Jan.22 (GMM) Esteban Ocon says it is “sad” to see his French countryman Cyril Abiteboul lose his top job as Renault rebrands as Alpine for 2021. Under new Renault CEO Luca de Meo, Abiteboul has been ousted while Marcin Budkowski is promoted – while Davide Brivio has been head-hunted from MotoGP. Frenchman Ocon says he […]
Russell proved Verstappen better than Hamilton – boss
Jan.22 (GMM) Max Verstappen is already better than seven time world champion Lewis Hamilton. That is the sensational claim of Christian Horner, the Red Bull team boss who thinks the image of Hamilton’s dominance took a major hit late in 2020. “I think he is the best, yes,” Horner told the Dutch publication RacingNews365 when […]
Saudi Arabia building full circuit for GP
Jan.22 (GMM) Saudi Arabia’s new Formula 1 race will only temporarily take place on a Jeddah street circuit. The controversial Arab kingdom is joining the F1 calendar this December, with Prince Khalid telling the Telegram page Cross Country Rally that Saudi Arabia is “working with (Hermann Tilke) and Formula 1 to design the fastest city […]
Hamilton ‘at crossroads’ as contract saga rolls on
Jan.22 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton is “at a crossroads” in his Formula 1 career, according to a well known F1 commentator. Alexey Popov, the voice of Russian broadcaster Match TV’s coverage, said the seven time world champion is now the focus of media attention as his long-delayed contract negotiations with Mercedes reportedly stall. “The British press […]
Renault wanted Alfa Romeo to be customer team
Jan.21 (GMM) Alfa Romeo looks set to stick with Ferrari power for 2022. That is despite the fact that, in the pages of Corriere della Sera, correspondent Daniele Sparisci claims the Swiss team was approached by Renault. Ferrari’s engines struggled markedly in 2020, and team boss Frederic Vasseur recently sounded puzzled as to why the […]
Less critical Villeneuve ‘must be right’ – Stroll
Jan.21 (GMM) Lance Stroll says he is happy to keep responding to his critics by impressing them on the track. The Canadian’s countryman Jacques Villeneuve has been a fierce and vocal critic of Stroll, whose father is the Aston Martin team owner and billionaire Lawrence Stroll. But in Istanbul last year, 22-year-old Stroll secured his […]
Domenicali not sure Hamilton will race in 2021
Jan.21 (GMM) It is not clear if Lewis Hamilton will be on the Formula 1 grid in 2021. That is the sensational claim of Stefano Domenicali, who recently took over from Chase Carey to serve as the sport’s new CEO. Amid raging speculation about Hamilton’s long-delayed contract negotiations with Mercedes, Domenicali said he spoke to […]
Step forward ‘not easy’ for Ferrari in 2021 – Domenicali
Jan.21 (GMM) Taking a big step forward in 2021 “will not be easy” for Ferrari, according to the Maranello team’s former boss Stefano Domenicali. Domenicali has now taken over from Chase Carey as Formula 1’s CEO, but he was asked by Italy’s Sky Sport 24 to comment on his former employer’s notably poor performance in […]
F1 must be ‘flexible’ with 2021 calendar – Domenicali
Jan.21 (GMM) Stefano Domenicali says he has “cautious optimism” that Formula 1 will get through a full and unprecedentedly-long 23-race calendar in 2021. That is despite the fact that Shanghai has already been replaced by Imola, the season opener in Melbourne has been postponed, and the continuing corona crisis also hangs over several other scheduled […]
Ocon-Alonso battle ‘will be very close’ – Sirotkin
Jan.20 (GMM) Esteban Ocon will give new teammate Fernando Alonso a run for his money early in 2021, according to team reserve driver Sergey Sirotkin. As Renault becomes Alpine for the new season, F1 legend Alonso is returning to the Enstone based team and Formula 1 to replace Daniel Ricciardo. Sirotkin told Russia’s Championat that […]
Giovinazzi didn’t take Ferrari seat news ‘well’
Jan.20 (GMM) Antonio Giovinazzi has admitted he didn’t take news of Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari seat for 2021 “all that well”. The 27-year-old has been retained by Alfa Romeo and remains a part of Ferrari’s driver academy, but he admits the Maranello team opting to replace Sebastian Vettel with former McLaren driver Sainz was disappointing. “Of […]
Hockenheim joins list of potential 2021 circuits
Jan.20 (GMM) Hockenheim has joined the list of circuits that could step in if Formula 1 is forced to make more changes to its 2021 schedule. A spokesman for the other former German GP venue at the Nurburgring confirmed this week that it is open to discussions with Liberty Media as uncertainty continues to hang […]
Tennis in Melbourne ‘a template’ for F1 – Ricciardo
Jan.20 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo is watching current events in Melbourne with great interest. At present, the world of international tennis is holed up in the city ahead of the Australian Open, observing a strict 14-day hotel quarantine. It was Australia’s quarantine rules that forced the postponement of Formula 1’s 2021 season opener in Melbourne. “I’m […]
Red Bull doesn’t need Perez sponsors – Horner
Jan.19 (GMM) Red Bull doesn’t need the financial backing that can be brought from Mexico by Sergio Perez. That is the insistence of team boss Christian Horner, who says Red Bull only decided to sign Racing Point refugee Perez for 2021 because he thinks “he can push Max more than Albon was able to last […]
Ferrari president Elkann ‘doesn’t like racing’
Jan.19 (GMM) Ferrari president John Elkann “doesn’t like racing”. That is the claim of highly-respected Italian F1 insider Leo Turrini, who mused on his Quotidiano blog about Ferrari’s performance crash of 2020. “The current situation is a consequence of the mistakes that Ferrari has made over the past ten years,” he insisted. “And Binotto certainly […]
Gasly sure Honda won’t ‘give up’ before F1 exit
Jan.19 (GMM) Pierre Gasly says he is sure Honda won’t “give up” in 2021, despite it being the Japanese manufacturer’s last official season in Formula 1 for now. Indeed, Honda is preparing a new engine for 2021, with technical boss Toyoharu Tanabe saying the goal is the world championship. “We will withdraw from Formula 1 […]
Brivio’s F1 inexperience ‘doesn’t matter’ – de Meo
Jan.19 (GMM) Renault CEO Luca de Meo has defended his decision to appoint a MotoGP boss to a high-ranking managerial position at the newly-rebranded Alpine team. Brivio, who famously worked with Valentino Rossi, arrives at Alpine as the F1 team’s ‘racing director’, just as Marcin Budkowski is promoted and Cyril Abiteboul ousted altogether. “He comes […]
Badoer ‘won’t say a word’ about Schumacher health
Jan.19 (GMM) Luca Badoer says he “won’t say a word” about the current medical condition of his friend Michael Schumacher. As Schumacher’s son Mick prepares to make his Formula 1 debut in 2021, Badoer told Corriere dello Sport that his relationship with the seven time world champion has always been close. “We used to go […]
2021 aero rule changes are ‘drastic’ – Wolff
Jan.19 (GMM) Those who think 2021 will be a carbon copy of last year may be mistaken, according to dominant Formula 1 team Mercedes’ boss Toto Wolff. Although the sweeping new rules have been delayed until 2022 because of covid, Wolff said mandatory aerodynamic changes for this year could shake up the pecking order. Not […]
Vettel must ‘answer’ critics in 2021 – Ecclestone
Jan.19 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone says his friend Sebastian Vettel needs to “answer” his critics in 2021. Vettel, a quadruple world champion from his Red Bull days, has been ousted by Ferrari – with Eddie Jordan describing his final two years at Ferrari as “pathetic”. “Until recently, Sebastian was first in every session, and now no […]