Mar.24 (GMM) F1 legend Gerhard Berger has tipped Sebastian Vettel to start shining again now that he has left Ferrari. It is a sentiment that is backed strongly by another of Vettel’s well-known F1 allies – former supremo Bernie Ecclestone. “The best thing that he and everyone can do is forget about the years at […]
Category: Recent stories
Marko plays down Red Bull’s new fuel
Mar.24 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has played down his own camp’s boasts about its Formula 1 fuel for the new season. A week ago, Red Bull put out a press release announcing that ExxonMobil had produced a new fuel for the Honda-powered teams in 2021. The new fuel “focuses on delivering improved power, performance and […]
Nurburgring unavailable for 2021 F1 race
Mar.24 (GMM) Nurburgring may not be able to step in as a potential replacement race in 2021. Several of the currently-scheduled events on the 23-race calendar for this season are in doubt, triggering rumours that the absent Germany’s former venues at Hockenheim and the Nurburgring could step up. “Germany is an important market for us,” […]
Alonso told Alpine – ‘This doesn’t work’
Mar.24 (GMM) Fernando Alonso immediately recognised parts of the Alpine package for 2021 that do not “work”. That is the admission of Renault CEO Luca de Meo, the mastermind behind the French carmaker’s rebranding of its works Enstone based team for the new season. “I didn’t want to be the man who buried 44 years […]
McLaren may be ahead of works Mercedes team
Mar.24 (GMM) McLaren could emerge as the second best team in 2021 – ahead of Mercedes. That is the wild claim of respected British pitlane broadcaster Ted Kravitz, who emerged with his views on the official podcast of the Australian GP. McLaren impressed and surprised the F1 world with its ‘loophole’ diffuser design for the […]
No anti-racist gesture ‘requirement’ in F1 – spokesman
Mar.24 (GMM) Formula 1 drivers will be “free” to kneel on the grid before grands prix in 2021, a spokesman for the sport says. However, it is believed the ‘End Racism’ t-shirts will no longer appear – a move that has the full backing of former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone. “If I’d have still been […]
Sainz not worried about becoming next Vettel
Mar.23 (GMM) Carlos Sainz says he isn’t worried about being marginalised by Ferrari in the way that his predecessor Sebastian Vettel was. “I’m not afraid that will happen,” the Spanish driver told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “But I don’t see it that way – that Ferrari can devour a driver. I see what people say […]
Monza eyeing spectators for Italian GP
Mar.23 (GMM) Monza circuit boss Alessandra Zinno is hoping to welcome spectators to the Italian GP in September. “We are working on two fronts – ordinary or limited accessibility,” she told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “We are thinking for example of a health passport for those who buy a ticket with a negative swab in […]
Wolff admits Mercedes ran ‘a lot of fuel’ in testing
Mar.23 (GMM) Toto Wolff has confirmed reports that Mercedes ran with high fuel loads in the recent and sole pre-season test in Bahrain. Coupled with obvious handling problems, the reigning world champion team’s lagging pace triggered the hypothesis that Red Bull is the obvious favourite heading into 2021. “The fact that they didn’t really align […]
‘Something going on’ at Mercedes – Chandhok
Mar.23 (GMM) “There’s something going on” behind closed doors at Mercedes. That is the suspicion of former F1 driver and UK television pundit Karun Chandhok, referring to Lewis Hamilton’s protracted negotiations that culminated in a mere one-year contract for 2021. Chandhok’s colleague Martin Brundle said he met the seven time world champion recently and found […]
Boss confident Australian GP will go ahead
Mar.23 (GMM) Australian GP boss Andrew Westacott is confident the rescheduled Melbourne race will go ahead as planned in late November. It was the government’s insistence of two-week quarantines for all international travellers that meant the 2021 season opener could not go ahead as originally scheduled this month. But Westacott told Australia’s Nine Network that […]
Dutch GP not giving up on F1 spectators
Mar.23 (GMM) Zandvoort is still not giving up on hosting a full house of spectators for the Dutch GP in September. The inaugural race at the rejuvenated circuit could not take place last year as a ‘ghost race’ as it totally contradicted the organisers’ financial model. F1 has scheduled the 2021 Dutch GP for September, […]
Schumacher debuting with wrong F1 team – Ecclestone
Mar.23 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone thinks Mick Schumacher is making his Formula 1 debut for the wrong team. Schumacher, the 21-year-old son of F1 legend Michael, has been placed with Ferrari’s support at the small American team Haas for 2021. “It is a name that has to be in Formula 1,” former F1 supremo Ecclestone told […]
Ferrari, Leclerc ‘hiding’ true 2021 pace – Gasly
Mar.22 (GMM) Ferrari and Charles Leclerc are keeping their cards close to their chests ahead of the 2021 season. That is the view of Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly, who is friends with fellow Frenchman Leclerc. “I think Ferrari is hiding and not showing too much,” Gasly told Spain’s Marca. “Compared to last year, I think […]
Bottas has ‘no chance’ of beating Hamilton
Mar.22 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas has “no chance” of beating his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in 2021. That is the view of former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, who does think Finn Bottas has the ability to be “at eye-level” with the seven time world champion at “some races”. “But in terms of the whole season, he […]
Porsche CEO says F1 wants carmaker to enter sport
Mar.22 (GMM) Porsche CEO Oliver Blume has confirmed that Formula 1 approached the Volkswagen-owned German sports car maker about entering the sport in the near future. Rumours that Porsche could enter F1 have intensified in the past weeks, with Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko admitting he has been in talks. “Motorsport is in the DNA […]
Tsunoda ‘a better driver’ than Schumacher – Minardi
Mar.22 (GMM) Mick Schumacher will not be the most impressive rookie in Formula 1 this year, according to former team owner and boss Giancarlo Minardi. Although he says he will also keep an eye on the great Michael Schumacher’s son this year, he has no doubt who will emerge as the most successful rookie. “That […]
Perez to be up to speed ‘right away’ – Verstappen
Mar.22 (GMM) Sergio Perez is wise to “take some pressure off” ahead of his first season with Red Bull, according to his high-profile teammate Max Verstappen. The highly experienced Mexican has been drafted into the lineup to push Verstappen harder, but Perez has notably been playing down his expectations. When asked where he thinks 31-year-old […]
Mercedes fast even with ‘worst floor’ – Verstappen
Mar.22 (GMM) Mercedes is trying to “push” Red Bull into the role of title favourite for 2021. That is the view of Max Verstappen, who others think is genuinely most likely to win this season given Mercedes’ high-profile testing problems. But the Dutchman thinks Mercedes still shone. “You can see what Mercedes did from the […]
Ecclestone hopes Hamilton not too distracted
Mar.22 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone thinks Lewis Hamilton’s off-track activities may affect his “racing skills” in 2021. In addition to his interests in music, fashion and pop culture, the seven time world champion has more recently been championing political issues and activism. His most recent distraction was the conclusion of his new one-year Mercedes contract. Team […]