March 2011 Archive
Hamilton ‘a topic’ for Red Bull in 2012 – Marko
Mar.31 (GMM) Helmut Marko is not ruling out making a move for Lewis Hamilton, perhaps as imminently as in time for the 2012 season. After a recent round of speculation, during which Red Bull team boss Christian Horner described Hamilton as a "great d...
‘Far ahead’ Red Bull hard to catch – Rosberg
Mar.31 (GMM) Red Bull is "far ahead" and it will be very difficult for rivals including Mercedes to catch up. That is the claim of Nico Rosberg, who after a promising winter campaign for Mercedes struggled for pace in the new silver W02 in Australia....
Red Bull exhaust copycats ‘a pain’ admits Newey
Mar.31 (GMM) Adrian Newey admits it is flattering but also "a pain" that the latest trend in F1 is to copy the exhaust layout on Red Bull's new RB7 car. Sebastian Vettel easily won the 2011 opener from pole in Melbourne last weekend, but in second pl...
Ricciardo to skip race for Chinese F1 duty
Mar.31 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo will sit out the opening round of the Formula Renault 3.5 season next month as his F1 duties take precedence. Putting enormous pressure on Toro Rosso's race lineup this year, the Australian has been appointed by team own...
HRT to beat Lotus and Virgin by May – owner
Mar.31 (GMM) HRT failed to qualify after an embarrassing display in Australia, but owner Jose Ramon Carabante insists the Spanish team will be beating rivals Virgin and Lotus by May. He confessed that the Melbourne debacle, where mechanics spent the ...
‘No dismissals’ after Melbourne rear wing saga – Sauber
Mar.31 (GMM) Peter Sauber has denied rumours the disqualification of the C30 cars in Australia cost technical director James Key his job. Briton Key, who has been with the Swiss team only a year after switching from Force India, is ultimately respons...
Red Bull wing flex not illegal – Whiting
Mar.30 (GMM) Charlie Whiting has dismissed fears Red Bull could fall afoul F1's rules prohibiting flexible aerodynamic components. As was the case in 2010, the dominant team has again been accused of running a car whose front wing extremities bend to...
HRT hopes to qualify with new wing – Karthikeyan
Mar.30 (GMM) Narain Karthikeyan insists he supports F1's 107 per cent rule and is confident he will be quick enough to qualify for the second event of his return to the sport. Struggling Spanish team HRT had a horror opening weekend of its second sea...
Fallout continues after costly Sauber blunder
Mar.30 (GMM) After Sauber's Melbourne disqualification, angry fans have demanded to know why the C20 was cleared to drive all weekend with an illegal wing. Team owner Peter Sauber has said the Swiss team had two wing specifications on hand in Austral...
Briatore tells Ferrari to ‘focus on 2012′
Mar.30 (GMM) Flavio Briatore has advised Ferrari to write off 2011 after this year's 150 Italia car struggled in Melbourne last weekend. The Italian team, featuring Fernando Alonso as its lead driver, is currently investigating why the new car was no...
McLaren to scrap titanium diffuser for Malaysia
Mar.30 (GMM) McLaren has good reason to expect another step forwards in Malaysia next weekend. After a dire winter period, the British team scrapped its complex 'octopus' exhaust system before Melbourne and moved onto the pace with a Red Bull-inspire...
Alguersuari says Buemi to blame for Heidfeld damage
Mar.30 (GMM) Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari has revealed that his teammate was responsible for Nick Heidfeld's damage in the Melbourne season opener. The crash was not captured on television or by photographers, but Heidfeld had a notably poor d...
Raikkonen to combine rally with NASCAR in 2011
Mar.30 (GMM) As the second F1 season without him kicks off, Kimi Raikkonen has revealed plans to branch into NASCAR racing this year. Finland's Turun Sanomat newspaper said the 2007 world champion will combine his world rally championship foray in 20...
Berger no fan of F1 overtaking debate
Mar.30 (GMM) Gerhard Berger has admitted he is no fan of the ongoing debate about overtaking in formula one. After watching the Australian grand prix on television, the ten-time race winner said the new moveable rear wings made "barely" any differenc...
Three carmakers linked with post-2013 F1 forays
Mar.30 (GMM) Three car makers have been named as potential candidates to enter formula one after the engine rules change in 2013. Jean-Francois Caubet, managing director of F1 engine supplier Renault Sport F1, said "Volkswagen, Honda and Hyundai" cou...
CVC not ruling out sale of F1 stake – report
Mar.30 (GMM) CVC is not ruling out selling its 100 per cent ownership of formula one's commercial rights, according to financial news specialists Reuters. The report said "several sources" believe the private equity firm is conducting a strategic rev...