Jul.29 (GMM) Belgian GP promoter Vanessa Maes has hit back at the narrative that Spa-Francorchamps has become too dangerous for the Formula 1 calendar. The drivers have been talking about the potential of cancelled sessions this weekend due to the type of rain conditions that ended in another junior category fatality at the top of […]
Category: Recent stories
Verstappen backs postponed tyre blanket ban
Jul.29 (GMM) Formula 1 has called off the planned banning of tyre-warming blankets for 2024. Ahead of Friday’s decisive F1 Commission meeting at Spa-Francorchamps, world champion Max Verstappen was among the drivers arguing against the ban. “People don’t understand how hard it is to even drive a car out of the pitlane with 1000 horsepower,” […]
Red Bull-Ford preparing to fire up 2026 engine
Jul.29 (GMM) Red Bull is preparing to fire up its first 2026 engine in collaboration with new partner Ford. “In the next few weeks, the first complete unit will be running on the test bench with the combustion engine, MGU-K and battery,” Dr Helmut Marko told Speed Week at Spa Francorchamps. “We are, we think, […]
Penalised Verstappen still confident for Spa win
Jul.29 (GMM) Max Verstappen and Red Bull are confident the Dutch driver can still easily win Sunday’s Belgian GP. That is despite the fact that adding a fifth gearbox to the championship leader’s allocation this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps has dropped him to P6 on the grid. His advantage in qualifying, however, was an astonishing eight […]
Red Bull, Ferrari, agree deal over Mekies
Jul.29 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko admits Red Bull paved the way for Laurent Mekies to finally step down at Ferrari. It was already known that Frenchman Mekies, Ferrari’s sporting director, had been signed to become the new team boss at Red Bull-owned Alpha Tauri. But he was stuck at Maranello because Ferrari would not agree […]
Prost ‘sad’ as more turmoil engulfs Alpine
Jul.29 (GMM) French F1 legend Alain Prost is “sad” about the turmoil currently taking place at the Renault-owned Alpine team. Amid performance difficulties, shareholding and management shakeups have also been the order of the day at the Enstone and Viry-based outfit over the past weeks and months. It got even more chaotic at Spa-Francorchamps as […]
Marko laughs at Hulkenberg-to-Red Bull rumours
Jul.28 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has grinned at rumours that Nico Hulkenberg could be a surprise contender to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull Racing. The 35-year-old German has been impressive on his return to Formula 1 with Haas this year, and appears to be cruising towards a contract extension. But former F1 driver Timo […]
Marko admits ‘three teams’ risk budget cap breach
Jul.28 (GMM) Two top rival teams acknowledge that complex loopholes in the budget cap rules need to be closed by Formula 1’s authorities. The FIA last week played down rumours that, after Red Bull and Aston Martin were found in breach last year, two or three teams are once again at risk of penalties due […]
Aston Martin can’t blame Pirelli for slump – boss
Jul.28 (GMM) Team boss Mike Krack has swerved away from Fernando Alonso’s suspicion that the mid-season tyre construction change explains Aston Martin’s recent slump. Alonso, who turns 42 on Saturday, repeated his theory in the Spa-Francorchamps paddock on Thursday. “The rules changed in the middle of the year and we haven’t properly adapted to the […]
Ricciardo aims blame for career slump at McLaren
Jul.28 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo on Thursday appeared to point the finger of blame for his nightmare two seasons at McLaren squarely at the Woking based team. Dr Helmut Marko, a top Red Bull boss, says his decision to axe Nyck de Vries at the junior team Alpha Tauri and replace him with Ricciardo ultimately turned […]
Spa could be ‘easiest win’ of 2023 for Verstappen
Jul.28 (GMM) Red Bull and Max Verstappen are not ruling out an easy romp to victory this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps. At the tight, twisty Hungaroring a week ago – theoretically not the best circuit for the dominant 2023 car – the Dutchman won by a whopping 33 seconds. And Red Bull top official Dr Helmut […]
Spectre of cancellation hangs over Spa GP
Jul.28 (GMM) The big buzzwords in the Spa-Francorchamps paddock as the Belgian GP weekend kicked off were rain and cancellation. The rain as already heavy on Thursday, when Pierre Gasly led a jog around the circuit in tribute to recent race driver deaths at the exit of the treacherous Eau Rouge. Contrary to speculation after […]
F1 champions split over Ricciardo comeback
Jul.27 (GMM) Two former world champions are divided over Daniel Ricciardo’s handling of his return to the Formula 1 grid. For his part, 1997 title winner Jacques Villeneuve thinks the 33-year-old Australian played a masterstroke prior to Hungary by filling the suddenly-ousted Nyck de Vries’ place at Alpha Tauri. “Daniel rested for a few months […]
Marko not worried about Spa weather forecast
Jul.27 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko is not worried that forecast rain could put a halt to Red Bull and Max Verstappen’s dominance this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps. Verstappen equalled the record for seven consecutive wins last time out in Hungary, while Red Bull broke an all-time record with its 12th consecutive victory. When asked about the […]
McLaren not worried about losing Norris
Jul.27 (GMM) McLaren CEO Zak Brown says he isn’t too worried about potentially losing Lando Norris after 2025. Last year, 23-year-old Norris signed a reported $100 million contract to stay with the Woking based team through 2025 – and it is believed the deal has no exit clause. But it’s paying off for now, as […]
Ferrari to add 40 new staff to F1 team
Jul.27 (GMM) Ferrari is making plans to bring a whopping 40 new team members to Maranello. The news comes hot on the heels of Corriere della Sera newspaper in Italy reporting that prominent Mercedes performance engineer Loic Serra has already been signed up – and is now commencing a lengthy ‘gardening leave’. But Corriere dello […]
No room for Mick Schumacher at Red Bull – Tost
Jul.27 (GMM) Mick Schumacher still has a future in Formula 1, according to Alpha Tauri team boss Franz Tost. Tost, who is retiring at the end of the year, actually pushed team owner Red Bull hard to sign the axed Haas driver for 2023 – but was overruled. “I stood up for Mick,” the Austrian […]
F1 CEO still not keen on Andretti green light
Jul.27 (GMM) F1’s CEO is still hinting that he may not be supportive of a push to add up to two new teams to the grid from 2025. In contrast, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is pushing hard for the grid to be expanded – especially to accommodate Michael Andretti’s Cadillac-backed bid. “We’ll wait until […]
F1 has hit rev-limiter with 24 races – CEO
Jul.27 (GMM) Formula 1 has hit its rev-limiter with the scheduled 24 races for 2024. That is the claim of the sport’s CEO Stefano Domenicali, responding to concerns from the teams that the rising number of grands prix per year is putting severe strain on staff. “There are still countries that are interested,” he told […]
Pirelli hits back at Hamilton’s tyre claims
Jul.27 (GMM) Mario Isola has hit back at Lewis Hamilton’s claim that Pirelli is wasting excessive amounts of wet-weather Formula 1 tyres after every race. Hamilton was among the critics of the new and more sustainable tyre allocation system that was trialled last weekend in Hungary, as he argued that it only led to less […]