Oct.10 (GMM) Formula 1 has “plans” in place as a top-category typhoon races into Suzuka. Named ‘Hagibis’, the typhoon which is categorised at the top descriptor known in Japan as ‘violent’ is expected to bring torrential rain and winds up to 225kph. Qualifying day at the Japanese GP is expected to be the most affected. […]
Category: Recent stories
F1 considering combustion engine freeze for 2021
Oct.9 (GMM) F1 is considering a freeze on the internal combustion engine part of the current ‘power units’ from 2021. Earlier, it was thought that the engine rules would remain stable until 2025. But concerns about the high development costs are now driving speculation that a freeze before then could be on the cards, with […]
Mercedes pays Wolff 8 million euros per year
Oct.9 (GMM) Toto Wolff is paid 8 million euros a year to be Mercedes’ team boss. The information was revealed by Austria’s Osterreich newspaper, reportedly based on the release of Mercedes’ balance sheet for last year. The numbers are fascinating. For instance, Mercedes spent 350 million euros to run the team for a year, but […]
Zandvoort denies agreeing to scrap non-F1 races
Oct.9 (GMM) Zandvoort has denied that it will cancel a number of motor racing events in order to ensure that the Dutch GP takes place as scheduled next May. It has emerged that several environmental groups are causing legal trouble for the race organisers, which at best could delay the track’s necessary upgrade works. “They […]
Title sponsor saga no ‘huge impact’ on 2020 – Steiner
Oct.9 (GMM) Gunther Steiner has admitted that the Rich Energy affair will have an impact on Haas’ bottom line. For 2019, the American team signed up the mysterious British energy drink company to be its title sponsor. But after a controversial saga involving Rich Energy’s peculiar boss William Storey, Haas is now without a title […]
Kubica sponsor ‘will remain in Formula 1’
Oct.9 (GMM) Robert Kubica’s sponsor says it is staying in Formula 1 in 2020. Kubica, who has struggled on his return to the grid this year, has already announced that he is leaving Williams at the end of the season. But his sponsor, Polish oil company PKN Orlen, says it is staying in F1. “You […]
FIA proposes active aerodynamics for 2021
Oct.9 (GMM) F1’s governing body is proposing that the Formula 1 cars in 2021 feature active aerodynamics. The news, reported by Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, comes amid pressure from some teams for a watering down of the major car changes for 2021. Led by Mercedes, it is believed that some teams want Liberty and […]
Hockenheim axe ‘disaster’ for Germany – Danner
Oct.8 (GMM) Germany’s departure from the unprecedentedly-large F1 calendar for 2020 is a “disaster”. That is the view of former driver and now German television pundit Christian Danner. The FIA has now officially ratified the 2020 calendar, which features new races in Vietnam and Zandvoort but no new deal for the German GP at Hockenheim. […]
Haas ‘goals’ did not match Hulkenberg’s – Abiteboul
Oct.8 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg turned down Haas for 2020 because he only wants to drive for teams with more potential. That is the view of Renault team boss Cyril Abiteboul, who is replacing the German with Esteban Ocon for 2020. Hulkenberg was linked with a move to Haas, and has not explained precisely why those […]
FIA monitoring typhoon days before Japan GP
Oct.8 (GMM) F1’s governing body is monitoring severe weather reports in the days before the Japanese grand prix. Alarming forecasts by the Japanese meteorological agency (JMA) are predicting that Typhoon Hagibis will be categorised ‘violent’ when it hits landfall – the highest possible descriptor. “It could be the strongest to hit Japan this year,” JMA […]
St Petersburg ‘capable’ of hosting Russia GP – Tilke
Oct.8 (GMM) A circuit close to St Petersburg is “capable” of hosting Formula 1. That is the view of the track’s architect, Hermann Tilke, referring to the new Igora Drive circuit that will host a round of the DTM series next year. Igora is located two hours from St Petersburg, linking it with recent rumours […]
Verstappen not committing to Red Bull after 2020
Oct.8 (GMM) Max Verstappen says he currently will not commit to Red Bull beyond the end of his contract. Earlier this year, there were rumblings about a performance-related exit clause in his contract, but the Dutchman remains tied to Red Bull until the end of 2020. However, a spate of comments in the media by […]
F1 to improve car strength after Hubert death
Oct.7 (GMM) F1 teams are looking into how to improve the safety of the chassis following the crash that killed Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert. Juan Manual Correa is also struggling to recover from a 17 hour operation in London to save his right leg following the Spa crash. “We have been invited to analyse […]
Marko has ‘no problem’ with Verstappen criticism
Oct.7 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko says he has “no problem” with Max Verstappen’s recent criticism of Red Bull. “In the second half of the season you would expect that we would get better, but so far that has not really happened,” the Dutch driver told his own website. That criticism, coupled with even harsher criticism […]
Newey ‘very involved’ at Red Bull – Verstappen
Oct.7 (GMM) Max Verstappen has played down reports that Adrian Newey is steadily stepping away from Formula 1. Red Bull’s famous technical boss has been part-time for several years now, but that involvement looks to be diminishing even more. Former team driver Robert Doornbos said recently that Newey is working “much less” than before, as […]
F1 still squabbling as 2021 rules deadline looms
Oct.7 (GMM) Just weeks before the deadline for finalisation of the 2021 rules, the F1 teams, Liberty Media and the FIA remain at an impasse. The June deadline had already been postponed to the end of October, as the parties squabble over the details of the major rules shakeup. The biggest argument is over the […]
Long calendar making F1 ‘boring’ – Villeneuve
Oct.7 (GMM) The Formula 1 calendar is becoming “too long and boring”, according to 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve. The outspoken Canadian’s comments come after Max Verstappen predicted that a greater than 22-race calendar will lead to a spate of divorce in the F1 paddock. “It’s too much,” Villeneuve told Russia’s Championat, as the FIA […]
Sprint race qualifying ‘not F1’ – Villeneuve
Oct.7 (GMM) F1’s forthcoming sprint race qualifying format risks turning the sport into “a game”. That is the view of 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, but it comes at the same time as Max Verstappen likened the reverse-grid Saturday race idea as akin to “American wrestling”. Villeneuve told Russia’s Championat: “It’s fun, but it’s not […]
McLaren ‘never considered’ own engine – Seidl
Oct.7 (GMM) Team boss Andreas Seidl says McLaren “never considered” building its own Formula 1 engine. After 2020, the British team will continue its push to catch the top three teams by switching from customer Renault to customer Mercedes power. However, McLaren supremo Zak Brown had said last year: “It is possible, but not very […]
Russian DTM track denies Formula 1 race talks
Oct.4 (GMM) The boss of a Russian racing circuit located north of St Petersburg has denied it could be in the running to join the Formula 1 calendar. Recently, reports emerged that Russian president Vladimir Putin favoured moving the Russian GP from Sochi to St Petersburg. “I heard that it could change to St Petersburg,” […]