Mar.8 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen admits he needs to up his game relative to Haas teammate Nico Hulkenberg. After Bahrain, but also the 2023 season in which Hulkenberg was consistently quicker over a single lap, new Haas boss Ayao Komatsu said Magnussen lagging 7 tenths off the pace of the sister car was “not acceptable”. Komatsu […]
Leclerc not afraid of Hamilton head-to-head
Mar.8 (GMM) Charles Leclerc insists he is not anxious about having to take on Formula 1’s most successful driver in history as his Ferrari teammate from 2025. It was rumoured that, at least initially, Leclerc was upset that new team boss Frederic Vasseur decided to break up his pairing with Carlos Sainz – a driver […]
De la Rosa plays down Alonso’s Saudi pace
Mar.8 (GMM) Pedro de la Rosa, an Aston Martin team ambassador and close confidante of Fernando Alonso’s, played down the Spaniard’s top time in Jeddah free practice. “It’s just practice,” Alonso, sponsored by Saudi oil company Aramco, warned, alluding to different engine modes and fuel loads that the various teams run in practice. Indeed, Red […]
Marko admits Verstappen contract ‘has clauses’
Mar.8 (GMM) Christian Horner has pleaded for the end of a scandal that endangered not only his top job at Red Bull, but could lead to Max Verstappen’s shock exit. “Every contract has clauses, that’s clear,” said Dr Helmut Marko, amid reports Verstappen’s 2028 deal allows the Dutchman to easily exit in the event Marko […]
Audi already 100 percent Sauber owner – newspaper
Mar.7 (GMM) Audi really is taking over 100 percent of the Sauber team, with multiple authoritative sources now insisting that little doubt remains about the VW-owned brand’s commitment to entering Formula 1 for 2026. Last weekend, we reported Bahrain paddock rumours that despite months of uncertainty about the F1 project and management upheavals, Audi is […]
No ‘miracle’ changes in 2024 F1 pecking order now – Alonso
Mar.7 (GMM) Even just a single race into the 2024 season, respected Formula 1 journalist Michael Schmidt thinks the pecking order is already essentially clear. When asked to divulge his ideas about the hierarchy of performance after the season opener in Bahrain, Fernando Alonso agrees that not much will be different this weekend in Jeddah. […]
Alonso happy to be on ‘lists’ at Red Bull and Mercedes
Mar.7 (GMM) Fernando Alonso freely admits he is on the “lists” being drawn up by top teams Mercedes and Red Bull amid the swirling 2025 driver market silly season. Flavio Briatore, who still oversees the management of the Aston Martin driver’s career, was spotted in the Bahrain paddock last week meeting with the likes of […]
‘Not exciting’ F1 has triggered wave of scandals – Alonso
Mar.7 (GMM) Leading Formula 1 figures are watching on in horror as their sport becomes engulfed in scandal upon scandal. The Christian Horner scandal is now well-known and raging out of control, risking tearing Red Bull apart from the inside. But also in trouble is controversial FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. The Paris-based federation is […]
Drivers hail new ‘rollercoaster’ F1 track project
Mar.7 (GMM) Three leading F1 faces have hailed the revolutionary venue that is slated to host the Saudi Arabian GP in the future. The fast and popular current street track in Jeddah was always designed to be temporary, with the country inking a deal with Formula 1 through 2030. The plan, now revealed in spectacular […]
Wolff deputy joins Hamilton in silver-to-red switch
Mar.7 (GMM) Former F1 driver Jerome d’Ambrosio looks set to follow in Lewis Hamilton’s wheel-tracks by switching from Mercedes to Ferrari for 2025. Earlier, the former Virgin and Lotus driver continued his racing career in Formula E, but ultimately climbed into the world of team management there in collaboration with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s wife […]
Verstappen wants ‘calm’ restored at crisis-struck Red Bull
Mar.7 (GMM) Max Verstappen admits he is hoping for a “quieter weekend” in Saudi Arabia, after the Christian Horner saga engulfed the Red Bull camp last time out in Bahrain. Throughout the scandal so far, even though his own father Jos has happily waded into the obvious power struggle taking place at present, Max has […]
Magnussen’s qualifying struggle ‘not acceptable’ – boss
Mar.6 (GMM) It is “not acceptable” for Kevin Magnussen to be so far behind his teammate Nico Hulkenberg in qualifying, Haas’ new team boss has warned. Over the winter, the struggling small American team’s owner Gene Haas ousted long-time boss Gunther Steiner, replacing him with engineer Ayao Komatsu. But arguably a bigger concern for Haas […]
Red Bull’s Mateschitz successor Mintzlaff to be in Jeddah
Mar.6 (GMM) The scandal engulfing Christian Horner and revealing the depth of a power struggle at Red Bull looks set to race on throughout and beyond this weekend’s Saudi Arabian GP. On one side of the divide is Red Bull’s 51 percent Thai owner, headed by Chalerm Yoovidhya, who rushed to Bahrain last weekend to […]
Tsunoda at Aston Martin would be ‘great’ – Honda
Mar.6 (GMM) Honda says no decision has been taken as to whether Yuki Tsunoda will move on from the Red Bull family next year. In Bahrain, Tsunoda’s relationship with teammate Daniel Ricciardo got off to a bad start in 2024 when the Japanese driver lost his cool over a team order. Koji Watanabe, boss of […]
Ferrari’s F1 policy could backfire in 2025 – Prost
Mar.6 (GMM) Alain Prost wonders if Ferrari’s new policy of having no clear de-facto ‘number 1’ driver from next year can work for the fabled Maranello marque. The F1 legend is referring to the looming arrival in 2025 of seven time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who will be paired with the highly-rated incumbent Charles Leclerc. […]
New F1 scandal worsens for embattled FIA president
Mar.6 (GMM) A new scandal engulfing the president of Formula 1’s governing body has only worsened for Mohammed Ben Sulayem. The FIA boss was this week referred his own federation’s compliance officer over allegations he intervened to overturn a penalty imposed on Fernando Alonso during the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP. And now, Austria’s Kleine Zeitung […]
Perez doing well to not be ‘destroyed’ by Verstappen
Mar.5 (GMM) If Sergio Perez can keep finishing second behind Max Verstappen this year, his place at the dominant Red Bull team might be safe for 2025. Rumours have suggested the 34-year-old Mexican will struggle to convince the team that he is close enough to Verstappen to deserve a new deal for next season. But, […]
Steiner not ready for new F1 team management role
Mar.5 (GMM) Gunther Steiner insists he is in no rush to return to the world of Formula 1 team management. The sacked Haas boss admits he fell out with team owner Gene Haas over the future development of the team. “It was a relief,” he told Bild newspaper. “I wasn’t even shocked when Gene told […]
Aston trying to impress Alonso with early car upgrades
Mar.5 (GMM) Aston Martin is already hard at work to rapidly improve its 2024 car and convince Fernando Alonso to stay in 2025. A somewhat disappointed Alonso, who is out of contract and linked with Mercedes or even Red Bull for 2025, admitted after Bahrain that Aston Martin has once again settled behind the top […]
‘More faces’ could leave Alpine amid F1 team crisis
Mar.5 (GMM) Alpine has confirmed the departure of its technical chiefs Matt Harman and Dirk de Beer, in the wake of the team’s woeful performance in Bahrain with the slowest-in-field 2024 car. L’Equipe sports newspaper claims team boss Bruno Famin, however, is not blaming the duo for the embattled Formula 1 outfit’s competitive crisis, as […]