Feb.22 (GMM) Fernando Alonso was “conscious” as he was airlifted to hospital on Sunday after a crash on the final day of the Barcelona test. The Spaniard was initially taken to the circuit medical centre by ambulance, after his McLaren hit the unprotected concrete wall at turn four. The Circuit de Catalunya said Alonso is […]
Good and bad news for Honda engine ‘freeze’
Feb.22 (GMM) The news on Sunday was both good and bad for Honda. The good is that McLaren’s struggling new works partner has found two more days in its delayed programme before the 2015-spec turbo V6 must be homologated. On paper, the deadline is actually February 28, but that is a Saturday and FIA inspectors […]
McLaren-Honda will not win first race – Button
Feb.22 (GMM) For now, McLaren’s problems will not go away. At the start of the Barcelona test, a faulty seal on the Honda’s MGU-K unit forced Japanese engineers to return the drawing board. The new part was fitted on Saturday, but it too failed and left Jenson Button at the bottom of the timesheets. Before […]
Vettel could ignore livery change ban
Feb.22 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has admitted he might ignore F1’s new ban on helmet livery changes. Reports have indicated the German has made about 60 livery changes since debuting in formula one. But it has also been a growing trend among Vettel’s peers as well, moving Bernie Ecclestone and Jean Todt to clamp down on […]
Horner says Manor ‘deserves’ F1 return
Feb.21 (GMM) Christian Horner on Saturday insisted he would welcome the former Marussia team back to F1. Earlier, despite vocally championing the rights of struggling teams, Force India in fact blocked the reborn ‘Manor’ team’s quest to bounce back in 2015 by using its car of last season. But Williams made clear it supports Manor’s […]
Faster rivals have Mercedes’ eyes ‘wide open’
Feb.21 (GMM) A fascinating picture is beginning to emerge from winter testing, as multiple teams threaten to step up and challenge Mercedes. Until now, Ferrari has appeared surprisingly as the biggest threat to Mercedes’ supreme dominance. “They could be our opponents this year,” 2014 runner-up Nico Rosberg admitted on Friday, as he tested in Barcelona […]
McLaren admits Melbourne approaching too quickly
Feb.21 (GMM) For F1’s top teams, 2015 is a case of putting the troublesome first year of the new turbo V6 era in the past and setting sights on closing the big gap to Mercedes. It is bad news for McLaren, the British grandee who struggled last year and relished the prospect of kicking off […]
Renault considers buying F1 team – report
Feb.21 (GMM) Renault is reportedly considering buying a team and going it alone as a full constructor once again. Bruised by the ‘crash-gate’ affair, the French carmaker sold its works Enstone team to Gerard Lopez in 2010, who renamed it Lotus. But according to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, Renault is now considering buying it […]
First Ferrari target is a podium – Vettel
Feb.21 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel says he has arrived at Ferrari with the passion the most fabled name in formula one deserves. “Many things have changed” at the Maranello team, the former Red Bull driver and German told the Italian broadcaster Rai. “Even a driver,” he smiled. Indeed, it was rare to see the former quadruple […]
Vettel plays down Schumacher comparison
Feb.20 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has denied he is a “carbon-copy” of fellow German and F1 legend Michael Schumacher. Earlier this week, new Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene hailed the arrival at Maranello of Red Bull’s quadruple world champion. “I was around in Michael (Schumacher)’s time,” the former Marlboro executive told Leo Turrini’s blog, “and I confess […]
Lotus’ Gastaldi says ‘huge egos’ hurting F1
Feb.20 (GMM) “Huge egos” have ensured the status quo in formula one when it comes to cost-cutting and income distribution. That is the claim of Federico Gastaldi, the deputy chief at Lotus. Late last year, his boss Gerard Lopez was highly vocal as he joined fellow midfielders Force India and Sauber in complaining about the […]
Ferrari not expecting 2015 title bid – boss
Feb.20 (GMM) Ferrari’s new boss is not changing his targets for the 2015 season, despite a strong showing in winter testing for the fabled team. Before the SF15-T emerged with consistently chart-topping pace at the Jerez and Barcelona tests, Maurizio Arrivabene – newly arrived at Maranello in the wake of the disappointment and calamity of […]
Ferrari still shining with 2015 car
Feb.20 (GMM) Ferrari is continuing to impress with the apparent speed of its 2015 car. At Jerez recently, the fabled team – despite having gone through the turmoil of a personnel revolution after its disappointing 2014 campaign – surprisingly emerged with the quickest pace as the winter test period began. And the SF15-T continued to […]
Rosberg to become father in 2015
Feb.20 (GMM) Nico Rosberg is the next F1 driver on pole position to become a father. Other new dads in the paddock are Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, while the Lotus duo of Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado, plus Felipe Massa, also have young children. And Mercedes’ newly-married Rosberg, championship runner-up in 2014, will […]
Ralf Schumacher divorced
Feb.20 (GMM) Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher and his wife Cora have divorced. Late last year, we reported that the great Michael Schumacher’s younger brother was only communicating with Cora, whose maiden name is Brinkmann, through their lawyers. Shortly afterwards, it emerged that police had been called to their home, with Ralf and Cora each […]
Red Bull needs to catch up – Ricciardo
Feb.20 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo has admitted Red Bull has some catching up to do in the few short weeks before Melbourne. “We are not where we would like to be,” the team’s new number 1 driver was quoted by Speed Week after the second winter test began in Barcelona. “Others are further ahead than us.” […]
Mercedes racers back on song in Barcelona
Feb.20 (GMM) Mercedes’ race lineup is back on song in Barcelona. As the second test of the winter began on Thursday, Lewis Hamilton did ten laps before retiring unwell with a high temperature. He was replaced by team reserve Pascal Wehrlein, even though the young German was actually in action for Mercedes’ customer team Force […]
Ferrari beats McLaren to Manor’s door
Feb.20 (GMM) Ferrari looks to have beaten McLaren-Honda to the reborn Manor team’s door. Earlier, we reported that with the former Marussia team now exiting administration, McLaren could play a role in the resurrection of the backmarker. Writing on his blog f1-insider, German correspondent Ralf Bach had said Ron Dennis was keen to emulate Ferrari’s […]
Extra Mercedes power ‘noticeable’ – Wehrlein
Feb.20 (GMM) How much progress has dominant 2014 title winner Mercedes made over the winter? The perfect man to ask on Thursday was Pascal Wehrlein. A DTM driver, the 20-year-old German began his duties at the Barcelona test at the wheel of the Force India. It is powered by Mercedes’ 2014 power unit, which was […]
F1 move ‘out of the question’ for Danica Patrick
Feb.20 (GMM) Danica Patrick has played down suggestions she might be in pole position to enter formula one next year. She already drives in Nascar for Stewart-Haas, the team co-owned by F1’s 2016 newcomer, Gene Haas. 32-year-old Patrick’s move from American racing to F1 would be an enormous publicity coup for the sport, as she […]