Dec.14 (GMM) Alain Prost has backed Lewis Hamilton in worrying about F1’s plans for the future. With the sport acknowledging the need to speed up, world champion Hamilton nonetheless blasted an apparent plan to slash laptimes simply by adding downforce to the cars. “That’s the worst idea and just shows people don’t know what they […]
Marchionne targets Melbourne win for Ferrari
Dec.14 (GMM) Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne says the Maranello team should start 2016 with an immediate win. After a tumultuous 2014 campaign, the Italian outfit regrouped impressively this year, but Sebastian Vettel only won three times versus Mercedes’ combined 16. “Mercedes will continue to be strong next year,” F1 legend Alain Prost predicted in an […]
Manor talks about Wehrlein to last ‘weeks’ – Wolff
Dec.14 (GMM) It will be “weeks” before Manor is ready to announce its drivers for 2016. That is the claim of Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, who is privy to the British backmarker’s apparent timescale because of his negotiations over the future of Pascal Wehrlein. German Wehrlein, 21, is waiting patiently for news but says […]
21-race calendar ‘not feasible’ for F1 teams – Wolff
Dec.14 (GMM) F1 is pushing teams beyond breaking point by expanding the calendar to an unprecedented 21 races in 2016. That is the warning of Toto Wolff, who said that although Mercedes once again dominated this year, the 19-race calendar pushed some team members to the brink. “We have already seen that 19 races is […]
Rosberg ‘extraordinarily good’ late in 2015 – Prost
Dec.13 (GMM) Alain Prost does not think Nico Rosberg needs to leave Mercedes in order to take his next step in formula one. In recent days, Mercedes’ lineup has been the subject of speculation, with boss Toto Wolff saying the bitterness of the feud between Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton needs to stop. “I am good […]
Rosberg sympathises with Mick Schumacher hype
Dec.13 (GMM) Nico Rosberg has sympathised with Mick Schumacher, amid the hype surrounding the 16-year-old son of F1 legend Michael. Fellow German Rosberg, Mercedes’ runner-up driver of 2015 and Michael Schumacher’s former teammate, witnessed the hype first-hand this weekend as young Mick also attended the end-of-year Stars and Cars event in Stuttgart. “I hope that […]
Ricciardo misses scream of ‘real’ F1 sound
Dec.13 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo this weekend got a stark reminder of something he misses about formula one — the noise. In his native Perth, the Red Bull driver was demonstrating Sebastian Vettel’s title-winning car from 2011, and admitted that the sound its V8 makes compared to the current ‘power units’ of 2015 is striking. “I […]
Haas to have yellow livery – report
Dec.13 (GMM) Haas looks set to use a yellow livery in formula one next year. In recent days, the new American team has been practicing pitstops at its factory with a black-liveried show car. But La Gazzetta dello Sport, the authoritative Italian source, says the actual race livery next year will be yellow, like the […]
Wurz stays at Le Mans as advisor
Dec.12 (GMM) Former F1 driver Alex Wurz’s next move in the world of motor racing is now clear. Recently, the Austrian turned down an offer to become the new team principal at Manor, having decided to retire from competitive racing. 41-year-old Wurz’s latest seat has been with Toyota’s premier LMP1 project in Le Mans racing, […]
Renault ‘must change drivers’ for 2016 – Briatore
Dec.9 (GMM) Former Renault team boss Flavio Briatore has urged the French carmaker to look carefully at its contracted driver lineup for 2016. Amid Lotus’ struggle for survival late this season, it re-signed the lucratively PDVSA-backed Pastor Maldonado and announced that Friday driver Jolyon Palmer will make his race debut for the Enstone team next […]
McLaren had lessons in Japanese culture – Button
Dec.9 (GMM) McLaren staff have had lessons in Japanese culture as the struggling team gets up to speed with works Honda power. The Anglo-Japanese collaboration endured an abysmal 2015 campaign, with the bulk of the blame falling to Honda as it grapples with F1’s complex ‘power unit’ era. But another problem, champion driver Jenson Button […]
Pundits slam Hamilton for late-season behaviour
Dec.9 (GMM) 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has slammed Lewis Hamilton for his behaviour since winning the world championship in October. After wrapping up the title, Hamilton’s earlier-dominant form mysteriously slumped just as teammate Nico Rosberg’s surged. Also obviously slumping, however, was the Briton’s mood, former Williams driver and now television pundit Villeneuve claims. “Maybe […]
Toro Rosso backs Sainz amid Verstappen hype
Dec.9 (GMM) Team boss Franz Tost says it is not fair to judge Carlos Sainz’s F1 debut simply by looking at his points tally. Indeed, while many agree that the 21-year-old had a good first season in 2015, he ended the year with much less than half the points scored by his teammate Max Verstappen, […]
Ecclestone thinks Todt should ‘step back’ from F1
Dec.9 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone thinks FIA president Jean Todt should step back from the front line in formula one. According to the BBC, an increasingly alarmed F1 supremo told the World Motor Sport Council last week that he believes the sport is “in crisis”. “Television audiences are down”, Ecclestone is reported as having informed the […]
Mercedes ‘spy’ Hoyle not joining Ferrari
Dec.9 (GMM) Ferrari has played down reports it has signed up F1’s latest alleged espionage protagonist. Bloomberg news agency revealed on Tuesday that Mercedes is suing a power unit engineer Benjamin Hoyle after he allegedly copied confidential data ahead of his move to Ferrari in 2016. But Omnicorse, a specialist Italian publication, quoted Ferrari sources […]
Canada GP promoter admits late to pay suppliers
Dec.9 (GMM) The promoter of the popular Canadian grand prix has fallen behind in payments to suppliers, according to the Quebec newspaper La Presse. “It’s true. I confirm it,” said Francois Dumontier, the president and sole shareholder of the race promoter Octane Racing Group. Dumontier secured the future of the Montreal race, held at Circuit […]
Horner predicts more Mercedes dominance in 2016
Dec.9 (GMM) Christian Horner has predicted another year on top for Mercedes in 2016. That is despite the fact the Red Bull chief thinks the actual chassis produced by the premier energy drink-owned team is perhaps a match for the silver machine. “We can see the wing settings and the cornering speeds and we are […]
Perez tips Haas to challenge Force India
Dec.8 (GMM) Sergio Perez has backed Force India to rise to the “huge task” of continuing to raise its game in formula one. Teammate Nico Hulkenberg may have been the high-profile Le Mans winner, but it was Mexican Perez who shone the brightest in 2015 for the Silverstone based team. Force India finished the championship […]
Sabbatical not right for Alonso – Hakkinen
Dec.8 (GMM) Lowering his guard and taking a sabbatical amid McLaren-Honda’s troubles would not be the right move for Fernando Alonso. That is the advice of fellow former double world champion Mika Hakkinen, whose own one-year sabbatical in 2002 ultimately became full retirement from F1 before he reached his mid-30s. “Personally, I was able to […]
Hamilton seat not in doubt over lifestyle – Wolff
Dec.8 (GMM) Toto Wolff has rubbished reports it could be Lewis Hamilton’s off-track lifestyle that costs the triple world champion his seat at Mercedes. The team boss warned after the Abu Dhabi finale recently that the constant bickering and ill-feeling between Hamilton and teammate Nico Rosberg either stops or the team will have to rethink […]