May 6 (GMM) Carlos Sainz admits significant car upgrades planned for the next race at Imola will not be enough to fight for the world championship. The Spaniard’s teammate Carlos Sainz got his Miami weekend off to a bad start on Friday with a crash. “Somehow, Leclerc makes a mistake every weekend,” former F1 driver […]
Wolff to sign new Hamilton deal in ‘weeks’
May 6 (GMM) Toto Wolff says he will sit down with Lewis Hamilton “in a few weeks” to sign a new Mercedes contract for the seven time world champion. The Brackley based team initially looked competitive in Miami, only to fall a second off the pace in the second Friday practice session. “It was like […]
Up to 10 ‘sprints’ on F1’s 2024 calendar
May 6 (GMM) Formula 1 is looking to expand the newly-tweaked ‘sprint shootout’ weekend format to as many as ten grands prix in 2024. The format – now with a separate ‘shootout’ qualifying for a standalone sprint race on Saturday – debuted at Baku last weekend, and will be repeated five more times this season. […]
‘English people’ most upset about Russell clash
May 5 (GMM) Both Max Verstappen and George Russell appear unmoved after their on and off-track run-in at Baku. World champion Verstappen was furious with the Mercedes driver for causing sidepod damage in their wheel-to-wheel scrap on lap 1 of the sprint race. The Red Bull driver called Russell, also 25, a “d*ckhead” to his […]
F1 bosses say more ‘shootout’ tweaks possible
May 5 (GMM) Two Formula 1 team bosses are open to making more tweaks to the new ‘sprint shootout’ weekend format. The part-time format made its debut in Azerbaijan a week ago, with qualifying for Sunday’s main grand prix now taking place on Friday. Saturday, meanwhile, is a standalone day with a shorter ‘shootout’ qualifying […]
Drivers reject ‘knee-jerk’ rule changes for overtaking
May 5 (GMM) Formula 1 drivers are urging the sport against making “knee-jerk reactions” amid un-entertaining recent races and Red Bull’s dominance. “We either have to do a better job, all of us together, to catch them up,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff after Baku, “or we have to change the regulations.” According to the […]
Mazepin aiming for F1 return in 2024
May 5 (GMM) Nikita Mazepin is aiming to return to Formula 1 as soon as 2024, according to his spokesperson. This week, it emerged that the axed Haas driver has added court action in the UK to his recent European and Canadian legal action against the way Ukraine war-related sanctions halted his motor racing career. […]
Miami GP boycott ‘not for me to decide’ – Hamilton
May 5 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton likened Florida to Saudi Arabia as he touched down for this weekend’s grand prix in Miami. When asked about recent Florida legislation aimed to minimise children’s exposure to transgender education in particular, the seven time world champion said: “It’s not good at all. “I support the community here,” the Mercedes […]
Two Red Bull engineers turned down Ferrari offers
May 5 (GMM) Ferrari’s push to sign two top engineers from dominant Formula 1 team Red Bull ultimately proved unsuccessful, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport. Correspondent Luigi Perna said the Maranello based team made offers to Red Bull’s head of aerodynamics, Enrico Balbo, and technical director Pierre Wache. Both turned down the offers following […]
Mazepin files legal action in Britain
May 4 (GMM) Hot on the heels of legal action in Europe and Canada, Nikita Mazepin is now taking his fight to return to Formula 1 to Britain. The Russian news agency Tass reports that the former F1 driver, ousted by Haas and restricted by the FIA and western sanctions, has now filed paperwork with […]
Ferrari struggle ‘different’ in 2023 – Leclerc
May 4 (GMM) Charles Leclerc says it’s “too early” to think about extending his Ferrari deal beyond 2024. At Baku last weekend, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff stridently denied reports that talks about poaching the 25-year-old Monegasque have already begun. Indeed, some believe the Leclerc rumours were more about enticing Lewis Hamilton to sign a new […]
Aston Martin can go ‘very far’ in F1 – Perez
May 4 (GMM) Aston Martin may succeed in becoming a true top Formula 1 team. That is the view of Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, who lost his ‘Racing Point’ seat at the end of 2021 as the Silverstone based team transitioned to its new identity as Aston Martin. And now, while Mexican Perez is […]
Marko tips Verstappen to bounce back in Miami
May 4 (GMM) Max Verstappen will bounce back to the top of the podium in Miami. That is the prediction of Red Bull’s top 80-year-old executive Dr Helmut Marko, even though he says there will be no team orders for the moment between the reigning world champion and his on-form teammate Sergio Perez. When asked […]
New US-Asian F1 team to bid for 2025 entry
May 4 (GMM) A prospective new Formula 1 team has confirmed its intention to debut as early as 2025. Rumours suggest several groups, like Michael Andretti’s Cadillac-powered project, are set to meet the FIA’s deadline this month to submit applications to potentially become the 11th or 12th official entry in 2025 or 2026. One of […]
Tsunoda not yet ready for Red Bull – Horner
May 4 (GMM) Yuki Tsunoda is not “yet” ready to move up to Red Bull’s top team, according to boss Christian Horner. Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher this week said it is clear Sergio Perez, 33, is pushing hard to win a title before his 2024 contract is up. “They have Yuki Tsunoda, Daniel Ricciardo […]
Sauber’s Seidl not only focused on Audi future
May 3 (GMM) Andreas Seidl is not solely concerned about the transition of Formula 1’s Hinwil-based team to full Audi control by 2026. That is the insistence of Alessandro Alunni Bravi, who this year became ‘team representative’ of the Sauber-run outfit currently known as Alfa Romeo. The ‘team representative’ label is because Alfa Romeo is […]
De Vries at risk of being ‘fired’ by Marko
May 3 (GMM) Just four races into his first full-time season in Formula 1, Nyck de Vries is already at risk of being “fired”. That is the view of a well-known Russian racing driver Egor Orudzhev, echoing the worries of other experts and pundits who agree that the 28-year-old Dutchman is notably struggling at Alpha […]
Marko confirms new Red Bull contract for Newey
May 3 (GMM) Reports that Adrian Newey has inked a new contract with Red Bull have now been confirmed by the energy drink-owned outfit’s top official Dr Helmut Marko. British specialist publications and other outlets on Tuesday claimed 64-year-old Newey, undoubtedly one of the most famous and successful Formula 1 designers of all time, had […]
Tost denies Red Bull’s Mintzlaff sacked him
May 3 (GMM) Franz Tost has hit back at the notion that he was sacked by Red Bull. The 67-year-old has been in charge at Faenza, under both the Toro Rosso and Alpha Tauri identities, from almost the very outset some 17 years ago. But many think it was Red Bull mogul Dietrich Mateschitz’s death […]
Only rule changes may stop Red Bull – Wolff
May 3 (GMM) Formula 1 might have to look at the regulations in order to make the sport more competitive amid Red Bull’s current utter dominance. That is the view of Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, as his counterparts at Ferrari and Aston Martin also agree that the gap to the frontrunners appears insurmountable for now. […]