Dec.2 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has criticised Formula 1 over the DRS failure in the 2019 season finale. For almost the first 20 laps in Abu Dhabi, the overtaking system was not enabled by race control. Race director Michael Masi said it was a failed server than needed to be rebooted. “It was a bit like […]
F1 return better than staying at home – Kubica
Dec.2 (GMM) Robert Kubica insists he does not regret returning to Formula 1 with a permanent arm injury in 2019. However, the 34-year-old Pole was outclassed by his rookie teammate George Russell all season at the woefully struggling Williams team. “The season has not taught me anything,” Kubica told the Polish broadcaster TVP. “I gained […]
Engineer ‘deserves’ McLaren job – Magnussen
Dec.2 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen says Haas’ departing performance engineer Jose Manuel Lopez “deserves” a better job in Formula 1. It is believed Lopez is heading to McLaren, to replace Lando Norris’ departing engineer Andrew Jarvis. “He deserves it,” Haas driver Magnussen told Ekstra Bladet newspaper in Abu Dhabi. “He is an incredibly skilled engineer and […]
‘Too early’ to consider Hamilton for 2021 – Binotto
Dec.2 (GMM) Mattia Binotto says it is “far too early” to speculate about whether Lewis Hamilton will sign up with Ferrari for 2021. The Hamilton-to-Ferrari rumour was a hot topic in the Abu Dhabi paddock, and after winning the race the Mercedes driver didn’t even deny that he recently met with Ferrari chairman John Elkann. […]
Ferrari would be ‘stupid’ to cheat – Ecclestone
Dec.1 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has doubled down on his defence of Ferrari, after the Italian team was recently accused of “cheating”. Max Verstappen made the most explicit accusation, but what is undeniable is that Ferrari’s top speeds have dropped off in the wake of the FIA’s recent technical directives about engine legality. Indeed, former Mercedes […]
Alonso meets with Liberty officials in Abu Dhabi
Dec.1 (GMM) Fernando Alonso appears to be stepping up his bid to return to Formula 1 in 2021. The Spaniard, who quit McLaren and F1 at the end of last year, is back in the paddock in Abu Dhabi. One observer even saw the 38-year-old, who will tackle the Dakar rally and the Indy 500 […]
Teams set to vote on 2020 Pirelli tyres
Dec.1 (GMM) F1 teams will vote on December 9 about whether to keep or scrap Pirelli’s proposed tyres for 2020. Drivers tested the 2020 tyres recently in Austin, and complained that not only are they not better than this year’s tyres, but that they are notably worse. So now, several teams want to simply keep […]
Renault needs more demanding driver like Ocon – boss
Dec.1 (GMM) Cyril Abiteboul thinks signing up Esteban Ocon is the perfect move for Renault. The French team is making room for the current Mercedes reserve driver by ousting 32-year-old Nico Hulkenberg. 23-year-old Ocon’s 2020 teammate will therefore be Daniel Ricciardo, who is 30. “The drivers have this ability to put tremendous pressure on a […]
Ricciardo signing brought pressure to Renault – boss
Dec.1 (GMM) Team boss Cyril Abiteboul has admitted it was “difficult to manage” Daniel Ricciardo’s first season at Renault. Ricciardo’s move to the French works team from Red Bull was highly controversial, and then Renault struggled even to reach its goal of being ‘best of the rest’ in 2019. “A lot was said about his […]
CEO says Ferrari keeping controversial veto power
Dec.1 (GMM) Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri has confirmed that the Maranello team is keeping its controversial veto rights in 2021 and beyond. It was rumoured that the historical and unique veto had been negotiated out of the next Concorde Agreement, which is yet to be signed by the teams. Ferrari has refrained from being a […]
Coulthard would ‘understand’ Verstappen exit
Dec.1 (GMM) 2020 will be a “crucial season” for Red Bull and Max Verstappen. That is the view of former Red Bull driver David Coulthard, who told De Telegraaf newspaper that he can imagine Verstappen leaving the team after 2020. “Max is one of the best drivers, but he has been limited somewhat by the […]
F1 set to freeze engine development from 2022
Dec.1 (GMM) F1 looks set to begin to freeze engine development in Formula 1 from 2022. The move comes after Honda decided only to commit to the sport for one more year – 2021 – beyond the end of its current contracts with Red Bull and Toro Rosso. “Honda is waiting to see how the […]
Russell ‘proud’ of 21-0 Kubica defeat in 2019
Dec.1 (GMM) George Russell says he is “proud” to have beaten Robert Kubica in qualifying at every single grand prix in 2019. Abu Dhabi made it a 21-0 clean sweep of Saturday afternoon triumphs for rookie Russell, who almost had to sit out the weekend for Williams with a mysterious personal issue. “It was never […]
Hamilton met twice with top Ferrari official in 2019
Dec.1 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton has met twice in 2019 with Ferrari chairman John Elkann, according to Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport. The news comes amid a new firestorm of speculation in Abu Dhabi about Lewis Hamilton’s future. Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto started it by saying he is “happy” the six-time world champion is out […]
Schumacher happy to be Leclerc’s future teammate
Nov.30 (GMM) Mick Schumacher says he would be happy to be Charles Leclerc’s future teammate at Ferrari. The 20-year-old son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher admits he would have liked to make the jump for 2020, but he is only twelfth overall in his first season of Formula 2. “Although I have the super license, […]
F1 wants changes to Paul Ricard layout
Nov.30 (GMM) Formula 1 is pushing organisers of the French GP to make modifications to the Paul Ricard circuit. This year’s race at the track was regarded as perhaps the most boring of 2019. L’Equipe sports newspaper reports that Eric Boullier, the former McLaren boss who is now involved in organising the French GP, is […]
Vettel admits wanting to ‘stay home’ this weekend
Nov.30 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has admitted he would have liked to “stay home” this weekend. On Thursday, the Ferrari driver missed the FIA press conference in Abu Dhabi following the birth less than 24 hours earlier of his third child – his first son. “Maybe this is the first weekend where the feeling is strongest […]
Verstappen donates to koala fundraiser
Nov.30 (GMM) Max Verstappen has made a donation to help save Australia’s koalas from bushfire. A crowd-funding campaign for the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital in Australia aimed to raise $25,000 to put drinking stations in areas ravaged by recent fires. But when footage of a koala rescue went internationally viral, and it then emerged that […]
Mercedes bans Ocon from Abu Dhabi garage
Nov.30 (GMM) Mercedes has banned its 2019 reserve driver Esteban Ocon from the team garage this weekend in Abu Dhabi. Although to still be managed by Toto Wolff, the Frenchman has been signed up by the Renault works team for 2020. Ocon, 23, has also been released early by Mercedes so that he can get […]
McLaren’s Brown not admitting Honda regret
Nov.30 (GMM) McLaren supremo Zak Brown is refusing to say whether he regrets splitting with the team’s former works engine supplier Honda. After three dismal years together following Honda’s return to Formula 1 in 2015, Brown and fellow executives signed up instead for a customer Renault deal. However, although McLaren has upped its game considerably […]