May 24 (GMM) Fernando Alonso ruled out taking over countryman Oriol Servia’s seat in the Indy 500 because it was “unethical”. That is not the claim of Alonso, or his boss Zak Brown, but of Spaniard Servia himself. The seat occupied by Servia, 44, was targeted by McLaren boss Zak Brown under a system whereby […]
Lauda wanted Mercedes to ‘keep going’ – Wolff
May 24 (GMM) An emotional Toto Wolff said in Monaco that Niki Lauda was enjoying Mercedes’ dominance in 2019. “The last time I heard from him was after Baku,” Wolff, who co-owned and ran Mercedes together with team chairman and F1 legend Lauda, revealed. “The message was ‘It cannot be better, keep it up’.” Wolff […]
Alonso-McLaren relationship not broken – Brown
May 24 (GMM) Zak Brown insists McLaren’s relationship with Fernando Alonso is not broken. After almost winning the Indy 500 with the Andretti entry in 2017, Spaniard Alonso attempted to complete his ‘triple crown’ goal with McLaren this year but failed to qualify. McLaren promptly fired the Indy team’s boss, Bob Fernley. “To answer your […]
Raikkonen dislikes modern Monaco layout
May 24 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen says Monaco has lost its magic of the past – for the drivers. This weekend, the Finn – who won the prestigious street race in 2005 – is celebrating his 300th grand prix. But he doesn’t want to celebrate. “I don’t want cakes, drinks, nothing. It’s just a number that […]
F1 heading for new engine formula in 2025
May 24 (GMM) F1 looks set to scrap the ‘power unit’ regulations for 2025. Due to their complexity, expense, lack of noise and the utter dominance of Mercedes since 2014, the current turbo V6 rules have been almost universally unpopular. The rules are remaining in place for 2021, but in the Monaco paddock it emerged […]
Gasly says Red Bull bosses still backing him
May 23 (GMM) Pierre Gasly says he is still being supported by his Red Bull bosses. The Frenchman had a troubled transition from Toro Rosso to the senior Red Bull team this year after getting the call to replace Daniel Ricciardo. But Gasly says he is getting up to speed now. “Things are going well,” […]
No ‘team orders’ after Haas drivers clash
May 23 (GMM) Gunther Steiner says Haas still has “two equal drivers”. After Barcelona, there were rumours that Romain Grosjean was the American team’s favourite. Boss Steiner was furious with Kevin Magnussen after the pair clashed during the Spanish GP. But Steiner said in Monaco that no ‘team orders’ have been subsequently imposed. “They can […]
2019 ‘a mess’ so far for Renault – Hulkenberg
May 23 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg has admitted that Renault’s 2019 season so far has been a “mess”. The French works team wanted to get closer to the top three teams this year, but even with Daniel Ricciardo recruited from Red Bull, Renault is just eighth out of ten overall. “The season has been a bit […]
Hamilton’s media absence ‘pathetic’ – Watson
May 23 (GMM) John Watson, a former F1 driver who said Niki Lauda was his life-long friend, has slammed Lewis Hamilton for his behaviour in Monaco. After the Mercedes team chairman died late on Monday, Hamilton said on social media in a personal message to Lauda: “I will always be here for your family should […]
Perez admits Mexico GP heading for axe
May 23 (GMM) Sergio Perez has admitted that his home race in Mexico looks set to drop off the 2020 calendar. Not yet wanting to expand the schedule beyond 21 races, Liberty Media needs to drop two current races to make room for Zandvoort and Vietnam. Barcelona looks to be the victim of the new […]
Vettel denies 2019 Ferrari design is flawed
May 23 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has dismissed suggestions the basic design of Ferrari’s 2019 car is flawed. “If it us, then there are many in the field that you can say that about,” the German said in Monaco. “I think there are many cars behind us.” However, with Ferrari having earlier looked to have aced […]
Barcelona rates 2020 contract chances at ’90pc’
May 22 (GMM) Circuit de Catalunya boss Joan Fontsere rates the chances of a Spanish GP next year at “90 per cent”. That is despite the fact that Zandvoort, having inked a deal for a 2020 Dutch GP, looks certain to take Barcelona’s May date on next year’s calendar. Fontsere, the Barcelona circuit director, does […]
Alonso rejected move to ‘buy’ Indy 500 seat
May 22 (GMM) Fernando Alonso rejected McLaren boss Zak Brown’s desire to “buy” a seat for the Spaniard in Sunday’s Indy 500. The British marque is embarrassed to have failed to qualify for the fabled race with its own entry. “Fernando has done nothing wrong,” the Associated Press quoted Brown as saying on Monday. “He […]
Dutch GP to be definite sell-out
May 22 (GMM) The Dutch GP next year will definitely be a sell-out. That is not just a guess based on Max Verstappen’s popularity, but because a staggering 500,000 people have already registered for tickets that are not yet on sale. Formal ticket registration will only begin next week. The Zandvoort race’s spokesman Jan Lammers […]
Lauda ‘not suffering anymore’ – Ecclestone
May 22 (GMM) Although Niki Lauda once said he has no real friends, plenty of them are paying emotional tribute to the inimitable F1 legend this week. “Niki always had his own opinion,” an emotional Bernie Ecclestone told Blick newspaper. “And that is very rare in Formula 1.” The former F1 supremo said he visited […]
‘Clear’ that Lauda would die – doctor
May 22 (GMM) Niki Lauda’s surgeon says it has been “clear for some time” that the F1 legend would not recover. Lauda, who had a lung transplant last year, died this week at the age of 70. The tributes have been almost unprecedented. “The idea of not seeing his red cap in the paddock again […]
Tilke involved in Rio’s F1 project for 2021
May 21 (GMM) Hermann Tilke, the renowned F1 circuit architect, is in charge of the layout for the new project in Rio de Janeiro. Strongly backed by new Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, a new track named after Ayrton Senna looks set to replace Interlagos as the 2021 Brazil GP host. However, Interlagos – in Sao […]
McLaren not giving up on Indy – Brown
May 21 (GMM) McLaren’s grand plans to conquer the Indianapolis 500 and the world of Indycar more generally are in tatters. Fernando Alonso quit F1 last year, but together with McLaren he returned to Indianapolis for 2019 to complete his ‘triple crown’ project. However, on Sunday, the McLaren-Alonso entry failed merely to qualify for the […]
Sirotkin insists Williams did not ‘get rid of’ him
May 21 (GMM) Sergey Sirotkin says he left Williams at the end of last year following a “mutual decision”. The once-great British team was already struggling in 2018, when Russian Sirotkin was the race driver. But a few days ago, the 23-year-old – now Renault’s reserve driver and set to help develop Pirelli’s 18-inch tyres […]
Niki Lauda dies
May 21 (GMM) F1 legend Niki Lauda has died. On Monday, we reported that Mercedes’ 70-year-old team chairman had left rehabilitation after his 2018 lung transplant surgery in order to receive kidney dialysis at a private clinic in Switzerland. “With deep sadness, we announce that our beloved Niki has peacefully passed away with his family […]