Dec.12 (GMM) Max Verstappen has admitted he has stopped using the words ‘Lewis Hamilton’ and ‘Mercedes’ as the incredibly tense and ultra-close 2021 world championship battle finally concludes on Sunday. “That’s right,” the Dutchman told De Telegraaf newspaper when asked if rumours are true that he no longer mentions his rivals by name. “That happens […]
Top teams want more money for F1 sprint races
Dec.11 (GMM) A new financial dispute is breaking out in Formula 1. Top teams Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari are complaining that the expansion of the ‘sprint qualifying’ format next year to six rounds means the budget cap limit should be raised. “Bahrain, Imola, Montreal, Spielberg, Zandvoort and Interlagos are all mentioned as possible candidates,” […]
Binotto not ruling out Ferrari return for Todt
Dec.11 (GMM) Mattia Binotto has played down reports suggesting former Ferrari boss Jean Todt could be about to return to the fabled Maranello team. According to the reports, Italian Binotto would keep the top job but be assisted in political and sporting matters by 75-year-old Todt, who is stepping down as FIA president within days. […]
F1 supremo hoses down hopes for London GP
Dec.11 (GMM) F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali has watered down hopes the sport may soon be racing around the streets of London. Earlier in 2021, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said he wants Formula 1 to keep the British GP at Silverstone “but racing in London would top everything”. “I hope the mayor of London and […]
No F1 team for sale at the moment – Zak Brown
Dec.11 (GMM) Zak Brown says Formula 1 is in such robust health at the moment that no team is interested in selling. Brown is the supremo at McLaren, who recently went public to strongly deny speculation that the Woking based company may be sold to Audi. The American marketing specialist is clearly is not about […]
Anti-Verstappen campaign belongs in ‘Hollywood’ – Marko
Dec.11 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton is shaping up as a great Hollywood-quality actor, according to Red Bull’s sarcastic Dr Helmut Marko. As the final qualifying session of the thrilling 2021 world championship battle now looms in Abu Dhabi, the Red Bull camp has hit out at both Hamilton and Mercedes for pointing the “media machine” at […]
F1 finale in doubt for Haas over chassis shortage
Dec.10 (GMM) Haas’ very participation in the 2021 season finale this weekend is in doubt. Boss Gunther Steiner is warning his rookie drivers, Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, that crashes or incidents on Friday could rule them out of qualifying and the race in Abu Dhabi. “Due to the last crashes, our stock of parts […]
Ricciardo to spend Christmas in quarantine
Dec.10 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo says he will be spending Christmas alone in an Australian hotel room. “I’ll be staring at hotel room walls for two weeks,” said the McLaren driver in Abu Dhabi, when asked what his next move will be after the chequered flag falls on the long and intense 2021 season on Sunday. […]
Raikkonen says F1’s politics now ‘ridiculous’
Dec.10 (GMM) The retiring Kimi Raikkonen’s parting shot at Formula 1 is that the off-track political “nonsense” has now entered “ridiculous” territory. 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve had also slammed the sport after the controversial race in Saudi Arabia last weekend, asking: “Do we want sport and good F1? “Or do we just want a […]
Abu Dhabi changes ‘will help Mercedes’ – Horner
Dec.10 (GMM) Max Verstappen deserves to win his first drivers’ title on Sunday, according to two-time world champion Fernando Alonso. The 40-year-old Spaniard was asked about his preferred picks for the two 2021 world championships, which will be decided in Abu Dhabi at the very end of one of the closest and most intense contests […]
‘F*** you’ message at 2021 finale ‘coincidence’ – Hamilton
Dec.10 (GMM) The tension has reached fever pitch in Abu Dhabi as one of closest and most fiercely-contested world championships in Formula 1 history finally comes to a head. After 21 out of 22 grands prix, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are dead-even on points with just Sunday’s 2021 finale on the modified Yas Marina […]
Bottas received second offer for 2022 F1 seat
Dec.9 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas has admitted he received a second solid offer to keep racing in Formula 1 next year. The five-year Mercedes veteran has been ousted for 2022, to be replaced by George Russell. Bottas, 32, has been signed up by Alfa Romeo. The Finn told Iltalehti newspaper: “Two days after I made the […]
Todt could become Ferrari ‘super consultant’
Dec.9 (GMM) Ferrari and Jean Todt could be getting back together. Frenchman Todt, 75, is stepping down as FIA president in just over a week, with Graham Stoker and Mohammed ben Sulayem vying to be elected as his successor. Prior to becoming FIA president, Todt was the ultra-successful team boss at Ferrari, where he oversaw […]
Verstappen ‘tough’ but ‘not dirty’ – Stuck
Dec.9 (GMM) Max Verstappen is a “tough” Formula 1 driver, according to German motor racing legend Hans-Joachim Stuck. But 70-year-old Stuck, who raced in F1 throughout the 70s, hit out at widespread reporting ahead of this weekend’s Abu Dhabi showdown suggesting Verstappen is also “dirty”. “That is nonsense,” he told f1-insider.com when told about those […]
Hamilton not involved in axed Mercedes sponsorship
Dec.9 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton was part of a push that has seen Mercedes dump its brand new sponsor deal with Irish materials company Kingspan. The logo appeared on the side of the nose of the black Mercedes cars in Saudi Arabia – just as a sizeable controversy about the sponsorship was kicking off. In a […]
‘Tension devoured me’ in similar title battle – Fittipaldi
Dec.8 (GMM) F1 legend Emerson Fittipaldi has issued his wish for Sunday’s 2021 championship showdown in Abu Dhabi: “May the best man win.” However, the 74-year-old two-time title winner admits to not being very interested in the outcome of last Sunday’s tumultuous and highly contentious penultimate round between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. “I couldn’t […]
F1 steward says Abu Dhabi ‘no different’ for officials
Dec.8 (GMM) Formula 1 stewards will not take a different approach into the final act of the sensational and ultra-intense 2021 world championship this weekend. Peter Oord, a highly experienced and active FIA steward, ruled out measures such as threats of points deductions for Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton for on-track bad behaviour during the […]
Tyson Fury hits out at Verstappen pile-on
Dec.8 (GMM) British boxing star Tyson Fury has hit out at the media for depicting Max Verstappen as the “bad boy” of Formula 1. Indeed, in the days before the hugely-anticipated 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi, the headlines are full of predictions of a deliberate title-deciding crash. “Verstappen is cut from the same cloth […]
Marko apologises for denying ‘brake test’
Dec.8 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has issued a rare apology after denying that Max Verstappen performed a ‘brake test’ on championship rival Lewis Hamilton in Saudi Arabia. “I refute this manoeuvre that Hamilton complained about,” said the Red Bull official immediately after last Sunday’s highly controversial race. “According to our data engineer, the brake pressure […]
F1 has become ‘too political’ – Raikkonen
Dec.8 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen’s best advice for success and happiness is not to listen to the advice of others. It’s a typical soundbite from Formula 1’s oldest, most experienced and arguably most unique and among the most popular drivers on the grid. The 42-year-old Finn is retiring from the sport after Sunday’s Abu Dhabi finale. […]