Mar.29 (GMM) Susie Wolff has slammed suggestions an all-female version of formula one should be launched. Alarmed at the current state of the sport he built, F1 supremo Ecclestone has been full of ideas in Sepang, such as allocating points for qualifying and mixing up the grids. And according to Britain’s Mirror newspaper, the 84-year-old’s […]
Rosberg denies ‘blocking’ Hamilton
Mar.29 (GMM) Nico Rosberg protested his innocence on Saturday, amid suspicions he ‘blocked’ teammate Lewis Hamilton in qualifying. It is a thorny subject in the Mercedes camp, after the pair’s relationship deteriorated last year amid the tense battle for the 2014 title. During a wet qualifying session in Malaysia, Hamilton had to pass a cruising […]
Vettel to be father again – Ecclestone
Mar.29 (GMM) All is well in the world of Sebastian Vettel. The German broke Mercedes’ run of dominance on Sunday, and ended Ferrari’s victory drought, in just the second race of his new contract reportedly worth a staggering $54 million per year. Even Vettel’s personal life seems to be racing ahead perfectly. He lives very […]
Malaysia announces new F1 race deal
Mar.29 (GMM) Malaysia will continue to host a grand prix for at least the next three years. As the chequered flag waved on Sepang’s seventeenth F1 race on Sunday, the office of the Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak issued a media statement. It said Sepang has extended its race deal “for another three years until […]
Dennis denies Alonso relationship breaking down again
Mar.29 (GMM) Ron Dennis has played down suggestions McLaren’s relationship with Fernando Alonso is once again breaking down. In 2007, paired with rookie Lewis Hamilton and amid the spy scandal, Alonso’s first McLaren tenure ended after just one acrimonious season. The parties are back together in 2015, but some regard it as little more than […]
Ecclestone regrets letting Manor return
Mar.29 (GMM) Manor appears to have lost the backing of Bernie Ecclestone, the most powerful man in formula one. The F1 supremo was furious with the former Marussia team after Australia, claiming it travelled to the 2015 opener with no intention of running its cars. Ecclestone, 84, responded by docking Manor one nineteenth of its […]
Honda relying more on McLaren now – Boullier
Mar.29 (GMM) McLaren and Honda are working hard to make their new works collaboration gel. Back together in 2015 after more than two decades apart, the British team hailed Honda’s return as simply the next chapter in an ultra-successful, title-winning tale. But that was before the silver cars lined up dead last in Melbourne, and […]
No Hamilton contract news for ‘few more days’
Mar.29 (GMM) The Malaysian grand prix weekend started and ended without Lewis Hamilton’s new Mercedes contract being announced. The reigning world champion entered the Sepang weekend hinting that a deal is now close, after long and repeatedly protracted negotiations. A Spanish newspaper even claimed Hamilton’s signature is now on the page. But as the chequered […]
Wolff hopes Malaysia stops equalisation ‘nonsense’
Mar.29 (GMM) Toto Wolff on Sunday said he hopes Ferrari’s breakthrough win stops the “nonsense” talk about equalisation. After Australia, Red Bull threatened to quit F1 over Mercedes’ huge supremacy amid the current engine regulations, arguing that only artificial “equalisation” mechanisms can fix the sport’s broken show. But just two weeks later in Malaysia, Sebastian […]
Boss plays down ‘naughty’ Rosberg-Hamilton move
Mar.28 (GMM) Toto Wolff on Saturday played down suggestions the tension between Mercedes’ drivers could be set to reignite. During qualifying at Sepang, Lewis Hamilton was momentarily delayed when he had to pass his slow-moving teammate on the inside of a corner. Reportedly, the reigning world champion complained afterwards on the radio. On British television […]
Susie Wolff ‘disappointed’ with Sutil appointment
Mar.28 (GMM) Susie Wolff has admitted she is surprised and disappointed with Williams’ latest signing. Given Valtteri Bottas’ back issues in Australia, Wolff – the British team’s 32-year-old test and occasional Friday driver – might have expected to be nominated as the official reserve. But media reports after Melbourne suggested it was actually the reserve […]
Alonso upbeat despite Ferrari resurgence
Mar.28 (GMM) McLaren-Honda’s all-champion driver lineup is putting a brave face on its situation. As in Australia, the two MP4-30s were due to line up dead last on the grid in Malaysia. The only cars slower around Sepang are the Manors, who were outside the minimum 107 per cent qualifying time. Those cars would only […]
Next hurdle for Manor is 107pc qualifying rule
Mar.28 (GMM) After the silence of Melbourne, Manor finally got its engines running in Malaysia. The resurrected Marussia team cited software problems two weeks ago, but were warned by Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA that another weekend spent idling in the pits would not be tolerated. Whether or not the sponsorless team actually goes racing […]
Schumacher’s stepbrother on Germanwings passenger list
Mar.28 (GMM) Michael Schumacher’s step-brother was on the passenger list of the ill-fated Germanwings flight, it has emerged. The Berliner Kurier newspaper reported that 36-year-old Sebastian Stahl, a racing driver in a touring car series, was in Barcelona for a photographic shoot before returning to Germany. But Stahl told the newspaper: “Yes, I am alive. […]
Ferrari adds EUR 100m to F1 budget – report
Mar.28 (GMM) Ferrari is closing the gap to dominant Mercedes in more ways than one, according to reports. The fabled Maranello marque has made a big step forward over the winter, leapfrogging Red Bull and Williams to become clearly the second force in 2015. “The Ferraris look great,” said reigning world champion and Melbourne winner […]
Sutil’s legal issues with Sauber ‘not resolved’ – manager
Mar.28 (GMM) Adrian Sutil’s legal dispute with Sauber is still ongoing. Late last year, although both the German driver as well as Giedo van der Garde had already signed contracts for 2015, the Swiss F1 team decided to pair Felipe Nasr with Marcus Ericsson this year. Dutchman van der Garde pressed his case hard, winning […]
Hamilton asked FIA to explain Alonso crash – report
Mar.28 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton played an unusually forceful role earlier this weekend in the drivers’ FIA briefing, according to a Spanish newspaper. According to Diario AS, the meeting with Charlie Whiting was anything but routine in Malaysia as the reigning world champion demanded to know more about Fernando Alonso’s mysterious Barcelona testing crash. Earlier, Spaniard […]
CVC would sell F1 to Red Bull – Ecclestone
Mar.28 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has welcomed reports Red Bull might be looking at buying formula one. Some journalists have speculated there is more than meets the eye to the former world champions’ mischief-making in past weeks, including bemoaning Mercedes’ dominance, criticising rules that are “killing” the sport, and threatening to quit. Publications including Auto Motor […]
Hockenheim warns Ecclestone of contract ‘consequences’
Mar.28 (GMM) Hockenheim has hit back at Bernie Ecclestone’s suggestion that Germany might not return to the F1 calendar in 2016. The country has been controversially axed from this year’s schedule, but that was essentially because of the ownership crisis at the sport’s other German circuit, the Nurburgring. F1 supremo Ecclestone tried to save the […]
Alonso role meant no Indycar for Magnussen
Mar.28 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen has admitted he let an opportunity to race in Indycar this year slide when Fernando Alonso had his Barcelona testing crash. With McLaren-Honda preferring an all-champion lineup of Alonso and Jenson Button for 2015, the Dane was relegated to the reserve role but still leaving the door open to race opportunities […]