Fernando Alonso says his next moves in motor racing could be “unprecedented”. Now retired from F1, the two-time champion got a step closer to the elusive ‘triple crown’ last year with victory at Le Mans. Later in 2019, he will try to complete the triple crown by returning to the Indy 500, and last weekend […]
Category: Recent stories
Pirelli worried about weather for testing
Pirelli has admitted it is worried bad weather will once again affect pre-season testing. A year ago, several days of the already limited winter testing programme were seriously affected by freezing temperatures and even snow in Barcelona. The much warmer-in-winter Bahrain was proposed as an alternative for 2019, but teams voted against the move on […]
Kubica hopes to stay in F1 beyond 2019
Robert Kubica says his big goal for 2019 is to pave the way to a longer second career in formula one. The Pole sat out eight full seasons following his horrific rallying crash of 2011, which left his right arm permanently injured. On Tuesday, his 2019 employer Williams shipped a car to Poland for an […]
Verstappen won’t hide 2019 chances – Doornbos
Max Verstappen’s fans will know almost immediately if Red Bull has produced a title-winning 2019 car. That is the view of Robert Doornbos, a Dutch former F1 driver. This week, we quoted fellow Dutchman Verstappen as saying that if he is to have a chance of winning the title, Red Bull must be closer to […]
All drivers to attend official 2019 F1 launch
Every F1 driver will attend the official launch event for the 2019 season just prior to the first race in Melbourne. Just days ago, we reported that the teams had rejected Liberty Media’s earlier plans for a launch event that would have involved the reveal of every team’s respective 2019 car. “The teams rejected the […]
Haas to let Magnussen race at Daytona
Kevin Magnussen has received the green light to contest the famous Daytona 24 hour race in future. For the past few years, it has been regularly speculated that the Danish driver could join his father Jan Magnussen at Daytona. “I think it’s a good idea. Kevin thinks it’s a good idea, and Corvette thinks it’s […]
Giovinazzi may beat Raikkonen in 2019 – Minardi
F1 veteran Kimi Raikkonen will need to race hard to beat his young rookie teammate in 2019. That is the view of Gian Carlo Minardi, a former F1 team owner and boss. Minardi, 71, hailed fellow Italian Antonio Giovinazzi, ahead of the 25-year-old’s first full season in F1. “It is a very important signal for […]
Sirotkin eyes Le Mans win
Sergey Sirotkin will keep his motor racing career alive at Le Mans. Having been dropped by Williams, the Russian’s backer SMP Racing announced that Sirotkin, 23, will contest Le Mans as well as two other forthcoming WEC events in the top LMP1 category. “I am very glad that I have the honour of defending the […]
Ecclestone to get involved in F1 promoters dispute
Bernie Ecclestone says he is willing to help resolve a dispute between F1 race promoters and Liberty Media. The Formula One Promoters’ Association, representing 16 of the 21 race hosts on the calendar, held a meeting and afterwards revealed that the circuits are threatening to quit the sport. Although not supported by some race hosts […]
Mazepin to test 2017 Mercedes this year
Russian driver Nikita Mazepin will conduct a series of F1 tests in a two-year old Mercedes car this year. The 19-year-old, who steps up to Formula 2 this year, is the son of Russian billionaire Dmitry Mazepin. Last year, Mazepin snr’s company Uralkali tried to take over Force India, but that team ultimately did a […]
Alonso personality ‘not easy’ – Montezemolo
Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has admitted that Fernando Alonso does not have an “easy character”. After retiring from the sport, Spaniard Alonso got his post-F1 career off to a flying start with victory at the Daytona 24 hour. “I am very happy,” said Montezemolo, who lured Alonso to Maranello from Renault in 2010. […]
Schumacher needs time to ‘grow’ – Montezemolo
Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo says Mick Schumacher needs time to “grow” into a F1 driver. Ferrari has signed the son of Ferrari’s five-time world champion Michael Schumacher to its young driver development ‘academy’. Mick, 19, will be managed by former Ferrari team boss and FIA president Jean Todt’s son Nicolas, and will race […]
Verstappen wants fast start in 2019
Max Verstappen thinks he could challenge for the 2019 world championship, but only if the Red Bull-Honda package is fast right from the start. Over the past months, the Dutchman has warned that while Honda could ultimately develop a front-running engine for Red Bull, the package might not be ready to win right from the […]
New Renault car, engine ‘encouraging’ – Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo says the noises coming out of Renault ahead of the 2019 season are “encouraging”. The Australian surprised the F1 world last August when he announced that he is leaving the top team Red Bull to join the works Renault outfit from this year. Some upper management troubles aside, the noises from Renault have […]
Ricciardo backs move to help heavier drivers
Daniel Ricciardo has backed a move that will help F1’s taller and heavier drivers in 2019. Following claims some drivers were dangerously underweight to comply with the previous 734kg ‘driver plus car’ minimum weight, the rules were changed for 2019. Now, the driver (plus the seat) will be weighed separately, and must tip the scales […]
Ferrari may have ‘completely different’ livery
Ferrari could have a markedly different livery for 2019. Italy’s Autosprint reports that when the Maranello-made red car is revealed on February 15, it could be called the SF-90. The ’90’ is a reference to the 90-year anniversary of the founding of Scuderia Ferrari by Enzo Ferrari. Autosprint added: “The bodywork of the 2019 Ferrari […]
Kubica to be ‘stronger than before’ – Ecclestone
Bernie Ecclestone has tipped Robert Kubica to be stronger than ever this year. After an eight year absence due to his permanent right arm injuries, the now 34-year-old Pole is returning to the grid in 2019 with Williams. Former F1 supremo Ecclestone clearly supports the move. “If Robert did not have his accident, he would […]
Bottas vows to return to rallying
Valtteri Bottas says he intends to do more rallying in the future. The Finn made his professional rally debut last week at the Arctic Lapland event in Finland. He finished fifth overall, winning a stage. “After completing the rally, I love rally even more,” said the Mercedes driver. “It is necessary to practice more, and […]
Race promoters threaten to quit F1 calendar
A group of F1 race promoters are preparing to confront the sport’s owner Liberty Media. Led by Silverstone, the race officials are angry with Liberty over the handling of their contracts, with the Daily Mail reporting that they are threatening to leave the calendar. The newspaper said the promoters met for a meeting in London […]
Teams reject Liberty ‘joint launch’ idea
F1 teams rejected Liberty Media’s plans for a joint 2019 car launch event. Earlier, we reported that instead of letting every team reveal their new cars separately, F1 rights holder Liberty wanted a big, joint event to take place. Auto Motor und Sport reports: “The teams rejected the proposal because they did not want to […]