Nov.26 (GMM) Max Verstappen says he will always act with “loyalty” towards his Formula 1 mentor, Dr Helmut Marko. Recently, there have been rumours of a power struggle between Red Bull’s top chiefs, Red Bull team consultant Marko and team boss Christian Horner. There were suggestions 80-year-old Marko may be pushed out of the team’s […]
Month: November 2023
F1 reserve role not enough for Pourchaire
Nov.26 (GMM) He may be at the top of the table in his third season of Formula 2, but Theo Pourchaire admits he still has no racing project lined up for 2024. The 20-year-old Frenchman has been Sauber’s reserve driver for some time, but his F2 adventure is definitely now ending – and he’s been […]
Vettel still not ruling out racing return
Nov.26 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel is still not ruling out a potential return to top motorsport. The 36-year-old quadruple world champion retired from Formula 1 at the end of last year, but he has consistently hinted that his career may not in fact be over. “It could be that I’ll get back into it,” the German […]
Female driver not good enough for F1 – Schumacher
Nov.26 (GMM) Nobody will be in the wheel-tracks of the final two rising talents in German motorsport, Ralf Schumacher has lamented. The country has lost both of its grands prix and Nico Hulkenberg, 36, is now the last active German driver on the Formula 1 grid. Red Bull has signed two young German Formula 3 […]
Tost says F1 team consultant role now unlikely
Nov.26 (GMM) Franz Tost has played down the likelihood that he will remain connected to Formula 1 as a team consultant to Alpha Tauri. Coinciding with a full team rebranding for 2024, the junior Red Bull team’s long-time boss Tost, 67, is stepping down after this weekend’s Abu Dhabi finale. “Two years ago I told […]
New Alonso contract not agreed yet – Krack
Nov.26 (GMM) Mike Krack took a small step back after declaring earlier in Abu Dhabi that he wants to extend Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin contract beyond 2024. Some thought the team boss’s words were a sign that a new deal for the 42-year-old Spaniard was already in the making. “Obviously it’s not a decision I […]
Haas must make structural changes over winter – Hulkenberg
Nov.26 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg is ending the first season since his Formula 1 comeback with a stark warning to his boss – things need to change at Haas. The German has been the small American team’s fastest driver in 2023, and he even made Q3 at the season finale in Abu Dhabi. But he’s not […]
Gambling loss to be spent on team party – Marko
Nov.26 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko says he is “happy” to have lost a 500 euro bet to fellow Red Bull boss Christian Horner at the 2023 season finale in Abu Dhabi. “Christian said Max would qualify on the front row; I predicted the second row,” he smiled after qualifying, explaining that Verstappen had struggled through […]
Alonso better than Hamilton, Verstappen – Kubica
Nov.25 (GMM) Aston Martin wants to sign a new contract with Fernando Alonso. On Thursday in Abu Dhabi, the Spaniard said his first year with the Silverstone based team was one of his best-ever performances in a long and successful Formula 1 career. His friend and former rival Robert Kubica agrees. “Alonso,” said the Pole […]
Toyota-McLaren rumours hit dead-end in Abu Dhabi
Nov.25 (GMM) Rumours Toyota could return to Formula 1 with McLaren were wide of the mark. Recently, the Zak Brown-led team signed up a new development driver – Japanese Toyota sports car driver Ryo Hirakawa, who was flanked by Toyota racing officials for the announcement. Hirakawa is trackside in Abu Dhabi this weekend. “I want […]
Hamilton ’emotionally drained’ at end of 2023
Nov.25 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton admits he is finding it “difficult” to cope with the latest developments in global instability. Whilst often outspoken on other political issues, Formula 1 figures have been notably quiet about the Israel-Gaza war – despite huge western protests and outcry. When asked by Arab News in Abu Dhabi if he thinks […]
No Sargeant-Vesti decision in Abu Dhabi – Vowles
Nov.25 (GMM) Rumours that Abu Dhabi is Logan Sargeant’s last Formula 1 race for now are building steam. Mercedes junior and top Formula 2 driver Frederik Vesti, a 21-year-old Dane, practiced in Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes on Friday – and is being linked with a debut for Mercedes-powered Williams in Sargeant’s place for 2024. When asked […]
‘Perez is our man for 2024’ – Marko
Nov.25 (GMM) In Abu Dhabi, Dr Helmut Marko insisted that Lewis Hamilton becoming Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull won’t work for both “emotional” and “financial” reasons. But the biggest reason, he told Kleine Zeitung newspaper, is that both Mercedes’ Hamilton and Verstappen’s existing teammate Sergio Perez have contracts for 2024. Mexican Perez’s performance slumped […]
Verstappen, Hamilton cannot be teammates – Marko
Nov.25 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has confirmed that Lewis Hamilton really did approach Red Bull this year to explore the possibility of joining the dominant F1 team. The Hamilton-Red Bull saga is one of the hottest topics at the 2023 finale in Abu Dhabi, after team boss Christian Horner mentioned the seven time world champion’s […]
New sprint format for 2024 still taking shape
Nov.25 (GMM) Formula 1 has moved one step closer to tweaking the ‘sprint race’ weekend format for 2024. The F1 Commission met at the Abu Dhabi finale on Friday, where stakeholders gave “support for an update” to the format to better separate “sprint activities from those of the grand prix”. It is believed the main […]
Mercedes might deliberately lose in Abu Dhabi
Nov.24 (GMM) A wild rumour suggests Mercedes may actually want to be beaten by Ferrari to second overall in the 2023 constructors’ championship this weekend. While Red Bull has already wrapped up the championship, Mercedes heads into the Abu Dhabi season finale a mere four points ahead of Ferrari. Curiously, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said […]
Aston Martin team not set to be sold – boss
Nov.24 (GMM) Aston Martin’s commercial boss Jeff Slack has denied the Formula 1 team is set to be sold. It’s not the first denied sale rumour this year, but the latest follows the transfer of a slice of Lawrence Stroll’s team to venture capital firm Arctos, also with key interests in Liverpool FC and several […]
Schumacher insists F1 comeback still alive
Nov.24 (GMM) Mick Schumacher insists he is not giving up on his dream of returning to the Formula 1 grid. It has been announced that the German and ousted Haas racer will keep his Mercedes reserve seat in 2024 whilst also racing for Renault-owned Alpine in the top category of the Le Mans-centred world endurance […]
‘Old phone’ explains explosive Hamilton-Red Bull saga
Nov.24 (GMM) An “old phone” explains why explosive rumours of contact between Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull team boss Christian Horner is only now emerging. Horner dropped the bombshell on the eve of the 2023 season finale in Abu Dhabi, as he suggested seven time world champion Hamilton was also in touch with Ferrari during […]
2024 ‘Racing Bulls’ car will not be Red Bull clone
Nov.24 (GMM) Alpha Tauri has confirmed that Red Bull’s second Formula 1 team will undergo a full rebranding for the 2024 season. Strengthening rumours suggest that the decision has now been made to drop the name of Red Bull’s fashion brand in deference to a more neutral name – as a new ‘Racing Bulls’ logo […]