Jul.7 (GMM) Toto Wolff has revealed he wants to keep Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes even beyond 2020. Although not yet announced, it is now common knowledge in the paddock that the four-time world champion has signed up again for 2019 and 2020. But Mercedes boss Wolff says the team wants him for even longer. “Lewis […]
Month: July 2018
Ricciardo putting pen to paper ‘soon’
Jul.6 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo now appears certain to be re-signing with Red Bull for 2019 and 2020. Earlier, the Australian was linked with moves to Ferrari, Mercedes or McLaren, but now it appears as though an announcement about him staying put will be made before the August break. “It’s not on paper yet but soon […]
Raikkonen will accept ‘team orders’
Jul.6 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen says he is happy to eventually accept Ferrari ‘team orders’. In Austria, many were surprised when the Italian team did not order Raikkonen to let Sebastian Vettel past so that he could boost his championship lead. But Finn Raikkonen says no one should be surprised. “Nothing has changed. We follow our […]
McLaren scraps Indycar plans for 2019
Jul.6 (GMM) McLaren has reportedly scrapped its plans to enter an Indycar team for 2019. The move was being planned by Zak Brown, but a performance and management crisis within the Woking based team means the Indy dream is the victim. Auto Motor und Sport reports that the plan is “on hold” on the instruction […]
Williams braced for Silverstone struggle
Jul.6 (GMM) Claire Williams has admitted the once-great British team will struggle at Silverstone. Driver Lance Stroll has already called the 2018 car “slow”, and deputy boss Williams says it won’t get any better than that on the team’s home circuit. “We’ve brought our handkerchiefs,” she joked. Not just that, Williams woes will be even […]
Vettel questions new DRS zone at Silverstone
Jul.6 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has questioned the FIA’s decision to include fast corners in the new DRS zone at Silverstone. Normally, a DRS zone is a straight line simply to improve chasing cars’ overtaking chances. But for the British grand prix, a third DRS zone will include Silverstone’s first two fast corners, Abbey and Farm. […]
Mercedes ‘fixed’ reliability problems – Bottas
Jul.6 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas says he is not worried about car reliability ahead of the British grand prix. That is despite the fact that the reigning champions had an awful Austrian grand prix mere days ago, with both Bottas and Lewis Hamilton retiring with failures. But Finn Bottas says Mercedes has put everything right for […]
Mercedes tried to sign Verstappen – Lauda
Jul.6 (GMM) Niki Lauda has revealed that Mercedes tried to sign Max Verstappen last year. Ultimately, Verstappen was retained by Red Bull, with Mercedes team chairman Lauda saying that only happened because “Helmut Marko was faster”. “Yes, we really talked to Verstappen,” Lauda told ORF broadcaster at Silverstone. “We had conversations with his father and […]
Sainz set to stay at Renault
Jul.6 (GMM) Carlos Sainz looks set to stay at Renault next year. The Spaniard’s place at the French works team was in doubt after Red Bull elected to drop customer Renault power for 2019 and switch to Honda. Sainz is ‘on loan’ to Renault from Red Bull, with the energy drink company wanting him in […]
F1 to meet over 2021 rules at Silverstone
Jul.5 (GMM) F1 is now on the cusp of finalising its rules for 2021. It is believed a meeting between Liberty Media, the FIA and the ten teams will take place ahead of the British grand prix. News of that meeting comes after top team bosses admitted their concerns about the extended negotiations over the […]
Red Bull close to new Ricciardo deal – Horner
Jul.5 (GMM) Christian Horner has admitted that Red Bull is getting close to re-signing Daniel Ricciardo for 2019. Earlier, the Australian was flirting with a switch to Ferrari or Mercedes, and even weighing up a reported huge offer from McLaren. But Red Bull boss Horner told Austria’s ORF broadcaster: “We have reached a point where […]
Ecclestone hails Ferrari ‘sportsmanship’
Jul.5 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has praised Ferrari’s decision to resist imposing team orders in Austria. Sebastian Vettel could have extended his championship lead beyond a single point in Austria, but Ferrari decided instead to leave Kimi Raikkonen in second place. “Everyone can take an example from Ferrari’s sportsmanship,” Ecclestone, the former F1 supremo, told Sport […]
Kubica to know 2019 race chances within months
Jul.5 (GMM) Robert Kubica says he will know in the next few months if his chances of returning to the grid in 2019 are realistic. The Pole is currently the reserve driver at Williams, but he was earlier very confident of securing the actual race seat for this year. “I don’t hide that for ten […]
FIA may change qualifying blocking rule – Warwick
Jul.5 (GMM) F1 may revisit the rules about impeding other drivers in qualifying, according to FIA steward Derek Warwick. Warwick, a former F1 driver, was on the panel that decided to penalise Sebastian Vettel three places on the grid in Austria, even though Carlos Sainz did not blame the German for blocking him. “I think […]
Liberty must improve on-track ‘show’ – Berger
Jul.5 (GMM) Gerhard Berger says Liberty Media has lots of work to do to keep the F1 show alive. The F1 legend, who drove for McLaren and Ferrari, told Auto Hebdo that a lot of what the sport’s new owners have done over the past two years have been distractions. “What I see are actions […]
‘Pressure’ led to Eric Boullier exit – Brown
Jul.5 (GMM) Zak Brown says “pressure” on McLaren led to the departure of team boss Eric Boullier. Amid McLaren’s continuing performance crisis and rumblings of internal staff strife, Frenchman Boullier ‘resigned’ this week. “It was a very difficult time for everyone at McLaren with a lot of pressure on our shoulders,” team executive Brown told […]
Mercedes apology ‘bizarre’ – Horner
Jul.5 (GMM) Christian Horner says Mercedes threw a key team member “under the bus” during last week’s Austrian grand prix. With Lewis Hamilton complaining about a bungled strategy, strategist James Vowles went onto the radio to issue a grovelling apology. Red Bull boss Horner says it was a “bizarre” mid-race incident. “It seems a fairly […]
Brawn hopes ‘fast’ Alonso stays in F1
Jul.4 (GMM) F1 sporting boss Ross Brawn says he hopes Fernando Alonso stays in F1. Rumours are growing stronger by the race that the Spaniard, who won Le Mans recently and last year raced at Indianapolis, may quit F1 at the end of the season. Brawn says the way Alonso has handled multiple consecutive weekends […]
Renault ‘party mode’ disappoints drivers
Jul.4 (GMM) Renault drivers say they could barely feel the effect of the new qualifying ‘party mode’ in Austria. The French supplier has lagged behind Mercedes and Ferrari in terms of giving its drivers a special qualifying engine mode with significantly more power. But the Renault ‘party mode’ was finally added in Austria. “I didn’t […]
Ferrari have best F1 engine now – Hamilton
Jul.4 (GMM) Ferrari may now have overtaken Mercedes as the maker of the best engine in formula one. Red Bull competes with F1’s third best engine, the Renault, whose boss Christian Horner said: “They (Ferrari) have a super engine. “Our chassis is probably the best of the top three cars, but we couldn’t get past […]