Feb.27 (GMM) The 2024 season has not even begun, and yet one of the biggest talking points in Formula 1 at present is 2025. In part, it’s because Max Verstappen is expected to utterly dominate again this season – with Red Bull perhaps still half a second clear of the field, and the triple world […]
Sargeant’s 2023 form no longer acceptable – boss
Feb.27 (GMM) Logan Sargeant has been put on notice at Williams – up your game or be ousted. The American rookie struggled notably alongside teammate Alex Albon last year, but Williams team boss James Vowles has given him another chance for 2024. But he required that Sargeant, 23, improve both his physical condition and his […]
F1 moves to close budget cap loopholes
Feb.27 (GMM) Formula 1 is moving to close loopholes in the budget cap rules – but only in time for 2026. It was expected that by limiting spending, teams would become smaller. But the opposite has happened, with top team head-counts actually swelling from what was already alarming staff numbers of up to 1000 people. […]
Imminent end of Horner scandal will be ‘nice’ – Verstappen
Feb.26 (GMM) The collective F1 paddock is expecting the outcome of the Christian Horner scandal to be known before track action resumes in Bahrain this week. Even Max Verstappen, who has publicly stayed out of the saga involving Red Bull’s internal investigation into Horner’s alleged bad behaviour with a female staff member, now admits that […]
2025 contract still possible for Perez – Marko
Feb.26 (GMM) It is still possible that Sergio Perez will be offered a new contract to keep racing at Red Bull beyond 2024. That is the word from the team’s influential and notoriously merciless top Austrian consultant Dr Helmut Marko, even though Perez seems to still be struggling alongside Max Verstappen in 2024. Auto Motor […]
Gasly eyes team exit as Alpine slumps to dead last
Feb.26 (GMM) Pierre Gasly admits he sees himself as a player in the driver ‘silly season’ for 2025, as his current team Alpine slumps to the very rear of the grid. Ahead of the 2024 season that kicks off in Bahrain this weekend, it is believed the new Alpine could slip behind even Haas as […]
Bosses defend F1 team’s awkward new name
Feb.26 (GMM) New team CEO Peter Bayer has defended the decision to give the former Alpha Tauri team an awkward and controversial new name for 2024 and beyond. Officially, Red Bull’s second F1 team – originally renamed Toro Rosso after the Minardi acquisition – will be known as ‘Visa Cash App RB’ from now on. […]
Sacked Steiner accepts TV role in F1 for 2024
Feb.26 (GMM) Sacked Haas team boss Gunther Steiner will be in Bahrain for the 2024 season opener this weekend. The 58-year-old, who rose to global popularity for his charismatic portrayal in the Formula 1 Netflix series Drive To Survive, has accepted an offer to be an expert television pundit for the German broadcaster RTL. RTL […]
No plans to join F1’s tattoo craze – Verstappen
Feb.26 (GMM) Max Verstappen says he has no immediate plans to join the growing ranks of Formula 1 drivers with tattoos. Fellow multiple world champion Lewis Hamilton is extensively ‘inked’, while Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll, Kevin Magnussen also have tattoos. But when asked by Algemeen Dagblad if the tattoo bug might bite him […]
Sainz admits Mercedes, Red Bull options for 2025
Feb.26 (GMM) Carlos Sainz insists it is still his priority to secure his future in Formula 1 as soon as possible. The Spaniard headed into the winter break late last year insisting that he wanted a new Ferrari contract in his pocket ahead of the first race of 2024. Ultimately, Ferrari only told him that […]
F1 plays down ‘rainbow flag’ incident in Bahrain
Feb.26 (GMM) Formula 1 and the Bahrain circuit played down an incident that occurred at the tail-end of pre-season testing last week. Bild newspaper reported that team and other F1-associated personnel entering the venue were told by security staff that they could not display LGBT-style ‘rainbow flag’ logos on their clothing or bags. “This was […]
Williams said ‘no’ to 2024 Mercedes suspension
Feb.26 (GMM) James Vowles has admitted Williams opted against running the full 2024 specification of partner team Mercedes’ rear suspension layout this year. Auto Motor und Sport believes a main reason for the decision was because Mercedes only had the capacity to supply its new push-rod suspension to one customer – Aston Martin. But Williams […]
No Alpine F1 testing for Schumacher in 2024 – boss
Feb.26 (GMM) Bruno Famin has played down suggestions Mick Schumacher would be the obvious choice if Alpine loses one or both of its drivers at the end of 2024. The Renault-powered team has emerged as perhaps the worst performer of all in pre-season testing, raising big questions as Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon’s contracts expire. […]
Vettel eyeing Hamilton’s Mercedes seat – Schumacher
Feb.26 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel really might be contemplating a sensational return to Formula 1, according to fellow German Ralf Schumacher. Although quadruple world champion Vettel’s younger brother Fabian played down the rumours last week, former grand prix winner Schumacher told Sky Deutschland: “I heard that Sebastian wants to drive a car again. “Apparently he saw […]
Hamilton fell out over technical disagreements at Mercedes
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 […]