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 […]
Button hopes for four-way title fight in 2017
Aug.10 (GMM) Jenson Button has headed into his summer break declaring that his future in F1 is currently clouded. F1’s most experienced active driver is linked with a return to his first team, Williams, for 2017, but he indicated he only wants to stay in F1 if he can win. “Driving in formula one is […]
Ocon poised to replace Haryanto – report
Aug.10 (GMM) Esteban Ocon appears set to emerge from the summer break as F1’s newest teenage rookie. Auto Hebdo, a French magazine, claims the Mercedes-backed 19-year-old has got the green light to replace Rio Haryanto at Manor, after the Indonesian’s backing ran dry. Indeed, AFP news agency reports this week that Indonesian officials recently received […]
F1 should start 2021 engine planning now – officials
Aug.9 (GMM) F1 should start putting its mind to the future of the engine regulations, according to two of the sport’s leading technical officials. Mercedes has dominated the first three seasons of the controversial ‘power unit era’, but the basic 1.6 litre V6 formula is set in stone until the end of 2020. Some believe […]
F1’s Brazilian duo face uncertain future
Aug.9 (GMM) F1’s two Brazilian drivers are each facing an uncertain future beyond 2016. The most experienced of the pair is Felipe Massa, the long-time Ferrari driver whose current employer Williams is openly assessing its options for 2017. But Valtteri Bottas, Massa’s current teammate, thinks the British team would be wise to keep the 35-year-old […]
Bottas has Renault ‘offer’ – source
Aug.8 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas has an “offer” to switch from Williams to the Renault works team for 2017. That is the claim of Oskari Saari, the F1 commentator for Finnish television MTV. Williams is obviously toying with the notion of replacing both Bottas and Felipe Massa for 2017, amid speculated links with Jenson Button, Lance […]
Only ‘good offer’ would restart F1 career – Buemi
Aug.8 (GMM) Sebastien Buemi says only a “good offer” from a F1 team could entice him away from his current motor racing forays. Since losing his Toro Rosso seat at the end of 2011, the now 27-year-old Swiss has rebuilt his career by winning the world sports car championship in 2014. He is also the […]
Rosberg lacks Hamilton’s ‘killer instinct’ – Marko
Aug.8 (GMM) It is Lewis Hamilton’s “killer instinct” that in 2016 will deliver championship victory to him for a third consecutive time. That is the view of Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko, when asked to nominate a favourite in the increasingly two-horse title race between Hamilton and his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg. Another former F1 […]
Only new rules can stop Mercedes – Alonso
Aug.8 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has hailed the timing of F1’s regulations change for 2017. Some have questioned the radical aerodynamics, chassis and tyre changes that are coming next year, saying performance in F1 was just beginning to converge in the current ‘power unit’ era that began in 2014. But Spaniard Alonso has made no secret […]
Newey ‘fully motivated again’ – Horner
Aug.8 (GMM) Adrian Newey is getting much more involved in the design of next year’s Red Bull, according to Red Bull team boss Christian Horner. In the past few years, dismayed at the curtailing of aerodynamics in F1 and the predominance of the ‘power units’, F1’s famous designer took a step back from the front […]
Ecclestone credits Verstappen for Heineken deal
Aug.5 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has credited Max Verstappen for tipping Heineken over the edge in deciding to enter F1. In June, the Dutch beer giant signed a reported multi-hundred million euro sponsorship of the pinnacle of motor sport. Now, as Rio prepares to kick off the 2016 Olympics on Friday, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone dropped […]
Montezemolo struggles to hold tongue over Ferrari
Aug.5 (GMM) Former team president Luca di Montezemolo has struggled to resist commenting on Ferrari’s current situation. Now past the mid-season point in 2016, sections of the Italian press and beyond believe the Maranello marque is in crisis. Kimi Raikkonen admits: “We were ahead of Red Bull and now they’re ahead of us. “It has […]
Wehrlein defends performance against Haryanto
Aug.5 (GMM) Pascal Wehrlein has defended his performance alongside Manor teammate Rio Haryanto in the first half of 2016. Both are rookies, but German Wehrlein entered the season rated much more highly than Haryanto, with the Indonesian’s seat significantly backed by government-linked sponsors. However, Haryanto has managed to qualify ahead of the Mercedes-supported Wehrlein five […]
Ecclestone to ‘sell’ F1 radio coms – report
Aug.4 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone is reportedly planning to monetise access to radio communications in F1. At the recent strategy group meeting, the controversial restrictions on radio communications were dropped completely, with the FIA confirming that this was done “at the request of the teams and commercial rights holder”. Part of the deal is that messages […]
Sirotkin in running for Renault seat – father
Aug.4 (GMM) Sergey Sirotkin’s father thinks the 20-year-old Russian is in the running to step into a race seat with Renault for 2017. Sirotkin first made F1 headlines in 2013, when his father Oleg was at the centre of a so-called Russian rescue deal for the Sauber team that ultimately fell through. Sergey, however, is […]
Hulkenberg hails McLaren-Honda progress
Aug.4 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg has hailed McLaren-Honda’s rate of improvement in 2016. The German drives for Force India, the small Silverstone based outfit that has impressed by taking on Williams for the role of F1’s fourth-quickest team. But Hulkenberg says McLaren-Honda is no longer too far behind. Force India is currently just 15 points behind […]