Jan.11 (GMM) Upgrade work on the Hungarian grand prix venue near Budapest is to take place. It emerged last month that some minor construction tweaks at the twisty Hungaroring circuit are being done, carried out by a company called Swietelsky Magyarorszag. One of the tasks is to re-asphalt the entire track. “This is a huge […]
Grosjean feels like ‘citizen of the world’
Jan.11 (GMM) Romain Grosjean says he feels more European than French or Swiss. Although identifying in F1 as a Frenchman, the 29-year-old was actually born in Geneva and still lives in Switzerland today with his young family. “I was born in Geneva but I feel more of a French driver, because in sport my whole […]
Ferrari boost worth one second per lap – Verstappen
Jan.11 (GMM) Max Verstappen has marked the end of his New Year holiday by predicting a big power boost for Toro Rosso this year. “I’m back in Monaco to train,” the 18-year-old told his website verstappen.nl, “and next week I’m off to Austria for more training.” While Toro Rosso’s big brother Red Bull is staying […]
F1 drivers should speak their minds – Surer
Jan.11 (GMM) F1 would be improved if the drivers were given more freedom to speak their minds, according to pundit Marc Surer. With the sport acknowledging the need for more noise, power and faster cars for the future, former F1 racer and Swiss Surer says attention should also be directed towards the actual drivers. “The […]
Haas F1 car passes FIA crash tests
Jan.9 (GMM) Haas, F1’s new Ferrari-linked American team, is on track to make its testing debut in February. The team, based in North Carolina and also the old Marussia facility in Banbury (UK), announced late on Friday that its car has passed the mandatory FIA crash tests. “Next up: testing at Circuit de Catalunya,” Haas […]
Barcelona slashes funding for Spanish GP
Dec.31 (GMM) Barcelona’s city council has slashed funding for the Spanish grand prix. Local reports including by the El Confidencial and Diario Sport newspapers say the council’s contribution towards the annual race at the Circuit de Catalunya has been halved from EUR 4 million per year to just two. It comes after new mayor Ada […]
Renault wants Alonso at new works team – Minardi
Dec.31 (GMM) Gian Carlo Minardi, a former team owner and boss, believes Renault is making plans to have Fernando Alonso lead the French carmaker’s new works effort. Spaniard Alonso, one of the best and highest paid drivers in F1, has failed to win a title since his back-to-back triumphs at Renault a decade ago. He […]
Verstappen sees Vettel as model for F1 success
Dec.31 (GMM) In the space of a year, Max Verstappen has set himself apart as a future F1 great. “I myself am surprised by the overtakes he does. He surprises me every time,” father Jos, a former F1 driver and once the great Michael Schumacher’s teammate, said. For 43-year-old Dutchman Jos, however, victory never came […]
F1 ‘a bad product’ in 2015 – de la Rosa
Dec.31 (GMM) Former race and test driver Pedro de la Rosa thinks 2016 will be a better year for formula one. “Let’s be realistic,” the 44-year-old, most recently a test driver for Ferrari, told the Spanish sports daily AS. “The (F1) product this year was bad. “There has been nothing to raise passions. It was […]
Schumacher played part in Mercedes success – Brawn
Dec.31 (GMM) Michael Schumacher played a major role in the success enjoyed today by the Mercedes team. That is the view of Ross Brawn, a long-time close friend and colleague of the beleaguered seven time world champion. As Mercedes returned to full works status in F1 between 2010 and 2012, Brawn and Schumacher worked together […]
F1 must be ‘sensible’ over future rule changes – Wolff
Dec.30 (GMM) F1 should be careful about making knee-jerk rule changes to stop Mercedes’ utter dominance. That is the view of Toto Wolff, Mercedes’ team boss, even though he has freely admitted that the silver team’s perpetual winning is “bad for the sport”. Christian Horner, Wolff’s counterpart at Red Bull, worries that 2016 will once […]
Coulthard tips Wurz for ‘major role’ in future
Dec.30 (GMM) Alex Wurz has been tipped for a prominent management role in motor sport for the future. Although recently announcing his retirement from actual racing, the former Benetton and Williams driver will shortly return to the cockpit in Daytona. “They (Chip Ganassi) called me on the day I announced I was retiring,” the 41-year-old […]
Lawyer defends silence on Schumacher condition
Dec.29 (GMM) Michael Schumacher’s media lawyer has defended the right of the great German’s family to fiercely defend his privacy. Tuesday is the two-year anniversary of the F1 legend’s tragic skiing fall in the French Alps, in which he was left with apparently severe brain damage. To date, however, the public is completely in the […]
Drivers, managers giving up on F1 dream – Johansson
Dec.29 (GMM) Drivers and managers are in danger of giving up the F1 dream, former grand prix star Stefan Johansson has warned. The Swede raced in the 80s for Ferrari and McLaren, but today he is involved in the management of his impressive countryman Felix Rosenqvist. The 24-year-old is the new European F3 champion, and […]
McLaren to make ‘big leap’ in 2016 – Johansson
Dec.29 (GMM) Stefan Johansson has tipped his former team McLaren to make a “big leap” in 2016. And the 59-year-old Swede, who raced for the British team in 1987 just before its first and ultra-successful Honda era began, is not alone in thinking McLaren-Honda is now capable of putting its troubles of 2015 quickly in […]
Vettel tipped to win 2016 title
Dec.29 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has been tipped to take out the 2016 title for Ferrari. Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton were dominant in 2014 and 2015, but Ferrari improved markedly this year. When asked to name the likely 2016 champion, Ferrari reserve and 2016 Haas racer Esteban Gutierrez told Spain’s AS newspaper unhesitatingly: “Vettel.” And 1997 […]
Time ‘tight’ to deliver new pits for Canada GP
Dec.29 (GMM) The City of Montreal has acknowledged that time is tight to deliver the promised new pit and paddock complex for the Canadian grand prix. The race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is promoted privately by a company called Octane, but a new ten-year contract signed with F1 last year required the City to […]
Man charged with Abu Dhabi GP terror plot
Dec.29 (GMM) A man appeared in a United Arab Emirates court early this week charged with planning a terrorist attack on the Abu Dhabi grand prix. The defendant is accused of supporting Al-Qaeda and ISIS and planning other local terror plots, The National and Gulf News publications reported. Reportedly, he was married to Alaa Bader […]
Montezemolo marks Schu anniversary with ‘sadness’
Dec.29 (GMM) It was with sadness on Tuesday that two of Michael Schumacher’s former colleagues marked the two-year anniversary of the great German’s skiing crash. “I relive the drama with great sadness,” admitted former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, under whose reign Schumacher won a record five consecutive world championships wearing red. “I am close […]
Hamilton gets energy from ‘excessive’ lifestyle
Dec.29 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton says he has no intention of easing back the intensity of his off-track lifestyle. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper asked Hamilton, the reigning triple world champion, about his supposed “rock star” life. “I do not feel like a rock star,” the Briton insisted. “I just live my life differently to most […]