Jan.21 (GMM) F1 returnee Honda this year may be allowed to do just a quarter of the engine development of its 2015 rivals Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault. After initially being left out of the new engine ‘unfreeze’, the FIA relented and has permitted the Japanese manufacturer to do some in-season upgrading this year. The FIA’s […]
Rumour – Haas to rescue Marussia for 2015
Jan.21 (GMM) Is Gene Haas the mysterious investor looking into rescuing Marussia? The Nascar team co-owner, who is entering formula one in 2016, is already linked with the ailing backmarker as he has bought team equipment from administrators looking to raise money to pay back Marussia’s creditors. Rumours also suggest he has acquired Marussia’s Banbury […]
Williams reveals 2015 car on magazine cover
Jan.21 (GMM) Williams has given F1 fans an early glimpse of its new car, as the once-great British team eyes a return to the top step of the podium in 2015. The Grove outfit was the surprise of last season, bursting up the ranks from ninth in 2013 to third in 2014, and now singled […]
New nose rules a ‘headache’ – Symonds
Jan.21 (GMM) Williams’ technical chief admits the team has had to make substantial changes to the car for 2015 due to the new nose rules. The Grove team managed a sensational leap last year from ninth in the championship in 2013 to third, behind only Mercedes and Red Bull. Some of that leap was undoubtedly […]
Ferrari signs Spaniard as lead engineer
Jan.21 (GMM) As two Spaniards depart Ferrari, another arrives. Tester Pedro de la Rosa and, of course, number 1 driver Fernando Alonso have departed the fabled Maranello marque amid its radical restructuring. But at least one Spaniard has arrived in their wake, Italian and Spanish sources have revealed. His name is Toni Cuquerella, who worked […]
Bianchi crash means earlier races for 2015 hosts
Jan.20 (GMM) Five hosts on this year’s 20-race F1 calendar will see their respective grands prix start earlier than usual in 2015. After Jules Bianchi’s horror crash at Suzuka in fading light late last season, the FIA vowed to look into ensuring races are no longer started too close to dusk. The trend outside of […]
Ferrari rules out having English HQ
Jan.20 (GMM) Ferrari has ruled out leaving Italy as it bids to end a seven-year championship drought. Having faltered at the start of the new turbo V6 era, the Maranello marque has undergone a radical shake-up ahead of what new president Sergio Marchionne admits will be yet another difficult campaign in 2015. In the late […]
Force India will not test 2015 car at Jerez
Jan.20 (GMM) Force India may be the first team to ‘launch’ in 2015, but it will also be the last new car to actually hit the official test tracks. The Silverstone based team is preparing to reveal its new livery in Mexico City on Wednesday. But Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport reported that the new […]
Grosjean not ruling out colour change for Lotus
Jan.20 (GMM) Lotus could be a third team set to make a major livery change for the 2015 season. It has already emerged that reigning champions Mercedes could switch from silver to chrome this year, taking over from McLaren whose new partnership with Honda could see the move to predominantly white colours. And when asked […]
Palmer to drive on Fridays for Lotus
Jan.20 (GMM) Lotus has signed reigning GP2 champion Jolyon Palmer as its third and reserve driver for 2015. The Enstone team said the 24-year-old Briton, whose father Jonathan is a former F1 driver, broadcaster and circuit owner, will attend all the races and take part in “a significant number” of Friday practice sessions. “My goal […]
Malaysia set for new F1 race contract
Jan.20 (GMM) Malaysia looks set to announce a new multi-year contract to keep hosting the annual grand prix at Sepang. It emerged recently that circuit boss Razlan Razali travelled to London where he met F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, ostensibly for contract talks. That is because the current race deal expires after the 2015 edition in […]
Vandoorne hopes Magnussen setback boosts F1 hopes
Jan.20 (GMM) Stoffel Vandoorne insists he is not worried Kevin Magnussen’s demotion at McLaren has also put his own F1 hopes in reverse. Heading into last year, Belgian Vandoorne had become the McLaren-backed junior poised to break into F1, hot on the heels of colleague Magnussen’s grand prix debut for the grandee British team. But […]
F1 assessing impact of 2015 engine ‘unfreeze’
Jan.20 (GMM) Manufacturers and teams are busily assessing the impact of the newly-clarified engine ‘freeze’ situation, mere weeks before the season opener. Pushed by Ferrari and Renault, the governing FIA has agreed to allow 2014 engine suppliers including reigning champions Mercedes to use their 32 development ‘tokens’ beyond the original start-of-season deadline. And after a […]
Monza can survive without F1 race – boss
Jan.20 (GMM) Monza insists it would survive even without the iconic Italian grand prix. Bernie Ecclestone said last year that the current contractual terms with the fabled Autodromo Nazionale are “a disaster”, warning that “after 2016, bye-bye”. It then emerged shortly before Christmas that the new, so-called ‘stability law’ passing through parliament could cost Monza […]
CNN moves from Caterham to McLaren
Jan.20 (GMM) A sponsor of the ailing backmarker Caterham has found its way to McLaren. The grandee British team announced on Tuesday that CNN, the famous American news channel, has signed up to be an on-car McLaren sponsor in 2015 and beyond. Until the backmarker struck trouble during last year’s F1 season, CNN adorned the […]
Volvo eyes Formula E, not F1
Jan.19 (GMM) Volvo has set its sights on a global open-wheel championship — and it isn’t F1. The Swedish carmaker already races in Scandinavian touring cars and Australian V8 supercars, although chief Alain Visser recently hinted that Volvo is rethinking its commitment to motor sport. “Look at Land Rover and Jaguar,” he told the Swedish […]
Mercedes denies ‘old’ engine for 2015 claims – report
Jan.19 (GMM) Mercedes has reportedly dismissed claims it will begin the 2015 season with its ‘old’ V6 engine of last year. With the FIA agreeing to allow a development loophole under the existing ‘freeze’ rules, the sport’s engine makers are currently contemplating how best to deploy their 32 upgrade ‘tokens’ throughout the 2015 season. One […]
Wehrlein eyes job with Mercedes-linked F1 team
Jan.19 (GMM) Pascal Wehrlein is a name on the fast-track to formula one. Driving for Mercedes’ premier team in DTM, the 20-year-old last year became the youngest winner in the German touring car series’ entire history. So the German carmaker signed him up in September to be the F1 team’s new reserve. Since then, he […]
Crucial Marussia auction postponed
Jan.19 (GMM) An auction of crucial team equipment has been postponed, as Marussia clings to survival less than a month before the 2015 season. Team president Graeme Lowdon had warned at the weekend that if the latest auction – featuring 2014 cars, components and race-day equipment – goes ahead on Wednesday, “it would be difficult” […]
Marussia in ‘advanced’ rescue talks
Jan.19 (GMM) Marussia and its administrators has confirmed an auction of team equipment has been postponed due to rescue talks with a potential investor. Earlier on Monday, it emerged that the sale of 2014 cars, components and race-day equipment scheduled for Wednesday was called off by the team’s administrators. The BBC has quoted the administrator […]