Mar.17 (GMM) One of Ferrari’s customer teams is not worried about a major reliability problem that has marred works driver Charles Leclerc’s start to the 2023 season. On Thursday in Jeddah, although Leclerc says the Maranello team is getting to the bottom of the issue, his teammate Carlos Sainz said Ferrari is heading into round […]
Petrov would refuse to sign anti-Russia document
Mar.17 (GMM) If Vitaly Petrov was still an active Formula 1 driver, he says he would currently be sitting out the world championship. Now 38, Petrov became Russia’s first ever F1 driver over a decade ago, racing for Renault and Caterham. But with F1’s governing FIA now forcing Russian athletes to sign a special document […]
Top F1 stars play down team switch rumours
Mar.17 (GMM) Three Formula 1 drivers have played down claims they may be shaping up to leave their current teams. Lando Norris signed a long McLaren contract extension last year, but that was actually prior to the team’s disappointing 2022 campaign – and an even worse start to this season. Some are talking about a […]
F1 drivers not thrilled to be in Jeddah
Mar.17 (GMM) As Max Verstappen sat out Thursday’s proceedings with a “stomach bug”, other Formula 1 drivers hinted that are not overly thrilled to be back in Saudi Arabia. Last year, the drivers’ union GPDA threatened to boycott the Jeddah street race after nearby missile strikes. When asked how he feels to be back in […]
Haas denies helping Russia to make weapons
Mar.16 (GMM) Gene Haas, owner of the American Formula 1 team that bears his name, has found himself at the centre of a controversy relating to the Russia-Ukraine crisis. That is despite the fact that team boss Gunther Steiner ousted both Nikita Mazepin and his Putin-linked father Dmitry from the F1 team at the outbreak […]
Michael may have kept Mick on F1 grid – brother
Mar.16 (GMM) The involvement of Mick Schumacher’s famous father may have kept the ousted young German on the Formula 1 grid. That is the view of Ralf Schumacher – Mick’s uncle and a former F1 driver. Recently, former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said he thought new Mercedes reserve Schumacher, 23, may not have lost his […]
Mercedes-Aston Martin F1 rumours ‘nonsense’
Mar.16 (GMM) Three prominent Formula 1 personalities have rubbished a wild rumour about Mercedes. One publication this week attracted attention by reporting that Mercedes’ Toto Wolff-led works team risks losing the full backing of Brixworth-based Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains. According to the story, Brixworth could shift its ‘works’ focus from Brackley-based Mercedes to the […]
Vasseur ‘can’t complain’ about Ferrari strife
Mar.16 (GMM) Frederic Vasseur is continuing to put a brave face on an apparently alarming situation at Ferrari. That is despite the fact that Charles Leclerc’s bad mood is going from bad to worse with news that he burned through his full allocation for the entire season of ECUs in Bahrain. It means he will […]
Alpine ‘will suffer’ Alonso loss – Villeneuve
Mar.15 (GMM) 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve thinks Alpine “will suffer” as a result of losing Fernando Alonso. Canadian Villeneuve says he will be at fewer grands prix as a television pundit this year as he concentrates on his full-time return to racing – with Vanwall in the world endurance championship and Le Mans. “I’m […]
No Russian talks with FIA taking place – Sirotkin
Mar.15 (GMM) The FIA appears unlikely to drop its special conditions for Russian racing drivers any time soon. Ever since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict early last year, resulting in Nikita Mazepin and his Russian sponsor Uralkali’s expulsion from Haas, F1’s governing body has placed certain conditions on Russian athletes. Early this month, Mazepin […]
Hamilton to stay ‘a few more years’ – Russell
Mar.15 (GMM) George Russell can imagine Lewis Hamilton as his continuing Mercedes teammate “for a few more years”. It is clear that, eventually, Toto Wolff sees the much younger Briton Russell as the ultimate successor to 38-year-old teammate Hamilton. But although Hamilton and team boss Wolff are yet to reach a deal for a new […]
F1 insists ‘no discussions’ about London GP
Mar.15 (GMM) Formula 1 has swiftly played down reports the sport’s next high-profile destination will be the streets of London. London is regularly linked with a grand prix, with the latest report – in the pages of London’s major national newspaper The Times – suggesting plans are well advanced for a waterfront race in 2026 […]
Budget cap penalty will ‘vanish’ Red Bull’s lead
Mar.15 (GMM) Red Bull’s rivals could rapidly catch up in the latter part of the 2023 season, Dr Helmut Marko has warned. As the season got off to a start in Bahrain recently, however, it was clear that the reigning champions have a clear margin ahead of Ferrari, Mercedes, and new ‘top four’ newcomer Aston […]
Red Bull eyes ‘options’ for Alpha Tauri future
Mar.15 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko admits there has been interest from some parties in potentially buying Red Bull’s second Formula 1 team, Alpha Tauri. Some have suggested the Faenza based team is the perfect route into the sport for Andretti-Cadillac, especially as Marko admits Alpha Tauri has been underperforming. “Neither the sporting performance nor the […]
Vasseur ‘not worried’ about Ferrari exodus
Mar.15 (GMM) Frederic Vasseur says he’s “not worried” about some high profile departures at Ferrari. In the days between the opening Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs, Italian sources have reported about disarray behind the scenes in the wake of Mattia Binotto’s departure as team boss. “There are people close to Binotto who preferred to leave,” […]
Alonso confirms third F1 title target
Mar.14 (GMM) Fernando Alonso insists his only real objective left in Formula 1 is a third drivers’ world title. The Spaniard, 41, has been charging for it ever since he left Renault at the age of 26 and subsequently raced for McLaren and Ferrari – before retiring at the end of three disappointing seasons for […]
Verstappen admits he could quit at 31
Mar.14 (GMM) Max Verstappen has confirmed rumours that he might retire from Formula 1 at the young age of 31. The back-to-back reigning world champion, currently 25, is all signed up at Red Bull Racing on a long contract that stretches to the end of 2028. “If Max has had enough after 2028, he will […]
F1 will not be ‘all-electric’ – Domenicali
Mar.14 (GMM) Formula 1 is on the right track by resisting pressure to aim for an ‘all-electric’ future. That is the view of the sport’s CEO Stefano Domenicali, who thinks F1 is making a wise choice by sticking with hybrid engines and other sustainability measures rather than simply abandoning fuel altogether. “Technological and energy transitions […]
Vasseur denies being disempowered at Ferrari
Mar.14 (GMM) Frederic Vasseur has hit back at claims he is already unsatisfied with life as Ferrari’s new team boss. Amid a swathe of confirmed and rumoured personnel departures, it was also speculated this week that Frenchman Vasseur has found himself at early loggerheads with Ferrari’s CEO Benedetto Vigna. The rumour is that Vigna vetoed […]
Perez could beat Verstappen to 2023 title – Marko
Mar.14 (GMM) Sergio Perez could “challenge” teammate Max Verstappen for the 2023 world championship. That is the wild claim of Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko, even though reigning back-to-back title winner Verstappen got his new campaign off to a dominant start recently in Bahrain. But Marko thinks Mexican Perez has a chance. “He’s certainly in […]