Jun.26 (GMM) Carlos Sainz will not be frozen out by McLaren in 2020. That is the word from the British team’s supremo Zak Brown, even though Spaniard Sainz is switching to Ferrari at the end of the season. Normally, a move like that would result in the team shutting its departing driver out of knowing […]
Ferrari plays down ’30hp’ Austria car upgrade
Jun.26 (GMM) Ferrari says reports of a major car upgrade ahead of the resumption of racing in Austria next weekend were exaggerated. Italian media in particular claimed that, compared to the Melbourne-spec car, the Red Bull Ring-specification 2020 Ferrari will have a slimmer nose, stiffer gearbox, new rear suspension and an engine with 30hp more. […]
F1 ready for full season of ‘ghost races’ – Abiteboul
Jun.25 (GMM) Cyril Abitebul thinks Formula 1 should prepare for a whole season of ‘ghost races’ in 2020. However, the Renault team boss is hoping for the best. “We are preparing for a closed season, obviously with several economic scenarios for the circumstances, but we hope to be able to welcome a very small number […]
F1 preparing to announce second part of ‘corona calendar’
Jun.25 (GMM) Formula 1 looks set to soon announce the second part of its 2020 ‘corona calendar’. Amid reports of an October race in Montreal, Canadian GP chief Francois Dumontier thinks various non-European races will be added to that schedule. “I think the idea is to be able to announce the second part of the […]
Canada not ready to confirm October race date
Jun.25 (GMM) Organisers of the Canadian GP are not ready to confirm that a race in Montreal will definitely take place in 2020. There have been reports that an October date, pairing Canada with Austin, has been set for the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve’s 2020 race. “We can’t confirm that,” a race spokesman told us. “We […]
Doctor says Zanardi has ‘very bad eye injury’
Jun.25 (GMM) A doctor treating Alex Zanardi has admitted the former F1 driver’s vision could be affected by his hand-cycling crash. Italian Zanardi, who lost his legs in a 2001 Champ Car crash, is still in a coma with serious facial and head injuries in the Santa Maria alle Scotte di Siena in Italy. We […]
F1 manufacturers could say ‘goodbye’ – Schumacher
Jun.24 (GMM) Ralf Schumacher is worried about the future of Germany’s national representation in Formula 1. Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone thinks the looming demise of Sebastian Vettel’s career is connected with the end of Formula 1 on free-to-air television in Germany after 2020. Quadruple world champion Vettel is the last German driver on the […]
10,000 corona tests ready for Austria GP
Jun.24 (GMM) More than 10,000 coronavirus tests are being stockpiled at the scene of next weekend’s return to Formula 1 action in Austria. They are being supplied by Eurofins Genomics, a DNA sequencing company that has been charged with keeping the global pandemic out of the Red Bull Ring paddock. “Everyone who works at the […]
Zanardi could lose vision after crash – reports
Jun.24 (GMM) Alex Zanardi’s eyesight is at risk as a result of the hand cycling crash that has left him in a coma with serious facial and head injuries. Giuseppe Olivieri, the neurosurgeon who operated on the former F1 driver turned paralympian, announced on Tuesday that the 53-year-old Italian will remain in a coma for […]
Honda aims to be ‘champion’ in 2020
Jun.24 (GMM) Honda’s goal for 2020 is to power Red Bull to the world championship. That is the news from Yasuaki Asaki, who heads up Formula 1 operations at Honda’s Sakura factory in Japan. He revealed that “spec 1.1” of Honda’s 2020 engine will make its debut in Austria next weekend. “My goal is to […]
Tyre barriers set alight at Zandvoort
Jun.24 (GMM) There was a fire just outside the Dutch GP venue at Zandvoort on Tuesday. De Limburger newspaper said flames and “thick, black smoke” hung above the circuit after piles of what appeared to be tyre barriers were set alight. A circuit spokesman said: “A number of young people burned a number of tyre […]
Back-to-back ghost races will give ‘answers’ – Magnussen
Jun.24 (GMM) Formula 1’s looming back-to-back ‘ghost race’ experiments could be eye-opening, according to Haas driver Kevin Magnussen. He is referring to the fact that, amid the pandemic, the sport is getting back up and racing without spectators and by holding consecutive races at the same tracks like Austria and Silverstone. “It’s hard to say […]
No pre-Austria test for Haas
Jun.24 (GMM) Haas will not follow in the wheel-tracks of other Formula 1 teams by organising a pre-Austria test. Mercedes, Renault and Racing Point have already hit the track in preparation for the first ‘ghost races’, Alpha Tauri is currently in the garage at Imola and Red Bull intends to run at Silverstone on Thursday. […]
McLaren in legal race to avoid insolvency – report
Jun.24 (GMM) McLaren is worried it may soon run out of money. Although the famous British team has signed up Daniel Ricciardo for 2021, McLaren has now said in a filing at London’s High Court that it needs a ruling “to ensure that the Group can continue as a going concern into 2021”. The company […]
Surgeon says Zanardi injury not like Schumacher’s
Jun.23 (GMM) Alex Zanardi’s brain injuries do not compare with those suffered by fellow former F1 driver Michael Schumacher. That is the claim of Giuseppe Olivieri, the doctor who operated on Zanardi following his head-on crash with a truck during a hand cycling race in Italy last weekend. Former Williams driver Zanardi, who lost his […]
End of German free TV deal ‘about Vettel’ – Ecclestone
Jun.23 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone thinks the looming end of free-to-air television coverage of Formula 1 in Germany is due to the demise of Sebastian Vettel’s career. Hot on the heels of Ferrari’s news last month that it will split with the quadruple world champion after 2020, the German broadcaster RTL has now announced that will […]
Ecclestone hopes Ferrari ‘play fair’ in 2020
Jun.23 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone hopes Ferrari “play fair” in 2020. The former F1 supremo is a key ally and friend of quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel, who will be ousted by the Maranello team after this season. “Sebastian’s only goal now is to be faster than Charles (Leclerc),” Ecclestone told the Swiss newspaper Blick. “In […]
F1 reserve role no different in corona era – Kubica
Jun.23 (GMM) Robert Kubica does not think his new role as a reserve driver will bounce him back onto the Formula 1 grid sooner rather than later. The Pole had intended to combine his new Alfa Romeo role with a full-time race seat in the German touring car championship DTM this year. Now, the very […]
Webber tips Vettel comeback in 2022
Jun.23 (GMM) Mark Webber thinks Ferrari has made a good choice by signing up Carlos Sainz for 2021. The signing means the Maranello team is ousting Sebastian Vettel, who won all four of his world championships as Webber’s teammate at Red Bull last decade. It is suggested that if Vettel cannot secure the Mercedes seat […]
F1 cars to display rainbows in 2020
Jun.23 (GMM) There may initially be no one in the grandstands, but fans at home will at least be seeing a low of rainbows in Formula 1 this year. The sport has announced that it wants to “tackle the major issues” facing society in 2020, including coronavirus, sustainability, and now racism and diversity. So in […]