Jan.28 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen has this week become a father. The Ferrari driver’s fiancee, Minttu, is quoted by Finnish newspapers including Lansi Savo and Iltalehti as saying on Wednesday: “The little one saw light of day in Switzerland yesterday. “He is healthy, measuring 51cm and weighing 3.7kg. “The parents are also well, happy and proud!” […]
Category: Recent stories
Todt backs Ferrari to bounce back
Jan.28 (GMM) FIA president Jean Todt has backed his former team, Ferrari, to bounce back in formula one. Now in charge of the sport’s governing body, 68-year-old Frenchman Todt oversaw Ferrari’s revival from the slump of the mid-90s to the dizzying heights of the Michael Schumacher era. Today, Ferrari is in another period of turmoil […]
Renault says 2015 engine ‘very different’
Jan.28 (GMM) Red Bull’s engine supplier Renault says it has made big changes to its turbo V6 engine for the 2015 season. The French marque struggled as the new rules dawned last year, winning only three races compared to dominant Mercedes’ sixteen. It prompted big organisational changes at Viry-Chattilon and also major upgrades for the […]
McLaren to test 2015 car with black livery – report
Jan.28 (GMM) McLaren looks set to debut its Honda-powered 2015 car on Sunday with an all-black livery, according to the Spanish sports daily Marca. Late on Tuesday, photographs started doing the rounds on Twitter depicting team returnee Fernando Alonso equipped with his new Honda-branded white overalls. McLaren’s 2015 driver uniform, also sported by Jenson Button […]
Pirelli expecting ‘significant’ speed boost in 2015
Jan.28 (GMM) Pirelli boss Paul Hembery is expecting a much faster field of 2015. Last year, among the criticisms of F1’s all-new turbo V6 format was that laptimes took a slide in comparison to the popular and screaming V8s of the past. And Pirelli, F1’s official tyre supplier, took some of the blame. “Some teams […]
2015 revival could see Dinnington return for Manor
Jan.27 (GMM) If the former Marussia team survives the winter, it will have to house itself elsewhere. That is because Haas, F1’s new American entrant for 2016, has confirmed reports it has bought the Marussia facility in Banbury from the ailing team’s administrators. Haas denied, however, that it is the mystery investor that could revive […]
Alonso ‘an alternative, not a priority’ – Wolff
Jan.27 (GMM) Talks to renew world champion Lewis Hamilton’s contract are finally looming, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has announced. The British driver’s current contract expires at the end of this year, and Wolff has already declared that Fernando Alonso and Valtteri Bottas are at the front of the queue should Hamilton not stay. Indeed, […]
Only Mercedes, Williams to test 2015 engine at Jerez
Jan.27 (GMM) Nine weeks after the 2014 finale, formula one is now counting down the mere days before the resumption of track action. The winter lull will soon be replaced by a spate of car unveilings and the sound of F1 2015, as the first official test of the new season begins at Jerez on […]
Rosberg predicts more Mercedes dominance
Jan.26 (GMM) Nico Rosberg has tipped another season of F1 superiority for Mercedes. Last year, as the turbo V6 era dawned, the German driver and his teammate, the new reigning champion Lewis Hamilton, duelled for the title in a battle rarely challenged by any rivals. And now, as the sport enters its second year under […]
Mexico on schedule for 2015 return
Jan.26 (GMM) Organisers of this year’s revived Mexican grand prix have announced they are on course to bounce back into formula one in November. The country has been missing from the calendar since 1992, but the very same Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in Mexico City is currently being rejuvenated for its 2015 return. “The demolition of […]
F1 on track for engine change after 2016
Jan.26 (GMM) F1 is on course for a sharp change of direction after 2016. Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene is calling for a “revolution” on the technical front, as Bernie Ecclestone also looks to spice up the sport’s speed and sound just a year after the all-new turbo V6 era dawned. Renault, also trailing behind F1’s […]
Renault wants to halve gap to Mercedes in 2015
Jan.26 (GMM) Boss Cyril Abiteboul has admitted Renault was about 60 horse power down on dominant 2014 title winners Mercedes last year. “We estimate the gap between our engine and that of Mercedes at the end of the season to be about 60 horse power,” he revealed to the broadcaster Canal Plus. But Renault and […]
Sauber set for blue and yellow livery – report
Jan.26 (GMM) Sauber looks set to swap its white and grey livery for prominent blue and yellow for the 2015 season. That is the claim of the Portuguese-language publication Universo, claiming the Swiss team’s colour choice is in deference to new driver Felipe Nasr’s major backer Banco do Brasil. Last year, 22-year-old rookie Brazilian and […]
F1 should think again as ‘myth’ tracks disappear – Imola
Jan.26 (GMM) F1’s historic venues are struggling to write the next chapters of the sport. Germany looks set to fall off the 2015 calendar, and other traditional hosts like France and also Imola, the former Italian venue of the annual San Marino grand prix, are no longer represented. That is despite Imola’s Enzo e Dino […]
Hamilton signs with music PR agency
Jan.24 (GMM) World champion Lewis Hamilton has replaced one entertainment-based management agency with another, British newspapers the Daily Mail and Telegraph report. In November, despite not yet negotiating a new Mercedes contract beyond 2015, the Briton split with Spice Girls-famed Simon Fuller’s XIX Entertainment. The 30-year-old, whose girlfriend is Nicole Scherzinger, has never hidden his […]
Streiff apologises to Todt for Bianchi comments
Jan.24 (GMM) Philippe Streiff has apologised to FIA president Jean Todt. Todt, and the governing body’s medical commission chief Gerard Saillant, vowed to sue the wheelchair-bound former F1 driver after he criticised their handling of the investigation into Bianchi’s horror Suzuka crash. “I let myself get carried away in front of the camera,” Streiff, who […]
Arrivabene backs Lauda for F1 ‘revolution’
Jan.24 (GMM) Ferrari has called for a rules “revolution” for formula one in 2017. Upset with the mild tone of the new V6 engines and a dwindling audience, Bernie Ecclestone wants a radical change and this week he earned the backing of Mercedes’ team chairman and F1 legend Niki Lauda. “I want a car for […]
Kubica forms own world rally team
Jan.23 (GMM) Robert Kubica has launched his own team to contest the world rally championship in 2015. The Pole’s F1 career ended when he almost severed his hand in a 2011 pre-season rallying crash. But he has since returned to driving, this time in the highest category in the world of rallying. And in 2015, […]
Nurburgring still in talks with Ecclestone
Jan.23 (GMM) The Nurburgring is still in talks with Bernie Ecclestone about hosting the 2015 German grand prix as scheduled. The F1 supremo has said that amid the circuit’s financial and ownership troubles, this year’s race in the country will either be held at Hockenheim or not at all. But a spokesman for the Nurburgring […]
Chilton eyes Indycar debut for 2016
Jan.23 (GMM) Max Chilton will this year keep his motor racing career alive in America. The 23-year-old Briton raced for Marussia in 2013 and 2014, but the backmarker team collapsed late last year and is now clinging to survival mere weeks before the new season. So it has been announced that Chilton will assist his […]