May 9 (GMM) Alpha Tauri team boss Franz Tost admits Formula 1 rookie Nyck de Vries is “under pressure” to perform in 2023. Russian racing driver Egor Orudzhev observed last week that if the 28-year-old Dutchman doesn’t up his game soon, “I think Helmut Marko will fire him”. Indeed, de Vries has had a troubled […]
Category: Recent stories
Ocon attitude did not ‘benefit the team’ – Alonso
May 9 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has aimed a jibe at his former Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon. The 41-year-old former two-time champion is enjoying a true second competitive spring so far in 2023, with a string of podium finishes behind the dominant Red Bulls. Alonso is also tackling his reputation for being a trouble-maker within a […]
Drivers are Ferrari’s biggest problem – Schumacher
May 9 (GMM) Ferrari’s 2023 car “isn’t great”, but former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher thinks the Maranello based team has another problem. After Miami, both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz criticised the inconsistent handling and pace of their red single seater. “I spoke to Carlos after the race and we agreed that the car […]
Marko slams ‘manipulative’ Mercedes
May 9 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has slammed Mercedes for being “manipulative” in their attempts to slow dominant Red Bull down. Although Mercedes driver George Russell has led the complaints about the FIA’s shortening of DRS zones in 2023, Red Bull top official Marko thinks it is actually the result of lobbying from the struggling […]
Ricciardo to test 2023 Red Bull at Silverstone
May 9 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo will test Red Bull’s dominant 2023 car in the days after July’s British GP. Having lost his McLaren seat at the end of last year, the 33-year-old Australian accepted an offer from his energy drink-owned former team to become a reserve and ambassadorial driver. The Telegraph now reports that his […]
F1 could be boring for ‘years’ to come – Hamilton
May 8 (GMM) As Formula 1 drivers hit out at the wild, celebrity-fuelled pre-race proceedings at the Miami GP, the other hot topic is that the sport is not living up to the same hype on the actual track. Many thought the problem at Baku was that a DRS overtaking zone was too short, but […]
F1 drivers hit out at Miami GP pre-race spectacle
May 8 (GMM) George Russell, Lando Norris and other top Formula 1 drivers have hit out at the pre-race proceedings before Sunday’s Miami GP. As A-list celebrities flocked to the event surrounding the Hard Rock Stadium, they and the global television audience were subjected to spectacular pre-race festivities featuring Will.I.Am as well as LL Cool […]
Ferrari will not ‘copy’ rivals’ 2023 cars
May 7 (GMM) Frederic Vasseur has ruled out simply “copying” the technical solutions of the cars that are faster than Ferrari at present. While it is clear that Mercedes is moving away from the basic ‘concept’ of its admittedly flawed 2022 and 2023 single seater, team boss Vasseur says Ferrari will simply stay the course […]
Schumacher pokes Steiner after Hulkenberg crash
May 7 (GMM) Ralf Schumacher couldn’t resist making a jibe at Haas boss Gunther Steiner at the Miami GP. On Friday, the driver who replaced Schumacher’s nephew Mick for 2023 – Nico Hulkenberg – crashed. “If the team’s best practices are maintained, we will know very soon what the crash cost,” Ralf told Sky Deutschland. […]
F1 Concorde talks should be ‘behind closed doors’
May 7 (GMM) Liberty Media boss Greg Maffei wants to kick off negotiations for the next Concorde Agreement. The last commercial agreement binding the teams to the FIA and Formula 1’s Liberty Media-owned commercial rights was inked during the covid year – 2020. At the time, although a deal with all the teams was ultimately […]
Button came ‘very close’ to Ferrari contract
May 7 (GMM) 2009 world champion Jenson Button admits he came “very close” to signing a contract with Ferrari. After winning the championship with Brawn, the now retired British driver switched to McLaren – but during that period, he now admits to having Ferrari talks. “I always wanted to race for Ferrari,” he told La […]
2023 Mercedes ‘just not a good car’ – Wolff
May 7 (GMM) Mercedes’ 2023 car is “even worse” than its predecessor, a solemn team boss Toto Wolff admitted in Miami. The car appears to be about a second off the pace – with Lewis Hamilton even further behind George Russell in qualifying in a lowly 13th place. A big development upgrade is coming for […]
CEO says Alpine situation ‘not acceptable’
May 7 (GMM) A highly critical Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi admits the Renault-owned team is struggling in 2023. The team was hoping to build on its fourth place in the 2022 constructors’ championship to be on the podium regularly this year. Instead, having lost Fernando Alonso and paired Frenchman Pierre Gasly with countryman Esteban Ocon, […]
‘Can’t be behind Leclerc’ in Q3, Marko quips
May 7 (GMM) Max Verstappen is aiming for “P2 minimum” from Sunday’s Miami GP, as Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez knocks on the door of his slim championship lead. The Dutchman made a mistake on his first Q3 attempt and could not have a second attempt due to Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s crash. “You just […]
Domenicali open to talks with France’s Macron
May 6 (GMM) F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says he is willing to talk face-to-face with the French president about potentially reviving the country’s grand prix. Paul Ricard was this year the latest victim of Formula 1’s gradual shift away from traditional European hosts, with new circuit president Jean Alesi admitting there is no “national will” […]
F1 to organise smarter calendar in 2024 – Wolff
May 6 (GMM) Formula 1 will organise a smarter and more sustainable calendar for 2024, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has revealed. Currently, the stops on the calendar mean the thousands of personnel who travel from race to race are essentially “zig-zagging” across the world from one continent to another. For instance, the last race was […]
Hamilton unsure of Brad Pitt’s F1 driving plans
May 6 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton says he isn’t sure how the start of filming for the Hollywood feature movie about Formula 1 will affect the drivers. Shooting of the film starring Brad Pitt as a driver will begin during the British GP weekend at Silverstone, with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali admitting the process will be […]
Imola upgrades will not be enough – Sainz
May 6 (GMM) Carlos Sainz admits significant car upgrades planned for the next race at Imola will not be enough to fight for the world championship. The Spaniard’s teammate Carlos Sainz got his Miami weekend off to a bad start on Friday with a crash. “Somehow, Leclerc makes a mistake every weekend,” former F1 driver […]
Wolff to sign new Hamilton deal in ‘weeks’
May 6 (GMM) Toto Wolff says he will sit down with Lewis Hamilton “in a few weeks” to sign a new Mercedes contract for the seven time world champion. The Brackley based team initially looked competitive in Miami, only to fall a second off the pace in the second Friday practice session. “It was like […]
Up to 10 ‘sprints’ on F1’s 2024 calendar
May 6 (GMM) Formula 1 is looking to expand the newly-tweaked ‘sprint shootout’ weekend format to as many as ten grands prix in 2024. The format – now with a separate ‘shootout’ qualifying for a standalone sprint race on Saturday – debuted at Baku last weekend, and will be repeated five more times this season. […]