Sep.25 (GMM) Big doubts have emerged about whether Melbourne will return to the F1 calendar in 2021. The city is currently in a highly controversial lockdown to eliminate cases of coronavirus. There were 14 new cases on Thursday. With the forthcoming AFL football grand final moved out of Melbourne for the first time ever, it […]
Briatore’s ex-wife says Schumacher ‘does not speak’
Sep.25 (GMM) Michael Schumacher cannot speak, according to Flavio Briatore’s former wife. Briatore, who was the F1 legend’s boss at Benetton, and Italian model and TV personality Elisabetta Gregoraci divorced in 2018. Gregoraci is currently taking part in the Italian version of Big Brother. When asked by a fellow housemate about the health condition of […]
Raikkonen quiet about next move in F1
Sep.25 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen is staying quiet about his next move in Formula 1. The Finn made waves earlier this week by publishing on social media a pair of humorous memes comparing himself and James Hunt with today’s top star, Lewis Hamilton. The memes upset some of Hamilton’s fans. “Formula 1 was a little different […]
Kvyat plays down covid concerns at Sochi
Sep.25 (GMM) Daniil Kvyat has played down concerns about the presence of spectators this weekend at Sochi. Sebastian Vettel has travelled to Russia contrary to the official advice of the German government, as the number of covid infections in the country has grown from under 5000 per day a month ago to almost 7000 today. […]
F1 ‘most boring’ category of racing – Alonso
Sep.25 (GMM) Fernando Alonso claims Formula 1 is “the most boring” category in the world of motorsport. The Spaniard has spent a two-year sabbatical racing at Le Mans, the Dakar Rally and the Indy 500, but has elected to return to F1 next year as Renault comes Alpine. The 39-year-old said in an interview earlier […]
Verstappen hopes Honda stays in F1
Sep.25 (GMM) Max Verstappen says he hopes Honda stays in Formula 1 beyond 2021. That is despite the fact that the Dutchman suffered two consecutive Honda-related problems at Monza and Mugello, and afterwards wrote off his championship hopes. “Of course that was not positive, but our relationship is still good,” said the Red Bull driver, […]
Domenicali ‘capable’ of running F1 – Vettel
Sep.25 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel says Stefano Domenicali is “more than capable” of becoming F1 supremo. With the F1 teams reportedly already informed, it is expected that news of the former Ferrari boss’s move to replace Chase Carey will be announced shortly. “If everything is confirmed it would be a wonderful thing for Italian sport,” said […]
F1 to ‘stop’ political activism – Hamilton
Sep.25 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton expects Formula 1 to try to stop him from repeating the kind of activism that he took onto the podium and official FIA press conference last time out at Mugello. “I did something that has never really happened in F1 and obviously they will stop it moving forwards,” said the six-time […]
F1 drivers wrote FIA letter after Mugello crash
Sep.25 (GMM) F1 drivers sent a letter to the governing body after the recent race at Mugello. It follows criticism by top drivers including Lewis Hamilton about the safety car re-start pileup, amid accusations Formula 1 is prioritising the show over safety. 12 drivers were reprimanded by the FIA for the crash, and the first […]
Perez quiet amid Haas switch rumours
Sep.25 (GMM) Racing Point will switch from pink to green as it becomes Aston Martin for 2021. “I think the cars will be in British Racing Green,” said Lance Stroll at Sochi. “That will definitely look cool.” Stroll, whose father Lawrence owns the team, may be excited – but Sergio Perez is not. Not only […]
Haas boss plays down Renault switch rumours
Sep.25 (GMM) Gunther Steiner has played down rumours Haas could be about to team up with Renault. The speculation follows Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul admitting that potential team partners “are interested in talking to us again”. Haas’ current technical partner, Ferrari, is notably struggling in 2020. But boss Steiner said at Sochi: “We are not […]
Alonso hits out at lack of 2021 winter testing
Sep.24 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has blasted the ever-dwindling amount of testing that is permitted in Formula 1. At the beginning of the Spaniard’s career, teams tested for thousands of kilometres per season, including between the races. But to cut costs, testing is now severely limited, with most in-season running banned completely and even the pre-season […]
New F1 supremo Domenicali ‘a good man’ – Ecclestone
Sep.24 (GMM) The next F1 supremo is a “good man”, according to Bernie Ecclestone. 89-year-old former F1 CEO Ecclestone was ousted by his successor Chase Carey in 2017 in the wake of Liberty Media’s acquisition of the sport. Ecclestone and Carey never got along. But when asked about news that Carey is expected to be […]
Speed of Imola ticket sales ‘exciting’
Sep.24 (GMM) The first offering of the 13,147 tickets for November’s F1 race at Imola quickly sold out. It is the latest piece of good news as Formula 1 begins to put the ‘corona crisis’ in the past and welcomes limited spectators back to the circuits. “The numbers for the start of the pre-sale are […]
F1 choosing ‘show over safety’ – Minardi
Sep.24 (GMM) Gian Carlo Minardi has backed drivers who suspect Formula 1 is putting “the show” above safety. After Mugello, the scene of a dangerous safety car re-start pile-up, drivers including Lewis Hamilton wondered if the sport hadn’t tweaked the rules in order to spice up the entertainment factor. “I don’t like this Formula 1 […]
No more Honda upgrades in 2020 – Yamamoto
Sep.24 (GMM) Honda will make no further performance upgrades to its 2020 engine this season. The Japanese marque’s F1 boss Masashi Yamamoto said the decision is due to “regulation changes” in the wake of the corona crisis. “We cannot introduce the updated specifications as easily as we did last year,” he told as-web.jp. “We have […]
Red Bull didn’t ‘care’ about Wolff’s Concorde stance
Sep.24 (GMM) Red Bull did not support Toto Wolff’s attempts to delay the signing of the 2021 Concorde Agreement. That is the admission of Dr Helmut Marko, after Mercedes boss Wolff and every other team ultimately signed up. But it followed reports that Wolff was asking his fellow team bosses to delay the signing pending […]
Daimler denies Mercedes team rumours
Sep.24 (GMM) Daimler has added an official denial to reports that Mercedes’ works team could be sold to a major sponsor for $900 million. The claim had been made by former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan, who told Ziggo Sport he is “absolutely sure” Mercedes will be bought by Ineos. Jordan also said it was […]
Aston Martin to give Vettel ‘boost’ – Kubica
Sep.24 (GMM) Moving to Aston Martin for 2021 will give Sebastian Vettel a “boost”, according to Robert Kubica. The Pole, who lost his Williams seat at the end of last year and is now a DTM racer and Alfa Romeo reserve, said Vettel’s Ferrari demise is simply the way of Formula 1. “It can be […]
No ‘quantum leaps’ for Aston Martin in 2021 – Vettel
Sep.23 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel says he is not expecting “quantum leaps” as he joins Aston Martin for 2021. Many see the quadruple world champion’s 2021 move, having been ousted by Ferrari, as a masterstroke. Racing Point is securing a champion driver as it rebrands, and Vettel moves to a team that is backed not only […]