Mar.18 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg says becoming reserve driver at Red Bull this season was “never an option”. Actually, the German is expected to sign up as Mercedes’ works reserve driver, to potentially also be on standby for Aston Martin and McLaren. The 33-year-old admits he was really chasing the Red Bull race seat, which ultimately […]
McLaren’s Seidl doesn’t ‘feel sorry’ for Vettel
Mar.18 (GMM) McLaren boss Andreas Seidl has played down the need to feel “sorry” for Sebastian Vettel. After losing his Ferrari seat and moving to Aston Martin, the quadruple world champion notably struggled for pace and reliability in the Bahrain test. Ralf Schumacher said afterwards that he feels “a little sorry” for the German. “Poor […]
Norris could ‘surprise’ in 2021 – Russell
Mar.18 (GMM) Lando Norris could be a “surprise” of the 2021 season. That is the prediction of his friend and countryman George Russell, who races for Williams but is obviously eyeing Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes seat for 2022. “I think Lewis will stay, but the question is whether he wants to,” Russell said. So for the […]
Mercedes has ‘aerodynamic problem’ – Schumacher
Mar.18 (GMM) Mercedes’ 2021 car has an “aerodynamic problem” that could be difficult to solve, according to former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher. Most analysts agree that Red Bull is now clearly the favourite to become the first team since the hybrid era began to beat Mercedes to a title. “Mercedes is definitely struggling with an […]
Alpine rebrand kept Renault in F1 – CEO
Mar.18 (GMM) Rebranding as Alpine justified the Renault group remaining in Formula 1, according to the Enstone based team’s new CEO Laurent Rossi. “The thinking behind Renault and F1 was constantly questioned within the company, for various reasons,” Rossi, who will report directly to Renault CEO Luca de Meo, told Auto Hebdo. “Whenever we encountered […]
Ferrari has improved ‘a bit’ for 2021 – Leclerc
Mar.18 (GMM) Ferrari has only caught up “a bit” since 2020, so fans should not “expect miracles” this season. That is the news from Charles Leclerc, amid reports that the Maranello team may have recovered up to 40-50 horsepower with its new engine for 2021. “No, I don’t think we have made up all the […]
2021 McLaren ‘pretty impressive’ so far – Leclerc
Mar.18 (GMM) McLaren looks set to enter the 2021 season as the third force behind Red Bull and Mercedes. “I have the impression that Red Bull will be a very good competitor for Mercedes this year,” Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc told Codesport Monaco. “The McLaren was also pretty impressive.” McLaren’s 2021 car has also impressed whilst […]
Teams already recovering lost downforce – Isola
Mar.18 (GMM) Formula 1 teams have already recovered more than half the downforce loss caused by the tweaked aerodynamic regulations for 2021. Some believe the sport made the rule change to chip away at Mercedes’ dominance, but it was also supported by Pirelli to relieve the ever-increasing strain on the tyres. “The original plan saw […]
Doping ban won’t stop Russian GP – promoter
Mar.17 (GMM) Organisers of the grand prix at Sochi are pressing ahead with preparations for the race in September, despite Russia’s anti-doping ban from international sport. There is already controversy over Haas’ new ‘Russian flag’-style 2021 livery, while Nikita Mazepin is unable to display the Russian flag on his overalls or car. Sochi GP promoter […]
Mazepin not preferred Haas driver – Steiner
Mar.17 (GMM) Nikita Mazepin will not get preferential treatment at Haas this season, team boss Gunther Steiner insists. Mick Schumacher may be the more famous and popular Haas rookie for 2021, but the company headed by Mazepin’s billionaire father Dmitry is the team’s new title sponsor. “Both drivers are equal in the team,” Steiner insisted […]
Ferrari makes ‘medium step’ with 2021 engine – Steiner
Mar.17 (GMM) Ferrari has not made a “big step” with its 2021 engine, according to customer team Haas’ boss Gunther Steiner. Some analysts are saying Ferrari’s new engine is 40 horsepower better than the underperforming power unit of 2020. Haas boss Steiner told the German broadcaster RTL: “I cannot say that it is a big […]
Alfa Romeo made ‘biggest jump’ for 2021 – Russell
Mar.17 (GMM) Alfa Romeo has made “the biggest jump of any team” ahead of the 2021 season. That is the view of Williams driver George Russell, who thinks Haas will instead be his British employer’s main rival this year. Alfa Romeo, he says, impressed him in Bahrain testing. “Kimi (Raikkonen) looked very, very fast,” said […]
Vettel denies eyeing Hamilton’s 2022 seat
Mar.17 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has denied having an eye on Lewis Hamilton’s works Mercedes seat for 2022. The quadruple world champion has moved from Ferrari to Aston Martin for the new season, with Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko calling the latter’s 2021 car “the second Mercedes”. “The second Mercedes, the Aston Martin, had similar problems […]
Marko questions Perez’s ‘five race’ prediction
Mar.17 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko does not think Red Bull newcomer Sergio Perez will need five races to start driving and racing his 2021 car at full speed. 31-year-old Mexican Perez, with almost 200 grands prix and a maiden win in 2020 under his belt, has joined Max Verstappen at the team following the ousting […]
Mercedes ran ‘much more fuel’ in test – Marko
Mar.17 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has brushed off suggestions that Red Bull is clearly the favourite heading into the 2021 season. That is despite the fact that every analyst agrees that Mercedes struggled throughout the single Bahrain test, while Red Bull’s new car was clearly improved compared to the one that dominated in Abu Dhabi […]
Williams could beat Haas in 2021 – Steiner
Mar.16 (GMM) Team boss Gunther Steiner admits it is “possible” Haas will finish dead last in the 2021 world championship. Most observers agree after the Bahrain test that Williams may have jumped ahead of the American team since the end of last season. Indeed, while Haas is focusing exclusively on the 2022 regulations, Williams got […]
F1 safety car driver ‘nervous’ about new season
Mar.16 (GMM) Long-time F1 safety car driver Bernd Maylander admits to feeling “nervous” about the 2021 season. “I haven’t been so nervous about a new season before,” the German admitted to the Dutch publication Formule 1. He is nervous because, for the first time, Formula 1 has two official safety cars – the usual Mercedes-AMG, […]
McLaren ‘surprised’ to get loophole jump on rivals
Mar.16 (GMM) McLaren is “surprised” to be the only team exploiting an early loophole in the tweaked aerodynamic rules for 2021. Spain’s Marca sports newspaper says the British team has found a way to minimise the performance loss of the tweaked diffuser rules by maintaining the length of some of the ‘vertical blades’. “I think […]
Norris questions Tsunoda’s ‘DRS’ laptimes
Mar.16 (GMM) Sharp-eyed observers have questioned rookie Yuki Tsunoda’s pace in the pre-season Bahrain test. Alpha Tauri’s young Japanese ended with the second fastest time behind sister team Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. “He delivered a sensational performance,” said Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko. “I expect a heated fight in the midfield.” However, tongue-in-cheek McLaren driver […]
Verstappen ‘much faster’ in Bahrain – Wolff
Mar.16 (GMM) Max Verstappen was “much faster” than Mercedes’ drivers at the Bahrain test. That is the claim not only of authoritative sources like Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport, but even Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff himself. “The blue car from Milton Keynes will start the season as favourite,” the Italian newspaper declared. “The setup […]