Jul.4 (GMM) Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton are talking up championship rival Max Verstappen’s chances of strolling to victory in Austria on Sunday. The two Mercedes cars were not only beaten by their Red Bull counterparts in qualifying, Mercedes customer McLaren’s Lando Norris almost pipped championship leader Verstappen to pole. “All these comments about the […]
Category: Recent stories
Hamilton not confirming Wolff retirement talks
Jul.4 (GMM) It appears that Lewis Hamilton has given his annual retainer a boost, having signed to remain at Mercedes for 2022 and 2023. Bild am Sonntag newspaper reports that, having agreed a pay-cut for the eye of the covid storm in 2020, Hamilton’s pay will now be back up to EUR 35 million per […]
Bottas set to explore non-Mercedes ‘options’
Jul.4 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas says he will explore “other options” if Mercedes decides to oust him for 2022 and beyond. On Saturday, the reigning champions announced that Lewis Hamilton has signed a new contract for 2022 and 2023, reportedly on the full financial terms of his pre-covid deals. Bottas’ future, however, remains in the balance. […]
All 23 races ‘still the plan’ in 2021 – Domenicali
Jul.3 (GMM) Formula 1 is pushing ahead with its 23-race calendar, even though question marks are hovering over several scheduled events after the August break. “That is still the plan,” F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali told Speed Week in Austria. “The fact that we can find replacements for races that cannot happen shows how well Formula […]
Norris admits Ricciardo relations ‘different’
Jul.3 (GMM) Lando Norris says his relationship with new McLaren teammate Daniel Ricciardo is “completely different”. He was asked to compare the difference in relations with Ricciardo, who is over a decade older than 21-year-old Norris, and his former teammate Carlos Sainz. “Daniel and I get along well,” Norris insisted. “We laugh a lot and […]
Red Bull wants FIA to scrap pitstop clampdown
Jul.3 (GMM) Red Bull is working hard behind the scenes to overturn the FIA’s incoming pitstop speed clampdown. It recently emerged that complaints had been lodged about the super-human speed of Red Bull’s pitstop process, prompting the FIA to react. “We worked for years to get this lead,” a still-furious Dr Helmut Marko told motorsport-magazin.com […]
Aston Martin set to brighten dull green livery
Jul.3 (GMM) Aston Martin admits it needs to improve the colour of its Formula 1 cars. A week ago, major sponsor BWT’s boss Andreas Weissenbacher admitted he is trying to convince the Silverstone based team to revert to a pink livery. “From a historical perspective, the British racing green is certainly understandable to many, but […]
Honda to produce first ‘Red Bull’ engine in 2022
Jul.3 (GMM) The first works ‘Red Bull’ engine next year will actually be produced by Honda in Japan. With Honda pulling out of Formula 1 at the end of the year, Red Bull is taking over the IP and setting up Red Bull Powertrains in Milton Keynes. However, 2022 will be a “transition” year, according […]
Alonso not ruling out return to Indy 500
Jul.3 (GMM) Fernando Alonso says he has not given up on his dream of winning the Indy 500. Before leaving Formula 1, the two-time champion sat out the 2017 Monaco GP to make his Indy 500 debut, performing well but retiring with engine trouble. During his F1 sabbatical, he then failed to qualify in 2019 […]
Mazepin ‘pretty lost’ with 2021 Haas setup
Jul.3 (GMM) Nikita Mazepin admits he is “pretty lost” when it comes to setting up his 2021 Haas car. The Russian rookie has already hit out at the extra weight of his chassis compared with teammate Mick Schumacher’s. Amid rumours of a rift between Gunther Steiner and Mazepin’s wealthy father and team title sponsor, the […]
Orlen wants to stay as Alfa Romeo sponsor
Jul.3 (GMM) Robert Kubica’s sponsor Orlen is keen to keep racing in Formula 1. When the Polish driver left Williams at the end of 2019, Kubica became reserve driver at Alfa Romeo and took his personal backer PKN Orlen with him. Today, Orlen is still the most prominent brand on the 2021 car, and the […]
Raikkonen has ‘no plan yet’ for 2022
Jul.3 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen has backed his team’s claim that he isn’t sure if he will still be in Formula 1 next year. Rumours are swirling that Ferrari may be looking to relocate Mick Schumacher from Haas to the other Ferrari-powered customer team for 2022 – Alfa Romeo. When asked about the status of 41-year-old […]
Wolff admits new Mercedes parts coming
Jul.3 (GMM) Toto Wolff has finally admitted that Mercedes’ development efforts for the 2021 car have not stopped completely. The team boss caused a stir a week ago by insisting that despite Max Verstappen’s dominance, Mercedes will not spend “another minute” trying to develop the current car at Brackley. However, his technical chief James Allison […]
Honda turned down engines on Friday – Wolff
Jul.3 (GMM) Mercedes has admitted that Red Bull continues to set the pace in Austria. That is despite the fact that, notwithstanding championship leader Max Verstappen’s dominance just a week ago, it was actually the two black cars in the lead after Friday practice. “Honda turned the power down more than we did,” admitted Mercedes […]
Wife reveals Zanardi unable to speak
Jul.2 (GMM) Alex Zanardi has still not regained the ability to speak, the former Formula 1 driver’s wife Daniela has revealed. At the end of April, 54-year-old Zanardi’s son Niccolo told an Italian newspaper that his father is “conscious” and “gradually getting better” after his collision with a truck during a hand cycling race a […]
Schumacher to consider 2022 move in ‘weeks’
Jul.2 (GMM) Mick Schumacher is refusing to commit to staying at Haas for 2022. Boss Gunther Steiner has been clear that the team’s plan for this season was to make do with a modified version of the 2020 car whilst giving Haas’ all-rookie driver lineup experience and preparing a faster new car for 2022. However, […]
Alonso backs Verstappen over ‘burnout’ ban
Jul.2 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has backed Max Verstappen after the FIA rebuked the championship leader for performing a chequered flag ‘burnout’ after last Sunday’s race in Austria. “I like it when the drivers are allowed to be themselves,” said the two-time champion. “The fans like it too, which you can see by looking at the […]
FIA ends risk of teams skipping practice
Jul.2 (GMM) F1’s governing body has neutralised a risk that up to three teams could have sat out practice sessions ahead of the British GP. After Sunday’s race in Austria, Formula 1 moves onto Silverstone – where the trial of the new ‘sprint qualifying’ weekend format will begin. But Aston Martin, Alpine and McLaren had […]
2022 Ferrari ‘very different’ in simulator – Leclerc
Jul.2 (GMM) Charles Leclerc says Ferrari’s all-new car for 2022 “feels very different”. He was speaking in Austria, having recently tried a virtual version of next year’s red car in the Ferrari simulator at Maranello. “It feels very different. It’s a very different project,” said the Monaco-born driver. Ferrari was one of the first teams […]
Vettel plays down role in poaching staff
Jul.2 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has played down his role in wooing yet another senior Red Bull chief to Aston Martin. Just a week ago, the rapidly-expanding Aston Martin announced that Red Bull’s aerodynamics boss Dan Fallows has signed up for the future. And now, Andrew Alessi – who also worked with Vettel in the past […]