Aug.27 (GMM) Flavio Briatore insists he was not behind the decision to end Renault’s works Formula 1 engine program. Although staff claim the development of the all-new power unit for 2026 is progressing well, Renault CEO Luca de Meo has made the astonishing decision to end the F1 operations at the French marque’s Viry-Chatillon factory. […]
Month: August 2024
FIA denies F1 team was using now-banned innovation
Aug.27 (GMM) A theory is emerging as to why Red Bull’s performance has been slipping during the course of the 2024 season. Speaking after his son Max finished well over 20 seconds behind McLaren’s Lando Norris at Zandvoort, Jos thinks Red Bull simply lost its way amid the internal management turmoil. “Now it is up […]
Schumacher ‘deserves’ mid-season Williams seat – Vettel
Aug.27 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel thinks Williams should snap up his friend and former Formula 1 rival, Mick Schumacher. While some believe Red Bull reserve Liam Lawson is the frontrunner to replace the ailing Logan Sargeant as soon as this weekend at Monza, Schumacher’s paddock allies are feverishly pushing the case for the 25-year-old German. “Of […]
Ferrari emerging as favourite for Monza win
Aug.27 (GMM) Ferrari is emerging as a favourite to win its home Italian GP at Monza this weekend. Although McLaren, rather than Red Bull, is now the dominant force in Formula 1, Mercedes and Ferrari have also won races this season. Carlos Sainz, who will leave the Maranello based team at the end of the […]
Haas finally en route to Monza for Italian GP
Aug.27 (GMM) Formula 1 team Haas is finally on its way to Monza. The American outfit, and its owner Gene Haas, were barred by Dutch authorities from leaving Zandvoort until an overdue debt to axed Russian sponsor Uralkali hit the fertiliser company’s bank account. Uralkali, closely linked with former Haas driver Nikita Mazepin’s father Dmitry, […]
Antonelli will not race a Williams at Monza – Wolff
Aug.26 (GMM) Andrea Kimi Antonelli is not a contender to replace Logan Sargeant at Williams. It is clear that Liam Lawson and Mick Schumacher are in the running to step into Sargeant’s cockpit from Monza, having exhausted the patience of team boss James Vowles. Toto Wolff’s newly-18-year-old protege Antonelli was also rumoured to be a […]
Lawson could be ‘loaned’ to Audi-Sauber in 2025
Aug.26 (GMM) Liam Lawson has suddenly become a major player at the tail end of the intense 2025 Formula 1 driver ‘silly season’. Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko declared before the Dutch GP weekend that the New Zealander rookie will “definitely” race a Red Bull-branded F1 car in 2025. He later backtracked, because in fact […]
Ferrari return still possible in the future – Sainz
Aug.26 (GMM) Carlos Sainz says it’s possible he will return to Ferrari some day. The Spaniard must leave the fabled Italian team after the 2024 season finale in Abu Dhabi to make way for seven time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Team boss Frederic Vasseur insists Sainz, 29, did nothing wrong. “Calling Carlos to tell him […]
Haas team still blocked from leaving Zandvoort
Aug.26 (GMM) Although the Haas team has transferred its outstanding debt to disgruntled former sponsor Uralkali, the F1 outfit has barred from leaving the Zandvoort circuit on Sunday night. Sky Italia claimed on Sunday that the approximately 10 million euro debt to the Russians, accrued when Haas axed the deals with Uralkali and Nikita Mazepin […]
Dutch King throws support behind new deal for Zandvoort
Aug.26 (GMM) The King of the Netherlands has thrown his support behind the survival of the Dutch GP. Formula 1 is willing to enter a new contract with Zandvoort beyond 2025, but race organisers are hesitating for financial reasons. F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said over the Dutch GP weekend that a potential solution for the […]
Red Bull may loan Lawson to Williams – Marko
Aug.26 (GMM) Liam Lawson is emerging as a leading contender to immediately replace Logan Sargeant at Williams. Williams boss James Vowles, who has already excluded Sargeant from the team’s plans beyond 2024, was furious with the 23-year-old American after his huge practice crash at Zandvoort. It triggered strong rumours that Vowles could turn to engine […]
Verstappen’s father slams Red Bull after Dutch GP
Aug.26 (GMM) The deteriorating situation at Red Bull has just become worse, as Max Verstappen’s father Jos slams the ongoing management crisis. It is now abundantly clear that McLaren is the new dominant force in Formula 1, as Verstappen trailed Lando Norris to the chequered flag at Zandvoort by a staggering 23 seconds. “It’s reminiscent […]
Haas ends F1 dispute with Russian sponsor
Aug.25 (GMM) Haas has finally ended a long-running dispute with disgruntled former Nikita Mazepin sponsor Uralkali. At Zandvoort on Friday, legal officers representing the fertiliser company, aided by Dutch police, formally confiscated Haas’ F1 cars and all major equipment. Haas was given permission to use the equipment for the remainder of the Dutch GP weekend, […]
Podiums may be out of reach for Audi in 2026
Aug.25 (GMM) Podiums might be too ambitious for Audi’s first Formula 1 season as a full works team, representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi admitted at Zandvoort. Audi already 100 percent owns the Swiss team Sauber, but the outfit will not be rebranded – and with works Audi power – until the start of the new rules […]
F1 names slam Alpine’s communication manners
Aug.25 (GMM) Two figures close to Mick Schumacher have criticised Alpine’s manners at Zandvoort. After Schumacher and Jack Doohan went head-to-head for the vacant 2025 race cockpit recently, Australian rookie Doohan ultimately secured the deal. And how did Schumacher hear about the decision: “On Instagram,” he said at Zandvoort. “The decision for Doohan and not […]
Lawson admits 2025 F1 race seat not ‘definite’
Aug.25 (GMM) Liam Lawson admits it is not “definite” that he will be on the Formula 1 grid in 2025. Red Bull consultant Dr Helmut Marko caused a stir a few days ago by revealing that the brand’s reserve will “definitely” be racing a Red Bull-branded F1 car next year. Team boss Christian Horner, however, […]
Boss puts brave face on Ferrari’s 2024 slide
Aug.25 (GMM) Frederic Vasseur is putting a brave face on Ferrari’s current situation in Formula 1. Once touted as the most improved team early in 2024, the Maranello-based outfit has now fallen behind Red Bull’s current main rivals McLaren and Mercedes. “If we look at the numbers,” team boss Vasseur told Corriere della Sera newspaper, […]
Schumacher could replace Sargeant for Monza
Aug.25 (GMM) Not long after the door to Alpine slammed shut for Mick Schumacher, the German could actually be poised for an immediate return to Formula 1. Williams boss James Vowles could not hide his fury when Logan Sargeant, who is being replaced by Carlos Sainz for 2025, slammed his heavily-updated 2024 into the barrier […]
Wolff admits ‘mistake’ with Verstappen relationship
Aug.25 (GMM) Max Verstappen will not confirm that his management held detailed talks about a future tie-up with Mercedes over the summer break. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff joked that he did “somersaults” in August in trying to convince the triple world champion, his father Jos and co-manager Raymond Vermeulen to jump ship from Red Bull […]
‘George and Kimi’ to be 2025 F1 teammates – Wolff
Aug.24 (GMM) Toto Wolff is no longer hiding that his teenage protege, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, will be George Russell’s teammate at Mercedes next year. It emerged over the summer break that the Mercedes team boss had finally given up on the prospect of luring Max Verstappen away from Red Bull – at least for 2025. […]