Dec.20 (GMM) German stakeholders and Formula 1 fans are celebrating the sport’s 2024 return to free-to-air television screens. This year, with Nico Hulkenberg now the only German driver, and with no German races on the calendar, exclusive pay-TV broadcaster Sky Deutschland recorded an alarming slump in audience numbers for 2023. Things will change for 2024. […]
Sainz wants new multi-year deal prior to 2024 season
Dec.20 (GMM) Carlos Sainz has made clear that he wants his new contract with Ferrari to be for multiple years – and he’d like it to be signed and sealed before the start of the 2024 season. Recently, Italian sources suggested new team boss Frederic Vasseur is offering Charles Leclerc a doubled salary and a […]
Failed F1 return was ‘wrong place at wrong time’ – Kubica
Dec.20 (GMM) Robert Kubica says he was “in the wrong place at the wrong time” when he made his failed attempt at a return to Formula 1 with Williams in 2019. The Pole, whose highly promising F1 career initially came to a tragic end in 2011 with a rally crash and a lifelong arm injury, […]
Hulkenberg not ruling out Audi-Sauber switch
Dec.20 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg is not ruling out a switch to another Formula 1 team – perhaps the new Sauber-Audi project. The German says he has enjoyed his return to the sport this year with the struggling American team Haas, which finished dead last in 2023. But Hulkenberg, 36, has also been recently outspoken about […]
Not much ‘interest’ in Hamilton’s film – Verstappen
Dec.19 (GMM) Max Verstappen has confessed he has little interest in the feature film about Formula 1 that is currently in production. Despite production delays due to the recent Hollywood strike, plans for a movie starring Brad Pitt and involving Lewis Hamilton’s company Dawn Apollo Films are still in full swing and set for release […]
Sainz can imagine ending F1 career with Ferrari
Dec.19 (GMM) Before signing off for Christmas, Carlos Sainz has a clear message – he wants to keep racing in red for many more years. During a Christmas lunch with international journalists at Fiorano, Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur hinted that he wants to keep both Charles Leclerc and Sainz on board beyond their 2024 […]
Biggest F1 teams worth $4 billion – reports
Dec.19 (GMM) Renault’s Formula 1 team Alpine is worth just under a billion dollars, the French carmaker has announced. The sport has surged in popularity and value since the commercial takeover and innovations led by Liberty Media, with Forbes recently estimating that the average team has almost quadrupled from $500m in 2019 to almost $2 […]
F1 must ‘respect’ the criticism of purists – Domenicali
Dec.19 (GMM) Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has warned that his native Italy faces a battle to keep both of its grands prix on the calendar. Currently, both Monza and Imola are on the schedule – and Domenicali admits the latter helped the sport he leads negotiate the pandemic era. “Covid-19 could have been deadly […]
Arnoux predicts ‘another tough year’ for Max’s rivals
Dec.19 (GMM) Rene Arnoux, a winner of 7 grands prix in the early 80s, is predicting “another tough year” for Max Verstappen’s rivals in 2024. The 75-year-old Frenchman admitted that triple world champion Verstappen is “a fabulous driver”, but he also told La Gazzetta dello Sport that he has “a wonderful racing car”. “Take a […]
Verstappen not worried about Red Bull’s 2026 engine
Dec.18 (GMM) Max Verstappen says he’s not worried Red Bull may fumble the ball with the all-new engine regulations in 2026. The currently-dominant Formula 1 team has committed to designing and building its very own engines for the next set of rules in collaboration with Ford. But recently, team boss Christian Horner sounded the alarm […]
Mark Webber says McLaren was right to oust Ricciardo
Dec.18 (GMM) Oscar Piastri’s manager says the impressive Australian should not feel bad about replacing Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren this year. Piastri, 22, picked up the FIA’s rookie of the year prize at the recent end-of-season gala, but he had entered Formula 1 in much more controversial circumstances. For one, he enraged his Alpine bosses […]
Ecclestone says Haas, Ferrari were ‘wrong’ for Mick
Dec.18 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone thinks it’s possible Mick Schumacher will return to the Formula 1 grid. The former F1 supremo, however, says the son of seven time world champion Michael Schumacher was “in the wrong hands” during his two years with Haas. And Ecclestone, 93, even thinks young Schumacher should not have been in Ferrari’s […]
Massa may succeed in ‘crashgate’ mission – Todt
Dec.18 (GMM) Felipe Massa may well be successful in his quest for justice some 15 years after Formula 1’s disgraceful ‘crashgate’ scandal of 2008. That is the view of former FIA president Jean Todt, whose predecessor Max Mosley was in charge when Renault bosses conspired to steal victory at Singapore in 2008 by ordering Nelson […]
Watching races after F1 axe ‘not pleasant’ – Mazepin
Dec.18 (GMM) Nikita Mazepin admits it has been difficult to keep up with Formula 1 after being expelled from the sport two seasons ago. Sacked by Haas and sanctioned by western countries, the Russian finally returned to circuit racing recently in the Asian Le Mans series at Sepang – and won. Still just 24, he’s […]
Vasseur hints at 2027 contract for Sainz
Dec.18 (GMM) Frederic Vasseur has hinted that he may offer Carlos Sainz a new long-term Ferrari contract through 2027. Recently, rumours swirled that the Italian team’s boss had sealed a lucrative new deal with Charles Leclerc to keep him in red until 2030 – but was only offering Spaniard Sainz a new two-year extension. Both […]
Owner Stroll denies bowing out at Aston Martin
Dec.18 (GMM) Lawrence Stroll has once again denied that he may soon bow out at Aston Martin. A month ago, a minority stake in the rapidly-developing Silverstone-based team was sold to American private equity firm Arctos. It means figurehead and billionaire Stroll, whose son Lance races for the team, now owns just over 25 percent […]
Marko admits his future at Red Bull is not clear
Dec.18 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko admits his future at Red Bull is currently unclear. Rumours of a power struggle between the 80-year-old Austrian and Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner have swirled for some time. When asked by Osterreich newspaper if he will continue in his advisory or consultancy role, Marko answered: “There will […]
Todt says Michael Masi was ‘impeccable’ F1 official
Dec.15 (GMM) Jean Todt has hinted that F1’s governing body should reconsider bringing highly controversial former race director Michael Masi back to the sport. A few days ago, former FIA president Todt offered words of support for Felipe Massa, who is attempting to have the results of the 2008 world championship overturned as a result […]
Well-known F1 journalist, Ferrari spokesman, dies
Dec.15 (GMM) Alberto Antonini, a familiar name in the Formula 1 paddock for many years, has died. He is best known for being a highly respected journalist for the Italian magazine Autosprint and Sky Italia, but he also served for a time as Ferrari’s F1 spokesman during Maurizio Arrivabene’s reign as team boss. La Repubblica […]
‘Too many street tracks’ in F1 now – Montezemolo
Dec.15 (GMM) There are now “too many street circuits” in Formula 1, Ferrari’s famous former president Luca di Montezemolo insists. It is rumoured the Liberty Media-run sport is poised to add a new urban venue to the calendar in Madrid, which would sit alongside similar street venues in Jeddah, Baku, Miami, Las Vegas and others. […]