Jul.30 (GMM) Charles Leclerc has played down fears he might not stay with Ferrari beyond his 2024 contract. Frederic Vasseur has delayed contract talks for now, but Leclerc said at Spa-Francorchamps that he is at least happy with the team’s new boss. “I have complete confidence in Fred Vasseur,” Leclerc told the Belgian broadcaster RTBF. […]
Marko reassures Perez over 2024 contract
Jul.30 (GMM) As rumours continue to swirl about Sergio Perez’s future at Red Bull, Dr Helmut Marko has moved to reassure the Mexican. Having declared his intention to charge for the title following a strong start to 2023, Perez’s performance slumped badly. It led to rumours that Red Bull may react by signing a new […]
Szafnauer doubts Sunday will be ‘last time’ in F1
Jul.30 (GMM) Otmar Szafnauer thinks he will be back in the Formula 1 paddock eventually. The Alpine team boss, who was poached from Aston Martin for 2022, has been ousted by the chaos-ridden Alpine team – along with Alan Permane and Pat Fry. James Vowles, who has snapped up Fry to be Williams’ technical boss, […]
Guanyu Zhou wants ‘longer contract’ for 2024
Jul.30 (GMM) Zhou Guanyu will be pushing for a longer contract when talks kick off with Alfa Romeo. The Swiss team Sauber, currently known as Alfa Romeo but transitioning to Audi before 2026, confirmed at Spa Francorchamps that the Chinese driver is not yet signed up for 2024. 24-year-old Guanyu, and his reported EUR 20 […]
Rookie Piastri happy with Red Bull rumours
Jul.30 (GMM) Despite rumours linking him with Red Bull, Oscar Piastri says he’s content at McLaren for now. Last year, Alpine tried to promote its development driver to the departing Fernando Alonso’s race seat – but he and manager Mark Webber rejected the deal as they controversially signed instead with McLaren. The fresh-faced 22-year-old Australian […]
Sauber admits Chinese Zhou not yet signed for 2024
Jul.29 (GMM) Sauber, the Formula 1 team currently known as Alfa Romeo, has confirmed that contract talks with Zhou Guanyu are yet to take place. Recently, the Chinese driver and his reported EUR 20 million in sponsorship was linked with potential moves to Haas and Williams for 2024. Now, Alfa-Sauber team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi […]
Ricciardo could stay at Alpha Tauri in 2024
Jul.29 (GMM) It is possible that Daniel Ricciardo will stay at Alpha Tauri in 2024. That is despite the fact that rumours are swirling that team owner Red Bull actually wants to reunite the 33-year-old Australian with Max Verstappen at the energy drink company’s premier team. However, team boss Christian Horner says that cannot happen […]
Spa boss says track not too dangerous for F1
Jul.29 (GMM) Belgian GP promoter Vanessa Maes has hit back at the narrative that Spa-Francorchamps has become too dangerous for the Formula 1 calendar. The drivers have been talking about the potential of cancelled sessions this weekend due to the type of rain conditions that ended in another junior category fatality at the top of […]
Verstappen backs postponed tyre blanket ban
Jul.29 (GMM) Formula 1 has called off the planned banning of tyre-warming blankets for 2024. Ahead of Friday’s decisive F1 Commission meeting at Spa-Francorchamps, world champion Max Verstappen was among the drivers arguing against the ban. “People don’t understand how hard it is to even drive a car out of the pitlane with 1000 horsepower,” […]
Red Bull-Ford preparing to fire up 2026 engine
Jul.29 (GMM) Red Bull is preparing to fire up its first 2026 engine in collaboration with new partner Ford. “In the next few weeks, the first complete unit will be running on the test bench with the combustion engine, MGU-K and battery,” Dr Helmut Marko told Speed Week at Spa Francorchamps. “We are, we think, […]
Penalised Verstappen still confident for Spa win
Jul.29 (GMM) Max Verstappen and Red Bull are confident the Dutch driver can still easily win Sunday’s Belgian GP. That is despite the fact that adding a fifth gearbox to the championship leader’s allocation this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps has dropped him to P6 on the grid. His advantage in qualifying, however, was an astonishing eight […]
Red Bull, Ferrari, agree deal over Mekies
Jul.29 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko admits Red Bull paved the way for Laurent Mekies to finally step down at Ferrari. It was already known that Frenchman Mekies, Ferrari’s sporting director, had been signed to become the new team boss at Red Bull-owned Alpha Tauri. But he was stuck at Maranello because Ferrari would not agree […]
Prost ‘sad’ as more turmoil engulfs Alpine
Jul.29 (GMM) French F1 legend Alain Prost is “sad” about the turmoil currently taking place at the Renault-owned Alpine team. Amid performance difficulties, shareholding and management shakeups have also been the order of the day at the Enstone and Viry-based outfit over the past weeks and months. It got even more chaotic at Spa-Francorchamps as […]
Marko laughs at Hulkenberg-to-Red Bull rumours
Jul.28 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has grinned at rumours that Nico Hulkenberg could be a surprise contender to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull Racing. The 35-year-old German has been impressive on his return to Formula 1 with Haas this year, and appears to be cruising towards a contract extension. But former F1 driver Timo […]
Marko admits ‘three teams’ risk budget cap breach
Jul.28 (GMM) Two top rival teams acknowledge that complex loopholes in the budget cap rules need to be closed by Formula 1’s authorities. The FIA last week played down rumours that, after Red Bull and Aston Martin were found in breach last year, two or three teams are once again at risk of penalties due […]
Aston Martin can’t blame Pirelli for slump – boss
Jul.28 (GMM) Team boss Mike Krack has swerved away from Fernando Alonso’s suspicion that the mid-season tyre construction change explains Aston Martin’s recent slump. Alonso, who turns 42 on Saturday, repeated his theory in the Spa-Francorchamps paddock on Thursday. “The rules changed in the middle of the year and we haven’t properly adapted to the […]
Ricciardo aims blame for career slump at McLaren
Jul.28 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo on Thursday appeared to point the finger of blame for his nightmare two seasons at McLaren squarely at the Woking based team. Dr Helmut Marko, a top Red Bull boss, says his decision to axe Nyck de Vries at the junior team Alpha Tauri and replace him with Ricciardo ultimately turned […]
Spa could be ‘easiest win’ of 2023 for Verstappen
Jul.28 (GMM) Red Bull and Max Verstappen are not ruling out an easy romp to victory this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps. At the tight, twisty Hungaroring a week ago – theoretically not the best circuit for the dominant 2023 car – the Dutchman won by a whopping 33 seconds. And Red Bull top official Dr Helmut […]
Spectre of cancellation hangs over Spa GP
Jul.28 (GMM) The big buzzwords in the Spa-Francorchamps paddock as the Belgian GP weekend kicked off were rain and cancellation. The rain as already heavy on Thursday, when Pierre Gasly led a jog around the circuit in tribute to recent race driver deaths at the exit of the treacherous Eau Rouge. Contrary to speculation after […]
F1 champions split over Ricciardo comeback
Jul.27 (GMM) Two former world champions are divided over Daniel Ricciardo’s handling of his return to the Formula 1 grid. For his part, 1997 title winner Jacques Villeneuve thinks the 33-year-old Australian played a masterstroke prior to Hungary by filling the suddenly-ousted Nyck de Vries’ place at Alpha Tauri. “Daniel rested for a few months […]