Jul.5 (GMM) Mattia Binotto’s job may be on the line after Ferrari got its 2020 campaign off to a miserable start in Austria. Sebastian Vettel failed even to make it out of Q2 at the Red Bull Ring, but engine customers Haas and Alfa Romeo also struggled badly. Indeed, compared to 2019 at the same […]
Category: Recent stories
Five F1 drivers refusing to kneel – source
Jul.5 (GMM) There are rumours of growing tension among Formula 1 drivers over Lewis Hamilton’s recent political activism. Having pushed hard over his support for the Black Lives Matter movement recently, the six-time world champion admitted he told his rivals at a meeting in Austria that “silence” on the issue of racism “is generally complicit”. […]
Wolff, Hamilton deny arguing over money
Jul.5 (GMM) Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton have denied they are arguing about the monetary value of the six-time world champion’s next Mercedes contract. In Austria, Hamilton slammed suggestions he is demanding a pay-rise, amid reports his boss Wolff is only willing to offer half of the desired $50m per year. “The media keep writing […]
Wolff’s talks about future in ‘good direction’
Jul.5 (GMM) Toto Wolff says talks about his future at Mercedes are heading in a “good direction”. In Austria, the works team’s boss denied that speculation about his future is connected with his decision to invest in Lawrence Stroll’s new Aston Martin project. “I made a small equity investment in Aston Martin, but no more,” […]
Red Bull not ruling out designing ‘DAS’ system
Jul.5 (GMM) Red Bull is looking into getting a Mercedes-style ‘DAS’ steering system up and running on its 2020 car. On Friday in Austria, the energy drink owned team’s official protest against the technology was not successful. “We are not appealing,” Dr Helmut Marko told Speed Week. “For the fans, the matter is over. “Our […]
Alonso the ‘logical choice’ for Renault – Villeneuve
Jul.4 (GMM) 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve thinks Fernando Alonso would be a good choice as Renault looks to complete its 2021 driver lineup. The French works team’s boss Cyril Abiteboul has admitted he has a list of contenders to replace the McLaren-bound Daniel Ricciardo. “Alonso seems to be the most logical choice,” Villeneuve told […]
Abiteboul admits 2021 talks with Alonso
Jul.4 (GMM) Cyril Abiteboul has rejected speculation that Renault and Daniel Ricciardo might part ways even before the end of the 2020 season. Rumours emerged in Austria that the French team might be looking to replace the McLaren-bound Australian driver with Fernando Alonso. “We have started this season on the right foot and next year […]
Wolff suggests Mercedes seat unlikely for Vettel
Jul.4 (GMM) Toto Wolff has played down Sebastian Vettel’s hopes of switching to the works Mercedes team for 2021. To be ousted by Ferrari at the end of the year, the quadruple world champion said in Austria that moving to the Wolff-led German team is “an option”. “I don’t know what Mercedes’ plans are, but […]
‘Three groups’ in 2020 hierarchy – Grosjean
Jul.4 (GMM) The field of 2020 is split into three distinct groups in terms of pace, according to Haas driver Romain Grosjean. On Friday, a full seven months after the last grand prix, a Formula 1 race weekend finally kicked off in Austria. As expected, Mercedes has a clear lead and according to Charles Leclerc, […]
Binotto admits Ferrari axe ‘surprised’ Vettel
Jul.4 (GMM) Mattia Binotto has confirmed that Ferrari alone decided to oust Sebastian Vettel at the end of 2020. On Thursday, after Formula 1’s long shutdown period finally ended, Vettel denied his boss’s earlier claim that the split was agreed mutually. “The (phone) call was a shock,” the quadruple world champion said in Austria. “There […]
Wolff denies Hamilton distracted by politics
Jul.4 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton’s boss has denied the six-time world champion is becoming distracted from his commitment to Formula 1. In recent weeks in particular, the 35-year-old has been heavily involved in the Black Lives Matter political movement. He was even behind the move from a silver to black livery for the works Mercedes cars, […]
F1 sticking with ‘corona era’ for now – Masi
Jul.4 (GMM) At least for the next eight races, Formula 1 will stick with what Carlos Sainz described in Austria as a “very aggressive new normal”. The entire Formula 1, Formula 3 and Formula 3 circus at the Red Bull Ring is limited to just 2000 people, with race director Michael Masi confirming that 57 […]
Technical controversies fire up in Austria
Jul.4 (GMM) Technical controversy has returned to Formula 1 as the sport finally emerges from its long coronavirus slumber. On the first day of practice in Austria, Red Bull lodged an official protest against Mercedes’ ‘DAS’ steering system. “Red Bull is trying to distract Mercedes. It’s mind games,” former F1 driver Robert Doornbos told Ziggo […]
F1 hoping for UK quarantine exception – Marko
Jul.3 (GMM) Formula 1 should receive an exemption from Britain’s mandatory quarantine laws ahead of the forthcoming back-to-back races at Silverstone. As it stands, the world of Formula 1 faces 14 days in quarantine after entering Britain for the August races. “Now that the pubs have opened in the UK and there is still a […]
Bottas denies Mercedes engine flaw
Jul.3 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas has played down rumours that a fault has been uncovered with Mercedes’ new engine specification in Austria. It was already known that a tweaked engine spec had been sent from Mercedes’ Brixworth base to the first ‘ghost race’ of 2020. But subsequent reports hinted that a problem had also been discovered, […]
Abiteboul texted Marko after 2020 engine test claim
Jul.3 (GMM) More text messages have been going back and forth between Dr Helmut Marko and Cyril Abiteboul. Renault boss Abiteboul, who shared an acrimonious relationship in the past with Red Bull’s chiefs, revealed that Marko texted him when the French team tested at the Red Bull Ring recently. “It got me some comments from […]
Marko eyes ‘psychological’ edge over Mercedes
Jul.3 (GMM) Mercedes vetoed the reverse grid experiment because it was afraid Max Verstappen would cope better than Lewis Hamilton. That is the latest provocative view of Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko, referring to the fact that F1’s plans for qualifying sprint races and reverse grids in 2020 were scuppered by a single vote. “I […]
Sainz worried about Racing Point and Renault
Jul.3 (GMM) McLaren is at risk of being overtaken by two teams in 2020. That is the warning of Carlos Sainz, after the British team finished behind only the top three – Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull – last year. But now, the Spaniard says Racing Point and Renault are set to challenge. Red Bull’s […]
Verstappen ‘very careful’ amid racial politics
Jul.3 (GMM) Max Verstappen says he will remain “very careful” about getting involved in Formula 1’s new political moment. In Austria, Lewis Hamilton revealed he has added ‘Black Lives Matter’ branding to his all black 2020 helmet design, while the drivers are under pressure to ‘take a knee’ in support of the progressive movement on […]
Renault will not share Sirotkin in 2020
Jul.3 (GMM) Sergey Sirotkin doubts he will stretch his time beyond his newly-appointed role as Renault’s 2020 reserve driver. The Russian had a similar role last year, but he was also nominated reserve for the Renault-powered McLaren team as well. But amid the corona crisis and the risk that a race driver may become infected, […]