Mar.4 (GMM) Fernando Alonso says he can “understand” why he has been sidelined for the Australian grand prix. McLaren on Tuesday announced that, on the advice of the Spaniard’s doctors, the risk of ‘second impact syndrome’ means the 33-year-old will sit out the first race of the new Honda-powered era. “It will be tough not […]
Month: March 2015
Red Bull eyes RB11 nose-job for Melbourne
Mar.4 (GMM) Red Bull is scrambling to give its 2015 car a nose-job before its Melbourne race debut next weekend. Unlike most of the other major teams, the 2014 runner-ups ran in Barcelona for the final winter test last week with only minor upgrades for its RB11. Auto Motor und Sport reports: “The planned major […]
Former F1 driver says Alonso took ‘600 watt hit’
Mar.4 (GMM) Officially, a gust of wind blew Fernando Alonso off the track on February 22, resulting in a concussion that has sidelined him for Melbourne. Unofficially, rumours and doubt are running wild. Sky Italia, the F1 broadcaster, claims the Spanish driver has confided to close friends and family that he suffered a “major shock […]
Alonso now preparing for Malaysia return
Mar.4 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has returned to physical training in preparation for the start of his 2015 race campaign in Malaysia. The Spaniard is sitting out the Melbourne opener next weekend as he waits out a precautionary 21-day period to prevent the potentially fatal, post-concussion ‘second impact syndrome’. What is becoming clear is that what […]
Force India admits Q2 ‘difficult’ for Melbourne
Mar.4 (GMM) Force India is expecting to be near the back of the grid at next weekend’s Melbourne season opener. Due to cash-flow and supplier trouble, the Silverstone based team’s 2015 car was severely delayed, only making its debut at the final winter test last week. Force India finished the 2014 season a strong sixth […]
New cloud forms over Russian GP
Mar.4 (GMM) A new cloud may be descending over the Russian grand prix. Last year, although the Sochi race did take place, swirling speculation had suggested it was in doubt due to the Crimean crisis and the Malaysia Airlines MH17 disaster. Now, Russian grand prix promoter OJSC Center Omega has cancelled the Sochi Autodrom’s scheduled […]
Brundle questions ‘very strange’ Alonso saga
Mar.4 (GMM) The world of F1 has been split down the middle by the Fernando Alonso crash saga. In one camp are those who back the official story, believing McLaren-Honda that a gust of wind blew him off the Barcelona circuit and that the subsequent impact with the wall knocked him out. But arguably the […]
Other sports ‘inspire’ Germans more than F1 – Wolff
Mar.3 (GMM) Formula one has taken a back seat in Germany, Toto Wolff has admitted. Days ago, the Mercedes team boss said he would “try” to save the country’s endangered grand prix, as promoters and Bernie Ecclestone reach the eleventh hour in their negotiations over a commercial contract for 2015. “The problems are all home-made,” […]
Female F1 driver Jorda slams ‘jealous’ rivals
Mar.3 (GMM) F1’s new female signing has hit back at her harshest critics. Although she finished last year’s GP3 season just 29th overall, 26-year-old Spaniard Carmen Jorda has been signed up as a development driver by Lotus. Some of her former on-track rivals were unimpressed with the news, suggesting it was more about her gender, […]
‘Healthy’ Alonso to miss Melbourne opener – McLaren
Mar.3 (GMM) Fernando Alonso will sit out next weekend’s Australian grand prix. McLaren announced the news on Tuesday, despite insisting the Spaniard has been checked by doctors in the wake of his Barcelona testing crash and four days in hospital. The doctors found Alonso “asymptomatic of any medical issue,” McLaren said in a media statement, […]
Ferrari ‘on par’ with Red Bull – Marchionne
Mar.3 (GMM) Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne on Tuesday admitted the Maranello team might have to wait for its next F1 title. “2018? Absolutely, but we will try to do it a little before,” he smiled at the Geneva Motor Show, according to Italian media reports. Ferrari has emerged from the chaos of 2014 with a […]
Test cameras to fix regulations ‘flaw’ – report
Mar.3 (GMM) F1 looks set to fix what one publication insists is an obvious “flaw” in the current regulations. Article 27.2 of the rules dictates that cars must be fitted with a crash ‘black box’ at all times, in order to collect data “relevant to an accident or incident”. “At any time following an accident […]
Wolff says F1 ‘shark tank’ alive and well
Mar.3 (GMM) F1 as a ruthless ‘shark tank’ is alive and well, according to Toto Wolff. The Mercedes chief, however, undoubtedly plays the role of one of the sharks, particularly when it comes to the FIA’s recent McKinsey report that showed costs for the struggling smallest teams could be effectively halved. Wolff told Germany’s Sky […]
McLaren-Honda and Alonso will win together – Berger
Mar.3 (GMM) Gerhard Berger has played down McLaren-Honda’s testing troubles, insisting the historic pairing will win championships again. The Austrian great knows McLaren-Honda well, as he was famously paired with Ayrton Senna between 1990 and 1992. Firstly, he tipped Fernando Alonso to bounce back from his testing crash and eventually win titles for McLaren-Honda. “Fernando […]
Manager warns media as Schu son makes car debut
Mar.3 (GMM) The low profile enjoyed until now by the great Michael Schumacher’s son is over. On Monday, recent rumours that 15-year-old ‘Mick Junior’ was set to step out of karts and into single seater racing were made official. The young Schumacher will make his car debut this year in the FIA-sanctioned German Formula 4 […]
Mercedes will not totally dominate 2015 – Lauda
Mar.3 (GMM) Niki Lauda has played down suggestions Mercedes’ dominance will be stronger than ever in 2015. The German team utterly dominated the first year of the new ‘power unit’ era last season, winning all but three of the grands prix. But despite the new W06 seeming unbeatable in the wake of the pre-season tests […]
Coulthard – can Ricciardo cope with Kvyat defeat?
Mar.3 (GMM) Former Red Bull driver David Coulthard has admitted he will be keeping a keen eye on Daniel Ricciardo this year. In 2014, Australian Ricciardo leapt from the low-profile Toro Rosso into Red Bull’s senior team, and was soon humbling the quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel against all odds. Most insiders believe Ricciardo’s surprise […]
Renault admits Mercedes still ahead in 2015
Mar.3 (GMM) Remi Taffin has admitted Renault still does not possess the best engine in formula one. One year ago, the French marque found itself in Honda-like strife as the sport’s all-new turbo V6 era began. But the FIA’s system of unfreeze ‘tokens’ for 2015 means that Red Bull’s works supplier has been able to […]
Mercedes’ gap almost 1 second per lap
Mar.2 (GMM) As Mercedes’ rival teams pack up their air freight for Melbourne, the extent of their awaiting challenge in 2015 is now crystal clear. Last week in Barcelona, as the winter testing season ended, the true superiority of the reigning champions’ new W06 car was let out of the bag with fury. Christian Horner, […]
Race promoters wanted helmet change ban – Wolff
Mar.2 (GMM) Toto Wolff has defended the controversial banning of mid-season driver helmet livery changes. After the recent meeting of the F1 Commission, it emerged that the growing trend for multiple helmet colour changes will no longer be allowed. The rule has now been enshrined in to the 2015 regulations, which read that drivers must […]