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 […]
F1 career turmoil stopped Alonso’s cycling dream
Jan.19 (GMM) Fernando Alonso shelved his plans for a professional cycling team amid the turmoil of his switch from Ferrari to McLaren. That is the claim of Paolo Bettini, a former cyclist who left his job as head coach of Italy’s national team in order to help Alonso set up a team for cycling’s top […]
Ferrari sets modest goal for Melbourne – insider
Jan.19 (GMM) Ferrari has set a modest target for the 2015 season opener, an insider close to the fabled Maranello team reports. Leo Turrini, famously close to the main protagonists in red, wrote in his Quotidiano blog that the “minimum goal for Ferrari in Melbourne is to get both cars into Q3 on Saturday”. New […]
Mercedes announces Jerez launch for 2015 car
Jan.19 (GMM) Mercedes has confirmed reports it will reveal its title-defending 2015 car on the first day of official winter testing. We reported earlier in January that unlike McLaren and Ferrari, who are staging launch events prior to Jerez, several teams including Mercedes and Red Bull will simply roll their new cars onto the Spanish […]
Last hours approach for ailing Marussia
Jan.18 (GMM) The eleventh hour is fast approaching for Marussia. Now called Manor, the name of the operating company, the backmarker team is in administration and fast shedding its assets to pay millions in creditors’ bills. The Banbury factory, for one, is believed to have been sold to 2016 entrant Gene Haas, and key staff […]
Mercedes to begin 2015 with ‘old’ engine
Jan.17 (GMM) Mercedes looks set to begin the 2015 season with its ‘old’ F1 engine. It is the latest development in the so-called ‘engine unfreeze’ saga, after the FIA conceded a loophole in the 2015 regulations can indeed be legitimately exploited by suppliers. That Ferrari and Renault can now develop their turbo V6s during the […]
Vergne admits Le Mans ‘options’
Jan.17 (GMM) Jean-Eric Vergne is determined to remain one of the world’s top racing drivers. After three years at Red Bull’s junior F1 team Toro Rosso, the 24-year-old was dropped but he has kept his dream alive with a simulator role at the sport’s fabled team, Ferrari. “I still have a future in formula one,” […]
No Telefonica deal for McLaren
Jan.17 (GMM) Telefonica has ruled out becoming McLaren’s title sponsor. The famous British team raced throughout 2014 without a title backer, following the withdrawal of Vodafone. But the return to Woking of Fernando Alonso, to spearhead the team’s new works Honda era, fired rumours the Spanish telecommunications brands Movistar or Telefonica could headline at McLaren […]
2015 hosts rule out F1 night races
Jan.17 (GMM) Two F1 hosts have ruled out switching to a night race format for 2015. Malaysia has been under consistent pressure in recent years from Bernie Ecclestone to switch to a floodlit format, to emulate the Singapore-like spectacle and provide a better television timeslot for the global audience. “In the past he was pushing,” […]
Nurburgring not giving up on 2015 race
Jan.17 (GMM) The Nurburgring is not giving up on hanging onto the German grand prix. Bernie Ecclestone has announced that, amid the Nurburgring’s ownership uncertainties, its return to the calendar this year is now off. The F1 supremo is now negotiating with Hockenheim to take the place on this year’s schedule. “We have a contract […]
Rossi ‘interested’ in 2016 Haas debut
Jan.17 (GMM) Alexander Rossi has admitted he is “really interested” in becoming the first American driver to race a Haas car in formula one. Although Californian, the 23-year-old has risen through the European racing ranks over the past six years, including in Formula BMW, the Renault world series and finally GP2. This year, he came […]
FIA allows Honda to join engine ‘unfreeze’
Jan.17 (GMM) Honda has been granted some engine development freedom for 2015. The Japanese manufacturer had argued to the FIA that being left out of 2014 suppliers Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari’s ‘unfreeze’ loophole was unfair. F1’s governing body originally believed Honda should have to stick to the strict February 28 homologation deadline, as it had […]
FIA to be flexible with new super licence system
Jan.17 (GMM) F1’s governing body has suggested its tough new criteria for the awarding of super licences in 2016 may actually be flexible. The FIA clamped down on the 2016 qualifying criteria for obtaining F1’s mandatory credential due to the controversial debut this year of 17-year-old Max Verstappen. But when the strict new criteria was […]
Byrne working closely with Allison – report
Jan.17 (GMM) Ferrari needed a sweeping change after a “disastrous” start to the new turbo V6 era. That is the view of Sergio Marchionne, the Fiat-Chrysler chief who last year ousted the Maranello marque’s long-time president and figurehead Luca di Montezemolo. “Luca did a great job for 23 years,” Marchionne is quoted by Italy’s La […]
Malaysia now happy with quieter F1
Jan.17 (GMM) Race organisers in Malaysia are getting used to the milder tones of today’s F1. A year ago, Sepang was counted among scores of F1 circuit chiefs who joined Bernie Ecclestone in railing against the loss of the sport’s iconic screams of normally-aspirated power. Boss Razlan Razali told Reuters that when he first heard […]