Feb.23 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes might be traced back to technical disagreements last year. This week, former Ferrari driver Mika Salo said the seven time world champion’s decision to swap Mercedes for Maranello makes little sense to him. “I believe Hamilton knows something that the rest of us do not yet know,” […]
More management turmoil in Audi’s F1 project
Feb.23 (GMM) More talk of management turmoil at Audi has emerged, once again putting a cloud over the Volkswagen brand’s earlier decision to enter Formula 1 in 2026. Earlier, the removal as Audi CEO of Markus Duesmann – an architect of the decision to pair with and take over Sauber – raised questions about the […]
Brother plays down talk of Vettel’s F1 comeback
Feb.23 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel’s brother has played down suggestions the retired quadruple world champion might be eyeing a return to Formula 1. Having ended his F1 career over a year ago after a difficult stint at Aston Martin, 36-year-old Vettel has been subsequently linked with a sensational return to the sport with his old team, […]
Tsunoda plays down claims of 2024 Red Bull ‘clone’
Feb.23 (GMM) Yuki Tsunoda has played down suggestions the ever-closer relationship between the former Alpha Tauri team and its big-brother Red Bull Racing have ramped up expectations for 2024. Some staff of the newly-branded RB outfit, which is still mainly based in Italy, are now being housed in a dedicated building at Red Bull’s Milton-Keynes […]
Rivals back Alonso over ‘ridiculous’ F1 test rules
Feb.23 (GMM) Two more Formula 1 drivers have backed Fernando Alonso’s claim that a mere three days of pre-season testing with a single car per two-driver team is “ridiculous”. “We’re talking about the most demanding sport, with budgets of 200 million per team per year. It seems ridiculous,” said the Aston Martin driver. “It’s like […]
Lauda may have stopped Hamilton’s Ferrari move
Feb.23 (GMM) Although Formula 1 is always looking ahead, the Formula 1 paddock paused on Thursday to mark what would have been the 75th birthday of the great Niki Lauda. One of his friends and Austrian countrymen, fellow F1 legend Gerhard Berger, thinks Lauda’s absence at Mercedes since his 2019 death is being palpably felt […]
Scandals being ‘used’ by rivals to weaken Red Bull
Feb.23 (GMM) World champion Max Verstappen thinks Red Bull’s off-track controversies are being “used” by Formula 1 rivals to throw the dominant team off its game. “It’s always a tactic,” the Dutchman told De Telegraaf newspaper at the Bahrain test, where Red Bull’s very different new car for 2024 is turning heads with its apparent […]
Sainz not surprised at Red Bull’s early 2024 pace
Feb.23 (GMM) As Formula 1 gets to the end of the sole pre-season test, the feeling up and down the Bahrain pitlane is unanimous – Red Bull still has easily the fastest car. Most insiders believe the Ferrari, whose Carlos Sainz – with softer tyres – was quicker than Red Bull’s Sergio Perez on Thursday, […]
Ricciardo admits targeting Perez’s Red Bull seat
Feb.22 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo is still not denying that he is opening eyeing a return to Red Bull’s top Formula 1 team for 2025. Some insiders think the move could even happen mid-season this year, if Sergio Perez continues to struggle alongside Max Verstappen – which would open up Ricciardo’s current ‘RB’ seat at the […]
Two ex-F1 drivers tip Sainz to secure 2025 seat
Feb.22 (GMM) Carlos Sainz insists he has “no idea” what team he will be racing for beyond the looming Formula 1 season. The Spaniard had headed into the winter break insisting that he wants his future to be decided before the first race of 2024. Instead, he only learned that Lewis Hamilton will be replacing […]
Vowles plays down early Williams worries
Feb.22 (GMM) James Vowles has played down early worries about Williams’ 2024 season. The team was the last to be ready with a vastly-different car for the new world championship, having cancelled an earlier ‘shakedown’ run. It finally emerged at Bahrain just ahead of the start of official pre-season testing, but on Wednesday looked fragile […]
Magnussen defends owner’s decision to oust Steiner
Feb.22 (GMM) While Nico Hulkenberg sounded regretful about Haas boss Gunther Steiner’s pre-season sacking, teammate Kevin Magnussen is more upbeat about the new era. The American outfit finished dead last in 2023, prompting team owner Gene Haas to differ with Steiner’s assessment that the team needs more funding – and oust him. “I had a […]
Newey could be part of Hamilton bombshell – Salo
Feb.22 (GMM) Former Ferrari driver Mika Salo thinks there is more to the story when it comes to Lewis Hamilton’s shock move from Mercedes to Maranello for 2025. Hamilton, 39, triggered an exit clause in his newly-signed 2-year contract and stunned his boss Toto Wolff with the bombshell impending team switch. Finn Salo, who made […]
Horner all smiles despite F1 scandal that could topple him
Feb.22 (GMM) Red Bull was putting on an image of happy team unity as Christian Horner took up his usual place on the Red Bull pitwall in Bahrain. While the team’s energy drink parent continues to investigate the accusations of a female team member amid rumours of a power struggle, the long-time Red Bull boss […]
Binotto signed to new role outside F1
Feb.22 (GMM) Mattia Binotto, who has been out of the sport for a full year following his firing at Ferrari, will not be returning to Formula 1 for now. La Gazzetta dello Sport says the former team boss at Maranello has been snapped up by an Italian car components company called Texa, based not far […]
Wolff to decide Hamilton successor ‘around May’
Feb.22 (GMM) Toto Wolff had to put a brave face on the fact that Red Bull appears to have pulled off making the scrapped Mercedes-like car concept of 2022-2023 work. Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko admitted the radical move was a “risk” for the already-dominant Formula 1 team, but the team trusted in the wind […]
Marko plays down Red Bull’s ‘enormous’ early pace advantage
Feb.22 (GMM) Even embattled team boss Christian Horner was all smiles in Bahrain on Wednesday as Red Bull’s new and radical car for 2024 stunned every other Formula 1 rival on the opening day of pre-season testing. “Maybe they didn’t copy the latest model,” smiled Dr Helmut Marko as the nearest challenger, McLaren’s Lando Norris, […]
Haas’ current F1 model ‘not enough’ for success – Hulkenberg
Feb.21 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg says he agrees with sacked Haas boss Gunther Steiner that the small American team needs to invest more to succeed in Formula 1. It is widely understood that the biggest tension with owner Gene Haas was that Steiner was arguing that the billionaire needed to inject more funds in order to […]
Leclerc’s big new F1 deal to keep him ‘quiet’ – Villeneuve
Feb.21 (GMM) Ferrari gave Charles Leclerc a long and lucrative new contract to keep him “quiet” for the bombshell news of Lewis Hamilton’s 2025 arrival at Ferrari. That is the view of Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 world champion and son of iconic Ferrari driver Gilles, who thinks the odd nature of the way the team […]
Nothing illegal about Red Bull-RB relationship – CEO
Feb.21 (GMM) The CEO of the team formerly known as Alpha Tauri insists its closer-than-before relationship with parent team Red Bull Racing is above board. McLaren’s Zak Brown has been leading the charge against what he describes as “A-B” teams – clearly a reference to Red Bull having obviously moved the technical alliance of the […]