Feb.11 (GMM) Toto Wolff has played down expectations about Mercedes’ 2025 Formula 1 season. After achieving near-unprecedented title success with Lewis Hamilton until 2021, the team and the seven-time world champion slumped in the new ‘ground effect era’. Hamilton, 40, has fled to Ferrari. “I don’t deny the problems we have been having,” team boss […]
Prost ‘sure’ Verstappen will beat F1 title tally
Feb.11 (GMM) Alain Prost is “sure” he will soon be left behind as one of just three precisely four-time world champions in Formula 1 history. While Michael Schumacher (7), Lewis Hamilton (7) and Juan Manuel Fangio (5) have all won more titles, Prost, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen share the prestige of all being quadruple […]
Deputy F1 race director about merit, not gender – FIA
Feb.11 (GMM) FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has denied that the new permanent deputy Formula 1 race director was selected because of her gender. That is despite the fact that the sport’s governing body often talks about the need for greater diversity. Indeed, at the recent FIA officials summit in Madrid, the federation boasted about […]
Hamilton ‘won’t last long’ at Ferrari – Ecclestone
Feb.10 (GMM) Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone thinks Lewis Hamilton has “lost motivation”. While some admire the 40-year-old’s boldness in switching from Mercedes to Ferrari, others see it as more marketing and money-oriented for both Ferrari and the seven time world champion. Ecclestone doesn’t even think Hamilton will make it to the end of his […]
Mexico GP promoter worried about post-Perez future
Feb.10 (GMM) The promoter of the Mexican GP is confident the event can survive even without local hero Sergio Perez in Formula 1 – but nonetheless worried about being offered a contract extension. The race weekend in Mexico City has been a notable celebration of Perez with a true party atmosphere since it returned to […]
Colton Herta good enough for F1 – Ericsson
Feb.10 (GMM) Colton Herta is good enough to race in Formula 1. That is the word from his teammate at the Andretti team in Indycar, former F1 driver Marcus Ericsson. The Andretti-instigated Cadillac team entry for 2026 has made clear from the start that Herta, 24, is the clear favourite to represent America from the […]
Bottas to be Antonelli mentor in 2025 – Wolff
Feb.10 (GMM) One of Valtteri Bottas’ roles in 2025 will be to mentor Formula 1 rookie and Toto Wolff protege, Kimi Antonelli. Having lost his Audi-owned Sauber seat, the Finn was snapped up by his former boss Wolff to serve as the primary Mercedes reserve driver this year. The appointment not only shuffled Mick Schumacher […]
More race directors and stewards in 2025 – FIA
Feb.10 (GMM) There will be more than a single race director and a bigger pool of potential stewards in Formula 1 this year. That’s the news from controversial FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who at an event in Madrid defended the recent turmoil at the sport’s governing body as the result of the need to […]
Engineer ‘sure’ Newey respecting gardening leave
Feb.7 (GMM) One former F1 engineer is “sure” Adrian Newey won’t have breached his current period of ‘gardening leave’. Newey, F1’s most renowned technical mind, reached an agreement with Red Bull forbidding him from starting work at Aston Martin this year until early March. For Fernando Alonso, that start-date makes it impossible that the team […]
Hadjar vows no radio ‘yelling’ in rookie F1 season
Feb.7 (GMM) Rookie Isack Hadjar says his fans will be hearing less from him during his races now that he is in Formula 1. Looking ahead to the Frenchman’s debut for Racing Bulls this year, Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko recently described Hadjar as “very fast” but also “very impulsive”. 20-year-old Hadjar therefore knows […]
Reserve Zhou to grab ‘any opportunity’ in ’25
Feb.7 (GMM) Guanyu Zhou admits he “lost hope” for his future in Formula 1 with the Audi-owned Sauber team last year. The sport’s first-ever Chinese race driver was with the Hinwil based outfit for the full three years since his 2022 debut. Like Valtteri Bottas, he lost the seat at the end of last season. […]
Adidas needed help with new Mercedes overalls
Feb.7 (GMM) Adidas has admitted it needed specialist help to dive into the world of Formula 1 race wear. Mercedes’ brand new major sponsor, the iconic German multinational sports brand, is also brand new to Formula 1. In a statement, Adidas boasted about the “race day wear” it will supply to George Russell and Kimi […]
Ferrari pays staff a tasty 2024 bonus
Feb.6 (GMM) It’s a good time to be a Ferrari employee. It has emerged that, based on higher than expected profits in 2024, each and every member of the road car and Formula 1 divisions is being paid a bonus of 14,400 euros. Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna – admitting that Lewis Hamilton is good for […]
Hype around ‘child’ Colapinto is overblown – driver
Feb.6 (GMM) Franco Colapinto’s quest to re-start his F1 racing career with Alpine steps into a higher gear this week in Barcelona. Although official pre-season testing will not kick off until later this month in Bahrain, many teams have already been running two and three-year-old cars at various circuits as part of the ‘TPC’ testing […]
Verstappen admits eyeing Le Mans with Alonso
Feb.6 (GMM) Max Verstappen is eyeing his ideal dream team with which to tackle the fabled Le Mans 24 hours for the first time. The quadruple world champion admits his Formula 1 schedule and focus does not allow him to race at Le Mans currently. But when – in Christian Horner’s presence – Red Bull’s […]
Mick Schumacher says F1 ‘dream’ still alive
Feb.6 (GMM) Mick Schumacher insists his “dream” of returning to Formula 1 remains alive – even if he’s relieved that he won’t be on full-time reserve driver duties in 2025. The 25-year-old son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher has been replaced as Mercedes’ reserve driver by the much more experienced Valtteri Bottas for this year. […]
Andretti admits son Michael was Cadillac F1 ‘obstacle’
Feb.5 (GMM) Mario Andretti admits that his son Michael may have been an “obstacle” to getting the Cadillac Formula 1 project up and racing. The original plan, rubber-stamped by the FIA, was initially blocked by F1 owner Liberty Media – with CEO Greg Maffei reportedly even telling Mario that the team would never be approved […]
Rosberg says Hamilton ‘feud’ is now over
Feb.5 (GMM) Nico Rosberg says his past “feud” with Lewis Hamilton is now basically all in the past. When teammates between 2013 and 2016 amid Mercedes’ domination of Formula 1, the former boyhood friends fell out badly and for years were not on speaking terms. Rosberg, now 39, retired from F1 after beating Hamilton to […]
Ferrari not necessarily ‘better’ with Hamilton – Todt
Feb.5 (GMM) Jean Todt is unsure Ferrari will be “better” now that it has seven time world champion Lewis Hamilton at the wheel. Todt, also a former FIA president, is perhaps best famous for being team boss at the Maranello based team when F1’s other seven time title winner – Michael Schumacher – utterly dominated […]
Sauber-Audi to set up UK base
Feb.5 (GMM) Sauber – transitioning to full works status with Audi for 2026 – is setting up a base in the UK. Last year, the team caused a stir by successfully lobbying the FIA to be allowed to spend more under the budget cap – to compensate for the higher costs of being based in […]