Sep.27 (GMM) George Russell says he would like Nico Hulkenberg to be his Williams teammate in 2020. The rookie’s current teammate, Robert Kubica, recently announced that he is leaving the struggling team. But Russell is sure 2020 will be a much better season for Williams. “I am 100 per cent sure that we will not […]
Honda plans for Suzuka with Sochi grid penalty
Sep.27 (GMM) Max Verstappen has admitted Red Bull-Honda is looking beyond this weekend’s Russian GP. The Honda-powered drivers all have new Spec 4 engines fitted at Sochi, which for Verstappen means a five place grid penalty. “We thought ‘Why not do it here?’” he said at Sochi. “The five places is not going to hurt […]
Hulkenberg denies signing with Formula E team
Sep.27 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg has denied being signed by a Formula E team for 2020. The German has lost his Renault race seat, and opportunities to move to Alfa Romeo or Williams now appear unlikely. At Sochi, it is rumoured that the 32-year-old has been signed by the Formula E team Mahindra. “No,” Hulkenberg said […]
Russia rejects St Petersburg F1 race rumours
Sep.27 (GMM) Russian officials have denied that the country’s grand prix could be relocated from Sochi. A British newspaper broke the news about Russian president Vladimir Putin apparently wanting the Formula 1 race to instead be held in St Petersburg. “Maybe it’s not a bad idea,” said Russian driver Daniil Kvyat at Sochi. “It would […]
Steiner denies Haas selling to Saudi investors
Sep.27 (GMM) Gunther Steiner has played down suggestions Haas could be sold to investors from Saudi Arabia. After splitting recently as Haas’ title sponsor, Rich Energy boss William Storey said on Twitter: “We wish Haas the best of luck in negotiations selling the team to Saudi investors”. Team boss Steiner responded at Sochi: “I really […]
Abiteboul criticises FIA over penalty
Sep.27 (GMM) Cyril Abiteboul has accused the FIA of being inconsistent about how it hands out penalties for sporting and technical infractions. In 2019, the tendency to penalise every on-track clash has changed markedly, particularly with the re-introduction of the black and white warning flag. But in Singapore, Daniel Ricciardo was disqualified from qualifying for […]
Latest 2021 rules debate ‘normal’ – Steiner
Sep.27 (GMM) The latest squabble about the controversial 2021 rules is just a “normal exchange of views”, according to Haas boss Gunther Steiner. It is rumoured that only half of the F1 teams are currently willing to sign up to Liberty Media’s proposed technical rules for 2021. “The latest visualisation of the new rules looks […]
Kvyat staying at Toro Rosso in 2020 – Tost
Sep.27 (GMM) Daniil Kvyat is definitely staying at Toro Rosso next year. At Sochi, after Dr Helmut Marko said Kvyat is out of the running to return to Red Bull in 2020, Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost said of the Russian: “He will continue with us next season.” Kvyat, 25, agreed that in his mind, […]
No news about future yet – Mick Schumacher
Sep.27 (GMM) Mick Schumacher says he has no news to announce about his future yet. F1 legend Michael Schumacher’s 20-year-old son is a member of Ferrari’s development academy and has tested for the Italian team this year. But Mick is expected to stay in Formula 2 for another season next year. “It’s probably going to […]
Mercedes no longer favourites – Hamilton
Sep.27 (GMM) Mercedes will no longer be the favourite at any of the remaining races in 2019, according to Lewis Hamilton. Despite his almost 100 point lead over the nearest Ferrari, the Mercedes driver said at Sochi: “There are no more tracks on which we are the favourite. “If we want to beat Ferrari, we […]
Ricciardo ‘regretting’ Renault move – Webber
Sep.26 (GMM) Mark Webber thinks his countryman Daniel Ricciardo could be “regretting” his move to Renault. Immediately after Ricciardo’s shock decision to quit Red Bull last year, former F1 winner Webber called it a “strange decision”. “He’s made his bed over there with Renault, which I think is a weird decision, but that’s what he […]
Todt cautious about Panthera team ‘rumours’
Sep.26 (GMM) Jean Todt has played down the reports about an eleventh team in Formula 1. It has emerged that a new outfit called Panthera Team Asia F1 has set up camp at Silverstone. Team boss Benjamin Durand, formerly of the SMP Racing organisation, confirmed recently: “Our goal is Formula 1 in 2021.” F1 sporting […]
Ferrari to build new F1 simulator
Sep.26 (GMM) Ferrari has decided to build a brand new F1 simulator at Maranello. Because it resembles the eight-legged arachnid, Ferrari’s current EUR 5 million simulator – powered by ten interlinked computers – is nicknamed ‘The Spider’. But after a decade, the simulator is soon to be retired, according to Spain’s Marca. The apparent reason […]
Sponsor staying in F1 ‘with or without’ Kubica
Sep.26 (GMM) Robert Kubica’s sponsor is in talks to become the new title backer at Haas. After a public and private debacle with Rich Energy, Haas recently split with its former title sponsor. Around the same time, Kubica announced that he is leaving Williams at the end of the year. His race seat was funded […]
Still no night race for Russian GP
Sep.26 (GMM) Organisers at Sochi are still resisting the lure of a night race. Since the first modern Russian GP in 2014, there have been reports suggesting the Sochi venue could be upgraded with Singapore-like floodlights. “Races look quite interesting under the lights, but the Russian GP is spectacular in daylight,” Alexi Titov, head of […]
Red Bull to get new F1 fuel later in 2019
Sep.26 (GMM) Red Bull-Honda will soon benefit from an updated fuel mix. This week, team boss Christian Horner said some of Ferrari’s current engine advantage is because of a “juicy” fuel supplied by Shell. But Red Bull’s partner ExxonMobil is working hard to match that. Technical advisor Dario Izzo admitted that Red Bull has been […]
Ferrari driver rivalry ‘good’ for Mercedes – Wolff
Sep.26 (GMM) Ferrari’s driver lineup could be “good” for Mercedes’ chances of winning the 2019 title. That is the view of Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, even though Ferrari has rattled the reigning champions by winning the last three races. “They are incredibly hungry and are giving absolutely everything,” championship leader Lewis Hamilton is quoted […]
Stable rules best way to close F1 gaps – Perez
Sep.25 (GMM) Sergio Perez says the best way to close the gap in Formula 1 is for the regulations to be left alone. The teams and Liberty Media are currently squabbling over the details of the latter’s push for a rules revolution in 2021. The plan involves cars that are slower and heavier but easier […]
Legal action to delay Dutch GP preparations
Sep.25 (GMM) Dark clouds continue to gather over next year’s Dutch GP. Zandvoort already has a May 3 calendar spot for 2020, and thanks to Max Verstappen’s immense popularity, the race is already easily sold out. But the race organisers are fire-fighting on multiple fronts. For instance, the municipality of Zandvoort’s August memorandum revealed that […]
Ferrari engine advantage ‘exaggerated’ – Binotto
Sep.25 (GMM) Mattia Binotto says Ferrari’s three wins in a row were not all about engine power. The Italian team was expected to do well at high speed Spa and Monza, and Charles Leclerc duly won both. But then Leclerc was back on pole in Singapore last weekend, with Sebastian Vettel leading home the one-two. […]