Jun.7 (GMM) Sergio Perez admits a dark cloud still hangs over the future of his home race. Liberty Media has named two new races for 2020 – Zandvoort and Vietnam – but also said the calendar will not grow beyond its current 21 races. It means two current race hosts out of Barcelona, Silverstone, Hockenheim, […]
Mercedes yet to fill Lauda’s old role
Jun.7 (GMM) Mercedes is yet to fill Niki Lauda’s old role. Lauda, the F1 legend and triple world champion, was also the co-owner and chairman of the team’s supervisory board. His long-time friend Bernie Ecclestone said Mercedes will struggle without the 70-year-old, who died just over two weeks ago. “Niki always convinced the bosses why […]
Ferrari not writing off 2019 title
Jun.7 (GMM) Ferrari is not giving up on the 2019 world championship. Some believe that after six consecutive defeats this season, the Italian team should concede defeat to Mercedes and turn its focus to 2020. Sebastian Vettel agrees that it is now crucial that Ferrari improves steadily over the next three races. “But I’m not […]
Canada ‘good test’ for Renault engine – Ricciardo
Jun.7 (GMM) Canada will show how far Renault has come with its F1 power unit. That is the view of Daniel Ricciardo, and comes after his teammate Nico Hulkenberg said Renault’s reaction to earlier reliability problems was “impressive”. “This weekend will be a good test for our engine,” Ricciardo is quoted by Auto Hebdo. “I […]
Gasly names and shames F1 journalist
Jun.7 (GMM) Pierre Gasly has named and shamed a journalist that he says made up a ‘silly season’ story. Roberto Chinchero, who writes for motorsport.com, had written the story suggesting Nico Hulkenberg was being lined up by Red Bull to replace Gasly. Hulkenberg, who drives for Renault, called it “fake news”. “It was made up, […]
‘Youngster’ Norris hits back at Hamilton
Jun.7 (GMM) Lando Norris has hit back at Lewis Hamilton for saying Formula 1 is now “quite easy” for young drivers. In the FIA press conference in Montreal, the five time world champion asked 19-year-old Norris, who drives for McLaren, how old he is. “Shoot,” 34-year-old Hamilton replied when the teenager gave the answer. Later, […]
Vettel ‘at the crossroads of his career’ – Webber
Jun.6 (GMM) Mark Webber says his former Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel is “at the crossroads”. Challenged by his new and young teammate Charles Leclerc, and under pressure from the fans and media amid an ongoing run of mistakes and no wins in 2019, speculation about Vettel’s career is in overdrive. Australian Webber, who had […]
F1 comeback ‘not in my head’ – Alonso
Jun.6 (GMM) Fernando Alonso says thoughts of a F1 comeback are still “not in my head”. Having retired from the sport last year to take on new challenges, it is interesting that the Spaniard has said no to the full Indycar season and is also preparing to stop racing in the world endurance championship. But […]
F1 gives thumbs up to new Montreal pits
Jun.6 (GMM) F1’s travelling circus has given a thumbs-up to the new facilities at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. As team members set up the garages at the Montreal site of the Canadian GP on Tuesday and Wednesday, they got their first look and taste of the brand new pits and paddock complex. “It’s 100 per […]
Indy failure a ‘lesson’ for McLaren – Villeneuve
Jun.5 (GMM) Jacques Villeneuve thinks McLaren will have learned “a lesson” by failing to qualify for the Indy 500. With a full team entry for the first time, McLaren ran Fernando Alonso in 2019 but the car was not fast enough even for the top 30. “I am sure this will be a lesson for […]
Latifi targeting ‘Super Licence’ for 2020
Jun.5 (GMM) Nicholas Latifi has played down suggestions he is now on the cusp of a F1 race seat. The 23-year-old, whose father Michael co-owns McLaren, is the test driver at Williams this year. He tested in Bahrain and Barcelona but this weekend in his native Canada, Latifi will take over Robert Kubica’s car in […]
‘Mature’ Kvyat tipped for top team return
Jun.5 (GMM) Daniil Kvyat could return to the front of the grid in the future. That is the view of Alexey Titov, the head of the Russian GP promoter Rosgonki. He said Kvyat is now back in top form after a tumultuous period in his career, which involved getting dropped from the Red Bull programme […]
Two current races must go in 2020 – Carey
Jun.5 (GMM) Chase Carey says two current races will not appear on the 2020 calendar. The F1 CEO has confirmed deals with two new hosts: Vietnam and Zandvoort. But Carey says he does not want to expand the schedule beyond 21 races. “I think it’s important to have something new in our calendar, but we […]
Gasly ‘continuing to improve’ – Horner
Jun.5 (GMM) Red Bull is continuing to support Pierre Gasly. After a tough start to life at Red Bull Racing for the Frenchman, Dr Helmut Marko this week rubbished speculation that Nico Hulkenberg is lining up to replace Gasly. Team boss Christian Horner says he is also increasingly happy with the former Toro Rosso driver. […]
Verstappen now ‘leading the team’ – Horner
Jun.5 (GMM) While Red Bull and Honda are pushing hard to improve, team boss Christian Horner is more than happy with Max Verstappen. He says the young Dutchman stepped into high gear after crashing in Monaco a year ago and watching his then teammate Daniel Ricciardo dominate. “It was probably the lowest weekend of his […]
Stroll hopes Williams emerges from crisis
Jun.5 (GMM) Lance Stroll says he hopes Williams can emerge from its current crisis. The Canadian driver, and his billionaire father and backer Lawrence, left the team at the end of last year. Williams’ performance has worsened yet still since then. “It’s difficult for them,” Stroll, 20, told La Presse. “I spent two seasons there. […]
Stroll still hopeful after difficult start
Jun.5 (GMM) Lance Stroll says he is not getting down even though his move to Racing Point has been disappointing so far. The 20-year-old was delighted to leave struggling Williams at the end of last year, and sounded confident the team now owned by his father Lawrence was a good move. However, he has scored […]
Ricciardo predicts ‘results’ in late 2019
Jun.5 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo still insists he does not regret leaving Red Bull. Some believe the Australian was nervous about the team’s switch to Honda power, while others think he sensed the momentum was now with Max Verstappen. Ricciardo told France’s L’Equipe he just needed to “evolve”. “Oui!” he answered when asked if he is […]
Vettel dismisses retirement rumours
Jun.4 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has dismissed reports that suggest he could quit F1 at the end of the year. Former F1 driver Emanuele Pirro says the German is clearly “not having fun” this year or last, as he now grapples for number 1 status at Ferrari with Charles Leclerc. Vettel’s friend Bernie Ecclestone also thinks […]
Hamilton eyes five more years in F1
Jun.4 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton says he “definitely” has five more seasons of Formula 1 in him. The Mercedes driver is now a five time world champion, meaning that he could beat Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of seven titles within three years. “Michael retired when he was 38. I’m 33,” Hamilton, who is actually 34, told […]