Aug.4 (GMM) Two rival team bosses think axed Alpine chiefs Otmar Szafnauer and Alan Permane will have no trouble returning to Formula 1. Denis Chievier, a former Renault engine boss, thinks the latest departures amid widespread managerial chaos at the Renault-owned team has become “political”. “I see a team where, with things not working, a […]
Month: August 2023
Verstappen setting up real-life racing team
Aug.3 (GMM) Max Verstappen is in the process of setting up his own real-life racing team. The reigning world champion is already involved in the sim racing team Redline, but now he is working on setting up a real-life GT3 team under the Verstappen.com Racing banner. Dutch publication Formule 1 reports that it could be […]
German legend Stuck slams state of modern F1
Aug.3 (GMM) German racing legend Hans-Joachim Stuck has slammed some of the latest goings-on in Formula 1. Eurosport Germany asked the former F1 driver, 72, about suggestions the FIA should introduce some rules to try to curb Red Bull’s utter dominance. “I think that’s totally unfair,” Stuck said. “It’s much more important for the FIA […]
Indycar stars set for F1 appearances in 2023
Aug.3 (GMM) Two Indycar drivers are set to appear in Friday practice at grands prix later in 2023. McLaren is an iconic Formula 1 team, but under CEO Zak Brown’s stewardship the company now also races in America’s top open wheeler category. Chip Ganassi’s dominant driver Alex Palou has close links with McLaren, while Pat […]
German Formula E team targets Vettel
Aug.3 (GMM) A Formula E team has hinted that it is targeting Sebastian Vettel for the all-electric series’ next championship season. It comes as Robin Frijns leaves the ABT Cupra team – a German outfit that finished the latest Formula E championship dead last. When asked about Frijns’ departure, team boss Thomas Biermaier told ran.de: […]
Hugo Boss to Alpha Tauri, Alfa Romeo to Haas – reports
Aug.3 (GMM) Hugo Boss, the well-known German fashion brand, could take over the naming rights of Red Bull’s second Formula 1 team Alpha Tauri. Dr Helmut Marko has already revealed that the Faenza based team will get a brand new name for 2024. “If a deal goes through, the team would likely start as Hugo […]
Hong Kong man ‘lies’ about F1 team ownership – Forbes
Aug.3 (GMM) Forbes, the renowned American business publication, has savaged a so-called billionaire who claims to be involved in Formula 1. As recently as late June, we reported that “Hong Kong billionaire Calvin Lo has been linked with the FIA’s tender process” for the potential eleventh and twelfth F1 teams for 2025 or 2026. And […]
‘Signs of improvement’ at Ferrari, says CEO
Aug.3 (GMM) Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna says he has seen “signs of improvement” at the fabled Formula 1 team recently. Fans, pundits and the Italian media have been highly critical recently as the Maranello based outfit struggled to make an impression in 2023. But Charles Leclerc, who is rumoured to have now inked a new […]
De Vries was given enough time in F1 – Alliot
Aug.3 (GMM) Nyck de Vries was given enough time to shine, according to former Formula 1 driver Philippe Alliot. The general paddock narrative is that Red Bull was in fact hasty in ousting the 28-year-old Dutch rookie after just ten races at Alpha Tauri. Alliot doesn’t agree. “You have to quickly make a strong impression,” […]
Renault not spending enough in F1 – Budkowski
Aug.3 (GMM) The problem at Alpine isn’t people – it’s money. That’s the view of highly respected Formula 1 engineer Marcin Budkowski, who left the Renault-owned team at the beginning of last year. He was asked about F1 legend Alain Prost’s recent words about the sad current moment taking place at Alpine, with upper management […]
Situation has ‘completely changed’ for Tsunoda
Aug.2 (GMM) Yuki Tsunoda admits his situation has “completely changed” at Red Bull-owned Alpha Tauri. Before teammate Nyck de Vries’ axing just prior to the Hungarian GP, Japanese Tsunoda was dominating at the junior Red Bull outfit – and clearly a contender for a future Red Bull Racing seat. But de Vries’ replacement, Daniel Ricciardo, […]
Mazepin may not be free to return to F1 – lawyer
Aug.2 (GMM) Nikita Mazepin is not necessarily free to start negotiating his return to Formula 1. That is the view of prominent Russian sports lawyer Anna Antseliovich, who was once director-general of the country’s anti-doping agency. Fellow Russian Mazepin and his father’s company Uralkali were ousted from Haas and Formula 1 at the onset of […]
Szafnauer not ruling out Aston Martin return
Aug.2 (GMM) One of Otmar Szafnauer’s last acts before leaving the F1 paddock and his role as Alpine team boss behind in Belgium was to stop in at the Aston Martin motorhome. He may, of course, have simply been saying farewell to his former colleagues, as only he moved from the Silverstone based team to […]
Andretti ‘optimistic’ as Renault link strengthens
Aug.2 (GMM) Michael Andretti says he is “optimistic” the FIA will green-light his organisation’s application to join the Formula 1 grid. The latest rumour in the Andretti-Cadillac saga is that the Spanish sports daily Marca reports that the former McLaren driver met with Renault CEO Luca de Meo at the Canadian GP recently. The revelation […]
Ferrari sides with Mercedes against Alpine power boost
Aug.1 (GMM) Frederic Vasseur admits he is not receptive to Renault’s push for special engine freeze dispensation to address its horsepower deficit. While the F1 Commission last week agreed that the works power unit in Alpine’s cars is about 30hp down, there is so far no agreement on how the FIA will allow the team […]
Abiteboul agrees Alpine ‘arrogance’ hurting F1 team
Aug.1 (GMM) “Arrogance” may explain the current management turmoil at Renault-owned Alpine, former team boss Cyril Abiteboul said. Already, since the sudden ousting of new boss Otmar Szafnauer, long-serving sporting boss Alan Permane and technical guru Pat Fry, another former Renault chief – Alain Prost – has blasted former Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi. “He is […]
D’Ambrosio is reserve Mercedes team boss – Wolff
Aug.1 (GMM) Former F1 driver Jerome d’Ambrosio has become the ‘reserve team boss’ at Mercedes, Toto Wolff has revealed. Recently, former Virgin and Lotus driver d’Ambrosio is usually spotted at Wolff’s shoulder during grands prix – in his new role as driver development director. Previously, he was team boss at the Formula E team Venturi, […]
Verstappen-Lambiase spat ‘great fun’ – Marko
Aug.1 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has played down a major narrative that emerged from the Belgian GP weekend – that Max Verstappen is increasingly at odds with his race engineer. Radio traffic between the pair as Verstappen dominated at Spa-Francorchamps indicated that the 25-year-old and Gianpiero Lambiase may be on a collision course to a […]
Court says Mazepin free to return to Formula 1
Aug.1 (GMM) A top European court has confirmed that sacked Nikita Mazepin is now free to race in Formula 1. Earlier this year, the same court temporarily lifted European sanctions on the Russian former Haas driver that had been imposed at the outset of the Ukraine conflict. “The court was not satisfied that the restrictive […]