Sep.6 (GMM) Toto Wolff has denied the claims of his Red Bull counterpart Christian Horner about Valtteri Bottas’ status at Mercedes. Horner said at Monza that it is “obvious” that Mercedes favours Lewis Hamilton. “You can see it in the strategy and the way they position the cars,” he added. “Valtteri only has a chance […]
Horner hits back at old rival Abiteboul
Sep.6 (GMM) Christian Horner and Cyril Abiteboul have revived their old feud at Monza. Renault boss Abiteboul started it when he said former customer Red Bull “missed a trick of modern Formula 1” by not getting into a much closer engine collaboration with a partner. “He’s basically saying we can’t win as long as we […]
F1 should consider Indy-style quali – Ericsson
Sep.6 (GMM) F1 should look to the Indy 500 in order to solve the problem with qualifying at Monza. That is the view of former F1 driver turned Indycar driver Marcus Ericsson, who watched Saturday’s qualifying session on TV. In chaotic scenes similar to those seen in 2019, drivers jostled for position in a big […]
Hamilton future decision ‘not liked’ to Wolff’s
Sep.6 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton says he does not regret never racing for Ferrari. “No,” said the six-time world champion, who is poised to match Michael Schumacher’s all-time records for race wins and titles this year. However, the Mercedes driver says he owns Ferrari road cars and loves the brand. “It was never a secret – […]
Party goes on without ‘party mode’ – Wolff
Sep.6 (GMM) ‘Party mode’ may be gone, but Toto Wolff says the party will go on for Mercedes in 2020. The dominant F1 team’s boss poked fun at rivals like Red Bull who pushed hard for the FIA to restrict engine usage to a single mode from Monza. “We still had a very good party,” […]
Renault shaping up for re-branding as Alpine
Sep.5 (GMM) Renault could have a brand new name and identity for 2021 and beyond. The carmaker’s CEO Luca de Meo has announced that, while continuing to run the F1 team, Cyril Abiteboul will also head up the Renault-owned Automobiles Alpine brand. “He has big expectations indeed for Alpine and what he has asked me […]
‘Mature’ Verstappen says Monza win ‘impossible’
Sep.5 (GMM) Winning on Sunday will be “impossible”, Max Verstappen declared at Monza. “We are losing a lot of ground on all those straights, but we’ll see,” said the Dutchman. Red Bull had been hopeful Mercedes’ banned ‘party mode’ engine setting would help, but Mercedes appears well clear of the field so far at Monza. […]
Ferrari to have ‘brand new engine’ for 2020
Sep.5 (GMM) Mattia Binotto is keeping his job in charge of Ferrari’s struggling team. That is the news from Louis Camilleri, the Maranello company’s CEO. He was speaking with the New York Times amid Ferrari’s worrying performance slump in 2020. “I have to say I have every confidence in Mattia Binotto and his team,” he […]
Magnussen to meet Gene Haas over F1 future
Sep.5 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen says he wants to meet team owner Gene Haas in person to discuss his Formula 1 future. For 2021, Haas team boss Gunther Steiner has left the door open to either keeping Magnussen and Romain Grosjean, or potentially replacing one or both of them – even with “two rookies”. Steiner even […]
Sainz urges ‘calm’ to avoid ‘dangerous’ qualifying
Sep.5 (GMM) Qualifying may be more “dangerous” than usual at Monza, according to McLaren driver Carlos Sainz. A 2019-like situation at the Italian GP venue looks to be shaping up again this season, with drivers expected to jostle for position at low speeds to prepare for the best slipstream for their fast qualifying laps. In […]
Ferrari pushing ahead with ‘pink Mercedes’ appeal
Sep.5 (GMM) Ferrari is pressing ahead with its appeal against Racing Point’s ‘pink Mercedes’ car. After Renault – the instigator of the protests against the Mercedes-like copy – recently withdrew its intention to appeal, it was rumoured that Ferrari would soon follow suit. “Yes, we confirmed our protest,” Mattia Binotto said at Monza when asked […]
Williams needs ‘good team boss’ – van der Garde
Sep.5 (GMM) Williams needs to appoint “a good team boss” to replace the departing Claire Williams. That is the view of former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde, commenting on news that following the team buyout, Claire and her father Sir Frank will not be involved at Williams after this weekend at Monza. “Williams has […]
Wolff plays down Ferrari switch rumours
Sep.5 (GMM) Toto Wolff has brushed off rumours that he might soon be leading crisis-struck Ferrari. The wild rumour in the Italian press follows reports of the Mercedes team boss’s dithering over a new contract and strained relationship with Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius. “Everyone dreams of Ferrari – it’s normal,” Wolff told Sky Italia at […]
Williams family departure best for team – Schumacher
Sep.4 (GMM) Former team driver Ralf Schumacher says he supports the departure of the Williams family from the eponymous British team. Schumacher raced for Williams between 1999 and 2004, winning all six of his race wins there. He says more recent seasons have shown that selling up, and now the departure of Claire and Sir […]
No fix yet for Bottas ‘leg numbness’ issue
Sep.4 (GMM) Mercedes is working to fix a problem that leaves Valtteri Bottas with leg numbness while driving the otherwise-dominant 2020 car. The Finn admitted at Spa that there have been “a couple of races” this year when his left leg begins to lose feeling. “It’s difficult to say how much I am affected, but […]
Albon ‘won’t listen’ to Hamilton criticism
Sep.4 (GMM) Alex Albon says he “won’t listen” to criticism either from Formula 1 fans on social media or even six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton suggested at Spa that Albon is not making life easy for Red Bull’s title contender Max Verstappen, because “both drivers aren’t there” in terms of pace. “Max is sort […]
Wolff has idea to make F1 more entertaining
Sep.4 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko admits he is “starting to worry” about Formula 1. Amid the corona crisis, the sport managed to get up and racing with a modified calendar and various health measures in place – including, for now, the absence of spectators. But then it became clear the extent to which Mercedes would […]
Sainz responds to Brawn’s ‘nervous’ comments
Sep.4 (GMM) Carlos Sainz insists he is not regretting his decision to join Ferrari for 2021. Only after the Spaniard signed to switch from McLaren at the end of the year did the full scale of Ferrari’s massive performance slump in 2020 become clear. Sebastian Vettel, the man Sainz is replacing, even admits to feeling […]
All eyes on ‘party mode’ ban at Monza
Sep.4 (GMM) All eyes are on the banning of ‘party mode’ engine settings at Monza this weekend. When asked if Mercedes can be stopped, Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko admitted: “Difficult. Monza is a power track.” However, Red Bull-Honda pushed hard for the FIA to ban ‘party mode’ engine settings, with Mercedes clearly leading the […]
Drivers surprised as Williams family leaves team
Sep.4 (GMM) Williams’ two drivers admitted they were surprised to hear that they will have a new team boss within days. Following the sale of the British team to Dorilton Capital, which has links to Prince William’s brother-in-law James Matthews, it was announced on Thursday that Claire Williams and her father Sir Frank are stepping […]