Jul.9 (GMM) Gunther Steiner says Formula 1 should consider abandoning the concept of back-to-back-to-back triple-header races. With the cancellation of the Australian GP, and more races in 2021 remaining under a covid-shaped cloud, the proposed solutions could mean even more clusters of three races grouped together. “We are continuing to negotiate with FOM, and as […]
Category: Recent stories
Ferrari lacks ‘charismatic leader’ – engineer
Jul.8 (GMM) Former Ferrari engineer Luigi Mazzola thinks the biggest problem at the fabled Maranello team today is the lack of a “dominant” leader. Since Stefano Domenicali was ousted in 2014, the Italian team has been run by a sequence of team bosses. Even the upper management of the company at large has been in […]
Struggling Ocon analysing Alonso ‘style’ – Budkowski
Jul.8 (GMM) Fernando Alonso is now fully up to speed at Alpine, according to the team’s executive director Marcin Budkowski. On the face of it, it means Esteban Ocon has now lost his status as the Renault-owned team’s fastest driver. Ocon, 24, left Austria last weekend suspecting there may in fact be something wrong with […]
Gasly could return to Red Bull in 2022 – Tost
Jul.8 (GMM) A return to Red Bull for Pierre Gasly next year cannot be ruled out. That is the view of Alpha Tauri boss Franz Tost, even though his own boss – Red Bull top official Dr Helmut Marko – seems more inclined to keep Sergio Perez as Max Verstappen’s teammate. However, Marko was critical […]
Next-gen F1 engines must be louder – Horner
Jul.8 (GMM) The next generation of Formula 1 cars should be louder, according to Red Bull team boss Christian Horner. He argues that the sport lost a key ingredient when the screaming normally-aspirated engines of the past were replaced with turbo hybrid ‘power units’ in 2014. “We always have to remember that racing needs to […]
Seidl ‘disappointed’ with Ricciardo form
Jul.8 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo’s boss thinks things will start to “click” for the Australian driver soon. Since switching from Renault to McLaren for 2021 and beyond, the 32-year-old Australian has trailed the pace of his impressive young teammate Lando Norris by some margin. The form has earned Norris, who is over a decade younger than […]
Australia to lose season-opening race date
Jul.8 (GMM) Melbourne looks set to lose its spot as the scene of Formula 1’s traditional season opening race. Due to covid restrictions, the Australian GP has been cancelled for a second consecutive year – but officials insist they are already looking beyond the 2025 contract. “We are very keen to extend it,” said Martin […]
Hamilton not expecting exciting ‘sprint qualifying’
Jul.8 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton is expecting Formula 1’s first ever ‘sprint qualifying’ race to be a fizzer. Next weekend at Silverstone, drivers will head into a traditional-style qualifying session not long after a single practice session on Friday. The fastest driver will then start on pole for the short, 17-lap race on Saturday evening that […]
F1 in race to fill vacant ‘covid’ calendar spots
Jul.7 (GMM) While Dutch organisers at Zandvoort are pushing ahead with plans for their September race, much of the remainder of Formula 1’s 2021 calendar is in doubt. The position of Australia’s state Victorian government, for example, made pushing ahead with the postponed and rescheduled race in Melbourne this November impossible. “Before we achieve significantly […]
Ferrari will not resume 2021 car development
Jul.7 (GMM) Ferrari has played down the likelihood of resuming 2021 car development in order to catch up in the fight for third in the constructors’ world championship. While locked in the teams’ battle behind title contenders Red Bull and Mercedes, Ferrari has vowed to stick to its almost exclusive focus on preparing a new […]
Raikkonen getting too old for F1 – pundits
Jul.6 (GMM) Some Formula 1 experts and pundits are wondering if it’s time Kimi Raikkonen hung up his helmet. Rumours suggest that Ferrari may be considering relocating Mick Schumacher from Haas to Alfa Romeo, presumably to replace 41-year-old Raikkonen from 2022. The Finn and 2007 world champion is the most experienced driver in F1 history, […]
New F1 engine rules set for one-year delay
Jul.6 (GMM) New engine regulations in Formula 1 could be postponed for a year. In Austria, top carmaker officials – including Red Bull mogul Dietrich Mateschitz and also the CEOs of Audi and Porsche – met to discuss the new rules that are scheduled to debut in 2025. Formula 1 described the talks as “very […]
Russell would ‘fight for wins’ at Mercedes – Alonso
Jul.6 (GMM) Fernando Alonso thinks “podiums” and “victories” are in George Russell’s Formula 1 future. The two-time champion admits he felt “a bit sad” about passing the Williams driver and depriving him of an invaluable point in Austria last Sunday. “Any driver except George,” 39-year-old Alonso admits to thinking when he pulled off the overtaking […]
F1 considering more ‘doubled up’ races in 2021
Jul.6 (GMM) Formula 1 is facing the prospect of having to ‘double up’ more races in 2021 in order to reach its desired schedule of 23 full grands prix. The sport raced on the same Red Bull Ring for the past two consecutive weekends, to compensate for the loss of some race hosts due to […]
Haas ‘not far’ from ending Schumacher rumours
Jul.5 (GMM) Ralf Schumacher isn’t sure if he would advise his nephew Mick to stay at Haas for 2022 or risk a move to another Ferrari-linked team. There are rumours that Ferrari may be wanting to push its junior driver up the Formula 1 grid by relocating him to Alfa Romeo for 2022. However, Ferrari […]
Catching Red Bull ‘almost impossible’ for Mercedes
Jul.5 (GMM) Max Verstappen insists he is still not even “dreaming” about becoming world champion in 2021. Red Bull’s new dominance of Formula 1 is a major moment for the sport, as the Dutch driver pulls out a 32 point lead over Lewis Hamilton with his pole, win and fastest lap in Austria on Sunday. […]
F1 world slams FIA over Norris penalty
Jul.5 (GMM) Formula 1 is rallying around Lando Norris, as the on-form McLaren driver risks having to serve a race ban. In Austria, the impressive 21-year-old finished third, splitting the two Mercedes. But it would actually have been second if he wasn’t penalised for an incident with Sergio Perez. The incident added more penalty points […]
Ricciardo won’t let 2021 situation ‘get me down’
Jul.4 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo is determined not to let his consistent and stark defeats to McLaren teammate Lando Norris “get me down”. The Australian headed into the Paul Ricard-Austria-Austria triple-header with high hopes that the consecutive action would end his struggle to get on terms with his decade-younger teammate. But while Norris sensationally missed pole […]
Alonso wants to stay in F1 for ‘many years’
Jul.4 (GMM) Fernando Alonso says he can imagine staying in Formula 1 for “many years”. On the day that his former nemesis Lewis Hamilton inked a new two-year deal, 39-year-old Alonso said he is happy with his own form amid his F1 comeback and already looking beyond his 2022 contract. “I don’t have a clear […]
Covid showed importance of spectators – Ecclestone
Jul.4 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has hailed the return of spectators to Formula 1. Although a smattering of spectators have often been present in the grandstands since the covid crisis exploded, this weekend’s race in Austria is the first time a mass crowd has gathered. “The fans are cool here – everyone in orange, supporting McLaren […]