Mar.7 (GMM) Carlos Sainz has responded to Dr Helmut Marko’s claim that McLaren will be “at the back” in 2019. Red Bull official Marko said last week: “Ferrari is ahead, then it’s us in front of Mercedes. And then there is the big midfield, where it will be very tight. “McLaren and Williams are at […]
Category: Recent stories
F1 under pressure over jailing in Bahrain
Mar.7 (GMM) Pressure is once again being applied on the management of formula one by human rights activists. The activists are concerned about the sport’s annual race in Bahrain, where the grand prix was even cancelled amid unrest in 2011. Human Rights Watch and 16 other groups have sent letters to F1 authorities over the […]
Magnussen expects ‘intense’ midfield battle
Mar.7 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen is expecting an “intense” midfield battle in 2019. Last year, Haas impressed as it got in the thick of a close midfield scrap with Renault, McLaren, Force India, Sauber and Toro Rosso. And, based on winter testing, those same protagonists are still closely matched for 2019. “I can imagine it being […]
Alfa Romeo has ‘good car’ for 2019 – Giovinazzi
Mar.7 (GMM) Antonio Giovinazzi says Alfa Romeo has produced a “good” car for 2019. Many are even predicting that the former Sauber team, with its ever closer ties to Ferrari, might be ready to become ‘best of the rest’ this year. “The tests went well,” Giovinazzi, the first Italian on the grid for eight years, […]
Todt hits out at F1 rule change negativity
Mar.7 (GMM) Jean Todt has hit out at the constant negativity in formula one. The FIA president calls the sport “a world of controversy”, and refers as an example to the new aerodynamic rules designed to make overtaking easier. “I’ve heard everything, from it’s a waste of money to it’s a fantastic improvement in overtaking […]
Racing Point becoming ‘normal team’ – Green
Mar.7 (GMM) 2019 will be a transition year for the team formerly known as Force India. That is the view of team boss Otmar Szafnauer, when asked by Auto Motor und Sport about the future of the new Lawrence Stroll-owned ‘Racing Point’ outfit. Force India almost collapsed financially last year prior to the Stroll acquisition, […]
Renault to ‘talk to McLaren about B team alliance
Mar.7 (GMM) Cyril Abiteboul says Renault will not be joining the “crazy arms race” in F1. Auto Motor und Sport reports that while 1600 employees work at Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull-Honda respectively, Renault has just 1200 at Enstone and Viry. “We now have the operation we decided to have,” team boss Abiteboul said. “What […]
Alonso would say ‘yes’ to top team comeback
Mar.6 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has admitted he could say “yes” to a formula one comeback. Clearly disillusioned with perpetual life in the midfield, the two-time champion quit F1 at the end of 2018 and will tackle Le Mans and the Indy 500 this year. But Spanish media reports quote the 37-year-old as saying a return […]
Magnussen should keep title dream alive – Steiner
Mar.6 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen should not give up on winning races and even the world championship. That is the view of Gunther Steiner, the Danish driver’s boss at Haas. Recently, Magnussen said: “I don’t see myself as one of the young drivers on the way up anymore. “You see drivers like Hulkenberg and other guys, […]
Renault must speed up car development – Ricciardo
Mar.6 (GMM) Renault needs to speed up the way it develops its F1 car throughout the season. That is the view of Daniel Ricciardo, who has switched from top team Red Bull to Renault for 2019 and beyond. “Our main goal this year is to finish the season fourth in the constructors’ championship or maybe […]
CEO confirms no Mission Winnow branding in Melbourne
Mar.6 (GMM) Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri has confirmed that the ‘Mission Winnow’ branding will be absent when Ferrari’s 2019 season begins next week in Melbourne. Australian and Italian authorities are investigating whether the branding is in fact clandestine cigarette advertising for Ferrari’s title sponsor Philip Morris. Camilleri is a former Philip Morris CEO. He said […]
No 2020 Spanish GP negotiations yet
Mar.6 (GMM) Negotiations with Liberty Media about extending Barcelona’s F1 race contract have not even started yet. The Circuit de Catalunya is among a handful of race promoters who are yet to commit to the sport beyond this year. “We are talking but not negotiating,” circuit president Vincenc Aguilera told El Mundo Deportivo newspaper. “Negotiations […]
‘Times not right’ for VW in F1 – Domenicali
Mar.6 (GMM) “The times are not right” for Volkswagen to enter formula one. That is the view of former Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali, who today is the CEO of the VW marque Lamborghini. Volkswagen is instead well represented in Formula E, with Audi already there are Porsche set to follow. Domenicali told La Gazzetta dello […]
FIA should keep working on engine ‘grey areas’ – Abiteboul
Mar.6 (GMM) The FIA should keep working to end the ‘grey areas’ in the engine regulations. That is the view of Renault team boss Cyril Abiteboul. This week, we reported that the governing body has clamped down on various loopholes in the rules, with one engineer telling Auto Motor und Sport: “We have received more […]
Renault in fight with five teams – Abiteboul
Mar.6 (GMM) Renault is bracing for a tough fight to be ‘best of the rest’ in 2019. Acknowledging that it is not quite ready to take on Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull, boss Cyril Abiteboul said Renault is nonetheless happy with its new car. “We were third in the testing kilometres and nothing is fundamentally […]
Liberty preparing F1 for ‘Brexit’
Mar.6 (GMM) Liberty Media is working on “contingency plans” in the event that a so-called ‘no deal Brexit’ proceeds at the end of the month. Mercedes’ boss Toto Wolff has already warned that Britain’s impending exit from the European Union would be the “mother of all messes” for the sport’s multiple UK-based teams. Chase Carey, […]
Only Williams off the pace in 2019 – de la Rosa
Mar.5 (GMM) Williams is the only team that is really struggling as F1 heads to Australia for the season opener. That is the view of Pedro de la Rosa, who made his analysis of the 2019 pecking order after spending a day trackside at the Barcelona test. “I’ve never seen such a close pre-season,” said […]
Red Bull axe increased Kvyat’s F1 ‘hunger’
Mar.5 (GMM) Daniil Kvyat says he has changed his approach to formula one since being dumped at the end of 2017. Still just 24, the Russian had a meteoric rise and fall at Toro Rosso and Red Bull Racing, but has been given his “last chance” by Dr Helmut Marko for 2019. Marko says Kvyat […]
Ferrari to drop all ‘Mission Winnow’ branding
Mar.5 (GMM) Ferrari will abandon its ‘Mission Winnow’ branding ahead of the trip to Australia for the 2019 season opener. Earlier, it had already emerged that the Maranello team has now dropped the controversial brand from its official name. It follows investigations in Australia and also Italy into whether the Philip Morris initiative was actually […]
FIA moves to end engine rules ‘grey areas’
Mar.5 (GMM) The FIA has clamped down in various ‘grey areas’ of the engine regulations ahead of 2019. One unnamed engineer told Auto Motor und Sport: “We have received more technical directives for the engine than ever before.” It follows a period of intense speculation about the so-called grey areas of loopholes in the highly […]