Oct.6 (GMM) Marcus Ericsson says extra weight has held him back in 2017. The Swede said the fact he weighs 10 kilograms more than teammate Pascal Wehrlein explains the pace difference between the two Sauber drivers. “He has the numbers on his side,” said Ericsson, who is now fighting to keep his seat at the […]
Month: October 2017
Verstappen hopes for ‘magic’ Renault button in 2018
Oct.6 (GMM) Max Verstappen hopes Renault heads into 2018 with a “magic” button for him to press. There are reports the French engine supplier wants to emulate the sort of ‘qualifying mode’ that has worked so well for Mercedes’ engine in the power unit era. Asked if that would be a big step forward, Red […]
Verstappen feels better after Malaysia illness
Oct.6 (GMM) Max Verstappen says he is feeling better after his illness in Malaysia. The Dutchman admitted only after winning at Sepang that he struggled physically throughout the weekend. “I was not feeling well at the start of the race,” said the Red Bull driver. “Then it got worse and worse.” Verstappen, 20, duly sprayed […]
Drivers admit 2017 Mercedes difficult to drive
Oct.6 (GMM) Mercedes’ two drivers have admitted their 2017 car is difficult to drive. Having the more obvious struggle recently is Valtteri Bottas, whose pace relative to championship leader Lewis Hamilton has been starkly off. “I think Lewis has been able to extract a little more with the compromises we’ve been needing to do in […]
Massa questions Kubica-di Resta ‘shootout’
Oct.6 (GMM) Felipe Massa has questioned the wisdom of Williams’ apparent decision to hold a ‘shootout’ test between Robert Kubica and Paul di Resta. As it appears the duo are the frontrunners to replace Massa next year, the Brazilian veteran said reports they will go head-to-head in a 2014 car concern him. “I don’t even […]
Perez recovered after Malaysia virus
Oct.5 (GMM) Sergio Perez says he has recovered completely after a stomach virus affected his weekend in Malaysia. Photos emerged of the Force India driver attached to an IV after Saturday and Sunday’s events at Sepang, and the Mexican said in Japan on Thursday: “It was so bad in qualifying that I had to rush […]
Red Bull strength ‘good for Vettel’ – Marko
Oct.5 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko thinks Red Bull’s strength could play into the hands of former team driver Sebastian Vettel this weekend at Suzuka. Current Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won last weekend in Malaysia, and now Marko thinks the team will once again be strong in Japan. “It could help Sebastian if we are […]
Wehrlein a contender for Williams seat – Wolff
Oct.5 (GMM) Pascal Wehrlein has emerged as a fourth candidate to become Lance Stroll’s teammate at Williams next year. Earlier, reports circulated that Robert Kubica and Paul di Resta will go head-to-head in unofficial ‘shootout’ tests later this month. But Bild newspaper quotes Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff as saying: “I think Williams is talking […]
Sainz admits Toro Rosso ‘frustration’
Oct.5 (GMM) Carlos Sainz thinks the only thing stopping Toro Rosso from becoming a winning team is money. After three seasons with the junior Red Bull team, the Spaniard is finally stepping up for 2018 with a move to the works Renault outfit. But he says he is grateful to Red Bull for giving him […]
Magnussen says F1 rules ‘nonsense’
Oct.5 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen has described as “nonsense” the amount of penalties handed out to F1 drivers. After run-ins with Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso and others, the Dane is earning a reputation as a ‘bad boy’. For instance, he told Hulkenberg to “suck my b-lls” during a live TV interview recently, and has taken a […]
Brawn impressed by rookies Vandoorne, Stroll
Oct.5 (GMM) Ross Brawn says two F1 rookies have impressed him this year. That is despite the fact that Stoffel Vandoorne and Lance Stroll initially struggled in 2017. But Brawn, the F1 sporting boss, said McLaren-Honda’s Vandoorne impressed him last weekend in Malaysia. “He was seventh in qualifying and he also shone in the race […]
Vettel unlikely to win 2017 title – Jochen Mass
Oct.5 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton is now on a march towards the 2017 title. That is the view of former F1 driver Jochen Mass, who nonetheless thinks Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel have put up a solid fight against Mercedes this year. Vettel’s hopes took a severe blow in Singapore and Malaysia, with Hamilton now leading the […]
No gearbox penalty for Vettel in Japan
Oct.5 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel’s Japanese grand prix weekend has started well. After Ferrari’s horror outing in Malaysia last week, Vettel headed to Suzuka under a cloud due to his bizarre post-race crash with Lance Stroll. The team had sent the German driver’s gearbox back to Maranello, fearing a replacement would cost Vettel five penalty places […]
Mercedes used Bottas as ‘road block’ – Vettel
Oct.4 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has accused Valtteri Bottas of deliberately holding him up during last weekend’s Malaysian grand prix. Bottas and Mercedes have each denied that the Finnish driver is now clearly the ‘number 2’ to championship contender Lewis Hamilton. But Ferrari star Vettel alleges that last Sunday at Sepang, as he made his way […]
Red Bull to consider Ricciardo replacement – Marko
Oct.4 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has admitted Red Bull is already looking for “alternatives” to Daniel Ricciardo for 2019. It looks certain the energy drink company’s premier F1 team will line up next year with unchanged drivers, with Ricciardo joining Max Verstappen once again. But Australian Ricciardo has been making noises about a potential move […]
Force India named in Mallya money laundering
Oct.4 (GMM) Vijay Mallya is accused of laundering money related to his F1 team Force India. On Tuesday, the former Indian billionaire was arrested in the UK and later released on $80,000 bail. “He will return to court on November 20,” the financial news agency Bloomberg reported, quoting a prosecutor as saying one charge involves […]
Haas wants Sepang to pay Grosjean repair bill
Oct.4 (GMM) Gunther Steiner has confirmed reports he is seeking compensation for Haas’ repair bill from last weekend’s Malaysian grand prix. In practice, Romain Grosjean’s car sustained a reported $650,000 in damage when a drain cover came loose on the Sepang circuit. An invoice made out to Sepang boss Razlan Razali did the rounds on […]
Montezemolo backs ‘unreliable’ Ferrari car
Oct.4 (GMM) Luca di Montezemolo has backed Ferrari, amid criticism of the Italian marque’s poor car reliability in Malaysia. Current Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne this week admitted Sepang last weekend made him angry, vowing organisational changes after both Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen suffered car problems. But Marchionne’s predecessor, Montezemolo, hailed Ferrari’s step forward in […]
Verstappen can win again in 2017 – Lammers
Oct.4 (GMM) Max Verstappen could win another race before the end of the 2017 season. That is the view of former F1 driver Jan Lammers, who like the 20-year-old Red Bull driver is Dutch. “If Max had not had disproportionately bad luck this year, he probably would have won two or three already,” Lammers, referring […]
Kubica and di Resta in Williams ‘shootout’ test
Oct.4 (GMM) Robert Kubica will test for the Williams team later this month, amid reports he is a contender to replace Felipe Massa next year. Multiple media sources report that the Pole will drive in a test being unofficially billed as a ‘shootout’ against Paul di Resta — another major candidate to become Lance Stroll’s […]