Mar.27 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has kept himself in the F1 headlines by lashing out at the sport’s official podcast. The latest Beyond The Grid podcast is with former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, who made some comments about the Spaniard’s time with the team. Montezemolo said Alonso was “less close to the team” than were […]
Wehrlein not interested in uncompetitive F1 return
Mar.26 (GMM) Pascal Wehrlein says he “definitely” is not angling to return to formula one with a back of the grid team. The former Manor and Sauber driver now races in Formula E, but he has also been signed up for 2019 by Ferrari, where he will be a simulator driver assisting the championship charge […]
Schumacher to also test Ferrari in Bahrain
Mar.26 (GMM) Mick Schumacher looks set to drive not one but two separate formula one cars at the post-Bahrain GP test. Earlier, we reported that the Formula 2 driver and son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher will make his F1 test debut next week for the Ferrari-linked Alfa Romeo team. But multiple authoritative sources, including […]
Non B-teams trying to ‘harm’ Haas – Steiner
Mar.26 (GMM) Haas boss Gunther Steiner says rival teams are trying to “harm” the Ferrari-linked outfit by lobbying to stop the practice of so-called ‘B teams’. Ahead of crunch meetings with the FIA and Liberty Media and tough negotiations over the next Concorde Agreement, Renault and McLaren in particular are reportedly lobbying to prevent top […]
Ferrari make ‘corrections’ for Bahrain
Mar.26 (GMM) Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto has confirmed the Italian team has made “corrections” ahead of the Bahrain grand prix based on the outcome of the 2019 season opener in Australia. Earlier, a Ferrari insider said team bosses “understand” what went wrong and caused a winter of testing promise to result in being beaten […]
Perez ‘more optimistic’ about Mexico GP future
Mar.25 (GMM) Sergio Perez is suddenly sounding more optimistic about the future of Mexico’s grand prix. Earlier, it emerged that the Mexican government was pledging to instead devote the funding allocated to the F1 race to the Mayan train project. But Perez, with close links to Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, is suddenly sounding more upbeat. […]
Schumacher to test Alfa Romeo next week
Mar.25 (GMM) Mick Schumacher’s first formula one test will take place next week in Bahrain. We had already reported that the son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher was first in line for the Alfa Romeo seat in the post-Bahrain GP test. Schumacher, 20, will already be in Bahrain for his first Formula 2 race. “Bild […]
Money ‘not the problem’ for Dutch GP – Lammers
Mar.25 (GMM) Dutch GP boss Jan Lammers says money is “not really the problem” as Zandvoort struggles to secure a F1 race for 2020. It has been widely reported that the circuit must find tens of millions in funding by the end of March to finalise the deal with Liberty Media. “The money is not […]
Ferrari engineers ‘understand’ Melbourne problem
Mar.25 (GMM) Bosses at Ferrari “understand” what went wrong in Melbourne. That is the claim of Ferrari insider Leo Turrini, after the Maranello team surprised the F1 world by falling behind both Mercedes and Red Bull-Honda in Australia. Last Friday, Sebastian Vettel met with engineers at the team’s Italian headquarters. Prior to that meeting, the […]
F1 should look into ‘e-fuels’ – Abiteboul
Mar.25 (GMM) Cyril Abiteboul says F1 should look into introducing “e-fuels”. In an increasingly environmentally-minded world, the Renault boss doubts F1 did enough in 2014 by introducing the ‘greener’ hybrid engine formula. “It is in our hands whether the young generation is still enthusiastic about driving in circles,” he is quoted by Auto Bild. “That’s […]
Vandoorne not interested in McLaren progress
Mar.25 (GMM) Stoffel Vandoorne says he did not follow the progress of his former F1 employer McLaren as the 2019 season started. The Belgian driver was ousted by McLaren and now works for Mercedes, both as a simulator and Formula E driver. “No, I didn’t,” he told AS newspaper when asked if he watched how […]
FIA responds to 2019 start light problem
Mar.25 (GMM) F1’s governing body is making adjustments ahead of the Bahrain grand prix so that drivers at the back of the grid can see the start lights. Robert Kubica and Pierre Gasly complained after Melbourne that the new bigger rear wings for 2019 meant they couldn’t see when the five lights went out. “I […]
Boullier knew McLaren-Honda would fail
Mar.25 (GMM) Former McLaren boss Eric Boullier said he realised immediately that the McLaren-Honda adventure would be a failure. “Already in the first meeting I realised how unprepared they were for the enormous challenge they faced,” the Frenchman told the Sokuho magazine. “I told Ron Dennis immediately that we would need at least three or […]
Sainz hails Renault progress in 2019
Mar.25 (GMM) Carlos Sainz has hailed the improvement made by McLaren’s engine supplier Renault over the winter. After years of struggling with customer Renault power, Red Bull is delighted with its switch to Honda for 2019. But Sainz says Renault – now McLaren’s customer supplier – has really improved since last year. “I’ve been in […]
Kubica return ‘terrible’ for F1 – Villeneuve
Mar.25 (GMM) Jacques Villeneuve thinks Robert Kubica’s return to F1 is “terrible” for the sport. After an eight-year absence to recover from and adjust to his permanent arm injuries sustained in a 2011 rallying crash, Kubica finished dead last on his Melbourne return. Villeneuve, the outspoken 1997 world champion, said the return is nonetheless a […]
Zak Brown threatens to pull McLaren out of F1
Mar.25 (GMM) McLaren is threatening to quit F1. The once-great British team has struggled in its most recent Honda and Renault-powered eras. Ahead of the crunch meeting with Liberty Media on Tuesday over the 2021 regulations, current boss Zak Brown said F1 in the future needs to be “financially viable” and allow the team to […]
Williams being run with ‘fear and terror’ – Ralf
Mar.22 (GMM) Ralf Schumacher, who won all six of his F1 victories with the British team, thinks the problem at Williams could be its management. He told Germany’s motorsport-total.com that the struggling Oxfordshire based outfit is currently being run with “fear and terror”. Schumacher, 43, said it was the same as when Sir Frank Williams […]
Ferrari can ‘do better’ in Bahrain – Senna
Mar.22 (GMM) Bruno Senna says Ferrari should not give up on winning the 2019 title. After Australia, where the Italian team’s winter promise failed to materialise, many observers said Mercedes is now the overwhelming favourite for the rest of the season. “Ferrari is good but Mercedes looks stronger,” agrees Senna, a former F1 driver whose […]
Marko says he was ‘right’ about Honda power
Mar.22 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko remains convinced that Red Bull can win the 2019 world championship. In Australia, Mercedes dominated the season opener but it was Max Verstappen, rather than either of the Ferraris, who shared the podium with the silver-clad drivers. “I think we will fight for the world championship this year,” Marko told […]
Carey in Barcelona for Spanish GP contract talks
Mar.22 (GMM) Negotiations to extend Barcelona’s contract to host the Spanish grand prix have begun. Spanish media, including EFE news agency, say F1 chief executive Chase Carey met with circuit officials at the Catalonia parliament on Thursday. In a statement, the Circuit de Catalunya said the meeting “showed the will” of the region to keep […]