Nov.30 (GMM) Mick Schumacher says he would be happy to be Charles Leclerc’s future teammate at Ferrari. The 20-year-old son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher admits he would have liked to make the jump for 2020, but he is only twelfth overall in his first season of Formula 2. “Although I have the super license, […]
Month: November 2019
F1 wants changes to Paul Ricard layout
Nov.30 (GMM) Formula 1 is pushing organisers of the French GP to make modifications to the Paul Ricard circuit. This year’s race at the track was regarded as perhaps the most boring of 2019. L’Equipe sports newspaper reports that Eric Boullier, the former McLaren boss who is now involved in organising the French GP, is […]
Vettel admits wanting to ‘stay home’ this weekend
Nov.30 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has admitted he would have liked to “stay home” this weekend. On Thursday, the Ferrari driver missed the FIA press conference in Abu Dhabi following the birth less than 24 hours earlier of his third child – his first son. “Maybe this is the first weekend where the feeling is strongest […]
Verstappen donates to koala fundraiser
Nov.30 (GMM) Max Verstappen has made a donation to help save Australia’s koalas from bushfire. A crowd-funding campaign for the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital in Australia aimed to raise $25,000 to put drinking stations in areas ravaged by recent fires. But when footage of a koala rescue went internationally viral, and it then emerged that […]
Mercedes bans Ocon from Abu Dhabi garage
Nov.30 (GMM) Mercedes has banned its 2019 reserve driver Esteban Ocon from the team garage this weekend in Abu Dhabi. Although to still be managed by Toto Wolff, the Frenchman has been signed up by the Renault works team for 2020. Ocon, 23, has also been released early by Mercedes so that he can get […]
McLaren’s Brown not admitting Honda regret
Nov.30 (GMM) McLaren supremo Zak Brown is refusing to say whether he regrets splitting with the team’s former works engine supplier Honda. After three dismal years together following Honda’s return to Formula 1 in 2015, Brown and fellow executives signed up instead for a customer Renault deal. However, although McLaren has upped its game considerably […]
Raikkonen, Bottas, undecided about 2021
Nov.30 (GMM) F1’s two Finnish drivers aren’t sure what they will be doing in 2021. Like many drivers on the grid this year, both Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas are only signed up to their current teams for 2020. “Well, that decision must be made somewhere before then, but I haven’t even thought about it,” […]
Canada GP promoter in Abu Dhabi for Latifi news
Nov.30 (GMM) Canada GP promoter Francois Dumontier travelled to Abu Dhabi for the announcement of Nicholas Latifi’s 2020 race seat with Williams. Le Journal de Montreal said Dumontier also travelled to England in late 2016 when the same British team was about to announce Lance Stroll’s signing. “When I heard that Williams would make the […]
Renault to test ‘e-sport’ driver in F1 simulator
Nov.30 (GMM) F1 teams are beginning to explore the crossover between so-called ‘e-sports’ and its real-life counterpart. Once simply a world of video games for fun, technological progress means that the official “Formula 1 Esports Series” is getting tantalisingly close to the real thing. “There are a lot of similarities between the two,” Jarno Opmeer, […]
Leclerc will aim for 2020 title – Binotto
Nov.30 (GMM) Mattia Binotto says he is still fully supportive of Ferrari’s current driver lineup, even after their clash in Brazil. That is despite the fact that many in the paddock think the momentum at Ferrari is clearly shifting for the future towards Charles Leclerc. “For his first season with Ferrari, under a lot of […]
Williams puts Sirotkin on stand-by in Abu Dhabi
Nov.30 (GMM) Sergey Sirotkin, who is actually Renault and McLaren’s reserve driver, was put on standby to potentially replace Williams’ George Russell in Abu Dhabi. British rookie Russell is not saying what the problem is. “It’s not an illness, it’s something different,” he is quoted by Auto Hebdo. “Everything will make sense when I can […]
Honda confirms Red Bull talks about 2022 underway
Nov.30 (GMM) Honda boss Masashi Yamamoto says it is likely the Japanese manufacturer will stay in Formula 1 beyond 2021. After signing a one-year contract extension beyond 2020 with Honda, Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko said talks about 2022 and 2023 are already underway. Red Bull is clearly under pressure to wrap up a longer […]
Ferrari ‘happy’ to consider Hamilton for 2021
Nov.30 (GMM) Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto has expressed interest in snapping up Lewis Hamilton for 2021. In Brazil recently, amid rumours the absent Toto Wolff could leave Mercedes to replace Chase Carey as F1 CEO, Hamilton suggested his boss’ future would influence his own decision about 2021. “I think it’s nice of Lewis to say […]
‘No room’ for second driver at Red Bull – Boullier
Nov.29 (GMM) Any driver would struggle to be Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull-Honda. That is the view of former McLaren team boss Eric Boullier, who was asked by Ouest France newspaper about Pierre Gasly’s up-and-down 2019 season. Fellow Frenchman Gasly moved up to Red Bull Racing for 2019 to replace Daniel Ricciardo, but by […]
Renault needs ‘patience’ for works success – Boullier
Nov.29 (GMM) Renault only needs “patience” and it can eventually catch the top teams in Formula 1. That is the view of Frenchman Eric Boullier, the former McLaren boss who actually entered F1 to front a former incarnation of the team based at Enstone. “It’s a big challenge to take over a team and reconfigure […]
‘Interesting times ahead’ for Renault – Hulkenberg
Nov.29 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo says Renault is showing “encouraging signs” at the tail end of his difficult first season since leaving Red Bull. The Australian insists he does not regret quitting as Max Verstappen’s teammate to join Renault, who are fighting to keep fifth place in the constructors’ championship at the Abu Dhabi finale. “It […]
Honda engine now ‘on par with Mercedes’ – Albon
Nov.29 (GMM) Red Bull driver Alex Albon thinks Honda is now “on a par with Mercedes”. Just four years after Honda’s abysmal 2015 return to Formula 1 with McLaren, the Japanese supplier has finally caught up with the other engine manufacturers. However, some think it was the high altitude in Brazil that helped Honda-powered Max […]
Relationships ‘tough’ for F1 drivers – Hamilton
Nov.29 (GMM) Six time world champion Lewis Hamilton says having personal relationships outside of Formula 1 is difficult for the drivers. Sebastian Vettel was late to arrive in Abu Dhabi on Thursday after the birth on Wednesday of his third child – a son. “Congratulations to Seb, he’s obviously a great father,” Hamilton said. “But […]
2020 F1 debut ‘would have been nice’ – Schumacher
Nov.29 (GMM) Mick Schumacher admits it “would have been nice” if he had been able to step up to Formula 1 for 2020. However, as he looks set to finish just 12th overall this year, the son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher is instead signing up for a second season of Formula 2. “I’m glad […]
Hulkenberg admits future ‘in the stars’
Nov.29 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg says the only sure thing in his immediate future is a “break”. After a decade on the grid, the 32-year-old German lost his Renault race seat for 2020 and also failed to reach a deal with an alternate team. “My future is still in the stars, but for me that’s fine. […]