Jul.27 (GMM) Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur has continued to defend Charles Leclerc. It is Carlos Sainz, rather than Leclerc, who is being ousted at the end of the year to make room for Lewis Hamilton. So will the arrival of a seven time world champion be good news or bad news for Leclerc, who is […]
Month: July 2024
Marko doubts Verstappen will win Belgian GP
Jul.27 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko is not sounding confident about a Max Verstappen victory this Sunday at Spa-Francorchamps. The triple world champion bounced back from Hungary with strong pace in opening practice at his favourite track on Friday, but was then outpaced by both McLarens in FP2. “We’re in the running,” team boss Christian Horner […]
Red Bull drivers facing nervous F1 summer break
Jul.27 (GMM) Red Bull is shaping up to emerge from the forthcoming August break with different driver lineups at both of the brand’s Formula 1 teams. Daniel Ricciardo faces the prospect of either being dropped by the junior squad RB altogether, or promoted at least for the second part of 2024 to Red Bull Racing. […]
Krack plays down swirling Audi rumours
Jul.27 (GMM) Mike Krack has denied raging speculation that he could be the next big F1 appointment made by Audi. Sauber’s new 100 percent team owner announced this week that it has acquired former Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto – who will be both chief operating officer and chief technical officer. Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffmann […]
Alpine chaos not prelude to F1 team sale – boss
Jul.27 (GMM) Alpine’s outgoing team boss insists the crisis-struck Formula 1 team is not being prepared for sale. Although one of the goals of the all-new, heavily-electrified 2026 regulations was to attract new carmakers like Audi, Renault owner Alpine has actually all but decided to scrap its works engine program. The marque can’t make the […]
Endangered Logan Sargeant slams former F1 driver
Jul.26 (GMM) Logan Sargeant has slammed a former Formula 1 driver for gossiping about his situation. It is almost certain that Sargeant, 23, will be ousted by Williams at the end of the year – amid rumours boss James Vowles actually tried and failed to replace him immediately with Esteban Ocon. “A couple of my […]
McLaren may ‘reconsider’ team orders approach in future
Jul.26 (GMM) Andrea Stella admits McLaren may need to “reconsider” the way it handles team orders as the season progresses. In Hungary, despite an easy 1-2 for the resurgent team, most of the post-race chatter was about Lando Norris’ near-refusal to hand back the win to his teammate Oscar Piastri. In the week since, Norris […]
Marko admits Verstappen, Red Bull, ‘tense’ at Spa
Jul.26 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has revealed a “tense” mood inside the Red Bull garage ahead of the Belgian GP. Both Max Verstappen and his long-time race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase were chided by the team’s famous F1 advisor after Hungary for their radio behaviour. “The two of them sat down together and discussed it,” Marko […]
Disillusioned Ocon began Haas talks in 2023
Jul.26 (GMM) Esteban Ocon has confirmed that he decided to leave Alpine “a long time ago”. On Thursday at Spa, after a long period of rumours linking the departing Alpine driver with Haas, the new multi-year contract for the Frenchman was finally revealed. “The decision was made for me a long time ago,” the 27-year-old […]
Hulkenberg admits friend Seidl’s exit a ‘shock’
Jul.26 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg admits it was a “shock” to learn that Andreas Seidl has been sacked by Audi. Back in May, the on-form German admitted the “driving factor” in deciding to leave Haas was because his old Porsche sports car chief Seidl was in charge of the new Sauber-Audi project. “Those two were the […]
Sainz admits Mercedes seat chances now ‘small’
Jul.26 (GMM) Carlos Sainz admits the likelihood of securing a championship-winning race seat for 2025 is “small”. The Spaniard is the ongoing cork in the bottle of the Formula 1 driver market at the moment, given that he is weighing up offers from Audi, Alpine and Williams – whilst holding out hope of a Mercedes […]
Sainz admits ‘problem’ with even heavier 2025 cars
Jul.26 (GMM) Carlos Sainz says it’s a “problem” for Formula 1 that the cars keep getting incrementally heavier. Today’s hybrid-powered single seaters are literally hundreds of kilograms heavier than in the past – and now an extra 2kg has been added to the weight of the seat-plus driver for 2025. The FIA explained that the […]
Leclerc expects Ferrari ‘bouncing’ to return at Spa
Jul.25 (GMM) Charles Leclerc is not feeling confident ahead of this weekend’s Belgian GP. The Ferrari driver actually won at Spa-Francorchamps in 2019, and he also saw the chequered flag first earlier this year in Monaco. But since then, and especially since a new floor was introduced in Barcelona, the Maranello based team has been […]
Audi decision could be to woo Carlos Sainz – Schumacher
Jul.25 (GMM) Ralf Schumacher admits he already has concerns about how Audi is going about tackling its entry into Formula 1. The VW-linked German carmaker, which is now the 100 percent owner of the Swiss team Sauber ahead of its official 2026 emergence as the works Audi team, was recently struck by rumours of an […]
Expanded F1 points system was no longer needed – reports
Jul.25 (GMM) Formula 1 abandoned its earlier plans to revamp the points-scoring system because it was no longer needed, according to authoritative reports. Without giving an explanation, the FIA announced after its Tuesday meeting of the F1 Commission in London this week that the decision to scrap the idea was made “unanimously”. A few months […]
Alpine could team up in F1 with GM and Andretti
Jul.25 (GMM) Renault’s rumoured decision to scrap its engine program could provide a route into Formula 1 for General Motors and Andretti. That is the claim of Auto Motor und Sport, even though earlier reports suggested a customer supply of Mercedes power units was a more likely option for Renault’s struggling Alpine team – and […]
No more late-night sim racing for bad-tempered Verstappen
Jul.25 (GMM) Red Bull will put a stop to Max Verstappen’s habit of staying up late for sim racing during Formula 1 race weekends. That is despite the fact that Dr Helmut Marko, team advisor and Verstappen’s long-time mentor, said Red Bull deserves much of the blame for the triple world champion’s bad mood in […]
Audi signs Binotto, Ferrari eyes ‘five-letter names’
Jul.24 (GMM) Audi has confirmed recent speculation about a major management upheaval in its works Formula 1 plans. Sauber, the team Audi has 100 percent acquired for its 2026 works foray, is dead last and completely points-less so far this season. In the background, rumblings of conflict between group CEO Andreas Seidl and chairman Oliver […]
Red Bull must improve ‘really angry’ Verstappen’s mood
Jul.24 (GMM) Declining car performance aside, Red Bull F1 advisor Dr Helmut Marko admits a new priority at the team is to end Max Verstappen’s foul mood. “Max is really angry,” Verstappen’s 81-year-old mentor, Marko, told Auto Bild on Tuesday. On the face of it, the triple world champion simply lost his temper over the […]
No decision ‘yet’ on axing Renault’s F1 engine project
Jul.24 (GMM) According to reports, Renault is now all-but confirming that that it is close to scrapping its Formula 1 engine program altogether. As is now emerging from France, Alpine’s speculated and sensational move from works Renault power to a customer supply of Mercedes engines could actually take place as early as the start of […]