Mar.22 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko on Tuesday pointed a finger at the F1 rules amid the tension at Red Bull’s junior team. Toro Rosso teen sensation Max Verstappen lost his cool with the Faenza team and teammate Carlos Sainz in Melbourne, after getting stuck behind the sister car. Dutchman Verstappen’s race went wrong amid communication […]
‘Game on’ says Mercedes as Ferrari looms
Mar.21 (GMM) “Game on!” declared a smiling world champion Lewis Hamilton after the Australian grand prix, as he finished second behind teammate Nico Rosberg. The Briton was notably – and oddly – upbeat in the face of defeat to his Mercedes teammate, but Hamilton insisted he has had much worse starts to title campaigns. “The […]
Ever-changing rules hang over F1
Mar.21 (GMM) Amid a thrilling Mercedes versus Ferrari battle for victory in Melbourne, the spectre of ever-changing rules continued to hang over F1. Over the few days of the opening race weekend of 2016, no fewer than three rules were changed. Mika Hakkinen, a former double world champion, thinks the situation is damaging F1. “Fans […]
Imola is ‘option B’ for Italy GP future
Mar.21 (GMM) The death knell is nearing for historic Monza’s place on the F1 calendar, according to the latest reports from Italy. Il Fatto Quotidiano reports that 2016 will be the last Italian grand prix to be held at the fabled Autodromo Nazionale, after negotiations with Bernie Ecclestone broke down terminally. “There is no more […]
Long calendar limits driver ‘aggression’ – Hakkinen
Mar.21 (GMM) The length of the F1 calendar is further limiting the “aggression” with which teams and drivers can tackle individual races. That is the view of Mika Hakkinen, when asked by Tagesspiegel newspaper about what he regards as the current state of formula one. “Already drivers are having to conserve the car,” he said, […]
Alonso wears bandage day after crash
Mar.21 (GMM) Fernando Alonso was wearing a bandage on his knee and a grimace on Monday when he bumped into Blick correspondent Roger Benoit at a Melbourne beach. “I slept badly and have sore ribs,” said the Spaniard, who had flipped and rolled his McLaren-Honda a day earlier after running into Esteban Gutierrez at 300kph. […]
Marko admits Toro Rosso ahead of Red Bull
Mar.21 (GMM) Toro Rosso may now be the third-best team in formula one behind grandees Mercedes and Ferrari. That is despite the fact that driver Carlo Sainz only recently ruled out podiums in 2016, suggesting parent team Red Bull and Williams are further ahead. But teammate Max Verstappen qualified fifth in Melbourne, saying he was […]
F1 ‘always an issue for VW’ – Capito
Mar.20 (GMM) Jost Capito, set to return to the sport from his current post at Volkswagen, says a F1 foray for the German giant cannot be ruled out. “For a company like Volkswagen, formula one is always a topic,” the German, currently running VW’s world rally programme, told Bild am Sonntag newspaper. He has accepted […]
Mercedes eyeing Verstappen for future – Wolff
Mar.20 (GMM) Toto Wolff has admitted Max Verstappen is on Mercedes’ radar for the future. Jos Verstappen, the F1 teen sensation’s father, is openly confirming that while Toro Rosso was the right move for Max initially, he wants his son to be in a “top car” for 2017. The 18-year-old made his mark on the […]
Verstappen furious after Melbourne race
Mar.20 (GMM) Tension is brewing inside the Toro Rosso team after Max Verstappen lost his cool in Melbourne. After qualifying ‘best of the rest’ on Saturday, the Dutchman became furious during the race when he got stuck behind his teammate Carlos Sainz. “The start and the first stint were good, then it turned into …” […]
2016 could put ‘big dent’ in Alonso motivation – Sainz
Mar.20 (GMM) 2016 is a “very important year” for Fernando Alonso’s F1 career. That is the view of his countryman and friend Carlos Sainz jr, in the wake of McLaren-Honda’s woeful 2015 season after Alonso made the switch from Ferrari. “For Fernando this is a very important year,” Sainz, who drives for Toro Rosso, told […]
F1 to revert to 2015 qualifying format for Bahrain
Mar.20 (GMM) F1 will revert to the qualifying system of 2015 at the next race in Bahrain, after the farcical debut of the new ‘musical chairs’ format on Saturday. Team bosses got together in the Melbourne paddock before Sunday’s Australian grand prix and voted unanimously to simply scrap the new concept in its entirety. The […]
Alonso thanks FIA after horror crash
Mar.20 (GMM) Fernando Alonso escaped with little more than a sore knee after a terrifying crash during the Australian grand prix. “I’m fine,” he told Spanish reporters after checking out of the medical centre at Albert Park. The McLaren-Honda had rolled and flipped after striking the rear of Esteban Gutierrez’s Haas at full speed in […]
No $10m start-up bonus for Haas – Ecclestone
Mar.20 (GMM) Haas will not get the $10 million start-up bonus that was paid to F1’s most recent team newcomers. To entice the three new teams – known originally as Virgin, Team Lotus and Hispania – onto the grid for 2010, the bonus was paid by Bernie Ecclestone because teams only get official income based […]
F1 not as good as before – Kubica
Mar.19 (GMM) Robert Kubica says he would return to F1 even if the sport is no longer as spectacular. The Pole’s promising F1 career fell apart ahead of the 2011 season, when his forearm was almost completely severed in a rallying crash. Now 31, he rebuilt his career to the heights of world rallying, and […]
Marko to block Ferrari switch for Ricciardo
Mar.19 (GMM) Red Bull has completely ruled out suggestions it faces losing Daniel Ricciardo at the end of the year. After the similar rumours of 2015, a potential move to Maranello for the affable Australian was put back on the agenda this week by countryman and 1980 world champion Alan Jones. But Dr Helmut Marko […]
Even Ecclestone calls for qualifying axe
Mar.19 (GMM) ‘Musical chairs’ qualifying looks set to be the shortest-lived format for Saturday afternoon in F1’s history. “Remember that stupid qualifying format that only lasted one race back in 2016?” joked an incredulous Martin Brundle as he commentated on the farcical proceedings in Albert Park. So widespread is the condemnation of the format up […]
Pundit questions Hamilton’s podium chances
Mar.19 (GMM) The pundits are split over whether Lewis Hamilton’s controversial off-track lifestyle will end his dominance of formula one. When asked to predict the podium in Melbourne, the flamboyant broadcaster for German television RTL, Kai Ebel, told Bild: “Rosberg, Vettel, Verstappen. “We can see that Lewis Hamilton has been a little distracted,” he explained, […]
Pirelli denies ‘secret Brazil tyre’ story
Mar.19 (GMM) Pirelli has category denied reports it debuted a new tyre specification last year without informing the FIA or the competing teams. Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport claimed on Friday that the new tyre, featuring a special low-grip layer under the main surface, was secretly supplied to teams in Brazil before being shelved. Michael […]
Boullier will not ‘convince’ Alonso to stay in F1
Mar.19 (GMM) Eric Boullier insists it is not his “responsibility” to convince Fernando Alonso to keep racing in formula one. With McLaren-Honda still only a midfield runner in 2016, paddock rumours are swirling in Melbourne that the Spaniard might pull out of his contract with the team and quit F1 altogether before the end of […]