Sep.23 (GMM) For Liam Lawson in Japan, there is both good news and bad news. The good news is that he looks set to hold onto his Alpha Tauri seat for a little longer yet, as team regular Daniel Ricciardo continues to recover from his broken hand. “I’d say we’re still talking a while away,” […]
Alpine confirms talks with Mick Schumacher
Sep.22 (GMM) Interim Alpine team boss Bruno Famin admits he is in talks with Mick Schumacher. Responding to recent rumours, Schumacher’s current boss Toto Wolff said last week that if the 24-year-old German wants to race at Le Mans next year, he can still keep his Mercedes reserve seat. Famin admitted at Suzuka on Friday […]
Alpha Tauri driver decision not taken yet – Marko
Sep.22 (GMM) Team chiefs insist the decision about Alpha Tauri’s driver lineup for 2024 is yet to be taken. With the injured Daniel Ricciardo’s short-term replacement Liam Lawson currently performing so well, team owner Red Bull now has three viable candidates to slot into the two race seats. It was believed the extension of Yuki […]
Qualifying pace ‘sh*t’ in 2022 and 2023 – Hamilton
Sep.22 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton admits he needs to up his game in qualifying. On paper, the seven time world champion is actually the best qualifier in Formula 1 history – with more poles even than the great Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna. But Hamilton, 38, has struggled alongside current teammate George Russell with the first […]
Leclerc won’t get Ferrari ‘demotion’ – Marko
Sep.22 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has backed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to hit back at his on-form teammate Carlos Sainz. Sainz, a former protege of Red Bull and Marko, has edged ahead of Leclerc’s performance since the summer break – culminating in back-to-back poles and a breakthrough second career victory in Singapore last week. “He is […]
Verstappen win at Suzuka almost guaranteed – Norris
Sep.22 (GMM) Red Bull looks set to leave its Singapore dip in the past by returning to full speed this weekend in Japan. However, Sergio Perez admitted at Suzuka on Thursday that engineers “don’t understand fully” what went wrong on the floodlit streets. But on paper, Red Bull’s highly efficient car should utterly dominate at […]
Doctors cleared Stroll to race in Singapore
Sep.22 (GMM) Lance Stroll says doctors actually cleared him to race a week ago in Singapore. The Canadian, who ultimately sat out the race feeling unwell, revealed that his huge qualifying crash last Saturday topped the scales at 50G. “Waking up on the Sunday morning wasn’t a nice feeling,” Aston Martin’s Stroll, the son of […]
Aston Martin must improve development speed – Alonso
Sep.22 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has denied feeling frustrated at Aston Martin’s lagging progress following a stellar start to 2023. After initially looking like Red Bull’s closest challenger this season, the Silverstone based team began to dip as more established rivals improved their cars. Singapore was a particularly bad weekend for Aston Martin, but Alonso arrived […]
Ricciardo could miss two more races – Bayer
Sep.21 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo could miss up to two more grands prix, new Alpha Tauri CEO Peter Bayer has admitted. Not far into his return to Formula 1 after being axed by McLaren, the 33-year-old Australian broke his hand in seven places during practice at Zandvoort. He subsequently missed Monza and Singapore, and is not […]
Most important thing is fast 2024 car – Leclerc
Sep.21 (GMM) Charles Leclerc does not sound too concerned about the reportedly shifting driver hierarchy at Ferrari. The Italian media is openly wondering if Spaniard Sainz’s reinvigorated recent form, culminating in back-to-back poles and podiums and victory in Singapore, means he is the new ‘number 1’. But Leclerc has told Sky Italia that his main […]
Verstappen will not ‘slack off’ in title cruise
Sep.21 (GMM) Max Verstappen and his father have denied that the runaway world championship leader will not “slack off” in the last part of the 2023 season. After Red Bull’s performance suffered a rare slump in Singapore, Dutchman Verstappen can no longer mathematically wrap up his third consecutive drivers’ title this weekend in Japan. But […]
Schumacher defends Marko amid racism scandal
Sep.21 (GMM) Ralf Schumacher has leapt to the defence of Red Bull’s under-fire team advisor Dr Helmut Marko. Marko recently found himself at the centre of a scandal after suggesting it was Sergio Perez’s Mexican background that explained his lack of focus compared to Dutchman Max Verstappen. 80-year-old Marko’s stance was denounced as racist, and […]
Red Bull-Norris rumours just ‘stirring’
Sep.21 (GMM) McLaren CEO Zak Brown has pulled itself off the Formula 1 driver market for now. The Woking based team announced ahead of the Japanese GP that its newest recruit, impressive Australian rookie Oscar Piastri, will potentially be staying at McLaren even longer than Lando Norris. 22-year-old Piastri’s new deal extends all the way […]
Alonso’s Singapore negativity ‘not a problem’
Sep.20 (GMM) Mike Krack has played down Fernando Alonso’s rare negativity in the wake of the Singapore GP weekend. Amid Red Bull’s high profile slump on the city-state’s floodlit streets, Aston Martin also had a shocker – with Alonso failing to score a point for the first time in 2023. The 42-year-old Spaniard said his […]
Marko hopes ‘incredible’ Perez saga now behind him
Sep.20 (GMM) Having kept quiet on the matter throughout the Singapore GP weekend, Dr Helmut Marko has broken his silence once again on the Sergio Perez affair. The Red Bull team advisor, 80, admits that amid the furore about his comments about “South American” Perez’s comparative lack of focus, he was warned by the FIA. […]
Tsunoda-Honda negotiations underway – Bayer
Sep.20 (GMM) Liam Lawson looks set to be left out of Alpha Tauri’s race driver lineup for 2024. Since jumping into the injured Daniel Ricciardo’s cockpit at Zandvoort, the 21-year-old New Zealander has impressed – and almost caught up with team regular Yuki Tsunoda’s points haul. It triggered speculation that Japanese Tsunoda might be relegated […]
Mercedes not supporting Massa’s ‘crashgate’ push
Sep.20 (GMM) Felipe Massa will not have Mercedes’ backing as he pushes ahead with potential legal action against the FIA and Formula 1. Last weekend, although Ferrari is not backing former team driver Massa’s push to be handed the 2008 title and compensation over the ‘crashgate’ scandal, Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko indicated he supports […]
Mazepin’s lawyer slams new European sanctions
Sep.19 (GMM) The EU’s European Council is still trying to thwart the Formula 1 aspirations of axed Haas racer Nikita Mazepin. Haas ousted the Russian driver and the team’s title sponsor Uralkali, headed by Mazepin’s father Dmitry, at the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict early in 2022. Separately, F1’s governing FIA said Russian drivers would […]
Sainz could be new Ferrari ‘number 1’ – Italy
Sep.19 (GMM) The Italian press is openly wondering whether Ferrari has a new ‘number 1’ driver. Carlos Sainz has appeared more competitive than de-facto Ferrari favourite Charles Leclerc since the summer break, with back-to-back poles at Monza and Singapore and a second career victory on Sunday. “But that doesn’t mean that he has now replaced […]
‘Mystery’ Singapore slump will not reoccur – Marko
Sep.19 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko thinks Red Bull will be back firing on all cylinders this weekend at Suzuka. Max Verstappen’s run of ten consecutive wins came to a screaming halt with a surprise loss of form for the dominant Formula 1 team in Singapore. Curiously, both Red Bull and even its closest rivals denied […]