Rob Veenstra

Rob founded GPToday together with Danny. He started as an intern at the end of 2004, after which he became the first journalist to be hired and wrote articles and various interesting columns for many years. He was regularly the daily hub of the news, but also provided live coverage of the test sessions.

News

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F1 'has to show it can work with partners' - Hembery
Paul Hembery has warned that F1 needs to make some changes if it is going to keep tyre suppliers on side into the future. Pirelli has been the sport's official partner since...

07 Sep 2015 15:58
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Monza F1 future no clearer after Renzi meeting
Monza's future on the F1 calendar appeared no clearer on Sunday, despite the attendance of the Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi. Renzi, Italy's new 40-year-old PM, ar...

07 Sep 2015 15:06
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Ecclestone says Hamilton lifestyle going 'over the top'
Bernie Ecclestone is no longer so sure about Lewis Hamilton's extravagant lifestyle. Earlier, the F1 supremo hailed the Mercedes driver as the ideal world champion as he is ...

07 Sep 2015 14:24
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Wolff denies Mercedes was caught cheating at Monza
Toto Wolff has slammed the conspiracy theorists who think Mercedes got caught cheating at Monza. Ultimately, the stewards let Lewis Hamilton keep his win, eventually agreeing wi...

07 Sep 2015 13:36
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American driver unlikely for first Haas F1 lineup
Gene Haas has delivered a blow to American GP2 driver Alexander Rossi, all but ruling out a F1 race seat for his fellow Californian. It is believed Haas, set to make its F1 team...

07 Sep 2015 12:59
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Button expecting quick decision over his future
Jenson Button is expecting a quick decision over his future at McLaren. Last year, the F1 world in general was critical of McLaren's long dithering over whether the popular ...

07 Sep 2015 12:07
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No Mercedes engines for Red Bull Racing in 2016
Cyril Abiteboul has played down reports that Renault has now decided to buy Lotus. After a long period of obvious negotiations between the two sides, the rumour swept the Monza ...

07 Sep 2015 11:20
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McLaren wants Honda to replace F1 chief Arai
Behind the scenes, McLaren is lobbying for Honda's F1 chief to be sacked. That is the claim of multiple British newspapers, including the Times, Telegraph and Mail on Sunday...

07 Sep 2015 10:37
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Renault delays performance upgrade until Austin
Renault has delayed the introduction of a much-anticipated performance upgrade for its 2015 power unit. Earlier, the Red Bull teams were holding out for October's Russian gr...

07 Sep 2015 09:57
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Max Verstappen is the Marquez of F1 - engineer

Max Verstappen is F1's answer to the young MotoGP sensation Marc Marquez. That is the claim of Dutchman Verstappen's Toro Rosso race engineer Xevi Pujolar, who earlier s...

07 Sep 2015 08:45
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Gastaldi admits Lotus legal dramas not over yet
Federico Gastaldi has admitted Lotus' legal dramas are not over yet. Ultimately, the embattled Enstone team managed to escape the court bailiffs at Spa-Francorchamps and get...

04 Sep 2015 16:49
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Teams win argument on tyre pressure recommendations
F1 teams have won an argument with Pirelli over tyre pressures at Monza. After the blowout saga of Spa-Francorchamps, F1's official supplier informed teams on Thursday that ...

04 Sep 2015 16:34
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$FP2: Hamilton just a fraction ahead of Rosberg$
FP2: Hamilton just a fraction ahead of Rosberg
Mercedes was the best once again in the second free practice for the Italian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton pipped team mate Nico Rosberg by a fraction. Sebastian Vettel was best of...

04 Sep 2015 15:32
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McLaren 'second best chassis on the grid' - Alonso
McLaren is reverting to its older 'long nose' solution for the high-speed Italian grand prix. With struggling engine partner Honda, the British team has acknowledged tha...

04 Sep 2015 15:11
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Grosjean not treating Italy as last Lotus appearance
Romain Grosjean has not denied paddock speculation that, if the Renault deal now falls through, Monza could be Lotus' final appearance at a grand prix. On the one hand, the ...

04 Sep 2015 14:41
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2016 F1 grid shaping up as silly season nears end
As the 'silly season' nears its end, the 2016 grid is now shaping up. With Kimi Raikkonen all signed up again, Ferrari will field an unchanged lineup next year, as will ...

04 Sep 2015 13:49
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Hamilton warns Merc against Red Bull engine deal
Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes should think again if it is considering supplying an engine to arch-rivals Red Bull. "It would be like giving Ferrari an engine," the reig...

04 Sep 2015 12:54
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Sauber not worried about newcomer Haas F1 Team
Monisha Kaltenborn insists she is not "worried" about the looming debut next year of the new American team Haas. On paper, the Sauber chief might have reason to be con...

04 Sep 2015 12:06
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FP1: Mercedes in a league of their own at Monza
Mercedes has showed an impressive pace in the first free practice for the Italian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton set the best time with a 1:24.670, four tenths faster than team mate...

04 Sep 2015 11:34
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Williams reveals financial results over first half of 2015
Williams Grand Prix Holdings PLC today announced its interim results for the six months to 30 June 2015. WGPH is the holding company of the Williams Group of companies, which in...

04 Sep 2015 10:48
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Support for closed cockpits growing among drivers
Among the F1 drivers, support is growing for the potential introduction of closed or covered cockpits. Jules Bianchi and Indycar's Justin Wilson were the latest head injury-...

04 Sep 2015 10:13
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Mercedes spends all 7 tokens on Monza upgrade
Mercedes could move yet another step ahead of its closest challenger Ferrari this weekend at Monza. Maurizio Arrivabene is playing down Ferrari's chances of mounting a winni...

04 Sep 2015 09:34
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FIA happy with structural safety of Pirelli's tyres
F1's governing body on Thursday said it is satisfied Pirelli's tyres are structurally safe. After Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel suffered high-speed blowouts at Spa-F...

03 Sep 2015 16:51
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Ferrari set for Red Bull engine talks in Monza
Ferrari wants to re-enter the running to be Red Bull's new engine supplier from 2016. Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport claims president Sergio Marchionne intends to visit...

03 Sep 2015 16:18
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Renault poised to sign option to buy Lotus F1 Team
Renault is now poised to sign an option to buy a majority stake of the ailing F1 team Lotus, the German publication Auto Motor und Sport reports. The fate of the beleaguered Ens...

03 Sep 2015 15:20
- 1
No talks with Honda about engines yet - Manor
Manor is not yet turning its attention to the matter of its driver lineup for 2016. The former Marussia team has fielded Briton Will Stevens alongside Roberto Merhi this season,...

03 Sep 2015 14:39
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Montezemolo says Monza threats are 'tradition'
Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has weighed into the uncertainty surrounding Monza's future on the F1 calendar. The issue will be front and centre this weekend,...

03 Sep 2015 13:54
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Allison has signed new Ferrari contract until 2018
James Allison is staying put at Ferrari. In July, as the Italian team's 2015 resurgence hit an apparent dip, speculation suggested Ferrari might not renew the contract of it...

03 Sep 2015 13:05
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Alonso 'disappointed' but 'very motivated' - Sainz
Carlos Sainz, the Spanish rookie who claims Fernando Alonso as a mentor, says the McLaren driver and double world champion is "unhappy" in 2016. Officially, Alonso has...

03 Sep 2015 12:10
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Vettel expecting more support from Tifosi this time
Sebastian Vettel is expecting a very different Italian grand prix. On the podium in 2013, when he wore Red Bull colours as F1's dominant and reigning world champion, the Ger...

03 Sep 2015 11:43
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Massa and Bottas confirmed at Williams for 2016
Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas have confirmed that they will stay on at Williams for next season. The drivers announced this in a video posted by the team on social media. Mas...

03 Sep 2015 11:12
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Pirelli set to tighten up guidelines for tyre usage
Pirelli on Thursday is poised to announce stricter guidelines regarding the use of its tyres by formula one teams ahead of the Italian grand prix. It follows the high-speed blow...

03 Sep 2015 10:37
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'Lotus missing key components to race in Italy'
Monza looks set to be another challenging weekend for Lotus. After the court bailiff saga of Spa-Francorchamps, reports on Wednesday suggested smoother times are ahead now for t...

03 Sep 2015 09:52
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Video: A lap of Monza onboard with Alonso
Monza hosts the Grand Prix of Italy this weekend. As a preview a video of a lap onboard with Fernando Alonso around that track. ...

03 Sep 2015 08:51
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Italian PM tells Ecclestone 'Hands off Monza!'
The big guns are now firing over the question of historic Monza's future on the F1 calendar. With a contract beyond 2016 still not agreed between organisers of the fabled ra...

02 Sep 2015 15:52
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F1 races still possible at Istanbul Park - operator
The new operator of Turkey's former F1 track says the sport could return to Istanbul in the future. The Turkish daily Sozcu this week reported that a company called Intercit...

02 Sep 2015 13:35
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Hulkenberg set to defend Le Mans title in 2016
Nico Hulkenberg looks set to defend his title as Le Mans winner at next year's edition of the fabled 24 hour sports car race. Splitting his time between his Force India ...

02 Sep 2015 12:43
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Monza unfortunately doesn't suit out package - Honda
Honda is going into yet another race weekend with mixed messages. As McLaren's struggling Japanese supplier debuted an upgraded engine in Belgium recently, boss Yasuhisa Ara...

02 Sep 2015 12:03
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Michelin open to go wheel-to-wheel against Pirelli
Michelin remains open to going wheel-to-wheel with Pirelli in 2017. Currently, Bernie Ecclestone is in talks with the tyre manufacturers regarding which of them will be F1's...

02 Sep 2015 11:45
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Monza rescue talks will step into highest gear
Talks to secure Monza's future on the F1 calendar will step into a high gear this weekend. Bernie Ecclestone has warned that unless a new deal is agreed, the historic circui...

02 Sep 2015 10:54
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I have improved in a number of areas - Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton does not think his teammate and title rival Nico Rosberg has taken a step backwards in 2015. Just like last year, the pair are still duelling effectively alone at...

02 Sep 2015 10:09
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Embattled Lotus sends trucks en route to Monza
Lotus is clinging to survival ahead of the Italian grand prix. Bernie Ecclestone paid the latest $2.3 million wage bill for the embattled team's 400 staff, which has ensured...

02 Sep 2015 09:33
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Raikkonen the face of new alcoholic drink 'Iceman'
Kimi Raikkonen is the face of a new alcoholic drink in his native Finland. Famous also for his partying and drinking, it emerges that the Ferrari driver is backing the tinned gi...

02 Sep 2015 08:46
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Verstappen sides with Pirelli over tyre blowouts
Father and son Jos and Max Verstappen have sided with Pirelli over the tyre blowout saga. While F1's official supplier has said Ferrari took too big a risk with an ambitious...

01 Sep 2015 16:16
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Gutierrez had 'important meeting' this weekend
Esteban Gutierrez could be close to announcing his plans for 2016. This year, after the Mexican lost his Sauber race seat, he signed up to be Ferrari's reserve driver. And ...

01 Sep 2015 15:23
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GP2: Niederhauser joins Team Lazarus for Monza
Daiko Team Lazarus have announced today that GP3 graduate and race winner Patric Niederhauser will join them this week in replacement of Nathanaël Berthon. The Swiss driver...

01 Sep 2015 14:53
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Pirelli to declare debris caused Vettel blowout at Spa
Pirelli could be set to announce that debris on the track caused Sebastian Vettel's tyre blowout at Spa-Francorchamps. In the incident that sparked an expletive-filled post-...

01 Sep 2015 13:29
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Hulkenberg and Force India announce contract extension
Sahara Force India is delighted to announce the signing of a two-year contract extension with Nico Hulkenberg. It means Hulkenberg will race in the team's colours until at l...

01 Sep 2015 12:44
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Max Verstappen 'staying' at Toro Rosso for 2016
Max Verstappen is staying put at Toro Rosso for 2016, his father has announced. "He's staying for another year at Toro Rosso," Jos Verstappen, once a teammate to t...

01 Sep 2015 12:10
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Ecclestone covered Lotus staff wages in August
Bernie Ecclestone reportedly paid the wages of embattled Lotus' 400 staff in August. The news, revealed by Britain's Times newspaper, comes after the Enstone team's ...

01 Sep 2015 11:25
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Former F1 doctor continues attack on his successor
Former F1 doctor Gary Hartstein has continued his attack on his successor, Jean-Charles Piette. Following the death of Jules Bianchi, Hartstein hit out at F1 drivers who are acc...

01 Sep 2015 10:37
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Fired designer says Ferrari should have kept him
Ferrari should have kept Fernando Alonso, according to departed designer Nikolas Tombazis. At the end of last year, in a wide-ranging team shakeup, the fabled Maranello marque o...

01 Sep 2015 09:55
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Nico Rosberg becomes father of a baby girl
Nico Rosberg is speeding into the Italian grand prix as F1's newest father. The Mercedes driver has announced on Twitter that his and wife Viviane's first child was born...

31 Aug 2015 15:11
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Michelin weighs into Spa tyre blowout saga
Michelin has weighed into the Pirelli blowout saga, insisting it is committed to producing longer-life tyres in formula one. The two tyre companies are currently in competing ta...

31 Aug 2015 13:36
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Rosberg simply not a match for Hamilton - pundits
Lewis Hamilton is now cruising to the 2015 world championship, according to two F1 insiders. After finishing second to his Mercedes teammate in Belgium, Nico Rosberg said on the...

31 Aug 2015 12:42
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Hulkenberg staying put at Force India for 2016
Nico Hulkenberg is staying with Force India in 2016, the German newspaper Bild reports. The German, who earlier this year won the fabled Le Mans 24 hour on his first attempt, wa...

31 Aug 2015 12:01
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Raikkonen hates Dennis with a passion - Whitmarsh
Kimi Raikkonen never realised his full potential in formula one, according to the Finn's former boss Martin Whitmarsh. Whitmarsh, now involved in America's Cup yacht rac...

31 Aug 2015 11:24
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Red Bull re-setting its sights on future of F1
Red Bull is re-setting its sights on the future of formula one, having earlier threatened to pull out of the sport. The team had bemoaned not only its competitive situation but ...

31 Aug 2015 10:51
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Turkey F1 track to become used car dealership
Turkey's chances of returning to the F1 calendar any time soon now appear dead. Istanbul Park hosted grands prix between 2005 and 2011, with the Hermann Tilke-penned circuit...

31 Aug 2015 10:19
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Pirelli has been really lucky so far - Webber
Mark Webber has backed his former teammate Sebastian Vettel's expletive-filled rant about the quality of the tyres supplied in F1 by Pirelli. The pair rarely saw eye-to-eye ...

31 Aug 2015 09:42
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Silly-season calming down after Raikkonen news
In the wake of Ferrari's re-signing of Kimi Raikkonen, the 2016 'silly season' appears set to calm down. Up and down pitlane, it seems most teams - like Ferrari - ar...

28 Aug 2015 14:30
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Whiting admits closed cockpits still unlikely in F1
Charlie Whiting has admitted F1 could be some way from introducing closed cockpits. But after the latest incident in Indycar involving the death of former F1 driver Justin Wilso...

28 Aug 2015 13:58
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McLaren car 'better than last year', but not the best
Honda insists it is not solely to blame for McLaren's woeful 2015 season. With the MP4-30 raced by champions Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button still seriously off the pace, ...

28 Aug 2015 12:41
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Hakkinen can understand Vettel's furious reaction
Mika Hakkinen says he can understand Sebastian Vettel's outburst in the wake of the Belgian grand prix. The Ferrari driver's expletive-filled rant about the safety and q...

28 Aug 2015 12:05
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Mercedes needs race start solution for Singapore
Mercedes is working on changes to its clutch system, following a series of bad race starts. At the last four races, and despite their otherwise dominant form, Lewis Hamilton or ...

28 Aug 2015 11:26
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Honda exploited 'good faith' of penalty rule - Whiting
Charlie Whiting has admitted the new rule scrapping in-race penalties was exploited by McLaren-Honda last weekend in Belgium. After fans decried the grid penalties that spilled ...

28 Aug 2015 10:52
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Toyota and Bell Helmets among Lotus creditors
Charles Pic is not the only creditor at embattled Lotus, it has emerged. Prior to the black and gold cars being impounded by court bailiffs at Spa-Francorchamps, the Enstone tea...

28 Aug 2015 10:09
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Pole trophy not particularly exciting - Hamilton
With eight races still to run in 2015, Lewis Hamilton already has his hands on one prize. It is the new pole position trophy, awarded to the driver with the most poles each seas...

28 Aug 2015 09:46
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Concerns about quality of Pirelli tyres are widespread
Four days on, the high-speed blowouts suffered by Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel are still causing high consternation in the F1 world. None of his colleagues echoed Vettel...

27 Aug 2015 12:10
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Chilton had 'a few chats' with Haas about 2016
Max Chilton has counted himself among the drivers shortlisted to race for the new American outfit Haas in 2016. However, the former Marussia driver has also admitted it's &q...

27 Aug 2015 11:36
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