Mar.10 (GMM) Williams team principal James Vowles has become the latest to question how Mercedes’ customer teams can close the gap to the works squad, adding his voice to McLaren’s Andrea Stella a day after the Australian GP exposed a significant performance gulf. “What Mercedes is doing with this power unit has really surprised us,” […]
Month: March 2026
Honda puzzled by Newey’s nerve damage claims
Mar.10 (GMM) Honda Racing president Koji Watanabe has questioned why Adrian Newey publicly claimed that Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll risked permanent nerve damage from driving the Aston Martin, saying the Japanese manufacturer has no numerical data to support the assertion. “It would be one thing if the driver himself said something intuitive that only […]
F1 to review energy rules after China – Tombazis
Mar.10 (GMM) Formula 1’s governing body will hold formal discussions with teams after the Chinese GP on possible changes to the 2026 energy management regulations, FIA single-seater racing director Nikolas Tombazis has confirmed. Several options are understood to be on the table, including increasing the power of the ‘superclipping’ function – which allows cars to […]
Verstappen confirms Nurburgring as F1 frustration grows
Mar.10 (GMM) Max Verstappen has confirmed he will race in the Nurburgring 24 Hours in May, as the four-time Formula 1 world champion’s frustration with the sport’s new regulations continues to fuel speculation about his long-term future in F1. Verstappen will drive a Mercedes-AMG GT3 – an irony not lost on observers given that it […]
Frustrated Ocon questions F1 legacy after Melbourne
Mar.10 (GMM) Esteban Ocon endured a difficult Australian GP with Haas, finishing P11 while younger teammate Oliver Bearman scored points – before delivering a candid and emotional assessment of his entire Formula 1 career. Ocon, who was warned by Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu before the season that he needed to raise his game in […]
Audi, Ferrari push back against new rules backlash
Mar.10 (GMM) Audi team principal Jonathan Wheatley and Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna have pushed back against the chorus of criticism aimed at Formula 1’s new regulations – a notable contrast given that Audi entered the sport specifically because of the 2026 rules overhaul. Wheatley was ebullient after his team scored points on debut through Gabriel […]
Russell wins, ‘Mario Kart’ row divides paddock
Mar.9 (GMM) George Russell led home a Mercedes one-two in a chaotic Australian GP on Sunday, but the race that handed him the championship lead for the first time in his career also intensified the growing debate over whether Formula 1’s new regulations are producing racing or a video game. Russell’s victory from pole, with […]
Mekies dismisses Verstappen quit talk
Mar.9 (GMM) Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has moved to quash speculation that Max Verstappen could walk away from Formula 1 over his hatred of the new regulations, insisting the four-time world champion remains as focused and precise as ever. Verstappen did little to help Mekies’ case when asked after the Australian GP whether […]
McLaren felt engine info disadvantage – Stella
Mar.9 (GMM) McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has admitted his team were left struggling to predict and develop their car in Melbourne because of insufficient information from Mercedes about their shared power unit – a rare public acknowledgement of the pitfalls of being a customer team in Formula 1’s most complex regulatory era. “Discussions about […]
Honda denies split talk as Alonso hits back
Mar.9 (GMM) Honda Racing’s senior managing director Ikuo Takeishi has denied any knowledge of moves by Aston Martin to terminate their works partnership, as the Japanese manufacturer faces mounting pressure following a Melbourne race weekend that exposed the full depth of their crisis. “At least, I haven’t heard anything about that directly,” Takeishi said when […]
Sainz calls for change as Williams crawls to finish
Mar.9 (GMM) Carlos Sainz has added his voice to calls for urgent changes to the 2026 regulations after enduring one of the most miserable race weekends of his career with a Williams team that arrived in Melbourne overweight, unreliable and woefully short of downforce. The Spaniard, who joined Williams in 2025 with progress as his […]
Drivers savage new cars as rule change calls grow
Mar.8 (GMM) Formula 1 arrived at race day in Melbourne facing a growing chorus of criticism over its new cars, with drivers, team bosses and even the sport’s own polesitter calling for rule changes after qualifying exposed the full extent of the 2026 regulations’ shortcomings. The defining image came from George Russell’s pole lap, in […]
Mercedes ‘on another planet’ as rivals scramble
Mar.8 (GMM) Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur summed up the Melbourne paddock’s mood on Sunday morning with three words: Mercedes were “on another planet” in qualifying, and almost nobody believes Toto Wolff’s insistence that there was no sandbagging involved in the winter. The numbers were stark. Polesitter George Russell led a Mercedes one-two, with the […]
Massa wins $315,000 costs in Crashgate case
Mar.8 (GMM) Felipe Massa has secured a partial victory in his long-running legal battle over the 2008 Crashgate scandal, with a high court judge ordering the FIA, Bernie Ecclestone and Formula One Management to pay the former Ferrari driver $315,000 in costs. The ruling came as part of the latest round of applications in Massa’s […]
Verstappen ’empty’ as X-ray adds to Melbourne misery
Mar.8 (GMM) Max Verstappen arrived at race day in Melbourne having needed an X-ray on his hand after the strangest crash of his career, emotionally drained by what he called the worst cars he has ever driven, and openly hinting he would rather spend a free April racing at the Nurburgring. The four-time world champion […]
De Vries in full reserve role with McLaren
Mar.8 (GMM) Nyck de Vries has upgraded his relationship with McLaren from simulator and testing work to full reserve driver status, filling the trackside role at this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix. The Dutchman, who spent ten races as a full-time F1 driver with Alpha Tauri in 2023, is juggling the McLaren commitment alongside his regular […]
Bortoleto safety call triggers FIA rule chaos
Mar.8 (GMM) Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto sparked a paddock storm in Melbourne on Saturday when a safety complaint he raised prompted the FIA to ban straight-line mode in a key sector – only for the governing body to reverse the decision two hours later under pressure from the other teams. Three hours before third practice, the […]
De la Rosa’s nephew wins on F3 debut in Melbourne
Mar.8 (GMM) Pedro de la Rosa had at least something to celebrate in Melbourne beyond his Aston Martin ambassador duties, with his 19-year-old nephew Bruno del Pino winning on his Formula 3 debut in the support programme to the Australian GP. Del Pino, who previously raced in Spanish Formula 4 with Drivex – the team […]
Honda coy on battery fix for Shanghai
Mar.8 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has made clear that Aston Martin will not hesitate to retire from Sunday’s Australian GP at the first sign of battery trouble, with the team’s participation in next week’s Chinese Grand Prix hanging in the balance. “It’s no secret that we don’t have spare batteries,” Alonso said. “At the slightest anomaly […]
Domenicali to meet teams as Middle East race doubts grow
Mar.7 (GMM) Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali is set to meet team bosses in Melbourne on Saturday with the fate of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix expected to dominate the agenda. Former F1 driver and GPDA chairman Alexander Wurz, speaking to Osterreich newspaper, captured the mood bluntly. “Given how the situation is escalating, […]