Jan.17 (GMM) There is more than meets the eye to Williams’ new test driver signing. At the post-grand prix test in Abu Dhabi last year, the largely unknown 25-year-old Roy Nissany was suddenly at the wheel of Williams’ 2019 car. He was quickly ridiculed, not only because he was several seconds off the pace of […]
Red Bull-Honda eyes ‘more than five’ wins in 2020
Jan.17 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko says he has set a target of “more than five” wins for Red Bull-Honda in 2020. The team, having finished behind Mercedes and Ferrari last year, is clearly targeting the title with Max Verstappen in 2020. Marko also set the five win target for 2019, but Verstappen only won in […]
F1 uses women drivers to ‘attract attention’ – Florsch
Jan.17 (GMM) German racer Sophia Florsch thinks Formula 1 too often uses female drivers purely to “attract attention”. On Twitter, the 17-year-old hit out after Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto announced that the Italian F1 team’s driver ‘academy’ is looking for female drivers. She said women are too often seen as mere “marketing stuff”. Following her […]
Zandvoort holding back F1 team simulation data
Jan.17 (GMM) Zandvoort will be a Formula 1 circuit “for the brave”, according to track designer Jarno Zaffelli. Zaffelli, boss of the Italian circuit design company Dromo, has been charged was modifying the classic John Hugenholtz-designed layout ahead of the 2020 Dutch GP. “It is no coincidence that both Zandvoort and Suzuka were designed by […]
Formula 1 loses $26m sponsor
Jan.17 (GMM) Formula 1 has lost a major sponsor. Citing a source close to the company, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reports that Tata Communications, a major Indian multinational, will no longer be F1’s connectivity partner. Forbes’ F1 business journalist Christian Sylt said the deal, which has run for eight years, was worth $26 […]
F1 viewership collapsed in France – Prost
Jan.17 (GMM) Television viewership has collapsed in France, according to F1 legend Alain Prost. In the country, all the races are only shown live on Canal Plus, a pay broadcaster. The sport’s free-to-air coverage, on TF1, only involves three races. “We used to have 8 million fans in France watching TF1, but now that it […]
Domenicali doubts Hamilton heading to Ferrari
Jan.17 (GMM) Former Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali does not think Lewis Hamilton will be heading to Maranello any time soon. Especially after his meeting with Ferrari chairman John Elkann was leaked, rumours have been swirling that six-time champion Hamilton could switch to Ferrari for 2021. But Domenicali, who ran the Ferrari team until 2014, […]
Gasly deserves ‘some blame’ for Red Bull demotion
Jan.16 (GMM) Pierre Gasly deserves “some of the blame” for the failure of his time at Red Bull’s top F1 team last year, according to Dr Helmut Marko. The Frenchman has expressed some unhappiness with the way his demotion to Toro Rosso was handled, revealing that “some promises were not kept”. But boss Marko told […]
Leclerc admits ‘still learning’ from Vettel
Jan.16 (GMM) Charles Leclerc has admitted to “tensions” with Sebastian Vettel last year, but he is hoping the Ferrari teammates can work well together in 2020. Last year, Vettel’s new and decade-younger teammate successfully challenged the quadruple world champion’s number 1 status at Ferrari. But Leclerc insists he respects the 32-year-old German. “I learned a […]
Hamilton lifestyle impossible in ‘normal’ car – Alonso
Jan.16 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton would not be able to indulge his extravagant character and lifestyle if he raced a “normal car” in Formula 1. That is the view of former F1 driver Fernando Alonso, who thinks Hamilton is able to match Michael Schumacher’s record seven titles in 2020. “Hamilton can win his seventh,” he said, […]
Florsch criticises Ferrari for seeking female driver
Jan.16 (GMM) Sophia Florsch, who made global headlines by surviving a horror Formula 3 crash at Macau in 2018, has dismissed Ferrari’s push to sign a female driver. Referring to Ferrari’s driver academy, whose star signing at present is Mick Schumacher, boss Mattia Binotto said recently that he would like some women on the roster. […]
Brundle thinks Claire Williams should step aside
Jan.16 (GMM) Former F1 driver and respected pundit Martin Brundle thinks it is time for Claire Williams to step down at the struggling British team. On Wednesday, Williams was in Tel Aviv, where Roy Nissany – an almost completely unknown driver but with key backing in Israel – was announced as a Friday and test […]
Haas ‘on schedule’ as 2020 car passes crash tests
Jan.15 (GMM) Romain Grosjean says he is keen to have a much better season at Haas this year. After finishing fifth overall in 2018, the small and now five-year-old American team only managed to beat Williams in 2019. “We blamed the tyres a lot at the start of the year,” Grosjean told the French source […]
Alonso plays down chances of 2021 Ferrari return
Jan.15 (GMM) Fernando Alonso does not think there is room at Ferrari for his potential return to Formula 1 in 2021. In recent days, as he tackles the off-road Dakar rally and contemplates a third attempt to win the Indy 500 in May, the 38-year-old has admitted he will soon give thought to returning to […]
Vettel can beat Leclerc in 2020 – Berger
Jan.15 (GMM) Gerhard Berger does not think Sebastian Vettel’s F1 career is in crisis. Some think that after losing clear number 1 status, and Ferrari extending Charles Leclerc’s contract for the long term but not his, the four-time world champion may be pushed into retirement. “We don’t know if it’s a decisive year for him […]
Insider senses trouble with Ferrari’s 2020 car
Jan.15 (GMM) A Ferrari insider has revealed that all may not be well with the Maranello team’s preparations for 2020. Leo Turrini, a long-time F1 journalist with key sources at Ferrari, wrote on his Quotidiano blog that he has heard alarming news from within the fabled team. “It seems to me that, so far, the […]
Leclerc ‘more political’ than Verstappen – Berger
Jan.14 (GMM) F1 legend Gerhard Berger says Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc are yet to overtake Lewis Hamilton as the best driver on the grid today. In F1 circles, a clear debate is taking place as to whether it will be feisty Dutchman Verstappen or the focused Leclerc who take over as the best. But […]
Bottas confident ahead of 2021 ‘silly season’
Jan.14 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas is not expecting to be weighed down by this year’s contractual uncertainty. Late last year, after securing another one-year deal for 2020 only, the Finn admitted he had been affected by constant rumours hinting at his Mercedes exit. “When that continues year after year, every single year of your career, at […]
F1 return ‘on the table’ after Indy 500 – Alonso
Jan.14 (GMM) Fernando Alonso says he will think about a possible return to Formula 1 for 2021 after his third attempt to win the Indianapolis 500 in May. The Spaniard, who quit F1 at the end of 2018 to pursue other challenges including the ‘triple crown’, finished second in a stage of the Dakar rally […]
Ferrari ‘angry’ about Leclerc skydiving
Jan.14 (GMM) Charles Leclerc doubts he can follow in Lewis Hamilton’s wheel tracks by testing a MotoGP bike. Before Christmas, six-time world champion Hamilton and MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi swapped their respective Mercedes and Yamaha machines at Valencia. 22-year-old Leclerc, who recently signed a long-term Ferrari contract extension through 2024, expressed interest in doing the […]