Oct.25 (GMM) European countries are ignoring a court ruling allowing Nikita Mazepin to resume his international racing career, the Russian driver claims. Mazepin and his sponsor Uralkali were sacked by Haas at the onset of the Ukraine-Russia conflict in early 2022, but subsequent western sanctions even locked him out of Europe and other countries altogether. […]
Spotlight on FIA after Hamilton’s illegal floor
Oct.25 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton’s US GP disqualification has tongues wagging about whether changes in car legality policing needs to be improved in Formula 1. “Ride height is so crucial for these ground effect cars that you can’t really afford any gaps in control,” Auto Motor und Sport’s Michael Schmidt said. It was almost four hours […]
Dental problem for Leclerc amid F1 triple-header
Oct.24 (GMM) Charles Leclerc suffered through a literally painful race weekend at the US GP. The Ferrari driver was upset about another botched race strategy on Sunday, he also complained about being on the wrong end of a team order to let teammate Carlos Sainz past, and then he was disqualified for a worn ‘plank’. […]
Verstappen ‘grumpy’ all weekend in Austin – Marko
Oct.24 (GMM) Max Verstappen was “grumpy” throughout the US GP weekend, Red Bull’s team consultant Dr Helmut Marko has admitted. With the drivers’ and constructors’ titles all wrapped up with several races to run, Dutchman Verstappen lost pole position on Friday with a track limits violation. He then spun in the ‘sprint shootout’ before cruising […]
Aston Martin denies Austin upgrade was a flop
Oct.24 (GMM) Aston Martin has played down suggestions the team is now consistently going backwards despite constant efforts to add developments to the 2023 car. To address a mid-season slump following Fernando Alonso’s early string of podiums this season, another serious upgrade was added to the car in Austin – where Aston Martin had a […]
Mercedes still needs ‘completely’ new 2024 car – Wolff
Oct.24 (GMM) Mercedes will not divert from its intention to build a completely different Formula 1 car for 2024, team boss Toto Wolff insists. In Austin, Lewis Hamilton – buoyed by a new, 2024-style floor – only needed a few more laps to be able to beat Red Bull’s dominant Max Verstappen to victory. He […]
Dutch GP set for new annual F1 deal – report
Oct.23 (GMM) Zandvoort looks set to secure its place on the Formula 1 calendar after the current Dutch GP deal runs out at the end of 2025. Although the race is now one of the most exciting and popular, due in part to the old-school layout and Max Verstappen’s success and popularity, there have been […]
Ricciardo wants to revive ‘race car driver’ image
Oct.23 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo has put his quest to re-establish himself as a top Formula 1 driver back on track. The Australian, 33, had his McLaren deal terminated at the end of last year for poor performance, but he returned to the grid mid-season with his former Red Bull family – in the junior Alpha […]
Mick Schumacher hoping Alpine deal works out
Oct.23 (GMM) Mick Schumacher says he is hoping his plans for 2024 continue to shape up. The axed Haas driver, currently Mercedes’ F1 reserve, had hoped to return to the grid next year – but as the vacant cockpits all filled up, he turned his attention to Le Mans-style racing. Last week, before travelling to […]
Audi’s F1 project still has green light – Bravi
Oct.23 (GMM) ‘Team representative’ Alessandro Alunni Bravi has moved to end speculation that Audi may call off its works Formula 1 project in collaboration with Sauber. In Austin, rumours continued to swirl around the paddock that the VW-owned marque might either pull out of the 2026 takeover deal completely or hand it over to Porsche. […]
Perez ‘serious’ about ending performance slump – Marko
Oct.23 (GMM) In Austin, Sergio Perez took a step towards ending the speculation surrounding his future at Red Bull. The Mexican has a firm contract in place for 2024, and team boss Christian Horner says there is “no such requirement” in that deal mandating that he hang onto second place in the drivers’ standings. But […]
Horner proposes sprint race format tweaks
Oct.23 (GMM) Christian Horner thinks Formula 1 should consider tweaking the ‘sprint race’ format. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen declared in Austin that the sprint format “takes away the magic” of fans turning on the TV on a grand prix Sunday to find out which driver can turn their pre-race pace into a result. But now, […]
‘Angry’ Alonso often calls FIA president
Oct.22 (GMM) Fernando Alonso occasionally picks up the phone to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem – and starts to swear! But Ben Sulayem, boss of the Paris based federation that regulates Formula 1, says the two-time champion is nonetheless a “true example for young drivers”. “He was in Formula 1, he left, he came back […]
Renault not losing interest in F1 – Famin
Oct.22 (GMM) The partial sale of the Formula 1 team to high-profile investors does not indicate that Renault-owned Alpine is losing interest in the sport. That is the insistence of interim boss Bruno Famin, towards the tail-end of a tumultuous season both on and off the track. Pierre Gasly admitted in Austin that his first […]
Verstappen says his F1 ‘mission’ is complete
Oct.22 (GMM) Max Verstappen is already working on his post-Formula 1 plans, insisting he has already achieved everything he wanted to in motor racing’s top category. The Red Bull driver has utterly dominated his third consecutive drivers’ title this year, but he is at least committed contractually to Red Bull through 2028. “I want to […]
Haas’ new ‘B’ car appears a failure
Oct.22 (GMM) Haas’ highly-anticipated ‘B’ car has not improved the situation for the struggling American team. Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg had high hopes that the first major car development for 2023 – the full switch to a Red Bull-like aerodynamic concept – would stop this year’s Haas car from eating up the tyres in […]
Sauber-Audi plans still on track – Benoit
Oct.22 (GMM) Audi’s plans to take over Sauber and enter Formula 1 in 2026 still have the green light, according to veteran Swiss journalist Roger Benoit. In recent days and weeks, rumours have suggested either that the German carmaker is pulling out of the deal altogether, or that the project will be transitioned to fellow […]
Hamilton doubts Mercedes can catch up for 2024
Oct.22 (GMM) It’s “Max’s time” in Formula 1 at present – and everyone may need to get used to that for some time to come. That is the word from FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, having already ruled out intervening with rules to rein in Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s dominance. Lewis Hamilton finished second […]
No F1 race axe despite Azerbaijan war – FIA
Oct.21 (GMM) Azerbaijan’s grand prix is safe – despite the large-scale military offensive against the Armenian breakaway state of Artsakh in the last few days. In early 2022, Nikita Mazepin and his Russian sponsor were axed by Haas and the Russian GP at Sochi was scrapped by Formula 1’s governing FIA following the outbreak of […]
Russell insists modern F1 drivers not ‘soft’
Oct.21 (GMM) George Russell has slammed a trio of former Formula 1 drivers who are opposed to moves to make racing in the heat much easier for today’s racers. The FIA is already looking into potential measures following the oppressive Qatar GP, where several drivers suffered massively in the heat. “If we can find a […]