Jun.26 (GMM) Red Bull will not re-brand its engines next year. Recently, the energy drink owned brand has worked with title sponsor Aston Martin and re-branded its customer Renault engines as Tag-Heuer. But that is changing from 2019. Red Bull has signed up with new works partner Honda, who intend to run the Honda brand […]
Category: Recent stories
Red Bull refusing to use new Renault MGU-K
Jun.26 (GMM) Red Bull will not use a new ‘MGU-K’ unit supplied by Renault this weekend in Austria. Marca reports that Renault has been using the 2017 version of the energy recovery component so far this year, but that the new specification is finally ready. However, fitting the new unit will result in penalties for […]
Newey scoffs at Renault switch rumours
Jun.26 (GMM) Adrian Newey has scoffed at rumours that suggest he could switch to Renault. The Red Bull technical boss, who is arguably the most famous F1 designer of all time, told Auto Bild: “That will not happen.” Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko agrees, saying Newey in fact wants to stay put for a longer […]
Alonso undecided about F1 future – Brown
Jan.26 (GMM) Zak Brown has admitted that Fernando Alonso might not race an orange car in formula one next year. Spaniard Alonso won Le Mans recently, and he now wants victory at the Indy 500 to complete the elusive ‘triple crown’. At the same time, he is obviously disenchanted with his lack of a competitive […]
Win won’t change me as driver – Raikkonen
Jun.26 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen has denied that he desperately needs a grand prix win. The 38-year-old Finn is not commenting on widespread speculation that Ferrari intends to replace him for 2019 with rising talent Charles Leclerc. Raikkonen’s form has been up and down over the past seasons, including a solid start in 2018 that now […]
Italy slams Vettel for ‘amateur error’
Jun.26 (GMM) The Italian press has lashed out at Sebastian Vettel for his “amateur error” in the French grand prix. The Ferrari driver had a one point lead heading into the Paul Ricard race, but Vettel admitted he was to blame for a crash with Valtteri Bottas that means he left France with a 14-point […]
Mercedes ready to announce 2018 drivers
Jun.26 (GMM) Mercedes now appears ready to announce its 2018 driver lineup. At Paul Ricard, Lewis Hamilton gave the strongest indication yet that his long-delayed new contract with Mercedes may finally be ready to sign. “It’s going to be done and I think soon,” said the world championship leader. And although there have been rumours […]
F1 to consider axing Mistral chicane – Whiting
Jun.26 (GMM) Charlie Whiting says F1 will consider removing the unpopular chicane from the middle of Paul Ricard’s iconic Mistral straight for 2019. The topic was brought up by the drivers in the pre-race briefing, with others including Toto Wolff agreeing that the chicane spoiled the long straight and right-hand bend at the end of […]
Staying at Renault ‘would be a pleasure’ – Sainz
Jun.25 (GMM) Carlos Sainz says he would be happy to stay at Renault in 2019. Actually, the Spaniard is merely ‘on loan’ to the French team this year, as Red Bull has contractual control of his career. And if Daniel Ricciardo leaves Red Bull for 2019, it will probably be Sainz who is appointed to […]
McLaren held ‘crisis meeting’ at Paul Ricard
Jun.25 (GMM) Stoffel Vandoorne has played down an apparent ‘crisis meeting’ that took place in the McLaren motor home on Sunday. Reports suggest the beleaguered team’s entire race crew met inside the motor home at Paul Ricard, amid reports some staff are planning a revolt. “I can’t tell you exactly what was said, but there […]
Vettel penalty too lenient – Lauda
Jun.25 (GMM) Niki Lauda thinks the FIA let Sebastian Vettel escape with a lenient penalty after a first lap crash at Paul Ricard. Vettel and Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas collided at the start of Sunday’s French grand prix, and the Ferrari driver was given a 5 second penalty. “Why did Vettel only get five seconds […]
Zak Brown wants Alonso to stay in F1
Jan.24 (GMM) Zak Brown says McLaren does not want to lose Fernando Alonso. Actually, the Spanish driver is already under contract beyond 2018, but that ties him only to McLaren as a brand. And McLaren is expected to enter a team in Indycar in alliance with former team driver Michael Andretti’s existing infrastructure. “It’s McLaren’s […]
McLaren ‘going backwards’ – Alonso
Jun.24 (GMM) Fernando Alonso says McLaren is going “backwards”. Even with the Honda era over, the once great British team remains in crisis. At Paul Ricard, there is talk of a staff revolt, the intervention of former boss Martin Whitmarsh, and a scandal farcically known as ‘Freddo-gate’. On top of that, Spaniard Alonso says the […]
Wolff supports calls to axe Paul Ricard chicane
Jun.24 (GMM) F1 management is under pressure to modify the Paul Ricard circuit before the sport’s return for the next French grand prix. There have been plenty of concerns about the new venue, but a big one discussed by drivers in the FIA briefing was about the chicane in the middle of the iconic Mistral […]
Leclerc-Raikkonen rumours heat up in France
Jun.24 (GMM) Charles Leclerc seems destined to move into a Ferrari seat for 2019. Speculation is now rife that the Italian team intends to part with 38-year-old Kimi Raikkonen at the end of the year and call up its junior driver from Sauber. At Paul Ricard, the highly rated rookie Leclerc, 20, qualified eighth in […]
British GP rescue talks scheduled for Monday
Jun.24 (GMM) Talks to save the British grand prix are set to take place. The Sun reports that a meeting will happen on Monday, after organisers of the Silverstone race last year triggered a break clause in the contract for cost reasons. As things stand, next year’s British grand prix is set to be the […]
Haas boss Steiner says Grosjean back on form
Jun.23 (GMM) Romain Grosjean has boosted his chances of staying at Haas for 2019. Earlier, the less handsomely paid Kevin Magnussen looked easily the best Haas driver of 2019, as Frenchman Grosjean struggled for pace and got involved in crashes. Both are out of contract this year and team boss Gunther Steiner says there will […]
New engine ‘two tenths’ faster – Lauda
Jun.23 (GMM) Mercedes’ new engine is worth up to two tenths per lap in extra speed. That is the news from Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda, as the reigning champions confirmed that after a one-race delay, the ‘spec 2’ power unit is now ready to debut at Paul Ricard. “We are a race late but […]
Hamilton hints Mercedes deal now done
Jun.23 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton has given the strongest indication yet that his new contract with Mercedes may finally be ready. The new deal beyond this season has long been delayed, amid speculation the Briton is negotiating a particularly high fee. “I should think it’s such a grotesque amount of money it’s making Toto and Niki’s […]
Baptism of fire for France GP venue Paul Ricard
Jun.23 (GMM) Paul Ricard is having a baptism of fire as the first French grand prix venue in a decade. A big crowd descended on the Slavica Ecclestone-owned circuit on Friday, but many got stuck in huge traffic jams and missed the start of practice. One said she was stuck in exactly the same place […]