Nov.4 (GMM) Audi-owned Sauber is now just days away from finally announcing the identity of Nico Hulkenberg’s teammate for 2025. Widespread media reports and authoritative sources are all now reporting that McLaren has agreed to release promising rookie Gabriel Bortoleto on a long-term Audi deal. Roger Benoit, a highly respected Swiss journalist, wrote in Blick […]
McLaren admits Verstappen ‘on his way’ to 2024 title
Nov.4 (GMM) Max Verstappen’s father admits his son took a “very positive” step towards his fourth consecutive drivers’ world championship on Sunday. “Defending the title is now just a formality,” exclaimed the specialist publication Auto Motor und Sport, after Max Verstappen won from P17 on the grid in often torrential conditions at Interlagos. “Give him […]
Aston Martin now ‘ninth or tenth team’ in F1 – Alonso
Nov.3 (GMM) Aston Martin is now almost the slowest team on the entire Formula 1 grid. That’s the assessment not of an outspoken pundit, but of team driver and two-time champion Fernando Alonso himself. The 43-year-old Spaniard has missed the last two Thursday ‘media days’ in Mexico and now Brazil, officially because of an intestinal […]
Jos Verstappen denies F1 management falling out
Nov.3 (GMM) Max Verstappen’s father has slammed rumours of a falling out with the triple world champion’s co-manager, Raymond Vermeulen. Together, Jos Verstappean and Vermeulen guided Max from boyhood to Formula 1 and onto championship success. But rumours just prior to the Brazilian GP suggested Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, via his spokesman Paul […]
Alpine still assessing 2026 engine ‘options’
Nov.3 (GMM) Alpine is still assessing its “options” after owner Renault decided to scrap its works Formula 1 engine project for 2026. The Enstone based team will still use its own works power units in 2025, but after that the cars will be powered by customer engines for the new rules era. New team boss […]
Marko ‘positive’ despite narrowing title lead
Nov.3 (GMM) Max Verstappen’s championship lead over Lando Norris, which shrank from 57 points to 47 points a week ago in Mexico, has suffered another blow in Brazil. Even before the main qualifying session and grand prix, which will take place on Sunday following a rescheduling for foul weather, the Red Bull driver has lost […]
Colapinto-to-Red Bull rumours continue to swell
Nov.3 (GMM) Speculation is mounting that Max Verstappen will have a surprise new teammate in 2025. Rumours around struggling Sergio Perez’s future have been swirling all season, but he had a solid sprint to P8 at Interlagos on Saturday and even set the fastest lap. “It’s not about one result,” team boss Christian Horner told […]
FIA probing McLaren ‘water in tyres’ accusations
Nov.3 (GMM) The FIA is looking into claims McLaren may be illegally inserting water into its tyres. It’s just the latest technical accusation amid the Red Bull versus McLaren battle for the 2024 world championship, following earlier controversies over ‘mini DRS’ rear wings and adjustable T-trays. According to Auto Motor und Sport, Red Bull suspects […]
Female racer slams F1 for ‘pinkwashing’ category
Nov.2 (GMM) Female open wheeler racer Sophia Florsch has slammed the all-women Formula 1 support category as engaging in little more than “pinkwashing”. The inaugural ‘F1 Academy’ champion of 2023 was 24-year-old Spaniard Marta Garcia, who then received a race seat in this year’s Formula Regional European Championship funded by F1 Academy, series car manufacturer […]
Red Bull to rename second F1 team for 2025
Nov.2 (GMM) Red Bull is set to scrap the complex and confusing name of its second Formula 1 team from 2025. Following the energy drink company’s takeover of Minardi almost two decades ago, the Faenza based team has had several names, including Toro Rosso and Alpha Tauri. For 2024, Red Bull changed the name of […]
Shwartzman to leave Ferrari, tipped to race in Indycar
Nov.2 (GMM) Robert Shwartzman appears to be giving up on his Formula 1 dream. Mere days ago, the Ferrari reserve driver was actually at the wheel of a Ferrari-powered Sauber in Friday practice for the Mexican GP. The 25-year-old, who used to race as a Russian but now competes under an Israeli license, was even […]
F1 pundits ‘completely done’ with F-word scandals
Nov.2 (GMM) The FIA has given Charles Leclerc a more lenient penalty than Max Verstappen for a nearly identical faux-pas. For his ‘F-word’ uttered in the Thursday FIA press conference in Singapore recently, triple world champion Verstappen was sentenced to a day of community service. But then after the Mexican GP last Sunday, in the […]
Red Bull hopes McLaren running car too low in Brazil
Nov.2 (GMM) Red Bull is hoping McLaren have gambled too extremely with its car setup at the Brazilian GP. The iconic Interlagos circuit has been re-asphalted for the 2024 edition, but drivers including championship leader Max Verstappen – P4 on the grid for Saturday’s sprint – report that “they’ve made the track even bumpier”. “Our […]
F1 ‘silly season’ explodes once again in Brazil
Nov.2 (GMM) A seismic rumour at the Brazilian GP is that Red Bull Racing is contemplating pairing meteoric Argentine rookie Franco Colapinto with Max Verstappen from 2025. Red Bull’s patience with Sergio Perez appears to be up, especially with the Mexican qualifying just 13th for Saturday’s sprint race. “He was half a second slower than […]
Bortoleto signs Audi-Sauber contract – reports
Nov.2 (GMM) The driver market ‘silly season’ in Formula 1 is exploding once again. The only real vacancy for 2025 is at Audi-Sauber, and incumbent Valtteri Bottas no longer sounds confident he will be retained. “There’s always a lot of politics in the background in this sport,” the Finn said at Interlagos. “We are talking […]
Kyalami, Rwanda, go head-to-head for African GP
Nov.1 (GMM) Africa seems to be inching towards a place on the Formula 1 calendar. It is the only continent on earth not represented within the world championship, with two clear contenders for a deal with Liberty Media. They are the circuit at Kyalami, having last hosted the South African GP in 1993, and Rwanda. […]
Perez’s seat is safe only until Abu Dhabi – Marko
Nov.1 (GMM) Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko says Sergio Perez will not be dropped within the remainder of the 2024 season. But while scotching rumours that Brazil could be the struggling Mexican’s last race as teammate to Max Verstappen, Marko does admit that Perez may never actually begin his signed contract for 2025. “We […]
Magnussen admits no talks with Audi’s Binotto yet
Nov.1 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen admits it’s “a pity” his uptick in form may have come too late to remain in Formula 1 next year. It is believed Haas has offered the 32-year-old Dane a non-driving role for 2025, amid reports that he may be a late contender to fill the vacant race seat at Audi-Sauber […]
Sainz senior denies rumours about failed Red Bull talks
Nov.1 (GMM) Carlos Sainz’s father has hit back at rumours that the Verstappen camp could be why the Spanish driver’s negotiations with Red Bull failed earlier this year. Just as Ferrari is hitting dominant form in Formula 1, Mexico GP winner Sainz is being pushed out of the Maranello based team – and is having […]
Jos Verstappen at Brazil GP could be ‘explosive’
Nov.1 (GMM) The confirmed presence of Max Verstappen’s father at Interlagos this weekend could mean more behind-the-scenes fireworks within the Red Bull camp. Jos Verstappen, a former F1 driver and key member of Max’s management team, clashed wildly with Red Bull team boss Christian Horner earlier this year – and has been largely absent since. […]