Sep.8 (GMM) Ferrari is reportedly working on a new contract for Charles Leclerc. Many believe the momentum is clearly switching from current ‘number 1’ driver Sebastian Vettel to Leclerc, the 21-year-old Spa winner and Monza pole sitter. At Monza, Vettel was vocally upset about having not been given a slipstream in Monza qualifying by Leclerc, […]
Month: September 2019
Schumacher needs another F2 season – Brawn
Sep.8 (GMM) F1 sporting boss Ross Brawn thinks Mick Schumacher needs another season in Formula 2. He echoes the words of former Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali, who said earlier this week of Schumacher: “He is growing up now, but we still have to give him time.” Schumacher, the 20-year-old son of F1 legend Michael […]
Real F1 fans like ‘gladiator’ Verstappen – Villeneuve
Sep.8 (GMM) Max Verstappen is among the last of the “gladiator” drivers in Formula 1. That is the view of 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who found himself at the centre of another controversy at Monza. Verstappen had arrived at Monza calling retired Nico Rosberg the “new Villeneuve” for criticising his first-lap crash with Kimi […]
F1 world now thankful for ‘Halo’ safety
Sep.8 (GMM) The F1 world is rapidly adjusting to the sport’s ‘Halo’ era. The cockpit protection system was introduced last year amid great scepticism, but it has since proved its worth in a series of scary-looking incidents. In the fatal Anthoine Hubert crash in F2 last weekend, another driver was struck on the Halo by […]
Verstappen wants Honda to take ‘more risk’
Sep.8 (GMM) Max Verstappen has urged engine supplier Honda to take “more risk” with its engine. Already at the back of the grid due to an engine change, the Dutchman then sat out the bulk of qualifying at Monza when his Spec 4 Honda delivered “no power”. “There’s no damage, it seems more like just […]
Farcical qualifying ‘not a good look for F1’
Sep.8 (GMM) The strong slipstream effect of the 2019 F1 cars led to a farcical final qualifying segment at high-speed Monza on Saturday. The top ten cars waited until the final moment to attempt their last qualifying runs in Q3, with no driver wanting to be the lead car. The result was that, of the […]
Kubica unsure he can keep Williams seat
Sep.7 (GMM) Robert Kubica says his future will become clearer “sooner or later”. The popular Pole returned to F1 this year after an eight-year break following his near-fatal rallying crash of 2011. But he has struggled, not just with Williams’ slowest-in-2019 car, but notably against his teammate George Russell. “Unfortunately this season is much harder […]
Alonso admits 2021 return possible
Sep.7 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has flagged the possibility of a return to Formula 1 in 2021. Having retired at the end of last year, the double world champion is back on the pitwall this weekend at Monza as a McLaren ambassador. “Let’s see,” he told Britain’s Sky when asked about his future in F1. “I […]
Wolff admits engine reliability concerns
Sep.7 (GMM) “Question marks” remain about engine failures that occurred at Spa last weekend, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admits. The power units in the customer cars of Sergio Perez (Racing Point) and Robert Kubica (Williams) failed, just days before the F1 circus moved on to Monza. “We started to understand what happened, but we only […]
Bottas ‘completely free’ for 2021
Sep.7 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas says he will be “completely free” at the end of 2020. After a period of uncertainty and speculation, Mercedes recently confirmed that the Finn is staying at Mercedes next year. Bottas, though, said the process was simple from his perspective. He told Ilta Sanomat newspaper that Mercedes controlled a one-sided 2020 […]
Dutch GP preparations on track – Lammers
Sep.7 (GMM) Work is about to begin to get the Zandvoort circuit ready for the 2020 Dutch GP. Jan Lammers, a former F1 driver and Dutch GP ambassador, told BNR Nieuwsradio: “The whole story will start from the third or fourth week of September.” Formula 1 recently announced that Zandvoort will be the first European […]
Correa in ‘critical’ condition and coma
Sep.7 (GMM) The condition of the other driver involved in Anthoine Hubert’s fatal crash at Spa has deteriorated. 20-year-old Ecuadorian-American Formula 2 driver Juan Manuel Correa slammed into Hubert’s car at about 270kph at the top of Eau Rouge. He sustained broken legs and a minor spinal injury and underwent surgery before recuperating in intensive […]
Honda deficit now ‘minimal’ – Kvyat
Sep.7 (GMM) Daniil Kvyat says the gap between Honda and the other engine manufacturers on the grid is now “minimal”. The Japanese manufacturer, which supplies engines to both Red Bull teams, introduced its ‘Spec 4’ engine at Spa. Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost said at Monza: “With the Spec 4 engine, I don’t think that […]
Drivers hit back at Villeneuve over Hubert death
Sep.7 (GMM) Three drivers have hit back at Jacques Villeneuve, following comments the 1997 world champion made in the wake of Anthoine Hubert’s death. Villeneuve, now an always-outspoken pundit, said one of the issues is that the younger generation spends so much time in simulators that they then underestimate the sport’s real dangers. “I disagree […]
Door to top team could still open – Perez
Sep.6 (GMM) Sergio Perez thinks Racing Point would let him leave if a top team comes knocking. The F1 world was surprised at Spa when a new three-year contract for the Mexican was announced, as he and his sponsors usually prefer one year deals. “I think this team has a lot of potential, especially as […]
Kvyat not impressed by Albon’s first Red Bull race
Sep.6 (GMM) Daniil Kvyat has countered the Red Bull narrative by admitting he was not impressed by former teammate Alex Albon’s move to the top team. Having overlooked Kvyat to replace Pierre Gasly, both Christian Horner and Dr Helmut Marko said after Spa that they had been impressed with Albon’s “great” first weekend at Red […]
Steiner targeting driver announcement for Singapore
Sep.6 (GMM) Gunther Steiner is hoping to decide Haas’ second driver for 2020 by the next race at Singapore. At Spa, amid rumours Nico Hulkenberg is being actively courted, the American team’s boss admitted Haas could be in a position to make an announcement at Monza. But Renault refugee Hulkenberg says he is not rushing. […]
Hamilton admits Ferrari switch ‘an option’
Sep.6 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton has admitted switching to Ferrari is “an option” for the future. Earlier, we reported that although the Mercedes driver has over a year to run on his current deal, “I will look at the various options in the months to come”. Ahead of Monza, Sky Italia quotes the five time world […]
Magnussen still has ‘no fear’ when driving
Sep.6 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen says he felt “no fear” when he raced at Spa just 24 hours after the death of Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t deeply affected by the rare fatality. Asked about Daniel Ricciardo’s admission that he considered not racing last Sunday, Magnussen said at Monza: “I […]
Verstappen slams ‘no charisma’ critic Rosberg
Sep.6 (GMM) Max Verstappen has hit back hard at Nico Rosberg, following the 2016 world champion’s latest criticism. On his Youtube channel, Rosberg – now an online and television pundit – said Verstappen was “back to his old self” at Spa with his crash with Kimi Raikkonen. Dutchman Verstappen hit back at Monza: “I am […]