Mar.26 (GMM) Max Mosley has told those complaining about the F1 rules to “live with it”. As Red Bull protests bitterly about Mercedes’ domination amid arguably overly-complex and foolhardy regulations, Dr Helmut Marko pointed his finger at the FIA. “We need a leadership in formula one that can force decisions,” he told Speed Week. “Just […]
Red Bull fracas just ‘frustration’ – Ricciardo
Mar.26 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo has dismissed as “frustration” the unseemly spat between Red Bull and its works engine partner Renault. After Melbourne, it became clear that while Ferrari has markedly improved its engine over the winter, Renault arguably went backwards. Red Bull figures including Adrian Newey, Christian Horner and Dr Helmut Marko lashed out, but […]
Now Force India signs low-profile development driver
Mar.26 (GMM) Force India has become the next F1 team to court controversy with its signing of a ‘development driver’. Lotus has faced criticism of trading credibility for money, as it unveiled first Carmen Jorda and then Adderly Fong as the newest members of the Enstone team. Between the pair, they have contested five seasons […]
Williams confirms Bottas return
Mar.26 (GMM) Williams on Thursday confirmed Valtteri Bottas’ return to action in Malaysia. The Finn sat out the Melbourne season opener with a torn disc in his lower back, but has since been working on his recovery with a physiotherapist. “Following final approval by the FIA medical team in Malaysia today, we are pleased to […]
Alonso declares ‘locked steering’ caused crash
Mar.26 (GMM) Fernando Alonso on Thursday said he crashed in Barcelona last month because his steering “locked”. The news has thickened the already convoluted plot even more, after weeks of rumours, speculation and contradiction in what will be remembered as one of the most bizarre incidents in the history of F1. Mere days ago, McLaren […]
Manor told it must run cars in Malaysia
Mar.26 (GMM) Manor has been told it must fire its engines this weekend in Malaysia. In Australia, where the former Marussia team stayed in the pits all weekend, suspicions arose that Manor never even intended to exit the Albert Park pits. “They couldn’t have raced if someone had gone there with a machine gun and […]
Bottas tweaks car after back injury
Mar.26 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas says modifications have been made to his car ahead of the Malaysian grand prix. The Finn got clearance from FIA doctors on Thursday to return for Williams this weekend in Malaysia, after tearing a disc in his lower back two weeks ago. His manager, Mika Hakkinen, speculated that a problem with […]
Williams signs Sutil as 2015 reserve
Mar.26 (GMM) After a quiet winter for the experienced 32-year-old, Adrian Sutil has kept his formula one dream alive. Some Le Mans rumours and a low-profile legal dispute with Sauber aside, little has been heard from Sutil since the German’s 2015 contract was not honoured by the struggling Swiss team. But on Thursday, the British […]
Alonso rumours still racing on comeback eve
Mar.26 (GMM) On the eve of his return to the F1 cockpit, the saga surrounding Fernando Alonso’s mysterious Barcelona testing crash continues. The latest rumours are as wild as should now be expected after a period of intense speculation about the cause of the February 22 incident and the reason for the Spaniard’s four days […]
FIA declares Alonso ‘fit to race’
Mar.26 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has been declared fit to return to the cockpit of his McLaren-Honda this weekend. The Spaniard had already been given the green light prior to travelling to Malaysia this week by a panel of FIA-nominated doctors at Cambridge university. But he also had to satisfy FIA medical delegate Jean-Charles Piette on […]
Vettel turns down Rosberg’s debrief invite
Mar.26 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has turned down Nico Rosberg’s invitation to attend his engineering briefing in Malaysia. In Australia, the rival Germans exchanged verbal blows in the press conference when Rosberg suggested he would be happy if Vettel’s Ferrari caught up. “Engineers room, debrief — I’ll be there,” Vettel grinned. “Friday, Malaysia, ok,” said Rosberg. […]
China buys Pirelli
Mar.25 (GMM) China has bought F1’s official tyre supplier Pirelli. State-owned China National Chemical, or Chem China, has secured control of the Milan-based company valued at over EUR 7 billion. According to Forbes, the deal “will put 140 years of Italian tradition and research and development at the service of the huge Chinese market”. Pirelli […]
Alonso expecting ‘tough’ return in Malaysia
Mar.25 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has admitted he is expecting a “tough weekend” in Malaysia. The Spaniard is undoubtedly right. As he watched the season opener on TV from his home in Dubai almost two weeks ago, Alonso’s McLaren-Honda substitute Kevin Magnussen qualified dead last and then broke down even before he got to the grid. […]
Barrichello ‘fell asleep’ during 2015 opener
Mar.25 (GMM) A trio of former F1 drivers are hoping the 2015 season opener was just a blip. In Australia, Sauber battled for survival in court with Giedo van der Garde while Manor never left the pits, before the smallest field in recent memory set the scene for what Daniel Ricciardo called a “boring” race […]
Lotus slammed for latest ‘bank account development’ driver
Mar.25 (GMM) Lotus is once again taking criticism after naming another ‘development driver’. A month ago, the Enstone team signed up Carmen Jorda, a 26-year-old female driver, to attend races, work in the simulator and even test the new E23 car. But after never rising above 28th place in her three GP3 championship campaigns so […]
Hockenheim denies blame for German GP demise
Mar.25 (GMM) Hockenheim and Bernie Ecclestone on Wednesday denied responsibility for the demise of the historic German grand prix. The Nurburgring was scheduled to host this year’s July 19 race, but confusion regarding the ownership of the fabled track moved Ecclestone to observe in January: “It can’t be Nurburgring because there’s nobody there”. Talks, then, […]
Renault still hitting back at Red Bull
Mar.25 (GMM) Renault has continued to hit back amid suggestions its turbo V6 ‘power unit’ is the only reason for Red Bull’s 2015 struggle. The French marque’s F1 chief Cyril Abiteboul on Tuesday blasted Red Bull designer Adrian Newey, accusing the Briton of “lying” about the RB11’s only weakness being its engine. However, Abiteboul does […]
Hamilton says new Mercedes deal now close
Mar.25 (GMM) The end of Lewis Hamilton’s protracted negotiations with Mercedes over a new deal beyond 2015 may finally be close. The reigning world champion has conducted his own talks with the German marque, amid swirling rumours of contact with Ferrari, and reports Hamilton recently bought one of the Maranello marque’s rare and expensive LaFerrari […]
F1 set for first wet race of 2015
Mar.24 (GMM) F1 looks to be heading into its first wet race of the season. The current weekend forecast for Sepang indicates a high probability of rain and afternoon storms, even though the weather is notoriously difficult to predict in Kuala Lumpur. Easier to predict, however, is that if it does rain at Sepang, it […]
Hakkinen ‘expected more’ from Raikkonen
Mar.24 (GMM) Mika Hakkinen says he was disappointed with the performance of his countryman Kimi Raikkonen in Australia. When he retired at the end of 2001, Hakkinen recommended McLaren sign Raikkonen to replace him, telling Ron Dennis ‘If you want to win, get the Finn’. Raikkonen won races at McLaren and the title at Ferrari […]