Jun.26 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas insists he has “nothing to worry about” despite heading into the delayed 2020 season without a contract in place for next year. Mika Hakkinen, part of the Finn’s management team, insists that the Mercedes driver has “prepared himself to a very high physical and psychological level” to take on Lewis Hamilton […]
Category: Recent stories
McLaren switch decision was ‘not easy’ – Ricciardo
Jun.26 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo says “time will tell” if he has made the right decision to switch to McLaren for 2021. On the face of it, it is a sideways move for the Australian, who will continue to race for the works Renault team this year. Ricciardo told the Australian Grand Prix Corporation podcast In […]
Mercedes’ Cowell could switch to Aston Martin
Jun.26 (GMM) Mercedes’ departing engine guru Andy Cowell could be moving to Aston Martin, according to Germany’s Auto Bild. Last week, Mercedes’ works team announced that after 16 years, Cowell is leaving his post in July but he will “consult to Mercedes-Benz AG on a major future project” until 2021. “Now is the right time […]
Spa not going back on ‘ghost race’ plan
Jun.26 (GMM) Spa-Francorchamps will not alter its plans to host the Belgian GP this year without spectators. Dutch regional newspaper Het Belang van Limburg reports that although mass events were forbidden in Belgium at the time promoter Spa Grand Prix did the ‘ghost race’ deal with Liberty Media, things have now changed. The suggestion now […]
China ‘fixed’ on extended 2020 calendar – Marko
Jun.26 (GMM) China has “fixed” itself a place on the 2020 corona crisis race calendar, according to Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko. Marko, a top Red Bull official who is close to Dietrich Mateschitz, was instrumental in getting the 2020 season up and running next week in Austria. Now, F1 is planning the second part […]
Latifi buying Williams would be ‘terrific’
Jun.26 (GMM) Williams will on Friday reveal a “sharp” and “smart” revised livery for its 2020 car. It comes after the struggling British backmarker, which is for sale, suddenly lost the backing of its title sponsor Rokit. The phone company is being linked with a move to world champions Mercedes. Ahead of the reveal of […]
Bottas, Verstappen to attack Hamilton – Hakkinen
Jun.26 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen could put up a real challenge to reigning six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in 2020. That is the view of former double world champion Mika Hakkinen, who is part of the management team looking after Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Bottas. “Valtteri is in super shape and has prepared himself […]
McLaren will not freeze Sainz out in 2020
Jun.26 (GMM) Carlos Sainz will not be frozen out by McLaren in 2020. That is the word from the British team’s supremo Zak Brown, even though Spaniard Sainz is switching to Ferrari at the end of the season. Normally, a move like that would result in the team shutting its departing driver out of knowing […]
Ferrari plays down ’30hp’ Austria car upgrade
Jun.26 (GMM) Ferrari says reports of a major car upgrade ahead of the resumption of racing in Austria next weekend were exaggerated. Italian media in particular claimed that, compared to the Melbourne-spec car, the Red Bull Ring-specification 2020 Ferrari will have a slimmer nose, stiffer gearbox, new rear suspension and an engine with 30hp more. […]
F1 ready for full season of ‘ghost races’ – Abiteboul
Jun.25 (GMM) Cyril Abitebul thinks Formula 1 should prepare for a whole season of ‘ghost races’ in 2020. However, the Renault team boss is hoping for the best. “We are preparing for a closed season, obviously with several economic scenarios for the circumstances, but we hope to be able to welcome a very small number […]
F1 preparing to announce second part of ‘corona calendar’
Jun.25 (GMM) Formula 1 looks set to soon announce the second part of its 2020 ‘corona calendar’. Amid reports of an October race in Montreal, Canadian GP chief Francois Dumontier thinks various non-European races will be added to that schedule. “I think the idea is to be able to announce the second part of the […]
Canada not ready to confirm October race date
Jun.25 (GMM) Organisers of the Canadian GP are not ready to confirm that a race in Montreal will definitely take place in 2020. There have been reports that an October date, pairing Canada with Austin, has been set for the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve’s 2020 race. “We can’t confirm that,” a race spokesman told us. “We […]
Doctor says Zanardi has ‘very bad eye injury’
Jun.25 (GMM) A doctor treating Alex Zanardi has admitted the former F1 driver’s vision could be affected by his hand-cycling crash. Italian Zanardi, who lost his legs in a 2001 Champ Car crash, is still in a coma with serious facial and head injuries in the Santa Maria alle Scotte di Siena in Italy. We […]
F1 manufacturers could say ‘goodbye’ – Schumacher
Jun.24 (GMM) Ralf Schumacher is worried about the future of Germany’s national representation in Formula 1. Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone thinks the looming demise of Sebastian Vettel’s career is connected with the end of Formula 1 on free-to-air television in Germany after 2020. Quadruple world champion Vettel is the last German driver on the […]
10,000 corona tests ready for Austria GP
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 […]
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. […]