Feb.12 (GMM) Robert Kubica’s DTM race seat looks set to be announced on Thursday. The well-connected Polish source Powrot Roberta claims that despite BMW’s works DTM concern having overlooked the former Williams driver, Kubica will instead race a BMW-prepared private car in the German touring car series. 35-year-old Kubica, who will also be Alfa Romeo’s […]
Vettel is Ferrari’s ‘first choice’ for 2021
Feb.12 (GMM) Mattia Binotto on Tuesday answered “no” when asked if he would rule out Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari in 2021. But he said keeping Sebastian Vettel in red “is our first choice at the moment”. British media sources are reporting that Hamilton, 35, will begin his talks with Mercedes on Wednesday about a new […]
Ferrari says 2020 car ‘extreme’
Feb.12 (GMM) Ferrari’s newly-revealed 2020 car is “extreme” and “radical” in areas, team figures said on Tuesday. “I know it looks the same, but I assure you that it is not,” Italian media quote team boss Mattia Binotto as saying. “It is an evolution of last year’s car, but we were also extreme in some […]
Grosjean plays down new F1 driver generation
Feb.11 (GMM) There are no “big differences” between F1’s exciting new generation and the older drivers who came before them, according to Romain Grosjean. Ahead of 2020, there is a lot of excitement about whether young stars Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc can challenge the ‘old guard’ for the title, like Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian […]
Two Russian tracks may alternate Russia GP – official
Feb.11 (GMM) Sochi may alternate a single Russian GP date on future F1 calendars with a new venue in St Petersburg. Hermann Tilke, the designer of the St Petersburg venue called Igora Drive, recently said it will be “certainly capable of hosting Formula 1”. So when asked about rumours Liberty Media wants to expand the […]
Russia GP rejects Liberty’s gravel run-off plan
Feb.11 (GMM) Race organisers in Sochi have rejected Liberty Media’s request to add gravel traps to the F1 track ahead of the Russian GP in September. “The organisers of the championship want to increase the entertainment on the tracks, so we were asked to replace the asphalt run-off with gravel in some corners,” Sergey Vorobyov, […]
2020 Ferrari to be ‘deeper red’ – report
Feb.11 (GMM) Like the Ferraris raced by legend Gilles Villeneuve four decades ago, Maranello’s 2020 car will reportedly feature a ‘tricolour’ on the livery. That is the claim of Italy’s Corriere della Sera, as the fabled team prepares to launch its new car in Reggio Emilia on Tuesday. “Surprises will not be lacking, both in […]
Mercedes wants F1 team to be ‘cost-neutral’ – Wolff
Feb.11 (GMM) Toto Wolff wants Mercedes’ Formula 1 team to be “cost-neutral within the next two years”. Amid speculation the Daimler board may be inching towards pulling the plug, the Austrian is quoted by German-language media as hitting out at “lunatics” who are spreading rumours online. He was speaking at the reveal of Mercedes’ 2020 […]
Prost names Hamilton’s ‘most dangerous rivals’
Feb.11 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton’s “most dangerous rivals” for 2020 drive for Red Bull and Ferrari. That is the view of F1 legend Alain Prost, now a key advisor at the works Renault team. “The most complete driver right now is Hamilton,” he is quoted by Le Parisien, “because he has experience and is with a […]
Mercedes planning to be in China – Wolff
Feb.11 (GMM) Toto Wolff says he is still making plans to be in China for the grand prix in April. The coronavirus death toll has now passed the 1000 mark, apparently vindicating Formula E’s decision to pre-emptively cancel its Chinese round that was scheduled for 21 March. “Formula E cancelled a race that should have […]
Correa says FIA crash findings ‘surprising’
Feb.10 (GMM) Juan Manuel Correa, who almost died in Anthoine Hubert’s fatal Formula 2 crash at Spa last year, has hit out at the FIA for the second time in three weeks. At the end of January, the 20-year-old Ecuadorian-American, who is still nursing a serious leg injury from the horror September crash, said just […]
Piero Ferrari says 2020 car ‘completely redesigned’
Feb.10 (GMM) According to Italian media sources, Ferrari’s 2020 car will be officially named ‘SF1000’ when it is launched in Italy on Monday. Sebastian Vettel, Charles Leclerc and the Maranello team’s other key players will descend to the historic Romolo Valli theatre in Reggio Emilia on Monday to launch the 2020 car. As in 2019, […]
Brawn hoping to stop F1 rule loopholes
Feb.10 (GMM) F1 is working to make it harder for teams to exploit rule ‘loopholes’, sporting boss Ross Brawn admits. To date, when a team aces its rivals with a clever and surprising innovation like Brawn’s double diffuser of 2009, the sport can typically only ban it at the end of a season. “The governance […]
F1 bans garage screens for winter testing
Feb.10 (GMM) Formula 1 teams have been told not to use screens in front of their garages during the forthcoming six days of pre-season testing. Earlier, although Barcelona has hosted the ‘official’ winter season for some years, it was not actually designated a proper ‘event’ by the sport’s authorities. La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that […]
Brawn ‘very worried’ about Williams
Feb.10 (GMM) Ross Brawn has admitted he is “very worried” about the struggling British team Williams. Actually, the Oxfordshire based outfit is one of the most successful teams in Formula 1 history, but Williams slumped badly in 2018 and 2019. “We are very worried about Williams,” F1 sporting boss Brawn told La Gazzetta dello Sport. […]
Hamilton exit ‘depends on Mercedes’ – Verstappen
Feb.10 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton will not retire or quit Mercedes while he has a title-winning car. That is the view of Max Verstappen, who along with Red Bull-Honda has clearly targeted stopping Hamilton from winning a seventh title in 2020. “Lewis is getting older, he’s 35 now I think,” Verstappen, 22, told Auto Zeitung. “He […]
Verstappen not obsessed with being youngest champion
Feb.10 (GMM) Max Verstappen says he is not obsessed about becoming F1’s youngest ever world champion this year. Sebastian Vettel currently holds that record, but many are predicting that 22-year-old Verstappen has a good chance of aiming for it in 2020. “Honda has done an incredible job in the past 12 to 18 months,” F1 […]
Magnussen quiet on 2020 ‘expectations’
Feb.7 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen says he is keeping quiet about his “expectations” ahead of the 2020 season. Last year, the small American team Haas was caught out by an aerodynamic flaw that went undiagnosed for most of the season. As images of the 2020 car were revealed online on Thursday with a throwback livery, team […]
‘No signs’ Mercedes will quit F1 – Brawn
Feb.7 (GMM) Ross Brawn says he sees “no signs” that Mercedes is on the cusp of pulling out of Formula 1 as a works team. Before becoming F1’s sporting boss, Brawn was instrumental in the formation of the works Mercedes team when he sold the Brackley based outfit ten years ago. So when asked about […]
Red Bull seat for Alonso ‘impossible’ – Marko
Feb.7 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has slammed Red Bull’s door on Fernando Alonso. Alonso, who will have his second sabbatical year in 2020, has indicated that he may return in 2021. Flavio Briatore, involved in his management, says the Spaniard would only return for Ferrari, Mercedes or Red Bull. Alonso, 38, has claimed to have […]