May 25 (GMM) Cyril Abiteboul says he has put together a “plan” to put Renault back on the right track by the French works team’s home race in June. “The start of the season was extremely unfortunate not just for us but for our fans and our sponsors,” he told Auto Hebdo. “At the height […]
Month: May 2019
Lauda to be buried in racing overalls
May 25 (GMM) Niki Lauda will be buried in his racing overalls, the German news source Nachrichten claims. The Monaco GP weekend has become all about the F1 legend, who died late on Monday after a 2018 lung transplant. Many teams have modified their liveries in tribute to the former Mercedes team chairman, and a […]
Mercedes snaps up Formula 2 star de Vries
May 25 (GMM) Mercedes has apparently signed up former McLaren simulator driver Nyck de Vries. We reported in April that the 24-year-old Dutchman, who won the Formula 2 race in Monaco on Friday and is a 2019 title challenger, has left McLaren. “I no longer do simulator work for McLaren,” he confirmed. In Monaco, McLaren […]
Bratches worried about F1 pay-TV deals
May 25 (GMM) Liberty Media has expressed concerns about crashing viewing figures that commercial boss Sean Bratches says is due to the trend for pay TV deals. The Daily Mail says the limited coverage in Britain provided by free to air broadcaster Channel 4 is down a whopping 4.3 million over the first five races […]
Indycar to use Red Bull’s ‘Aeroscreen’
May 25 (GMM) Indycar will introduce the Red Bull-designed and developed ‘Aeroscreen’ innovation from 2020. Red Bull developed the windscreen-like concept in 2016, when the F1 team argued it was a better idea than the Halo that was made mandatory for 2018. “This new partnership with Indycar gives us at Red Bull Advanced Technologies the […]
Binotto excuses Leclerc’s ‘mistakes’
May 24 (GMM) Mattia Binotto has excused Charles Leclerc for making mistakes at the start of his career at Ferrari. While heralded by the F1 paddock, it is true that the young Monaco born driver is a long way off Sebastian Vettel’s pace in the Principality. “Leclerc was completely overdriving the Ferrari,” Dr Helmut Marko, […]
World title not ‘taboo’ for Ferrari – Binotto
May 24 (GMM) Mattia Binotto insists winning the world championship is not a “taboo” topic for Ferrari. His comments come as pundits like Mark Webber suggest Mercedes’ five consecutive 1-2 finishes mean Ferrari should think about switching focus to 2020. “Mercedes is doing better than us, but there is time to catch up,” boss Binotto […]
Ferrari should soon switch focus to 2020 – Webber
May 24 (GMM) Mark Webber thinks Ferrari should consider writing off the 2019 world championship after the next race in Canada. So far this year, Mercedes has scored five consecutive 1-2 finishes, and the dominant German team looks set to keep dominating in Monaco. “If it keeps going on for months then at some point […]
Lauda funeral set for Wednesday
May 24 (GMM) The public can attend Niki Lauda’s funeral next Wednesday. German-language reports say it will take place at the gothic St Stephen’s Cathedral in the F1 legend’s native Vienna. After the closed casket is displayed until midday, a public requiem will take place. The 70-year-old’s family will attend a separate private funeral and […]
Alonso said buying Indy 500 seat ‘unethical’
May 24 (GMM) Fernando Alonso ruled out taking over countryman Oriol Servia’s seat in the Indy 500 because it was “unethical”. That is not the claim of Alonso, or his boss Zak Brown, but of Spaniard Servia himself. The seat occupied by Servia, 44, was targeted by McLaren boss Zak Brown under a system whereby […]
Lauda wanted Mercedes to ‘keep going’ – Wolff
May 24 (GMM) An emotional Toto Wolff said in Monaco that Niki Lauda was enjoying Mercedes’ dominance in 2019. “The last time I heard from him was after Baku,” Wolff, who co-owned and ran Mercedes together with team chairman and F1 legend Lauda, revealed. “The message was ‘It cannot be better, keep it up’.” Wolff […]
Alonso-McLaren relationship not broken – Brown
May 24 (GMM) Zak Brown insists McLaren’s relationship with Fernando Alonso is not broken. After almost winning the Indy 500 with the Andretti entry in 2017, Spaniard Alonso attempted to complete his ‘triple crown’ goal with McLaren this year but failed to qualify. McLaren promptly fired the Indy team’s boss, Bob Fernley. “To answer your […]
Raikkonen dislikes modern Monaco layout
May 24 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen says Monaco has lost its magic of the past – for the drivers. This weekend, the Finn – who won the prestigious street race in 2005 – is celebrating his 300th grand prix. But he doesn’t want to celebrate. “I don’t want cakes, drinks, nothing. It’s just a number that […]
F1 heading for new engine formula in 2025
May 24 (GMM) F1 looks set to scrap the ‘power unit’ regulations for 2025. Due to their complexity, expense, lack of noise and the utter dominance of Mercedes since 2014, the current turbo V6 rules have been almost universally unpopular. The rules are remaining in place for 2021, but in the Monaco paddock it emerged […]
Gasly says Red Bull bosses still backing him
May 23 (GMM) Pierre Gasly says he is still being supported by his Red Bull bosses. The Frenchman had a troubled transition from Toro Rosso to the senior Red Bull team this year after getting the call to replace Daniel Ricciardo. But Gasly says he is getting up to speed now. “Things are going well,” […]
No ‘team orders’ after Haas drivers clash
May 23 (GMM) Gunther Steiner says Haas still has “two equal drivers”. After Barcelona, there were rumours that Romain Grosjean was the American team’s favourite. Boss Steiner was furious with Kevin Magnussen after the pair clashed during the Spanish GP. But Steiner said in Monaco that no ‘team orders’ have been subsequently imposed. “They can […]
2019 ‘a mess’ so far for Renault – Hulkenberg
May 23 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg has admitted that Renault’s 2019 season so far has been a “mess”. The French works team wanted to get closer to the top three teams this year, but even with Daniel Ricciardo recruited from Red Bull, Renault is just eighth out of ten overall. “The season has been a bit […]
Hamilton’s media absence ‘pathetic’ – Watson
May 23 (GMM) John Watson, a former F1 driver who said Niki Lauda was his life-long friend, has slammed Lewis Hamilton for his behaviour in Monaco. After the Mercedes team chairman died late on Monday, Hamilton said on social media in a personal message to Lauda: “I will always be here for your family should […]
Perez admits Mexico GP heading for axe
May 23 (GMM) Sergio Perez has admitted that his home race in Mexico looks set to drop off the 2020 calendar. Not yet wanting to expand the schedule beyond 21 races, Liberty Media needs to drop two current races to make room for Zandvoort and Vietnam. Barcelona looks to be the victim of the new […]
Vettel denies 2019 Ferrari design is flawed
May 23 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has dismissed suggestions the basic design of Ferrari’s 2019 car is flawed. “If it us, then there are many in the field that you can say that about,” the German said in Monaco. “I think there are many cars behind us.” However, with Ferrari having earlier looked to have aced […]