Sep.13 (GMM) Race organisers in Melbourne have added yet another three years to the contract of the Australian grand prix. Last August, amid uncertainty over the future of the 20-year-old event at Albert Park, it was announced that a new deal through to 2020 had been signed. “To know there are many more home grands […]
Rivals helped Lotus survive Monza weekend
Sep.12 (GMM) Lotus’ direct rivals helped the embattled team get through the recent Italian grand prix. Overnight rain before qualifying day at Monza damaged some of the Enstone team’s tyre blankets, it has emerged. “Our colleagues helped us out with some replacements,” chief engineer Alan Permane told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, referring to Sauber, […]
Hulkenberg eyes Le Mans title defence in 2016
Sep.12 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg has announced he wants to defend his title as Le Mans winner in 2016. The German has secured a new two-year deal with Force India, after this season convincing boss Vijay Mallya to let him run a parallel LMP1 programme with Porsche. And now he wants to return to the fabled […]
Region tells Ferrari to ‘do more’ to save Monza
Sep.11 (GMM) Regional president Roberto Maroni has once again called on Ferrari to step in to help save the endangered Italian grand prix. Maroni, the head of the Lombardy region, has said previously that he would like Ferrari to threaten to quit formula one over the uncertainty surrounding the future of the historic Monza race. […]
Merhi stops F.Renault series due to F1 ‘clashes’
Sep.11 (GMM) Roberto Merhi looks set to keep his Manor seat for the remainder of 2015. Until now, the Spanish rookie has been driving race-for-race for the British backmarker, and has therefore kept his full-time seat in the Formula Renault 3.5 series. But his team Pons, led by former F1 driver Emilio de Villota, has […]
Sauber ‘hoped for more’ from FIA – Kaltenborn
Sep.11 (GMM) Monisha Kaltenborn says she is not confident the small teams’ concerns about their future is being heard by F1’s governing body. Caterham and HRT have collapsed, Manor only narrowly survived the winter and now Lotus’ serious financial crisis is playing out publicly in the 2015 paddock. Sauber and Force India have also had […]
Honda could test F1 engine in Super Formula car
Sep.11 (GMM) Honda could fit its much-criticised F1 engine to a ‘Super Formula’ open wheel car, the Italian magazine Autosprint reports. In its latest edition, published earlier this week, Autosprint said the move could be a way for the embattled Japanese manufacturer to prove its 2015 ‘power unit’ is not as bad as many believe. […]
Ecclestone involved in Red Bull’s Ferrari solution
Sep.11 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone had to get involved as Red Bull broke its Renault contract and searched for a new engine supplier. That is the claim of Livio Oricchio, the respected correspondent for Brazil’s Globo, as the future of the former quadruple world championship-winning team shapes up. It is now widely believed that Renault has […]
Kerb could have caused Spa blowouts – report
Sep.11 (GMM) A new theory about what caused the tyre blowouts at Spa-Francorchamps recently has emerged. Pirelli was on the back foot after the Belgian grand prix weekend, as it analysed what caused the tyre explosions suffered at high speed by Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel. F1’s official supplier came under attack for the quality […]
‘No damage’ after Ferrari rumours – Bottas
Sep.11 (GMM) His performance may have been hurt, but Valtteri Bottas insists his relationship with Williams is undamaged in the wake of intense rumours. While the 26-year-old Finn was linked for weeks and months with a move to Ferrari, Williams chief Pat Symonds said he thinks Bottas’ pace alongside the notably on-form Felipe Massa was […]
Alonso hopes Button keeps McLaren seat
Sep.11 (GMM) Jenson Button staying at McLaren next year would be “a good thing”. That is the view of fellow McLaren-Honda driver Fernando Alonso, amid speculation the struggling Woking team might be close to agreeing to keep the 2009 world champion on board for 2016. Earlier, it was suggested the team’s woeful form this year […]
Hamilton doubts McLaren will be successful in 2016
Sep.10 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton says he does not expect McLaren-Honda to enjoy a return to form in 2016. Before moving to Mercedes, the British driver made his debut for the once-great Woking team, winning the title in 2008 and finishing his McLaren career in late 2012 with pole position at the final race of the […]
Mental coaching helped Ericsson beat Nasr
Sep.10 (GMM) Marcus Ericsson says he has worked hard to become Sauber’s most competitive driver. Early in 2015, it was the Brazilian rookie Felipe Nasr with the firm upper hand at the Hinwil based team. It caused Swede Ericsson, who moved to Sauber after debuting for the ill-fated Caterham team, to re-focus. “The car was […]
Rules to blame for F1 problems – Berger
Sep.10 (GMM) Gerhard Berger says one of F1’s biggest problems today are the rules. The F1 legend and former ten-time grand prix winner says he now watches on television but finds the races hard to follow due to complicated regulations. “We are all so fond of a four-way battle for victory,” Berger told Austrian Servus […]
Hamilton has ‘hands on 2015 title’ – Alesi
Sep.10 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton is racing to the 2015 title, former F1 driver Jean Alesi says. That is despite the fact that the Frenchman’s former team, Ferrari, is now steadily closing the technical gap to Mercedes. “I see a much better Ferrari than in previous years,” 51-year-old Alesi, who attended the Italian grand prix, told […]
Ferrari to change engine shape for 2016
Sep.10 (GMM) Ferrari is planning to line up in 2016 with a “completely different car and engine”. That was the claim made by president Sergio Marchionne as he visited the Monza paddock last weekend. Many were surprised when they heard those words, as the regulations are not changing considerably for 2016, ahead of the expected […]
Briatore says Monza future ‘99.9pc’ safe
Sep.10 (GMM) Flavio Briatore is now almost certain that Monza’s future on the F1 calendar is secure. Meetings between race officials, Bernie Ecclestone and even the Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi broke last weekend without a contract beyond 2016 being signed. Still, former Renault chief and long-time Ecclestone confidante and business partner Briatore is confident. […]
Rivals unhappy with Ferrari-Haas alliance – report
Sep.10 (GMM) Rival teams are reportedly unhappy with Ferrari’s new alliance with the 2016 entrant Haas. Ralf Bach, writing on his website f1-insider.com, says the two parties are working hard to skate as closely as possible to the current rules forbidding ‘customer cars’. For its part, the American outfit Haas, already a Ferrari sponsor through […]
Red Bull set for Renault divorce talks in Singapore
Sep.10 (GMM) Red Bull and Renault are obviously now spiralling towards official divorce. It is said that even Carlos Ghosn, the Renault CEO, has accepted Red Bull’s move to end the contract, even though it will cost the energy drink stable EUR 88 million per year in Infiniti and Total sponsorship. “We can say more […]
Ecclestone meets to discuss F1 future for Turkey
Sep.10 (GMM) Turkey could be set to return to the formula one calendar. Last week, Istanbul Park – having hosted seven grands prix until 2011 – returned to the headlines when reports emerged that new operator Intercity planned to turn the Hermann Tilke-penned circuit into a used car dealership. It turned out the reports were […]