Mar.17 (GMM) Red Bull has confirmed reports that Mercedes is no longer part of the ‘gang of seven’ teams who are siding furiously against Ferrari. Before the coronavirus crisis threw Formula 1 into chaos, every non Ferrari-affiliated team was threatening legal action over Ferrari’s secret settlement with Ferrari, regarding the Italian team’s 2019 engine legality. […]
Only Ferrari factory closed over coronavirus
Mar.17 (GMM) Formula 1 factories remain open amid the global coronavirus crisis. With Ferrari’s Maranello headquarters located inside the Italian ‘red zone’, both the road car facility and the F1 factory have been shut down for now. But chief F1 rivals Mercedes and Red Bull are still operational in the UK. “We can currently continue […]
Honda would not have raced in Melbourne
Mar.17 (GMM) Honda says it would not have taken part in the Australian GP. Ultimately, the race weekend was cancelled at the eleventh hour over the coronavirus crisis. But Red Bull’s Dr Helmut and Christian Horner said the team was ready to race. However, works engine partner Honda’s F1 boss Masashi Yamamoto has revealed to […]
Indianapolis in talks with Chase Carey – Penske
Mar.16 (GMM) Roger Penske has admitted that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is serious about bringing Formula 1 back to the fabled venue. Before the American motor racing legend bought the Speedway as well as the Indycar series late last year, the venue’s road course hosted eight consecutive US grands prix until 2007. The US GP […]
Zandvoort yet to hear from the FIA over coronavirus
Mar.16 (GMM) Jan Lammers says he is still waiting to discuss the future of Zandvoort’s scheduled return to the 2020 Formula 1 calendar. In the wake of the coronavirus crisis and the official postponement of the races in Australia, Bahrain, Vietnam and China, F1’s authorities admit that the races scheduled for May could also be […]
Alfa Romeo’s rivals difficult to fight in 2020 – Kubica
Mar.16 (GMM) Robert Kubica admits that Alfa Romeo may have a tough 2020 season. Having finished easily dead last in 2020, figures at the Williams team say they are now expecting to be able to take on Alfa Romeo this year. When asked by Przeglad Sportowy what targets the Hinwil based team can set in […]
‘No idea’ if F1 show can go on – Steiner
Mar.16 (GMM) Gunther Steiner says he is not sure if and when F1’s 2020 season will get underway. Just before Friday practice last week, the Australian GP was called off due to a confirmed coronavirus case within the McLaren team. Reports indicate the staff member is now symptom free. Bahrain and Vietnam have also been […]
Barcelona still in talks over May 10 race
Mar.15 (GMM) Barcelona remains in talks about how the coronavirus situation will affect the forthcoming Spanish GP. With Australia, Bahrain, Vietnam and China all postponed, it was reported that Zandvoort and Barcelona – the first two races in Europe – would be the next to get the axe. But Circuit de Catalunya boss Joan Fontsere […]
Netflix made Grosjean look like ‘enemy’ – Magnussen
Mar.15 (GMM) There is more to Formula 1 than what is depicted in the official Netflix series, according to Haas driver Kevin Magnussen. He is at least the second driver to question the reality of ‘Drive to Survive’, with Max Verstappen recently saying the producers of the series “position you in the way they want”. […]
F1 drivers dodge virus with online Australian GP
Mar.15 (GMM) With F1’s real-life 2020 world championship in tatters, the drivers are instead preparing to take their racing into the virtual world. Formula E driver Jean-Eric Vergne announced on social media that an online race called ‘Not the Aus GP’, based on the official F1 2019 game, will be streamed online on Sunday evening. […]
Even Baku’s June race now in doubt
Mar.15 (GMM) Hopes that F1’s 2020 season may be able to start in Azerbaijan in early June are fading. Azerisport, a top Azerbaijani sports news source, said the country has suspended sporting events as the global coronavirus pandemic continues to worsen. Reportedly, talks are already underway to delay the June 7 street race in Baku. […]
Zandvoort waits for FIA to provide coronavirus ‘clarity’
Mar.14 (GMM) Organisers of the Dutch GP at Zandvoort are waiting to hear more about the postponement of the 2020 race. After the eleventh-hour cancellation of the season opener in Australia, Liberty Media and the FIA have now announced that Bahrain and Vietnam are off for now too. The gap gives officials time to “study […]
Ferrari engine saga ‘could be handled better’ – Hamilton
Mar.14 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton says the Ferrari engine legality scandal could be “handled better”. It is now emerging that, following a call between Fiat president John Elkann and Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius, Mercedes has withdrawn itself from the seven teams who were threatening legal action against Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton says the scandal, involving most other […]
2020 cars have ‘so much more grip’ – Magnussen
Mar.14 (GMM) The 2020-spec F1 cars have “so much more grip” than their 2019 predecessors, according to Haas driver Kevin Magnussen. As it stands, following the likely postponement of every grand prix until at least June due to the coronavirus crisis, the cars may not actually be seen in anger at all this year. Some […]
Montreal pushing on with June’s Canada GP
Mar.14 (GMM) Montreal is pushing ahead with preparations for its 2020 Canadian GP. F1’s authorities have declared that no racing is likely until the end of May, meaning that June’s Baku and Montreal rounds could be the first this year. So despite Melbourne, Vietnam, Bahrain, China and probably Zandvoort, Barcelona and Monaco falling by the […]
Moscow ‘ready to discuss’ stand-in 2020 F1 race
Mar.14 (GMM) Moscow Raceway, a permanent venue located 100 kilometres from the Russian capital, says it is “ready to discuss” replacing one of the postponed grands prix in 2020. So far, Sochi’s September date for the Russian GP is not affected by the coronavirus situation. Only 45 cases of the Covid-19 disease have been reported […]
Red Bull admits it would have raced in Melbourne
Mar.14 (GMM) If it had been up to some Formula 1 teams, they would be preparing to race in Sunday’s ultimately-postponed Australian GP. Red Bull has admitted it was one of the teams who argued that the race should go on after a McLaren team member was confirmed to have coronavirus. “The local health authority […]
Seidl stays in Australia with affected staff
Mar.14 (GMM) F1’s travelling circus will endure a nervous couple of weeks in the wake of the postponed Australian GP. Although a wheel didn’t turn at Albert Park, the entire travelling sport made the trip from Europe only to learn that a McLaren team member was infected with coronavirus. A two-week period of quarantine for […]
F1 teams to lose money over coronavirus situation
Mar.14 (GMM) F1 teams are expecting to take a financial hit from the unprecedented coronavirus situation. While the big teams have eye-watering budgets, Claire Williams admitted she is worried about the financial impact not being able to race will have on her Oxfordshire based team. That is because about half of the small teams’ budgets […]
F1 teams begin coronavirus quarantine period
Mar.14 (GMM) F1 team staff arriving back in Europe from Australia are now heading into a two-week quarantine period. For that reason, while talks about the races in Barcelona, Zandvoort and Monaco continue, the sport had no choice other than to officially postpone Bahrain and Vietnam. “The teams and employees must now go into quarantine, […]