Aug.7 (GMM) Amid all the current talk about reserve drivers, Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko is calm. That is despite the fact that, following Sergio Perez’s positive corona test a week ago, Racing Point had to replace the Mexican at the eleventh hour with Nico Hulkenberg. Realising that Mercedes’ Stoffel Vandoorne is in Berlin for […]
Briatore should run Ferrari team – Ecclestone
Aug.7 (GMM) Flavio Briatore should replace Mattia Binotto as Ferrari’s team boss. That is the view of Bernie Ecclestone, the former F1 supremo who had close personal and business ties with the former Benetton and Renault chief. “He has won a couple of world championships with Renault and is incredibly competent,” Ecclestone, 89, told Germany’s […]
Media should ‘stop talking about’ kneeling – Sainz
Aug.7 (GMM) Charles Leclerc has lashed out at media reports and members of the public accusing him of racism. It comes after his latest interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, in which he said he does not kneel before races because of the Black Lives Matter movement’s links to violence and politics. “It is very […]
Rumours swirl around Perez, Vettel, Hulkenberg
Aug.7 (GMM) Great uncertainty is swirling around the immediate and longer-term future of Sergio Perez in Formula 1. The Mexican was sidelined with coronavirus last week, but Racing Point says he may now return to the seat for this weekend’s Silverstone race. “Public Health England have confirmed that Sergio Perez’s period of quarantine has been […]
Single practice idea for Imola ‘silly’ – Verstappen
Aug.7 (GMM) Max Verstappen has slammed Formula 1’s “silly” plans to slash the number of practice sessions from three to just one for November’s race at Imola. The weekend schedule for that race has been reduced to just two days, given the distance between the circuit in Italy and the preceding one in Portugal. However, […]
No ‘black clouds’ over struggling Albon
Aug.7 (GMM) Alex Albon insists his current situation at Red Bull is “not as bad as people think”. The British-born Thai driver is coming under increasing pressure at the energy drink company’s premier team, as he continues to struggle alongside star teammate Max Verstappen. Pierre Gasly, for one, is keen to return to the senior […]
Hamilton’s contract talks ‘more complicated’ – Bottas
Aug.7 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas insists he is not frustrated that he has been given only a further one-year Mercedes contract. The Finn, whose new deal is his fifth consecutive single-year agreement since joining the team in 2017, was openly hoping for a longer duration. “Although it’s only one year, and maybe there are some options, […]
Wolff wants Hamilton to sign three-year deal
Aug.6 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton’s boss says he would like to sign up the six-time world champion for the next three years. At Silverstone a week ago, the championship leader told reporters that he can imagine himself “going for at least three years” longer. Hamilton denied that talks about extending his contract with Mercedes are already […]
Hulkenberg backs temporary teammate Stroll
Aug.6 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg has backed his current F1 teammate Lance Stroll. Hulkenberg was drafted onto the Racing Point lineup at the eleventh hour last weekend, when race regular Sergio Perez tested positive for coronavirus. RTL in Germany is reporting that the 32-year-old German will be back in the ‘pink Mercedes’ this weekend. His teammate […]
Leclerc admits he and Verstappen ‘hated each other’
Aug.6 (GMM) Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc says he and Max Verstappen “really hated each other a lot” back in their karting days. “We have grown up,” the 22-year-old told La Gazzetta dello Sport, referring to Red Bull’s similarly aged Verstappen. “I raced with him in karting for nine years, also growing up with George Russell, […]
Leclerc won’t kneel due to link with violence
Aug.6 (GMM) Charles Leclerc says he refuses to kneel before races due to the politicisation of racial issues, and the movement’s links to violence. The Ferrari driver is one of seven drivers – including Max Verstappen, Kimi Raikkonen, Carlos Sainz, Daniil Kvyat, Antonio Giovinazzi and Kevin Magnussen – who remained standing at Silverstone last weekend. […]
F1 hoping for ‘normal’ 2021 season – Todt
Aug.6 (GMM) Formula 1 is hoping and planning for a “normal” season in 2021, according to FIA president Jean Todt. This season was halted following the cancellation of the Melbourne opener, and in July started up again only with an incomplete replacement calendar, strict anti-virus measures, and spectator-less ‘ghost races’. Todt is hoping that is […]
‘Pink Mercedes’ issue and tyres to dominate weekend
Aug.6 (GMM) Amid Mercedes’ dominance, an interesting weekend nonetheless lies ahead at Silverstone. Firstly, the stewards – having summoned Racing Point officials on Wednesday – are set to rule on the legality issue surrounding the team’s ‘pink Mercedes’ car on Friday. Sources report that the decision is due before first practice. Also significant this weekend […]
Mercedes seeks ‘solution’ to reserve driver issue
Aug.6 (GMM) Esteban Gutierrez’s role as official Mercedes reserve is in doubt. Before the season, McLaren announced that it would be able to use future engine partner Mercedes’ official reserve drivers this year if needed amid the pandemic. They are Mexican Gutierrez and Stoffel Vandoorne. At Silverstone a week ago, another Mercedes customer – Racing […]
Hulkenberg to replace Perez again this weekend
Aug.6 (GMM) Racing Point will announce on Thursday that Nico Hulkenberg will race for the team at Silverstone once again this weekend. Sergio Perez, who sat out last weekend’s race at the same circuit following a positive coronavirus test, was expected to be tested again on Wednesday. His trainer Xavi Martos had told La Vanguardia […]
Didier Pironi’s son on Silverstone podium
Aug.5 (GMM) Didier Pironi’s son was on the Silverstone podium last Sunday. After the former Ferrari driver’s death in 1987, Didier Pironi’s partner gave birth to twins and named one of them after the driver’s former teammate Gilles Villeneuve. Today, Gilles Pironi is an engineer who works for Mercedes’ works team. He accepted the constructors’ […]
Ferrari adds weight to ‘pink Mercedes’ controversy
Aug.5 (GMM) Ferrari has now joined the growing push against Racing Point’s ‘pink Mercedes’. Technical director Andrew Green says he hates the nickname the car that admittedly strongly resembles last year’s Mercedes has acquired. “To see the work of the engineers discredited like that is totally false and has gone too far,” he is quoted […]
Ferrari must find up to 80 horsepower – Berger
Aug.5 (GMM) It will take “a year or two” before Ferrari can start thinking about beating Mercedes on merit, according to former team driver Gerhard Berger. The F1 legend’s prediction, mirroring the stated timeline of Ferrari chairman John Elkann, comes as Mattia Binotto admits he has relinquished the role of technical director. “It has taken […]
Raikkonen will not quit mid-season – Lehto
Aug.5 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen is not about to quit in the middle of a Formula 1 season. That is the view of former F1 driver and fellow Finn JJ Lehto, amid rumours 40-year-old Raikkonen may be losing patience with his uncompetitive Alfa Romeo. There are reports the 2007 world champion lost his cool over the […]
Tyres ‘have not kept pace’ with F1 – pundit
Aug.5 (GMM) An F1 pundit claims that Pirelli “has not kept pace” in 2020 as Formula 1 speeds race ahead. After a spate of tyre failures at Silverstone, including on both Mercedes cars, the sport’s official supplier said the long safety car period and the “notably increased pace” of the 2020 grid caused the problems. […]