Mar.14 (GMM) Moscow Raceway, a permanent venue located 100 kilometres from the Russian capital, says it is “ready to discuss” replacing one of the postponed grands prix in 2020. So far, Sochi’s September date for the Russian GP is not affected by the coronavirus situation. Only 45 cases of the Covid-19 disease have been reported […]
Category: Recent stories
Red Bull admits it would have raced in Melbourne
Mar.14 (GMM) If it had been up to some Formula 1 teams, they would be preparing to race in Sunday’s ultimately-postponed Australian GP. Red Bull has admitted it was one of the teams who argued that the race should go on after a McLaren team member was confirmed to have coronavirus. “The local health authority […]
Seidl stays in Australia with affected staff
Mar.14 (GMM) F1’s travelling circus will endure a nervous couple of weeks in the wake of the postponed Australian GP. Although a wheel didn’t turn at Albert Park, the entire travelling sport made the trip from Europe only to learn that a McLaren team member was infected with coronavirus. A two-week period of quarantine for […]
F1 teams to lose money over coronavirus situation
Mar.14 (GMM) F1 teams are expecting to take a financial hit from the unprecedented coronavirus situation. While the big teams have eye-watering budgets, Claire Williams admitted she is worried about the financial impact not being able to race will have on her Oxfordshire based team. That is because about half of the small teams’ budgets […]
F1 teams begin coronavirus quarantine period
Mar.14 (GMM) F1 team staff arriving back in Europe from Australia are now heading into a two-week quarantine period. For that reason, while talks about the races in Barcelona, Zandvoort and Monaco continue, the sport had no choice other than to officially postpone Bahrain and Vietnam. “The teams and employees must now go into quarantine, […]
Vettel ‘belongs to our past’ – Horner
Mar.13 (GMM) Christian Horner says Red Bull is not in the market to snap up Sebastian Vettel for 2021. Prior to joining Ferrari, where his current contract runs out this year, 32-year-old Vettel won all four of his world championships at Red Bull. But Dr Helmut Marko said recently that Red Bull cannot afford to […]
Relaxed helmet livery rule ‘nice’ – Verstappen
Mar.13 (GMM) Max Verstappen says the new rule allowing drivers to change their helmets as often as they desire will not change much for him. Because fans were at the time struggling to identify drivers, the FIA ruled ahead of 2015 that drivers could only change their helmet design once per season. When asked if […]
Owner says 2020 could be Haas’ final season
Mar.13 (GMM) Gene Haas has admitted that 2020 could be his team’s last season in Formula 1. This year is the American team’s fifth season on the grid, but owner Gene Haas indicated prior to the Australian GP cancellation that he is undecided about whether to sign the new Concorde Agreement. “I’ll wait and see […]
Hulkenberg comeback ‘difficult’ – Glock
Mar.13 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg will struggle to return to the Formula 1 grid. That is the claim of another former German F1 driver, Timo Glock, who thinks ousted Renault racer Hulkenberg should instead target a DTM race seat. “Once a driver is out, a comeback is always difficult,” Glock told ran.de. “Many young drivers are […]
Leclerc defends FIA over engine scandal
Mar.13 (GMM) Charles Leclerc has defended both the FIA and Ferrari, amid rival teams’ fury over the 2019 engine legality scandal. Earlier, the seven non-Ferrari affiliated teams were not ruling out legal action after a secret settlement was agreed between Ferrari and the FIA. It is believed the seven teams have now become six, after […]
Williams targets Alfa Romeo in 2020
Mar.13 (GMM) Prior to the cancellation of the Australian GP, Williams had been planning to take on Alfa Romeo. After the team finished dead last by a big margin in 2019, George Russell says the new car has “significantly more downforce”. Team boss Claire Williams added: “We are better on a long runs than we […]
Mercedes will assess ‘risk’ of racing DAS – Bottas
Mar.13 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas says it is up to Mercedes to decide if the controversial steering system ‘DAS’ will be used in 2020. The team headed to Australia intending to use the new push-pull steering feature, but Red Bull had been poised to lodge a protest before qualifying. “It is up to the team to […]
Vettel can beat Leclerc in 2020 car – Glock
Mar.13 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel can beat Charles Leclerc at the wheel of Ferrari’s 2020 car. That is the view of former F1 driver Timo Glock, who said quadruple world champion Vettel clearly struggled with the handling of last year’s red machine. “When you listen to him, you get the impression that he has a much […]
Williams worried about financial impact of coronavirus
Mar.13 (GMM) Claire Williams is worried about the financial impact of F1’s new coronavirus crisis. Australia and China have been called off, but Bahrain and Vietnam will soon follow suit and most insiders doubt there will be a single race until June. If that happens, it will hurt F1’s smallest and least successful teams like […]
F1 took ‘too long’ with Melbourne decision – Ecclestone
Mar.13 (GMM) Formula 1 took too long to respond to the coronavirus crisis, according to former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone. On Friday the 13th, the image presented to the world by the pinnacle of motorsport was utterly shambolic. After a McLaren team member tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, most insiders assumed that cancellation of […]
‘F1 will recover’ from worst ever crisis
Mar.13 (GMM) The world of Formula 1 is coming to terms with the fact that its 2020 season is in tatters over the coronavirus crisis. Initially, the sport’s figureheads – Chase Carey and Jean Todt – are facing the ire of spectators, fans, insiders and observers because of how the Melbourne situation was handled amid […]
Bahrain GP ‘out of the question’ – Horner
Mar.13 (GMM) With Australia and China already called off, F1 insiders are no longer expecting any racing whatsoever until at least June in Baku. After the McLaren team member tested positive for coronavirus in Melbourne on Friday, 14 of his teammates are now in quarantine for two weeks. It is just one reason why Bahrain […]
Steiner defends F1 amid charges of ‘poor management’
Mar.12 (GMM) Gunther Steiner has stopped short of pointing the finger at Liberty Media and the FIA’s “poor management” of the coronavirus crisis that is gripping Formula 1. While sporting events, motor races and large gatherings of all sorts are cancelled the world over, F1 has pressed ahead with the start of the 2020 season […]
Ferrari were ‘bluffing’ with test pace – Wolff
Mar.12 (GMM) Toto Wolff is not ready to write off Ferrari’s chances of winning the 2020 world championship. In testing, the Maranello team’s new car was conspicuously off the pace, having improved in the corners but become significantly slower in a straight line. The obvious conclusion is that the wrangling over the legality of Ferrari’s […]
Amid protest threat, Mercedes to use ‘DAS’ in Melbourne
Mar.12 (GMM) Mercedes will run the risk of a protest by using the controversial new steering system DAS in Melbourne this weekend. Amid the unfolding coronavirus crisis, Red Bull’s top F1 official Dr Helmut Marko has warned that if the reigning champions use DAS at Albert Park, “we will protest”. But Mercedes boss Toto Wolff […]