Feb.2 (GMM) A push is on to ensure that spectators are able to attend Imola’s Formula 1 race in April. The fabled Italian circuit was drafted onto the 23-race schedule following the removal for now of Shanghai’s round. Emilia Romagna president Stefano Bonaccini said he hoped the coronavirus situation would allow spectators to attend at […]
Rio mayor nixes F1 circuit project
Feb.2 (GMM) A bid to launch a Formula 1 race in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro has now collapsed. Earlier, former F1 CEO Chase Carey reached a deal in principle with race organisers for a race in the Deodoro region, with Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro saying the chances of it going ahead were […]
Haas unable to fire up 2021 Ferrari engine
Feb.2 (GMM) Haas is currently unable to fire up its Formula 1 engines in preparation for the 2021 season that begins with testing and the opening race in Bahrain next month. Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport reports that the small American team, which will field rookie Mick Schumacher this year, has received its customer engines […]
Vettel had to leave Ferrari – Wolff
Feb.1 (GMM) Toto Wolff has tipped Sebastian Vettel to “succeed” after switching to Aston Martin for 2021. Quadruple world champion Vettel admits he contemplated retirement before rescuing his career with Lawrence Stroll’s new Aston Martin project. Wolff, the Mercedes team boss, is a minor shareholder. “This project is just beginning and Sebastian is one of […]
Kubica eyes LMP2 move for 2021
Feb.1 (GMM) Robert Kubica is eyeing a move into Le Mans’ second-tier LMP2 category in 2021. The Pole is staying as Alfa Romeo’s reserve driver this year, but he is definitely leaving the DTM – and contemplating what else he will do next. “The fact is, I’m involved with Alfa Romeo, so I already have […]
Sainz denies Ferrari lineup is too young
Feb.1 (GMM) Carlos Sainz has played down claims that Ferrari’s youngest driver lineup in decades could hurt the Maranello team. Ferrari slumped in 2020, and yet continued to proceed with the plan to replace quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel with 26-year-old Carlos Sainz. Together with 23-year-old Charles Leclerc, it is Ferrari’s youngest lineup in five […]
Stroll slams Aston Martin sale rumours
Feb.1 (GMM) F1 team owner Lawrence Stroll has slammed rumours that the Aston Martin brand may be sold once again. A media report last week claimed that although billionaire Stroll’s new acquisition will only see his team re-branded this year, Aston Martin may already have a Chinese buyer on the horizon. “Lawrence Stroll himself describes […]
Raikkonen ‘still enjoys driving’ in F1
Feb.1 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen says he is staying in Formula 1 because he still enjoys it. Many were surprised when the 41-year-old, who is clearly the oldest and most experienced driver on the grid, signed up for 2021 after Alfa Romeo struggled for pace last year. “Even if you drive for a top team, there […]
2021 title tilt ‘not realistic’ – Seidl
Feb.1 (GMM) It is not “realistic” to expect McLaren to charge for the 2021 title. That is the admission of team boss Andreas Seidl, after world champion Lewis Hamilton said McLaren’s switch to Mercedes power could make his former team an immediate frontrunner. “It was great to see them with a good car in 2020 […]
Mercedes not blocking Red Bull-Honda deal
Feb.1 (GMM) Mercedes will not stand in the way of Red Bull’s engine plans for 2022. Red Bull has said its plan to take over the departing Honda’s engine operations depend entirely on whether rival teams support a 2022 development ‘freeze’. “If the freeze is necessary to keep Red Bull Honda in business, we will […]
‘Too early’ to reveal Indycar news – Grosjean
Feb.1 (GMM) It is “too early” to reveal whether Romain Grosjean will race in Indycar in 2021. Indycar team owner Dale Coyne last week admitted his interest in signing up the former Formula 1 driver, whose burnt hands from the fiery Bahrain crash are now almost fully recovered. “I posted pictures when I decided that […]
Vettel to have ‘usual hair’ in Bahrain
Feb.1 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel should be back to his “usual longer hair” by the start of the season in Bahrain. That is the news from the German newspaper Bild, referring to the F1 world’s shock and amusement at recent footage of the quadruple world champion’s newly half-bald head. Correspondents Jens Nagler and Silja Rulle claim […]
‘Tokens’ won’t make big difference in 2021
Feb.1 (GMM) The new system of limited development ‘tokens’ will not make a big difference to the 2021 pecking order, according to Jody Egginton. The technical director at Alpha Tauri was asked by motorsport-total.com to comment on the regime that will limit non-aerodynamic changes to the cars amid the covid crisis. “I don’t think it […]
Magnussen says end of F1 career ‘boring’
Feb.1 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen says the experience of racing in Formula 1 became “boring” for him in the past few seasons. The former Haas driver was speaking after taking part in the first race of his post-F1 career – the Daytona 24 hour event for Chip Ganassi’s team. “In recent years, Formula 1 became the […]
Eighth title ‘a huge thing’ – Hamilton
Feb.1 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton says winning a record eighth world championship this year would be a “huge thing”. The Mercedes driver was speaking about his ambitions for 2021 with La Gazzetta dello Sport’s Sportweek publication, even though he is yet to sign an actual contract with Mercedes. But Hamilton said: “The eighth world title would […]
Hamilton contract situation ‘unpleasant’ now
Feb.1 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton’s contract situation is becoming “quite unpleasant” for the new seven time world champion. That is the view of Russian F1 commentator Alexey Popov, who wonders if Hamilton is miscalculating his rumoured demands as he negotiates with Mercedes. “I thought, like Bernie Ecclestone did, that this was all a marketing ploy so […]
Three-year Hamilton contract ‘unlikely’ – Wolff
Jan.29 (GMM) Toto Wolff has admitted that a new three-year contract is unlikely for Lewis Hamilton. With the new season looming, it is now highly conspicuous that seven time world championship Hamilton is yet to sign a new deal for 2021. “We’re not far away,” Mercedes team boss Wolff told the German broadcasters RTL and […]
Mazepin may not race in F1 under Russian flag
Jan.29 (GMM) Nikita Mazepin may not be able to race under the Russian flag in Formula 1 this year. Recently, Nikolay Gryazin had to contest the Monte Carlo rally as a ‘neutral athlete’, following the world anti-doping agency’s decision to ban Russia from international competition over a widespread cheating scheme. Russian F1 pundit Alexey Popov […]
Possible Imola will be ‘ghost race’ in April
Jan.29 (GMM) The ‘ghost race’ era in Formula 1 is not over yet. Stefano Bonaccini, the president of the Emilia Romagna region in Italy, has admitted that Imola’s new 18 April race will at best welcome “limited” numbers of spectators. Imola was drafted in to fill the calendar slot following the cancellation of the scheduled […]
Hamilton to ‘win again’ in 2021 – Alonso
Jan.29 (GMM) Fernando Alonso says it is already clear which teams and drivers will finish at the top of the 2021 world championship. The 39-year-old is returning to Formula 1 after a two-year sabbatical, but he is most interested in the sweeping new rules for 2022 that he hopes will greatly increase the championship’s competitiveness. […]