Aug.16 (GMM) Stefano Domenicali says Lamborghini will not be entering formula one any time soon. After losing his role as Ferrari team boss in 2014, the Italian was snapped up by VW-owned Audi and subsequently made CEO of Audi-owned Lamborghini. But as for the Italian supercar maker entering F1, Domenicali has now told Autosprint: “I […]
Tyres to blame for F1 rain delays – Massa
Aug.16 (GMM) Pirelli has hit back at claims it is to blame for the dearth of wet-weather racing in formula one today. Whilst safety standards in the sport have steadily improved, the other trend of the last decade is that F1 race director Charlie Whiting is increasingly prone to halting track action in the event […]
Sponsor to leave Manor livery from Spa
Aug.15 (GMM) A prominent sponsor will be missing from the livery of Manor’s 2016 car once the summer break ends at Spa next weekend. Even though Rio Haryanto’s funding had dried up before the recent Hockenheim round, the branding of Indonesian state-owned oil company Pertamina remained on the Manor livery. But Haryanto has now been […]
Raikkonen has ‘good chance’ at Spa – Salo
Aug.15 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen has a good chance of a strong result once the summer break ends next weekend. That is the view of fellow Finn and former F1 driver Mika Salo. Commenting on the recent news that Ferrari has renewed its deal with Raikkonen for 2017, Salo said: “Fortunately Kimi has been given more […]
Sainz felt ‘at eye level’ with Verstappen
Aug.15 (GMM) The quiet achiever in F1 says he is looking forward to shining again in 2017. Carlos Sainz began the season alongside Max Verstappen, performing well until the latter was surprisingly called up to replace Daniil Kvyat at Red Bull Racing. Many, however, believe that Sainz would have performed just as well if it […]
Magnussen must do more to secure future – pundit
Aug.15 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen has work to do in order to secure his future in F1. That is the claim of Jason Watt, a fellow Dane and former F3000 driver who said Renault has plenty of options for its 2017 lineup – including Magnussen’s current teammate Jolyon Palmer. “That’s his main problem,” Watt told Ekstra […]
Summer break at right time for Kvyat – Petrov
Aug.15 (GMM) Former F1 driver Vitaly Petrov thinks the summer break came just at the right time for his Russian countryman Daniil Kvyat. Kvyat, who after Petrov was the second ever Russian in F1, has struggled for form since losing his Red Bull seat this year. There are now rumours he could also lose his […]
No new reserve driver for Renault
Aug.15 (GMM) Renault says it will not appoint an official replacement for reserve driver Esteban Ocon. Ocon has been called up to make his F1 race debut from the forthcoming Belgian grand prix and beyond, replacing Manor’s out-of-funds Rio Haryanto. “It is an outstanding opportunity for Esteban to gather mileage and race experience in a […]
2017 tyre tests give top teams ‘huge advantage’
Aug.12 (GMM) F1’s top three teams are getting a “huge advantage” by helping Pirelli test the bigger tyres for 2017. While Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull put up their hands to modify 2015 cars for the higher downforce of next year, McLaren-Honda decided against taking part in the Pirelli testing. “We believe it was better […]
Tech boss gives thumbs up to 2017 cars
Aug.12 (GMM) Force India’s technical boss has given a thumbs up to the new generation of F1 cars for 2017. Teams are now hard at work on the new cars, featuring wider chassis, more downforce and significantly bigger tyres. Asked if the cars will also look more ‘aggressive’, Force India’s Andy Green answered: “Definitely. “They’ll […]
Maldonado set for sports car seat
Aug.12 (GMM) Pastor Maldonado could be set to get his race career back on track in sports cars. Since losing his Lotus/Renault race seat at the end of last year, the controversial Venezuelan has not had a prominent role apart from some Pirelli tyre testing. But it now emerges that the 31-year-old could be drafted […]
Haryanto hopes for F1 race seat return
Aug.12 (GMM) Rio Haryanto says he hopes to return to a race seat in formula one. After failing to come up with EUR 7 million to finance the second half of his maiden F1 campaign, Manor replaced the Indonesian with Mercedes-backed Esteban Ocon. The Indonesian government, having effectively funded Haryanto’s campaign, said it “understands” the […]
Ferrari will be stronger in 2017 – Alonso
Aug.11 (GMM) Fernando Alonso says he has no hard feelings as he looks back on his decision to quit Ferrari. Although the Spaniard has struggled with McLaren-Honda since leaving Maranello at the end of 2014, he declared at the time that he would rather build up a new project rather than keep finishing second in […]
Red Bull keeping Key and Kvyat – Marko
Aug.11 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has played down speculation that two key Red Bull figures could be set to leave the energy drink company’s F1 foray. With James Allison now gone at Ferrari, some have wondered if rumours the Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso’s technical boss James Key might be the ideal replacement. But Marko, who […]
Drivers need a Mercedes or Red Bull to win F1 titles – Marko
Aug.11 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko thinks drivers wanting to win the 2017 world championship need to be at the wheel of a Mercedes or a Red Bull. Ferrari began this season as Mercedes’ closest challenger, but Red Bull has sped past the great Italian team as the sport enters its August summer shutdown. “The goal […]
Haryanto accepts Manor reserve role
Aug.11 (GMM) Rio Haryanto has accepted the reserve driver role at Manor, after being dropped by the backmarker F1 team. The Indonesian and his state-linked sponsors could not come up with the EUR 7 million he needed to complete the 2016 season, with Manor announcing on Wednesday that Mercedes-backed Esteban Ocon will take his place […]
Ocon replaces Haryanto at Manor – confirmed
Aug.10 (GMM) Reports that Esteban Ocon will replace Rio Haryanto at Manor were confirmed on Wednesday morning. France’s Auto Hebdo had reported that the 19-year-old, Mercedes-backed Frenchman would make his debut at Spa after the summer break and stay for the rest of the season, after Haryanto’s Indonesian backing ran out. Now confirmed, the news […]
Pirelli wants Bahrain test for 2017 tyres
Aug.10 (GMM) Pirelli chief Paul Hembery has revealed he is pushing for track testing to take place in warmer locations, admitting Bahrain would be “ideal”. Recently at Hockenheim, team officials indicated that even with the cars and tyres changing dramatically for 2017, they were not too keen on doing more testing away from the cold […]
Hamilton fears title lead won’t last
Aug.10 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton said he headed into F1’s summer break aware that his lead in the world championship might not last for long. Many pundits are predicting that F1’s reigning champion now looks set for a third consecutive world championship, having raced to a 19-point lead over teammate Nico Rosberg at Hockenheim. But while […]
CVC poised to sell F1 stake – report
Aug.10 (GMM) CVC is poised to finally sell its multi-billion dollar majority stake in formula one, according to the business news agency Bloomberg. The report this week said the London based private equity firm is “looking to exit the investment, possibly in a matter of weeks”. Bloomberg said CVC has enlisted the help of Goldman […]