Mar.15 (GMM) Barcelona remains in talks about how the coronavirus situation will affect the forthcoming Spanish GP. With Australia, Bahrain, Vietnam and China all postponed, it was reported that Zandvoort and Barcelona – the first two races in Europe – would be the next to get the axe. But Circuit de Catalunya boss Joan Fontsere […]
Netflix made Grosjean look like ‘enemy’ – Magnussen
Mar.15 (GMM) There is more to Formula 1 than what is depicted in the official Netflix series, according to Haas driver Kevin Magnussen. He is at least the second driver to question the reality of ‘Drive to Survive’, with Max Verstappen recently saying the producers of the series “position you in the way they want”. […]
F1 drivers dodge virus with online Australian GP
Mar.15 (GMM) With F1’s real-life 2020 world championship in tatters, the drivers are instead preparing to take their racing into the virtual world. Formula E driver Jean-Eric Vergne announced on social media that an online race called ‘Not the Aus GP’, based on the official F1 2019 game, will be streamed online on Sunday evening. […]
Even Baku’s June race now in doubt
Mar.15 (GMM) Hopes that F1’s 2020 season may be able to start in Azerbaijan in early June are fading. Azerisport, a top Azerbaijani sports news source, said the country has suspended sporting events as the global coronavirus pandemic continues to worsen. Reportedly, talks are already underway to delay the June 7 street race in Baku. […]
Zandvoort waits for FIA to provide coronavirus ‘clarity’
Mar.14 (GMM) Organisers of the Dutch GP at Zandvoort are waiting to hear more about the postponement of the 2020 race. After the eleventh-hour cancellation of the season opener in Australia, Liberty Media and the FIA have now announced that Bahrain and Vietnam are off for now too. The gap gives officials time to “study […]
Ferrari engine saga ‘could be handled better’ – Hamilton
Mar.14 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton says the Ferrari engine legality scandal could be “handled better”. It is now emerging that, following a call between Fiat president John Elkann and Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius, Mercedes has withdrawn itself from the seven teams who were threatening legal action against Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton says the scandal, involving most other […]
2020 cars have ‘so much more grip’ – Magnussen
Mar.14 (GMM) The 2020-spec F1 cars have “so much more grip” than their 2019 predecessors, according to Haas driver Kevin Magnussen. As it stands, following the likely postponement of every grand prix until at least June due to the coronavirus crisis, the cars may not actually be seen in anger at all this year. Some […]
Montreal pushing on with June’s Canada GP
Mar.14 (GMM) Montreal is pushing ahead with preparations for its 2020 Canadian GP. F1’s authorities have declared that no racing is likely until the end of May, meaning that June’s Baku and Montreal rounds could be the first this year. So despite Melbourne, Vietnam, Bahrain, China and probably Zandvoort, Barcelona and Monaco falling by the […]
Moscow ‘ready to discuss’ stand-in 2020 F1 race
Mar.14 (GMM) Moscow Raceway, a permanent venue located 100 kilometres from the Russian capital, says it is “ready to discuss” replacing one of the postponed grands prix in 2020. So far, Sochi’s September date for the Russian GP is not affected by the coronavirus situation. Only 45 cases of the Covid-19 disease have been reported […]
Red Bull admits it would have raced in Melbourne
Mar.14 (GMM) If it had been up to some Formula 1 teams, they would be preparing to race in Sunday’s ultimately-postponed Australian GP. Red Bull has admitted it was one of the teams who argued that the race should go on after a McLaren team member was confirmed to have coronavirus. “The local health authority […]
Seidl stays in Australia with affected staff
Mar.14 (GMM) F1’s travelling circus will endure a nervous couple of weeks in the wake of the postponed Australian GP. Although a wheel didn’t turn at Albert Park, the entire travelling sport made the trip from Europe only to learn that a McLaren team member was infected with coronavirus. A two-week period of quarantine for […]
F1 teams to lose money over coronavirus situation
Mar.14 (GMM) F1 teams are expecting to take a financial hit from the unprecedented coronavirus situation. While the big teams have eye-watering budgets, Claire Williams admitted she is worried about the financial impact not being able to race will have on her Oxfordshire based team. That is because about half of the small teams’ budgets […]
F1 teams begin coronavirus quarantine period
Mar.14 (GMM) F1 team staff arriving back in Europe from Australia are now heading into a two-week quarantine period. For that reason, while talks about the races in Barcelona, Zandvoort and Monaco continue, the sport had no choice other than to officially postpone Bahrain and Vietnam. “The teams and employees must now go into quarantine, […]
Vettel ‘belongs to our past’ – Horner
Mar.13 (GMM) Christian Horner says Red Bull is not in the market to snap up Sebastian Vettel for 2021. Prior to joining Ferrari, where his current contract runs out this year, 32-year-old Vettel won all four of his world championships at Red Bull. But Dr Helmut Marko said recently that Red Bull cannot afford to […]
Relaxed helmet livery rule ‘nice’ – Verstappen
Mar.13 (GMM) Max Verstappen says the new rule allowing drivers to change their helmets as often as they desire will not change much for him. Because fans were at the time struggling to identify drivers, the FIA ruled ahead of 2015 that drivers could only change their helmet design once per season. When asked if […]
Owner says 2020 could be Haas’ final season
Mar.13 (GMM) Gene Haas has admitted that 2020 could be his team’s last season in Formula 1. This year is the American team’s fifth season on the grid, but owner Gene Haas indicated prior to the Australian GP cancellation that he is undecided about whether to sign the new Concorde Agreement. “I’ll wait and see […]
Hulkenberg comeback ‘difficult’ – Glock
Mar.13 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg will struggle to return to the Formula 1 grid. That is the claim of another former German F1 driver, Timo Glock, who thinks ousted Renault racer Hulkenberg should instead target a DTM race seat. “Once a driver is out, a comeback is always difficult,” Glock told ran.de. “Many young drivers are […]
Leclerc defends FIA over engine scandal
Mar.13 (GMM) Charles Leclerc has defended both the FIA and Ferrari, amid rival teams’ fury over the 2019 engine legality scandal. Earlier, the seven non-Ferrari affiliated teams were not ruling out legal action after a secret settlement was agreed between Ferrari and the FIA. It is believed the seven teams have now become six, after […]
Williams targets Alfa Romeo in 2020
Mar.13 (GMM) Prior to the cancellation of the Australian GP, Williams had been planning to take on Alfa Romeo. After the team finished dead last by a big margin in 2019, George Russell says the new car has “significantly more downforce”. Team boss Claire Williams added: “We are better on a long runs than we […]
Mercedes will assess ‘risk’ of racing DAS – Bottas
Mar.13 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas says it is up to Mercedes to decide if the controversial steering system ‘DAS’ will be used in 2020. The team headed to Australia intending to use the new push-pull steering feature, but Red Bull had been poised to lodge a protest before qualifying. “It is up to the team to […]