Aug.24 (GMM) Russian grand prix promoter Sergei Vorobyov has admitted Sochi could switch to a night race format in the future. Vorobyov travelled to Spa-Francorchamps for talks with Bernie Ecclestone, with the F1 supremo telling reporters that Russia’s switch to floodlit racing is a possibility for 2017. “2017 is an optimistic scenario for the night […]
Month: August 2015
Force India enters frame for Renault deal
Aug.24 (GMM) Force India has joined in the running to become Renault’s works team, it emerged after the Belgian grand prix on Sunday. The news is surprising, following earlier reports the struggling Enstone based team Lotus – formerly the fully Renault-owned outfit – was close to securing the deal. Lotus’ recent financial troubles hit their […]
Nasr hits out at ‘unacceptable’ Sauber problem
Aug.24 (GMM) Felipe Nasr has criticised his team for yet another braking problem in 2015. The Brazilian has complained of a recurring problem more than once this season, and now he says it affected his entire Belgian grand prix. “I basically had only three wheels because of the completely wrong brake balance,” Nasr told Globo, […]
Alonso happy to beat Button at Spa
Aug.24 (GMM) The Belgian grand prix was not all bad, according to Fernando Alonso. His teammate Jenson Button ended the Spa-Francorchamps race admitting it had even been “embarrassing”, as he was “just driving around” with a totally uncompetitive McLaren-Honda. The Briton said the hybrid parts of his Japanese-made ‘power unit’ were not working, but explained: […]
Toro Rosso set to keep Verstappen and Sainz
Aug.23 (GMM) Toro Rosso looks set to keep an unchanged driver lineup into 2016. The Red Bull-owned team has been openly happy with its latest pair of rookies, including the 17-year-old sensation Max Verstappen and Spaniard Carlos Sainz. In fact, it is believed Verstappen is already being courted by Ferrari, to replace the newly re-signed […]
Trouble brewing after Belgian grand prix
Aug.23 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel ended Sunday’s Belgian grand prix with a foul mood — and a mandatory visit to the stewards. So angry was the Ferrari driver with his late-race Pirelli tyre blowout that he forgot to deliver himself to the FIA’s Jo Bauer to be weighed. He was busier doubting Pirelli chief Paul Hembery’s […]
Pay-rise could end Button’s F1 career – reports
Aug.23 (GMM) Jenson Button’s F1 career could end because of a pay-rise that is scheduled to kick in for 2016. Two British newspapers, the Daily Mail and the Telegraph, are reporting that the 35-year-old’s current retainer of $12.5 million would rise to almost $19 million if McLaren takes up the ‘option’ on his existing deal. […]
Blowout mystery to remain at Belgian GP start
Aug.23 (GMM) Drivers will start the Belgian grand prix unsure as to what caused Nico Rosberg’s horror 300kph tyre blowout of Friday. Pirelli said on Saturday that it had ruled out a structural failure, while the FIA made tweaks to the kerbs at the fabled Eau Rouge corner ahead of qualifying. As to the exact […]
Lauda told Hamilton to delete machine gun video
Aug.23 (GMM) Niki Lauda ordered that a video of Lewis Hamilton firing a machine gun be removed from the reigning world champion’s social media accounts. On Saturday, a controversy exploded when the video emerged depicting the Mercedes driver firing the weapon at a shooting range, just one day after news broke of a gunman opening […]
Arai denies saying Honda would match Ferrari
Aug.23 (GMM) For McLaren and Honda, the 2015 season has gone from bad to worse. Before Spa-Francorchamps, Honda’s Yasuhisa Arai promised that an engine upgrade for Belgium would bring the ‘power unit’ in line with Ferrari’s. But at Spa, the reality has been perhaps McLaren-Honda’s worst performance of the entire season, and penalties totalling a […]
Van der Garde causes a stir with Spa paddock visit
Aug.23 (GMM) Giedo van der Garde says he is not targeting a return to formula one. On Saturday, the Dutchman announced on social media that he is visiting the Belgian grand prix — his first paddock appearance since the Melbourne court dramas. “Don’t panic Sauber,” he wrote on Twitter, “I’ve only got some meetings.” Actually, […]
Red Bull drivers want end to Renault-fuelled crisis
Aug.23 (GMM) Two drivers from Red Bull’s F1 stable are urging for change. Both struggling around the long blasts of Spa-Francorchamps with their Renault engine, Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat and Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen make no secret that they would like more power for 2016. “Personally, I hope that this moment will come to an […]
Vettel hoping for start ‘chaos’ or rain
Aug.23 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel is hoping Spa-Francorchamps’ rare dry spell does not continue. Oddly this weekend, the fabled layout in the notoriously fickle Belgian Ardennes region has remained rain-free so far. So after a poor qualifying, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel is turning his eye to Sunday’s weather man, who thinks rain might affect the Belgian grand […]
Verstappen tells Schumacher to step up to Formula 3
Aug.23 (GMM) Max Verstappen has urged Michael Schumacher’s son to make the step into Formula 3 for 2016. This year, 16-year-old Mick made international headlines as he took the leap out of karts and into single seaters, starting with the German Formula 4 series. So far, it has been an up-and-down debut campaign for the […]
Sochi chiefs in contract talks with Ecclestone
Aug.22 (GMM) Russia is pushing to secure its long term future on the F1 calendar. The Sochi race’s current contract runs until 2020, but there has been constant speculation about the future of the deal, fuelled by political instability as well as financial concerns. Russian sources on Saturday report that Alexander Saurin, vice governor of […]
Pic admits Lotus ‘did not respect the contract’
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 […]