Apr.6 (GMM) Zandvoort boss Robert van Overdijk remains confident the Dutch GP will take place in 2021. That is despite rumours that this year’s races in Holland, Canada and Brazil are most at risk due to the ongoing covid crisis. Van Overdijk admitted to the Dutch magazine Formule 1 that the clock is ticking in […]
Hamilton won’t quit F1 for activism
Apr.6 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton says he will not quit Formula 1 simply because he advocates for political causes including environmentalism. The seven time world champion admitted he wants to be remembered as one of the world’s “change-makers”, but admitted that he sometimes needs to be more diplomatic. For instance, last year he shamed several of […]
Wolff slams Zak Brown over 2022 prediction
Apr.6 (GMM) Toto Wolff has slammed McLaren supremo Zak Brown for predicting an all-new driver lineup for Mercedes in 2022. Although McLaren has switched to Mercedes power for 2021 and beyond, that didn’t stop Brown from predicting that Max Verstappen and George Russell would replace both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas next year. “Brown is […]
2023 Le Mans seat for Leclerc possible
Apr.1 (GMM) The head of Ferrari’s sports car program is not ruling out a Le Mans seat for Charles Leclerc in 2023. The Maranello marque announced recently that it will return to the top tier of Le Mans racing for 2023 in the new hypercar category. Upon hearing the news, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc said […]
Binotto admits Ferrari engine ‘still behind’
Apr.1 (GMM) Ferrari is “still behind” in the Formula 1 horsepower department, team boss Mattia Binotto admits. It is clear that, compared with the performance crisis of 2020, the Maranello team has managed to produce a better engine for the new season. “We don’t have all the details yet to analyse, but I think we […]
Netflix use ‘creative freedom’ for F1 series – Brown
Apr.1 (GMM) Zak Brown says he supports the efforts of the Netflix team that puts together the annual Drive to Survive series – even if they use too much “creative freedom”. Viewers of the most recent series were surprised when the narrative of one episode was the supposedly increasingly toxic relationship between 2020 McLaren teammates […]
F1 cars to stay heavy in future – Symonds
Apr.1 (GMM) Pat Symonds has bad news for those hoping Formula 1 cars may lose some weight in the future. All-new technical regulations come into force in 2022, and for 2025 the engine format will also change significantly. However, F1’s chief technical boss Symonds says because the sport is continuing down the hybrid and electronic […]
Red Bull ‘too euphoric’ in Bahrain – Marko
Apr.1 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko does not think Max Verstappen made a mistake by letting Lewis Hamilton re-pass him for the lead and victory in Bahrain last weekend. Bahrain GP steward Emanuele Pirro this week revealed that the “maximum” penalty the FIA could have given the Dutchman for his illegal pass on Hamilton was a […]
Haas can only race Williams in 2021 – Steiner
Apr.1 (GMM) Haas’ only goal for 2021 is to race Williams at the very back of the grid. That is the admission of boss Gunther Steiner, who openly admits that the small American team will not attempt to develop the 2020 car at all. “It will be good if we can compete with Williams,” he […]
Tost ‘sure’ Tsunoda will be world champion
Apr.1 (GMM) Franz Tost says he is “sure” Yuki Tsunoda will go on to become the first world champion from Japan. “He’ll be world champion one day. I’m sure of that,” the Alpha Tauri boss told Sport1’s AvD Motor und Sport Magazin. It’s been a similar tune coming from Alpha Tauri team owner Red Bull […]
Montreal mayor wants F1 race to go ahead
Apr.1 (GMM) Montreal’s mayor says she wants the Canadian GP to proceed in June. At present, the race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is among the most endangered on the 2021 calendar due to the government’s mandatory quarantine rules. “For us, Formula 1 is important,” Montreal mayor Valerie Plante told Canadian media. “So the important […]
Vettel never good under pressure – Berger
Apr.1 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel is still struggling with pressure, according to his first Formula 1 team boss Gerhard Berger. The quadruple world champion was ousted by Ferrari but switched to Aston Martin for 2021 and beyond – and had a dire pre-season test and first race in Bahrain. “At Ferrari it was the same thing,” […]
No spectators at Imola again in 2021
Mar.31 (GMM) The next grand prix of 2021 will be a ‘ghost race’, Emilia Romagna regional president Stefano Bonaccini has revealed. Last year, the covid-19 substitute race at Imola was also held behind closed doors, and Bonaccini said the situation must remain the same for 2021 as well. “The grand prix on April 18 will […]
First Ferrari race not time to ‘attack’ – Sainz
Mar.31 (GMM) Carlos Sainz says he took a calmer than usual approach to his first race with Ferrari in Bahrain. The Spaniard, who switched from McLaren to replace the ousted Sebastian Vettel for 2021, qualified four places behind new teammate Charles Leclerc and also finished his first grand prix wearing red in eighth place. “In […]
Mercedes may not be ‘good enough’ to win at Imola
Mar.31 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton may have won in Bahrain, but his Mercedes team is worried the situation could be different once the racing resumes next month at Imola. “It was awfully hard work and we had quite a tough time,” admitted engineering boss Andrew Shovlin after the 2021 season opener. “If you look at Red […]
No technical boss at Williams was ‘crazy’ – Russell
Mar.31 (GMM) George Russell thinks Williams is finally moving in the right direction in Formula 1. The once-great British team has been the sport’s permanent backmarker in the recent past, but in 2021 appears to have moved away from the very rear of the grid. It comes after the Williams family departed Formula 1 last […]
Steward says Verstappen could have won in Bahrain
Mar.31 (GMM) Bahrain GP steward and former F1 driver Emanuele Pirro says Max Verstappen may have won last Sunday’s race if he had refused to hand back the lead to Lewis Hamilton. The ‘tracks limits’ issue is back with a bang early in 2021, after Mercedes’ Hamilton ran wide at turn four on 30 different […]
‘Criticism’ may have hurt Mazepin in Bahrain – boss
Mar.30 (GMM) Gunther Steiner has admitted Nikita Mazepin’s tumultuous pre-season could have contributed to his horror first race weekend in Formula 1. The 22-year-old Russian rookie was one of the most prominent figures of the 2021 pre-season, as he was the subject of a vitriolic and constant social media hate campaign. Then, as the season […]
Vettel ‘won’t be on the grid in 2022’ – Watt
Mar.30 (GMM) “Time has run out” for Sebastian Vettel in Formula 1, according to former racing driver Jason Watt. After losing his Ferrari seat, the quadruple world champion switched to Aston Martin for 2021 but had a miserable pre-season test and first race in Bahrain. Team boss Otmar Szafnauer defended the beleaguered 33-year-old. “The car […]
F1 putting ‘finishing touches’ on sprint races – CEO
Mar.30 (GMM) Formula 1 is putting “the finishing touches” on its plan for the three-race sprint qualifying format trial in 2021. “In the coming days, we will be putting the finishing touches on the sprint race plan,” confirmed F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali. The teams have agreed to experiment with the 30-minute Saturday sprint qualifying race […]