48 Hours In: Monaco

This glamorous principality is gearing up for the summer season – with treats for petrol-heads, big spenders and cinema-goers, says Julia Buckley

Sebastian Vettel: Red Bull could challenge Mercedes in Monaco

Sebastian Vettel believes his Red Bull team could challenge Mercedes for victory at the next race in Monaco.

Mercedes have dominated the season so far, winning all five races, but the world champion believes Monaco's unique characteristics will help Red Bull.

Asked if they could compete with Mercedes there, Vettel said: "I think yes. It is difficult to predict but maybe in Monaco you need less power.You still need power, but maybe a little bit less than in other places."

Red Bull are being held back this year by their Renault engine, which team principal Christian Horner says is "80 or 90bhp down on the Mercedes".

The car itself is at least as fast as the Mercedes in the corners, which predominate on the tight and twisty Monaco street circuit.

British Grand Prix may be at risk says Ecclestone

This month has not been a good one for Silverstone. Sure there was news that ticket sales for this year's British Grand Prix have been boosted by the success of Lewis Hamilton but a few days later it came to light that the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC), which owns Silverstone, has shelved its plan to sell the track. Now Formula One's boss Bernie Ecclestone has cast doubt on the future of its flagship race according to an article in Forbes magazine by Christian Sylt.

Lewis Hamilton wins Spanish GP over Mercedes team-mate Rosberg

Lewis Hamilton took the world championship lead from Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg with a closely fought victory in the Spanish Grand Prix.

Hamilton leads Rosberg by three points 

Hamilton revels in difficult win

as his fourth win in a row finally made up the ground he lost by retiring from the season-opening Australian GP. 
The Briton led from start to finish to win a tense battle with Rosberg, with the rest of the field far behind. Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was third and team-mate Sebastian Vettel fourth.
The world champion produced a superb recovery drive from 15th on the grid to finish ahead of Williams' Valtteri Bottas and the Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen.

British Racing Drivers’ Club withdraw plans to sell part of Silverstone

The British Racing Driver’s Club (BRDC) will no longer sell off a part of the Silverstone racecourse after talks with the investor fell through.

The BRDC confirmed a £32m deal with commercial property firm MEPC had been struck, with the company acquiring a 999-year lease on the industrial estate and development land around the circuit.

Despite this, negotiations with a second investor for the lease of the circuit and sale of Silverstone Circuits Limited have not been as successful, and as such, the deal has fallen through.

BRDC chairman John Grant said: “After intense efforts to secure an acceptable deal, we have not been able to bring negotiations with the second potential investor to a satisfactory conclusion.

The BRDC will now retain full ownership of SCL, whose highly experienced management team will continue to operate, promote and further develop Silverstone as a premier racing destination.

With or without another investor, the futures of both Silverstone and the British Grand Prix are secure.

The circuit business has enormous potential and MEPC's development of Silverstone Park - a high-tech business park on land surrounding the circuit - will enhance the circuit's image and value over the next several years.

We are delighted with the progress MEPC is already making. They are proving to be excellent partners and strong believers in our shared vision for Silverstone.

We look forward to working with them towards implementing our joint vision for the development of Silverstone as a globally recognised centre for world-class motor sport and advanced technology.”

Source: isportconnect.com