Sep.17 (GMM) Red Bull has good reason to worry about keeping Max Verstappen at the team. The triple world champion is under contract through 2028, but the deal is littered with reported performance and exit clauses that probably give him an ‘out’ at the end of 2025. Verstappen’s management, led by his father Jos and […]
Red Bull’s problems date back to 2023 – Horner
Sep.17 (GMM) Christian Horner admits Red Bull’s current car handling problems have been brewing for well over a year. Since the issues became clear and stark over the last several grands prix, the team has been feverishly retracing its development steps to identify where it all went wrong. “We’ve traced the development history back and […]
Azerbaijan intends to keep F1 race beyond 2026
Sep.16 (GMM) Promoters of the Azerbaijan GP are determined to stay on the F1 calendar beyond the current 2026 contract. Flavio Briatore admitted at the Baku street race on the weekend that he was involved with the event from day one. “About ten years ago, I spoke about it with the president, Ilham Aliyev, who […]
F1 drivers slam FIA after Perez-Sainz crash
Sep.16 (GMM) Three experienced Formula 1 drivers have hit out at the FIA for its handling of the Sergio Perez-Carlos Sainz crash on the penultimate lap of the Azerbaijan GP. Given the scale of the incident on the concrete-lined streets of Baku, many were shocked that race management did not immediately wave the red flag. […]
Colapinto enters frame for 2025 Audi-Sauber seat
Sep.16 (GMM) Another rookie may have entered the frame to snap up the final Formula 1 race seat for 2025. Roger Benoit, a veteran journalist for the Swiss newspaper Blick, is urging Audi-owned Sauber against inking another contract with Valtteri Bottas. The Finnish driver finished dead last at Baku, with Benoit slamming the 34-year-old for […]
McLaren can scrap ‘papaya rules’ now – pundit
Sep.16 (GMM) Lando Norris is coming under ever more intense scrutiny in his quest to win the 2024 drivers’ world championship. On the face of it, the Briton’s recovery from his abysmal P17 qualifying effort in Baku was reasonable, as he finished P4 in the wake of the Sergio Perez-Carlos Sainz crash and even passed […]
‘Honest’ Marko admits teams’ title slipping away
Sep.16 (GMM) “Honest” F1 team consultant Dr Helmut Marko thinks the constructors’ championship is slipping away from Red Bull. With Max Verstappen still grappling with poor car handling and Sergio Perez crashing out of the Azerbaijan GP, McLaren took over the lead in the teams’ title battle and now sits 20 points ahead. “To be […]
Colapinto almost forced to sit out Azerbaijan
Sep.15 (GMM) Franco Colapinto’s impressive Q3 performance at Baku, out-qualifying teammate Alex Albon, almost never happened. He is the axed Logan Sargeant’s replacement for the rest of 2024 at Williams, and even earned praise from triple world champion Max Verstappen on Saturday. But a day earlier, his Azerbaijan GP weekend almost collapsed. “I cut my […]
Briatore ‘furious’ when he realised Alpine crisis
Sep.15 (GMM) Flavio Briatore says he was “furious” when he realised just a few months ago just how far Formula 1’s Enstone based team had fallen. The 74-year-old Italian guided the team to world championship glory no less than four times – twice with Michael Schumacher as Benetton in the mid-90s, and again with back-to-back […]
‘Shame’ Colapinto has no F1 seat for 2025 – Verstappen
Sep.15 (GMM) Formula 1’s newest rookies have earned some notable praise from a couple of the most experienced and respected drivers on the grid. Franco Colapinto, having been parachuted into the ousted Logan Sargeant’s Williams cockpit for Monza until the end of the season, made it all the way into Q3 at Baku. Not just […]
Bendy wing could be a key to Red Bull surge
Sep.15 (GMM) Tweaked front wing characteristics could be part of the key to Red Bull’s improved form this weekend on the streets of Baku. In the FIA’s pre-event update about car upgrades for the Azerbaijan GP, only modified floor designs were noted for Red Bull. However, Dutch commentator Olav Mol thinks he has spotted something […]
Baku a literal pain in the neck for Sainz
Sep.14 (GMM) The Azerbaijan GP has been a pain in the neck for Carlos Sainz so far in 2024 – literally. The Ferrari driver admitted on Friday that he had woken up in the morning for the first day of practice with a very stiff neck. “I woke up with a stiff neck and could […]
Mazepin removed from EU sanctions list
Sep.14 (GMM) The road to a potential return to Formula 1 for Nikita Mazepin continues to clear. The Russian driver, and his sponsor Uralkali, headed by his father Dmitry, was axed by the American team Haas at the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict. But Mazepin, now 25, has struggled even to travel beyond Russian borders […]
Magnussen will not sit out rest of 2024
Sep.14 (GMM) Team boss Ayao Komatsu says Kevin Magnussen will be back at the wheel of his Haas next weekend in Singapore. Experienced team regular Magnussen, who is being replaced by rookie Oliver Bearman for 2025, is sitting out Baku after his FIA super license was suspended for a race. Komatsu, however, admitted on Friday […]
Indycar a good ‘plan B’ for Bottas, says Salo
Sep.14 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas may need to keep his racing career alive by switching to Indycar for 2025. That is the view of fellow Finn and former F1 driver Mika Salo, who thinks the chances are very real that Bottas, 34, will not be retained by Audi-owned Sauber. Audi has obtained permission from the McLaren […]
No more Red Bull F1 appearances for Newey
Sep.14 (GMM) Adrian Newey’s involvement in all Formula 1 matters at Red Bull appears to now be definitely over. That is despite the fact that the 65-year-old British engineer will not actually start work at Aston Martin until March 1 next year. Red Bull could have insisted on a lengthy ‘gardening leave’ period for Newey, […]
No more ‘panic mode’ for Red Bull at Baku
Sep.14 (GMM) “Panic mode” seems to be taking a back seat at Red Bull in Baku, as car upgrades begin to solve the handling problems that threaten to derail Max Verstappen’s world championship charge. “Sergio Perez is back up there too,” Dutch racing personality Tom Coronel told Viaplay after Friday practice in Azerbaijan. “That means […]
Staff press throttle on more Alpine engine protests
Sep.13 (GMM) Angry Renault F1 staff are ramping up their protests against the French manufacturer’s decision to scrap the works Formula 1 engine program. Last time out at Monza, staff travelled from Viry-Chatillon, France, to conduct a peaceful protest from the grandstands, while a worker strike also took place at the factory where the engines […]
No major Red Bull upgrade until Austin – Marko
Sep.13 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko admits “perhaps a podium” might be Red Bull’s most realistic target for Baku. Although there were rumours the team has brought a radical new floor to Azerbaijan, the team’s top F1 consultant says any changes for Baku are not major. “Unless a miracle happens, we don’t expect any improvement at […]
F1 facing reserve driver shortage at Baku
Sep.13 (GMM) Formula 1 is facing a reserve driver shortage this weekend at Baku. Kevin Magnussen is not in Azerbaijan this weekend as he serves his controversial one-race suspension for accumulating 12 penalty points on his super license. His Haas teammate Nico Hulkenberg stridently defended the absent Dane on Thursday, insisting stewards are too quick […]