Apr.30 (GMM) The promoter of an existing F1 race has cast doubt on whether a deal for a 2020 Dutch GP is in fact done. Olav Mol, a commentator for Dutch television Ziggo Sport, said he saw Sean Bratches in Baku and F1’s commercial boss said of Zandvoort’s race hopes: “We have a deal”. But […]
Month: April 2019
2019 tyre situation ‘not Formula 1’ – Steiner
Apr.30 (GMM) Gunther Steiner says the current tyre situation is “not Formula 1”. Steiner is the boss of Haas, the American team that despite having a fast car is struggling desperately with Pirelli’s new tyres in the races. “It’s a question of who is fighting the most with it, and that’s us,” he told Ekstra […]
Williams ‘uncontrollable’ in Baku – Kubica
Apr.30 (GMM) Williams’ 2019 car is not only slow, it was also “pretty uncontrollable” in Baku. That is the view of an increasingly forthright Robert Kubica as the British team’s woes continue this season. He crashed in qualifying and calls the Mercedes-powered car “very uncomfortable to race in”. “I almost drove into the wall at […]
Gasly getting ‘a lot’ of Red Bull support – Horner
Apr.30 (GMM) Pierre Gasly is now “coming out of this delicate period” at the beginning of his career at Red Bull Racing. That is the claim of team boss Christian Horner, apparently putting a stop to speculation that the French driver’s seat is in doubt. On paper, Gasly had another difficult weekend in Baku, but […]
Binotto denies need to make changes at Ferrari
Apr.30 (GMM) After Baku, the Italian press is once again highly critical of Ferrari. Following yet another Mercedes 1-2, Sebastian Vettel called the situation in F1 “boring”. Championship leader Valtteri Bottas replied: “There’s nothing boring about it, especially when you’re in the fight for the title.” So the Italian press wonders if it is already […]
Simulator driver leaves McLaren
Apr.30 (GMM) A developing driver has left McLaren. In February, Dutchman Nyck de Vries said he hopes that after George Russell, Lando Norris and Alexander Albon, he will be the next to graduate from Formula 2. “I don’t want to sound arrogant at all, but Norris and Albon were really no better than me,” the […]
Red Bull pace ‘not yet frustrating’ – Verstappen
Apr.30 (GMM) Max Verstappen says his situation at Red Bull-Honda is “not frustrating yet”. Team boss Christian Horner has denied there is a risk the talented and maturing Dutchman might switch to Mercedes. And there are signs of frustration. Ziggo Sport quotes the 21-year-old as saying finishing fourth in Baku was “better than finishing last”. […]
Wolff ‘careful’ about Bottas-Hamilton rivalry
Apr.30 (GMM) 2019 could be shaping up as a two-driver race for the title. But it may not involve a Ferrari driver. Mercedes has won every single race so far in record-breaking 1-2s, and Valtteri Bottas leads Lewis Hamilton by a single point. Sebastian Vettel, the highest scoring non-Mercedes driver, is a full 35 points […]
No extra speed from flexible wing – Raikkonen
Apr.29 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen has played down claims Alfa Romeo deliberately tried to race a ‘flexible’ front wing in Baku. The Finn was kicked out of qualifying when it was found that the wing on his car flexed half a millimetre more than is allowed. Team boss Frederic Vasseur, however, said the wings on Raikkonen […]
Haas ‘just not fast enough’ – Magnussen
Apr.29 (GMM) Haas’ early-season promise continued to fade in Baku. Despite targeting fourth in the constructors’ championship this year with the initially fast 2019 car, the American team struggled once again in Sunday’s race. Kevin Magnussen started and finished 13th. “There’s not much to say. We were just not fast enough and we have to […]
Rosberg denies two-race ‘ban’ report
Apr.29 (GMM) Nico Rosberg’s assistant, and Formula 1, have denied that the 2016 world champion was ‘banned’ from attending the Baku and Spanish grands prix. We reported at the weekend that the German was absent from Azerbaijan after having his permanent world champion paddock and grid ‘pass’ confiscated by Liberty Media. Georg Nolte, Rosberg’s assistant, […]
Horner ‘sure’ Verstappen staying at Red Bull
Apr.29 (GMM) Christian Horner says he is “100 per cent sure” Max Verstappen will stay with Red Bull-Honda in 2020. The Dutchman already has a contract for next year, but there have been rumours of contact between Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and Verstappen’s management. And those rumours have only intensified amid speculation about Sebastian Vettel’s […]
Leclerc thinks road to F1 title ‘long’
Apr.29 (GMM) Charles Leclerc says the road ahead of him to the F1 title is “long”. In Bahrain, only a car problem prevented the young Monegasque from winning his first grand prix. And in Baku, Toto Wolff said that despite Mercedes’ fourth consecutive 1-2, “Charles Leclerc was the fastest here”. Indeed, the Ferrari driver was […]
Wolff denies Vettel’s claim about ‘boring’ 2019
Apr.29 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel is not sure Ferrari can hit back at the increasingly dominant Mercedes team next weekend in Barcelona. In the winter, Ferrari dominated the pre-season tests which took place at the Spanish grand prix venue. But on Sunday, Mercedes broke Williams’ 1992 record for the most consecutive 1-2 finishes. “Boring,” German Vettel […]
F1 could scratch Friday from weekend format – Kvyat
Apr.28 (GMM) Daniil Kvyat thinks F1 should consider scrapping Friday from the F1 weekend format. In Baku, the first 90 minute session was effectively lost when the circuit had to check all 300 manhole covers after the George Russell incident. Toro Rosso driver Kvyat says the effect on the rest of the weekend was negligible. […]
Mercedes ‘dummy’ cost Vettel pole in Baku
Apr.28 (GMM) A “dummy” by Mercedes could have cost Sebastian Vettel pole in Azerbaijan. Ferrari was faster all weekend on the Baku street circuit, but in qualifying Vettel had no car to slipstream on the ultra-long, 2km straight. “The slipstream effect here is huge,” said Mercedes’ Toto Wolff. “Let’s just say that usually it’s 1 […]
Williams ends spare parts shortage
Apr.28 (GMM) Williams appears to have solved its shortage of spare parts. Earlier, amid the team’s awful start to the 2019 season, the performance problem was compounded by a shortage of spare parts at the tests and races. But Baku has shown that the problem is now solved. Team mechanics built a whole new car […]
Promoter says Williams will be compensated
Apr.28 (GMM) Azerbaijan GP promoter Arif Rahimov says Williams will be compensated for damage to George Russell’s chassis. Russell’s car was destroyed in Friday practice, when he ran over a loose manhole cover on the high speed street circuit. Claire Williams said the British team would talk to the FIA about compensation. “As a street […]
Surname a ‘problem’ for Schumacher – Ecclestone
Apr.28 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has described Mick Schumacher’s famous surname as a “problem” as he progresses towards the F1 grid. In Baku for his second Formula 2 race, the son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher spun. “Of course I’m following him,” former F1 supremo Ecclestone told Blick newspaper in Baku. “The biggest problem for him […]
Liberty bans Rosberg from Baku, Barcelona
Apr.28 (GMM) Nico Rosberg was banned from the paddock of the grand prix in Azerbaijan this weekend. The 2016 world champion is a television pundit for German and British television. But according to the Dutch publication Formule 1, he is not in Baku, after Liberty Media banned him. In China, the former Mercedes driver reportedly […]