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 […]
Verstappen ‘tricked’ Perez to keep title lead
Mar.20 (GMM) Max Verstappen ‘tricked’ his teammate Sergio Perez in order to maintain his lead in the 2023 drivers’ world championship. It has become quite clear that, although only two races have been run this year so far, Red Bull’s two drivers look set for an in-house battle for the title. “I’m here to fight,” […]
Red Bull has ‘fastest F1 car ever’ – Hamilton
Mar.20 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton thinks Formula 1 has entered a period of unprecedented dominance by a single team. “I’ve never seen a car that fast,” said the seven time world champion, after reigning champion Max Verstappen scythed his way through the field from 15th at Jeddah to complete another easy Red Bull 1-2. “When we […]
Saudi Arabia eyes second spot on F1 calendar
Mar.19 (GMM) Saudi Arabia is launching an audacious bid to add a second Formula 1 race to the sport’s annual schedule. It was already known that the high-speed street layout in Jeddah was only intended as a stop-gap solution while construction of a permanent facility in Qiddiya. Construction of the entertainment megaproject Qiddiya, in the […]
Marko throws jibe at new Red Bull CEO
Mar.19 (GMM) There are rumours of political strife behind closed doors at Red Bull. It is believed 79-year-old Dr Helmut Marko, often described as the ‘right hand man’ in Formula 1 for the late Dietrich Mateschitz, is upset that new CEO Oliver Mintzlaff was in attendance not only in Bahrain but again this weekend in […]
‘Angry’ Wolff could axe Mercedes engineers
Mar.19 (GMM) Heads could roll at Mercedes after team boss Toto Wolff admitted his designers had fudged the basic ‘concept’ of its Formula 1 car for the second season in a row. Former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan last week slammed Wolff for seeming to pin the blame for Mercedes’ ongoing situation on the team’s […]
Verstappen can win ‘six titles in a row’ – Massa
Mar.19 (GMM) A new era of Schumacher or Hamilton-style dominance is now well underway in Formula 1, according to Michael Schumacher’s former teammate Felipe Massa. “I think that’s happening now,” the Brazilian told Germany’s Bild newspaper after qualifying in Saudi Arabia. However, despite Max Verstappen’s utter dominance of the Jeddah weekend so far, the back-to-back […]
No regrets amid McLaren ‘crisis’ – Piastri
Mar.18 (GMM) Oscar Piastri insists he does not regret signing for McLaren. The 21-year-old arrived on the Formula 1 grid this year as one of the most highly rated rookies in recent memory. In fact, last season, his 2023 debut was the subject of a legal scuffle for his services between Alpine, where he was […]
Hulkenberg to spend time at Maranello in 2023
Mar.18 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg has vowed to spend much more time at Maranello this year. Some years ago, amid Fernando Alonso’s difficult relationship with Ferrari, Hulkenberg almost signed on the dotted line of a plum Ferrari deal. “I don’t know,” the 35-year-old German now says when asked what went wrong. “It just didn’t happen.” But […]
Alonso to make Aston ‘number 2 in F1’ – Marko
Mar.18 (GMM) Fernando Alonso “is in his third spring” as a Formula 1 driver, according to top Red Bull official Fernando Alonso. Indeed, as both Mercedes and Ferrari falter at the start of 2023 with their respective new cars, it is 41-year-old Alonso and the suddenly-competitive Aston Martin that appears to be challenging the hardest […]
Jeddah not yet confirmed as 2024 season opener
Mar.18 (GMM) Saudi Arabia is yet to be assigned the top spot on next year’s Formula 1 calendar. That is despite the fact that, late last year, organisers of the Australian GP admitted in a statement that Jeddah will “host the first race of the 2024 season out of respect for Ramadan”. Indeed, the Muslim […]
Hamilton may look at other F1 teams – Wolff
Mar.18 (GMM) As Lewis Hamilton’s split with his long-time companion and assistant Angela Cullen became clear, Toto Wolff admitted for the first time that the seven time world champion could also leave Mercedes. That is despite the fact that, when pressed on the status of contract negotiations with the 38-year-old Briton, he said he is […]
Relationship with new F1 boss ‘on right track’ – Marko
Mar.18 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko insists his relationship with new Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff is “on the right track”. However, the 79-year-old Austrian warned recently that could quit his top position in Red Bull’s Formula 1 program at any time in the wake of his friend Dietrich Mateschitz’s death. Red Bull founder Mateschitz died […]
Alpha Tauri call-up unlikely for Ricciardo
Mar.17 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo is unlikely to be called up to race for Red Bull’s second team Alpha Tauri in 2023. Although the Australian is nominally an official reserve for both Red Bull Racing and its sister Faenza based team, Franz Tost played down the likelihood that he would turn to the axed McLaren driver […]
Alonso hits back at Red Bull ‘copy’ theories
Mar.17 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has lashed back at suggestions Aston Martin is racing a ‘copy’ of Red Bull’s title-winning Formula 1 car. The engine, transmission and rear suspension of this year’s surprisingly-competitive Aston Martin is supplied by Mercedes. But Red Bull team figures have alleged that Aston Martin’s big aerodynamic step for 2023 is because […]
Haas not worried about Ferrari reliability
Mar.17 (GMM) One of Ferrari’s customer teams is not worried about a major reliability problem that has marred works driver Charles Leclerc’s start to the 2023 season. On Thursday in Jeddah, although Leclerc says the Maranello team is getting to the bottom of the issue, his teammate Carlos Sainz said Ferrari is heading into round […]
Petrov would refuse to sign anti-Russia document
Mar.17 (GMM) If Vitaly Petrov was still an active Formula 1 driver, he says he would currently be sitting out the world championship. Now 38, Petrov became Russia’s first ever F1 driver over a decade ago, racing for Renault and Caterham. But with F1’s governing FIA now forcing Russian athletes to sign a special document […]
Top F1 stars play down team switch rumours
Mar.17 (GMM) Three Formula 1 drivers have played down claims they may be shaping up to leave their current teams. Lando Norris signed a long McLaren contract extension last year, but that was actually prior to the team’s disappointing 2022 campaign – and an even worse start to this season. Some are talking about a […]
F1 drivers not thrilled to be in Jeddah
Mar.17 (GMM) As Max Verstappen sat out Thursday’s proceedings with a “stomach bug”, other Formula 1 drivers hinted that are not overly thrilled to be back in Saudi Arabia. Last year, the drivers’ union GPDA threatened to boycott the Jeddah street race after nearby missile strikes. When asked how he feels to be back in […]