Oct.5 (GMM) F1’s governing body rejected a complaint from Red Bull about the way title rival Mercedes’ Formula 1 engine operates. We reported last month that the latest technical needle between the title-warring teams was Red Bull and Ferrari’s suspicions about how Mercedes managed to improve its engine this year amid the homologation rules. “According […]
Category: Recent stories
Russell not expecting ‘easy walk’ in 2022
Oct.5 (GMM) Signing a works Mercedes deal is only “the first step” in the next phase of his Formula 1 career. That is the view of George Russell, the highly-rated Williams driver who will step up to replace Valtteri Bottas next year as Lewis Hamilton’s new teammate. Having impressed near the back of the grid […]
Domenicali reveals ‘Ferrari wanted Hamilton’
Oct.5 (GMM) Ferrari held talks with Lewis Hamilton about the British driver potentially racing in red for Formula 1’s most famous team. Just a week ago, the seven time world champion said it is “amazing” that his ultra-successful career will probably end in the coming years without him ever racing for Ferrari. “It’s pretty amazing […]
Long race calendars damaging F1 – Ecclestone
Oct.4 (GMM) Formula 1’s overweight and oppressive race calendars are damaging the sport. That is the view of former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who according to Blick newspaper is currently holidaying in Ibiza with his family and Flavio Briatore. “Bernie is always the best medicine for me,” Briatore, the former Renault boss, said after a […]
Marko had ‘doubts’ about Verstappen engine change
Oct.4 (GMM) Toto Wolff is not ruling out an imminent engine change – and corresponding penalties – for Mercedes’ championship leader Lewis Hamilton. The British driver is leading his Red Bull-driving rival Max Verstappen by just 2 points with 7 races to go in 2021. However, Verstappen took a fresh set of Honda power unit […]
F1 to ‘open the doors’ to VW brands – Tost
Oct.4 (GMM) Formula 1’s new engine rules for 2026 “open the doors” to two key German manufacturers. That is the view of Franz Tost, boss of Red Bull’s second Formula 1 team Alpha Tauri, amid reports that Volkswagen brands Audi and Porsche are eyeing F1’s shift to fundamentally different engine rules for the future. When […]
Tost defends Tsunoda after ‘surprised’ comments
Oct.4 (GMM) Alpha Tauri boss Franz Tost has defended team rookie Yuki Tsunoda, after the Japanese said he was “surprised” to have kept his Formula 1 seat for 2022. “What planet is he from?” F1 veteran and commentator David Coulthard told La Gazzetta dello Sport when he heard about the diminutive 21-year-old driver’s comments. “I […]
Sainz hits reverse after Barrichello criticism
Oct.4 (GMM) Carlos Sainz has hit reverse gear after insisting he would not be happy “being a Barrichello”-like driver at Ferrari. Although talented, experienced and accomplished, Brazilian Barrichello will arguably be best remembered as the clear number 2 driver to Ferrari’s top star Michael Schumacher. Now, Spaniard Sainz is paired at Ferrari with Charles Leclerc, […]
Bottas hopes for ‘different’ Alfa Romeo in 2022
Oct.4 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas is hoping he will join a “completely different Alfa Romeo” once he joins the Swiss-based team for 2022. The 32-year-old Finn is losing his seat as Lewis Hamilton’s preferred teammate at Mercedes after a five-year stint. Many are predicting a tough transition for the 9-time grand prix winner, given the fact […]
Red Bull reveals ‘talks’ with Lando Norris
Oct.1 (GMM) Red Bull held talks with F1’s standout rookie Lando Norris. Dr Helmut Marko, the official most directly responsible for the energy drink owned team’s driver program, insists he already has F1’s best youngster in a Red Bull cockpit. “I’ve watched Norris, but Max is still at the top of my ranking,” he told […]
No more surface problems in Turkey – Masi
Oct.1 (GMM) Formula 1 is confident Turkey’s Istanbul circuit will be in better shape than last year. Amid the new covid era of frequent race cancellations, the sport is heading back to Turkey next weekend amid memories of the treacherous state of the newly resurfaced track. Max Verstappen summed up the unusually slippery nature of […]
Qatar joins F1 calendar amid controversy
Oct.1 (GMM) Qatar has emerged as the official replacement for this year’s axed Australian GP. But the deal, which had been expected, could actually be a long-term blow for the beleaguered Melbourne race, with Australia struggling amid a deep covid-related political crisis and facing an uncertain future on the calendar. Formula 1 has announced that […]
Ferrari helping Haas to help Schumacher – Piero Ferrari
Sep.30 (GMM) Ferrari is helping Mick Schumacher to speed up in Formula 1. That is the word of Piero Ferrari, the only living son of the great Maranello marque’s iconic founder Enzo. Ferrari, 76, is Ferrari’s vice chairman, and he admitted that the Italian team is helping to give Schumacher – the son of great […]
2021 to be Zhou’s ‘last season in F2’
Sep.30 (GMM) Guanyu Zhou is confident 2021 will be his “last season in Formula 2”. Reportedly with $30 million in Chinese backing, the 22-year-old Alpine junior is strongly linked with Antonio Giovinazzi’s seat at Alfa Romeo for 2022. Team boss Frederic Vasseur says the arrival of Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas next year gives him extra freedom […]
Saudi in ‘race against clock’ for first F1 GP
Sep.30 (GMM) Grand prix organisers are in a “race against the clock” to prepare for Saudi Arabia’s first Formula 1 race in December. Also revealing images of the construction site that will be the all-new Jeddah circuit, French news agency AFP quoted an unnamed insider who has concerns. According to the source, Saudi authorities are […]
Perez wins $2.8m after sponsor court battle
Sep.30 (GMM) Sergio Perez will be happy after a lucrative round of court proceedings. The Red Bull driver’s management had sued state-owned Mexican oil company Pemex through its private subsidiary MGI Asistencia Integral, according to local sources Reforma and AM. Perez’s corner had argued in federal court that Pemex owed millions following termination of a […]
‘Fun’ to watch Wolff get ‘upset’ in 2021 – Horner
Sep.30 (GMM) Red Bull boss Christian Horner says it’s “fun” to witness the discomfort of his Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff in 2021. The pair are nominally at the top of the title-charging top teams in the heat of the ultra-intense world championship battle – but Horner says their roles differ fundamentally. “There’s a lot of […]
2021 contenders have ‘nobody beats me’ attitude
Sep.30 (GMM) Formula 1’s hard-charging championship contenders both have a “nobody beats me” attitude to their trade. That is the view of Norbert Haug, who got an early insight into the foundation of Lewis Hamilton’s unprecedented career success when he was Mercedes’ motorsport chief at McLaren. “Ten years ago, nobody would have imagined that Michael […]
VW’s Audi, Porsche likely to enter F1 in 2026
Sep.29 (GMM) Formula 1 is likely to welcome one or even two Volkswagen Group manufacturers to the grid in 2026. That is the confident prediction of Michael Schmidt, the F1 editor for the highly respected German specialist magazine Auto Motor und Sport. It comes after the latest series of meetings between the existing teams, the […]
New F1 practice rules ‘very good news’ – Shwartzman
Sep.29 (GMM) Ferrari junior Robert Shwartzman has welcomed moves to make the running of young drivers in official Formula 1 practice sessions mandatory. At Sochi, McLaren boss Andreas Seidl told La Gazzetta dello Sport that he is “fully supportive” of the plan to make running young drivers mandatory in at least two practice sessions in […]