Aug.10 (GMM) Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel should split immediately. That is the view of former Ferrari driver and F1 legend Gerhard Berger, after tensions between Vettel and the Maranello team continued to flare on Sunday. “You know that you’ve messed up,” the quadruple world champion said on the radio during the Silverstone race. He was […]
Month: August 2020
Hamilton denies accusing Red Bull of cheating
Aug.10 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton has denied insinuating that Red Bull under-inflated Max Verstappen’s tyres for Sunday’s race at Silverstone. While Verstappen raced to victory and the two Mercedes struggled with excessive tyre problems, world champion Hamilton said on the radio: “He must have less pressure in his tyres or something.” Former Red Bull driver Robert […]
Leclerc, Hamilton self-criticism ‘merciless’ – Vasseur
Aug.9 (GMM) Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have something in common – the intensity of their self-criticism. That is the claim of Frederic Vasseur, who worked with both drivers in the past on their road to Formula 1. “Only with Lewis Hamilton have I seen as much self-criticism as I saw with Charles Leclerc,” Vasseur, […]
Ferrari slammed for joining ‘pink Mercedes’ protest
Aug.9 (GMM) Dutch commentator Olav Mol has lashed out at Ferrari for daring to lodge a protest against Racing Point’s ‘pink Mercedes’. Multiple teams are enraged that, with its brake ducts found to have been illegally copied from Mercedes, Racing Point was fined EUR 400,000 and stripped of 15 points – but the car can […]
‘Sources’ say Daimler unhappy with Wolff
Aug.9 (GMM) Toto Wolff’s relationship with Daimler could be souring, according to the respected Dutch publication nu.nl. Firstly, the Mercedes team boss is at the centre of the ‘pink Mercedes’ car copying scandal, with five teams already siding against Wolff’s support for Racing Point. “It’s a small revolution. Small in every way,” Wolff was quoted […]
Hulkenberg hailed, but Perez likely to return
Aug.9 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg deserves a full-time return to Formula 1. That was the sentiment of basically the entire paddock and beyond on Saturday, as the German qualified third behind the Mercedes cars at Silverstone. While his ‘pink Mercedes’ is a controversial topic at present, nobody begrudged Hulkenberg the result as he continues to sub […]
Gasly ‘pushing’ for Red Bull return
Aug.9 (GMM) Pierre Gasly has vowed to “seize the opportunity” if he sees a chance to return to Red Bull. Mid last season, the Frenchman found himself under intense pressure as he struggled alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing. He was demoted to Alpha Tauri, but now it is his replacement – Alex Albon […]
Shwartzman ‘better than Mick Schumacher’ – Lehto
Aug.9 (GMM) There are doubts about whether Mick Schumacher can take the final step to Formula 1. The 21-year-old Ferrari junior, whose father is the seven time world champion Michael Schumacher, stepped up to Formula 2 last year, finishing just twelfth overall for the top Prema team. But so far in 2020, the German is […]
2021 a ‘fresh new beginning’ for Vettel – Heidfeld
Aug.9 (GMM) Big questions are being asked about Sebastian Vettel’s obvious decline at Ferrari. With Vettel to be ousted at the end of the year, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton wonders if Ferrari has stopped supporting the quadruple world champion altogether. “I don’t think they’re doing much to make Sebastian shine at the moment,” he said. Tyres […]
Verstappen ‘accepts’ that he will not be 2020 champion
Aug.8 (GMM) Max Verstappen says he has “accepted” that he will not become Formula 1’s youngest ever champion. At 22, the Dutchman needed to secure the title this year in order to beat Sebastian Vettel’s old record. Verstappen says his Red Bull is not up to the job. “I have already accepted that a world […]
Magnussen eyes F3 test to prepare for Imola
Aug.8 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen says he wants to test a Formula 3 car at Imola before the sport races on the former San Marino GP venue in November. Imola, having not hosted a race since 2006, has been added to the sport’s ‘corona calendar’ to replace one of the originally scheduled and ultimately cancelled events. […]
Albon’s confidence now ‘below zero’ – Doornbos
Aug.8 (GMM) Alex Albon’s “self confidence” has dropped to “below zero” in 2020. That is the view of former Red Bull driver Robert Doornbos, as he assesses the team’s current second driver in his struggle to keep up with Max Verstappen. Referring to an instance of oversteer in one of the fast corners at Silverstone […]
Perez hits out at ‘irresponsible’ opinions
Aug.8 (GMM) Sergio Perez says rumours about his coronavirus infection are “irresponsible”. Germany’s RTL claims the Mexican is not only still infected, but that the concentration of the virus is actually now higher in the Racing Point driver’s body than a week ago. That means Nico Hulkenberg is still in his pink car at Silverstone. […]
Wolff not commenting on Hamilton pay-cut rumours
Aug.8 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has hinted that his decision about what to do in 2021 has already been made. Although there are rumours Sergio Perez’s sponsors are willing to pay more, it is believed the Mexican will be replaced by Ferrari refugee Vettel after Racing Point becomes Aston Martin next year. La Gazzetta dello Sport […]
Marko calls soft tyres at Silverstone ‘useless’
Aug.8 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has lashed out at the “useless” soft tyres supplied by Pirelli at Silverstone. To spice up the back-to-back action at Silverstone, Formula 1 decided to mix up the allocation of mandatory tyre compounds for the two race weekends – with this weekend’s selection to be softer. That is despite the […]
Binotto hopes Mercedes stays in F1 in 2021
Aug.8 (GMM) Mattia Binotto hopes Mercedes stays in Formula 1 beyond the end of the year. The Ferrari boss’s statement comes after his Mercedes counterpart, Toto Wolff, said at Silverstone that the reigning champions are not ready to sign the 2021 Concorde Agreement. Recently in Hungary, Wolff slammed teams like Ferrari for their “ridiculous commentaries” […]
Teams to appeal ‘pink Mercedes’ penalty over car copying
Aug.8 (GMM) A group of rival teams is not happy with the outcome of Renault’s protest against the ‘pink Mercedes’ raced by Racing Point this year. Following a spate of protests against the car’s allegedly copied brake duct design so far this season, the FIA finally announced on Friday that Racing Point has been fined […]
Camara is Red Bull’s ‘corona’ reserve driver
Aug.7 (GMM) Amid all the current talk about reserve drivers, Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko is calm. That is despite the fact that, following Sergio Perez’s positive corona test a week ago, Racing Point had to replace the Mexican at the eleventh hour with Nico Hulkenberg. Realising that Mercedes’ Stoffel Vandoorne is in Berlin for […]
Briatore should run Ferrari team – Ecclestone
Aug.7 (GMM) Flavio Briatore should replace Mattia Binotto as Ferrari’s team boss. That is the view of Bernie Ecclestone, the former F1 supremo who had close personal and business ties with the former Benetton and Renault chief. “He has won a couple of world championships with Renault and is incredibly competent,” Ecclestone, 89, told Germany’s […]
Media should ‘stop talking about’ kneeling – Sainz
Aug.7 (GMM) Charles Leclerc has lashed out at media reports and members of the public accusing him of racism. It comes after his latest interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, in which he said he does not kneel before races because of the Black Lives Matter movement’s links to violence and politics. “It is very […]