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 […]
Bosses call for new qualifying to be scrapped
Mar.19 (GMM) Leading figures in formula one are calling on the sport to scrap the new ‘musical chairs’ qualifying format after the woeful spectacle of Melbourne. The eleventh-hour format tweak was controversial from the start, but few experts or pundits imagined the calamity of late Saturday afternoon in Albert Park. “The crescendo was the guy […]
‘Afraid’ drivers should quit F1 – Villeneuve
Mar.18 (GMM) Jacques Villeneuve has slammed F1 drivers who are calling loudly for the introduction of the ‘halo’ cockpit protection system. The story has split the driver camp, with Daniel Ricciardo telling Nico Hulkenberg recently to stop being a “hero” by arguing against the radical safety concept. “I read that and it made me smile,” […]
Vettel hopes Margherita wears crown in 2016
Mar.18 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel’s 2016 car is named after a crown-wearing queen, not a pizza. “It is not about pizza,” the German insisted to Bild newspaper, after international reports said Vettel’s traditional female name for his Ferrari – ‘Margherita’ – was a nod to his favourite topping. “Margherita was an Italian queen, and we hope […]
Massa admits Williams not in title fight
Mar.18 (GMM) Felipe Massa has acknowledged that Williams will not get involved in the title fight between Mercedes and Ferrari in 2016. Although with a much smaller budget, the British team finished third overall for the past two years and had targeted a step forward this season. But Robert Doornbos, a former F1 driver, thinks […]
Secret tyre debut leaves F1 teams angry – report
Mar.18 (GMM) F1 teams are reportedly angry that Pirelli introduced a new tyre late last year without telling them. Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said it emerged during a technical meeting between the teams and Charlie Whiting in Melbourne that the new tyre made its secret debut in Brazil last November. Reportedly, it was the […]
Toro Rosso drivers eye Kvyat’s Red Bull seat
Mar.18 (GMM) The 2016 Toro Rosso could be the perfect tool for its drivers to make their case for a move to the premier team Red Bull Racing for 2017. Jan Lammers, a former F1 driver from the Netherlands, thinks the car might be so good that even engine supplier Ferrari could be feeling nervous. […]
Wolff’s season hits snag at paddock gates
Mar.18 (GMM) The start of Toto Wolff’s 2016 campaign hit a roadblock even before he entered the paddock gates in Melbourne. Germany’s Auto Bild noticed that the Austrian only gained entry in Albert Park with a race-by-race FOM pass — not the full-time credential befitting any other team boss. The report said Wolff simply filed […]
Hitzinger linked with Red Bull F1 engine foray
Mar.18 (GMM) Rumours that Red Bull could build its own F1 engine are firing yet again. Team boss Christian Horner has always rejected the speculation on the basis that engine manufacturing is not a “core competency” of the energy drink-owned outfit. But many thought Thursday’s news of a collaboration with the British luxury carmaker Aston […]
Toro Rosso’s Sainz survived Cepsa departure
Mar.18 (GMM) Carlos Sainz says he is happy to have survived the departure from Toro Rosso of the major Spanish sponsor Cepsa. Many believed the Red Bull-backed Sainz’s arrival at the Faenza based team last year was also linked strongly to the presence of Cepsa, the Spanish oil multinational. That branding is gone for 2016, […]
Sainz refuses to join F1 rule criticism ‘negativity’
Mar.18 (GMM) Carlos Sainz has refused to join the criticism of the latest rule changes in formula one. In Melbourne, not only is the controversial new ‘musical chairs’ qualifying set to make its debut, but so too is a further clampdown on pit-to-car radio communications. Many have not been shy to let their opinions be […]
Whiting scolds Hamilton for missing meetings
Mar.18 (GMM) Charlie Whiting has scolded world champion Lewis Hamilton for failing to attend key meetings. It has been a tumultuous start to the season for the Mercedes driver, after his social media activities in New Zealand even caught the attention of local police. F1 stalwart Sir Jackie Stewart thinks Hamilton should apologise for the […]