May 25 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel was no fan of the ‘grid boy’ concept that debuted on Sunday’s Monaco grid. Normally, when F1 drivers pull into their grid hatching ahead of a race, they are greeted by a ‘grid girl’ holding a placard with their name and number. “What was that?!” Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel asked […]
Boss Arrivabene gives Raikkonen ‘homework’
May 25 (GMM) Maurizio Arrivabene sent Kimi Raikkonen away from the Monaco grand prix with some “homework”. Finn Raikkonen is already on notice to keep up his rate of improvement in 2015 if he wants the Ferrari boss to take up the 2016 ‘option’ in his contract. But amid swirling rumours Valtteri Bottas is in […]
Red Bull ‘not bad losers’ – Marko
May 25 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko insists he is just as critical of the current regime in F1 even after a better showing in Monaco this weekend. The Austrian had warned that, as the ‘power unit’ era stopped Red Bull’s run of titles, team owner Dietrich Mateschitz could now pull out of formula one. But […]
No heads to roll after Hamilton strategy howler
May 25 (GMM) No heads will roll after the catastrophic team error that cost Lewis Hamilton an easy win in Monaco. But that doesn’t mean an exhaustive post-race investigation, prompted immediately by furious Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda on Sunday, has not already found some heads to at least point at. “Our chief strategist James […]
Crash criticism for ‘Mad Max’ Verstappen
May 25 (GMM) The F1 press corps was quick to name the teenaged Dutchman ‘Mad Max’ Verstappen after his huge crash on Sunday. Initially, the Toro Rosso driver blamed Romain Grosjean for ‘brake-testing’ him on the run to Ste Devote, which sent Verstappen into the barrier at a terrifying speed. “Clearly you could see Grosjean […]
Mercedes on track to master ‘four engine’ rule
May 25 (GMM) Mercedes is right on track to master the tough new ‘four engines per driver’ rule in 2015. There had been moves recently to increase the controversial allocation to five engines, but in truth, dominant Mercedes could probably make do with just three turbo V6 ‘power units’ apiece for Lewis Hamilton and Nico […]
Champions unhappy with stewards after Monaco clashes
May 25 (GMM) Two champions left Monaco on Sunday admitting their displeasure with the FIA stewards. McLaren’s Fernando Alonso said he was unhappy for being given a five-second timed penalty for his collision with Nico Hulkenberg. The clash ended Hulkenberg’s race, but the Force India driver said: “For me, it’s racing. “That’s just first-lap fighting, […]
Red Bull ‘not leaving F1’ – Horner
May 24 (GMM) For now, the tension between Red Bull and Renault remains. The explosive criticism of earlier in 2015 has now subsided, but it was Red Bull wanting to take all the credit on Saturday for a much better qualifying outing in Monaco. “What we saw was that Red Bull has sorted out our […]
Pirelli ready to push for 2017 contract
May 24 (GMM) Pirelli has confirmed its intention to try to stay in formula one beyond next year. F1’s governing body has now officially launched the 2017-2019 tender, and it appears that Pirelli – the sport’s sole supplier since 2011 – will face off for the privilege against Michelin. The early rumour is that the […]
F1 racing into ‘customer cars’ future
May 24 (GMM) F1 appears to be racing headlong into its ‘customer cars’ future. Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport reports that four teams – Lotus, Force India, Sauber and Manor – are in dire and almost immediate danger of collapsing mid-season. It would explain why Bernie Ecclestone is pushing so hard to introduce his “one […]
Bottas’ Ferrari link ‘flattering’ – Williams
May 24 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas is shaping up as the star player in this year’s ‘silly season’. The annual round of speculation and counter-rumour regarding the movement of drivers within the paddock has got off to an early start, as talk of the Finn’s potential switch from Williams to Ferrari will just not go away. […]
Hamilton right to be ‘angry’ – Wolff
May 24 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton is right to be “angry” after Mercedes cost him the Monaco win. That was the admission of team boss Toto Wolff after a catastrophic strategic mistake in the dying laps of Sunday’s race through the fabled streets. Days after re-signing with the German giant, Hamilton was cruising to victory when […]
Mercedes to let drivers race in Monaco
May 24 (GMM) When asked how Ferrari expects to fare in Monaco with the ‘super soft’ tyre, Sebastian Vettel grinned early this weekend: “I hope super-good!” The Italian team struggled a fortnight ago in Barcelona with its new upgrade package. Some wondered whether the ‘fuel flow issue’ was to blame. The FIA has clamped down […]
2016 will show if Ferrari on rise – Briatore
May 24 (GMM) 2016 will be the true test of the ‘new’ Ferrari. That is the view of Flavio Briatore, the former Renault team chief who in recent days and months has been defending Fernando Alonso’s decision to leave Maranello. Briatore and Alonso are still united in the area of management, and so the flamboyant […]
Kaltenborn slams ‘customer car’ proposal
May 23 (GMM) Monisha Kaltenborn has slammed the change of direction announced by F1’s Strategy Group. After the top team-dominated group said it had agreed to spice up the sport with a raft of rule changes for 2017, Force India pointed out that the burning issue of cutting costs for the smaller teams had been […]
Hamilton ‘dominating’ Rosberg – Ecclestone
May 23 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton is psychologically dominating his teammate Nico Rosberg. That is the view of F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone. German Rosberg managed to break Hamilton’s run of poles and wins recently in Barcelona, but Ecclestone nonetheless told Bild newspaper: “Lewis is very dominant, taking up a lot of space in a team. “Nico […]
Hamilton denies letting F1 focus slip
May 23 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton has hit back at Damon Hill, after the 1996 world champion questioned his off-track lifestyle. After Nico Rosberg broke the world champion’s run of poles and wins in Barcelona, Hill said Hamilton seemed to have “underestimated” his Mercedes teammate by risking jetlag in the days between the Bahrain and Spanish […]
Renault, Red Bull exit still ‘possible’ – Prost
May 23 (GMM) Speculation about Renault’s future in formula one continues to swirl around the paddock. Earlier in 2015, at the height of partner Red Bull’s criticism and its performance and reliability troubles, the French carmaker made it known it was considering all options. Now, at Monaco, the marque’s famous ambassador Alain Prost admitted pulling […]
Vettel finds loophole for Monaco helmet change
May 23 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has found a way around F1’s new helmet livery change ban. For 2015, to help spectators more easily identify the drivers from one race to another, the sport put a stop to the constant chopping and changing of helmet colours. It means that even the ‘Monaco specials’ – one-off livery […]
Pirelli vs Michelin ‘tyre war’ already heating up
May 23 (GMM) The battle to be F1’s sole official tyre supplier in 2017 and beyond is already heating up. On Friday, on behalf of Pirelli, former F1 driver turned broadcaster Martin Brundle drove a GP2 test car around the Monaco circuit fitted with experimental 18-inch tyres. It is clear that the Italian tyre maker, […]