Aug.31 (GMM) Carlos Sainz says his future in F1 remains in the hands of his Red Bull bosses. As the sport moves onto Monza this weekend, rumours are swirling yet again that the energy drink team could agree to release the Toro Rosso driver to Renault for 2018. It is rumoured Sainz’s release could be […]
Month: August 2017
David Schumacher eyes F1 future
Aug.31 (GMM) Ralf Schumacher’s son has admitted he is targeting a future in formula one. While it is his cousin Mick who is grabbing the most headlines, David Schumacher is set to move from karting into German Formula 4 next year. “I definitely want to be in formula one,” said 16-year-old David Schumacher, who will […]
Hulkenberg not afraid of Alonso rumours
Aug.31 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg says he would not mind being teamed up with Fernando Alonso at Renault next year. In the past days, Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul has played down claims the French team will sign Alonso for 2018, as Renault is not yet ready for the title. But also linked with Renault for 2018 […]
Spa bad news for Bottas title – Salo
Aug.31 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas may be shunted out of contention for the 2017 world championship. That is the view of Mika Salo, who thinks his Finnish countryman’s strong opening campaign at Mercedes hit a major hurdle at Spa last weekend. “It was not a good weekend for Valtteri,” Salo, who was the FIA driver steward […]
Williams denies 2018 Alonso talks
Aug.31 (GMM) Williams has played down reports it is close to signing up Fernando Alonso for 2018. Reports have suggested Alonso, the frustrated McLaren-Honda driver, could announce imminently that he is moving to the customer Mercedes-powered team next year. But Williams deputy Claire Williams told Bild newspaper: “I read that with astonishment. “I know nothing […]
Honda improvement ‘more than a tenth’ – Hasegawa
Aug.31 (GMM) Honda is continuing to improve its 2017 engine. That is despite the fact that, according to the latest specialist media reports, the Japanese manufacturer and McLaren are now on the cusp of a split. But Honda chief Yusuke Hasegawa told the Japanese source Sportiva that the marque made a clear step forward at […]
Brawn happy with Vettel-Hamilton battle
Aug.31 (GMM) Ross Brawn says formula one is delighted with an epic battle for the 2017 world championship. Long before he became the new F1 sporting boss, Brawn was the technical chief at Ferrari for Michael Schumacher’s legendary title battles against Mika Hakkinen. “Formula one has a legendary duel again,” he now tells Sport Bild […]
Lauda hints Mercedes to keep Hamilton
Aug.31 (GMM) Niki Lauda has suggested Mercedes will keep Lewis Hamilton beyond 2018. In the past days, as Ferrari announced it is keeping Sebastian Vettel, there have been rumblings Hamilton now wants a new three-year deal at Mercedes. “Ferrari is a dream for every driver,” the triple world champion said, “but I guess I will […]
Verstappen tells Renault to tweak setting
Aug.31 (GMM) Max Verstappen has urged Renault to remove a ‘safety’ setting on its F1 engines. The frustrated Dutchman said it was a security setting in his engine that caused his failure at Spa on Sunday. “They knew that this could happen,” he said at a sponsor event in Milan on Wednesday. “I understand that […]
Prost confirms apology to Verstappen
Aug.31 (GMM) F1 legend Alain Prost has revealed he apologised to Max Verstappen. The apology followed the latest Renault engine problem for Red Bull’s incredibly frustrated young Dutch driver. “I personally apologised to Max,” said quadruple world champion Prost, who is an advisor for engine supplier Renault. “I also apologised to Red Bull Racing. Not […]
Verstappen hype ‘not eclipsing me’ – Ricciardo
Aug.30 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo insists he is not bothered by the level of media and team attention attracted by his teammate. Teen sensation Max Verstappen, 19, not only hogs the media headlines, but he also seems to receive the lion’s share of attention doled out by Red Bull. For instance, just recently Red Bull mogul […]
Bottas should be ‘number 2’ driver now – Lauda
Aug.30 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas looks set to be shuffled into de-facto ‘number 2’ status for the remaining eight grands prix of 2017. Until recently, the Finn looked right in the running with championship leaders Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, but he had a poor weekend at Spa. Bottas, however, thinks he’s still in the hunt. […]
Angry Verstappen has nowhere to go – Mateschitz
Aug.29 (GMM) Team owner Dietrich Mateschitz is adamant Red Bull is not going to imminently lose Max Verstappen. That is despite the fact the angry and frustrated rhetoric from the Verstappen camp has ramped up since the 19-year-old retired for the sixth time out of twelve races last weekend in Belgium. “A 50 per cent […]
Alonso issues McLaren-Honda ultimatum – report
Aug.29 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has issued a ‘Honda or me’ ultimatum to McLaren, according to Germany’s authoritative Auto Motor und Sport. It appears that the fiery Spaniard’s three years of patience are finally up, amid rumours he faked a Honda engine failure to retire from last Sunday’s race at Spa. “He had a funny feeling […]
Force India not ruling out driver change
Aug.29 (GMM) Force India is not ruling out making a change to its driver lineup for 2018. Earlier, although Sergio Perez is yet to commit to the Silverstone based team beyond this year, Force India bosses seemed more than happy to keep the Mexican alongside Esteban Ocon. But tension has been steadily rising between the […]
‘Few weeks’ until future resolved – Alonso
Aug.28 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has tipped the future of the McLaren-Honda collaboration and his next move in F1 to be decided in “the next few weeks”. The Spaniard made his feelings about Honda’s continuing problems clear at Spa, where over the radio he said using the Japanese power unit was “embarrassing”. Asked if McLaren needs […]
No Hamilton contract talks this season – Wolff
Aug.28 (GMM) Toto Wolff has scotched rumours the extension of Lewis Hamilton’s contract will be a topic over the course of the next months. At Spa, rumours emerged that suggested on the one hand that the triple world champion might quit Mercedes after 2018, whilst on the other claiming Hamilton was ready to talk about […]
Wolff plays down Ferrari engine argument
Aug.28 (GMM) Toto Wolff has vowed to keep “behind closed doors” any spat with Ferrari over engine rules. We reported at the weekend that Ferrari is angry after Mercedes broke a ‘gentleman’s agreement’. The saga surrounds the ‘oil in fuel’ controversy, with Mercedes launching a new engine specification at Spa despite promising it would wait […]
Wolff plays down safety car conspiracy
Aug.28 (GMM) Toto Wolff has played down a conspiracy theory triggered by comments made by Lewis Hamilton after the Belgian grand prix. The Mercedes driver won at Spa, but only after a race characterised by intense pressure from Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and controversial safety car periods. “I felt it was like Nascar, with safety cars […]
Pirelli insists 2017 tyres ‘safe’
Aug.28 (GMM) Pirelli left the Belgian grand prix insisting its 2017 tyres are safe. During the Spa weekend, alarming slow-motion footage showed the rear tyres of some cars vibrating so severely under acceleration that parts of the cars broke off. F1’s official tyre supplier launched an investigation. Pirelli technical boss Mario Isola said: “It only […]