May 15 (GMM) Flavio Briatore says he spotted Aston Martin’s rise to shock competitiveness in Formula 1 ahead of time. The former Renault team boss is still involved in the overall management of Fernando Alonso’s career. He told Italy’s Il Riformista newspaper that he spotted Aston Martin’s likely leap up the F1 grid this year […]
Alpha Tauri will not be sold – Marko
May 15 (GMM) Red Bull has decided against selling its second Formula 1 team Alpha Tauri, Dr Helmut Marko has revealed. The 80-year-old Austrian admits that in the period following the death last year of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz until recently, rumours of a potential shake-up at the struggling team were not wide of […]
Fallows not surprised top teams sticking with ‘concept’
May 15 (GMM) Dan Fallows says he’s not surprised that Mercedes and Ferrari are sticking with the ‘concept’ of their respective 2023 cars in order to catch Red Bull. The centrepiece of Ferrari’s upgraded car for Imola is new rear suspension, while a major upgrade for Mercedes is being played down by team boss Toto […]
De Vries shown ‘yellow card’ at Alpha Tauri – Marko
May 15 (GMM) Nyck de Vries has been shown a “yellow card” and needs to improve, but the Dutchman will not yet be ousted. That is the word from Dr Helmut Marko, the architect of Red Bull’s highly successful F1 driver program, following rumours a decision has already been taken to axe the 28-year-old rookie […]
Verstappen-Perez is like Senna-Prost – Perez’s father
May 12 (GMM) Sergio Perez’s father has likened the 2023 title fight to the infamous scrap between F1 legends Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. While some believe Max Verstappen is the obvious de-facto ‘number 1’ at Red Bull, Mexican Perez is only 14 points behind – and his father Antonio says the 33-year-old is definitely […]
Aston Martin looking ahead to 2024 car
May 12 (GMM) Aston Martin is already starting to look ahead to its 2024 car. The Silverstone based team replaced Sebastian Vettel with fellow multiple world champion Fernando Alonso this year – and the Spaniard has been on the podium behind the dominant the Red Bulls in four races out of five so far. Alonso, […]
Indycar warns F1 over trademark breaches
May 12 (GMM) The owner of the US-based Indycar series has hit out at Formula 1 for repeated alleged trademark breaches. Earlier, F1’s official Twitter account captioned a promotional video for the inaugural Las Vegas GP with the moniker: “The greatest racing spectacle on the planet”. Following that, Indycar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Mark […]
Marko could oust struggling de Vries – source
May 12 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo could be on the cusp of a sensational return to the Formula 1 grid. Multiple authoritative media sources, including the major German newspaper Bild, report that Dutch rookie Nyck de Vries is already at risk of losing his new full-time seat at Alpha Tauri. Other reports suggest 28-year-old de Vries […]
Ex drivers agree Verstappen on ‘Senna level’
May 11 (GMM) Four former Formula 1 drivers agree that Max Verstappen is the strongest driver of his generation – and perhaps one of the all-time greats. “Of course he is,” Italian Emanuele Pirro, still an occasional FIA steward, told La Gazzetta dello Sport when asked if the Dutchman is on Senna, Schumacher and Hamilton’s […]
Alonso ‘tempted’ to extend Aston Martin deal
May 11 (GMM) Fernando Alonso says he is “tempted” to sign a contract extension with Aston Martin. The 41-year-old Spaniard, who won two titles almost two decades ago, has been on the podium four times out of five so far in 2023 after switching from Alpine. His former girlfriend revealed recently that Alonso’s ‘multi-year’ contract […]
Ferrari’s problem is ‘inconsistency’ – Alonso
May 10 (GMM) Fernando Alonso says the biggest difference between the Ferrari he drove for and the Maranello based team of today is “inconsistency”. In that way, the Spaniard actually agrees with Ferrari’s current drivers as well as new team boss Frederic Vasseur, who said after Miami: “We were far too inconsistent from one car […]
Szafnauer responds to CEO Rossi’s ‘pressure’
May 10 (GMM) Team boss Otmar Szafnauer says he will confront Laurent Rossi about the Alpine CEO’s latest comments. On his rare visit to a grand prix in Miami, Rossi told the French broadcaster Canal Plus that the Enstone and Viry-based team’s current situation was “not acceptable”. But he then followed up with another interview […]
Magnussen setting up post-F1 family life
May 10 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen is busily setting the foundation for his post-Formula 1 life. The Haas driver and his wife Louise already have one young child, and another is now on the way. Additionally, the 30-year-old has now returned to his native Denmark to live full time, where in his spare time he is […]
Verstappen was ‘always’ title favourite – Marko
May 10 (GMM) It was “always clear” that Max Verstappen is still the top favourite to win the 2023 world championship – his third such triumph consecutively. That is the view of Dr Helmut Marko, after some suggested following the results in Baku that Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez could win this year. Osterreich […]
Adrian Newey rejected Mercedes approach – Marko
May 10 (GMM) Mercedes reached out to Adrian Newey shortly before the famous Formula 1 designer extended his deal with Red Bull. That is the claim of f1-insider.com, reporting that Newey got a phone call from a former Red Bull employee who is now working as a personal assistant to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. Red […]
Andretti eyes answer about F1 bid by ‘mid July’
May 9 (GMM) Michael Andretti is hoping to hear by “the middle of July” whether his bid in collaboration with Cadillac to enter Formula 1 in 2025 has been green-lighted by the FIA. While other groups are also submitting applications as part of the sport’s tender process to potentially add one or two new teams […]
Boss Tost admits rookie de Vries ‘under pressure’
May 9 (GMM) Alpha Tauri team boss Franz Tost admits Formula 1 rookie Nyck de Vries is “under pressure” to perform in 2023. Russian racing driver Egor Orudzhev observed last week that if the 28-year-old Dutchman doesn’t up his game soon, “I think Helmut Marko will fire him”. Indeed, de Vries has had a troubled […]
Ocon attitude did not ‘benefit the team’ – Alonso
May 9 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has aimed a jibe at his former Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon. The 41-year-old former two-time champion is enjoying a true second competitive spring so far in 2023, with a string of podium finishes behind the dominant Red Bulls. Alonso is also tackling his reputation for being a trouble-maker within a […]
Drivers are Ferrari’s biggest problem – Schumacher
May 9 (GMM) Ferrari’s 2023 car “isn’t great”, but former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher thinks the Maranello based team has another problem. After Miami, both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz criticised the inconsistent handling and pace of their red single seater. “I spoke to Carlos after the race and we agreed that the car […]
Marko slams ‘manipulative’ Mercedes
May 9 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has slammed Mercedes for being “manipulative” in their attempts to slow dominant Red Bull down. Although Mercedes driver George Russell has led the complaints about the FIA’s shortening of DRS zones in 2023, Red Bull top official Marko thinks it is actually the result of lobbying from the struggling […]