Mar.22 (GMM) Flavio Briatore thinks Ferrari will be unable to win the world championship in 2019. Some are tipping the Italian team to bounce back in Bahrain, believing that after dominating winter testing, Ferrari still have a car capable of taking on Mercedes. But former Renault boss Briatore is not so sure. “It will be […]
Month: March 2019
Hamilton says he will test MotoGP bike
Mar.21 (GMM) Team boss Toto Wolff has admitted Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes engineers did not tell him about a secret superbike test at Jerez last December. The five time world champion even crashed as he tested the plain black Yamaha superbike. “We had a laugh because I couldn’t get hold of him and couldn’t […]
Ferrari may charge for fastest lap in future
Mar.21 (GMM) Ferrari may chase the bonus ‘point for fastest lap’ in Bahrain and beyond. In Melbourne, surprised and disappointed to be off Mercedes and Red Bull-Honda’s pace, team boss Mattia Binotto decided that Charles Leclerc would not be given the opportunity to go for the fastest lap. “We had the window to give Charles […]
Glock defends Kubica after poor F1 return
Mar.21 (GMM) Timo Glock has defended Robert Kubica in the wake of the Pole’s disappointing return to F1 in Melbourne. Kubica’s comeback after an eight year layoff due to injury was a big story in Australia, but he qualified dead last, made mistakes and was even lapped by his own teammate George Russell. It has […]
No ‘new Bottas’ in Melbourne – Ralf Schumacher
Mar.21 (GMM) Ralf Schumacher has hit back at claims that F1 gave birth to a “new” Valtteri Bottas in Melbourne. Disappointed with his performance in 2018 and fearing for his Mercedes seat, Finn Bottas reinvented himself over the winter, growing a beard and insisting he is determined to do anything to succeed. In Melbourne, he […]
Work begins on Vietnam F1 track
Mar.21 (GMM) Work on Vietnam’s new F1 circuit for 2020 began this week. DPA news agency says FIA president Jean Todt was on hand for the ground breaking ceremony in Hanoi. He admitted he was surprised when he learned that Vietnam was seriously bidding for F1. “But I believe in the success of the race […]
Alguersuari felt like ‘a puppet’ in F1
Mar.21 (GMM) Former F1 driver Jaime Alguersuari says the top category of motor racing turns drivers into “a puppet”. The Spaniard, now 28, raced for Toro Rosso until he was ousted in 2011. He is now a full-time DJ. “When I left, I felt hate,” Alguersuari told the Spanish newspaper Ara. “When you’re not ready […]
MotoGP funding system ‘different to F1’ – Ezpeleta
Mar.21 (GMM) Carmelo Ezpeleta, boss of the MotoGP rights holder Dorna, has suggested that the premier motorcycle racing category’s funding model is superior to that seen in F1. With F1 locked in tough negotiations over the 2021 Concorde Agreement, Ezpeleta told France’s Auto Hebdo that the MotoGP model is “different” to how formula one runs […]
Melbourne to proceed with full resurfacing
Mar.21 (GMM) Organisers of the Australian grand prix look set to proceed with a full resurfacing of the Albert Park track in Melbourne. Last weekend for the 2019 season opener, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel urged against the resurfacing, saying the bumps are part of the character of the venue. “We will have to get […]
Domenicali tips Ferrari to bounce back in Bahrain
Mar.21 (GMM) Former Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali is expecting the Maranello team to bounce back in Bahrain. “Yes, that was a difficult weekend for them,” the Italian is quoted by Speed Week, after Ferrari’s winter of promise ended with the team being outpaced by Mercedes and Red Bull-Honda in Melbourne. “Ferrari could not show a […]
Wolff rubbishes breakaway series rumours
Mar.21 (GMM) Toto Wolff has rubbished rumours he might be part of a movement to set up a rival world championship. Auto Motor und Sport reveals that, last month, the Mercedes boss met with former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, and Racing Point owner and billionaire Lawrence Stroll. The meeting […]
Overtaking ‘still very hard’ in 2019 – Verstappen
Mar.20 (GMM) Max Verstappen has joined those who don’t think the 2019 rule changes have made overtaking easier. Lewis Hamilton said in Melbourne that the wider and simpler front wings were “no different” in terms of giving the chasing car the ability to pass. And Romain Grosjean said it is now easier to follow but […]
‘Finally I have a race car’ – Stroll
Mar.20 (GMM) Lance Stroll is delighted to once again have “a race car”. The 2016 European F3 champion made his F1 debut in 2017, scoring a podium. But last year was a horror season for Williams, and with his backer and father, they moved to the newly Lawrence Stroll-owned Racing Point team for 2019. In […]
Haas drivers slam new point for fastest lap rule
Mar.20 (GMM) Haas’ two F1 drivers have slammed the new ‘point for fastest lap’ rule in F1. But Ross Brawn, Liberty Media’s F1 sporting boss, hailed the introduction of the scheme after Melbourne, saying it “livened up” the end of the race. “That was exactly what we and the FIA had in mind when it […]
Hamilton ‘bored’ behind Bottas in Melbourne – Vettel
Mar.20 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton says it’s “great” to discover after the Australian grand prix that his car was damaged. Despite starting from pole, the Mercedes driver was beaten to the first corner and the chequered flag in Melbourne by his teammate Valtteri Bottas. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel said Hamilton’s driving last Sunday was strange. “I don’t […]
Bottas can be world champion in 2019 – Rosberg
Mar.20 (GMM) Nico Rosberg thinks Valtteri Bottas can keep charging towards the world championship in 2019. Written off after his bad 2018 campaign, Finn Bottas got his season off to the best possible start by beating his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in Melbourne. “I do think Bottas can be world champion,” Rosberg is quoted by […]
Honda to be ‘a force’ in 2019 – Hakkinen
Mar.20 (GMM) Red Bull-Honda looks set to be a “force” in formula one. That is the view of former two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen, who applauded Honda’s first podium since the Japanese manufacturer returned to F1 in 2015. The works McLaren-Honda partnership was an utter failure, but in the first Honda-powered race for Red Bull […]
‘Isolated’ teams must react to B teams – Racing Point
Mar.20 (GMM) Non ‘B’ teams like Racing Point and McLaren will have to “think” about how to respond to the alliances being forged between the sport’s biggest players and smaller outfits. Renault has already hit out at the sort of ‘B team’ alliances between Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and Haas. Andy Green, the technical boss at […]
Mercedes not opposed to budget cap – Wolff
Mar.19 (GMM) Mercedes is not opposed to the introduction of a budget cap in formula one. Earlier, based on an interview in Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung that was reproduced only in part by DPA news agency, we claimed that Toto Wolff is in fact opposed to the budget cap plan. But Mercedes says a crucial part […]
‘More power’ coming from Honda ‘soon’ – Marko
Mar.19 (GMM) Honda is promising more power, and Red Bull is determined to improve its chassis after the new works pairing impressed at the 2019 season opener in Melbourne. Max Verstappen, finishing behind the two Mercedes, ensured that pre-season favourite Ferrari couldn’t even be on the podium in Australia. And Dr Helmut Marko says there […]