Former F1 driver Nelson Piquet Jr has broken through to win his first race in the world of Nascar. The now 26-year-old Brazilian switched to the American realm's secondary Truck and Nationwide classes after leaving formula one in the wake of the 'crashgate' scandal. Although not in the premier Sprint Cup category, Piquet has contested Nascar races since 2010 but only broke through for his first win on Saturday from pole position in the Nationwide event at Road America. "I think the best thing that […]

Kimi Raikkonen's seat at Lotus might not be secure, according to 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve. Villeneuve, whilst attending last weekend's Canadian grand prix at the Montreal circuit named after his legendary father, described Lotus' black and gold E20 car as "amazing". The French Canadian suggested that with a top driver at the wheel, the Enstone based team might even be leading the world championship. But what about Raikkonen? As the 2007 world champion who this season has made a widely-hailed F1 comeback, isn't the […]

Protesters attempted to disrupt an event attended by Bernie Ecclestone on Thursday. The F1 chief executive - as well as other F1 dignitaries including 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve - was at a cocktail gala for this weekend's Formula One race in Montreal when riot police moved in on a group of masked protesters. About 20 were arrested, the Canadian Press reported. Asked what message he had for protesting university students, former Williams and Sauber driver Villeneuve answered: "Go back to school. "It's time for […]

Ferrari's title tilt could hinge on the competitiveness of the updated F2012 this weekend in Barcelona. "What I want is to have a competitive car in Barcelona," insisted the famous Italian marque's president Luca di Montezemolo on Tuesday. "That's what I've asked for," he is quoted as saying by Brazil's O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper. Ferrari had congregated at its Fiorano test track, to watch Jacques Villeneuve drive the 1979 single seater to mark the 30th anniversary of his father Gilles' fatal crash. But Montezemolo's […]

Norbert Haug said he is proud Mercedes has reached the top of Formula One in a short space of time and with a small budget. The German carmaker's works team is often lumped together with F1's other grandees including Ferrari and McLaren, but Haug insists the Brackley based outfit is in fact "a small team, with a small budget". Mercedes' competition boss, who on Sunday collected the winning constructors' trophy on the Shanghai podium, also said some of the team's rivals - undoubtedly Red Bull […]

Sir Frank Williams has admitted it was a mistake to let F1's most respected engineer Adrian Newey leave his beleaguered team more than a decade ago. Aerodynamic specialist and Briton Newey, who has since built championship-winning cars for McLaren and Red Bull, left Williams in 1997 -- the year Jacques Villeneuve won the Grove based team's last title. Williams, a woeful ninth in the constructors' standings last year, has not won a race since 2004. "He (Newey) wanted some shares that I didn't want to […]

Sir Frank Williams has admitted it was a mistake to let F1's most respected engineer Adrian Newey leave his beleaguered team more than a decade ago. Aerodynamic specialist and Briton Newey, who has since built championship-winning cars for McLaren and Red Bull, left Williams in 1997 -- the year Jacques Villeneuve won the Grove based team's last title. Williams, a woeful ninth in the constructors' standings last year, has not won a race since 2004. "He (Newey) wanted some shares that I didn't want to […]

Craig Pollock believes there will be only a single independent engine maker in Formula One in 2014. The BAR founder and Jacques Villeneuve's former manager is now in charge of Pure, a new company that intends to supply a turbo V6 engine to F1 teams when the rules change in two seasons' time. Currently, there are four engine suppliers on the grid: Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault and the British independent Cosworth. "I am convinced that there will be four engine manufacturers in formula one in 2014," […]

Aug.19 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen has tipped his friend Sebastian Vettel to pip F1's class of 2011 to become world champion for the second time.

In 2007, former Ferrari driver Raikkonen came from a long way behind to beat the feuding McLaren duo Lewis Hami...

1997 Formula One World Champion Jacques Villeneuve says that Kimi Raikkonen did not deserve his 2007 success and only won the title because he was lucky. In 2007, Raikkonen was 17 points behind Lewis Hamilton with 2 races left - when 10 points were given for a win - yet emerged from the final race with a one point advantage over the Brit. Villeneuve reckons that Massa deserved the title more than Raikkonen "If Kimi won the championship, he did it by luck, because he […]

Jul.11 (GMM) Rumours about the health of the team currently known as Renault refused to disappear at Silverstone.

Boss Eric Boullier recently dismissed the rumours, hinting that they were triggered mischievously at Monaco by his predecessor Flavio Br...

Jul.7 (GMM) Team boss Martin Whitmarsh concedes Lewis Hamilton's visit to the Red Bull motor home in Canada was a "misjudgement" but urged the McLaren driver to move on.

The visit, dismissed as a mere social visit by both sides, fuelled the speculati...