Sep.12 (GMM) A spate of announcements regarding the McLaren-Honda-Toro Rosso-Renault saga is set to begin. Reports over the weekend suggested the meat of the entire complex saga is now on the bones, with McLaren to team up with Renault after splitting with Honda. “The Japanese company has now accepted it is leaving McLaren to supply […]
Missing Halo details make F1 teams nervous
Sep.12 (GMM) F1 teams are reportedly concerned about the introduction of ‘Halo’ for 2018. While the mandatory fitting of the cockpit protection system for next year was announced in July, it is believed teams are still waiting on crucial detail about how Halo must be integrated into the chassis. And other missing detail relates to […]
McLaren will not loan Norris to rival team
Sep.11 (GMM) Zak Brown says McLaren will not loan Lando Norris to another F1 team. Briton Norris, the 17-year-old star of European F3, is tipped for a bright future in F1 and already firmly under contract to McLaren. But Brown has said McLaren is likely to place Norris in Formula 2 next year, rather than […]
Ferrari ‘favourites’ for Singapore – Lauda
Sep.11 (GMM) Niki Lauda has named Ferrari as the favourite to win this weekend’s Singapore grand prix. That is despite the fact Lewis Hamilton took over the championship lead at Monza last weekend, after humiliating a struggling Ferrari at its home circuit. Now, a thrilling title battle between Mercedes’ Hamilton and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel is […]
Frank Williams ‘can no longer travel’ – Claire
Sep.11 (GMM) Sir Frank Williams is doing well, according to the F1 team founder’s daughter Claire. Today, Claire is the deputy boss of the famous British team, with her famous 75-year-old no longer able to travel due to his tetraplegia. Indeed, Sir Frank recently underwent a long hospitalisation for illness, but according to Claire is […]
Gasly hoping to make F1 debut in Malaysia
Sep.11 (GMM) Pierre Gasly has not denied he looks set to become the newest rookie in formula one. Over the weekend, multiple authoritative sources including Germany’s major newspaper Bild said Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz is set to move to Renault after Singapore, replacing the struggling Jolyon Palmer. He looks to be part of a […]
Sainz not confirming Renault switch
Sep.11 (GMM) Carlos Sainz looks set to contest his final race for Toro Rosso this weekend in Singapore. Multiple sources are reporting that, in Singapore, the Spaniard will sign a contract to complete his switch from the junior Red Bull team to Renault. He will reportedly replace the struggling Jolyon Palmer, with Red Bull rookie […]
McLaren-Honda saga to end in coming days
Sep.8 (GMM) The signs are growing by the day that McLaren and Honda are poised to split. As he waits for the saga to unfold, out-of-contract team driver Fernando Alonso has reportedly removed all reference to McLaren and its hapless Japanese engine supplier from his official Twitter profile. Former F1 team owner and boss Gian […]
No ‘serious’ interest in 11th, 12th teams spots – Todt
Sep.7 (GMM) F1 looks set to stay at just ten teams for now. Recently, FIA president Jean Todt confirmed reports that a couple of groups have expressed interest in filling the last two team places in pitlane. “If a large manufacturer wants to come in, that is easy,” said the Frenchman. “If it is an […]
French GP layout ‘fun’ for drivers – Alesi
Sep.7 (GMM) The new Paul Ricard layout will be “a real benchmark” for F1 drivers when they tackle next year’s French grand prix. That is the claim of Frenchman and former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi, as the Le Castellet circuit on Wednesday launched its 2018 F1 track layout. There had been speculation Paul Ricard might […]
Haas not keen on ‘pay driver’ model
Sep.7 (GMM) Team owner Gene Haas seems determined to avoid the ‘pay driver’ trend in F1. For the American team’s first season last year, Haas took on Esteban Gutierrez, who came with the backing of team supplier Ferrari as well as his Mexican sponsors. But the Mexican underperformed, and for 2017 Haas replaced him with […]
Hulkenberg tells Pirelli to improve rain tyres
Sep.7 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg has called on Pirelli to make better F1 rain tyres. The Renault driver said the situation at Monza last Saturday, with qualifying repeatedly delayed in 15 minute segments for over two hours, was “really annoying”. “We were putting on and taking off our helmets as often as we were getting in […]
Verstappen yet to prove himself – Jochen Mass
Sep.7 (GMM) Max Verstappen is yet to prove himself in formula one. That is the controversial claim of Jochen Mass, a former F1 driver. 19-year-old Verstappen has been highly critical of Red Bull and Renault recently after a spate of car problems in 2017, hinting that he wants to break his contract. But Mass, a […]
Grid penalty system ‘incomprehensible’ – Jochen Mass
Sep.7 (GMM) Pressure is growing for F1 to scrap its system of grid penalties for technical car failures. In the name of cost cutting, drivers are penalised with grid penalties when they run through their allocation of limited engine parts for the season. Former F1 driver Jochen Mass told the German source T-Online: “Moving down […]
Force India wants to keep Ocon and Perez
Sep.7 (GMM) Force India wants to keep both of its current drivers for 2018. Recently, Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon have been at loggerheads on and off the track, but deputy boss Bob Fernley said the Silverstone based team still needs them. “We’ll do everything in our power to keep both drivers,” he told Speed […]
Only nationality keeps Kvyat at Toro Rosso – Villeneuve
Sep.7 (GMM) 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve says he would not be surprised if Toro Rosso sweeps its driver lineup clean in the near future. The French Canadian said he is not particularly impressed with either Carlos Sainz, who is linked with a switch to Renault or elsewhere, or Daniil Kvyat. Villeneuve is especially critical […]
Wolff not happy with F1 weather service
Sep.6 (GMM) Toto Wolff has indicated he is not happy with F1’s official weather service. This year, Meteo France took over from UbiMet as the supplier of detailed weather information and forecasts to all F1 teams. But at Monza, the forecasters evidently got their weather predictions completely wrong. “On Friday, it was supposed to rain […]
McLaren better with ‘any other engine’ – Ricciardo
Sep.6 (GMM) McLaren would be more competitive with any other engine on the grid. That is the claim of Daniel Ricciardo, as the world of F1 continues to wait for news about the likely split between the formerly great team McLaren and Honda. “Unfortunately Honda has not been able to make McLaren’s car fast with […]
Alonso ‘deserves better’ in F1 – Domenicali
Sep.6 (GMM) Fernando Alonso “deserves” to be doing better in formula one, the Spaniard’s former boss Stefano Domenicali said. The former Ferrari chief is now the head of Lamborghini, but he made an appearance in the Monza paddock last weekend. When asked about Alonso’s difficult situation at McLaren-Honda and his deliberations over 2018, Domenicali said […]
Sainz at Toro Rosso in 2018 ‘not 100pc’ – Marko
Sep.6 (GMM) Red Bull is still open to ‘selling’ Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz to another team. The energy drink company has a firm contract with the 22-year-old, but persistent rumours say Renault is interested in running him at the French works team. Indeed, Sainz admitted recently that Renault even made a “good offer” to […]