Mar.10 (GMM) Sauber has now paid the two thirds of its 300-strong workforce in Switzerland who were waiting for their overdue February wages. “The financial situation for Sauber is tense,” announced the well-connected Swiss newspaper Blick, “but at least the outstanding February wages are now paid. “Sauber can breathe, but not breathe easy,” the report […]
India may seek Mallya extradition, arrest – report
Mar.10 (GMM) Doubts Vijay Mallya might have to miss next weekend’s season opener in Australia appear over, but the Force India chief’s troubles in India are far from over. As over a dozen aggrieved banks line up to recover debts following the collapse of the former billionaire’s airline Kingfisher, they called for the seizure of […]
Wolff sells last shares in Williams team
Mar.10 (GMM) Toto Wolff has severed his last ties to the Williams team. The Austrian entered F1 in 2009 when he bought into the British team and became a director. He left in 2013 when he bought 30 per cent of Mercedes’ new works team and became boss, promising to parent Daimler that he would […]
Plans for faster cars still on track – Lauda
Mar.10 (GMM) F1 remains on track to speed up significantly in the future, according to Niki Lauda. It has been suggested that, despite touted plans to make the cars considerably faster, the teams and Pirelli were struggling to find a unified road forwards. But F1 legend Lauda, the team chairman at back-to-back world champions Mercedes, […]
Austin ends 2016 US GP uncertainty
Mar.10 (GMM) US grand prix organisers brushed aside any doubts about the 2016 race by revealing Taylor Swift, one of the world’s top pop acts, will perform at the October event. It ends weeks of speculation about the future of the popular Austin race, after it was given only provisional status on the final 2016 […]
FIA approves Mugello for F1 races
Mar.10 (GMM) While Charlie Whiting was at Watkins Glen (US), FIA inspectors were also in Italy. Whiting, the F1 race director, visited the iconic Watkins Glen circuit in New York and declared it would make a “wonderful” addition to the annual calendar. “But we all know it is not quite as simple as that,” he […]
Boss Boullier warns against McLaren ‘expectations’
Mar.9 (GMM) Eric Boullier says he does not want McLaren-Honda to set any firm targets for 2016. But Fernando Alonso, the team’s Spanish race driver, clearly does not agree, as he set a couple of clear objectives on Tuesday during a visit to the site of June’s inaugural grand prix in Azerbaijan. “The objective in […]
Honda ‘not yet’ on schedule – Boullier
Mar.9 (GMM) Honda is running behind schedule so far in 2016, McLaren team boss Eric Boullier revealed on Wednesday. After the disaster of 2015, Boullier seems happy with the management change at Honda, although the impending arrival at McLaren of Jost Capito might be reason for him to be nervous. “I did not hire him,” […]
Mercedes proposes 20hp boost for engine rivals
Mar.9 (GMM) A surprising proposal by Mercedes could help solve the issue of Mercedes’ seemingly endless domination in the new ‘power unit’ era. As many predicted a third consecutive season of regular silver-coloured one-twos this year, the so-called ‘Power Unit Working Group’ was this week meeting in London. The group has been tasked with tabling […]
Austin back on track, Monza still in trouble
Mar.9 (GMM) The US grand prix in Austin looks to be back on track. Although now a popular stop on the annual calendar, the race’s October date was given mere provisional status due to a funding dispute between organisers and the Texas government. But F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone told Forbes two weeks ago: “I think […]
F1 trio question ‘celebrity’ Hamilton’s focus
Mar.9 (GMM) A trio of former F1 drivers have considered whether world champion Lewis Hamilton’s increasing global celebrity will hurt his bid for a fourth title in 2016. Some, like current GPDA president Alex Wurz, think the Mercedes driver’s off-track antics – his ‘rock star’ or jet-set lifestyle and amateur forays in the worlds of […]
Struggling Sauber will race in Australia – source
Mar.9 (GMM) Sauber will race in Melbourne next weekend, notwithstanding the financial cloud that hangs over the struggling Swiss team. Boss and co-owner Monisha Kaltenborn confirmed earlier that “part of the February salaries” of the more than 300 staff at Hinwil are yet to be paid. “Two thirds of our employees have not received the […]
Hamilton ‘aggressive’ with Melbourne tyre choice
Mar.9 (GMM) It may be the teams, and not the drivers, who are in charge of the extra freedom on tyre selection in 2016. On Tuesday, Pirelli revealed the choices made for each driver’s car for the Australian grand prix, after the rules were changed to allow a custom selection from among three different compounds […]
Alonso plays down early podiums in 2016
Mar.8 (GMM) Fernando Alonso on Tuesday said the podium is too high a target for McLaren-Honda early in 2016. But as he spoke in Baku as an ambassador for the inaugural grand prix in Azerbaijan later this year, the Spaniard suggested he has high hopes for rapid improvement after the team’s disastrous 2015. “I will […]
Renault to make Ferrari-like engine step – Horner
Mar.8 (GMM) Renault is tipped to make considerable progress with its power unit in 2016, as the works team prepares to unveil its new race livery. After the Lotus buyout, the Enstone team has been running in familiar black during testing but is expected to switch to Renault’s traditional yellow – with a weight-saving matte […]
Maldonado linked with Indycar switch
Mar.8 (GMM) Pastor Maldonado could keep his motor racing career alive in America’s top open wheeler series. The Portuguese-language Diario Motorsport reports that the controversial Venezuelan, ousted by Renault amid sponsorship problems, is in talks with Ed Carpenter’s Indycar team about racing on the road and street tracks in 2016. Whether Maldonado’s departure from F1 […]
F1 board dossier puts Ecclestone under scrutiny
Mar.8 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone will come under scrutiny on Tuesday as a report is tabled at a meeting of F1’s board. The report has been authored by Jean-Marc Huet, a board member and former Uniliver financial chief, and comes hot on the heels of criticism of the 85-year-old F1 supremo. Amid a controversial last-minute qualifying […]
Haryanto may struggle to qualify – Doornbos
Mar.8 (GMM) F1 rookie Rio Haryanto might struggle even to qualify for races this year. That is the claim of former grand prix driver Robert Doornbos, who knows the back of the grid well after racing for backmarker Minardi a decade ago. However, he told the Dutch broadcaster Ziggo Sport Totaal that the Manor team […]
Drivers to ‘fend for ourselves’ in 2016 – Rosberg
Mar.8 (GMM) The further clampdown on pit-to-driver radio communications in 2016 will spice up the action. That is the view of a couple of 2016 drivers, after Mercedes chief Toto Wolff this week declared that the incoming rule changes should make the Lewis Hamilton versus Nico Rosberg battle more exciting this year. Some interpreted his […]
Coulthard sides with qualifying, ‘halo’ criticism
Mar.8 (GMM) David Coulthard says he sympathises with drivers who are openly questioning the latest changes within formula one. While most drivers are either publicly or privately calling for better tyres and faster cars, the next two changes in fact look set to be a controversially-revised qualifying format and the ‘halo’ cockpit safety collar. Coulthard, […]