Feb.12 (GMM) The jury is out as to whether Ferrari can take on Mercedes for the 2016 world championship. What is clear is that, after two consecutive seasons of Mercedes’ dominance in the new ‘power unit’ era, Ferrari is at least determined to close the gap. “Ferrari have not held back over the winter,” read […]
Bottas more prepared for F1 rumours now
Feb.12 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas says he is now more prepared for when intense speculation takes centre stage in his F1 career. After a steady and impressive first few seasons in the sport, the Finn found himself in the middle of global intrigue last year amid rumours he might replace Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari. Ultimately, 26-year-old […]
Circuit chief ousted at Nurburgring
Feb.12 (GMM) News emerged on Friday from the Nurburgring, an historic German circuit battling to keep its grand prix up and running. The German grand prix is returning to the calendar in 2016, after an ownership crisis at the Nurburgring led to the country’s first absence from F1 in decades last year. And now, Nurburgring […]
Schumacher family should give health update – Weber
Feb.12 (GMM) Michael Schumacher’s former manager thinks the family should reconsider its decision to keep the public in the dark about the F1 legend’s health. Just after Christmas, Willi Weber, who handled Schumacher’s career from the junior formulae through to title stardom, revealed that he has been unable to visit the great German since his […]
Magnussen must brush off Vasseur comments – pundit
Feb.12 (GMM) A Danish racing driver has urged Kevin Magnussen to brush off news that he was actually only Renault’s second choice for 2016. One of new team boss Frederic Vasseur’s first public acts at Renault was to announce that he actually wanted his new GP2 champion, Stoffel Vandoorne, to race this year. “He has […]
Red Bull’s Marko says F1 drivers overpaid
Feb.11 (GMM) Two prominent F1 chiefs disagree over the issue of whether formula one drivers are grossly overpaid. It is believed top stars like Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel earn dozens of millions of dollars per season, which according to Red Bull official Dr Helmut Marko is excessive. “Basically, the drivers of today […]
Jorda hits back at Sorensen’s 12s per lap claim
Feb.11 (GMM) Carmen Jorda has hit back at a former F1 colleague, following an accusation that her presence at Renault caused him to quit the sport. Marco Sorensen, recently a test driver at the Enstone based team, told Ekstra Bladet newspaper this week that he felt “violated” because Jorda, a female team development driver, was […]
Villeneuve reveals F1 career mistakes
Feb.10 (GMM) 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has admitted to making a couple of mistakes during his formula one career. “I don’t regret anything,” he told the French magazine Auto Hebdo. “My only mistake was to renew the contract with BAR (in 2002) when I had an offer from Renault,” the French Canadian revealed. Had […]
Grosjean enjoys simulator run in 2016 Haas car
Feb.10 (GMM) Romain Grosjean says he enjoyed his first run at the wheel of Haas’ 2016 car — in the virtual world. The Frenchman told the sports daily L’Equipe that, two weeks before the real version gets up and running, he drove the new American team’s first car in the simulator. “The feeling was quite […]
Petrov eyes F1 future for Russian team
Feb.10 (GMM) F1 could have a Russian team in the not-too-distant future. Former Renault and Caterham driver Vitaly Petrov, who was the first Russian to race in formula one, will this year return to action in Le Mans’ LMP2 prototype class, driving for SMP Racing. SMP is a Russian bank, and Petrov said of the […]
Wehrlein to race with Manor in 2016 – Bild
Feb.10 (GMM) Pascal Wehrlein will make his F1 debut for Manor this year. That is the claim on Wednesday of the major German daily Bild Zeitung, referring to the Mercedes reserve driver and reigning DTM champion. Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has admitted to negotiating with the newly Mercedes-powered backmarker team about a seat for Wehrlein […]
F1’s ‘glorious days’ are now – Andretti
Feb.10 (GMM) Mario Andretti has counted himself out of the constant criticism of modern formula one. The F1 legend and 1978 world champion raced in the glorious era between the late 60s and the early 80s, but he stops short of saying it was F1’s best period. “There will always be those who say ‘The […]
Maldonado says F1 exit a ‘bolt from the blue’
Feb.10 (GMM) Pastor Maldonado has revealed his eleventh-hour ousting at Renault hit him like “a bolt from the blue”. The Venezuelan, replaced for 2016 by former McLaren driver Kevin Magnussen, confirmed that his F1 adventure came to an end due to problems with his PDVSA sponsorship. “The situation changed dramatically within a few hours and […]
Schumacher staying in F4 this year – report
Feb.10 (GMM) Michael Schumacher’s son will delay his move into the highly-competitive European F3 series for at least another year. That is the claim of Germany’s Sport Bild, revealing that 16-year-old Mick will instead spend another full year in the formative single seater category Formula 4. It is believed, however, that young Schumacher will combine […]
Wehrlein confirms Manor race seat
Feb.10 (GMM) Pascal Wehrlein has confirmed reports he will make his F1 debut with Manor in 2016. Earlier, the major German newspaper Bild reported that the deal between the Mercedes junior and the newly Mercedes-powered backmarker team is now done. The 21-year-old German, Mercedes reserve and reigning DTM champion confirmed to Sport Bild: “Toto Wolff […]
Wehrlein admits Manor deal for one year
Feb.10 (GMM) Pascal Wehrlein on Wednesday admitted his Manor race deal is for one season only. “I have a one year contract here,” he told Speed Week at the team’s Banbury (UK) headquarters, ahead of a seat fitting in the new Mercedes-powered MRT05 car. 21-year-old Wehrlein, the Mercedes reserve and youngest ever DTM champion, is […]
Briatore changes face with plastic surgery
Feb.10 (GMM) Flavio Briatore is a radically changed man, according to the latest gossip reports emerging from Italy. Chi, an Italian gossip magazine, has published paparazzi photographs of the former Renault chief looking not only markedly thinner, but with a noticeably changed face. The flamboyant 65-year-old Italian, ejected from F1 amid a race-fixing scandal and […]
Jorda role prompted Sorensen to quit Renault
Feb.9 (GMM) Marco Sorensen says he quit F1’s Enstone team in protest of the status of female development driver Carmen Jorda. Jorda, a former GP3 driver, was controversially appointed by Lotus last year, but it surprised many when it emerged she has kept the role for 2016 in the wake of the Renault takeover. For […]
No change to Sauber’s 2016 car plan
Feb.9 (GMM) Sauber is pressing ahead with its plan to begin testing its 2016 car only at the second and final pre-season test next month. The Swiss team announced on Monday that the C35, which will not be in action when official testing begins in Barcelona later in February, has at least passed the FIA […]
Magnussen set to split with manager
Feb.9 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen and his long-time manager Dorte Riis Madsen are set to split, according to the Danish newspaper BT. The report said it was the young Danish driver, and not his female manager Madsen, who negotiated with Renault and other teams and secured his return to F1 for 2016. It is believed Magnussen, […]