Apr.27 (GMM) Once again, the Volkswagen-to-F1 rumours are gathering speed. At the Bahrain grand prix, Bernie Ecclestone was told of rumours that as long as he is chief executive, Volkswagen Group chairman Ferdinand Piech was refusing to consider bringing a brand like Audi into formula one. “Nobody has told me that,” the F1 supremo responded, […]
Mercedes denies Hamilton has signed 2016 deal
Apr.27 (GMM) Mercedes has denied reports suggesting Lewis Hamilton has finally signed his long-awaited contract extension. Germany’s Sport Bild said the reigning world champion and 2015 championship leader has now signed up until 2018, with an option to stay for a further two years until 2020. If he does stay the full five years, the […]
Honda move may have blown Alonso’s career – Villeneuve
Apr.25 (GMM) Fernando Alonso might have blown his chance of ever winning a third title by switching to McLaren-Honda this year. That is the claim of 1997 world champion, who said Spaniard Alonso’s “early years at Ferrari” was the best driving he has ever seen in formula one. But he lost patience with the Italian […]
Manor ‘not worthy of F1’ – Villeneuve
Apr.25 (GMM) Jacques Villeneuve has joined Bernie Ecclestone in admitting his opposition to the Manor team. In Bahrain last week, when asked if he is happy the former Marussia team resurrected itself over the winter, F1 supremo Ecclestone admitted: “Not particularly.” Now Villeneuve, the world champion of 1997, has admitted he also doubts Manor belongs […]
Verstappen feels ‘respect’ of F1 drivers
Apr.24 (GMM) Max Verstappen says he is steadily earning the respect of his fellow F1 drivers. When the season began, the sport was collectively sceptical of the 17-year-old Dutchman as he smashed the record to become the youngest ever grand prix driver. But in his first four grands prix, Verstappen has also become the youngest […]
Hamilton at Mercedes for next three years – Lauda
Apr.24 (GMM) Niki Lauda has issued a “guarantee” that Lewis Hamilton is staying at Mercedes. The reigning world champion’s talks over a contract beyond 2015 have been publicly long and repeatedly delayed, but team chairman Lauda said earlier this week that the saga will have come to an end by the forthcoming Spanish grand prix. […]
Sparks can ‘dazzle’ drivers – Sainz
Apr.24 (GMM) Not everyone loves F1’s new sparks. Last year, also to beef up the safety of the cars, F1 decided to return to its spark-laden past by adding titanium to the skid blocks in 2015. So far, the result has been spectacular — particularly under the night skies and floodlights in Bahrain. “Loving the […]
German GP demise good for Austria – Lauda
Apr.24 (GMM) Niki Lauda insists he has no sympathy for organisers of the now-defunct 2015 German grand prix. After a six-decade run for the key German market on the F1 calendar, neither Hockenheim nor the Nurburgring could agree a deal with Bernie Ecclestone for this year. “We would have accepted 50 per cent of the […]
Ricciardo on ‘same level’ as Vettel – Marko
Apr.24 (GMM) Red Bull is happy with its current driver lineup, Dr Helmut Marko insists. The struggling team lost its quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel to Ferrari over the winter. “It was a relationship that was built up over years but that does not mean we are left with nothing,” team official Dr Helmut Marko […]
Marko accuses Mercedes of ‘helping’ Ferrari catch up
Apr.24 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has accused Mercedes of actively helping Ferrari to catch the reigning world champions in 2015. According to Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda, it is no surprise that Ferrari is much more competitive this year. “If you look at how much we won last year,” said the F1 legend, “it was […]
Revamped Valencia could return to F1 calendar
Apr.24 (GMM) Valencia could be set to return to the F1 calendar. The streets of the Spanish port city hosted five grands prix until 2012, but those race organisers subsequently faced accusations of corruption. So it is now a Singapore multinational called ARC Resorts that has proposed a new six-star hotel, casino, concert area, shopping […]
Force India proposes ‘free choice’ for Pirelli tyres
Apr.24 (GMM) Force India has come up with a proposal to spice up formula one. Sporting director Otmar Szafnauer thinks the races would be more exciting if more of Pirelli’s four compounds are being used throughout the field. Currently, the F1 tyre supplier selects two compounds to take to each race. “Pirelli has four different […]
Sainz believes he can beat ‘new Senna’ Verstappen
Apr.24 (GMM) Carlos Sainz is confident he can hold his own against his highly-rated teammate Max Verstappen. The pair both made their debuts for Toro Rosso this year, but it is only the 17-year-old Verstappen who is being compared with the sport’s greats. “They say that he is the new Senna,” Spaniard Sainz, 20, said […]
Bottas not sure Williams can catch top teams
Apr.24 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas has joined team engineer Rob Smedley in playing down Williams’ chances of chasing down Ferrari in 2015. Team deputy Claire Williams admitted in Bahrain that the Grove team had hoped to build on its promise of last year and take on champions Mercedes in 2015. “That’s what we wanted to do […]
Merhi could focus on 3.5 title after Barcelona
Apr.24 (GMM) Roberto Merhi will contest the forthcoming Spanish grand prix. That is the claim of the Spanish daily El Mundo Deportivo, reporting that Manor has now unofficially confirmed the news. “Whether he stays beyond that will be decided after the race in Spain” next month, the newspaper added. Part of the decision may be […]
Maldonado ‘refused’ to sit out Friday practice
Apr.24 (GMM) Pastor Maldonado is refusing to budge as Lotus attempts to accommodate ‘Friday’ driver Jolyon Palmer. In China and Bahrain, Maldonado’s race teammate Romain Grosjean sat out Friday practice sessions so that Briton Palmer could drive his black and gold car. “This is not ideal for the racing drivers as we lose an hour […]
No title charge until 2017 – Boullier
Apr.24 (GMM) It will be 2017 before McLaren is ready to charge for the title. That is the admission of team boss Eric Boullier, who said that despite a difficult start for the new McLaren-Honda collaboration, he retains the support of team supremo Ron Dennis. “Ron knows what I have done, he knows also what […]
Button didn’t ‘storm out’ after Bahrain – McLaren
Apr.23 (GMM) McLaren has denied reports Jenson Button lost his temper with the team’s situation after the Bahrain grand prix. The 2009 world champion had a horror weekend of unreliability in the island Kingdom, and then could not even take his Honda-powered car to the grid on Sunday. “The chances of it (the energy recovery […]
Merhi looks set to keep Manor seat for now
Apr.23 (GMM) Roberto Merhi looks set to hang onto his Manor seat at least for another race. While his F1 rivals take the weekend off, 24-year-old Merhi is currently in his native Spain, preparing for the opening race of the Formula Renault 3.5 series. But EFE news agency quoted the Spaniard as indicating he is […]
Wurz backs Sauber over engine cost limits
Apr.23 (GMM) GPDA chief Alex Wurz has backed Sauber over the future direction of F1’s engine rules. Former Williams driver Wurz, now chairman of the F1 drivers’ union, linked on Twitter to a story promoted by a news agency headed by his wife Julia. The story said that amid talks for louder and more powerful […]