Nov.20 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has defended Max Verstappen’s foul mood throughout the Las Vegas GP weekend – even though his spirits lifted with an exciting race and victory in the dead of Saturday night. Dutchman Verstappen had said he felt like a “clown” for Formula 1’s new spectacle that was “99 percent show and […]
Magnussen open to post-F1 career in US, but not Indycar
Nov.19 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen has played down the likelihood that he might follow his former Haas teammate Romain Grosjean into Indycar once his own F1 career is over. That is despite the fact that, while in Las Vegas for the grand prix, the Danish driver admitted that he resonates strongly with the way of life […]
F1 has gone ‘too far’ with tyre design – Wolff
Nov.19 (GMM) Formula 1 and Pirelli went “too far” with trying to specifically design tyres to spice up the racing. Mercedes has had a particularly up-and-down season with its 2023 car, but boss Toto Wolff pointed the finger at the tyres’ characteristics on the new Las Vegas layout after Lewis Hamilton failed even to make […]
Sainz penalty in Las Vegas ‘unbelievable’ – Schumacher
Nov.19 (GMM) Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has joined the highly-outspoken Max Verstappen in agreeing that Carlos Sainz’s penalty in Las Vegas is “outrageous”. Spaniard Sainz triggered the day-1 chaos at the sport’s new and show-oriented event when his Ferrari ripped up a manhole cover – and destroyed his red car. Verstappen says it’s clear […]
Verstappen still adding fuel to anti-Las Vegas tirade
Nov.19 (GMM) Max Verstappen revved up his tirade against the glitzy Las Vegas GP as the show-focused event continued. When asked what he’d like to change about the event for the future, the triple world champion said cynically: “Give me an A4 piece of paper and I’ll write it all down for you.” Fellow Dutchman […]
Magnussen admits B-car data ‘doesn’t make sense’
Nov.18 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen admits Haas, likely to finish the season dead last, has become lost amid its efforts to drastically improve its Formula 1 car. In Las Vegas, the small American team took the unusual decision to take the ‘old’ 2023 car for Nico Hulkenberg, while Magnussen remains at the wheel of the troubled […]
F1 still opposed to Andretti despite GM news
Nov.18 (GMM) Even General Motors’ pledge to build a works Formula 1 engine by 2028 hasn’t changed the top team’s opposition to an eleventh team spot for Andretti. Andretti-Cadillac has the FIA’s green light, but opposition from the majority of the teams is adding fuel to Liberty Media’s troubled commercial talks with the hopeful American […]
Manager defends Verstappen’s foul mood in Vegas
Nov.18 (GMM) Max Verstappen’s boss and manager both defended the triple world champion amid his bad mood in Las Vegas. The Dutchman has been scathing of the “99 percent show, 1 percent sport” in the American casino capital. And after finally completing the day’s disrupted track action in the middle of the night with no […]
F1’s ‘ridiculous’ start in glitzy Las Vegas slammed
Nov.18 (GMM) The new Las Vegas GP got off to a “ridiculous” start on Thursday when a broken manhole cover smashed through the glitz and glamour. Liberty Media’s blue-riband, billion-dollar project culminated in scenes of police ushering furious fans giving the thumbs-down out of the new street circuit – to give track staff some sleep […]
F1 sale values Aston Martin team at whopping $1.2 billion
Nov.17 (GMM) Formula 1 team Aston Martin has been valued at a whopping $1.2 billion. The valuation, made by financial media company Bloomberg, comes after Lawrence Stroll sold a minority stake in the Silverstone based team to Arctos Partners – an American private equity firm. “The investment values the F1 team at about 1 billion […]
F1, Hamilton insist Brad Pitt movie has not been scrapped
Nov.17 (GMM) Movie icon Brad Pitt’s Formula 1 feature film is not getting scrapped. However, the long Hollywood writer’s strike – now resolved – brought a halt to filming and production earlier this year. The Sun newspaper claims producers have had to “axe tens of millions of pounds worth of footage” filmed at the F1 […]
Manhole cover ruins opening Las Vegas action
Nov.17 (GMM) The highly-anticipated opening session amid the glittering lights of Las Vegas was called off after mere minutes – when two cars were badly damaged by a manhole cover. Going into the session, and amid the backdrop of drivers’ complaints about the ‘show’ elements of the race weekend, it was thought the newly-iconic ‘Sphere’ […]
Russell reflects on his ‘terrible year of results’
Nov.17 (GMM) George Russell insists he feels he has driven well in 2023 – even though many believe he has clearly fallen behind his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton. Indeed, while Hamilton is mathematically still in the hunt for second overall in the drivers’ championship, his much younger British countryman Russell sits just eighth. “It was […]
Verstappen not alone with Las Vegas GP criticism
Nov.17 (GMM) Top Formula 1 drivers are hitting back amid the neon glitz, glamour and “show” of the new Las Vegas GP. On the eve of Liberty Media’s unique new blue-riband occasion, world champion Max Verstappen triggered widespread headlines by denouncing the “99 percent show, 1 percent sporting event” and a “not very interesting or […]
Wolff to sit out more F1 races in future
Nov.16 (GMM) Toto Wolff admits he will be absent from even more grands prix in the future. Amid Mercedes’ struggle to match up to dominant rivals Red Bull since the dawning of the new ‘ground effect’ era last year, the 51-year-old did not travel to the races in Japan and Qatar recently. Austrian Wolff took […]
F1 must be more ‘respectful’ to Vegas locals – Hamilton
Nov.16 (GMM) Formula 1 needs to be “respectful” of the places it visits, Lewis Hamilton declared ahead of the sport’s highly-anticipated return to Las Vegas. As the paddock prepares for the highly-unique event, F1 owner Liberty Media’s CEO Greg Maffei took the extraordinary step of apologising to the public for a raft of pre-event problems. […]
Sargeant ‘paralysis’ problem solved for Las Vegas
Nov.16 (GMM) Williams hopes a physical problem with Logan Sargeant will be resolved once the American rookie hits the new Las Vegas track late on Thursday. The 22-year-old, whose race seat is the only one on the current Formula 1 grid still unconfirmed for 2024, had to retire from the ultra-hot Qatar GP recently with […]
Alonso-Red Bull rumours might not be wrong – Stuck
Nov.16 (GMM) Suggestions that Red Bull dump Sergio Perez and replace him with a more competitive teammate for Max Verstappen continue to circulate. The dominant Formula 1 team, however, already had a contract extension with the Mexican prior to his mid-season 2023 slump, and top officials have played down the rampant rumours suggesting the deal […]
FIA ‘delighted’ with latest Andretti F1 development
Nov.16 (GMM) Mohammed Ben Sulayem says he’s “delighted” with the latest major development in Andretti-Cadillac’s bid to become the eleventh Formula 1 team. Although the FIA has green-lit the US-based entity’s application to fire up its power units as soon as 2025, Andretti cannot move forward until the highly-reluctant F1 owner Liberty Media approves a […]
Mazepin to return to action on F1 circuits
Nov.16 (GMM) Nikita Mazepin is pressing the throttle on his intention to return to Formula 1 as soon as possible – but still faces headwinds in the form of anti-Russian sanctions against him and his backer Uralkali. Now approaching two years since the outbreak of the Ukraine-Russian conflict and his expulsion from F1 and the […]