May 13 (GMM) Flavio Briatore could face four years in jail over alleged tax fraud. Five years ago, Italian police seized the former Renault chief’s 60-metre luxury yacht Force Blue, saying it was improperly registered as a charter for tax purposes. The case returned to the Genoa courts this week, according to Italian media reports. […]
Candidates line up for Force India role
May 13 (GMM) The candidates are lining up to be Force India’s official reserve driver. “We are looking,” confirmed deputy team boss Bob Fernley. Pascal Wehrlein, who is already Mercedes’ reserve, was scheduled to drive the Mercedes-powered Force India on the first day of this week’s Barcelona test. But media reports said his outing was […]
Jorda says McLaren ‘impatient’ with Honda
May 12 (GMM) Carmen Jorda, the female development driver for Lotus, says she has heard whispers of discord at McLaren-Honda. Spaniard and former GP3 driver Jorda, 26, is attending all the grands prix this year with the Enstone team. Regarding McLaren-Honda’s run of disappointing form at the beginning of the new works alliance, she revealed: […]
F1 cars ‘too complicated’ now – Prost
May 12 (GMM) Alain Prost, once nicknamed ‘The Professor’ in F1 for his famously intellectual approach to racing, has admitted the sport is now too complicated. F1’s controversial rules are a hot topic at present, as spectator, sponsor and television numbers decline and major stakeholders like Bernie Ecclestone and Red Bull argue stridently for urgent […]
Mercedes to change pitstop philosophy – Lauda
May 12 (GMM) Mercedes will change its philosophy regarding pitstops ahead of Monaco, team chairman Niki Lauda has announced. Although the German team extended its performance advantage over Ferrari in Barcelona, it is the Italian outfit that is now clearly the fastest in the pits. “Mercedes has had the strategy of leaving a few tenths […]
Audi could prevent Red Bull exit – Marko
May 12 (GMM) Audi could stop Red Bull from quitting formula one. That is the sensational claim of the former world champion team’s Austrian official Dr Helmut Marko, adding even more fuel to rumours the Volkswagen-owned German carmaker is considering entering formula one. Indeed, even Audi chief Rupert Stadler is no longer issuing blank denials, […]
Teams survived FIA fuel flow checks
May 12 (GMM) Teams escaped the ire of F1’s governing body following a spate of post-race fuel systems checks after the Spanish grand prix. Just after qualifying in Barcelona, the FIA told teams it was clamping down harder on the ‘fuel flow’ rules, amid suspicions some top teams had found a loophole. Immediately, amid Niki […]
Ferrari criticised for Barcelona test lineup
May 12 (GMM) The only team missing from the post-race Barcelona test this week is Manor. “There is nothing to test,” Britain’s Times newspaper quoted deputy boss Graeme Lowdon as saying before the struggling backmarker left the Spanish grand prix venue. The two-day test, at which every team present must field at least one rookie, […]
McLaren wants helmet ‘tear-off’ rethink
May 12 (GMM) McLaren has called on F1 to consider a rule tweak about the disposal of drivers’ helmet visor tear-offs. The Honda-powered team found that Fernando Alonso’s brake failure in the Spanish grand prix, which caused him to almost run over the front jack-man in the pits, was caused by one of the disposable […]
Alonso defends Button after ‘negative’ slip
May 12 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has defended his teammate Jenson Button, after the British driver let his positivity slip after the Spanish grand prix. McLaren-Honda’s drivers and team management have been the epitome of positive energy so far in 2015, despite their disastrous level of performance and reliability. But after the Barcelona race, Button admitted […]
Red Bull ‘drivers not our problem’ – Horner
May 12 (GMM) Christian Horner has leapt to the defence of Red Bull’s drivers. Amid the Renault-powered former champions’ deep crisis, team official Dr Helmut Marko warned Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat after the Spanish grand prix to “look out”. “Paradoxically, the more inexperienced ones did the better job,” he said, referring to the sensational […]
Hamilton promises contract ‘news’ in Monaco
May 12 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton has promised that the long delay over his new Mercedes contract will finally end at the next race. The repeatedly-delayed deal has triggered rumours of a switch to Ferrari, or that the Briton is demanding an exorbitant amount of money. But Hamilton, 30, said most of the estimates of the […]
McLaren ‘underestimated’ Honda switch – Hamilton
May 11 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton says he is surprised how much his old team McLaren is struggling in 2015. “When I saw them so lost in Australia, I thought to myself ‘How can that be?’” the reigning world champion said, referring to the once-great British team. Having been mentored and sponsored by Ron Dennis throughout […]
Hockenheim not ‘bad guys’ after German GP axe
May 11 (GMM) The sorry saga of the now-axed 2015 German grand prix has nothing to do with Hockenheim. That is the claim of circuit chief Georg Seiler, after some F1 fans and even insiders reacted with pleasant surprise when it emerged at the weekend that Germany will definitely be back on the calendar next […]
Ricciardo not committing to Red Bull yet
May 11 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo is not yet committing to the increasingly crisis-struck Red Bull beyond 2015. In Barcelona, rumours that the troubled former champion team’s Australian lead driver had signed a new deal for 2016 and beyond did the rounds. “We’re talking about it,” Ricciardo is quoted by Sky Italia, “but it depends on […]
Ferrari rumours ‘too early’ for Bottas – Massa
May 11 (GMM) All the talk about Valtteri Bottas’ future has come “too early”. That is the view of Felipe Massa, the former long-time Ferrari driver who today is the rising Finnish sensation’s teammate at Williams. In the past days and weeks, 25-year-old Bottas has been increasingly linked with a switch to Ferrari, having reportedly […]
‘Fuel flow story’ puts Ferrari on back foot
May 11 (GMM) The Hamilton versus Rosberg show is back on, according to Mercedes chief Toto Wolff after the Spanish grand prix. Team chairman Niki Lauda beamed at Barcelona on Sunday as he declared Nico Rosberg is “back” after ending a run of defeats to his on-form teammate Lewis Hamilton. “We saw it last year” […]
Ecclestone ‘always has upper hand’ – Barcelona chief
May 11 (GMM) Race chief Sebastia Salvado says his “worst memory” in the quarter-century history of the Spanish grand prix at Barcelona features none other than Bernie Ecclestone. Last weekend, the Circuit de Catalunya announced it has extended its deal to keep organising the formula one race at the track in Montmelo. But when asked […]
Volkswagen in F1 ‘would be great’ – Ecclestone
May 11 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has added even more fuel to the ever-growing ‘Audi-to-F1’ speculation. Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo and F1 legend Gerhard Berger fuelled the rumours last week, suggesting Dietrich Mateschitz is pushing hard for the Volkswagen-owned marque to power or even buy his struggling team Red Bull. Recently, arguably the biggest […]
Wolff admits wife Susie at F1 ‘crossroads’
May 10 (GMM) Toto Wolff has admitted his wife Susie has come to “a crossroads” in her F1 journey. Earlier in 2015, despite looking ahead to two Friday practice outings with Williams, 32-year-old tester Susie Wolff was overlooked by the British team for its vacant role as official reserve driver. Wolff admitted in Barcelona that […]