Oct.9 (GMM) Drivers for Mercedes’ customer teams are beginning to speak up about the issue of engine parity. Williams and Force India, both powered by Mercedes, are receiving fresh units from Brixworth for the Sochi weekend — but they are not the latest specification. That is despite the fact that, earlier in 2015, Mercedes chiefs […]
Red Bull engine saga racing ahead at Sochi
Oct.9 (GMM) Red Bull’s engine saga is speeding ahead faster even than the cars on the slippery Sochi track on Friday. The day began with the energy drink company reportedly still in talks with Ferrari. But then reports emerged that while the Maranello team was happy to help the sister team Toro Rosso with a […]
Verstappen sure Red Bull exit would not end F1 career
Oct.9 (GMM) As the engine crisis apparently deepens, the only man wearing a Red Bull uniform who does not seem worried is Max Verstappen. The Dutch teen is among the hottest talents to have ever debuted in formula one, so he seems not overly fazed that his employer could be set to pull the plug. […]
Raikkonen disagrees with Alonso over radio broadcast ban
Oct.9 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen has refused to back former teammate Fernando Alonso’s view that radio traffic should not be broadcast live in formula one. Alonso’s outbursts at Suzuka, in which he compared Honda’s “embarrassing” power unit to a “GP2 engine”, triggered theories the Spaniard was trying to deliberately breach his McLaren contract. But he says […]
Alonso to stay in F1 for ‘four or five years’ – Briatore
Oct.9 (GMM) Flavio Briatore has backed Fernando Alonso’s claim that the Spaniard is staying put at McLaren-Honda. Having lost his temper on the radio at Suzuka, and telling reporters afterwards that he is not sure he will still be in F1 next year, Alonso insisted at Sochi that he will honour his contract to race […]
Ferrari ‘not guilty’ if Red Bull has no engine
Oct.9 (GMM) As Red Bull’s options narrow further, Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene has played down the prospect of a 2016 engine deal. And the Italian told Brazil’s Globo that the perception that the fate of Red Bull and Toro Rosso and hundreds of employees is now in the hands of Ferrari is wrong. “Red Bull […]
Rosberg hopes Ferraris help title fight-back
Oct.8 (GMM) Ferrari will have an unusual supporter barracking for a strong weekend for the Maranello team this weekend in Russia. It is Nico Rosberg, who acknowledged that with his 48 point deficit to Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton with just five races to go, he needs some outside help to close the gap. “The season […]
Only Alonso to race token-upgraded Honda at Sochi
Oct.8 (GMM) Honda has brought a new engine specification to Russia, Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport reports. Correspondent Michael Schmidt said the power unit makes use of the struggling Japanese manufacturer’s final 4 in-season ‘tokens’ for 2015. The engine will reportedly be fitted only to Fernando Alonso’s McLaren at Sochi, resulting in the Spaniard needing […]
Ecclestone promised better TV coverage for Sochi – Lauda
Oct.8 (GMM) Niki Lauda says Bernie Ecclestone has assured him the two Mercedes cars will not be ignored by the television cameras this weekend at Sochi. Following the controversial Suzuka ‘blackout’, the F1 legend and Mercedes team chairman travelled to Ecclestone’s London office to confront the F1 supremo over the issue. Lauda told the newspaper […]
Hulkenberg rules out Le Mans in 2016
Oct.8 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg on Thursday confirmed he will not be defending his Le Mans title next year. That is because Bernie Ecclestone’s re-jigged calendar for 2016 features a controversial clash of the inaugural grand prix in Azerbaijan and the fabled 24 hour endurance sports car race. “I’m disappointed,” the Force India driver said at […]
Silverstone chief says F1 ‘sh*t’ and ‘not saleable’
Oct.8 (GMM) Silverstone chief Patrick Allen has launched an unprecedented attack on formula one, describing it as a “sh*t product”. It is an echo of an earlier story in 2015, when Bernie Ecclestone reportedly told a French media outlet that F1 is a “crap product”. The F1 supremo, however, denied saying it, insisting he was […]
Ecclestone comments trigger retirement rumours
Oct.8 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has tongues wagging in the F1 paddock after declaring that formula one is set to be sold within three months. F1 legend and Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda told APA news agency he has “no idea” why the F1 supremo has gone public with the news now. “In principle, a sale […]
Mateschitz wants engine crisis solution in October
Oct.8 (GMM) Dietrich Mateschitz has now set a target for the end of Red Bull’s current engine crisis, and it is looming fast. “Sometime in late October,” the owner of Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso declared to Speed Week, the Red Bull-linked German-language publication. Early this week, team boss Christian Horner hinted that although […]
Coulthard thinks Alonso could quit McLaren-Honda
Oct.8 (GMM) Former long-time team driver David Coulthard says he can imagine Fernando Alonso quitting McLaren at the end of the season. Spaniard Alonso backtracked after slamming Honda’s current power unit as no better than a “GP2 engine” at Suzuka, but Coulthard said he can understand the frustration. “I don’t know,” he told the Spanish […]
Podium ‘impossible’ for small teams now – Kaltenborn
Oct.8 (GMM) When asked by the German publication Sport Bild how things are going at Sauber, the Swiss team’s boss replied: “I can’t complain.” Monisha Kaltenborn, however, is very much complaining about the governance of formula one, having joined Force India in lodging a formal complain to the European Commission. “Because the process has been […]
F3 leap not ruled out for Mick Schumacher
Oct.7 (GMM) The immediate leap from Formula 4 to Formula 3 for F1 legend Michael Schumacher’s son is not being ruled out. 16-year-old Mick, having graduated to single seaters this year, has just finished his first F4 season – the ADAC German series – in tenth place overall. “He has become a strong guy in […]
Bottas’ career could stagnate at Williams – Kovalainen
Oct.7 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas risks watching his F1 career stagnate at Williams, fellow Finn Heikki Kovalainen has warned. Earlier this year, the now 26-year-old Bottas was a strong candidate to replace Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari for 2016. The Maranello team, however, ultimately re-signed the 35-year-old Finn, leaving Bottas to spend his fourth consecutive season in […]
Lotus hits back at Sochi lock-out ‘rumours’
Oct.7 (GMM) Lotus on Wednesday hit back at what it called “paddock rumours”. Earlier reports suggested that, just like at Suzuka, the troubled Enstone team was locked out of its hospitality area at Sochi ahead of the weekend’s Russian grand prix. Indeed, paddock photos on Tuesday depicted a deserted garage and black and gold-clad staff […]
Lotus now locked out at Sochi
Oct.7 (GMM) Lotus’ travelling staff are once again locked out of the struggling team’s designated paddock building ahead of a grand prix. Amid the Enstone team’s obvious financial trouble as negotiations with Renault continue, staff had no access to the Lotus-reserved hospitality tent at Suzuka recently because the bill was not paid. Now, as the […]
Wolff denies Red Bull engine talks back on
Oct.7 (GMM) Toto Wolff has hit back at Red Bull counterpart Christian Horner’s claim that negotiations about a supply of engines for 2016 are back on. Horner told the Red Bull-owned Austrian broadcaster Servus TV this week: “There are two competitive engines in formula one — Mercedes and Ferrari. “There are talks with both.” Earlier, […]