Sep.12 (GMM) Maurizio Arrivabene says he has apologised directly to Valtteri Bottas for comments made after the recent Italian grand prix. When asked why Kimi Raikkonen did not perform a Bottas-like ‘team role’ to support Sebastian Vettel at Monza, the Ferrari boss had said: “We have drivers, not butlers”. “As soon as I said it […]
Category: Recent stories
FIA to look into team alliances
Sep.11 (GMM) F1’s governing body is keeping an eye on the emergence of alliances between the teams. Haas entered the sport a few years ago in close alliance with Ferrari, and now Sauber is working closely with the Italian team as well. And now, it is rumoured that Force India or Williams could work much […]
Schumacher now dominating F3
Sep.11 (GMM) Mick Schumacher is well on his road to formula one. That is the view of former F1 driver Mika Salo, who thinks it is possible the 19-year-old son of seven time world champion Michael Schumacher is good enough for the pinnacle of motor sport. Recently, Schumacher leapt into contention for the prestigious European […]
Lauda will not return in 2018 – report
Sep.10 (GMM) Niki Lauda will miss all of the remaining races this season, Bild newspaper has revealed. The F1 legend and Mercedes team chairman is reportedly still in intensive care in Vienna following a life-saving lung transplant. Lauda’s friend Dr Helmut Marko, of Red Bull, told Bild that he has not been able to visit […]
Now Singapore ignoring F1 ‘grid girls’ ban
Sep.10 (GMM) Singapore has joined a growing list of grand prix hosts who are sidestepping F1’s ‘grid girls’ ban. Organisers in Austria and Russia remained committed to using beautiful women to promote their respective races despite the controversial ban, and now Singapore is following suit. Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore reports that major sponsor Singapore Airlines will […]
Buemi on pole for Toro Rosso return
Sep.10 (GMM) Sebastien Buemi has moved into pole position for a return to formula one next year. The now 29-year-old Swiss contested over 50 races for Toro Rosso until 2011, going on to become a top sports car and Formula E driver. But now with Pierre Gasly moving to Red Bull Racing, and Brendon Hartley […]
Kubica ‘most likely’ Stroll replacement – Williams
Sep.10 (GMM) Claire Williams says it is “likely” that Robert Kubica will step in to replace the Force India-bound Lance Stroll. It is believed Stroll will join his father Lawrence at Racing Point Force India from Singapore, after the billionaire fashion mogul rescued that team. “We don’t know when but Lance will probably leave the […]
Perez denies McLaren was 2019 option
Sep.10 (GMM) Sergio Perez has denied that McLaren was ever a serious option for him for 2019. Recently, McLaren’s Zak Brown mentioned the Mexican as being on the list of potential drivers for next year. But then Lando Norris was signed up to be Carlos Sainz’s 2019 teammate. “There was interest but it was on […]
Criticism of Vettel ‘not fair’ – Wolff
Sep.7 (GMM) Toto Wolff has defended Sebastian Vettel amid widespread criticism of his driving in 2018. Most now agree that Ferrari has the fastest car at the moment, but it is Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton with a comfortable 30 point lead with 7 races to go. “I’m not completely neutral, but for me Lewis is the […]
Wolff ‘in regular contact’ with Lauda
Sep.7 (GMM) Toto Wolff says he remains in “regular contact” with F1 legend Niki Lauda. Together, the duo own and run F1’s highly successful works Mercedes team. Some weeks ago, 69-year-old team chairman Lauda had a life-saving lung transplant. He continues to recover in a Vienna hospital, and Mercedes boss Wolff said “everyone” at the […]
Ferrari chief’s brother reveals Leclerc signing
Sep.7 (GMM) Charles Leclerc is definitely joining Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari next year. We reported this week that the news should be at least internally clarified during a meeting at Maranello on Thursday. Indeed, after that meeting took place, news started to leak out. On the Facebook page of Garage Italia, a company headed by […]
Vettel making too many mistakes – Hakkinen
Sep.7 (GMM) Former world champion Mika Hakkinen thinks Mercedes could be heading for the 2018 title, even though Ferrari currently has the faster car. The 1998 and 1999 title winner is referring to the fact that while Sebastian Vettel’s red car is quicker, Lewis Hamilton is 30 points out in front. “No one can say […]
Schumacher eyes F2, DTM for 2019
Sep.6 (GMM) Mick Schumacher is speeding up on his road to formula one. The 19-year-old son of seven time world champion Michael is enjoying a resurgence in the highly competitive European F3 series, with three recent wins putting him fourth in the championship. Kolner Express newspaper thinks Schumacher’s next step will be into the F1 […]
Andretti hopes Alonso makes Indycar switch
Sep.6 (GMM) Michael Andretti says he hopes Fernando Alonso makes the switch to Indycar for 2019. Disenchanted Spaniard Alonso is quitting F1 at the end of the year, but it is not known how he will divide his time between Le Mans, Indycar and other racing projects next year. On Wednesday, he tested an Andretti […]
No more ‘winners’ at McLaren – Villadelprat
Sep.6 (GMM) Joan Villadelprat is worried about McLaren’s future in formula one. The Spaniard is a former top F1 team official, working for Ferrari, Tyrrell, Benetton and Prost. But he started his career at McLaren. “I saw the birth of McLaren. I was one of the first to enter with Ron (Dennis),” he told El […]
F1 not going all-electric – Todt
Sep.6 (GMM) Jean Todt has played down suggestions F1 could switch to an all-electric formula in the future. Recently, Liberty Media sporting boss Ross Brawn said there is “nothing to stop” the pinnacle of motor racing following the lead of Formula E. But FIA president Todt said that notion is “nonsense”. “That will not happen,” […]
Ferrari to formalise Raikkonen news on Thursday
Sep.5 (GMM) Thursday is decision-day when it comes to Ferrari’s driver choice for 2019. At Monza, it was rumoured that after extended internal wrangling, Kimi Raikkonen had been told he will be replaced by Charles Leclerc next year. It might explain why the Finn was suddenly arguably uncooperative on-track, receiving a slipstream from Sebastian Vettel […]
Ten drivers on Toro Rosso ‘long list’ for 2019
Sep.5 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko says he is putting together a “long list” of potential Toro Rosso drivers for 2019. Pierre Gasly is being promoted to Red Bull Racing, while Brendon Hartley has underperformed this year. “There needs to be a significant increase (from Hartley) in the last races this season,” Marko told Speed Week. […]
Vandoorne not speaking after McLaren axe
Sep.5 (GMM) Stoffel Vandoorne is not yet commenting to the media about McLaren’s decision to dump him for 2019. Once McLaren’s highly promising development driver, the 26-year-old is reportedly now pinning his hopes on a Toro Rosso seat after being replaced by Lando Norris. McLaren issued a positively worded statement about Vandoorne’s impending departure, but […]
Kubica unexcited by race seat ‘speculation’
Sep.5 (GMM) Robert Kubica sounds only mildly interested in stepping up to the Williams race seat in 2018. It is expected that Lance Stroll will shortly quit the struggling British team in order to join his billionaire father Lawrence at Force India. Williams boss Paddy Lowe says reserve driver Kubica will step up to the […]