Jul.9 (GMM) Fernando Alonso says he won’t “put a gun” to the heads of Alpine’s F1 team bosses as he pushes for a new two-year contract with the Renault owned team. Having returned to Formula 1 last year, the 40-year-old says he is now back at 100 percent and not struggling at all physically to […]
Schumacher needs ‘pressure and criticism’ – Marko
Jul.9 (GMM) Red Bull is keeping an eye on Mick Schumacher’s progress, Dr Helmut Marko has admitted. Until very recently, speculation the 23-year-old son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher could lose his seat at Haas was rife due to poor performance and a spate of crashes. However, his maiden points at Silverstone, coinciding with a […]
Vettel ‘could retire’ because of ‘slow’ car – Marko
Jul.9 (GMM) Retirement could be just around the corner for quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel. That is the view of Dr Helmut Marko, the head of Red Bull’s notorious junior driver program who powered the now 35-year-old’s Formula 1 success. After Red Bull, Vettel struggled to match that success at Ferrari and especially now at […]
Powerful Honda delegation at Red Bull Ring
Jul.9 (GMM) A week ago at Silverstone, Christian Horner denied that Red Bull has held talks with Honda about the Japanese manufacturer’s potential official return to Formula 1. But that could be all about to change. Actually, the team’s home race in Austria was slated to be the scene of the official announcement of a […]
Red Bull accepted Leclerc errors with ‘thanks’
Jul.9 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko says Red Bull has “thankfully accepted” the poor five-race run endured by championship charger Charles Leclerc and his Ferrari team. He admits the energy drink owned team and runaway championship leader Max Verstappen have benefitted from Ferrari’s run of “technical defects” and “tactically questionable decisions”. “To be fair, one has […]
Bottas admits ‘I couldn’t beat Hamilton’
Jul.9 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas says he is enjoying his “completely different role” at Alfa Romeo in 2022. The Finn admitted recently that he almost quit Formula 1 altogether during his tenure as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate at Mercedes. “It was often a tough role,” Bottas, 32, told Kronen Zeitung newspaper. “I had thought to myself that […]
Hamilton vs Verstappen war of words rages on
Jul.9 (GMM) The needle between 2021 title enemies Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen continues to race on. They may not be locked in a repeat of last year’s ultra-intense championship battle, but that didn’t stop Hamilton’s British fans from booing Dutchman Verstappen a week ago at Silverstone. And in Austria, attended by some 50,000 Dutch […]
Wolff ‘fought hard’ in F1 budget cap meeting
Jul.9 (GMM) Toto Wolff admits he “fought hard” during Friday’s meeting of the F1 Commission in Austria. Top of the agenda was the budget cap, with smaller teams arguing on one hand for no changes to the $140 million limit while top teams insist that raging inflation demands an increase. Ultimately, the FIA agreed that […]
Porsche heading for Autumn announcement – Marko
Jul.8 (GMM) Red Bull and Porsche are not yet ready to announce their likely works Formula 1 collaboration for 2026. It had been expected that Red Bull’s home race in Austria, and the only grand prix in a German-speaking country, would be the perfect venue for an official confirmation of the rampant paddock rumours. But […]
Leclerc insists Ferrari ‘not a divided team’
Jul.8 (GMM) Charles Leclerc has hit back at claims of deep divisions within the Ferrari team. After the chequered flag at Silverstone, Leclerc was so obviously upset with his race strategy that team boss Mattia Binotto gave him an instant rebuke including finger-wagging. They then cleared the air with a dinner on Wednesday at Monaco’s […]
Spa boss plays down Belgian GP axe reports
Jul.8 (GMM) Belgian GP boss Vanessa Maes has played down claims Spa-Francorchamps is definitely missing from the provisional Formula 1 calendar for 2023. Dutch media made the claim earlier this week, adding that French GP host Paul Ricard will also almost certainly lose its race as well. “It would be a big shame to lose […]
Covid rules could derail African GP
Jul.7 (GMM) South Africa’s Formula 1 aspirations have hit a snag in the shape of ongoing covid restrictions. In recent days, the likelihood that former grand prix venue Kyalami will return to the annual calendar has grown – especially after F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali’s visit in June. “For sure that’s another area that so far […]
Still no news about new Schumacher contract
Jul.7 (GMM) Gunther Steiner says both the Mick Schumacher camp and the media should keep their celebrations muted after the struggling German driver ended his points drought at the British GP. Prior to the breakthrough, after which Schumacher celebrated with his family and team, rumours had been swirling about whether the 23-year-old would be offered […]
Binotto, Leclerc meet for clear-the-air dinner
Jul.7 (GMM) Charles Leclerc on Wednesday met for dinner at Monaco’s famous Hotel de Paris with his Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto. It came amid wide criticism of the way the Maranello team handled Leclerc’s race strategy in the British GP, which cleared the way for teammate Carlos Sainz’s first Formula 1 win. “They took victory […]
Red Bull to keep ‘supporting’ axed Vips
Jul.7 (GMM) Juri Vips has been thrown a career lifeline, even though Red Bull officially “suspended” its reserve driver after a racial incident. “We have cancelled our agreement with him and that will undoubtedly give him time for reflection,” said Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner. Estonian Vips, 21, caused social media uproar when […]
Marko predicts ‘bouncing’ trouble for F1 rivals
Jul.6 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko thinks the ‘porpoising’ and bouncing problems suffered mainly by rival Formula 1 teams this year hand Red Bull a clear home advantage this weekend. After Silverstone, F1 is now heading to the energy drink company’s own Red Bull Ring circuit for the almost sold-out Austrian GP. “Max (Verstappen) is of […]
Vettel ‘talks nonsense’ in F1 paddock – Stuck
Jul.6 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel should stay in Formula 1 but stop talking “nonsense” in the paddock when not driving the car. That is the forthright view of Hans-Joachim Stuck, as the quadruple world champion is still yet to commit to Alfa Romeo for a further contractual term beyond 2022. “He can drive a car and […]
Team physio says Zhou fit to race in Austria
Jul.6 (GMM) Alfa Romeo’s team physio Josef Leberer is confident Guanyu Zhou will be fit and on the grid this weekend in Austria. The 62-year-old, a long-serving Sauber team member who is perhaps best known for once being the great Ayrton Senna’s trainer, admits he was shocked when Chinese rookie Zhou cart-wheeled over the barriers […]
‘Sceptical’ Marko admits Halo saved Zhou’s life
Jul.5 (GMM) There is no longer any doubt that the cockpit protection innovation known as ‘Halo’ belongs in Formula 1. That is the view of none other than Dr Helmut Marko, the 79-year-old former Le Mans winner who is now the notoriously hard-hitting top Austrian official at Red Bull. He admits to once being “sceptical” […]
Spa, Paul Ricard missing from 2023 calendar – reports
Jul.5 (GMM) Spa-Francorchamps and Paul Ricard are missing from a newly-circulating provisional draft of the 2023 Formula 1 calendar, according to two authoritative newspapers. De Limburger, a Dutch newspaper, claims next year’s schedule will begin on March 5 in Bahrain following an official three-day test at the same Sakhir circuit. “Two weeks later, Saudi Arabia […]