Manama: Jean Todt, the head of Formula One's governing body, will not attend this weekend's controversial Bahrain Grand Prix but officials played down the significance of his absence on Wednesday. A spokesman for the International Automobile Federation (FIA) said the Frenchman had never had Bahrain on his schedule after being at the first two races of the season in Australia and Malaysia. Todt's next Formula One appearance would be in...
06:46 PM, Apr 17, 2013
Bahrain: Finnish racing driver Heikki Kovalainen has returned to Caterham and will drive for the Formula 1 team in the first practice sessions in Bahrain and Spain. Kovalainen is rejoining the team as one of the two reserve drivers, alongside Alexander Rossi who moves to Caterham Racing to compete in the GP2 Series. The Finn was dropped as a Caterham race driver at the end of last season with the...
01:46 PM, Apr 17, 2013
Sakhir, Bahrain: Formula One returns this week to Bahrain, casting the spotlight on a series that has defied criticism to race on while a bloody, political crisis has engulfed one of the West's most important allies in the region. The Bahrain Grand Prix has drawn less attention than a year ago when F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone at the last minute decided to go ahead with the race despite calls by...
08:58 AM, Apr 17, 2013
Manama: Bernie Ecclestone has assured protesters in Bahrain that he understands their grievances and is willing to meet opposition figures ahead of the most controversial Formula One race of the year this weekend. However, in comments that could antagonise rights campaigners and pro-democracy activists, the F1 commercial supremo also compared civil unrest in the Gulf island kingdom to threatened protests against Wednesday's funeral of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in...
02:57 PM, Apr 16, 2013
Sao Paulo: Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone says Sao Paulo could be taken off the calendar if the city fails to improve facilities at its Interlagos Grand Prix circuit. The F1 chief has given local officials an ultimatum to upgrade commercial boxes, event rooms and sanitary areas in addition to the paddock and pit-lane areas, reports Xinhua. "The design of the circuit is among the best in the world, but...
11:12 AM, Apr 16, 2013
Shanghai: Adrian Sutil and Paul Di Resta will be reprimanded by Force India for their opening lap collision at the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix here. Both Sutil and Di Resta blamed each other for the incident, without which the Scot could have finished the race higher than eighth. Sutil had to retire after he was assaulted by Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez on Lap 4. Deputy team principal Robert Fernley said...
10:11 AM, Apr 16, 2013
Women may have the strength and stamina but they do not have the 'mental aptitude' to compete in Formula One, according to retired British grand prix great Stirling Moss. The 83-year-old, widely acclaimed as the greatest driver never to win the Formula One championship, made the controversial comments in an interview with BBC radio for a programme on women racers to be broadcast on Monday. "I think they have the...
10:47 PM, Apr 15, 2013
Manama: Pirelli are coming under pressure to make longer-lasting Formula One tyres after Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix saw drivers lifting off the throttle rather than go flat-out to the flag. Australian Mark Webber started from the Shanghai pit lane and pulled back in again after just one lap to get rid of his Red Bull's quick-wearing soft tyres as soon as he possibly could. After seven laps, there had been...
08:17 PM, Apr 15, 2013
Shanghai: Fernando Alonso has "no illusions" about his prospects in the Formula One championship despite ending a 12-race drought with a commanding victory at the Chinese Grand Prix. The dozen races without a win was the Ferrari driver's longest barren period since his winless 2009 season, and represented a sharp change of fortunes after a Did-Not-Finish result at the previous race in Malaysia. "It couldn't have gone better than this...
04:37 PM, Apr 15, 2013
Manama: McLaren new boy Sergio Perez has been told by team boss Martin Whitmarsh to use his elbows and make life harder for Formula One rivals. "I think he's been very polite so far this year, I think he needs to toughen up," Whitmarsh told reporters after the Mexican finished a disappointing 11th in Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. "I think he's been generous in allowing people past him....
04:24 PM, Apr 15, 2013
Manama: Former Williams Executive Director Toto Wolff will sell his 16 percent stake in the Formula One team now that he has moved to rivals Mercedes, but only when he finds the right buyer. The 41-year-old Austrian left former world champions Williams in January when he was appointed head of motorsport activities at Mercedes, where he will have a 30 percent shareholding in their F1 team. At the time, Williams...
03:30 PM, Apr 15, 2013
Shanghai: Red Bull's Mark Webber and Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez were handed grid penalties for next weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix after Formula One stewards ruled they were to blame for collisions in Sunday's race in China. Webber, who started from the pitlane and then retired when a wheel came off his car following a collision with Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne, was handed a three-place drop from wherever he qualifies. Mexican rookie...
05:39 PM, Apr 14, 2013
Shanghai: Paul di Resta brought his Force India back home in eighth place at the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix here Sunday, getting his team's first points at the Shanghai International Circuit. Fernando Alonso won the race in his Ferrari ahead of Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, who finished second and third. Di Resta, who started 11th on the grid, bagged four points from his effort and is...
05:19 PM, Apr 14, 2013
Shanghai: First no fuel in qualifying, then without a wheel in the race, Mark Webber ended a dismal Chinese Grand Prix weekend with his Red Bull rolling into retirement while a rear tyre bounced down the track on Sunday. Starting from the pitlane after being sent to the back of the grid because Red Bull failed to put enough fuel in his car for Saturday's qualifying, the Australian lasted just...
03:58 PM, Apr 14, 2013
Shanghai: Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso won the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, claiming his and the team's first win since last year's race in Germany. Alonso took the lead for good with 13 laps to go and won by 10 seconds from Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen, with pole sitter Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes finishing third, just two tenths of a second ahead of Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel. Vettel retains...
02:15 PM, Apr 14, 2013
Shanghai: Controversial 'team orders' remain an option for Mercedes despite the storm caused by their use in Malaysia last month, principal Ross Brawn and executive director Toto Wolff said on Saturday. The clarification came after Niki Lauda, the Formula One team's non-executive chairman and stakeholder who has appeared at odds with Brawn since his appointment, told reporters they would no longer be used. Mercedes used them at Sepang to keep...
08:20 PM, Apr 13, 2013
Shanghai: Lewis Hamilton's first pole position for Mercedes at the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday allowed the 2008 Formula One world champion to relive old memories and prove the critics wrong once again. The 27-year-old could scarcely of dreamed of such a turnaround after agreeing to join the team last year at a time when their car was considerably off the pace being set by McLaren - with whom he...
08:11 PM, Apr 13, 2013
Shanghai: Both the Sahara Force drivers missed out on Q3 in the qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix as Paul di Resta will begin the race from 11th place while Adrian Sutil from 13th, here. Di Resta marginally improved his timing in Q2 but his best lap of 1:36.287 could not get him into top-10 shootout. Sutil also improved on his Q1 timing but his fastest lap in 1:36.405 was...
04:31 PM, Apr 13, 2013
Shanghai: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has taken pole position for the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix. Hamilton's best time on Saturday at the Shanghai International Circuit was 1 minute, 34.484 seconds, qualifying a quarter of a second ahead of Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso will start third in Sunday's race. A cat-and-mouse qualifying session saw all runners restrict their time on the track to preserve their tires for the...
12:44 PM, Apr 13, 2013
Shanghai: Formula One is bracing for its return to Bahrain next week amid fresh protests about the staging of a grand prix in a country still riven by sectarian and political divisions. The protests might not be as intense as they were the past two years - prompting the cancellation of the 2011 race and vast security measures to allow the 2012 grand prix to proceed - but thousands still...
11:02 AM, Apr 13, 2013
