Jun.1 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas has dropped a big hint that he may be staying with Mercedes in 2026. The 35-year-old Finn lost his Sauber seat at the end of last year, returning to Mercedes as full-time reserve driver in 2025. Bottas, who won 10 grands prix as Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, had been linked with […]
BMW not interested in F1 return
Jun.1 (GMM) BMW is not interested in joining fellow German carmakers Mercedes and Audi on the Formula 1 grid. Last year, having last contested the top Le Mans class in 1999, BMW returned to the world endurance championship in the premier Hypercar category. In 2025, former Haas driver Kevin Magnussen occupies one of the cockpits. […]
Sergio Perez still open to Formula 1 return
Jun.1 (GMM) Sergio Perez is still keeping the door open for a return to Formula 1. The Mexican’s career looked over at the end of last year as, despite his solid commercial backing, he was dropped for struggling to keep up with Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen. However, 35-year-old Perez’s star has risen again in […]
Russell tells boss Toto Wolff to sign Verstappen
Jun.1 (GMM) Mercedes’ next driver lineup should be George Russell alongside Max Verstappen. That’s the candid view of Russell himself, who denies team boss Toto Wolff is being “disrespectful” by not immediately offering him a new contract for 2026 and beyond. Clearly, Wolff is leaving a potential door open for a shock Verstappen defection from […]
Barcelona admits F1 race alternation ‘possible’
Jun.1 (GMM) It is possible Barcelona’s grand prix could be saved by accepting a proposal by Formula 1 to annually rotate some key European events. Some expected the event to defy the odds this weekend and announce that a deal to extend its contract with F1 beyond 2026, notwithstanding Madrid taking over the official ‘Spanish […]
Red Bull lets Verstappen make GT3 race debut in 2025
Jun.1 (GMM) Max Verstappen looks set to pull off the rare feat of racing in two separate professional racing series in 2025. The last driver to manage it was two-time champion Fernando Alonso in 2017, who skipped the Monaco GP when driving for the uncompetitive McLaren team to contest the fabled Indy 500. Now, amid […]
FIA not ruling out ‘dynamic’ flexi-wing checks
Jun.1 (GMM) The FIA is not ruling out ‘dynamic tests’ to clamp down even harder on flexible wings in Formula 1. Nikolas Tombazis, the Paris-based federation’s single-seater chief, has had a busy weekend in Barcelona as tough new flexibility checks debuted for McLaren-style bendy front wings. It has had little impact on the pecking order, […]
Briatore admits he’s ‘not happy’ with Colapinto
Jun.1 (GMM) Flavio Briatore admits he is not yet “happy” with Franco Colapinto’s performance at Alpine. The team dropped rookie Jack Doohan after just six races this year to install another rookie – the heavily Argentinean-sponsored Colapinto, 21 – in the cockpit. So far, he has underwhelmed his primary supporter, Alpine advisor Briatore. “He crashed […]
Mercedes to share Adidas sponsorship with Audi
Jun.1 (GMM) Audi looks set to arrive in Formula 1 next year with Adidas branding and a red and black livery. That’s the claim of Europe’s largest newspaper, the German daily Bild-Zeitung, revealing that Mercedes looks set to have to share its Adidas sponsorship with another German marque. “The deal is finalised and is expected […]
Struggling Tsunoda is ‘not a pancake’ – Verstappen
Jun.1 (GMM) Max Verstappen has jumped to the defence of his latest teammate Yuki Tsunoda, pointing the finger more in Red Bull’s direction. When the team concluded that the gap between Verstappen and Sergio Perez was too big and sustained last year, Red Bull promoted Liam Lawson to the seat for 2025. He was dropped […]
Beating McLaren in Barcelona unlikely – Marko
Jun.1 (GMM) A podium is probably the most Max Verstappen can hope for on Sunday, Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko admits. Especially with the front wing flexibility clampdown coming into effect in Barcelona, the team was hoping for an Imola-like performance this weekend. “I never really expected much,” Verstappen, P3 in the championship and […]
Germany not prepared to revive F1 race – Wolff
May 31 (GMM) Even with Formula 1 open to accommodating multiple European races with a new annual rotation scheme, the revival of the defunct German GP still seems unlikely. Next year, Sauber will fully transition to become Audi’s 100 percent works team, competing against established fellow German carmaker Mercedes. Mercedes team boss and co-owner Toto […]
McLaren pair can handle ‘fair’ title battle – Piastri
May 31 (GMM) Championship leader Oscar Piastri thinks he and Lando Norris can handle an intense intra-team battle for the 2025 drivers’ title. With Max Verstappen lurking in P3, McLaren’s two drivers are separated by just 3 points after a third of the current calendar. So far, the team’s ‘Papaya rules’ have permitted them to […]
Vasseur forgives Hamilton for ‘undriveable’ comment
May 31 (GMM) Just as Charles Leclerc is becoming more upbeat about Ferrari’s performance, Lewis Hamilton’s woes are only deepening. Team boss Frederic Vasseur had predicted a boost for the team from the flexible wing clampdown this weekend in Barcelona, and it seems to have materialised somewhat. Championship leader Oscar Piastri said after Friday’s running […]
Marko slams ‘nonsense’ Verstappen contract claims
May 31 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has slammed as “nonsense” reports in the British specialist press about Max Verstappen’s contract exit clause. The reports claimed that as long as the quadruple world champion doesn’t drop from P3 to P5 in the drivers’ championship by the end of June, he cannot escape the deal for 2026. […]
Clipped wings for McLaren ‘didn’t happen’ – Marko
May 31 (GMM) Even without a fully-flexible front wing, McLaren remains on top in Formula 1. When asked about the FIA’s much stricter flexibility checks that have taken effect this weekend, Mercedes’ George Russell quipped sarcastically: “Well, it’s certainly slowed McLaren down a lot.” It’s a bitter pill for every other team, given the way […]
F1 bosses agree struggling Colapinto needs ‘time’
May 31 (GMM) Flavio Briatore agrees that Alpine’s new recruit Franco Colapinto needs “time” to get up to speed in Formula 1. Although the rookie Colapinto recently replaced – Jack Doohan – only got six grands prix in the cockpit, team advisor Briatore has already scrapped the official five-race guarantee for the 21-year-old Argentine. Imola, […]
Horner denies considering Ferrari job offer
May 30 (GMM) Christian Horner has denied reports that he might be considering a switch to Ferrari. As the Red Bull boss’s counterpart-in-red Frederic Vasseur finds himself under the spotlight, Bild newspaper claimed this week that mere “weeks ago,” Ferrari made a move for Horner. “Rumours are part of Formula 1,” Horner told the same […]
Tsunoda must do more to secure Red Bull seat – Horner
May 30 (GMM) Yuki Tsunoda needs to up his game if he wants to hang onto his seat at Red Bull. That’s the warning of team boss Christian Horner, who admits that because Liam Lawson and now Tsunoda have failed to match Max Verstappen in 2025, the constructors’ championship is already out of reach. “We […]
Hamilton denies falling out with Ferrari engineer
May 30 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton says reports that he has fallen out with his race engineer are “BS”. There have been clear signs of the seven time world champion’s on-radio frustration with Riccardo Adami ever since Hamilton, 40, made the switch from Mercedes to Ferrari. Adami, who previously race-engineered Carlos Sainz and Sebastian Vettel at […]