Jul.15 (GMM) Ferrari should leave Kimi Raikkonen behind, according to former F1 driver Marc Surer. However, Surer – now a pundit for German television – believes the Finn is in theory an ideal teammate for Sebastian Vettel. “Kimi is the ideal number 2,” he told Speed Week. “No politics, always fair. But I think this […]
FIA tweaks Mosley’s budget cap plan – report
Jul.14 (GMM) F1’s governing body is proposing a cost cap plan for formula one, along the lines of the idea floated recently by former FIA president Max Mosley. While there is consensus up and down pitlane about needing to speed up the cars and spice up the ‘show’, there is still wide disagreement about how […]
Lotus denies sale to Renault now imminent
Jul.14 (GMM) Lotus has denied it is on the cusp of being sold back to Renault. Reports suggest current team owner Gerard Lopez will meet with Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn in Hungary next weekend to hammer out a deal. Given that, just half a decade ago, the transaction was in reverse, Red Bull team boss […]
Button admits F1 future uncertain
Jul.14 (GMM) Jenson Button has contradicted Ron Dennis by admitting his future at McLaren is uncertain. Team supremo Dennis had declared at Silverstone: “Jenson has a two year contract with McLaren. We are not even thinking about other drivers at the moment.” British journalists, however, immediately clarified Dennis’ reportedly misleading comment, insisting the 35-year-old’s deal […]
Russia, Malaysia happy with 2016 calendar shakeup
Jul.14 (GMM) Russia says it is happy with its new early slot on the F1 calendar. Last year and again in 2015, as Sochi joined the ever-expanding world championship schedule, the new Russian grand prix has been held in mid October. But as the newly-published 2016 calendar expands to an unprecedented 21 grands prix, Sochi […]
Horner denies eyeing Toro Rosso’s Key
Jul.14 (GMM) Christian Horner insists Red Bull will not simply poach the increasingly-lauded designer James Key from the junior team Toro Rosso. It has become increasingly clear in 2015 that, with Adrian Newey having taken a step back in 2015, Red Bull has been outpaced in the chassis department this year by Toro Rosso — […]
Grosjean doubts Spa clampdown will ‘improve show’
Jul.14 (GMM) Romain Grosjean is not sure the forthcoming ‘driver aids’ clampdown from August’s Belgian grand prix will be a game changer. Although the big changes to an image-struggling F1 will come in 2016 and especially 2017, one tweak will arrive ahead of the race at fabled Spa-Francorchamps next month. Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport […]
Bianchi’s father says recovery hopes fading
Jul.14 (GMM) Jules Bianchi’s father has admitted hopes are fading that the former Marussia driver will recover from his head injuries. The 25-year-old has never regained consciousness after sliding into a recovery vehicle during last year’s Japanese grand prix almost ten months ago. “In general, progress needs to be made in the first six months,” […]
Van der Garde eyes DTM move – report
Jul.14 (GMM) Giedo van der Garde’s next move in motor racing could be to German touring cars. That is the claim of the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, referring to the 30-year-old who early this year became embroiled in a high-profile legal spat with Sauber over a 2015 race seat. But fellow Dutchman Ernest Knoors, who […]
McLaren should be ruing title sponsor stance – source
Jul.13 (GMM) McLaren’s financial situation could be compounded by a lack of title sponsor, a report in the Sunday Times suggested. The struggling Honda-powered team is a distant ninth in the constructors’ championship, with most insiders not expecting the Japanese carmaker to make a big leap in the second half of the season. However, the […]
Button, Vandoorne eye same F1 seats for 2016 – report
Jul.13 (GMM) Stoffel Vandoorne and Jenson Button have found themselves in competition for the same F1 race seats for 2016, according to the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat. It is therefore interesting that Vandoorne, this year’s dominant GP2 series leader, recently split with The Sports Partnership, a management firm headed by Richard Goddard and Button. The […]
F1 takes another step towards European investigation
Jul.13 (GMM) F1 has taken another step towards being investigated by the European Commission. Last month, it emerged that despite small teams’ concerns about the fairness of the income distribution model and the Strategy Group, Europe’s competition commissioner will not investigate unless a formal complaint is lodged. The Financial Times reported at the time that […]
Lauda denies lacking ‘respect’ for Ferrari
Jul.13 (GMM) Niki Lauda has hit back at suggestions he lacks “respect” for Ferrari. Last week, the F1 legend’s colleague Toto Wolff had to apologise after Lauda provocatively suggested that Ferrari is better at making spaghetti than cars capable of taking on the might of Mercedes. But Lauda, Mercedes’ team chairman, said the apology was […]
Put ‘everything’ under rule-change microscope – Lauda
Jul.13 (GMM) Things are starting to look up in formula one, according to legend Niki Lauda. It has been a period of immense criticism and introspection for the pinnacle of motor sport, but the Mercedes team chairman says television ratings are in fact up. “The ratings this year, and especially since Melbourne, have risen in […]
Lopez set for Renault talks in Hungary – report
Jul.13 (GMM) Gerard Lopez is planning a rare-in-2016 visit to a grand prix next weekend. The Luxembourger, who owns and officially heads the Enstone based team known today as Lotus, has hardly been seen trackside this year, amid swirling speculation about the future. “He’s certainly been to two if not three of the races this […]
2016 German GP return ‘never in doubt’ – source
Jul.13 (GMM) F1’s governing body has released the first official race calendar for 2016, and it confirms the return of the German grand prix. This year’s schedule is currently in an unplanned three-week gap between the British and Hungarian grands prix, just before the sport takes a full month off for the now-customary summer ‘shutdown’. […]
Perez expecting decade in F1
Jul.13 (GMM) Sergio Perez is expecting to spend at least another decade in formula one. But the Mexican was also quoted by the Spanish news agency EFE as admitting he is not sure if he will stay at Force India beyond 2015. That is despite the fact that, after a difficult first half of the […]
Verstappen, Ricciardo play down Ferrari talk
Jul.13 (GMM) Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo now appear out of the running for the Ferrari seat in 2016. The pair had been linked with struggling Kimi Raikkonen’s place, but Toro Rosso teenager Verstappen’s father Jos insisted: “We have not been approached by Ferrari. “And if they are interested,” he told De Telegraaf newspaper, “that’s […]
Briatore guilty, court sides with Schu over privacy
Jul.11 (GMM) An Italian criminal court in Genoa, Italy, has found Flavio Briatore guilty of tax evasion. La Gazzetta dello Sport said the matter involved his luxury yacht Force Blue, which has been seized, with the former Renault chief sentenced to 1 year and 11 months of probation. Briatore, 65, and fellow directors were found […]
Massa should have moved over for Bottas – Hakkinen
Jul.10 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas should have been waved through to boost Williams’ victory hopes in the British grand prix. That is the view of retired two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen. “Valtteri had clearly better pace than Felipe (Massa),” said the Finn, referring to the controversial opening stages of the recent Silverstone race. Brazilian Massa has […]