Feb.25 (GMM) One of F1’s most respected technical journalists agrees that Ferrari is back on track after its disappointing 2014. Giorgio Piola, a veteran of hundreds of grands prix as a technical illustrator, said the biggest step forward taken by the Maranello team is on the ‘power unit’ side. “The car seems better overall and […]
Nurburgring says German GP cannot afford Ecclestone fees
Feb.25 (GMM) A deal to keep the German grand prix on this year’s F1 calendar still has not been struck. The Nurburgring was scheduled to return in 2015, but the financially-troubled circuit is tied down in an ownership crisis. Bernie Ecclestone has said the sport could simply revert to Hockenheim, but amid the F1 supremo’s […]
Williams fast, Red Bull slow on top speed chart
Feb.25 (GMM) Williams has the fastest car in 2015. That is not the finding of the stopwatch, but the speedtrap at the Barcelona test last week. Valtteri Bottas’ top speed of 337.5kph on the front straight demonstrated not only the power of the Mercedes engine, but the low drag of the FW37 car. Just 1kph […]
Vettel exit could hurt Red Bull – Webber
Feb.25 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel’s team switch for 2015 could hurt Red Bull and help Ferrari. that is the claim of the former F1 star Mark Webber, even though they were the best of enemies as teammates. During their time as Red Bull teammates between 2009 until Webber’s retirement in 2013, Vettel won 38 grands prix […]
Palmer chose reserve seat over Manor for 2015
Feb.25 (GMM) Jolyon Palmer opted for the reserve seat at Lotus rather than hoping talks with the former Marussia team bore fruit for 2015. 24-year-old Briton Palmer, whose father Jonathan was also a F1 driver, won the GP2 title last year and had hoped it would be his ticket to a race seat. Instead, he […]
Alonso does not remember crash – Briatore
Feb.24 (GMM) Flavio Briatore says Fernando Alonso does not remember the crash that has left him in a Barcelona hospital. McLaren has denied wild conspiracy theories about the cause of the accident that so far has seen the Spanish driver spend two nights in hospital recovering from concussion and the effects of his post-crash sedation. […]
Alonso-Vettel switch was right – Briatore
Feb.24 (GMM) Fernando Alonso’s departure from Ferrari, replaced by fellow former champion Sebastian Vettel, was one of the highest-profile driver changes in the history of formula one. But according to Flavio Briatore, a guiding hand throughout the management of Alonso’s fascinating career, it was simply the natural result of the Spaniard spending five years at […]
Honda admits no customers for F1 engine yet
Feb.24 (GMM) Honda does not have any potential customers for its new F1 engine, boss Yasuhisa Arai has admitted. After a six-year absence, the Japanese carmaker’s plan had always been to return to the sport this year and only supply new works partner McLaren. But for 2016, Honda is open to adding paying customers to […]
Ferrari passes Williams as ‘second force’ – pundit
Feb.24 (GMM) A low-profile winter for the Grove team is beginning to raise questions about Williams’ 2015 prospects. Last year, the newly Mercedes-powered team emerged from a deep slump to finish the championship third overall, and with arguably the second-fastest car behind the similarly-powered works outfit. But the new FW37, although solid and evidently not […]
Wind caused Alonso’s crash – McLaren
Feb.24 (GMM) McLaren has hit back at the conspiracy theories about Fernando Alonso’s testing crash on Sunday. With the Spaniard still in intensive care, the conspicuous delay in McLaren’s explanation about the cause of the crash and his precise medical condition had fuelled wild rumours. Was he electrocuted by KERS? Did leaking battery fumes render […]
Alonso could sit out final winter test
Feb.24 (GMM) Fernando Alonso may sit out the final test of the 2015 pre-season in the wake of his Barcelona crash. The Spaniard has already spent two nights in hospital recovering from concussion and the effects of sedation given to him after he was knocked out on Sunday. Alonso’s manager Luis Garcia Abad says the […]
Mercedes promises ‘halo’ for cockpit safety
Feb.24 (GMM) Reigning champions Mercedes have proposed a new solution to the ever-present problem of cockpit safety in formula one. Canopies and roll-cages have been discussed at length behind closed doors since the fatal accident of F2 racer Henry Surtees, and the serious injuries sustained by Felipe Massa when he was a Ferrari driver in […]
Horner admits driveability issue with Renault engine
Feb.24 (GMM) Renault has made progress but not enough yet to topple dominant Mercedes. That is the admission of Red Bull chiefs Christian Horner and Dr Helmut Marko, although they are confident works supplier Renault is on track with a better engine for 2015. It has now been tested at Jerez and Barcelona, and lead […]
‘Engine championship’ means Mercedes 2015 favourite
Feb.24 (GMM) The nature of the ‘new’ F1 means Mercedes will again be hard to beat in 2015. That is the claim of former F1 team boss Flavio Briatore, who is no fan of the regulation changes that saw Mercedes utterly dominate in 2014 with its turbo V6. Now, he is expecting more of the […]
Midfield teams propose to be ‘semi-constructors’
Feb.23 (GMM) Three midfield teams have reportedly proposed that F1’s rules be tweaked so that ‘semi-constructors’ are legal. It recently emerged that the FIA had commissioned KcKinsey, a multinational consulting firm, to examine the finances of the nine F1 teams amid the apparent need for cost-cutting. But the latest round of internal meetings within formula […]
Rory Byrne is new Ferrari designer’s ‘guru’
Feb.23 (GMM) Legendary Ferrari designer Rory Byrne has returned to Maranello to be Simone Resta’s mentor. South African Byrne, 71, was a key member of the Ferrari ‘dream team’ of last decade, when along with Jean Todt, Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher, they utterly dominated the sport. More recently, he had retired to Thailand, but […]
Honda’s horror F1 return continues on Monday
Feb.23 (GMM) Six years after pulling out of the sport, Honda is once again making headlines in formula one for all the wrong reasons. In the midst of an horror run of technical trouble as McLaren struggles to run the new works turbo V6, star driver Fernando Alonso looks set to spend a second night […]
Alonso could spend second night in hospital
Feb.23 (GMM) Fernando Alonso could spend a second night in hospital, his manager Luis Garcia Abad has admitted. The Spaniard is currently in a Barcelona hospital after a mysterious crash during the final day of the second 2015 winter test. The cause of the crash has not been revealed by McLaren, triggering wild theories, including […]
Marchionne backs 2017 delay for F1 revolution
Feb.23 (GMM) Sergio Marchionne has backed the move to delay a technical revolution in formula one until 2017. It had appeared that Ferrari was leading the charge for rapid change, when on the very day the F1 Commission met to vote on proposed changes for 2016, it published images of its radical-looking ‘concept car’. But […]
Drivers ‘express themselves’ by changing helmets
Feb.23 (GMM) F1 is robbing drivers of one of the last ways they can truly express themselves. That is the claim of Jens Munser, a helmet livery painter made famous in recent years by the ever-changing colours worn by quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel. Last week, it emerged that, to help spectators better recognise their […]