Feb.17 (GMM) A new political storm could be on the horizon for formula one. The sport’s new owner Liberty Media has been generally welcomed to the paddock, but 1996 world champion Damon Hill compared the company to “the Trump administration”. “I think they’re learning,” he told the London publication City AM. The latest rumour flowing […]
Month: February 2017
Sydney eyeing F1 after Liberty Media buyout
Feb.16 (GMM) Rival city Sydney could use F1’s Liberty Media buyout to launch a bid to poach the Australian grand prix. That is the claim of Andrew Westacott, boss of the Melbourne race that is preparing to host its 22nd edition at Albert Park next month. US media giant Liberty recently bought the sport and […]
FIA denies ‘conflict of interest’
Feb.16 (GMM) F1’s governing body has hit back at reports a “conflict of interest” could be set to trigger a full European investigation into the sport. The European parliament this week voted through calls for an investigation into governance, income, and the fact a 1 per cent shareholding netted the FIA a $80 windfall after […]
Mercedes confirms new tech boss Allison
Feb.16 (GMM) Mercedes has confirmed speculation it has snapped up former Ferrari technical boss James Allison. Allison left Ferrari and Italy last year, following the sudden death of his UK-domiciled wife. And his appointment at Brackley based Mercedes, starting on March 1, comes after Paddy Lowe’s recent switch to Williams. “I am very excited to […]
No tyre problem in Vettel crash – Hembery
Feb.16 (GMM) Paul Hembery has denied an early flaw with Pirelli’s 2017 tyres may already have been uncovered. In 2013, F1’s official supplier came under a bright spotlight when several tyres ‘exploded’ during the British grand prix. Pirelli’s Mario Isola said this week: “The incident at Silverstone was a single episode, the cause was identified […]
Pirelli prepares ‘backup tyres’ for 2017
Feb.16 (GMM) Pirelli has developed a range of ‘backup’ tyre compounds for 2017. The F1 tyre supplier has said designing its significantly bigger, faster and less degrading slicks has been difficult due to a lack of testing. “Even the modified 2015 cars could not simulate the downforce of this year, so we’ve had to rely […]
Giovinazzi could replace Wehrlein in test
Feb.16 (GMM) Pascal Wehrlein could be set to miss the start of winter testing in less than two weeks. That is the claim of Blick, a newspaper whose F1 correspondent Roger Benoit is famously close to the Swiss team Sauber. Wehrlein, 22, is switching to Sauber for 2017 from Manor, but at the Race of […]
Bottas gets Rosberg’s race engineer
Feb.16 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas has inherited retired world champion Nico Rosberg’s race engineer at Mercedes. Earlier, Tony Ross came to Mercedes from Williams, where in addition to Rosberg he also worked with the likes of Juan Pablo Montoya. Now, the Briton will be the voice on Finn Bottas’ radio. “My engineer will be Tony Ross. […]
Bottas plays down EUR 8m salary reports
Feb.16 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas has played down reports that he is already a big financial winner in 2017. A report has emerged claiming the Finn’s annual earnings are leaping from EUR 3 million with Williams to a cool 8 million for 2017 after signing with Mercedes. The Finnish media says the 27-year-old now earns more […]
Bottas says Hamilton ‘welcomed me to team’
Feb.16 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas says Lewis Hamilton has welcomed him to the title-winning team. As the Finn signed up with Mercedes for 2017, Hamilton’s father Anthony warned that his son is a “career killer”. But Bottas told the Finnish news agency Suomen Tietotoimisto: “I’m really happy to have Lewis as my teammate. “It’s a great […]
McLaren denies orange 2017 car ‘leaked’
Feb.16 (GMM) McLaren has denied that the secret about its new, predominantly orange livery for 2017 is already out. Team boss Eric Boullier has confirmed that the Honda-powered team will change colour, but a spokesperson denied that images circulating on the internet are “leaked”. “We’ve seen these fake MCL32 pics,” the team said on Twitter. […]
Insiders play down Ferrari rumours
Feb.16 (GMM) Insiders are playing down rumours Ferrari’s 2017 campaign is already in trouble, long before a single winter testing lap. Eyebrows were raised in Turin earlier this week, when representatives of other F1 teams attended a launch event by tyre supplier Pirelli. Maurizio Arrivabene was conspicuously absent. “I am not far from Maranello, but […]
F1 inches closer to European investigation
Feb.16 (GMM) The European parliament has taken another step closer to initiating an investigation into formula one. We reported this week that parliamentarians were poised to vote, after pressure was applied for the body to look into “competition concerns” regarding governance, tax and conflict of interest in F1. The conflict of interest relates to the […]
Zanardi doubts Bottas can take on Hamilton
Feb.15 (GMM) Former F1 driver Alex Zanardi doubts Mercedes newcomer Valtteri Bottas can take on his teammate Lewis Hamilton in 2017. Finn Bottas has been drafted in to succeed the suddenly-retired Nico Rosberg, who quit the German team after winning the world championship. Bottas is saying he can take on triple world champion Hamilton, while […]
Pirelli wants wet track for Barcelona test
Feb.15 (GMM) F1’s official tyre supplier wants a full day of official winter testing to take place on a wet track. There will be only eight days of official running in Barcelona before Melbourne, and teams are traditionally nervous in the winter about losing pre-season mileage due to rain. Indeed, Pirelli chief Paul Hembery chuckled […]
Fans to see ‘real’ F1 passing in 2017
Feb.15 (GMM) F1 fans will see more “real” overtaking in 2017, according to Pirelli. Some are worried that, as downforce increases dramatically this year, the shorter braking distances could mean much less overtaking. But a key criticism of F1 in the past few years is that the overtaking aid ‘DRS’ has ramped up artificial passing […]
McLaren ‘neutral’ amid F1 suspension battle
Feb.15 (GMM) Eric Boullier says McLaren is staying out of the fight over controversial suspension designs in 2017. A big battle between Mercedes and Red Bull, who will race so-called ‘active suspension’-mimicking designs this year, and Ferrari could result in an official protest being lodged in Melbourne. Explaining how the fight broke out, McLaren chief […]
Boullier confirms colour change for McLaren
Feb.15 (GMM) Eric Boullier has confirmed rumours that McLaren will change livery colour for 2017. With the exit of Ron Dennis, who was vocally opposed to reverting to the British team’s iconic orange, McLaren is now hinting at the change with graphics on social media and its official website. “You will see a change in […]
New McLaren ‘a lot faster’ – Vandoorne
Feb.15 (GMM) Stoffel Vandoorne has confirmed claims that F1 drivers have been preparing hard for 2017. New drivers like the Belgian, and younger drivers including Esteban Ocon and Carlos Sainz, have been working harder than ever for this year’s much faster cars. It has emerged that Sainz has put on 4 kilograms of muscle, and […]
Gutierrez eyes F1 reserve role for 2017
Feb.15 (GMM) Esteban Gutierrez admits a personal mistake meant he had to look outside of F1 for 2017 to continue his racing career. After a year out to be Ferrari’s reserve driver, the 25-year-old Mexican made his return to the grid in 2016 with the new American team Haas. But Gutierrez is now looking to […]