Nov.29 (GMM) Michael Masi could make a shock return to Formula 1. The Australian, 45, was ousted from his role as F1 race director after the highly controversial 2021 season finale, in which a contentious safety car decision preceded Max Verstappen’s last-lap title defeat of Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is […]
Perez still not good enough for Red Bull – Albers
Nov.28 (GMM) A regular critic of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate has taken the opportunity to once again slam Sergio Perez. Christijan Albers, Dutch like Verstappen, claims the 2023 season finale in Abu Dhabi is yet more evidence that Mexican driver Perez should be ousted. He says his collision with Lando Norris at the 2023 […]
Magnussen steps away from teammate’s Haas criticism
Nov.28 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen has declined to follow in the wheel-tracks of his teammate Nico Hulkenberg in stepping up his criticism of the Haas team. Hulkenberg has been causing a stir at recent races by beginning to call for fundamental changes at the small American team, particularly in the wake of the total failure of […]
Mercedes plays down Vesti-Williams rumours
Nov.28 (GMM) Mercedes has played down rumours linking F1 junior driver Frederik Vesti with Logan Sargeant’s Williams race seat for 2024. Although Williams boss James Vowles said in Abu Dhabi that he is still not ready to confirm Sargeant’s deal for next year, he has been consistently hinting that the struggling 22-year-old American has done […]
Red Bull may dominate yet again in 2023 – Marko
Nov.28 (GMM) Red Bull broke the all-time record for the most dominant winning percentage in a full season of Formula 1 in 2023 – an astonishing 95.5 percent. It’s an ominous statistic for rival teams facing what Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admits is the “Mt Everest” of chasing down triple consecutive world champion Max Verstappen. […]
Verstappen wants to be ‘left alone’ for winter – father
Nov.28 (GMM) After the chequered flag on Sunday, Fernando Alonso asked Max Verstappen what he will be doing over the next few weeks now that the long 2023 season is over. “Hopefully not too much,” the triple world champion replied on Viaplay. Indeed, the ultra-dominant Dutch driver’s patience with F1’s long and arduous season appeared […]
Alonso slams F1’s current qualifying format
Nov.27 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has issued a scathing assessment about Formula 1’s three-part current qualifying format. When the Aston Martin driver won his titles for Renault almost two decades ago, the sport had moved from a traditional 60-minute, 12-lap format to one-by-one single-lap qualifying. Both were formats that Alonso, now 42, enjoyed, but he now […]
Marko retains Franz Tost as Red Bull consultant
Nov.27 (GMM) Franz Tost will in fact remain connected to Formula 1 next year as a team consultant. Having led Red Bull’s second outfit since the beginning, the 67-year-old Austrian is now stepping down as team boss to be replaced by new CEO and new principal Laurent Mekies as part of a wider rebranding and […]
Prost enjoyed Verstappen dominance in 2023
Nov.27 (GMM) F1 legend Alain Prost admits he has enjoyed watching Max Verstappen utterly dominate the 2023 season. Until now, the most dominant performance in Formula 1 history was when Prost and Ayrton Senna famously won all but one of the races in 1988 for McLaren – representing a 94 percent winning hit-rate. But Red […]
Alpha Tauri surge getting rival teams ‘excited’
Nov.27 (GMM) Alpha Tauri’s rapid late-season performance surge is catching the eye of rival Formula 1 teams. Ahead of a full team rebranding for 2024, including new bosses Peter Bayer and Laurent Mekies, Red Bull’s second F1 team suddenly began to speed up some races ago. At his final race as long-time team boss, Franz […]
‘Goal’ is F1 race seat – Vesti
Nov.27 (GMM) With new Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire openly eyeing Japan’s Super Formula for 2024, F2 runner-up Frederik Vesti admits the door to F1 may be closed to him as well. Like Alfa Romeo reserve Pourchaire, 21-year-old Vesti got a turn at the wheel of a Formula 1 car in Friday practice in Abu […]
Arduous F1 schedule takes toll on driver health
Nov.27 (GMM) Formula 1’s travelling schedule has become so arduous that an epidemic of illness marred the end of the long 2023 season. “I sincerely hope that subscriptions to Lemsip are not within the budget cap,” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner joked at the Abu Dhabi finale. “It’s been a pretty brutal regime.” That […]
Switching to Red Bull has ‘zero appeal’ – Hamilton
Nov.26 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton says he isn’t sure if he still needs to retire as world champion. The seven time world champion found himself embroiled in wild rumours at the 2023 season finale in Abu Dhabi linking him with a sensational move to Red Bull. He has now sat down with the major German newspaper […]
Verstappen won’t let Marko be pushed out of F1
Nov.26 (GMM) Max Verstappen says he will always act with “loyalty” towards his Formula 1 mentor, Dr Helmut Marko. Recently, there have been rumours of a power struggle between Red Bull’s top chiefs, Red Bull team consultant Marko and team boss Christian Horner. There were suggestions 80-year-old Marko may be pushed out of the team’s […]
F1 reserve role not enough for Pourchaire
Nov.26 (GMM) He may be at the top of the table in his third season of Formula 2, but Theo Pourchaire admits he still has no racing project lined up for 2024. The 20-year-old Frenchman has been Sauber’s reserve driver for some time, but his F2 adventure is definitely now ending – and he’s been […]
Vettel still not ruling out racing return
Nov.26 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel is still not ruling out a potential return to top motorsport. The 36-year-old quadruple world champion retired from Formula 1 at the end of last year, but he has consistently hinted that his career may not in fact be over. “It could be that I’ll get back into it,” the German […]
Female driver not good enough for F1 – Schumacher
Nov.26 (GMM) Nobody will be in the wheel-tracks of the final two rising talents in German motorsport, Ralf Schumacher has lamented. The country has lost both of its grands prix and Nico Hulkenberg, 36, is now the last active German driver on the Formula 1 grid. Red Bull has signed two young German Formula 3 […]
Tost says F1 team consultant role now unlikely
Nov.26 (GMM) Franz Tost has played down the likelihood that he will remain connected to Formula 1 as a team consultant to Alpha Tauri. Coinciding with a full team rebranding for 2024, the junior Red Bull team’s long-time boss Tost, 67, is stepping down after this weekend’s Abu Dhabi finale. “Two years ago I told […]
New Alonso contract not agreed yet – Krack
Nov.26 (GMM) Mike Krack took a small step back after declaring earlier in Abu Dhabi that he wants to extend Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin contract beyond 2024. Some thought the team boss’s words were a sign that a new deal for the 42-year-old Spaniard was already in the making. “Obviously it’s not a decision I […]
Haas must make structural changes over winter – Hulkenberg
Nov.26 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg is ending the first season since his Formula 1 comeback with a stark warning to his boss – things need to change at Haas. The German has been the small American team’s fastest driver in 2023, and he even made Q3 at the season finale in Abu Dhabi. But he’s not […]