Jan.13 (GMM) Mercedes has no thoughts whatsoever about reassessing its commitment to formula one. The German carmaker left McLaren to become its own works team at the start of the decade, and in the new ‘power unit’ era has been utterly dominant. That recent success, however, has been thanks to a huge annual budget, but […]
Gutierrez admits Haas targeting debut points
Jan.13 (GMM) Haas is targeting points finishes in its debut season, driver Esteban Gutierrez has confirmed. While F1’s newest teams like HRT, Caterham and Manor struggled more for mere survival than for points, the American outfit Haas is coming into F1 with a different model. The team is working closely with Ferrari, even taking on […]
Two post-race tests in 2016 – report
Jan.13 (GMM) F1 teams will test in the days after two European grands prix in 2016, it emerged on Wednesday. Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said there will be four days of in-season testing this year, at Barcelona and Silverstone in the days immediately after the Spanish and British grands prix respectively. Last year, the […]
Details of changes for 2016 Ferrari car emerge
Jan.13 (GMM) In Italy and across the world, anticipation about Ferrari’s new car for 2016 and a potential championship bid is building. A five-day countdown at the Maranello team’s website has begun, with some speculating that the as-yet unnamed 2016 challenger will be unveiled on 18 January. That, however, would be unlikely, given that official […]
Sauber signs Red Bull engineer
Jan.13 (GMM) Sauber has appointed a replacement for departing long-time senior engineer Giampaolo Dall’Ara. Last week, we reported that Dall’Ara has resigned from the Swiss team after 15 years in order to accept an offer to work in the German touring car series DTM. And Sauber has now revealed that the identity of its new […]
Magnussen could replace Maldonado – newspaper
Jan.13 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen is reportedly in talks with Renault about replacing Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado in 2016. Having taken over Lotus, there has been speculation the French carmaker might be re-thinking the Enstone team’s contracts with Maldonado and Jolyon Palmer. But it was British rookie Palmer who was believed to be most in danger, as […]
Humiliating 2015 ‘good for McLaren’ – boss
Jan.13 (GMM) McLaren’s abysmal season was actually “good” for the team, boss Eric Boullier says. Following the hype of Honda’s return to F1 last year and the reunion of the formerly-dominant Anglo-Japanese collaboration, McLaren slumped to the horror low of just ninth at the end of the world championship campaign. Boss Boullier admits the humiliation […]
Manufacturers to supply cheaper F1 engines – report
Jan.12 (GMM) F1’s manufacturers look set to agree to reduce the price of their engines, even if they want to press ahead with the current ‘power unit’ formula beyond 2017. After the carmakers rejected Bernie Ecclestone and Jean Todt’s idea of parallel regulations for an independent engine supplier, they were given until January 15 to […]
Ferrari targeting race win in Australia – Marchionne
Jan.12 (GMM) Sergio Marchionne has reiterated Ferrari’s winning target for 2016. Although it has emerged that development of the Maranello team’s 2016 car was delayed last year, president Marchionne said recently that immediate wins and the title are the only goals for the forthcoming championship campaign. It could be because of Ferrari’s recent separation from […]
Zetsche happy with Mercedes’ driver lineup
Jan.12 (GMM) Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche says he is perfectly happy with Mercedes’ F1 driver duo. Team boss Toto Wolff warned recently that if the bitterness of the rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg spills into the team spirit, he would consider making a change. But Zetsche told Auto Express that the Briton and […]
Van der Garde returns to racing in 2016
Jan.12 (GMM) Giedo van der Garde is putting the Sauber scandal of 2015 behind him as he returns to racing this season. The Dutchman’s bid to race in formula one last year famously ended in the courts, but now De Telegraaf newspaper said he will contest the fabled 24 hour Le Mans race in 2016. […]
Wolff understands Ecclestone’s criticism
Jan.11 (GMM) Toto Wolff says he can understand the criticisms being made by F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone. When asked by the Tiroler Tageszeitung newspaper if he enjoyed Christmas, the Mercedes team boss smiled: “You mean the one on the 25th or the one on the 26th?” It is an allusion to Ecclestone’s recently-reported remark that, […]
F1 waters down plans for faster cars – report
Jan.11 (GMM) F1’s plan to radically speed up the cars for 2017 has been watered down. That is the claim on Monday of the authoritative German magazine Auto Motor und Sport. It said that at the last meeting of the technical working group, a majority vote decided that the chassis bodywork should not be widened […]
Mercedes to be strong again in 2016 – Hamilton
Jan.11 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton has tipped another year of strong form from himself and the Mercedes team. While Ferrari made progress in 2015 and is now targeting a full championship tilt this year, reigning triple world champion Hamilton thinks the silver-coloured camp can stay on top. Mercedes and Hamilton dominated in 2014 and 2015 and […]
Renault adds new director to F1 team
Jan.11 (GMM) Renault’s Lotus takeover is continuing to race ahead, even though an official name change for the Enstone team is yet to be announced. But the big Lotus team sign on the main building at Enstone has now been taken down, while another director has been added to the management board. Just before Christmas, […]
Three teams named for Pirelli test
Jan.11 (GMM) Only three teams will be in action later this month as Pirelli develops its wet-weather F1 tyres. F1’s official supplier on Monday announced that Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren have been selected to run at Paul Ricard on January 25 and 26. “More details on the drivers participating as well as the test […]
Wolff races up Swiss rich list
Jan.11 (GMM) Toto Wolff has leapt up the rankings in an annual list of the richest people in Switzerland. Every year, it is the F1 supremo and billionaire Bernie Ecclestone who tops the sport’s representation in the rakings published by the Swiss business magazine Bilanz. The offices of Ecclestone, 85, are in London, but his […]
Coulthard company to produce F1 coverage
Jan.11 (GMM) A company co-owned by David Coulthard will produce the new free-to-air coverage of formula one in Britain this year. Whisper Films is co-owned by the former McLaren and Red Bull driver, as well as former F1 presenter Jake Humphrey. And with the BBC dropping its F1 coverage ahead of the 2016 season and […]
Hungary F1 track to be resurfaced
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 […]