Mar.16 (GMM) Otmar Szafnauer says he left Aston Martin because of interference from the team owner. The 57-year-old, who was at the helm throughout the Force India, Racing Point and Aston Martin transition, has switched over the winter to Renault-owned Alpine. When asked in Bahrain why that happened, Szafnauer answered: “Two Popes is not possible. […]
Four F1 drivers slam official Netflix series
Mar.16 (GMM) Four more drivers are speaking out about the latest edition of the official Netflix series about Formula 1. As the fourth season of Drive To Survive hits screens all over the world, Max Verstappen once again snubbed any active participation, describing Netflix’s narratives as “fake”. Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz agrees. “The fans who […]
Ferrari’s Russian sponsor in political spotlight
Mar.16 (GMM) Ferrari has removed the logo of its Russian sponsor, the Moscow-based cybersecurity multinational Kaspersky Lab, from the front wing of its 2022 F1 car. The move comes after BSI, the German federal cybersecurity authority, warned of the “significant risk of an IT attack” due to Kaspersky’s operations in the west. “The actions of […]
Missing tyre tests hurt Williams in 2022 – boss
Mar.16 (GMM) As Formula 1 heads into the season opener in Bahrain, the pecking order is both close and unclear – but what is obvious is that Williams is at the back. Team boss Jost Capito thinks a major reason for that is because, for cost reasons while the struggling Oxfordshire based team transitioned to […]
F1 probes Mercedes’ ‘no sidepod’ innovation
Mar.16 (GMM) Formula 1 teams can be split into two camps in 2022 – those with “wide sidepods” and those with significantly trimmed down versions. The most extremely trimmed sidepod solution is Mercedes’ ‘no sidepod’ configuration, which F1’s technical advisory committee discussed at length on Tuesday in the hope of avoiding a new expensive innovation […]
Giovinazzi not focused on 2022 F1 opportunities
Mar.15 (GMM) Antonio Giovinazzi insists he is fully focused on his new racing adventure for 2022 – even though his name is linked with a return to Formula 1. The Ferrari-backed Italian lost his Alfa Romeo seat at the end of last year and moved instead to Formula E with the Dragon Penske team. However, […]
Hockenheim in talks to replace axed Russia GP
Mar.15 (GMM) Hockenheim has put its hand up as a potential replacement venue for the axed Russian GP. Actually, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has repeatedly expressed disappointment that, despite its automotive industry and deep Formula 1 history, Germany is not putting up the money for a grand prix at present. But former driver Christian Danner, […]
Norris ‘prepared’ to race Haas in 2022
Mar.15 (GMM) Haas could be about to leap off the very back of the grid and into Formula 1’s tightly-packed midfield. McLaren finished fourth overall behind the ‘big three’ teams last year, but boss Andreas Seidl admits it might be a struggle to repeat that in 2022. “We have no idea where exactly we stand,” […]
Grosjean would have turned down Haas return
Mar.15 (GMM) Romain Grosjean says he would have turned down the opportunity to return to Formula 1 this year with his former team Haas. When Nikita Mazepin and his Russian sponsor were suddenly ousted over the Ukraine conflict, several potential replacements were named but Haas’ Gunther Steiner says he made only one call – to […]
‘One week’ until 2022 hierarchy revealed – Sainz
Mar.15 (GMM) With mere days until engines fire up on the 2022 world championship in Bahrain, the Formula 1 world is scrambling to figure out the early pecking order. “We’ve waited months, why can’t we wait one more week before drawing conclusions?” smiled Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, tipped as a potential title contender. The early analyses […]
Vettel’s ‘no war’ helmet caused political ‘trouble’
Mar.14 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel waded into yet another political storm by using a special ‘No War’-themed helmet in Bahrain testing last week. The livery was bordered by strips of tiny national flags of the countries of the globe – including one for Northern Cyprus. Actually, Northern Cyprus is recognised only by Turkey, with the rest […]
F1 should respond to inflation crisis – Horner
Mar.14 (GMM) A global inflation crisis that has been worsened by the Russia-Ukraine conflict is expected to have an impact on Formula 1. Red Bull boss Christian Horner thinks dramatically rising prices across the board will be “a real problem” for the sport under the rule of the $140 million budget cap. “We can already […]
Krack not first choice as Aston Martin boss
Mar.14 (GMM) Mike Krack wasn’t the only candidate to become the new team boss at Aston Martin for 2022. The Dutch publication Formule 1 claims that after losing Otmar Szafnauer to Alpine, Aston Martin put the feelers out to Graham Watson. New Zealander Watson is the team manager at Alpha Tauri – the second Red […]
Sainz-Ferrari contract talks ‘no secret’
Mar.14 (GMM) Only “details” stand between Carlos Sainz and a new Ferrari contract. Young suitor Mick Schumacher is hopeful his next move could be to the fabled Maranello team, but Mattia Binotto admits he is actually in talks to keep Spaniard Sainz on board next to Charles Leclerc. “It is no secret that we are […]
Steiner ‘sorry’ about ousting Mazepin
Mar.14 (GMM) Gunther Steiner admits he is “sorry” he had to oust Russian driver Nikita Mazepin from the Haas team. The Uralkali-backed 23-year-old, who is not ruling out legal action, has been replaced for 2022 by the immediately-impressive former team driver Kevin Magnussen. Team boss Steiner admits the last couple of weeks have been “exhausting […]
Alfa Romeo approves of last-minute weight increase
Mar.14 (GMM) Alfa Romeo has given a thumbs-up to yet another car weight increase just days ahead of the 2022 season. As pre-season testing kicked off, it was clear that most teams had struggled to produce cars meeting the new minimum car-plus-driver weight of 795kg. They lobbied for an eleventh-hour increase of 5kg, but ultimately […]
Marko ‘not impressed’ with new Mercedes
Mar.14 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko admits he isn’t too impressed with Mercedes’ radical ‘no sidepod’ upgrade for its 2022 car. “We were looking more at the performance than the sidepod and it wasn’t that impressive,” the Red Bull official told Osterreich newspaper. He was speaking as the final pre-season test in Bahrain wrapped up ahead […]
Russians scrambling for Bahrain F1 coverage
Mar.14 (GMM) Russian fans are scrambling for a way to watch this weekend’s highly anticipated 2022 season opener in Bahrain. Alongside the ousting of Nikita Mazepin and his sponsor Uralkali, Formula 1 scratched not just Sochi’s grand prix contract, but also the Russian broadcasting deal with Match TV and access to the streaming service F1TV. […]
Three drivers linked with Ricciardo’s seat
Mar.14 (GMM) Three drivers have emerged at the top of the list to potentially replace the unwell Daniel Ricciardo in Sunday’s 2022 season opener. The Australian missed the entirety of the final pre-season test in Bahrain, taking place just a week before the opening race of the year at the same circuit. Ricciardo, 32, ultimately […]
F1’s ‘politicised’ Russian TV axe slammed
Mar.11 (GMM) Russian fans of Formula 1 are today hearing the news that they are not welcome to watch either live or televised coverage of their favourite sport. According to well-known Match TV commentator Alexey Popov, Formula 1 has “unilaterally” torn up the contract with the Russian broadcaster as a private sector sanction due to […]