May 7 (GMM) Liberty Media boss Greg Maffei wants to kick off negotiations for the next Concorde Agreement. The last commercial agreement binding the teams to the FIA and Formula 1’s Liberty Media-owned commercial rights was inked during the covid year – 2020. At the time, although a deal with all the teams was ultimately […]
Button came ‘very close’ to Ferrari contract
May 7 (GMM) 2009 world champion Jenson Button admits he came “very close” to signing a contract with Ferrari. After winning the championship with Brawn, the now retired British driver switched to McLaren – but during that period, he now admits to having Ferrari talks. “I always wanted to race for Ferrari,” he told La […]
2023 Mercedes ‘just not a good car’ – Wolff
May 7 (GMM) Mercedes’ 2023 car is “even worse” than its predecessor, a solemn team boss Toto Wolff admitted in Miami. The car appears to be about a second off the pace – with Lewis Hamilton even further behind George Russell in qualifying in a lowly 13th place. A big development upgrade is coming for […]
CEO says Alpine situation ‘not acceptable’
May 7 (GMM) A highly critical Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi admits the Renault-owned team is struggling in 2023. The team was hoping to build on its fourth place in the 2022 constructors’ championship to be on the podium regularly this year. Instead, having lost Fernando Alonso and paired Frenchman Pierre Gasly with countryman Esteban Ocon, […]
‘Can’t be behind Leclerc’ in Q3, Marko quips
May 7 (GMM) Max Verstappen is aiming for “P2 minimum” from Sunday’s Miami GP, as Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez knocks on the door of his slim championship lead. The Dutchman made a mistake on his first Q3 attempt and could not have a second attempt due to Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s crash. “You just […]
Domenicali open to talks with France’s Macron
May 6 (GMM) F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says he is willing to talk face-to-face with the French president about potentially reviving the country’s grand prix. Paul Ricard was this year the latest victim of Formula 1’s gradual shift away from traditional European hosts, with new circuit president Jean Alesi admitting there is no “national will” […]
F1 to organise smarter calendar in 2024 – Wolff
May 6 (GMM) Formula 1 will organise a smarter and more sustainable calendar for 2024, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has revealed. Currently, the stops on the calendar mean the thousands of personnel who travel from race to race are essentially “zig-zagging” across the world from one continent to another. For instance, the last race was […]
Hamilton unsure of Brad Pitt’s F1 driving plans
May 6 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton says he isn’t sure how the start of filming for the Hollywood feature movie about Formula 1 will affect the drivers. Shooting of the film starring Brad Pitt as a driver will begin during the British GP weekend at Silverstone, with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali admitting the process will be […]
Imola upgrades will not be enough – Sainz
May 6 (GMM) Carlos Sainz admits significant car upgrades planned for the next race at Imola will not be enough to fight for the world championship. The Spaniard’s teammate Carlos Sainz got his Miami weekend off to a bad start on Friday with a crash. “Somehow, Leclerc makes a mistake every weekend,” former F1 driver […]
Wolff to sign new Hamilton deal in ‘weeks’
May 6 (GMM) Toto Wolff says he will sit down with Lewis Hamilton “in a few weeks” to sign a new Mercedes contract for the seven time world champion. The Brackley based team initially looked competitive in Miami, only to fall a second off the pace in the second Friday practice session. “It was like […]
Up to 10 ‘sprints’ on F1’s 2024 calendar
May 6 (GMM) Formula 1 is looking to expand the newly-tweaked ‘sprint shootout’ weekend format to as many as ten grands prix in 2024. The format – now with a separate ‘shootout’ qualifying for a standalone sprint race on Saturday – debuted at Baku last weekend, and will be repeated five more times this season. […]
‘English people’ most upset about Russell clash
May 5 (GMM) Both Max Verstappen and George Russell appear unmoved after their on and off-track run-in at Baku. World champion Verstappen was furious with the Mercedes driver for causing sidepod damage in their wheel-to-wheel scrap on lap 1 of the sprint race. The Red Bull driver called Russell, also 25, a “d*ckhead” to his […]
F1 bosses say more ‘shootout’ tweaks possible
May 5 (GMM) Two Formula 1 team bosses are open to making more tweaks to the new ‘sprint shootout’ weekend format. The part-time format made its debut in Azerbaijan a week ago, with qualifying for Sunday’s main grand prix now taking place on Friday. Saturday, meanwhile, is a standalone day with a shorter ‘shootout’ qualifying […]
Drivers reject ‘knee-jerk’ rule changes for overtaking
May 5 (GMM) Formula 1 drivers are urging the sport against making “knee-jerk reactions” amid un-entertaining recent races and Red Bull’s dominance. “We either have to do a better job, all of us together, to catch them up,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff after Baku, “or we have to change the regulations.” According to the […]
Mazepin aiming for F1 return in 2024
May 5 (GMM) Nikita Mazepin is aiming to return to Formula 1 as soon as 2024, according to his spokesperson. This week, it emerged that the axed Haas driver has added court action in the UK to his recent European and Canadian legal action against the way Ukraine war-related sanctions halted his motor racing career. […]
Miami GP boycott ‘not for me to decide’ – Hamilton
May 5 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton likened Florida to Saudi Arabia as he touched down for this weekend’s grand prix in Miami. When asked about recent Florida legislation aimed to minimise children’s exposure to transgender education in particular, the seven time world champion said: “It’s not good at all. “I support the community here,” the Mercedes […]
Two Red Bull engineers turned down Ferrari offers
May 5 (GMM) Ferrari’s push to sign two top engineers from dominant Formula 1 team Red Bull ultimately proved unsuccessful, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport. Correspondent Luigi Perna said the Maranello based team made offers to Red Bull’s head of aerodynamics, Enrico Balbo, and technical director Pierre Wache. Both turned down the offers following […]
Mazepin files legal action in Britain
May 4 (GMM) Hot on the heels of legal action in Europe and Canada, Nikita Mazepin is now taking his fight to return to Formula 1 to Britain. The Russian news agency Tass reports that the former F1 driver, ousted by Haas and restricted by the FIA and western sanctions, has now filed paperwork with […]
Ferrari struggle ‘different’ in 2023 – Leclerc
May 4 (GMM) Charles Leclerc says it’s “too early” to think about extending his Ferrari deal beyond 2024. At Baku last weekend, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff stridently denied reports that talks about poaching the 25-year-old Monegasque have already begun. Indeed, some believe the Leclerc rumours were more about enticing Lewis Hamilton to sign a new […]
Aston Martin can go ‘very far’ in F1 – Perez
May 4 (GMM) Aston Martin may succeed in becoming a true top Formula 1 team. That is the view of Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, who lost his ‘Racing Point’ seat at the end of 2021 as the Silverstone based team transitioned to its new identity as Aston Martin. And now, while Mexican Perez is […]