectator numbers, the sport collectively agreed that it needs to dramatically speed up the cars next year. “I think formula one lost a little bit of its excitement,” Sebastian […]
Engine upgrades abound ahead of Spa
Aug.25 (GMM) Ferrari is not the only team taking engine upgrades to this weekend’s Belgian grand prix. We reported earlier that while a new specification will be at the Spa-Francorchamps track, the Maranello team might not actually use it until Monza. Nonetheless, the upgrade has cost Ferrari all of its remaining 3 upgrade tokens for […]
Hamilton faces penalties, Rosberg to test ‘halo’
Aug.24 (GMM) Mercedes has revealed world championship leader Lewis Hamilton is “likely” to face penalties this weekend at Spa. We reported earlier that the British driver was in fact more likely to take his unscheduled sixth engine – and therefore a grid penalty – at Monza, where it is even easier to overtake. But Mercedes […]
Ferrari taking new engine to Spa – report
Aug.24 (GMM) Ferrari has a new engine specification in its luggage as the sport prepares to wake from its August slumber this weekend in Belgium. The development follows a less than impressive mid-season period for the Italian team, having fallen off Mercedes’ heels and even behind Red Bull as well. So Speed Week cites Italian […]