Jan.24 (GMM) Philippe Streiff has apologised to FIA president Jean Todt. Todt, and the governing body’s medical commission chief Gerard Saillant, vowed to sue the wheelchair-bound former F1 driver after he criticised their handling of the investigation into Bianchi’s horror Suzuka crash. “I let myself get carried away in front of the camera,” Streiff, who […]
Month: January 2015
Hamilton signs with music PR agency
Jan.24 (GMM) World champion Lewis Hamilton has replaced one entertainment-based management agency with another, British newspapers the Daily Mail and Telegraph report. In November, despite not yet negotiating a new Mercedes contract beyond 2015, the Briton split with Spice Girls-famed Simon Fuller’s XIX Entertainment. The 30-year-old, whose girlfriend is Nicole Scherzinger, has never hidden his […]
Force India defends 2015 car delay
Jan.23 (GMM) Force India insists the decision not to debut its 2015 car at the opening Jerez test was deliberate. The Silverstone based team, having unveiled its new livery this week by using a show-car with a 2015-style nose, will instead run the 2014 car at Jerez before the VJM08 makes its bow in Barcelona […]
Illien says tweaks would make V6 engines louder
Jan.23 (GMM) Mario Illien says it is possible tweaks to the current generation of turbo V6 cars can produce a louder sound for formula one. The most controversial aspect of the new ‘power unit’ regulations, introduced last year, is their mild tone in comparison to the screaming V8 and V10s of the past. Bernie Ecclestone […]
Ecclestone involved in FIA’s Honda U-turn
Jan.23 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has admitted he was involved in the FIA’s U-turn over allowing Honda into the new 2015 engine ‘unfreeze’. Initially, the governing body had locked McLaren’s new works partner out of the decision to let 2014 suppliers Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault deploy their development ‘tokens’ beyond a start-of-season deadline. But the FIA […]
Caterham boss admits ‘time running out’
Jan.23 (GMM) Caterham’s acting team boss and administrator has admitted time is running out to rescue the ailing backmarker. Although it was Caterham and not Marussia that successfully returned for the 2014 finale in Abu Dhabi, Bernie Ecclestone said this week that only Marussia appears able to survive into the 2015 season. “Caterham, I don’t […]
Dallara starts work on 2016 Haas car
Jan.23 (GMM) F1 newcomer Haas has begun to work on its first car for 2016, Omnicorse reports. While the team will be based alongside the Nascar arm in North Carolina, with a second HQ probably at the Marussia facility in Banbury, the Italian publication said the 2016 Haas car will be developed in Varano de […]
Vettel to debut new Ferrari – report
Jan.23 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel is reportedly first in line to test Ferrari’s 2015 car. On Thursday, it emerged that McLaren-Honda newcomer Fernando Alonso will be the one bestowed the duty of debuting the all-new MP4-30 when official testing kicks off at Jerez next Sunday. And now, Ferrari’s plans are similarly beginning to emerge. Germany’s Sport […]
Montezemolo tipped to head Olympic bid
Jan.23 (GMM) Ousted former long-time Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo’s next project could be to secure the 2024 summer Olympics for Rome. Ansa news agency and La Repubblica newspaper said the 67-year-old Italian, now chief executive of the Alitalia airline, could be unveiled in the role shortly. “It’s not my job to (choose) but I […]
Rookie duo admits Hamilton favourite in 2015
Jan.23 (GMM) When it comes to two crucial questions about F1, Toro Rosso’s all-rookie lineup is unanimous. When asked to name the best current driver on the grid, Max Verstappen answered: “Alonso.” And his 2015 teammate, another grand prix debutant and a Spaniard, Carlos Sainz jr, agreed: “Fernando, of course.” But their answer, whilst also […]
Chilton eyes Indycar debut for 2016
Jan.23 (GMM) Max Chilton will this year keep his motor racing career alive in America. The 23-year-old Briton raced for Marussia in 2013 and 2014, but the backmarker team collapsed late last year and is now clinging to survival mere weeks before the new season. So it has been announced that Chilton will assist his […]
Nurburgring still in talks with Ecclestone
Jan.23 (GMM) The Nurburgring is still in talks with Bernie Ecclestone about hosting the 2015 German grand prix as scheduled. The F1 supremo has said that amid the circuit’s financial and ownership troubles, this year’s race in the country will either be held at Hockenheim or not at all. But a spokesman for the Nurburgring […]
Kubica forms own world rally team
Jan.23 (GMM) Robert Kubica has launched his own team to contest the world rally championship in 2015. The Pole’s F1 career ended when he almost severed his hand in a 2011 pre-season rallying crash. But he has since returned to driving, this time in the highest category in the world of rallying. And in 2015, […]
Todt sues Streiff over Bianchi comments
Jan.23 (GMM) FIA president Jean Todt is suing former F1 driver Philippe Streiff. Having already attracted controversy with comments about Michael Schumacher’s condition, former Renault driver and Frenchman Streiff on Thursday attacked Todt for his handling of the report about Jules Bianchi’s crash. Later on Thursday, in an official statement issued by F1’s governing body, […]
F1 might not race in Germany this year – Ecclestone
Jan.22 (GMM) Germany could be removed from the F1 calendar altogether, Bernie Ecclestone has warned. Earlier, amid the Nurburgring’s financial and ownership troubles, the F1 supremo said it was likely Hockenheim would return in 2015 to host the German grand prix. But officials for both German circuits responded by insisting they do not have contracts […]
Lauda says Hamilton contract reports ‘nonsense’
Jan.22 (GMM) Niki Lauda has rubbished reports Lewis Hamilton has been offered the most lucrative contract in F1 to keep him at Mercedes beyond 2015. Italy’s respected La Gazzetta dello Sport last week claimed the German team “has prepared a three-year renewal (for Hamilton) for a fixed EUR 20 million per season”, including big bonuses […]
Force India shows new livery, 2015 nose
Jan.22 (GMM) Force India has become the next F1 team to unveil its new look for the 2015 season. Some had expected that, at an event in Mexico City on Wednesday, the Silverstone based team would reveal its new car, the VJM08. In fact, Force India will not begin to test its new machine until […]
Streiff blasts FIA over Bianchi report
Jan.22 (GMM) Former F1 driver Philippe Streiff has launched a stinging tirade against FIA president Jean Todt. Streiff, who was paralysed in a 1989 pre-season crash, triggered controversy late last year when he claimed to know details of the medical condition of the great Michael Schumacher. Those claims were denied by Schumacher’s inner circle, but […]
Dominant Mercedes ‘stressed’ ahead of 2015 – Lauda
Jan.22 (GMM) Although Mercedes utterly dominated in 2014, team chairman Niki Lauda is still looking into the new season with trepidation. For one thing, the F1 legend and triple world champion cannot understand the sport’s looming schedule for pre-season testing. “Everyone at Brackley is stressed,” Lauda admitted to Austria’s Salzburger Nachrichten. “There are many things […]
Toto Wolff injures knee in training fall
Jan.22 (GMM) Toto Wolff is recovering from yet another injury, it has emerged in the Austrian media. Last summer, the Mercedes team boss returned to the paddock wearing a sling, after badly breaking his arm in a road cycling crash. And according to Salzburger Nachrichten, Wolff is now recovering from yet another injury, having suffered […]