Mar.15 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas remains in doubt for Sunday’s Australian grand prix. The Finn spent the night in the local Alfred hospital, after he was seen receiving assistance to emerge from the cockpit of his Williams after qualifying. Bottas, 25, is at Albert Park on Sunday, but Williams confirmed he is suffering from a “bad […]
Lauda denies private lives to hurt Mercedes drivers
Mar.15 (GMM) Niki Lauda has rubbished suggestions the private lives of Mercedes’ race drivers could affect their championship hopes in 2015. World champion Hamilton has broken up with his long-time girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger, while the newly-married Nico Rosberg’s wife is expecting their first child. “It has absolutely no influence,” Mercedes team chairman and F1 legend […]
Merhi hoping to keep Manor seat for Malaysia
Mar.15 (GMM) Roberto Merhi is hoping to keep his Manor race seat for Malaysia. The Spanish rookie was nominated by the resurrected former Marussia team to race in Melbourne, but Manor ultimately did not even turn a wheel. “I assure you that we have not paid to be here,” Merhi’s father and namesake said in […]
German GP demise ‘a shame’ – Hulkenberg
Mar.15 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg has lamented the apparent decline of the German grand prix. Officially, the FIA has scheduled a race for mid July, but Bernie Ecclestone had made clear commercial talks with the Nurburgring or alternative venue Hockenheim were faltering. Now, the 84-year-old F1 supremo has told The Independent: “The German grand prix is […]
Furious Red Bull issues F1 quit threat
Mar.15 (GMM) Red Bull has threatened to quit formula one. “We are dissatisfied with the way formula one is governed,” Dr Helmut Marko was quoted on Sunday by Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport. The 2010-2013 world championship-winning team is furious with its start to the new season, as engine partner Renault struggles and Mercedes extends […]
Susie Wolff not on pole to replace Bottas
Mar.15 (GMM) Williams has played down suggestions Susie Wolff is now in pole position to make her F1 debut. After missing the Melbourne season opener with a torn disc in his back, Valtteri Bottas is now in doubt for the Malaysian grand prix in two weeks. In the Melbourne paddock on Sunday, Britain’s Sky broadcaster […]
Sainz beats Verstappen hype on debut
Mar.15 (GMM) Carlos Sainz has kicked off his F1 career with a bang. Insisting he does not like to be called ‘Junior’, the 20-year-old was the only Toro Rosso rookie to reach Q3 in Melbourne — despite the hype surrounding his 17-year-old teammate Max Verstappen. “It is not a problem that people put him through […]
Vettel has upper hand already – Salo
Mar.15 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel already has the upper hand over friend and existing Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen. That is the view of former F1 driver Mika Salo, as the new Ferrari pairing went head-to-head for the first time in Melbourne. Salo’s Finnish countryman Raikkonen was slightly behind Vettel’s pace throughout the 2015 season opener, even […]
Schumacher son starts F4 career with a crash
Mar.15 (GMM) Mick Schumacher’s new single seater career has kicked off with a crash. Newly switched from karting to F4, the 15-year-old son of the most successful grand prix driver of all time began his pre-season test programme at the Lausitzring by losing control at 160kph, the major German daily Welt reports. “The accident was […]
Marko confirms Renault in Toro Rosso takeover talks
Mar.15 (GMM) Talks are underway between Red Bull and Renault, regarding the sale of the Toro Rosso team. In the Melbourne paddock, high tension between officials of the energy drink company and its French partner is obvious. A divorce could be nigh. So according to Austria’s Salzburger Nachrichten, Renault has kicked off talks with Red […]
F1 stars worry about sport’s questionable ‘show’
Mar.15 (GMM) Local hero Daniel Ricciardo on Sunday admitted F1 had put on a questionable show for Australia. From courtroom battles to backmarkers stranded in the pits, cars breaking down before the race began and Mercedes’ enormous technical advantage, the actual race was then unspectacular and all but a few runners were lapped. “I feel […]
Bottas will not race in Melbourne
Mar.15 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas is out of the Australian grand prix. The Finn spent the night in the nearby Alfred hospital after suffering back pain during qualifying in Melbourne on Saturday. He is at Albert Park on Sunday, but was missing from the official driver group photograph on the grid and the subsequent driver parade. […]
Honda needs Alonso ‘more than ever now’ – Salo
Mar.15 (GMM) Honda has defended its woeful return to formula one in 2015 by saying it opted to go conservative for Melbourne. Experts are predicting McLaren’s works supplier is up to an enormous 250 horse power down compared to Mercedes at the start of its new era on the grid. But Honda’s F1 chief Yasuhisa […]
Newey comments show Red Bull-Renault divorce nigh
Mar.15 (GMM) Adrian Newey has joined fellow Red Bull officials in angrily pointing the finger at Renault. After Renault struggled at the start of the turbo V6 era last year, the formerly title-winning team is back in trouble one year later in Melbourne. Team figures have slammed Red Bull’s French partner for making apparently backwards […]
Mercedes dominates, McLaren-Honda dead last
Mar.14 (GMM) The contrast between the two silver-coloured teams in Melbourne could not be more stark. At the front, the extent of Mercedes’ continuing dominance became crystal clear on Saturday. World champion Lewis Hamilton is not just six tenths ahead of Nico Rosberg on the front row, but a huge 1.4 seconds clear of Williams’ […]
Bottas hurts back in Melbourne qualifying
Mar.14 (GMM) A limping Valtteri Bottas ended qualifying with a sore back. The 25-year-old Finn, who qualified three places behind his Williams teammate Felipe Massa in Melbourne, was seen limping in the paddock after the decisive session on Saturday evening. “Valtteri was suffering with his back,” the official Australian grand prix Twitter account quoted Williams […]
Van der Garde gives up on Melbourne seat
Mar.14 (GMM) Giedo van der Garde has dropped his legal action against Sauber at the Australian grand prix. The warring parties were back at court on the morning of practice and qualifying in Melbourne, but the Dutch driver’s lawyer said a settlement has been reached. “I’ve very glad to see a settlement,” the judge confirmed. […]
Manor looks set to miss qualifying
Mar.14 (GMM) Manor looks set to miss qualifying in Melbourne. Just weeks out of administration, the former Marussia team has been unable to even start its customer Ferrari engines in Melbourne so far. Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi missed yet another practice session on Saturday. “The team is doing everything possible to get us out […]
Boullier admits ‘grey areas’ in Alonso mystery
Mar.14 (GMM) A cloud is now hanging over Fernando Alonso’s return to action in Malaysia in two weeks. Sunday’s Australian grand prix marks precisely 21 days since his unexplained Barcelona testing crash — the precautionary timeframe given by McLaren-Honda for concussion. So the fact Alonso could now miss Malaysia will ramp up already widespread speculation […]
Car, not engine explains Mercedes gap
Mar.14 (GMM) A better engine no longer explains Mercedes’ continuing domination of formula one. “Aldo Costa designed a great car last year,” said team chairman Niki Lauda in Melbourne, “and this one is even better.” Indeed, Mercedes’ gap over the field was an astonishing 1.4 seconds in Melbourne qualifying, with the closest chaser being the […]