Nov.30 (GMM) Former Mercedes boss Norbert Haug says there’s a historical fact about Formula 1 that he’d like to set the record straight about. In 2010, the great Michael Schumacher abandoned his retirement to return to the grid for the first three years of the newly-formed Mercedes works team. History has recorded that, at the […]
Month: November 2023
Verstappen ‘ignores’ most daily F1 news
Nov.30 (GMM) Max Verstappen admits he won’t be keeping up with the daily goings-on in Formula 1 over the forthcoming off-season period. The triple world champion is well known for being one of the drivers on the grid who is least interested in keeping up his profile on social media. He admits it makes him […]
‘Harmonious’ Sauber team is ‘vegetating’ – pundits
Nov.30 (GMM) Alfa Romeo, which will revert to its Sauber moniker for 2024 as the naming sponsor departs Formula 1, is merely treading water in Formula 1 ahead of the 2026 transition to works Audi status. That is the concerned observation of two well-known and experienced F1 pundits, including Sky Deutschland commentator Sascha Roos. Ahead […]
Verstappen poaches new F1 physio from rival driver
Nov.30 (GMM) World champion Max Verstappen has poached a new personal trainer from one of his Formula 1 rivals. The Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reports that his current performance coach, Bradley Scanes, recently told Red Bull that Abu Dhabi would be his last grand prix after four years with Verstappen. “Scanes also has other work […]
Skydiving Hamilton still ‘smiles’ in F1 car
Nov.30 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton has got his post-season holidays off to an adrenaline-soaked start by joining a group of friends with a spot of skydiving in Dubai. While some of his rivals had some more driving to do after the Abu Dhabi finale in the form of the post-season test, the Mercedes driver was looking […]
Red Bull return rumours make Ricciardo ‘smile’
Nov.29 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo, who voluntarily left Red Bull for 2019 to embark on his ill-fated adventures at Renault and McLaren, says he just smiles when he hears rumours linking him with a potential return to Red Bull’s top team. “I think 12 months ago a lot of the rumours were normally negative,” the 34-year-old […]
Red Bull ‘discussion’ looming over Marko’s F1 future
Nov.29 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko does not sound 100 percent certain he will remain in his top Red Bull job into 2024. Recently, there were rumblings of a major power struggle behind the scenes of the energy drink company’s Formula 1 program, with 80-year-old team consultant Marko reportedly at loggerheads with Red Bull Racing boss […]
FIA could revive Michael Masi’s F1 career
Nov.29 (GMM) Michael Masi could make a shock return to Formula 1. The Australian, 45, was ousted from his role as F1 race director after the highly controversial 2021 season finale, in which a contentious safety car decision preceded Max Verstappen’s last-lap title defeat of Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is […]
Perez still not good enough for Red Bull – Albers
Nov.28 (GMM) A regular critic of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate has taken the opportunity to once again slam Sergio Perez. Christijan Albers, Dutch like Verstappen, claims the 2023 season finale in Abu Dhabi is yet more evidence that Mexican driver Perez should be ousted. He says his collision with Lando Norris at the 2023 […]
Magnussen steps away from teammate’s Haas criticism
Nov.28 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen has declined to follow in the wheel-tracks of his teammate Nico Hulkenberg in stepping up his criticism of the Haas team. Hulkenberg has been causing a stir at recent races by beginning to call for fundamental changes at the small American team, particularly in the wake of the total failure of […]
Mercedes plays down Vesti-Williams rumours
Nov.28 (GMM) Mercedes has played down rumours linking F1 junior driver Frederik Vesti with Logan Sargeant’s Williams race seat for 2024. Although Williams boss James Vowles said in Abu Dhabi that he is still not ready to confirm Sargeant’s deal for next year, he has been consistently hinting that the struggling 22-year-old American has done […]
Red Bull may dominate yet again in 2023 – Marko
Nov.28 (GMM) Red Bull broke the all-time record for the most dominant winning percentage in a full season of Formula 1 in 2023 – an astonishing 95.5 percent. It’s an ominous statistic for rival teams facing what Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admits is the “Mt Everest” of chasing down triple consecutive world champion Max Verstappen. […]
Verstappen wants to be ‘left alone’ for winter – father
Nov.28 (GMM) After the chequered flag on Sunday, Fernando Alonso asked Max Verstappen what he will be doing over the next few weeks now that the long 2023 season is over. “Hopefully not too much,” the triple world champion replied on Viaplay. Indeed, the ultra-dominant Dutch driver’s patience with F1’s long and arduous season appeared […]
Alonso slams F1’s current qualifying format
Nov.27 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has issued a scathing assessment about Formula 1’s three-part current qualifying format. When the Aston Martin driver won his titles for Renault almost two decades ago, the sport had moved from a traditional 60-minute, 12-lap format to one-by-one single-lap qualifying. Both were formats that Alonso, now 42, enjoyed, but he now […]
Marko retains Franz Tost as Red Bull consultant
Nov.27 (GMM) Franz Tost will in fact remain connected to Formula 1 next year as a team consultant. Having led Red Bull’s second outfit since the beginning, the 67-year-old Austrian is now stepping down as team boss to be replaced by new CEO and new principal Laurent Mekies as part of a wider rebranding and […]
Prost enjoyed Verstappen dominance in 2023
Nov.27 (GMM) F1 legend Alain Prost admits he has enjoyed watching Max Verstappen utterly dominate the 2023 season. Until now, the most dominant performance in Formula 1 history was when Prost and Ayrton Senna famously won all but one of the races in 1988 for McLaren – representing a 94 percent winning hit-rate. But Red […]
Alpha Tauri surge getting rival teams ‘excited’
Nov.27 (GMM) Alpha Tauri’s rapid late-season performance surge is catching the eye of rival Formula 1 teams. Ahead of a full team rebranding for 2024, including new bosses Peter Bayer and Laurent Mekies, Red Bull’s second F1 team suddenly began to speed up some races ago. At his final race as long-time team boss, Franz […]
‘Goal’ is F1 race seat – Vesti
Nov.27 (GMM) With new Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire openly eyeing Japan’s Super Formula for 2024, F2 runner-up Frederik Vesti admits the door to F1 may be closed to him as well. Like Alfa Romeo reserve Pourchaire, 21-year-old Vesti got a turn at the wheel of a Formula 1 car in Friday practice in Abu […]
Arduous F1 schedule takes toll on driver health
Nov.27 (GMM) Formula 1’s travelling schedule has become so arduous that an epidemic of illness marred the end of the long 2023 season. “I sincerely hope that subscriptions to Lemsip are not within the budget cap,” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner joked at the Abu Dhabi finale. “It’s been a pretty brutal regime.” That […]
Switching to Red Bull has ‘zero appeal’ – Hamilton
Nov.26 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton says he isn’t sure if he still needs to retire as world champion. The seven time world champion found himself embroiled in wild rumours at the 2023 season finale in Abu Dhabi linking him with a sensational move to Red Bull. He has now sat down with the major German newspaper […]