Races and Competitions

Bernie Ecclestone has joined Max Mosley in fearing for the very survival of formula one.   Former FIA president Mosley, a famously close ally of Ecclestone's until the end of his reign in 2009, warned this week that the current state of the sport could see it "collapse".   Now, F1 supremo Ecclestone has told Sport Bild: "I will not watch formula one destroy itself because some people made a mistake."   The 84-year-old, who wants F1 to revert to its V8-powered days, sees the new turbo...

F1 is shaping up for a 'silver versus red' battle in 2015.   The dominant reigning champions Mercedes were surprised in Malaysia to have been beaten to the chequered flag by Ferrari newcomer Sebastian Vettel.   Boss Toto Wolff said the "wake-up call" will speed up technical developments and trigger a strategy re-think.   His colleague Paddy Lowe agrees: "It is now clearer than ever that there is serious competition for this world championship".   Ferrari is also vowing to keep the...

Jean-Eric Vergne says he will try to return to the F1 grid in 2016.   The Frenchman was dropped by Red Bull's junior team Toro Rosso at the end of last year, and he is now a simulator driver for Ferrari whilst racing in the Formula E series.   He says he is enjoying Formula E.   "You know, when you come from formula one but you are not in the best team and you need to beat a teammate who has a weight advantage, the whole of the season, and then you arrive in a car where everybody has...

Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus has announced the SCG003 has set a new lap record on the Nurburgring Nordschleife. In an Instagram post, the company confirmed the model lapped the green hell in 6:42 with weight ballasts and a restricted engine.  The company went on to say SCG003S should eventually "kiss 6:30 on street tires."   The latter number is interesting as Koenigsegg has previously announced their intention to set a new lap record on the Nordschleife and insiders have hinted at a time...

Lewis Hamilton's new Mercedes deal is still inching towards the signatures, the reigning world champion says.   After months of rumours, delays and public negotiations, the British driver said before Malaysia that he was hoping his contract for 2016 and beyond will be ready for an announcement before the race weekend ended.   It didn't happen, but one Spanish report said the sides have now fully agreed and a public declaration is now imminent.   Hamilton, 30, has now backed that...

Although disappointed, Toto Wolff had to chuckle late on Sunday when asked if Malaysia signalled the "end of an era" in formula one.   Although it was somewhat of a jibe at his former teammate Daniel Ricciardo and team Red Bull, Sebastian Vettel observed that his win for Ferrari was arguably the "first time Mercedes got beaten fair and square" in the new turbo V6 era.   But is it premature to say the 'era' of Mercedes' domination is now over?   "Formula one is a bit extreme sometimes,...

Roberto Merhi is having to keep his options open even after making his grand prix debut on Sunday.   For now, the rookie Spaniard is part of the resurrected former Marussia team, Manor, having travelled to Australia and Malaysia in the race driver role.   After the troubles of Melbourne, Merhi finally made his F1 debut on Sunday, while teammate Will Stevens could not make the grid with a technical problem.   Merhi even made it to the chequered flag, but the modified 2014 car is a long...

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, kicked off with Hockenheim about stepping in at short notice, even though the circuit is only contractually obliged every other...

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 put it to their head," said a furious Bernie Ecclestone.   Like the FIA, F1's chief executive suspected Manor travelled to Australia merely to satisfy its contractual obligations and...

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 as Mercedes utterly dominated.   Afterwards, Red Bull threatened to quit in protest of the technical regulations, leaving F1 experts and pundits to wonder if the fundamentals of the sport are...