Dec.22 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has given a “big slap” to the Formula 1 world with his traditional Christmas card for 2023. Every year, the former F1 supremo entertains those on his Christmas card list with a humorous take on the year’s biggest themes and stories. A year ago, the caption was “Just organising the plotting”, […]
Month: December 2023
Verstappen’s marketing team grows to 35 people
Dec.22 (GMM) Max Verstappen’s personal marketing team has swollen to no fewer than 35 people – and they are even beginning to look beyond his Formula 1 career. Verstappen.com is headed by its CEO Nico de Jong out of an impressive facility in Limburg, and he told the Dutch magazine Formule 1 that he intends […]
Ferrari drops Leclerc’s younger brother
Dec.22 (GMM) There is bittersweet news for the Leclerc family just ahead of Christmas. Just as Ferrari reportedly prepares to offer Charles Leclerc a long and lucrative new Formula 1 contract, the Maranello marque has dropped his younger brother from the driver development academy. “We would like to thank Arthur Leclerc as he moves on,” […]
Perez lacking confidence next to Verstappen – Bottas
Dec.22 (GMM) The key to Sergio Perez upping his game and hanging onto his Red Bull seat beyond 2024 is confidence. That is the view of Valtteri Bottas, who was at Mercedes for five years throughout his then teammate Lewis Hamilton’s championship-winning reign. Bottas, though, says he never stopped believing in himself. “As before, I […]
Red Bull rivals may push for Alpha Tauri sale – report
Dec.22 (GMM) Rival Formula 1 teams will be keeping a very close eye on Alpha Tauri next year. Red Bull’s second team began the year with a highly uncompetitive car amid rumours of sale – and ended the season with a much closer relationship with Red Bull Racing. “At 18 of the 22 grands prix, […]
Still ‘no relationship’ with teammate Ocon – Gasly
Dec.22 (GMM) Even after a year as Formula 1 teammates, Pierre Gasly admits he and Esteban Ocon have “no relationship”. Rumours the 27-year-old French pair do not get along with one another have followed their entire careers, dating all the way back to their childhoods around Normandy and their formative days in karts. “Nationality has […]
Bahrain to buy 100 percent of McLaren – reports
Dec.21 (GMM) McLaren, founded by a New Zealander but famed as the oldest active British team in Formula 1, could soon be 100 percent owned by Bahrain. Rumours this week suggested the Woking based parent company McLaren Group, headed by American Zak Brown, was shaping up to hand over full ownership to Mumtalakat – Bahrain’s […]
Three ex-drivers weigh in on state of modern F1
Dec.21 (GMM) As Christmas and a rare moment of quiet in Formula 1 approaches, three former drivers have revealed their feelings about the state of the sport today. Alan Jones, the 1980 world champion, admits he has gradually tuned out to F1. “I have a lot of interest now in MotoGP,” the 77-year-old Australian told […]
Alfa Romeo CEO admits turning down F1 deal with Haas
Dec.20 (GMM) Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imperato says he turned down the opportunity to keep the Italian carmaker’s name in Formula 1 for 2024. With Sauber now already part-owned by VW-owned Audi ahead of their full works Formula 1 project for 2026, the Swiss team’s naming deal with Alfa Romeo has ended. However, there had […]
Germany celebrates F1’s return to free TV
Dec.20 (GMM) German stakeholders and Formula 1 fans are celebrating the sport’s 2024 return to free-to-air television screens. This year, with Nico Hulkenberg now the only German driver, and with no German races on the calendar, exclusive pay-TV broadcaster Sky Deutschland recorded an alarming slump in audience numbers for 2023. Things will change for 2024. […]
Sainz wants new multi-year deal prior to 2024 season
Dec.20 (GMM) Carlos Sainz has made clear that he wants his new contract with Ferrari to be for multiple years – and he’d like it to be signed and sealed before the start of the 2024 season. Recently, Italian sources suggested new team boss Frederic Vasseur is offering Charles Leclerc a doubled salary and a […]
Failed F1 return was ‘wrong place at wrong time’ – Kubica
Dec.20 (GMM) Robert Kubica says he was “in the wrong place at the wrong time” when he made his failed attempt at a return to Formula 1 with Williams in 2019. The Pole, whose highly promising F1 career initially came to a tragic end in 2011 with a rally crash and a lifelong arm injury, […]
Hulkenberg not ruling out Audi-Sauber switch
Dec.20 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg is not ruling out a switch to another Formula 1 team – perhaps the new Sauber-Audi project. The German says he has enjoyed his return to the sport this year with the struggling American team Haas, which finished dead last in 2023. But Hulkenberg, 36, has also been recently outspoken about […]
Not much ‘interest’ in Hamilton’s film – Verstappen
Dec.19 (GMM) Max Verstappen has confessed he has little interest in the feature film about Formula 1 that is currently in production. Despite production delays due to the recent Hollywood strike, plans for a movie starring Brad Pitt and involving Lewis Hamilton’s company Dawn Apollo Films are still in full swing and set for release […]
Sainz can imagine ending F1 career with Ferrari
Dec.19 (GMM) Before signing off for Christmas, Carlos Sainz has a clear message – he wants to keep racing in red for many more years. During a Christmas lunch with international journalists at Fiorano, Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur hinted that he wants to keep both Charles Leclerc and Sainz on board beyond their 2024 […]
Biggest F1 teams worth $4 billion – reports
Dec.19 (GMM) Renault’s Formula 1 team Alpine is worth just under a billion dollars, the French carmaker has announced. The sport has surged in popularity and value since the commercial takeover and innovations led by Liberty Media, with Forbes recently estimating that the average team has almost quadrupled from $500m in 2019 to almost $2 […]
F1 must ‘respect’ the criticism of purists – Domenicali
Dec.19 (GMM) Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has warned that his native Italy faces a battle to keep both of its grands prix on the calendar. Currently, both Monza and Imola are on the schedule – and Domenicali admits the latter helped the sport he leads negotiate the pandemic era. “Covid-19 could have been deadly […]
Arnoux predicts ‘another tough year’ for Max’s rivals
Dec.19 (GMM) Rene Arnoux, a winner of 7 grands prix in the early 80s, is predicting “another tough year” for Max Verstappen’s rivals in 2024. The 75-year-old Frenchman admitted that triple world champion Verstappen is “a fabulous driver”, but he also told La Gazzetta dello Sport that he has “a wonderful racing car”. “Take a […]
Verstappen not worried about Red Bull’s 2026 engine
Dec.18 (GMM) Max Verstappen says he’s not worried Red Bull may fumble the ball with the all-new engine regulations in 2026. The currently-dominant Formula 1 team has committed to designing and building its very own engines for the next set of rules in collaboration with Ford. But recently, team boss Christian Horner sounded the alarm […]
Mark Webber says McLaren was right to oust Ricciardo
Dec.18 (GMM) Oscar Piastri’s manager says the impressive Australian should not feel bad about replacing Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren this year. Piastri, 22, picked up the FIA’s rookie of the year prize at the recent end-of-season gala, but he had entered Formula 1 in much more controversial circumstances. For one, he enraged his Alpine bosses […]