Dec.28 (GMM) Esteban Gutierrez thinks formula one is set for a more exciting season in 2016. This year, the fight at the front was monopolised by the utter dominance of Mercedes, as Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg shared 16 of the 19 wins between them. But Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda told La Gazzetta dello […]
Month: December 2015
Verstappen wants 100 points and podium in 2016
Dec.28 (GMM) Max Verstappen has confirmed reports he is determined to “aim high” in 2016. This year, the teenage Dutchman had one of the most memorable rookie seasons in the history of the sport, wowing with his overtakes and amassing an impressive tally of 49 points. But he wants to double that feat for 2016, […]
Renault bought back Lotus for 1 pound
Dec.28 (GMM) French carmaker Renault bought back its former works team Lotus for a single British pound. That is the finding of F1 business journalist Christian Sylt, who wrote in the Telegraph that company documents show only 1 pound actually changed hands as Renault bought a 90 per cent stake in the Enstone based team. […]
Button was headed for 2014 retirement – Magnussen
Dec.28 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen has revealed the deep shock of discovering at the eleventh hour that his F1 career was stalling after just one year. In 2014, the Dane’s fledgling career was racing towards the end of its debut year with promising early form and – according to him – the certainty of more to […]
No Mercedes ‘alliance’ with Ferrari – Lauda
Dec.27 (GMM) Niki Lauda has denied Bernie Ecclestone’s claim about an alleged alliance between top F1 teams Mercedes and Ferrari. Amid an intensifying political war between the sport’s authorities on the one hand and the leading teams on the other, F1 supremo Ecclestone told Auto Motor und Sport recently that there is “an agreement between […]
Former manager not allowed to visit Schumacher
Dec.27 (GMM) Michael Schumacher’s former manager has revealed he has been unable to visit the stricken F1 legend in the wake of his 2013 skiing crash. As the two-year anniversary of the German great’s tragic fall in France now looms, Willi Weber wrote on his Facebook page that Schumacher’s wife Corinna has not allowed him […]
Rossi hints at 2016 Manor deal
Dec.27 (GMM) Alexander Rossi says his plans for the 2016 season will be revealed “soon”. The 24-year-old Californian began his 2015 campaign in GP2, but made his break into formula one towards the end of the season with the backmarker Manor. It is expected Rossi will stay at the team next year, but also in […]
Italian GP at Monza ‘saved’ – official
Dec.24 (GMM) Race officials are now confident formula one is staying in Italy. “The Monza grand prix is saved,” proclaimed Italian automobile club (Aci) chief Angelo Sticchi Damiani. His confidence follows progress in the Italian parliament recently, where the controversial ‘stability law’ was tweaked in order to help authorities raise the necessary money to ink […]
Rosberg contract talks only in summer – Wolff
Dec.24 (GMM) Toto Wolff says there is no guarantee Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton will be paired together beyond 2016. Rosberg, for a start, has a contract only until the end of next year. “We will talk about an extension in the summer at the earliest,” Mercedes team boss Wolff told Speed Week. “Until then, […]
Wolff admits Manor seat for Wehrlein unlikely
Dec.24 (GMM) Talks to secure Mercedes reserve and DTM champion Pascal Wehrlein a seat at Manor next year appear to have failed. Toto Wolff has said openly he was in talks with the British backmarker, who are switching from Ferrari to Mercedes power for 2016. But the Mercedes chief told Speed Week he is not […]
Aston Martin CEO says no to F1
Dec.24 (GMM) The CEO of Aston Martin has confirmed speculation that the British luxury car manufacturer is in fact not entering F1 next year. Negotiations about a naming sponsorship deal had obviously taken place with Force India, but a source close to Aston Martin told Sky News last week that there is “a definite inclination […]
No ‘fantastic results’ straight away – Renault
Dec.24 (GMM) Renault’s F1 chief has joined 2016 driver Jolyon Palmer in playing down the newly re-established works team’s hopes for next season. After acting only as an engine supplier in recent years, the French carmaker has bought back its old Enstone based team from Lotus. But Briton Palmer, signed up to race next year, […]
Schumacher plight still ‘hurts’ – Willi Weber
Dec.24 (GMM) Michael Schumacher’s former manager says he no longer watches motor sport. “It hurts,” said Willi Weber, referring to the plight of his former charge Schumacher, who two years ago sustained brain damage in a skiing fall. “That’s why I no longer go to the race track or watch the races,” Weber told the […]
Pirelli must test to design 2017 tyre – Ecclestone
Dec.23 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone says a dispute between Pirelli and the F1 teams means the sport might not get wider and faster tyres for 2017. It has been reported that while radical changes to the chassis rules are scheduled to arrive for 2017, a new engine formula might need to wait until 2018. But the […]
Raikkonen to marry, Button splits with wife
Dec.23 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen looks set to get married for the second time. The Ferrari driver’s partner Minttu, with whom Raikkonen already has a child, wrote on her blog that rumours the pair recently got married in New York are wide of the mark. “We did not get married but I did find a wedding […]
Inaugural Baku GP facing yet another clash
Dec.23 (GMM) Race organisers have dismissed suggestions another clash could hurt next year’s inaugural race in Azerbaijan. The country, situated between Russia and Iran, is positioning itself as a European country, having recently hosted the European Games and Eurovision. Now, although the race will take place in the middle of the capital Baku, Azerbaijan’s first […]
Those responsible for Bianchi death ‘must pay’ – father
Dec.23 (GMM) Jules Bianchi’s father says he is determined that those responsible for the death of his son will be held accountable. Regarding the controversial circumstances that led to the Marussia driver crashing into a recovery vehicle at Suzuka last year, Frenchman Bianchi’s family engaged a lawyer. The move came after the FIA presented the […]
Merhi assessing F1 ‘options’ for 2016
Dec.23 (GMM) Roberto Merhi is not ready to give up on his formula one career. The Spaniard made his F1 debut this year with Manor, but ultimately lost the seat to the better-funded Alexander Rossi. But speaking to Spanish radio Cadena Cope, the 24-year-old rates his chances of securing another role in formula one next […]
McLaren-Honda can find ‘seconds’ this winter – Boullier
Dec.23 (GMM) Eric Boullier says it is possible McLaren-Honda’s leap over the winter will amount to multiple seconds per lap. It was Fernando Alonso who made the original claim that, after a disastrous 2015, finding a whopping 2.5 seconds between now and next season is “realistic”. Many, however, think the Spaniard was simply issuing a […]
Minister says Russian close to F1 deal
Dec.23 (GMM) Rumours are gaining in strength that another Russian driver will be in the F1 paddock next year. Days ago, Oksana Kosachenko – the former manager of Russia’s first-ever F1 racer Vitaly Petrov – told the state-linked news agency Tass that “another Russian driver has signed a contract with a team”. “It will be […]