May 30 (GMM) Flavio Briatore is not yet ready to rave about the performance so far of his latest Formula 1 protege – Franco Colapinto. When Alpine ousted Jack Doohan recently and installed fellow rookie Colapinto in the car, team advisor Briatore was quoted in the press release as saying the young Argentine was only […]
Category: Recent stories
2025 contest ‘doesn’t feel like a fight’ – Verstappen
May 30 (GMM) Max Verstappen is not holding out hope that the flexi-wing clampdown in Barcelona will affect McLaren’s pace. Up and down the pitlane, insiders and experts are split over whether the master of bendy front wings that pass the FIA tests – McLaren – will be slowed down. “McLaren aren’t going to end […]
Indy 500 winner Palou not switching to F1
May 29 (GMM) Indy 500 winner Alex Palou has ruled himself out of the running for a switch to Formula 1. The 28-year-old is widely considered the best driver in Indycar right now, with titles in 2021, 2023 and 2024. Palou flirted with Formula 1 through a McLaren testing deal, but a contract dispute led […]
FIA not ruling out even harsher flexi-wing clampdown
May 29 (GMM) Nikolas Tombazis is not ruling out clamping down even harder against flexible front wings in 2025. This weekend in Barcelona, much stricter new FIA tests will apply in the hope that flexible aerodynamic solutions like the one at field-leading McLaren will be stopped. “I don’t think much will change,” McLaren CEO Zak […]
Ron Dennis admits muting Sky’s F1 TV coverage
May 29 (GMM) Ron Dennis says the British television coverage of Formula 1 is so bad that he watches grands prix with the sound muted. After being pushed from control and co-ownership of the McLaren team he led for decades in late 2016, he took some of the reported $350 million he received to buy […]
Ex-promoter warns Montreal not to lose F1 race
May 29 (GMM) The long-time promoter and figurehead of Canada’s grand prix in Montreal has warned the city not to leave Formula 1. The sport is determined not to increase the current schedule from its bustling 24 races, even though it is in advanced talks with Thailand while new rumours suggest Morocco has entered the […]
Renault is not leaving Formula 1 – CEO
May 29 (GMM) Renault CEO Luca de Meo has declared once again that the Alpine Formula 1 team is safe in the French carmaker’s hands. From the outside, the Enstone based outfit has appeared utterly chaotic in recent years. Key staff have rapidly departed and been replaced, the works engine project is being axed, Flavio […]
F1, Monaco, ‘talking about’ Monaco GP problem
May 29 (GMM) Stefano Domenicali admits Formula 1 is “talking about” the problem of the Monaco GP. Notwithstanding the disastrously processional 2024 race on the tight, twisty streets, the sport’s reaction – mandatory two-stop strategies – resulted in arguably an even worse outcome. Still, F1 CEO Domenicali sees the bright side. “The Monaco event has […]
Liberty’s F1 sponsorship revolution continues
May 28 (GMM) Formula 1’s approach to sponsorship under the now eight-year reign of American mass media company Liberty Media continues to intensify. When the Bernie Ecclestone era ended in 2017, the former F1 supremo had shied away from consumer tech and entertainment-related partnerships, focusing instead on traditional industries like banking, oil and logistics. In […]
Expert says flex clampdown may not hurt McLaren
May 28 (GMM) A leading Formula 1 journalist has questioned whether much will change in Barcelona this weekend when the new clampdown against flexible front wings takes effect. McLaren – the obvious current master of passing the existing flex tests whilst still enjoying visible flexibility on track – has denied the harsher tests and stricter […]
Marko smiles at ongoing McLaren driver equality
May 28 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko admits his ‘plan B’ outcome for the Monaco GP came to pass, thanks to dithering over driver hierarchy at McLaren. The Red Bull advisor said before last weekend’s race that if it again proved a mismatch for the car’s characteristics, he at least hoped Lando Norris would return to […]
Newey and team boss disagree over ‘weak tools’ claim
May 28 (GMM) The first public disagreement between Adrian Newey and Aston Martin’s top management has emerged. Having worked intensely on the team’s all-new 2026 car project since arriving at Silverstone in March, Newey made his first appearance at a grand prix last weekend in Monaco in his new green uniform. He revealed that despite […]
Alonso not sure if he will extend Aston contract
May 28 (GMM) Fernando Alonso admits he isn’t sure if he will still be on the grid in the event that the Circuit de Catalunya manages to extend its contract with Formula 1. The future of Barcelona’s three-decade-old race is hanging by a thread, with the streets of Madrid set to take over the official […]
FIA president will not block rival Sainz’s bid
May 27 (GMM) FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem says he will not stand in the way of challengers to his throne. The 63-year-old Emirati, who succeeded Jean Todt in late 2021, has become an increasingly controversial and divisive figure, overseeing perceived chaos inside the Paris-based federation. He believes a lot of the animosity is because […]
Montreal admits ‘Thai GP threat becoming clearer’
May 27 (GMM) Thailand seems to be racing at full speed towards Formula 1’s 2028 calendar. A potential race on the streets of Bangkok has been in the works for months, with plans becoming ever more concrete since F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali headed straight from the season opener in Melbourne for talks with Thai PM […]
Ferrari tried to poach Horner ‘a few weeks ago’
May 27 (GMM) Ferrari looked into poaching Red Bull’s long-time team boss Christian Horner just a few weeks ago, according to the largest-circulation newspaper in Europe. “This is no surprise,” Bild newspaper correspondents Michel Milewski and Matthias Marburg reported, “given that the storied racing team is in crisis.” They are talking about Ferrari, under current […]
‘Cooler’ Piastri can bounce back from Norris defeat
May 27 (GMM) Former Formula 1 driver Mika Salo is tipping Oscar Piastri to bounce back from an ‘off’ weekend in Monaco. The Australian still leads the world championship, but now by only three points over his McLaren teammate, as Lando Norris bounced back from a tricky couple of months with a win from pole. […]
Briatore does not want to see Michael Schumacher
May 26 (GMM) Flavio Briatore says he has no interest in visiting his old friend and colleague, Michael Schumacher. Together, as Benetton team boss and driver, the duo won their first world championships in 1994 and 1995 – before Schumacher moved on to Ferrari and won five more titles. But when Schumacher, now 56, suffered […]
Jos Verstappen and Horner now share ‘mutual respect’
May 26 (GMM) Jos Verstappen says the major tension between him and Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has now faded. Last year, the father and co-manager of world champion Max Verstappen became centrally involved in the Horner scandal and resulting chaos at Red Bull. However, until Monaco, 53-year-old Jos has been absent from the […]
Alonso ‘happy’ to struggle throughout 2025 season
May 26 (GMM) Fernando Alonso says he is resigned to struggling all the way through 2025. Having focused on the team’s all-new 2026 project since he started work in March, former Red Bull designer Adrian Newey attended his first race weekend in green in Monaco. “I’ve been really focused on the 2026 car,” he confirmed, […]