Apr.15 (GMM) A fault with the piston design of Renault’s 2015 engine has been identified, according to the French broadcaster Canal Plus. Problems across both Renault-powered teams, Red Bull and Toro Rosso, marred the French marque’s weekend in China last weekend. Boss Cyril Abiteboul departed Shanghai saying he hoped a fix could be identified and […]
Only Button had new diffuser in China – report
Apr.14 (GMM) Fernando Alonso demonstrated his “good mood” by happily racing a step behind teammate Jenson Button in China. That is the claim of Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, revealing that the specification of the Spaniard’s McLaren-Honda in Shanghai was not quite up to speed with the sister car. The report said only one version […]
Hamilton tells Rosberg to race him
Apr.14 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton has urged his teammate to get into the “racing” spirit and try to take him on next time around. Rosberg, now 17 points behind in the championship standings, ended the Chinese grand prix complaining about his fellow Mercedes driver’s tactics as he controlled the pace from the front. “I don’t know […]
Sky presenter suspended for Alonso insult
Apr.14 (GMM) A presenter for Italian F1 broadcaster Sky has been suspended for insulting Fernando Alonso. Referring to the Spanish driver’s Barcelona testing crash, Paola Saluzzi’s offending ‘tweet’ during the Chinese grand prix weekend said Alonso had now recovered his memory to realise he is “arrogant” and an “imbecile”. We reported that the ‘tweet’, which […]
Horner plays down Red Bull quit threat
Apr.14 (GMM) Christian Horner is now playing down Red Bull’s F1 quit threat. Earlier, directing their anger at engine supplier Renault, the energy drink company’s mogul Dietrich Mateschitz and Dr Helmut Marko said the situation could move either the French carmaker or Red Bull to pull out. But team boss Horner has now clarified Mateschitz’s […]
Fiat hails ‘inevitable’ Ferrari reform
Apr.14 (GMM) Fiat chairman John Elkann has hailed the sweeping changes made by a resurgent Ferrari ahead of the 2015 season. New York-born Elkann, Fiat-Chrysler chairman and the grandson of the great patriarch Gianni Agnelli, was quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport as insisting that the fabled Maranello team needed to react. “2014 was a […]
Hamilton reveals he is not Laureus winner
Apr.14 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton has ruffled feathers for more than one reason over the last few days. On Sunday, he enraged Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg for allegedly “compromising” the German’s race strategy by driving too slowly in the lead. Then, on the podium, a photographer captured the moment when Briton Hamilton, the reigning world champion, […]
Jorda preparing for Lotus test debut
Apr.14 (GMM) Carmen Jorda says she is on track to test this year’s Lotus car. The 26-year-old Spaniard’s appointment as development driver has been controversial, with many saying it was more about money or marketing than a serious effort to groom her as a future grand prix star. But she is quoted by Germany’s Welt […]
Sandstorm hits Bahrain
Apr.14 (GMM) A sandstorm has welcomed the world of formula one to Bahrain. As the sport left Shanghai and headed for the Persian Gulf’s island Kingdom, the local meteorological bureau warned of high winds and the risk of a thick sand haze. Indeed, on Monday, visibility was poor at the Sakhir circuit and the track, […]
Bianchi signed Sauber contract at Suzuka – Kolles
Apr.14 (GMM) Jules Bianchi might have raced a Sauber in 2015, it has emerged. The claim was made by former HRT boss Colin Kolles, as he discussed the Giedo van der Garde saga on Austrian television Servus TV. Dutchman van der Garde took Sauber to court at the 2015 season opener in Melbourne, claiming the […]
No ‘team orders’ at Ferrari anymore – Arrivabene
Apr.14 (GMM) Maurizio Arrivabene has ruled out boosting Ferrari’s title hopes with the help of ‘team orders’. After just three races, Sebastian Vettel is not only splitting the two Mercedes drivers in the championship, but he has scored more than double the points of his teammate Kimi Raikkonen. It has raised suggestions that, if German […]
Founder says Sauber ‘future’ back on track
Apr.13 (GMM) Having emerged from the comfort of his pre-season low profile, Peter Sauber is now declaring confidently: “We’re back.” In recent times, the Swiss team’s 71-year-old founder has been content to sit in the background while new boss and co-owner Monisha Kaltenborn steers the ship. But as the Giedo van der Garde saga exploded […]
Bianchi father furious at FIA investigation
Apr.13 (GMM) Jules Bianchi’s father has admitted he is angry about the investigation into his son’s horror 2014 crash. More than six months after that fateful day in Japan, 25-year-old Frenchman Bianchi remains in a coma in his native Nice. His father, Philippe, said he agreed to a new interview with the local Nice-Matin newspaper […]
Arrivabene backs ‘sensitive Iceman’ Raikkonen
Apr.13 (GMM) Ferrari’s team boss has backed Kimi Raikkonen after a difficult start to the 2015 season for the Finn. While new teammate Sebastian Vettel has finished on the podium in all three races so far, Raikkonen is just fifth in the championship. He ran into trouble in both Australia and Malaysia, and technical boss […]
Rosberg vows to ‘move on’ after Hamilton run-in
Apr.13 (GMM) Nico Rosberg has vowed to move on after his post-race run-in with teammate Lewis Hamilton in China. Addressing his fans in a video posted on social media from the Shanghai airport, the German said “constructive criticism” had been exchanged in team meetings “and we’re moving on to Bahrain”. “Now it’s a thing of […]
Red Bull, McLaren brace for difficult Bahrain
Apr.13 (GMM) Red Bull-Renault and McLaren-Honda are bracing for a difficult Bahrain grand prix. Red Bull official Dr Helmut Marko’s frustration boiled over in China on Sunday, declaring to Kleine Zeitung newspaper: “With so many problems, this is hardly motor sport anymore.” Indeed, it was nothing short of a miserable Shanghai race for the former […]
Mercedes helped Williams catch Ferrari – report
Apr.13 (GMM) Mercedes is manipulating the balance of power among its customer teams, according to a Spanish media report. El Pais newspaper said Williams, Lotus and Force India each pay around EUR 25 million per season for the German marque’s F1-leading turbo V6 ‘power unit’. But the report said not everything is equal. That is […]
Alonso not cause of Ferrari slump – press
Apr.13 (GMM) Leading members of the Italian media have played down Niki Lauda’s suggestion that Fernando Alonso was a real cause of the Ferrari slump. F1 legend and former Ferrari driver Lauda, now the outspoken team chairman at Mercedes, had in China slammed Spaniard Alonso as “selfish, moody and negative”. Alonso’s Maranello exit has coincided […]
China GP demanding ‘changes’ in F1
Apr.13 (GMM) Organisers of the Chinese grand prix are demanding “changes” within formula one. The annual Shanghai race is promoted by Juss Event, whose marketing manager Yang Yibin has revealed concerns about the state of the sport. He said while the local fan base is stable, the overall drawing power of the Chinese grand prix […]
Women drivers ‘more afraid’ than men – Verstappen
Apr.12 (GMM) Max Verstappen has admitted he is sceptical that female drivers can compete head-to-head with men in formula one. Bernie Ecclestone’s proposal that an all-women’s grand prix series be created has been controversial, with one commentator suggesting it is tantamount to “sexual apartheid”. But 17-year-old Verstappen, who has made history this year as the […]