Jul.5 (GMM) F1 may revisit the rules about impeding other drivers in qualifying, according to FIA steward Derek Warwick. Warwick, a former F1 driver, was on the panel that decided to penalise Sebastian Vettel three places on the grid in Austria, even though Carlos Sainz did not blame the German for blocking him. “I think […]
Category: Recent stories
Liberty must improve on-track ‘show’ – Berger
Jul.5 (GMM) Gerhard Berger says Liberty Media has lots of work to do to keep the F1 show alive. The F1 legend, who drove for McLaren and Ferrari, told Auto Hebdo that a lot of what the sport’s new owners have done over the past two years have been distractions. “What I see are actions […]
‘Pressure’ led to Eric Boullier exit – Brown
Jul.5 (GMM) Zak Brown says “pressure” on McLaren led to the departure of team boss Eric Boullier. Amid McLaren’s continuing performance crisis and rumblings of internal staff strife, Frenchman Boullier ‘resigned’ this week. “It was a very difficult time for everyone at McLaren with a lot of pressure on our shoulders,” team executive Brown told […]
Mercedes apology ‘bizarre’ – Horner
Jul.5 (GMM) Christian Horner says Mercedes threw a key team member “under the bus” during last week’s Austrian grand prix. With Lewis Hamilton complaining about a bungled strategy, strategist James Vowles went onto the radio to issue a grovelling apology. Red Bull boss Horner says it was a “bizarre” mid-race incident. “It seems a fairly […]
Brawn hopes ‘fast’ Alonso stays in F1
Jul.4 (GMM) F1 sporting boss Ross Brawn says he hopes Fernando Alonso stays in F1. Rumours are growing stronger by the race that the Spaniard, who won Le Mans recently and last year raced at Indianapolis, may quit F1 at the end of the season. Brawn says the way Alonso has handled multiple consecutive weekends […]
Renault ‘party mode’ disappoints drivers
Jul.4 (GMM) Renault drivers say they could barely feel the effect of the new qualifying ‘party mode’ in Austria. The French supplier has lagged behind Mercedes and Ferrari in terms of giving its drivers a special qualifying engine mode with significantly more power. But the Renault ‘party mode’ was finally added in Austria. “I didn’t […]
Ferrari have best F1 engine now – Hamilton
Jul.4 (GMM) Ferrari may now have overtaken Mercedes as the maker of the best engine in formula one. Red Bull competes with F1’s third best engine, the Renault, whose boss Christian Horner said: “They (Ferrari) have a super engine. “Our chassis is probably the best of the top three cars, but we couldn’t get past […]
Ecclestone questions 2019 Miami race
Jul.4 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has questioned whether Liberty Media will be able to add Miami to next year’s F1 calendar. F1’s new owners are confident they will add the second US date to the schedule for 2019. But Ecclestone, who made a rare visit to the F1 paddock last weekend in Austria, isn’t so sure. […]
Mercedes hopes to avoid Silverstone penalties
Jul.4 (GMM) Mercedes is hoping to avoid penalties this weekend at Silverstone. Last weekend, the reigning world champions suffered an ultra-rare double DNF, with Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene wondering if the new upgrades were to blame. “(They were) entirely separate failures,” Mercedes technical boss James Allison said, “and neither of them related to the introduction […]
Ricciardo reveals contract talks with Mateschitz
Jul.3 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo may be inching towards a new deal with Red Bull. The Australian has been linked with moves to Ferrari, Mercedes or McLaren for 2019, but Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko said in Austria that Ricciardo is getting “closer” to inking a new contract. Ricciardo says the Austrian grand prix, Red Bull’s […]
Williams slow at every race – Stroll
Jul.3 (GMM) Lance Stroll says Williams’ car problems equate to up to a 30 horse power deficit. The British team is stuck in arguably its worst ever crisis, with the slowest car in formula one and boss Paddy Lowe admitting there is no light at the end of the tunnel. “I don’t expect a lot […]
Ferrari could struggle at Silverstone – boss
Jul.3 (GMM) Team boss Maurizio Arrivabene has warned that Ferrari may struggle this weekend at Silverstone. Thanks to Mercedes’ double failure, Sebastian Vettel left Austria on Sunday with a 1 point lead in the world championship. But as F1’s first ever triple header ends in Britain this weekend, Ferrari’s Arrivabene is not sure Vettel can […]
Force India could collapse in 2018 – report
Jul.2 (GMM) F1 could end the 2018 season with just 18 cars on the grid. That is the claim of Brazil’s Globo, reporting that Force India is on the verge of insolvency. Although the small Silverstone based team is a competitive midfield runner, the report said if a buyer is not found by the end […]
Villeneuve questions Vandoorne’s drive
Jul.2 (GMM) Jacques Villeneuve has questioned Stoffel Vandoorne’s drive to succeed in formula one. Vandoorne arrived in F1 last year, but at the tail of the Honda era and now also with Renault power, the Belgian has struggled to make an impression alongside Fernando Alonso. At present, McLaren is not committing to him for 2019. […]
Critics shouldn’t question Verstappen style – father
Jul.2 (GMM) Max Verstappen’s critics should “never again” question the aggressive racing style of the young Dutchman. That is the view of his father, former F1 driver Jos Verstappen. He was speaking to the Dutch publication Formule 1 after Max, 20, ended a run of crashes with victory in Austria. “People should never again put […]
Strategist keeps job after Mercedes blunder
Jul.2 (GMM) Mercedes’ chief strategist will keep his job after a serious blunder during the Austrian grand prix. Both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas retired with technical problems on Sunday, handing a 1 point championship lead back to Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. But amid that, Mercedes strategist James Vowles admitted on the radio to Hamilton: “I […]
Marko tips Ricciardo to sign Red Bull deal
Jul.1 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko says he is confident Daniel Ricciardo will stay at Red Bull in 2019. The Australian driver is currently delaying his decision, amid rumours he might switch to Mercedes, Ferrari or even McLaren. But Marko, the Red Bull consultant, thinks those moves are all unlikely. “Where would he go? To Mercedes? […]
No 2019 German GP ‘frustrating’ – Bratches
Jul.1 (GMM) Liberty Media has confirmed that Germany will be missing from the 2019 calendar. Hockenheim boss Georg Seiler revealed in the week that he has failed to reach a good commercial deal with the F1 owner. Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone says that’s a pity. “The conditions are not easy for the circuits in […]
Ferrari seat ‘too early’ for Leclerc – Villeneuve
Jul.1 (GMM) Jacques Villeneuve thinks Ferrari is promoting Charles Leclerc too soon. La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that the Maranello team has signed up the 20-year-old Sauber driver for 2019 and 2020, to replace Kimi Raikkonen. “I think it’s too early for him,” 1997 world champion Villeneuve told Auto Bild in Austria. “On the one […]
Grosjean thinks 2018 slump now over
Jul.1 (GMM) Romain Grosjean thinks his 2018 slump could finally be over. Although driving the competitive Haas car, only the Frenchman and Williams’ Sergey Sirotkin are yet to score a single point so far this year. But Grosjean qualified an impressive sixth in Austria. He said afterwards he is not worried his points slump will […]