Formula One

Fernando Alonso suggests Red Bull sound like sore losers

Monaco: Red Bull sound like sore losers for complaining about the Formula One tyres, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso suggested on Wednesday. The Spaniard, winner in China in April and Barcelona this month, told reporters at the Monaco Grand Prix that it was up to the champions to explain their comments but offered a theory of his own anyway.

"We know that Barcelona was a good race for us and not so good for some of our competitors," he said. Some of these competitors claim to have a super car but the last three pole positions were for another car, when the tyres were new. It sometimes happens when you win too easily for some years, it's difficult to lose some races after."

Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel have won the last three championships and have won two of the five races so far this season. Vettel, the sport's youngest triple champion at 25, is only four points ahead of Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen with Alonso third and 17 points off the lead.

Red Bull's billionaire owner Dietrich Mateschitz was quoted after the Spanish race, which saw a blizzard of pitstops and Vettel end up off the podium in fourth place, as saying the Pirelli tyres were damaging the sport....more    

Monaco ace Mark Webber loves the race, not the place

Monaco: As a race, Mark Webber loves Monaco. As a place, he would much rather be somewhere else. Red Bull's gritty Australian racer has won the most glamorous event on the Formula One calendar twice in the last three years and counts doing so as one of the greatest thrills of his career. The great outdoors remains his favourite surroundings, however, and unlike most other drivers he has shunned the...  

Monaco sun fails to thaw out Hamilton and Sutil feud

Monaco: Adrian Sutil appeared reluctant to forgive and forget on Wednesday after Lewis Hamilton had hoped for a thaw in their frozen friendship. The two Formula One drivers, team mates in junior series and the best of friends until Sutil was involved in a nightclub fracas in China two years ago, were asked about their damaged relationship at a Monaco Grand Prix news conference. "Things are definitely different," said Hamilton,...  

Kimi Raikkonen plays down Monaco Grand Prix chances

Monaco: The Monaco Grand Prix should be less about tire degradation and more about pole position, as Formula One returns for its showcase race on a street circuit that is notoriously difficult to overtake on. That will be good news for Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, but less so for Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen. Vettel, the three-time defending Formula One champion tops the championship standings by four points from Raikkonen, who...  

Monaco offers Hamilton his best chance yet

Monaco: Words and hats may have to be eaten along with the usual canapes and caviar if Lewis Hamilton wins the glamour race of the Formula One season in Monaco this weekend. The sceptics who doubted McLaren's 2008 world champion would stand on top of the podium this season after his move to Mercedes face a moment of truth with Hamilton's team arriving in the Mediterranean principality on the back...  

VJM06 is the best Force India car I have driven: Sutil

Monte Carlo: Adrian Sutil says the VJM06, launched for the 2013 season, is the best car he has driven for Sahara Force India and it would suit the street circuit for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix, here. Asked if the current car is the best Force India has come up so far, he replied, "I think so, yes. Wherever we have gone so far the car has looked competitive and that...  

Paddy Lowe to reunite with Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes

London: Lewis Hamilton will be reunited with Paddy Lowe sooner than expected after Mercedes announced on Monday that the former McLaren technical head was joining their Formula One team next month. Mercedes said in a statement that the Briton had been appointed executive director (technical) and would start on June 3 - the week of the Canadian Grand Prix - after agreement was reached with McLaren for him to be...  

Technical expert Paddy Lowe joining Mercedes

Brackley: Former McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe is joining Mercedes after an agreement was struck between the Formula One rivals. Lowe will assume the role of executive director from June 3, with a focus on technical matters, and work alongside team principal Ross Brawn. Mercedes emphasized that Brawn "will retain overall responsibility for technical and sporting matters," countering reports that his position was under threat. And Brawn welcomed Lowe's arrival...  

Lotus boss Boullier unhappy with Pirelli tyre changes

London: Pirelli's decision to change the Formula One tyres after just six races penalises those who have done a better job than others in getting the existing ones to work, Lotus principal Eric Boullier said on Thursday. "Just imagine for a moment that because a football team can't run as fast as its opponent, the dimensions of the pitch are changed at half time," the Frenchman said on the team...  

Jensen Button thrilled with Honda return to F1

London: Jenson Button, the last driver to win a grand prix for Honda, was thrilled to discover on Thursday that the Japanese carmaker was returning to Formula One as engine partner to his McLaren team from 2015. The British 2009 World champion, who won the Hungarian Grand Prix for Honda in 2006 and drove for them until they quit the sport two years later, said the announcement in Tokyo was...  

F1 needs consistency on licence points: Stewart

London: Formula One must have a permanent race steward attending all races if a licence penalty points system for drivers is to be introduced next season, according to triple world champion Jackie Stewart. Formula One teams approved the licence plan at last weekend's Spanish Grand Prix and it now has to be rubber-stamped by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) world motor sport council at a meeting next month. The system...  

Honda to return to F1 in 2015 with McLaren: reports

Tokyo: Honda will return to Formula One in 2015 as McLaren engine partners, replacing Mercedes, sources close to the company said on Wednesday. Honda's Chief Executive Takanobu Ito is set to make an official announcement as early as Thursday, one of the sources added. The Japanese automaker quit the sport at the end of 2008, handing over their team to then-principal Ross Brawn who went on to win both titles...  

Red Bull could benefit from Pirelli tyre changes

London: Formula One world champions Red Bull could benefit from changes to be introduced at next month's Canadian Grand Prix that will make tyres tougher and longer lasting, supplier Pirelli recognised on Tuesday. The Italian company's motorsport director Paul Hembery hoped that would not be the case, however. "There have been concerns from some of the teams that the changes will favour one team or another, but we don't think...  

Pirelli urges Formula One to relax testing rules

London: Formula One must allow in-season testing to avoid the risk next year of tyres lasting only a handful of laps and races being cut short, according to Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery. Under fire for the quick-wearing 2013 compounds that led to a blizzard of pitstops in Spain on Sunday, Hembery warned that a current testing ban made it harder for the Italian company to meet significant technical challenges...  

Ferrari, Lotus the F1 winners on return to Europe

London: The first European race of the Formula One season provided a boost for Ferrari and Fernando Alonso, with Lotus and Kimi Raikkonen also smiling, but left plenty of other former champions feeling the pain. While Red Bull retained their lead in both championships, they struggled with similar tyre problems to others in Barcelona on Sunday with triple champion Sebastian Vettel finishing off the podium with his lead over Raikkonen...  

Drivers worried Pirelli tyres are wearing too fast

Barcelona: Barcelona: Tyres shredded like paper, rubber flew everywhere and cars flitted in and out of the pit lane like supermarket shoppers in a car park. On a frustrating day for drivers and fans alike, nearly 80 pit stops were made during Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix, again highlighting what has become a major concerns for Formula One teams five races into the season - the vulnerability of Pirelli's tyres. And...  

Mercedes mystified by lack of race pace

Barcelona: Mercedes urged their many Formula One technical boffins to "think outside the box" and consider the unconsidered after a Spanish Grand Prix that left the team baffled by their cars' lack of race pace. Despite scorching to their third pole position in a row, with Germany's Nico Rosberg notching up his second in succession, Mercedes flopped when it mattered most at the Circuit de Catalunya. Lewis Hamilton went from...  

Hamilton suffers as Mercedes drop from the top

Barcelona: Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton were right to be cautious after their Saturday Spanish Grand Prix high turned into another Sunday slump for Mercedes. "It's got to go down as one of the worst races I've had for a long, long time," said 2008 Formula One world champion Hamilton after starting on the front row of the grid and struggling to 12th place and out of the points with...  

Paul di Resta earns six points for Force India at Spanish GP

Barcelona: Paul di Resta added six more points to Sahara Force India's kitty with a seventh-place finish at the Spanish Grand Prix of the Formula One Championship, while team-mate Adrian Sutil finished 13th here on Sunday. Starting from 10th place on the grid, the Scot raced brilliantly as he had an exciting tussle with pole sitter Nico Roseberg for the sixth place but eventually settled for seventh. He had moved...