Jun.24 (GMM) More than 10,000 coronavirus tests are being stockpiled at the scene of next weekend’s return to Formula 1 action in Austria. They are being supplied by Eurofins Genomics, a DNA sequencing company that has been charged with keeping the global pandemic out of the Red Bull Ring paddock. “Everyone who works at the […]
Category: Recent stories
Zanardi could lose vision after crash – reports
Jun.24 (GMM) Alex Zanardi’s eyesight is at risk as a result of the hand cycling crash that has left him in a coma with serious facial and head injuries. Giuseppe Olivieri, the neurosurgeon who operated on the former F1 driver turned paralympian, announced on Tuesday that the 53-year-old Italian will remain in a coma for […]
Honda aims to be ‘champion’ in 2020
Jun.24 (GMM) Honda’s goal for 2020 is to power Red Bull to the world championship. That is the news from Yasuaki Asaki, who heads up Formula 1 operations at Honda’s Sakura factory in Japan. He revealed that “spec 1.1” of Honda’s 2020 engine will make its debut in Austria next weekend. “My goal is to […]
Tyre barriers set alight at Zandvoort
Jun.24 (GMM) There was a fire just outside the Dutch GP venue at Zandvoort on Tuesday. De Limburger newspaper said flames and “thick, black smoke” hung above the circuit after piles of what appeared to be tyre barriers were set alight. A circuit spokesman said: “A number of young people burned a number of tyre […]
Back-to-back ghost races will give ‘answers’ – Magnussen
Jun.24 (GMM) Formula 1’s looming back-to-back ‘ghost race’ experiments could be eye-opening, according to Haas driver Kevin Magnussen. He is referring to the fact that, amid the pandemic, the sport is getting back up and racing without spectators and by holding consecutive races at the same tracks like Austria and Silverstone. “It’s hard to say […]
No pre-Austria test for Haas
Jun.24 (GMM) Haas will not follow in the wheel-tracks of other Formula 1 teams by organising a pre-Austria test. Mercedes, Renault and Racing Point have already hit the track in preparation for the first ‘ghost races’, Alpha Tauri is currently in the garage at Imola and Red Bull intends to run at Silverstone on Thursday. […]
McLaren in legal race to avoid insolvency – report
Jun.24 (GMM) McLaren is worried it may soon run out of money. Although the famous British team has signed up Daniel Ricciardo for 2021, McLaren has now said in a filing at London’s High Court that it needs a ruling “to ensure that the Group can continue as a going concern into 2021”. The company […]
Surgeon says Zanardi injury not like Schumacher’s
Jun.23 (GMM) Alex Zanardi’s brain injuries do not compare with those suffered by fellow former F1 driver Michael Schumacher. That is the claim of Giuseppe Olivieri, the doctor who operated on Zanardi following his head-on crash with a truck during a hand cycling race in Italy last weekend. Former Williams driver Zanardi, who lost his […]
End of German free TV deal ‘about Vettel’ – Ecclestone
Jun.23 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone thinks the looming end of free-to-air television coverage of Formula 1 in Germany is due to the demise of Sebastian Vettel’s career. Hot on the heels of Ferrari’s news last month that it will split with the quadruple world champion after 2020, the German broadcaster RTL has now announced that will […]
Ecclestone hopes Ferrari ‘play fair’ in 2020
Jun.23 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone hopes Ferrari “play fair” in 2020. The former F1 supremo is a key ally and friend of quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel, who will be ousted by the Maranello team after this season. “Sebastian’s only goal now is to be faster than Charles (Leclerc),” Ecclestone told the Swiss newspaper Blick. “In […]
F1 reserve role no different in corona era – Kubica
Jun.23 (GMM) Robert Kubica does not think his new role as a reserve driver will bounce him back onto the Formula 1 grid sooner rather than later. The Pole had intended to combine his new Alfa Romeo role with a full-time race seat in the German touring car championship DTM this year. Now, the very […]
Webber tips Vettel comeback in 2022
Jun.23 (GMM) Mark Webber thinks Ferrari has made a good choice by signing up Carlos Sainz for 2021. The signing means the Maranello team is ousting Sebastian Vettel, who won all four of his world championships as Webber’s teammate at Red Bull last decade. It is suggested that if Vettel cannot secure the Mercedes seat […]
F1 cars to display rainbows in 2020
Jun.23 (GMM) There may initially be no one in the grandstands, but fans at home will at least be seeing a low of rainbows in Formula 1 this year. The sport has announced that it wants to “tackle the major issues” facing society in 2020, including coronavirus, sustainability, and now racism and diversity. So in […]
F1 fans set to flock to Austrian ‘ghost races’
Jun.22 (GMM) Even if they’re banned from entering the circuit, plenty of fans are expected to descend on the region around Austria’s Red Bull Ring next weekend. Austrian reports quote the chief of Spielberg’s tourism body Tourismus am Spielberg, Manuela Machner, as confirming that hotel occupancies will be at an impressive 70-80 percent. “We don’t […]
Only 60pc of F1 drivers can win in Mercedes – Verstappen
Jun.22 (GMM) Only 60 percent of the current drivers in Formula 1 would be able to win the world championship in a dominant Mercedes car, according to Max Verstappen. Many are predicting that Red Bull driver Verstappen, 22, will be able to take on six time world champion Lewis Hamilton in 2020. The Dutchman admits […]
Sochi admits Portugal trying to take F1 race date
Jun.22 (GMM) Russia’s grand prix boss has played down reports that Portugal could be set to take the place of Sochi on the 2020 ‘corona calendar’. It has been reported that the Algarve circuit in Portimao, Portugal, is poised to take Russia’s currently-scheduled September 27 race date. “We are continuing to prepare for our race, […]
Renault used ‘new engines’ in F1 test – Marko
Jun.22 (GMM) This week, Ferrari and Red Bull will prepare on track for next weekend’s return to Formula 1 action after the long ‘corona crisis’ shutdown. Italian reports say Ferrari will run a two-year-old car on June 23 at Mugello, the circuit it owns and is slated to host a race one week after Monza. […]
RTL quits as rival bidder offers F1 ‘double’
Jun.22 (GMM) After 30 years in Formula 1, Germany’s free-to-air television broadcaster RTL is pulling out of the sport at the end of this year. Bild newspaper believes the pay-TV broadcaster Sky will take over with a lucrative exclusive deal. “If there are competitors in the game who are willing to offer double, you have […]
2021 cars to be slower despite ‘freeze’ – Green
Jun.22 (GMM) The cars of 2021 are likely to be slower than this year’s 2020 field, according to Racing Point technical boss Andy Green. That is despite the fact that large parts of the 2020 cars are being ‘frozen’ to keep costs down amid the corona crisis. A complex ‘token’ system is being set up […]
Doctor admits Zanardi at risk of brain damage
Jun.22 (GMM) Alex Zanardi is at risk of brain damage as a result of a head-on crash with a truck during a hand cycling race in Italy. The former F1 driver, who famously lost his legs in a horror American open-wheeler crash in 2001, crossed into the oncoming lane on a downhill bend and sustained […]