'I don't think the departure of Schumacher or (technical director Ross) Brawn will change much,' said the Toyota driver.
Fernando Alonso said he planned to see out his Formula One career at Ferrari after the Italian team announced on Thursday that they had extended the double world champion's contract to the end of 2016.
Formula One legend Michael Schumacher' son Mick is all set to sign a deal with a Ferrari-linked Italian junior team Prema. According to Sport24, Mick's managerSabine Kehm is currently in talks with Prema after the 16-year-old expressed his desire to contest in the Italian series.
Ferrari agreed on Friday to end legal action against McLaren over last year's spy scandal for the good of Formula One.
Schumacher retired at the end of the 2006 season but returned to the race track this month in a test that Ferrari described at the time as "half for pleasure, half for technical reasons."
Fernando Alonso will start Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix from the pit lane after wrecking his Ferrari in final practice for the showcase race of the Formula One season.
Max Verstappen celebrated a record 10th win in a row by leading Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez one-two at Ferrari's home Italian Grand Prix
Formula One's governing body upheld a $100,000 fine for Ferrari on Wednesday but kept alive Fernando Alonso's hopes of a third title after deciding to impose no further sanctions for the use of banned 'team orders'. Race stewards had handed the $100,000 fine to the Italian glamour team after the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim in July when Ferrari were found to have ordered Felipe Massa to allow Fernando Alonso victory in a one-two finish.
Ferrari's new team principal Mattia Binotto said earlier in the year that Vettel, as the team's "champion", would be given priority over Leclerc in certain racing situations, though he later clarified the drivers would be "free to fight".
Formula One will have a record 24 races in the season that starts in Bahrain on Saturday.
Ferrari CEO Amadeo Felisa expressed disappointment over seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher's defection to Mercedes-Benz, but said it will not affect their vehicle sales.
Credit rating agency Moody's changed Formula One's outlook to negative from positive on Thursday to reflect the impact of the coronavirus crisis on a global sport that has yet to race in 2020.
India's foreign ministry condemned Ferrari on Friday for putting the Italian navy flag on their cars at the Indian Grand Prix in what was seen as a political gesture of support for detained sailors.
Felipe Massa delivered his eagerly-awaited verdict on Ferrari's new Formula One car after the first day of testing on Tuesday, with sighs of relief likely to be heard around Maranello.
Ferrari will quit Formula One at the end of this season if plans for a budget cap for 2010 are not abandoned, the champions said on Tuesday.
Force India has agreed to release Giancarlo Fisichella, who earned the team its first podium finish in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix, and the Italian will join Ferrari, sources said on Thursday.
The Briton's fourth victory in five races suggests that once again the 33-year-old is hitting a purple phase just as the season enters its critical stages.
Formula One's more cynical participants have long joked that the letters FIA really stand for Ferrari International Assistance rather than International Automobile Federation.
Charles Leclerc seized pole position for the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday ahead of team mate Sebastian Vettel who completed a front row lockout for Ferrari.
The seven times Formula One champion says Ferrari cannot afford to fire any more blanks.
It was the first time Verstappen, winner of a record 19 of 22 races last year, has won the first two races of a season. He has also won 19 of the last 20.
Ferrari's Formula One championship leader Fernando Alonso crashed out of the Japanese Grand Prix seconds after the start on Sunday.
'Ferrari know how to accept defeat, just as they know how to celebrate victory,' Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said.
Formula One expects to run a shortened season of 15-18 Grands Prix once racing can resume after the coronavirus pandemic, hopefully during the European summer, chairman and chief executive Chase Carey said on Monday. The original 2020 calendar had a record 22 races but the season has yet to start with the first eight postponed or cancelled and more likely to be called off.
The winds of change have swept through Ferrari and even Christmas has a different feel now.
Kimi Raikkonen has plenty of supporters among the passionate Ferrari 'tifosi' as the team's first champion of the post-Schumacher era, and last to date, and his return would a break with Ferrari tradition as much as a blast from the past.
The pole was Charles Leclerc's second in a row
Ferrari had every hope of winning their home Italian Grand Prix for the first time since 2010 on Sunday and they blew it.
Red Bull's triple Formula One world champion Max Verstappen won a US Grand Prix sprint race from pole position on Saturday after an early challenge from Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton.
Twice Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso made his first public appearance with his new Ferrari team at an event in Valencia, Spain on Sunday.
The pitstop fire provided the main talking point at Austria after Schumacher had taken his third win in a row.
Formula One champions Ferrari scored their first points of the year in Bahrain on Sunday despite Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa flirting with disaster on the opening lap. After three races had left the team in danger of their worst ever start to a season and prompted Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo to fly in for a show of support, the champions needed to move up a gear.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances