Feb.20 (GMM) The paperwork surrounding the Las Vegas GP is being called into question. Commissioner Tick Segerblom, of the Clark County jurisdiction that is home to the famous city, alleges that the county never actually signed a contract with Formula 1. “It turns out that we never signed a contract, that was all with the […]
Bottas under fire for promoting nicotine product
Feb.20 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas is under fire in Finland for his low-profile endorsement of a nicotine product. The Finn ditched his clean-cut image when he left Mercedes, now sporting a moustache and ‘mullet’ hairstyle with an active and innovative social media presence and multiple commercial interests. One of his latest commercial deals appears to be […]
Alonso edges towards vegetarianism to extend F1 career
Feb.20 (GMM) Fernando Alonso says edging towards vegetarianism over the winter break means he is better prepared for the upcoming Formula 1 season than ever before. Although easily the oldest driver on the grid at 42, the two-time champion is regarded as a top candidate to replace the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes next year. […]
Horner on way to Bahrain as scandal pressure mounts
Feb.20 (GMM) Christian Horner is en route to Bahrain for the pre-season test and opening grand prix of the new Formula 1 world championship – even as the pressure on him continues to mount. The long-time Red Bull team boss is locked in a scandal involving a female staff member that some believe is part […]
GM requests meeting to discuss rejected F1 team bid
Feb.19 (GMM) Andretti-Cadillac is refusing to accept Formula 1’s decision to lock the project out of the sport. It was already known that the collaboration “strongly disagrees” with Liberty Media-owned F1’s position – that Andretti can only make another bid to become the eleventh team in 2028, when a works GM engine will be ready. […]
Boss admits Williams late with 2024 car
Feb.19 (GMM) The only new Formula 1 car for 2024 that is yet to see the public light of day or a racetrack so far is the Williams. The car that was ‘launched’ earlier this month was in fact last year’s model in a new livery for 2024, while team boss James Vowles admits to […]
Three F1 drivers hail sprint format tweaks for 2024
Feb.19 (GMM) Three Formula 1 drivers have applauded the tweaks made to the controversial ‘sprint’ weekend format for 2024. At the most recent meeting in London of the F1 Commission, it was agreed that improvements will be made to the schedule relevant to the six sprint weekends this year – in China, Miami, Austria, Austin, […]
Similar Red Bull, RB cars ‘raises questions’
Feb.19 (GMM) As some of their rivals feared, it appears that the sister team formerly known as Alpha Tauri has indeed taken big technical steps closer to Red Bull Racing. Insiders were stunned last week when, after most rival teams unveiled 2024 cars much more in line with the dominant 2022-2023 Red Bull car concept, […]
F1 insiders predict trouble ahead for Leclerc
Feb.19 (GMM) Charles Leclerc has many reasons to worry about the impending arrival of Lewis Hamilton as his teammate at Ferrari for 2025 and beyond. That is the view not only of Red Bull’s top Austrian consultant Dr Helmut Marko but also F1 legend and fellow Austrian Gerhard Berger. Seven time world champion Hamilton’s obvious […]
Sainz, Vasseur deny Ferrari disunity in 2024
Feb.19 (GMM) Carlos Sainz and Frederic Vasseur have played down claims that team dynamics at Ferrari this year will be shattered due to the Spaniard’s looming exit. When news broke of Lewis Hamilton’s bombshell move to Maranello next year, 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve predicted troubled waters ahead in the red camp. “Sainz will have […]
Outcome now imminent as Horner F1 scandal deepens
Feb.19 (GMM) Christian Horner’s struggle to rescue his embattled Formula 1 career appears only to have worsened. Red Bull’s 2026 engine partner Ford, and the Formula 1 organisation itself, have now broken their silence on the scandal that is being investigated internally behind the scenes at the energy drink company. It emerges that De Telegraaf, […]
McLaren hid innovative ‘mini wing’ at 2024 car launch
Feb.16 (GMM) An eye-catching technical innovation was missing or hidden from the earliest images of the newly-launched 2024 McLaren. The Woking based team is tipped to perhaps beat Mercedes and Ferrari to the chase as Red Bull’s closest pursuer this year, with CEO Zak Brown not ruling out wins. It’s probably no surprise that McLaren […]
Rosberg defends Hamilton’s ‘childhood dream’ claim
Feb.16 (GMM) Nico Rosberg has defended his former teammate and title nemesis Lewis Hamilton after deciding to scrap his Mercedes contract after this year to switch to Ferrari. Hamilton, 39, justified the move on the basis that it had always been a “childhood dream” to race in red – a claim scoffed at by another […]
Perez eyes ‘a few more years’ at Red Bull
Feb.16 (GMM) As the early 2025 ‘silly season’ ignites all around him, Sergio Perez says he wants to stay at Red Bull for “a few more years”. The Mexican has often struggled to keep up with teammate Max Verstappen since joining the energy drink-owned Formula 1 team in 2021. His latest contract expires at the […]
Verstappen’s ban on ‘dangerous’ skiing is over
Feb.16 (GMM) Red Bull’s ban on Max Verstappen taking part in “dangerous sports” appears to be over. It was just before Christmas when the triple world champion admitted that the contractual ban on him skiing and doing other dangerous extracurricular activities was “sad”. “You can also slip in the shower and break your neck. There […]
Bold Mercedes should sign teenager for ’25 – Fisichella
Feb.16 (GMM) A 17-year-old is the early favourite to replace the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2025. It has been rumoured that Fernando Alonso or another highly experienced driver might be a better option, but the Toto Wolff-managed Kimi Antonelli – who is named after Kimi Raikkonen – is being tipped as a Max […]
Osaka chief says two Japanese hosts could co-exist in F1
Feb.16 (GMM) Suzuka’s new long-term contract with Formula 1 does not mean a new project in Osaka will fail. That is the insistence of Hiroshi Mizohata, president of the Osaka tourism board, despite F1 having agreed to keep the Japanese GP at Suzuka through 2029. Just weeks earlier, the Osaka tourism board had announced its […]
Verstappen surprised at Red Bull’s radical 2024 car
Feb.16 (GMM) Just when the F1 world expected a gentle evolution of the ultra-dominant 2023 car, Red Bull unveiled a new single seater on Thursday that left jaws agape. “We had such a dominant car last year that you wouldn’t imagine us changing the concept so much,” Sergio Perez said at Milton-Keynes. “I think it […]
Horner, Verstappen swerve around Red Bull scandal
Feb.16 (GMM) As the wraps came off a surprisingly-radical 2024 Red Bull on Thursday, Christian Horner and Max Verstappen tried to swerve around the pre-season scandal. “Everything I’m going to say about that can of course be interpreted in a certain way,” triple world champion Verstappen said when asked about the management scandal and accusations […]
Wolff ‘will do everything’ to sign Verstappen – Marko
Feb.15 (GMM) Bombshell moves in the uncharacteristically tumultuous ‘silly season’ driver market early in 2024 might be far from over, according to former F1 driver Christian Danner. With Lewis Hamilton stunning the Formula 1 world with his decision to terminate his Mercedes contract after this year to switch to Ferrari, the candidates to replace the […]