Apr.1 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen’s manager has defended the Finn following suggestions he is already slipping into a ‘number 2’ role for 2015. After struggling alongside former teammate Fernando Alonso, 35-year-old Raikkonen has been joined in red for this year by his friend Sebastian Vettel. But Raikkonen is already 28 points behind his German teammate, while […]
Monza set for F1 rescue talks in Monaco – Capelli
Apr.1 (GMM) Ivan Capelli, the new chief of the Italian grand prix organiser, has vowed to save the embattled formula one race at historic Monza. Bernie Ecclestone has blasted the current race contract as a commercial “disaster”, warning that the sport will say “bye-bye” to Italy after 2016. Not only that, local political developments are […]
Red Bull ends Renault row to focus on 2015 – Marko
Apr.1 (GMM) Red Bull and Renault have sidelined their furious row, according to Dr Helmut Marko. After Australia, Marko and his Red Bull colleagues let loose their fury with the team’s underperforming works supplier Renault. Renault hit back at the attack, Cyril Abiteboul going so far as to accuse Adrian Newey of telling “lies”. “All […]
Ferrari ‘much faster’ than Williams – Bottas
Apr.1 (GMM) Williams’ race drivers have admitted the British team has been clearly overtaken by Ferrari. Last year, with field-leading Mercedes power, Grove based Williams ended a long slump by finishing the season as clearly the closest challenger to the dominant works Mercedes team. But after finishing fifth in Malaysia behind both red and silver […]
Ecclestone’s criticism of Vettel wrong – Berger
Mar.31 (GMM) Gerhard Berger has hit back at Bernie Ecclestone, following the F1 supremo’s criticism of Sebastian Vettel. Before Vettel won for Ferrari on Sunday, 84-year-old Ecclestone said in Malaysia that Lewis Hamilton is a better world champion than German Vettel. “He (Hamilton) is a good guy, he gets out on the street and supports […]
Mercedes to re-think ‘fair play’ strategies – Wolff
Mar.31 (GMM) The big question after Malaysia is: has Ferrari really caught Mercedes? After Sebastian Vettel’s breakthrough win in red on Sunday, Mercedes figures admitted to being surprised their dominance of Melbourne has been so quickly reined in. Team boss Toto Wolff described it as a “wake-up call”. “I don’t think it was a wake-up […]
Ferrari’s driver hierarchy already set – Fiorio
Mar.31 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen is back. 2015 is a crucial year for the Finn, having declared his interest in racing on beyond the season but acknowledging his expiring Ferrari contract. Last year, he was humbled by teammate Fernando Alonso. For the new season, 35-year-old Raikkonen is paired with his friend Sebastian Vettel, but it is […]
Hamilton flags 2016 deal announcement ‘this week’
Mar.31 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton’s new Mercedes deal is still inching towards the signatures, the reigning world champion says. After months of rumours, delays and public negotiations, the British driver said before Malaysia that he was hoping his contract for 2016 and beyond will be ready for an announcement before the race weekend ended. It didn’t […]
Catching Mercedes ‘not possible’ – Marko
Mar.31 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko remains doubtful Red Bull can catch up in 2015. After Australia, the Red Bull official was warning the energy drink company could quit the sport unless ‘equalisation’ measures were imposed. That was when the magnitude of Mercedes’ apparent dominance appeared insurmountable, but Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel then broke through in Malaysia […]
German GP demise ‘serious’ for F1 nation – Haug
Mar.31 (GMM) Norbert Haug has lamented the demise of Germany’s historic grand prix. “It does not send the right signals about the car industry in Germany,” the former Mercedes chief told the Sudwestrundfunk broadcaster. F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone confirmed that “money” was the stumbling block as he negotiated with the Nurburgring and Hockenheim about keeping […]
Old chiefs deserve credit for Ferrari win – Montezemolo
Mar.31 (GMM) Luca di Montezemolo insists Ferrari’s former management should not be forgotten after the fabled team returned to the top step of the podium. Long-time president Montezemolo was just one of many victims of Maranello’s 2014 turmoil, as Ferrari also shed two team principals, numerous engineers and number 1 driver Fernando Alonso. “I am […]
Alonso upbeat after happy Ferrari moves on
Mar.30 (GMM) Fernando Alonso insists his first race with McLaren-Honda went better than expected. Earlier in Malaysia, the Spaniard told reporters he would prefer not to let the world know what his real thoughts were when he watched on television the woeful progress of his new team at the Melbourne opener. At the same time, […]
Ferrari says Mercedes still has best car
Mar.30 (GMM) Although disappointed, Toto Wolff had to chuckle late on Sunday when asked if Malaysia signalled the “end of an era” in formula one. Although it was somewhat of a jibe at his former teammate Daniel Ricciardo and team Red Bull, Sebastian Vettel observed that his win for Ferrari was arguably the “first time […]
Merhi keeps options open amid Manor uncertainty
Mar.30 (GMM) Roberto Merhi is having to keep his options open even after making his grand prix debut on Sunday. For now, the rookie Spaniard is part of the resurrected former Marussia team, Manor, having travelled to Australia and Malaysia in the race driver role. After the troubles of Melbourne, Merhi finally made his F1 […]
Raikkonen has full support of Arrivabene
Mar.30 (GMM) After two races in 2015, Ferrari is happy with its driver lineup. Having struggled alongside Fernando Alonso last year, Kimi Raikkonen went into the last year of his current contract in 2015 admitting he is not sure if he will still be wearing red next season. But so far, although Alonso’s successor Sebastian […]
Marko won bet by gambling on Ferrari – report
Mar.30 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko left Sepang 400 euros richer — by betting on a Ferrari. Germany’s Sport Bild reports that, in an internal paddock bet, the Red Bull official put his money on his former protege Sebastian Vettel. “I knew that Sebastian could do it,” he said. “You could see it as early as […]
Susie Wolff slams ‘all-female F1’ series idea
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 […]