Feb.27 (GMM) Former F1 driver Mark Webber is coy about whether McLaren, and his protege Oscar Piastri, may be heading into the 2025 season as favourites. “We’ll see,” the Australian, who now personally manages his 23-year-old countryman Piastri, told RTBF on the opening day of pre-season testing in Bahrain on Wednesday. After McLaren won the […]
Extreme flexing as Red Bull ‘resolves’ 2024 car problems
Feb.27 (GMM) A full pecking order will have to wait for now, but insiders are already starting to get an idea of which teams and drivers will lead once the 2025 season gets racing in Melbourne next month. Official pre-season testing began in Bahrain on Wednesday, where a total power outage marred the end of […]
FIA controversy as two-stop Monaco rule confirmed
Feb.27 (GMM) A cloud of controversy emerged from Wednesday’s meeting of the World Motor Sport Council, as the FIA body approved mandatory two-stop strategies for the 2025 Monaco GP. In a statement, the FIA said the move requiring each driver to use at least three sets of tyres in the normally-processional race is to improve […]
Ecclestone to spend 95th birthday in court with Massa
Feb.26 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone will spend his 95th birthday in London’s High Court – with Felipe Massa. Massa, the former Ferrari driver, launched a reportedly $82 million lawsuit against the FIA, Formula 1, and former F1 CEO Ecclestone about a year ago. He alleges that 2023 comments by Ecclestone made abundantly clear that both F1 […]
Susie Wolff may run for FIA president – report
Feb.26 (GMM) Toto Wolff’s wife Susie may be shaping up to become the next FIA president. At the end of 2023, the current highly controversial president Mohammed Ben Sulayem launched an investigation about a potential conflict of interest involving Mercedes boss Toto and Susie, boss of the F1-affiliated female-only ‘F1 Academy’. Following a loud backlash […]
Hamilton has lost qualifying ‘raw speed’ – Kiesa
Feb.26 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton might struggle in qualifying but he might still be “the best” in the grands prix after switching to Ferrari. That’s the view of a low-profile former Formula 1 driver, Nicolas Kiesa, who contested just a handful of races for Minardi in 2003 as Jos Verstappen’s teammate. He was asked by Danish […]
Red Bull admits new and old cars ‘very similar’
Feb.26 (GMM) Christian Horner openly admits Red Bull’s 2025 car is “visually very similar” to its predecessor. On Tuesday, the team revealed dimly-lit photos of the ‘new’ car just as Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson were preparing for their filming day in Bahrain ahead of official testing. Insiders noted that the RB21 is visually almost […]
Wolff denies Mercedes to lose 30 percent owner
Feb.25 (GMM) Toto Wolff has added his own denial to reports the Mercedes F1 team is losing the backing of major chemicals sponsor Ineos. In 2024, the press release heralding the launch of the last Mercedes Lewis Hamilton would race mentioned billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos brand twice. “The livery,” read the 2024 statement, “truly […]
Hakkinen sides with FIA over F1 swearing ban
Feb.25 (GMM) A popular former Formula 1 champion has broken ranks to actually side with the FIA over its highly controversial ‘swearing ban’. The harsh clampdown, coupled with new penalties that could even escalate to race bans and docked championship points, will apply to all FIA-sanctioned series – including world rally. The world rally drivers’ […]
GP winner assesses all six 2025 F1 rookies
Feb.25 (GMM) A former grand prix winner has cast his eye over the biggest field of rookies in well over a decade in Formula 1. While there was not a single new driver on the 2024 grid, no fewer than six racers are making their full-time debuts this year – a full 30 percent of […]
Alpine F1 not being packaged for sale – Renault CEO
Feb.25 (GMM) Renault CEO Luca de Meo has once again stridently denied the French carmaker is preparing to offload its Formula 1 team. While new team advisor Flavio Briatore insists he is pushing to return the Enstone based outfit back to the top of F1, others see recent financial restructuring and the move away from […]
Ferrari not ‘scared’ by early Hamilton struggle
Feb.25 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton is heading into official pre-season testing this week with a pace deficit compared to his teammate Charles Leclerc. That is the claim of Marca (Spain) and La Repubblica (Italy) newspapers, claiming that in early testing of the 2025 car, Leclerc was eight tenths quicker than the seven time world champion at […]
Aston Martin offer to Verstappen ‘logical’ – Marko
Feb.25 (GMM) It is “only logical” that Aston Martin would try to woo Max Verstappen, according to Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko. Recently, reports in the UK press emerged suggesting the Lawrence Stroll-owned team, having successfully lured Adrian Newey for 2025 and beyond, were offering Verstappen a long-term deal that ultimately adds up to […]
Screaming V10 engines could return to F1
Feb.24 (GMM) The roar of screaming V10 engines could be returning to Formula 1. Lauding increased safety as the biggest positive development in recent F1 history, Fernando Alonso at the weekend lamented some of the backwards steps the sport has taken since he debuted in 2001. “We’ve got heavier cars, we’ve got cars that don’t […]
FIA tipped to lift restrictions for Russian drivers
Feb.24 (GMM) Russian drivers could soon be able to race in FIA-sanctioned championships like Formula 1 without restrictions. In the last days of 2024, successful Dakar Rally competitor Sergey Karyakin – who has refused to sign the famous FIA document distancing himself from Russia – said he saw hope on the horizon. “I managed to […]
F1 should return to Paul Ricard, not Paris – Estrosi
Feb.24 (GMM) A key official of the defunct French GP has poured cold water on suggestions the sport should return to the country with a race in Paris. Flavio Briatore, the powerful advisor to Renault’s Formula 1 team Alpine, triggered headlines last week by suggesting a race in the French capital would be “magnificent”. “Not […]
Verstappen will not skip race for child’s birth
Feb.24 (GMM) Max Verstappen says he will not be sitting out a single race even though his girlfriend Kelly is preparing to give birth to their first child together. The Dutch driver recently revealed that the baby – believed to be a girl – is due “not before the start of the season”. Reports indicate […]
Amid ‘ridiculous rule’, Sainz becomes GPDA director
Feb.24 (GMM) Carlos Sainz has become a new director of the Formula 1 drivers’ union – the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA). The appointment comes at an important moment for the GPDA, as intense negotiations take place behind the scenes to dilute the harshness of the FIA’s so-called ‘driver swearing ban’. Sainz, switching from Ferrari […]
Tsunoda aims to avoid Red Bull axe after 2025
Feb.24 (GMM) Yuki Tsunoda says he wants to remain “in the Red Bull family” beyond the 2025 season. Despite his pace, a calmer demeanour and four seasons of experience with the Faenza-based junior team, Red Bull still decided that it should be rookie Liam Lawson who should become Max Verstappen’s new teammate for 2025. In […]
Briatore rejects label of Jack Doohan ‘killer’
Feb.24 (GMM) Flavio Briatore is still not denying that Alpine could make a mid-season driver change in 2025. The flamboyant Italian’s actual role is a team advisor reporting to Renault CEO Luca de Meo – but the latter admitted at the launch of the team’s 2025 car: “Let’s be honest, Flavio is the boss.” Indeed, […]