Feb.28 (GMM) Although Mercedes’ new DAS-equipped 2020 car has wowed onlookers in Barcelona, the Achilles heel may be the engine. Engine customer Williams expressed frustration this week about repeated problems with the 2020 Mercedes engine in testing. Appearing to confirm that there may be a deeper problem, Lewis Hamilton stopped on track in the works […]
Haas may not return to 2018 levels – Steiner
Feb.28 (GMM) Gunther Steiner has admitted that Haas may not be able to return to the level of competitiveness the small American team had in 2018. Last year, hopes were high for another good season, after Haas finished fifth overall in 2018. But the 2019 car, while often competitive over a single lap, just as […]
Renault working on brand new engine for 2021
Feb.28 (GMM) Alain Prost has confirmed claims that Renault will introduce a brand new engine for 2021. Of the four engine makers on the grid, Renault has been the most reliable in winter testing. That could be because the engine is basically the same as the one that raced in 2019. Renault is clearly focusing […]
Perez not bothered by ‘pink Mercedes’ jibe
Feb.28 (GMM) Sergio Perez has brushed off suggestions that Racing Point’s 2020 car is a “pink Mercedes”. The Silverstone based team, seventh overall last year behind McLaren, Renault and Alpha Tauri, has instantly leapfrogged to the very top of the midfield with a car that looks strikingly like the 2019 Mercedes. “I don’t care if […]
‘Areas’ of 2020 McLaren not improved – Norris
Feb.28 (GMM) Lando Norris says there are “areas” of McLaren’s 2020 car that have not been significantly improved over the winter. Last year, the British team was ‘best of the rest’ behind the top three teams. But so far in winter testing, McLaren and Renault look neck and neck, with Racing Point having leapfrogged them […]
Kubica can return to F1 grid – Vasseur
Feb.28 (GMM) Robert Kubica has a chance of returning to the Formula 1 grid. That is the claim of Frederic Vasseur, boss of the Alfa Romeo team where the Polish driver is now the official reserve. Having spent all of 2019 at the bottom of the grid with Williams, Kubica topped the timesheets in Barcelona […]
F1 now on high alert over coronavirus crisis
Feb.28 (GMM) Formula 1 has gone into high alert over the ever-deepening coronavirus crisis. When a reporter for RTBF had a coughing fit during an interview on Thursday, Esteban Ocon asked him at the Barcelona test: “That’s not coronavirus, is it?” It was a joke, but the widespread anxiety is real. Alpha Tauri, whose factory […]
2020 F1 season may not start until Zandvoort
Feb.27 (GMM) The global coronavirus crisis could throw F1’s 2020 season into chaos. China has already been postponed, but now the other three races at the top of the calendar – Australia, Bahrain and Vietnam – are in doubt. F1 CEO Chase Carey said in a teleconference that the sport is indeed “heading to Melbourne, […]
Ocon not better than Hulkenberg – Sirotkin
Feb.27 (GMM) Esteban Ocon is not a better choice than Nico Hulkenberg for the 2020 Renault race seat. That is the view of the French team’s 2019 reserve driver Sergey Sirotkin. Having lost his seat to 23-year-old Ocon for 2020, the decade-older Hulkenberg is currently taking in the Carnaval festival in Rio de Janeiro as […]
‘Pink Mercedes’ protest rumours circulate
Feb.27 (GMM) Rumblings of a Melbourne protest against Racing Point’s ‘pink Mercedes’ are circulating in the Barcelona test paddock. Bigger teams like McLaren and Renault are coming to terms with the fact that they have been leapfrogged as ‘best of the rest’ by a car that is visually almost identical to the Mercedes. Some suspect […]
Ricciardo skips over Ferrari rumours
Feb.27 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo is reluctant to comment on rumours that he is on Ferrari’s wish-list for 2021. Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto says Sebastian Vettel is the top priority, but paddock gossip has also named Carlos Sainz as another potential replacement for the quadruple world champion. When asked what racing a red car would mean […]
Vettel shoots down retirement rumours
Feb.27 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel hit back at wild rumours in Barcelona that he could be set to announce his retirement. Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo are being linked to his Ferrari seat for 2021, but the quadruple world champion insists he is not worried. “The situation is no more stressful than it was three years […]
Russell says Mercedes’ DAS system ‘tip of the iceberg’
Feb.27 (GMM) Mattia Binotto has revealed that Ferrari considered but then abandoned the idea of developing a system similar to the ‘DAS’ that is being tested for 2020 by Mercedes. Because Mercedes’ drivers can push and pull the 2020 car’s steering wheel rather than just steer it left and right, questions have been asked about […]
Ferrari can improve by ‘a second’ – Wolff
Feb.27 (GMM) Toto Wolff thinks Ferrari may have “a second” of laptime up their sleeves. Ferrari’s lack of testing pace in 2020 has been conspicuous. “Mercedes is certainly still the yardstick,” team boss Mattia Binotto insists. But Sebastian Vettel reported: “We are sure that the new car is better. We feel a significant improvement, especially […]
Claire Williams reveals Mercedes engine problems
Feb.27 (GMM) Claire Williams says the British team is suffering from multiple engine problems in Barcelona. The British team slumped to dead last by some margin last year, but boss Williams says many of those problems have now been solved. But she revealed: “We’ve had several problems with the power unit.” Williams is powered by […]
Alonso may not find seat for F1 return – Raikkonen
Feb.27 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen says the biggest obstacle to Fernando Alonso’s potential return to Formula 1 next year is the availability of a seat. Alonso, who bowed out of his McLaren seat and Formula 1 at the end of 2018, looks unlikely to land a drive at Mercedes, Ferrari or Red Bull. And even Zak […]
Ricciardo sees ‘good signs’ about Renault future
Feb.26 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo looks to be moving towards extending his stay at Renault beyond 2020. The Australian left Red Bull at the end of 2018 to join the French works team on a lucrative two-year deal which expires this year. He has been regularly linked with Ferrari, and top Renault officials admit they may […]
2020 F1 season at risk over coronavirus crisis
Feb.26 (GMM) The deepening coronavirus crisis is putting a large dark cloud over Formula 1’s looming 2020 season. Only seven countries on the entire 22-race calendar for 2020 do not have active infections or deaths recorded as a result of what could soon be declared a global pandemic. China has already been postponed, but even […]
2019 left Ocon physically ‘destroyed’
Feb.26 (GMM) Esteban Ocon has revealed that his schedule in 2019 left him physically “destroyed”. The Frenchman, who returns to the grid with Renault this year, was Mercedes’ reserve driver in 2019. He says he was worked particularly hard. “It was very, very demanding,” said the 23-year-old. “I sometimes did not sleep for two days […]
Williams must adapt in customer car era – boss
Feb.26 (GMM) Williams will need to “adapt” to a new era in which Formula 1 teams do not design every component of their cars. That is the news from Claire Williams, boss of the eponymous and once-great team founded by her father that crashed to dead last in 2019. It is now a hot topic […]