Sep.29 (GMM) Haas boss Gunther Steiner was notably annoyed with his driver Romain Grosjean after the Russian GP. Frenchman Grosjean went into the weekend admitting that his Formula 1 career was in doubt as Haas weighs up a list of about ten potential replacements for 2021. “It is clear that there are not many seats […]
Category: Recent stories
Salo denies leaking Hamilton penalty verdict
Sep.29 (GMM) Mika Salo has hit back at claims he inappropriately leaked information about Lewis Hamilton’s Sochi penalties to a television broadcaster. Ten minutes before the FIA announced the stewards’ verdict on Sunday, Finnish commentator Niki Juusela told viewers of the live C More broadcast that Hamilton would receive ten seconds worth of penalties and […]
Little sympathy for Hamilton’s Sochi penalties
Sep.29 (GMM) The international media reacted with little sympathy after Lewis Hamilton suggested Formula 1 is trying to stop him dominating the sport. The six-time world champion received two five-second penalties for illegal practice starts before the recent Sochi race, and afterwards suggested he had been unfairly singled out. “How is it that such a […]
Bottas slams critic after ‘f*** you’ rebuke
Sep.29 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas issued a furious and sustained rebuke to his “critics” after winning Sunday’s Russian GP. After winning in Melbourne last year, the Finn said on the radio: “To whom it may concern, f*** you”. He made an almost identical rebuke on the slowing down lap at Sochi on Sunday, too. “I just […]
Hamilton wants Wolff to stay at Mercedes
Sep.28 (GMM) Toto Wolff on Sunday said he still isn’t sure what official role he will have in 2021. In recent days, weeks and months, there has been constant speculation that the highly successful Mercedes team boss could be on the verge of quitting. Some believe he was holding out to succeed F1 CEO Chase […]
‘Bigger update’ coming for Nurburgring – Leclerc
Sep.28 (GMM) An even “bigger update” for Ferrari’s uncompetitive 2020 car will be introduced at the very next race at the Nurburgring. That was the news from the upbeat Charles Leclerc after he finished a promising sixth at Sochi. The result came after Ferrari introduced an aerodynamic update for the Russian GP, headlined by new […]
Perez would accept Red Bull offer
Sep.28 (GMM) Sergio Perez says he would “without a doubt” accept an offer to become Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull. At Sochi, two weeks after his ousting from Racing Point became official, rumours swept the paddock that the Mexican driver had inked a pre-agreement with Haas for 2021. The rumour indicated that the news […]
Sochi set to discuss new Russia GP contract
Sep.28 (GMM) Sochi is looking to extend its contract in order to keep hosting the Russian GP in 2021 and beyond. Recently, it has been suggested that a move to a new circuit in St Petersburg is a possibility for the future. There have also been rumours that the Sochi venue, situated on the site […]
Huge F2 crash may reveal 18-inch tyre flaw
Sep.28 (GMM) F1’s governing body will look into whether there is a safety problem with the sort of 18-inch wheels that are set to be introduced in Formula 1 in 2022. Although the corona crisis has put back the introduction into F1 until 2022, the Formula 2 field is using 18-inch Pirelli tyres for the […]
Steward Salo hits back at Hamilton accusations
Sep.28 (GMM) A well-known steward has hit back at Lewis Hamilton’s accusations that officials are trying to stop his dominance of Formula 1. Although the FIA later rescinded the two super license penalty points that brought him treacherously close to a race ban, Hamilton was given two five-second penalties at Sochi on Sunday that cost […]
Kvyat fends off Tsunoda ‘rumours’
Sep.27 (GMM) Daniil Kvyat says he is not bothered by “rumours” that a Japanese Formula 2 driver is set to replace him at Alpha Tauri for 2020. Yuki Tsunoda, who took pole at Sochi but lost the feature race to Mick Schumacher, is strongly backed by Alpha Tauri owner Red Bull’s engine partner Honda. It […]
Hermann Tilke could not attend Russian GP
Sep.27 (GMM) Hermann Tilke has become a third high-profile expected attendee who is in fact not present at the Russian GP this weekend. We reported earlier that Russian president Vladimir Putin and Bernie Ecclestone – both regular attendees at the event in Sochi – are not present in 2020. Another notable absentee is Will Buxton, […]
Wolff not ruling out Hamilton-Red Bull deal
Sep.27 (GMM) Toto Wolff is refusing to rule out a scenario in which Lewis Hamilton decides to leave Mercedes at the end of the season. Eddie Jordan, who is also predicting that Ineos will buy the works Mercedes team, claimed last week that Hamilton should team up with Max Verstappen at Red Bull. “I wondered […]
Raikkonen denies extending Alfa Romeo contract
Sep.27 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen has denied reports that he has extended his stay at Alfa Romeo into 2021. Roger Benoit, a veteran and highly respected correspondent for the Swiss newspaper Blick, claims the Finn informed team boss Frederic Vasseur of his decision to stay prior to September 15. Speculation suggests Raikkonen, 40, had a one-sided […]
2021 ‘negotiations’ to begin soon – Kvyat
Sep.26 (GMM) Daniil Kvyat says he is yet to discuss with his Red Bull bosses his place at Alpha Tauri for the 2021 season. It is widely expected that Red Bull will keep Monza winner Pierre Gasly at the junior team, but potentially replace the comparatively struggling Kvyat with Honda-backed rookie Yuki Tsunoda. Russian Kvyat, […]
Better teammates could have pushed Hamilton – Alonso
Sep.26 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton has benefitted from not having better teammates in past seasons, according to Fernando Alonso. This weekend, Mercedes’ Hamilton – who is also cruising towards an equal-record setting seventh title this season – is expected to match Michael Schumacher’s all-time race win tally of 91. Schumacher himself is still recovering from brain […]
Putin, Ecclestone not attending Russian GP
Sep.26 (GMM) Vladimir Putin is not planning to attend Sunday’s Russian GP. The controversial Russian president normally attends the event at Sochi’s Olympic Park. Recently, after it emerged that Liberty Media would no longer invite Bernie Ecclestone to grands prix, the former F1 supremo said: “They might want to try it in Russia. “I think […]
Marko says ‘goodbye’ to Verstappen’s title
Sep.26 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has said a reluctant “goodbye” to Red Bull’s 2020 world championship chances. The Austrian had hoped that his charge Max Verstappen would beat Sebastian Vettel’s record by becoming the youngest ever world champion this year. Instead, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton is on the cusp of matching Michael Schumacher’s all-time victory record […]
Binotto admits Ferrari vetoed Wolff as F1 CEO
Sep.26 (GMM) Stefano Domenicali will be a bulwark against “artificial” measures creeping into Formula 1. That is the view of Toto Wolff, who admits that he was another candidate to succeed Chase Carey as the sport’s new chief executive. “Everyone knows that I had preliminary discussions with Greg Maffei, the CEO of Liberty Media, but […]
F1 rejects Liberty’s reverse grid plans
Sep.26 (GMM) Liberty Media is facing serious opposition to its plans to revive a proposal for reverse-grid qualifying sprint races for the 2021 season. Mercedes vetoed the idea for 2020, but for 2021, a so-called ‘super majority’ of 28 of the 30 voting interests could wave the measure through. So far, Mercedes and also McLaren […]