Aug.22 (GMM) Yet another cloud has formed above the troubled Lotus team’s garage. The story began to emerge on Friday, when the Enstone team broke the personnel curfew at Spa-Francorchamps. A clear breach of the rules, Lotus asked the FIA for dispensation. “Due to extraneous circumstances,” a stewards report explained, “after the covers had been […]
Ecclestone says high chance of Monza axe
Aug.22 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has admitted hopes of rescuing the endangered Italian grand prix at fabled Monza are now slipping away. Optimism had risen recently, as crucial tax exemptions finally passed through parliament and officials sounded hopeful their campaign to keep the popular circuit on the calendar had succeeded. But F1 supremo Ecclestone applied the […]
Red Bull terminates Renault engine deal – report
Aug.22 (GMM) Rumours about the futures of Red Bull, Renault and Lotus are speeding away just as quickly as the cars at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday. Bailiffs are still swirling around the embattled Lotus camp, as the current owners hold fire on their problems while Renault is poised to decide whether or not to buy back […]
Ferrari could abandon driver ‘academy’ – report
Aug.22 (GMM) Ferrari could be set to abandon its young driver programme. Citing Italian sources, the Finnish newspaper Ilta Sanomat claims that new team president Sergio Marchionne, notorious for his strict economising, is no fan of the so-called ‘driver academy’. Founded in 2009, and based on the earlier grooming of Felipe Massa, the first academy […]
Pirelli rules out tyre failure in Rosberg blowout
Aug.22 (GMM) Nico Rosberg’s 300kph blowout at Spa-Francorchamps on Friday was not caused by a structural tyre failure. That is the highly anticipated news from Pirelli early on Saturday, following an exhaustive investigation at the scene of the Belgian grand prix and also back at the marque’s Milan headquarters. Pressure had been piled onto Pirelli […]
Honda’s hopes collapse as Alonso targets 107pc
Aug.22 (GMM) Fernando Alonso insists he is not distraught, even though a highly-touted Honda engine upgrade appeared not to have pushed McLaren up the pecking order. Honda chief Yasuhisa Arai had extolled the potential of the upgrade for Spa-Francorchamps, saying it would bring the power unit in line with Ferrari’s. But in Friday practice, Alonso […]
Drivers push Pirelli for answers after Rosberg scare
Aug.22 (GMM) Drivers are pushing Pirelli for an explanation to the tyre failure that pitched Nico Rosberg out of control at more than 300kph on Friday. The Mercedes driver admitted it was luck rather than talent that prevented a horrifying impact with the barriers at one of F1’s fastest and most dangerous circuits. Paddy Lowe, […]
Sauber not worried about future with Ferrari
Aug.21 (GMM) Sauber is not worried it will become Ferrari’s last priority in 2016 and beyond. Already this year, the Swiss team has had to wait until this weekend’s Belgian grand prix for the engine specification that Ferrari debuted way back in Canada. And from 2016, the new American entrant Haas will make its F1 […]
Alonso not surprised by Raikkonen news
Aug.21 (GMM) Fernando Alonso says he was not surprised by this week’s news that Ferrari has re-signed his former teammate Kimi Raikkonen for 2016. Alonso, now at McLaren-Honda, easily outperformed the Finn last year, but Raikkonen was successor Sebastian Vettel’s preferred choice for next season. German Vettel insisted his word at Ferrari is not gospel, […]
F1 to remain on free TV in Germany – reports
Aug.21 (GMM) German fans can heave a sigh of relief, as the broadcaster RTL has penned a new free-to-air television deal with Bernie Ecclestone. Until now, in the wake of the demise of the 2015 German grand prix and declines in ratings, it was said RTL was negotiating hard with the F1 supremo for a […]
Helmet painter says Vettel tweak at Spa legal
Aug.21 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel’s helmet livery tweak for the Belgian grand prix conforms with the regulations. That is the claim of the German’s helmet painter Jens Munser, as the Ferrari driver prepares to mark his 150th career grand prix at Spa-Francorchamps. Vettel, famous for using dozens of different liveries throughout his successful career so far, […]
Massa hopes Bottas stays at Williams
Aug.21 (GMM) Now that Valtteri Bottas is not heading to Ferrari next year, Felipe Massa says he hopes his current teammate stays at Williams in 2016. It is believed the Bottas-Ferrari deal fell through due to the millions demanded by Williams for his release. Even so, Bottas and his management are refusing to state clearly […]
Tost says Kvyat best driver behind Vettel
Aug.21 (GMM) Daniil Kvyat says he is happy to have been rated so highly by a former boss. In a recent magazine feature, Toro Rosso chief Franz Tost said the young Russian is the best driver he has ever worked with behind Sebastian Vettel. Tost ranked Kvyat, who is now at Red Bull at the […]
Button tones down social media after robbery
Aug.21 (GMM) Jenson Button has admitted he has ramped up his personal security in the wake of a recent robbery incident. The McLaren driver confirmed he was shaken after burglars broke into his holiday villa during the summer break while he and friends slept. “It’s not nice knowing someone was in your room going through […]
Honda power boost smaller than rumoured – Alonso
Aug.21 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has admitted he will start Sunday’s Belgian grand prix from the back of the grid. That is because of a double engine change as McLaren’s struggling partner Honda introduces a key update at Spa-Francorchamps. But after boss Yasuhisa Arai suggested Honda will now be on par with Ferrari and targeting Mercedes […]
FIA pushing on with technology clampdowns
Aug.21 (GMM) F1’s new clampdown on race start technology has divided paddock opinion. On the one hand, some say it is a step in the right direction, as Bernie Ecclestone applauded the move away from the notion that the drivers of today are “trained monkeys in remote-controlled cars”. So from Sunday’s Belgian grand prix, the […]
Mercedes pushing on with ‘spoon’ rear wing
Aug.21 (GMM) Although clearly the quickest team in F1, championship leader Mercedes is still pushing hard to improve its 2015 machine. Sebastian Vettel broke through for Ferrari’s second win of the season in Hungary, ramping up suggestions he might still be an outside chance for the title. “Well, as long as it is mathematically possible, […]
Maldonado plays down Lotus exit reports
Aug.21 (GMM) Pastor Maldonado has played down rumours he would be ousted if Renault completes its rumoured takeover of the Lotus team. His current teammate Romain Grosjean, on the other hand, is barracking hard for the buyout. “It would be great news for formula one, for the team, for myself,” he told RMC Sport at […]
Bottas says rumours hurt Williams relationship
Aug.21 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas claims rumours about a switch to Ferrari hurt his relationship with Williams. The speculation about the young Finn’s move was so strong at one point that publications reported that a contract was even signed. So now that Kimi Raikkonen’s new deal is out in the open, Bottas has admitted the rumours […]
McLaren drivers to use two new engines each at Spa
Aug.20 (GMM) It will be a long and tiring Belgian grand prix weekend for the McLaren-Honda mechanics. It was already known that, as Honda has traded in some of its upgrade ‘tokens’, both Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button will have to take grid penalties in order to use the new power unit at Spa-Francorchamps. But […]