May 21 (GMM) Lando Norris says his previous teammate was better than Daniel Ricciardo at adapting to a difficult-to-drive Formula 1 car. Australian Ricciardo’s struggle to get up to speed at McLaren this year was amplified on the streets of Monaco in Thursday practice. “You need a very specific driving style to be fast with […]
‘Nothing stopping’ Andy Cowell going to Red Bull
May 21 (GMM) Rumours that Mercedes engine guru Andy Cowell could be about to join the mass staff exodus to Red Bull will not die down. As recently as this week, Toto Wolff said that despite losing over a dozen senior members of Mercedes’ engine operations, Cowell is not among the Red Bull defectors. “He […]
Alpine looks set to sign Ocon, not Gasly, for 2022
May 21 (GMM) Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi has played down rumours Pierre Gasly could be drafted onto the Renault-owned team’s driver lineup for 2022. Recently, Dr Helmut Marko played down a potential return to Red Bull for 25-year-old Frenchman Gasly, who drives for the energy drink camp’s second team Alpha Tauri. And now, Rossi has […]
2022 Ferrari car at ‘advanced design phase’ – Binotto
May 21 (GMM) Ferrari looks super-competitive at Monaco, but preparing for 2022 is “more important” according to the Maranello team’s boss Mattia Binotto. Monaco speed or not, the Italian team appears to be in the running for third place at best this year – the last season of the current era before sweeping new regulations […]
Protests likely over ‘bendy’ rear wings – Wolff
May 21 (GMM) The spectre of race protests has emerged as the ‘bendy’ rear wing saga rolls on at Monaco. It now emerges that several teams are implicated alongside Red Bull in the FIA’s new stance on rear wing flexibility, including Ferrari, Alpine and Alfa Romeo. “More or less every team with a high rake […]
Ferrari ‘apparently’ in running for Monaco win
May 21 (GMM) Carlos Sainz answered “apparently yes” when asked if Ferrari is really a threat to Mercedes and Red Bull at the top of the order this weekend in Monaco. The Maranello team, which is only just emerging from its 2020 performance slump, dominated the second practice session at Monaco on Thursday. “At the […]
Norris deserves new McLaren contract – Sainz
May 20 (GMM) Carlos Sainz says his former McLaren teammate Lando Norris deserves his newly-announced contract extension with the Woking based team. Last year and in 2019, the pair were closely matched at McLaren, with Spaniard Sainz accepting an offer to switch to Ferrari for 2021. Now, McLaren has extended 21-year-old Norris’ deal at least […]
Leclerc denies Ferrari happy with ‘mediocrity’
May 20 (GMM) Charles Leclerc has hit back at claims that Ferrari is patting itself on the back in 2021 for being “mediocre”. Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher made the claim that, after the Maranello team’s major performance slump of 2020, Ferrari is happy to have clawed itself back to the top of the midfield […]
Mazepin doesn’t see social media negativity
May 20 (GMM) Nikita Mazepin says those who continue to slam him on social media are wasting their time. Ever since Haas signed the divisive Russian rookie for 2021 – but especially after video of an alleged groping incident surfaced – the 22-year-old has been the subject of an ongoing negative campaign on social media. […]
Russell happy to be out of contract for 2022
May 20 (GMM) George Russell says he will be a free agent next year, in yet another sign that he may be lining up to become Lewis Hamilton’s next teammate. In Monaco on Wednesday, the buzz in the paddock was about Lando Norris’ two-year contract extension at McLaren. “I didn’t want to waste time talking […]
Verstappen denies Hamilton crash ‘a matter of time’
May 20 (GMM) Max Verstappen hit back at title rival Lewis Hamilton in Monaco as their 2021 duel heats up both on and off the track. First, the Mercedes driver and seven time world champion alleged that Red Bull has a massive advantage thanks to a ‘bendy’ rear wing that the team can continue to […]
Half-capacity Russian GP looks likely – promoter
May 19 (GMM) Formula 1 looks set to play host to half-full grandstands at the Russian GP in September. Amid the ongoing covid crisis, Formula 1 television viewers are becoming accustomed to either empty grandstands or a spattering of spectators. But it could be a different story at Sochi, even though race promoter Alexey Titov […]
Marko deals blow to Gasly’s Red Bull return hopes
May 19 (GMM) Pierre Gasly’s hopes of returning to Red Bull have been dealt a blow by Dr Helmut Marko. Marko heads the Red Bull driver program, and is therefore most directly responsible for the appointment of Max Verstappen’s recent teammates. In 2019, Frenchman Gasly was promoted to the senior team to replace Daniel Ricciardo, […]
F1 should ‘ignore’ track limits issue – Tost
May 19 (GMM) Franz Tost has proposed a solution to the contentious issue of ‘track limits’ in Formula 1 – specifically, to “ignore it”. So far in 2021, the inconsistency and confusion about which corners are policed and how penalties are applied has been a major talking point. Some are proposing ‘hard limits’ like grass, […]
Linked teams should not share wind tunnels – Brown
May 19 (GMM) Formula 1 should stop teams with “direct relationships” from sharing their wind tunnels, according to Zak Brown. Recently, the McLaren supremo penned an open letter in which he revealed his worries about team alliances in F1 – along the lines of Mercedes-Aston Martin and Haas-Ferrari. For instance, Haas boss Gunther Steiner has […]
Broadcaster pays triple for Dutch F1 TV rights
May 19 (GMM) The television rights to Formula 1 in The Netherlands’ lucrative market is about to change hands. As interest in local hero Max Verstappen’s title charge explodes, Ziggo Sport confirmed that after nine years in Formula 1 it has been out-bid for 2022 and beyond. “In those years, the rates for the broadcasting […]
Wolff wanted Rosberg to stay in 2017
May 19 (GMM) Nico Rosberg says Mercedes wanted him to stay at the team even after he announced his decision to retire from Formula 1 as world champion immediately after winning the 2016 title. Now involved in several business ventures, including as an Extreme E team owner and F1 television pundit, the 35-year-old said he […]
Honda engine still behind Mercedes – Tost
May 19 (GMM) Honda is still trailing Mercedes in terms of ultimate engine performance, Alpha Tauri boss Franz Tost has admitted. Tost heads the second Red Bull-owned team in Formula 1 that is also powered by Honda, the Japanese engine manufacturer that is officially leaving the sport at the end of this season. “Honda did […]
‘Premature’ to green-light Australian GP – PM
May 18 (GMM) A question mark is still hanging over this year’s running of the postponed and rescheduled Australian GP. While other countries are making progress in moving out of the pandemic, it’s a different situation in Australia – where the country is locked up tight to keep out all international cases of covid-19. Prime […]
6000 Austria GP spectators possible – report
May 18 (GMM) It is unclear how many spectators will be permitted to attend Austria’s two forthcoming Formula 1 races in 2021. Although a second race at the Red Bull Ring has been added to replace the axed Turkish GP, there is no news yet about whether spectators will be in the grandstands. “Nobody can […]