Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government can consider opening a motor racing track in the state if it helped pull in tourists, Tourism Minister A P Anil Kumar said ahead of his meeting with F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan here on Thursday. "We are meeting later in the day and if he suggests that a racetrack in our state will boost tourism activities, we will definitely look into it," Kumar told IANS. "We...
01:57 PM, Apr 26, 2012
Italy: Formula One stragglers HRT will miss next week's early-season test at the Mugello circuit in Italy because they say they want to focus instead on settling into their new Spanish headquarters. The team, yet to score a point in Formula One and last in the standings after four races, also missed pre-season testing with their 2012 car and failed to qualify for the opening grand prix in Australia. "The...
08:25 PM, Apr 25, 2012
Manama: Force India driver Paul Di Resta feels that his sixth place finish here in Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix was a massive result for the Silverstone-based team. Di Resta maximised an opportunistic two-stop strategy to finish sixth while his team-mate Nico Hulkenberg was 12th. For Force India it was an impressive result considering the fact that the team vehicle survived a fire-bomb during anti-government protests in the capital of the...
12:54 AM, Apr 23, 2012
Manama: The head of Formula One's governing body was unrepentant on Saturday about the decision to race in Bahrain and said the sport would suffer no lasting damage to its image despite worldwide condemnation. Televised images of streets ablaze, with masked youths hurling petrol bombs while police fire teargas and birdshot at them, threaten to embarrass the sport and the global brands that back the series. "I am sorry about...
01:10 PM, Apr 22, 2012
Sakhir: Force India deputy team principal Robert Fernley believes Sundays race will prove to be a catalyst for the healing process in Bahrain. Fernley spoke exclusively to IBNlive.com just before the start of Saturday's qualifying session. What is your assessment of the situation in Bahrain now, especially considering the problems some of your team members faced on Wednesday? What we encountered was an unfortunate but isolated incident. Overall, the situation...
12:14 PM, Apr 22, 2012
Manaman: The discovery of a protester's body near the scene of clashes has threatened to tip Bahrain deeper into unrest as a 14-month-old uprising overshadows the return of the Formula One Grand Prix to the strategic Gulf kingdom. Bahrain's Sunni rulers have pressed for the race to be held as a chance to rebuild their credibility on the world stage after it was called off last year as police and...
12:00 PM, Apr 22, 2012
Manama: Sahara Force India produced a decent show with Paul Di Resta finishing 10th while team-mate Nico Hulkenberg was 13th in Saturday's qualifying session at the Bahrain Grand Prix of the Formula One Championships here. Di Resta will start in the fifth row at the grid on Sunday while Hulkenberg will line up in the seventh row. Di Resta said he was happy with his performance. "With our reduced programme...
08:36 PM, Apr 21, 2012
Sakhir, Bahrain: Nico Rosberg looks to be the driver to beat in qualifying after posting the fastest time in final practice on Saturday at the Bahrain Grand Prix where security remains tight amid expectations of further anti-government protests. Rosberg, who won the Chinese Grand Prix last week for his first Formula One victory, clocked 1 minute, 33.254 seconds in his Mercedes around the 5.4-kilometre Bahrain International Circuit. That was 0.147...
02:55 PM, Apr 21, 2012
Sakhir: Bahrain's Crown Prince says the country's Formula One race should go ahead on Sunday, insisting it serves as a force of good for the divided nation. Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa said on Friday that Bahrain has "real issues" but that calling off the Bahrain Grand Prix would only "empower extremists," and the event benefits the country economically and socially. "I genuinely believe this race is a...
12:04 PM, Apr 21, 2012
Manama: Bahrain was under tight security on Saturday after violent clashes between police and anti-government protesters overshadowed this weekend's Formula One Grand Prix race meeting in the Gulf state. The protesters, mostly from the majority Shi'ite Muslim community, blame the Sunni ruling elite for shutting them out of opportunities, jobs and housing, and are keenly aware of the attention the motor race has focused on Bahrain, which in 2004 became...
10:15 AM, Apr 21, 2012
Bahrain: The Formula One team Force India skipped the second practice at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Friday due to safety concerns. Deputy team principal Robert Fernley said the decision was made following the first practice and a day after two Force India members left the Gulf nation in the wake of a team vehicle being briefly delayed because of a firebomb. The announcement also came amid reports that anti-government...
05:40 PM, Apr 20, 2012
Manama: Security forces fired stun grenades on Wednesday at anti-government protesters who swarmed into a cultural exhibition for Bahrain's Formula One race, setting off street battles and sending visitors fleeing for cover. It was a blow to the Gulf nation's efforts to project stability, returning to the Grand Prix circuit a year after the race was canceled because of unrest. The demonstration was the most direct attempt by protesters to...
11:32 PM, Apr 18, 2012
Shanghai: Formula One teams and drivers may be reluctant racers in Bahrain this weekend but they need not worry about their safety, according to circuit chairman Zayed Al Zayani. Speaking to Reuters before the first members of the travelling circus arrived in the troubled Gulf kingdom on Monday, Al Zayani said the decision to go ahead with the controversial grand prix was not putting anyone at risk. "We wouldn't take...
10:28 PM, Apr 17, 2012
Shanghai: Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has cast doubt on New Jersey hosting a grand prix in June 2013 despite a 10-year agreement announced last year. "Maybe the New York race will be 2013," he told the BBC on Tuesday. "It's a when - 2013 or 2014." The east-coast race is likely to be coupled with Canada on successive weekends and would give the United States two rounds of the...
07:09 PM, Apr 17, 2012
Shanghai: Of the many Formula One victories that Ross Brawn has celebrated over an extraordinary career spanning several decades, Nico Rosberg's first with Mercedes in China offered a particular satisfaction. The burly, bespectacled Briton, who followed Michael Schumacher from Benetton to Ferrari as technical director and then won a title with his own Brawn team in 2009 before it became Mercedes, was barely a toddler when Mercedes last won a...
06:50 PM, Apr 17, 2012
Shanghai: Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso says his team is not "stupid" enough to think they can fix their problems overnight. Ferrari are struggling and failed to build on Fernando Alonso's surprise win at the Malaysian Grand Prix last month, with the Spaniard placing ninth at the Chinese GP on Sunday and teammate Felipe Massa finishing down in 13th. "There's no point denying we are disappointed," team principal Stefano Domenicali said....
11:42 PM, Apr 16, 2012
Shanghai: After dominating Formula One last season, Red Bull find themselves in an unfamiliar position this year: off the podium. After Nico Rosberg opened up a significant lead before winning the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, Red Bull teammates Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel battled the two McLaren cars for second and third place. In the end, however, they couldn't hold on and missed out on the podium for the...
08:08 PM, Apr 15, 2012
Shanghai: Sahara Force India missed out on points for the first time this season with Paul di Resta finishing 12th and Nico Hulkenberg ending 15th at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday. It was difficult for both the drivers since their position on the grid was not that good. Paul had started 15th, just ahead of teammate Nico on the grid, and to their credit, at least improved on those...
05:31 PM, Apr 15, 2012
Shanghai: Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg won the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday for his first career Formula One victory, gambling on a two-stop strategy and managing to hold off the rest of the field on worn tyres. Rosberg, who also captured his first pole on Saturday, finished 20.6 seconds ahead of McLaren driver Jenson Button. "It's an unbelievable feeling," the 26-year-old German said. "It's been a long time coming for...
02:27 PM, Apr 15, 2012
