May 29 (GMM) Felipe Massa has admitted that 2016 could be his last season driving for Williams. Speculation in Monaco is linking not only the Red Bull Racing refugee Daniil Kvyat with Massa’s seat for 2017, but also McLaren-Honda’s Jenson Button. Massa, 35 years old and with 11 Ferrari race wins under his belt, admitted […]
Button wants to keep McLaren-Honda seat
May 29 (GMM) Jenson Button says he wants to keep racing with McLaren-Honda. However, it is slowly becoming an open paddock secret that McLaren intends to replace the 36-year-old with youngster Stoffel Vandoorne for 2017. Button told Corriere della Sera in Monaco: “While I have the chance to drive a competitive car, and maybe it […]
Grosjean hopes to end France’s winning drought
May 29 (GMM) Romain Grosjean is hoping France will not have to wait twenty more years for its next grand prix win. Monaco this weekend is the 20th anniversary of Olivier Panis’ fortuitous win in a Ligier — the last time a French driver has won a formula one race. Now 49, Panis thinks the […]
Verstappen will bounce back in 2016 – Doornbos
May 29 (GMM) Max Verstappen will bounce back from his crash to earth in Monaco, according to fellow Dutch racer Robert Doornbos. After all the praise and plaudits following Barcelona, where the 18-year-old became F1’s youngest ever winner, Verstappen crashed to earth during Q1 in Monaco with a thumping impact into the unforgiving barriers. Former […]
Wolff excuses Hamilton for bad mood in Monaco
May 29 (GMM) Toto Wolff says Lewis Hamilton’s bad mood on Saturday was understandable. Reporters said the reigning world champion – usually calm and chirpy in 2016 – was obviously annoyed in Monaco after yet another engine glitch left him just third on the grid. The Briton said reliability trouble has “become the norm” on […]
Monza negotiations moved on to Monaco
May 29 (GMM) Monza’s long and troubled negotiations over the future of the Italian grand prix have moved onto Monaco. Corriere della Sera newspaper reports that Angelo Sticchi Damiani, president of the Italian automobile club, met in the Principality with Bernie Ecclestone as Monza tries to secure a new contract beyond September’s race. “We addressed […]
Raikkonen should keep Ferrari seat – source
May 29 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen looks set to keep his seat at Ferrari into 2017. That is the claim of arguably the most respected Italian journalist in the paddock, Pino Allievi. “At the moment, Kimi’s place at Ferrari is safe,” the La Gazzetta dello Sport correspondent told the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat. Reports had suggested […]
Time short for 2017 tyre testing – Pirelli
May 29 (GMM) Pirelli has finally signed on the dotted line with the FIA, confirming it will definitely stay as F1’s official supplier in 2017 and beyond. The Italian marque on Saturday marked the occasion by revealing what next year’s wider, bigger and faster tyres will look like on an F1 show car in the […]
Grosjean moves on from 2015 Verstappen shunt
May 28 (GMM) Romain Grosjean insists there are no hard feelings between himself and Max Verstappen, a year after their scary Monaco crash. In a rare mistake for the teen Dutchman, Verstappen slammed at high speed into Grosjean’s Lotus and then the Ste Devote barriers during last year’s race. Speaking to the Dutch newspaper De […]
Region pledges millions to end Monza standoff
May 28 (GMM) Lombardy, one of Italy’s twenty regional governments, has pledged EUR 5 million in a bid to end the stand-off between Monza and Bernie Ecclestone. Amid rising speculation the famous former F1 track Imola is shaping up to replace historic Monza, Lombardy president Roberto Maroni admitted he is “worried”. “We are a bit […]
Manager keeps ‘hope’ of Schumacher recovery
May 28 (GMM) Michael Schumacher’s manager on Friday collected a lifetime achievement award, organised by the Nurburgring, on behalf of the F1 legend. “This award is an acknowledgement of his great willpower, his motivation, his talent, his discipline and his work ethic,” Sabine Kehm said. 47-year-old Schumacher has not been seen publicly since suffering serious […]
F1 decides on ‘halo’ for 2017
May 28 (GMM) F1 cars will reportedly be fitted with a further development of the ‘halo’ cockpit protection system in 2017. Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said the decision was taken by the FIA as well as team technical directors during a five-hour meeting at Monaco’s Novotel hotel on Friday. The decision to definitely push […]
Kvyat says F1 future ‘in my hands now’
May 28 (GMM) According to the latest paddock whispers, Daniil Kvyat could be heading for the exit of Red Bull’s F1 programme. Recently relegated from the top team to Toro Rosso, speculation suggests the young Russian might now be in the frame for a move to Williams for 2017, replacing the experienced Felipe Massa. The […]
Another crash could mean team orders – Hamilton
May 28 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton has admitted he and teammate Nico Rosberg cannot afford to crash again and continue to stave off the imposition of team orders. The reigning triple world champion said it is “cool” that even after taking each other out in Barcelona, Mercedes has left the silver-clad duo free to keep racing […]
Mercedes must keep Rosberg – Lauda
May 27 (GMM) Niki Lauda on Friday said it must be Mercedes’ priority to keep Nico Rosberg. Championship leader Rosberg’s contract expires at the end of the year, and he is being assisted in his negotiations to renew it by F1 legend Gerhard Berger. “I’m friends with him and his father Keke,” Berger confirmed to […]
Red Bull, Renault poised to extend deal
May 27 (GMM) Renault and Red Bull seem poised to extend their engine deal beyond 2016. After the breakdown of their semi-works partnership last year, the parties agreed to enter a customer supply deal for 2016, with Red Bull’s Renault engines now branded as Tag-Heuer. Red Bull, however, has rarely been happier with Renault than […]
Legal action ‘wrong path’ for Bianchi family – Stewart
May 27 (GMM) F1 legend Sir Jackie Stewart has questioned the Bianchi family’s decision to sue the sport over the death of their son. 25-year-old Jules Bianchi died last year as a result of his horror crash in a wet gravel trap in fading light at Suzuka late in 2014. Headed by his father Philippe, […]
Ferrari to be first with 2017 test car
May 27 (GMM) Ferrari looks set to get the jump on the F1 field for 2017 by being first out of the blocks with a test car. Top teams have put their hands up to help official supplier Pirelli develop its bigger and significantly different tyres for the wider and faster cars of next year. […]
Kvyat ‘not afraid’ of Red Bull criticism
May 27 (GMM) Daniil Kvyat insists he is “not afraid” of speaking his mind in the wake of his controversial demotion by Red Bull. Just before Max Verstappen won in Barcelona, it was Russian Kvyat who was unceremoniously flicked back to the energy drink company’s junior team Toro Rosso. Obviously angry, the 22-year-old has since […]
Toro Rosso wants up-to-date engines for 2017
May 27 (GMM) Toro Rosso is moving to receive up-to-date engines from Ferrari in 2017. This year, after the collapse of the semi-works relationship between team owner Red Bull and Renault, Toro Rosso moved to 2015-spec Ferrari power this year. It means the Faenza team, whilst having one of the best cars on the grid, […]