Mar.24 (GMM) Honda is not yet decided about definitely staying in Formula 1 beyond 2025. This week, unofficial reports suggested that Volkswagen-owned Porsche has now definitively decided against designing an F1 engine for the new 2026 rules. Porsche had talks with Red Bull, but the energy drink owned team ultimately decided to go a more […]
Alpha Tauri boss to retire by 2026
Mar.24 (GMM) Franz Tost has admitted the end of his Formula 1 career is approaching. A big story so far in 2023 is that Red Bull is unhappy with the performance of its second team – Tost-led Alpha Tauri. There have even been rumours that Faenza based team could be sold, relocated to the UK, […]
Marko denies ‘muzzle’ amid Red Bull tension
Mar.24 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has denied that he was muzzled after last Sunday’s Saudi Arabian GP. In recent weeks, there have been rumours of trouble behind the scenes among Red Bull’s upper management, as Marko in particular starts working with Oliver Mintzlaff – the late Dietrich Mateschitz’s replacement as CEO. According to the Austrian […]
F1 CEO admits Madrid wants Formula 1 race
Mar.24 (GMM) F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali admits Madrid is still pushing to host a grand prix. The sport’s top boss on Thursday was in the Spanish capital to mark the beginning of an official F1 exhibition, in which cars, memorabilia and even Romain Grosjean’s charred Haas from his fiery 2020 crash in Bahrain are on […]
Haas teammates ‘don’t fight each other’ in 2023
Mar.24 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen has revealed that he and teammate Nico Hulkenberg are racing at Haas this year under the cloud of a particular “rule”. Hulkenberg, 35, returned to Formula 1 this year to replace Mick Schumacher. The German is paired with Kevin Magnussen, with whom he famously clashed in 2017 in an incident remembered […]
Top four unlikely as McLaren shakes up F1 team
Mar.24 (GMM) Top Ferrari engineer David Sanchez’s move to McLaren is now confirmed, as news breaks that the British team has ousted its technical boss James Key. Woking based McLaren – dead last in the constructors’ championship so far this season – has had a dire start to its 2023 campaign. In the wind tunnel, […]
Two Italian F1 races unlikely after 2025
Mar.23 (GMM) Italy might struggle to hang onto both of its annual grands prix beyond 2025, the country’s automobile association chief Angelo Sticchi Damiani has warned. Currently, the historic circuits at Monza and Imola are both on the annual Formula 1 calendar, with Italian GP host Monza in particular now scrambling to make circuit improvements […]
‘Something must be done’ at Ferrari – Arnoux
Mar.23 (GMM) Frederic Vasseur admits new car parts in Melbourne next weekend may not move the struggling Ferrari team forwards. After two races so far in 2023, Carlos Sainz says the Maranello based team at least knows “exactly” what the problem is with its new car. Boss Vasseur agrees that the problem is excessive tyre […]
Red Bull admits ‘a lot’ of reliability concerns
Mar.23 (GMM) Red Bull’s drivers have revealed their concern about car reliability. After two races in 2023, it seems almost certain that this year’s fight for the world championship will be between two drivers only – Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. At Jeddah, Perez won from pole – but arguably only because Verstappen’s driveshaft failed […]
Pirelli confirms ‘interest’ in F1 beyond 2024
Mar.23 (GMM) Pirelli has reiterated its interest in remaining Formula 1’s sole tyre supplier behind 2024. Early this month, we reported that the sport’s governing body was poised to launch the mandatory tender process for the 2025, 2026, 2027 and possibly 2028 seasons. “Obviously the decision is not in our hands,” we quoted Pirelli’s F1 […]
Mercedes triggered Alonso’s pitstop penalty
Mar.22 (GMM) It was Mercedes that was responsible for alerting the FIA to Aston Martin’s pitstop penalty transgression in Saudi Arabia. That is the claim of the newspapers Bild (Germany) and Blick (Switzerland). They each separately reported that Toto Wolff-led Mercedes asked the governing body to look at whether a mechanic had touched the green […]
Red Bull’s 2023 ‘DRS’ turning heads in F1
Mar.22 (GMM) One of Red Bull’s major advantages in Formula 1 this year is becoming clear – DRS. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton said the way Max Verstappen passed him in Saudi Arabia last weekend astonished him. “I don’t know how or why, but he passed me with impressive speed,” he said. “I didn’t even bother to […]
Ferrari lacks ‘characters’ for F1 revival
Mar.22 (GMM) Ferrari is lacking the “characters” required for a big shakeup and a return to winning ways in Formula 1. That is the view of Italian and former F1 team boss Flavio Briatore, who said he isn’t surprised that Ferrari has kicked off yet another disappointing championship campaign. “It always happens,” he told the […]
Russell ‘now always ahead of Hamilton’
Mar.22 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton is not likely to quit Formula 1 at the end of 2023. That is the view of former F1 driver Christian Danner, even though the seven time world champion continues to trail his much younger teammate George Russell. “There’s a specific thing with something on this car that I’ve never had […]
Alonso ‘nothing like Vettel’ at Aston – Briatore
Mar.22 (GMM) Aston Martin made a wise move to sign up Fernando Alonso instead of fellow multiple world champion Sebastian Vettel for 2023 and beyond. That is the word from Alonso’s long-time mentor and co-manager Flavio Briatore, who said the 41-year-old has demonstrated so far this year that he is still the same old two-time […]
Ferrari understands car problem ‘exactly’ – Sainz
Mar.21 (GMM) According to both Ferrari and Mercedes, big progress on the competitiveness of their respective 2023 cars is just around the corner. In Jeddah for the second round of the world championship, it became clear that on two very different types of circuit, Aston Martin is the closest challenger to dominant Red Bull. Mercedes […]
FIA promise review after Alonso podium debacle
Mar.21 (GMM) The FIA has vowed to review its processes after the farcical handling of Fernando Alonso’s podium in Saudi Arabia. The 41-year-old stood on the podium after the Jeddah street race, but was subsequently stripped of third place after an Aston Martin mechanic touched his car with a jack whilst serving a pitstop penalty. […]
Red Bull title fight ‘will not be boring’
Mar.21 (GMM) Aston Martin has joined Mercedes and Ferrari near the very top in Formula 1 – but the 2023 world championship looks set to be a one-team affair. “The Red Bull spaceship is from another planet,” said La Gazzetta dello Sport, after the energy drink owned team secured a second consecutive easy one-two on […]
Liam Lawson, not Ricciardo, is Red Bull reserve
Mar.20 (GMM) Liam Lawson looks to be on pole position at Red Bull as the most prominent F1 reserve. Some were under the impression that Red Bull’s high profile signing of former team race winner and axed McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo meant that he would be in the prime reserve seat. However, the 33-year-old was […]
Mercedes to design ‘Red Bull concept’ car
Mar.20 (GMM) Toto Wolff insists he is not embarrassed about being “transparent” as Mercedes vows to scrap its unique car concept after just two races in 2023. “That’s what we’ve been doing for the last ten years, win or lose,” the team boss said. “Our supporters want to know the truth – we have nothing […]