Mar.17 (GMM) There is more than one candidate to replace the late F1 race director Charlie Whiting. In Melbourne, where Whiting passed away in his hotel room in the early hours of Thursday morning, Michael Masi was appointed as his eleventh hour replacement. But Der Spiegel reports that American Scot Elkins, the official deputy race […]
Category: Recent stories
Impossible to say if Williams can fix car – Kubica
Mar.17 (GMM) Robert Kubica has confessed to “embarrassing” mistakes in Melbourne. But the Pole, returning to the grid after an eight year absence with a permanent arm injury, says his Williams has not only been slow, but hard to drive and inconsistent. “On Friday, in the second half of the session, people were doing race […]
Gap to Mercedes in Melbourne ‘staggering’ – Marko
Mar.17 (GMM) Ferrari was not the only top team scratching its head after qualifying in Melbourne. Prior to the 2019 season opener weekend, Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko predicted that Ferrari was two tenths ahead of Red Bull, with Mercedes only third. In actual fact, Mercedes utterly dominated qualifying, with Max Verstappen only splitting the […]
Renault not a disappointment in Melbourne – Hulkenberg
Mar.17 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg has denied that the start of Renault’s 2019 campaign in Melbourne is “a disappointment”. “I can’t see why it’s a disappointment,” the German driver told Canal Plus broadcaster. “Why do you say that?” Indeed, Hulkenberg outqualified his new teammate Daniel Ricciardo, but the pair both missed out on ‘Q3’. “I don’t […]
Racing Point is ‘my project’ – Perez
Mar.17 (GMM) Sergio Perez says he sees Racing Point as his “project” in F1. Earlier, the Mexican was targeting a return to a top team such as Ferrari. But last year, when he forced Force India into administration, he says he placed a bet on the future with the newly Lawrence Stroll-owned outfit. “I think […]
Sainz lost Red Bull ‘ticket’ in 2017
Mar.17 (GMM) Carlos Sainz says he lost his chance to race for Red Bull at the end of 2017. Last year, when Red Bull needed a replacement for the Renault-bound Daniel Ricciardo, Spaniard Sainz was a contender but ultimately Pierre Gasly got the call. “It could have gone either way, me or Gasly,” Sainz told […]
Hulkenberg says Netflix doco ‘exaggerated’ Magnussen rivalry
Mar.17 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg have denied that their feud is still simmering. In the newly released Netflix docuseries, Magnussen – who famously told Hulkenberg to “suck my b*lls” in 2017 – is depicted as still prioritising his rivalry with the German. “I haven’t seen it yet, but I can say that Hulkenberg […]
Ferrari still favourites for race – Rosberg
Mar.17 (GMM) Mercedes’ dominance in Melbourne so far does not mean the whole season will be like that. That is the view of Frederic Vasseur, the Alfa Romeo team boss. “I’m not surprised because Mercedes also did it last year,” the Frenchman told the RTBF broadcaster. “It’s not indicative of what the season will be […]
Williams may not qualify in Melbourne
Mar.16 (GMM) Williams may struggle simply to qualify for the 2019 season opener in Australia. France’s Auto Hebdo said George Russell and Robert Kubica are precariously close to the 107 per cent qualifying cut-off rule. When asked about that, rookie Russell said: “I drive the car, I don’t have a calculator with me. “Obviously, it […]
Fittipaldi expects 2020 return for Alonso
Mar.16 (GMM) F1 legend Emerson Fittipaldi is expecting Fernando Alonso to return to F1 next year. Currently, Spaniard Alonso is not in Melbourne this weekend but instead in Florida, where he is racing for Toyota in the 12 hour sports car race. Next month, he will test his Indy 500 chassis in Texas, but is […]
Hulkenberg ‘better’ so far at Renault – Ricciardo
Mar.16 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo admits it will be no easy task to fend off Nico Hulkenberg’s challenge in 2019. There has been much fanfare about Ricciardo’s move from Red Bull, but the Australian’s Renault teammate Nico Hulkenberg looks better so far in Melbourne. “His long run was much better than mine,” Ricciardo admitted after Friday. […]
Vettel rejects Mercedes winter ‘bulls**t’
Mar.16 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has denounced Mercedes’ pre-season declarations as “bulls**t”. Heading into the 2019 season opener, Mercedes gave the strong impression that Ferrari was the favourite. But in Melbourne, Lewis Hamilton is suddenly dominant. “No one really understood what Mercedes was doing in testing, maybe even they didn’t,” smiled Vettel. Asked if he still […]
Leclerc hopes to never leave Ferrari
Mar.16 (GMM) Charles Leclerc admits he is hoping to stay at Ferrari for the rest of his F1 career. In just his second year on the grid, the 21-year-old’s first race wearing red is this weekend in Melbourne. But although extremely highly rated, the Monaco-born driver accepts that he is currently ‘number 2’ to Sebastian […]
Liberty to get tough in F1 negotiations
Mar.16 (GMM) Negotiations over the next Concorde Agreement look to be heating up. Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko said the biggest “negative” of the Liberty Media era at present is “the missing regulations” for 2021. “In my opinion, there is too much compromise,” he told Der Spiegel. “If you consult all the teams, it will […]
Top teams happy with 10 teams on grid
Mar.15 (GMM) F1 authorities are looking to add a new team or two to the grid for 2021. Recently, FIA president Jean Todt said he would “love” to see a full grid of 12 teams, and Liberty Media is actively devising a new Concorde Agreement that would allow it. It follows the recent trend for […]
Hamilton prefers Bottas over Ocon for 2020
Mar.15 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton has urged Mercedes to keep its same driver lineup beyond 2019. Actually, Valtteri Bottas’ place alongside the five time world champion is in serious doubt, with Esteban Ocon waiting in the wings as a reserve. Indeed, Finn Bottas struggled in 2018 and in the build-up to the 2019 season, his name […]
Gasly not trying to beat Verstappen
Mar.15 (GMM) Pierre Gasly has slotted himself into a supporting role behind top Red Bull driver Max Verstappen. Gasly, who made his full F1 debut last year for Toro Rosso, was scolded for lacking “discipline” by Dr Helmut Marko after two winter testing crashes. So in Melbourne for his first race for the senior team […]
Teams to ‘support’ FIA after Whiting death – Steiner
Mar.15 (GMM) It will be almost “impossible” for F1 to replace Charlie Whiting. Whiting, the sport’s long-serving FIA race director and starter, died suddenly in his Melbourne hotel room on Wednesday night. His deputy, Michael Masi, has been named as his replacement for now. But 1996 world champion Damon Hill said Whiting, who was 66, […]
No pressure on dead-last Williams – Russell
Mar.15 (GMM) George Russell has denied that Williams is under pressure this weekend in Melbourne. Once a multiple race and title-winning team, Oxfordshire based Williams has hit rock bottom more recently and will almost certainly be dead last in Australia. “Myself and the team don’t feel any great pressure,” Russell, the reigning Formula 2 champion, […]
WHO slams McLaren over tobacco sponsorship
Mar.15 (GMM) The United Nations’ World Health Organisation (WHO) has slammed McLaren’s new sponsorship by British American Tobacco. Like Ferrari, whose cigarette sponsor Philip Morris has had to remove its ‘Mission Winnow’ branding for Melbourne, McLaren has also removed the ‘A Better Tomorrow’ on-car message from its own livery this weekend. WHO claims the ‘A […]