Feb.25 (GMM) Toto Wolff has added his own denial to reports the Mercedes F1 team is losing the backing of major chemicals sponsor Ineos. In 2024, the press release heralding the launch of the last Mercedes Lewis Hamilton would race mentioned billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos brand twice. “The livery,” read the 2024 statement, “truly […]
Category: Recent stories
Hakkinen sides with FIA over F1 swearing ban
Feb.25 (GMM) A popular former Formula 1 champion has broken ranks to actually side with the FIA over its highly controversial ‘swearing ban’. The harsh clampdown, coupled with new penalties that could even escalate to race bans and docked championship points, will apply to all FIA-sanctioned series – including world rally. The world rally drivers’ […]
GP winner assesses all six 2025 F1 rookies
Feb.25 (GMM) A former grand prix winner has cast his eye over the biggest field of rookies in well over a decade in Formula 1. While there was not a single new driver on the 2024 grid, no fewer than six racers are making their full-time debuts this year – a full 30 percent of […]
Alpine F1 not being packaged for sale – Renault CEO
Feb.25 (GMM) Renault CEO Luca de Meo has once again stridently denied the French carmaker is preparing to offload its Formula 1 team. While new team advisor Flavio Briatore insists he is pushing to return the Enstone based outfit back to the top of F1, others see recent financial restructuring and the move away from […]
Ferrari not ‘scared’ by early Hamilton struggle
Feb.25 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton is heading into official pre-season testing this week with a pace deficit compared to his teammate Charles Leclerc. That is the claim of Marca (Spain) and La Repubblica (Italy) newspapers, claiming that in early testing of the 2025 car, Leclerc was eight tenths quicker than the seven time world champion at […]
Aston Martin offer to Verstappen ‘logical’ – Marko
Feb.25 (GMM) It is “only logical” that Aston Martin would try to woo Max Verstappen, according to Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko. Recently, reports in the UK press emerged suggesting the Lawrence Stroll-owned team, having successfully lured Adrian Newey for 2025 and beyond, were offering Verstappen a long-term deal that ultimately adds up to […]
Screaming V10 engines could return to F1
Feb.24 (GMM) The roar of screaming V10 engines could be returning to Formula 1. Lauding increased safety as the biggest positive development in recent F1 history, Fernando Alonso at the weekend lamented some of the backwards steps the sport has taken since he debuted in 2001. “We’ve got heavier cars, we’ve got cars that don’t […]
FIA tipped to lift restrictions for Russian drivers
Feb.24 (GMM) Russian drivers could soon be able to race in FIA-sanctioned championships like Formula 1 without restrictions. In the last days of 2024, successful Dakar Rally competitor Sergey Karyakin – who has refused to sign the famous FIA document distancing himself from Russia – said he saw hope on the horizon. “I managed to […]
F1 should return to Paul Ricard, not Paris – Estrosi
Feb.24 (GMM) A key official of the defunct French GP has poured cold water on suggestions the sport should return to the country with a race in Paris. Flavio Briatore, the powerful advisor to Renault’s Formula 1 team Alpine, triggered headlines last week by suggesting a race in the French capital would be “magnificent”. “Not […]
Verstappen will not skip race for child’s birth
Feb.24 (GMM) Max Verstappen says he will not be sitting out a single race even though his girlfriend Kelly is preparing to give birth to their first child together. The Dutch driver recently revealed that the baby – believed to be a girl – is due “not before the start of the season”. Reports indicate […]
Amid ‘ridiculous rule’, Sainz becomes GPDA director
Feb.24 (GMM) Carlos Sainz has become a new director of the Formula 1 drivers’ union – the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA). The appointment comes at an important moment for the GPDA, as intense negotiations take place behind the scenes to dilute the harshness of the FIA’s so-called ‘driver swearing ban’. Sainz, switching from Ferrari […]
Tsunoda aims to avoid Red Bull axe after 2025
Feb.24 (GMM) Yuki Tsunoda says he wants to remain “in the Red Bull family” beyond the 2025 season. Despite his pace, a calmer demeanour and four seasons of experience with the Faenza-based junior team, Red Bull still decided that it should be rookie Liam Lawson who should become Max Verstappen’s new teammate for 2025. In […]
Briatore rejects label of Jack Doohan ‘killer’
Feb.24 (GMM) Flavio Briatore is still not denying that Alpine could make a mid-season driver change in 2025. The flamboyant Italian’s actual role is a team advisor reporting to Renault CEO Luca de Meo – but the latter admitted at the launch of the team’s 2025 car: “Let’s be honest, Flavio is the boss.” Indeed, […]
Verstappen could boycott next F1 launch event
Feb.24 (GMM) Max Verstappen may boycott next year’s Formula 1 group season launch if it is once again held in the UK. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner and Verstappen were both booed by a significant portion of the 15,000 fans at the O2 arena recently. The FIA, whose mention during the presentation was also […]
F1 teams look ahead to two-part 2025 season
Feb.21 (GMM) 2025 may be the last year of the current regulations, but teams have marked a very important mid-season date in their diaries. McLaren, at the centre of flexible wing controversies last year, insist that the FIA’s new flexibility criteria for this season is not a “headache”. But from the first race, stricter flex […]
Colapinto among Alpine’s ‘most important assets’
Feb.21 (GMM) Franco Colapinto has instantly become one of Alpine’s “most important assets,” admits famous team advisor Flavio Briatore. At F1’s London launch, 2025 rookie Jack Doohan was bombarded with journalists’ questions about the longevity of his new race seat. That’s because newly-signed reserve Colapinto, on loan from Williams, is hotly tipped to replace the […]
Lawson has two jobs to do in 2025 – Marko
Feb.21 (GMM) Liam Lawson’s job in 2025 is two-pronged, according to Red Bull’s notoriously tough advisor and driver manager, Dr Helmut Marko. Lawson, starting his first full season in ’25 after part-time campaigns at the junior team in the past two years, replaces the struggling and axed Sergio Perez. Perez’s struggles cost Red Bull in […]
Mercedes denies deal with Ineos ‘close to splitting’
Feb.20 (GMM) Mercedes’ Formula 1 team has denied it could be about to lose its one-third owner and major sponsor Ineos. The Telegraph newspaper reports that Toto Wolff was at odds with fellow one-third team owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, founder and CEO of the chemicals company, last year. Correspondent Tom Cary said they “came close […]
F1 ‘deserves’ a French GP ‘in Paris’ – Briatore
Feb.20 (GMM) Formula 1 should return to France – with a race in the capital city. That’s the view of Alpine’s flamboyant and famous advisor Flavio Briatore, just days after FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem rued France’s absence from the calendar since 2022. “It’s good to open up to new countries, but we mustn’t forget […]
Axed Sargeant suddenly quits motor racing
Feb.20 (GMM) After losing his race seat in Formula 1, Logan Sargeant seems to be stepping away from motor racing altogether. The 24-year-old American struggled to keep up with Alex Albon at Williams in both 2023 and 2024, and was ousted altogether by Franco Colapinto mid-last season. However, he had lined up an alternative drive […]