Mar.14 (GMM) Flavio Briatore is openly admitting he will soon “review” Jack Doohan’s performance. The charismatic and commercially-appealing Argentine reserve Franco Colapinto, on a $20m loan to Alpine from Williams, is in Melbourne amid swirling rumours about how many races he will have to sit out before taking over fellow rookie Doohan’s seat. “Jack didn’t […]
Month: March 2025
Red Bull relieved to be ‘not far’ behind
Mar.14 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko sounded relieved as practice action kicked off in Melbourne. While early championship favourite Lando Norris topped the times, the promise of an ultra-close battle also seems to be brewing for the 2025 season. “The results are really close,” Red Bull advisor Marko told ORF. “Thank God we are not that […]
Wolff delays Russell talks until mid-season
Mar.14 (GMM) Contract talks with George Russell are on the back burner for now, the British driver and his boss Toto Wolff admit. In Melbourne, two interesting paddock developments are brewing. First, De Telegraaf newspaper reports that McLaren CEO Zak Brown recently got in touch with Max Verstappen’s management to “explore the market”. And Mercedes’ […]
Verstappen to snub ‘nonsense’ Red Bull videos
Mar.14 (GMM) Max Verstappen is dialling back his involvement with Red Bull’s quirky social media presence. According to the Dutch publication Formule 1, manager Raymond Vermeulen has told team officials that the quadruple world champion is frustrated with the inane nature of Red Bull’s TikTok activities in particular. “Big brands like Oracle, Tag Heuer and […]
Tsunoda would have struggled with Verstappen ‘pressure’
Mar.13 (GMM) Yuki Tsunoda could struggle to remain in Formula 1 after the 2025 season. One issue is that this year is his fifth at Red Bull’s junior F1 team – and the door to Red Bull Racing has closed for now with Liam Lawson’s promotion. Team advisor Dr Helmut Marko says it was the […]
Newey hasn’t worked on 2025 Aston Martin at all – boss
Mar.13 (GMM) Adrian Newey is yet to work his fabled magic on Aston Martin’s new car for 2025. In Bahrain pre-season testing recently, the green cars appeared to lack pace – with leading team figures like Fernando Alonso already looking ahead to the all-new era from 2026. “I think we’ve taken a step forward,” said […]
Flexi-wing clampdown could benefit Verstappen – Marko
Mar.13 (GMM) The mid-season wing flexibility clampdown could actually benefit Max Verstappen more than any other driver in the field. That’s the view of Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko, who nonetheless slammed the FIA’s decision to wait until Barcelona in June to impose harsher flexibility tests on the front wings. “Now everyone except the […]
Father ‘still disappointed’ about Audi snub – Sainz
Mar.13 (GMM) Carlos Sainz admits his father is “still disappointed” the ousted Ferrari driver turned down Audi’s offer for 2025 and beyond. The 30-year-old instead opted for Williams, another midfield team that did impress the Formula 1 world in the pre-season Bahrain test with Sainz’s overall fastest time. “This was a surprise for us too,” […]
Indycar could be ‘good option’ after F1 – Bottas
Mar.13 (GMM) A move to Indycar could be a “good option” for the future, Valtteri Bottas admits. The 35-year-old Finn lost his race seat at Sauber at the end of last season, and has returned to Mercedes to serve as the full-time reserve driver. He is already linked with the new Cadillac team for 2026. […]
Domenicali has made F1 ‘much stronger’ – Briatore
Mar.13 (GMM) Flavio Briatore says his fellow Italian Stefano Domenicali has helped to make Formula 1 “much stronger”. The Liberty Media-owned sport has just announced that, following a period of uncertainty about Domenicali’s future, the 59-year-old has secured a new contract to keep him in the role of F1 CEO through 2029. Specialist publications appeared […]
Marko sides with Briatore over endangered Jack Doohan
Mar.13 (GMM) Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko thinks his Alpine counterpart Flavio Briatore is serious about ejecting Jack Doohan from his race seat sooner rather than later. Rookie Doohan has touched down for his first home race in Australia amid a sea of negative speculation. The headline in Melbourne’s Age newspaper believes the “brutal […]
McLaren ‘a second faster’ heading into 2025 – Marko
Mar.12 (GMM) Max Verstappen’s boss and mentor Dr Helmut Marko, as well as the Red Bull driver’s father Jos, both agree that the quadruple world champion is heading into the 2025 season without the fastest car. Although the Christian Horner affair is still bubbling along in the background, Verstappen senior says he and his 27-year-old […]
Norris sees red as Piastri commits to McLaren
Mar.12 (GMM) Just as Lando Norris flirts with his own future, teammate Oscar Piastri has been cemented at McLaren for several more years. In a pre-season interview with NBC, 2024 drivers’ title runner-up and arguable 2025 championship favourite Norris was asked about his long-term future on the grid. “I can’t answer that one,” he smiled. […]
Lawson must accept Verstappen is ‘unbeatable’
Mar.12 (GMM) Liam Lawson needs to head into the 2025 acknowledging that his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen is “unbeatable”. That’s the view and advice of the team’s powerful advisor Dr Helmut Marko, after Red Bull finally ousted Sergio Perez for poor performance and replaced him with 23-year-old Lawson for this season. As Verstappen still […]
Safety car driver not done with F1 yet
Mar.11 (GMM) Formula 1’s long-serving safety car driver is not done yet. Bernd Maylander, a German former racing driver, has been the full-time occupant of the safety car’s driver seat since 2000. And now, as he returns to Melbourne for yet another time, he recalls how he felt a quarter of a century ago. “I […]
Williams a ‘better car’ than Sainz expected
Mar.11 (GMM) Carlos Sainz says he was pleasantly surprised when he climbed into the cockpit of his new car for 2025. Overlooked by top teams Mercedes and Red Bull after Ferrari replaced the Spaniard with Lewis Hamilton, 30-year-old Sainz ended up choosing between midfield teams Alpine or Williams for the new season. Alpine advisor Flavio […]
Wolff plays down FIA presidency bid rumours
Mar.11 (GMM) Toto Wolff has played down rumours his wife Susie could bid to become the next president of Formula 1’s governing body. Controversy has swirled around current FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem for some time, with Mercedes team boss and co-owner Toto Wolff a clear enemy. Toto and Susie Wolff, the head of the […]
‘A lot’ of F1 driver talks ahead, says Cadillac
Mar.11 (GMM) More candidates have emerged for the two race seats at Formula 1’s all-new team Cadillac for 2026. Colton Herta, already driving for Andretti in Indycar, is the clear frontrunner for at least one cockpit, fulfilling the strong desire for at least one American racer. The problem? His lack of the points he needs […]
Manager tells Colapinto fans to ease Doohan heat
Mar.10 (GMM) Franco Colapinto’s manager has called for calm amid raging speculation heading into the 2025 season. Alpine advisor Flavio Briatore has made no secret recently that, now with Colapinto on lucrative loan from Williams, the Argentine could replace rookie Jack Doohan sooner rather than later. “If you have two drivers, choose between two,” said […]
FIA boss slams Prost’s Senna-themed online abuse
Mar.10 (GMM) FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has slammed online bullies who are pushing quadruple world champion Alain Prost off social media altogether. Recently, Prost expressed dismay at the way his infamous rivalry with Ayrton Senna was depicted in the new Netflix series ‘Senna’. Prost told Canal Plus that Netflix portrays him as “the bad […]