Jun.4 (GMM) International motorsport has become too entangled with the world of politics, according to Dakar legend Vladimir Chagin. The Russian and multiple Dakar rally winner and his team bowed out of the 2023 edition because of the Ukraine crisis, as Kamaz provides armoured vehicles to Vladimir Putin’s war effort. But Chagin said the FIA, […]
Ferrari tried to sign Christian Horner – Marko
Jun.4 (GMM) Ferrari also tried to poach Red Bull’s team boss Christian Horner, according to Dr Helmut Marko. This weekend, F1’s most famous technical mind – Adrian Newey – finally confirmed long-lasting rumours that Ferrari have made several offers to him over the years. Marko now goes one step further to reveal that Newey, now […]
Marko ‘surprised’ Red Bull’s rivals can’t catch up
Jun.4 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko says he is still “surprised” that Red Bull’s rivals can’t figure out how to catch up with Red Bull’s current dominance. In Barcelona, runaway championship leader Max Verstappen strolled to pole position despite Mercedes and Ferrari’s latest major car upgrades. But even the challenge of Verstappen’s own teammate Sergio Perez […]
Alonso wants ‘a few more years’ at Aston Martin
Jun.3 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has given the strongest indication yet that he will extend his deal with Aston Martin beyond 2024. The 41-year-old Spaniard is enjoying a second spring of major competitiveness in Formula 1 this year – and has fully revived ‘Alonso-mania’ at the Circuit de Catalunya this weekend. “It’s the whole circuit and […]
Hamilton admits 2024 talks ‘taking a little longer’
Jun.3 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton has once again denied rumours he may be shaping up for a sensational move to Ferrari. The rumours have been swirling for some time, raising doubts that Ferrari will extend its current deals with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz beyond 2024. “I think you asked me the same question one week […]
Dutch GP, Verstappen, not worried about sponsor exit
Jun.3 (GMM) The boss of the Dutch GP says he isn’t worried about the departure of major race sponsor Jumbo. We reported on Friday that the Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo had terminated all of its sports sponsorships, including with the cycling team Jumbo-Visma and world champion Max Verstappen. But another high profile Jumbo sponsorship was […]
Newey admits rejecting Ferrari moves
Jun.3 (GMM) Adrian Newey has confirmed that he turned down multiple offers to work in Formula 1 for Ferrari. Last month, founder Enzo Ferrari’s son Piero, who is vice chairman of the Maranello based company, revealed that Ferrari tried to lure 64-year-old Newey to Italy. “He said no to (Luca di) Montezemolo and to Jean […]
Verstappen could lap entire field in Spain – report
Jun.3 (GMM) Max Verstappen looks set to utterly dominate this weekend’s Spanish GP. Ferrari has newly-shaped sidepods and various other developments in Barcelona, Mercedes is again running its ‘B’ car, and even Aston Martin has new front and rear wings. And yet championship leader Verstappen’s Red Bull was easily fastest in P1 on Friday, with […]
Red Bull engine linked with Marshall switch
Jun.3 (GMM) There could be more than meets the eye to Rob Marshall’s move to McLaren. Behind the scenes, Red Bull and Ferrari are still arguing and negotiating over the release of Laurent Mekies to become Alpha Tauri’s new boss in 2024. So far, no agreement has been made after Ferrari described Red Bull-owned Alpha […]
‘Not easy’ amid swirling Ferrari rumours – Sainz
Jun.2 (GMM) Carlos Sainz has repeated his call for an end to rumours surrounding his Ferrari race seat. The Spaniard had already said this week that he wants speculation linking other drivers with his seat, like Lewis Hamilton, to be resolved by the beginning of next season at the latest in the form of a […]
Haas confirms F1 talks with Alfa Romeo
Jun.2 (GMM) Haas could become the new Formula 1 home for Alfa Romeo. Alfa Romeo is leaving Sauber – where the Ferrari-linked Italian carmaker is currently naming sponsor – at the end of the year because the Swiss team is in the process of being taken over by Audi. In Barcelona, Haas boss Gunther Steiner […]
McLaren wooed Marshall with huge money offer – Marko
Jun.2 (GMM) Red Bull’s long-time engineering boss Rob Marshall may have been wooed to McLaren with the promise of a doubling of his salary. Lando Norris, disappointed with the pace of his McLaren in 2023, said in Barcelona that the signing is good news. “Yeah, brains and laptime I guess are the two big things,” […]
Alonso slams ‘negative’ F1, Stroll criticism
Jun.2 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has leapt to the defence of his struggling teammate Lance Stroll. Stroll, 24, is the son of Aston Martin’s team owner Lawrence Stroll – but he has not looked impressive in the same 2023 car that Alonso has steered to five out of a possible six podiums so far this season. […]
Verstappen losing biggest personal sponsor
Jun.2 (GMM) Max Verstappen is losing one of his longest-serving and biggest personal sponsors. Last year, Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo’s CEO and owner Fritz van Eerd was embroiled in a money laundering scandal. Almost all of Jumbo’s sporting sponsorships were subsequently scrapped, except the highest profile one – 25-year-old back-to-back world champion Verstappen. But according […]
De Vries coy in wake of Marko praise
Jun.2 (GMM) Nyck de Vries may be on the road to rescuing his short and already beleaguered Formula 1 career. After an impressive one-off fill-in debut for Williams last year, the 28-year-old rookie Dutchman was snapped up by Red Bull-owned Alpha Tauri. He has struggled. “We thought Nyck would immediately challenge Yuki Tsunoda with his […]
Two F1 drivers don’t believe Hamilton rumours
Jun.1 (GMM) Two former Formula 1 drivers have added their scepticism to rumours Lewis Hamilton might consider a switch to Ferrari for 2024. All involved parties, including Mercedes’ Toto Wolff, stridently denied the speculation in Monaco – but that is generally the nature of the ‘silly season’. However, long-time Ferrari test driver and ambassador Marc […]
New candidate for future Africa GP emerges
Jun.1 (GMM) Another candidate to host Formula 1’s return to Africa has emerged. Last year, a project to bring the sport back to Kyalami in South Africa collapsed – but F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says he is still working “very hard” on an Africa GP project. “What I want to avoid is that we go […]
Revived Barcelona layout to be ‘more fun’ – Alonso
Jun.1 (GMM) The big novelty at this weekend’s Spanish GP will be the absence of the slow chicane at the end of the Circuit de Catalunya layout. For safety and overtaking, the original and iconic final two high-speed right-handers were removed ahead of the 2007 race. “I don’t like it much,” Fernando Alonso said at […]
Steiner regrets one Mick Schumacher insult
Jun.1 (GMM) Gunther Steiner says he regrets one insult hurled at axed Haas driver Mick Schumacher. The small American team’s boss insists he has no regrets about replacing the struggling 24-year-old with his older and more experienced fellow German Nico Hulkenberg. “After the first race it was clear that it was the right decision for […]
Alonso’s new flame is not Taylor Swift
Jun.1 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has a new girlfriend – and it’s not American pop star Taylor Swift. When the Spanish driver split with Servus TV correspondent Andrea Schlager earlier this year, he teased those who believed rumours his new flame is Swift. But when Alonso got more serious, he insisted: “I usually keep my personal […]