Mar.6 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen should not give up on winning races and even the world championship. That is the view of Gunther Steiner, the Danish driver’s boss at Haas. Recently, Magnussen said: “I don’t see myself as one of the young drivers on the way up anymore. “You see drivers like Hulkenberg and other guys, […]
Month: March 2019
Renault must speed up car development – Ricciardo
Mar.6 (GMM) Renault needs to speed up the way it develops its F1 car throughout the season. That is the view of Daniel Ricciardo, who has switched from top team Red Bull to Renault for 2019 and beyond. “Our main goal this year is to finish the season fourth in the constructors’ championship or maybe […]
CEO confirms no Mission Winnow branding in Melbourne
Mar.6 (GMM) Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri has confirmed that the ‘Mission Winnow’ branding will be absent when Ferrari’s 2019 season begins next week in Melbourne. Australian and Italian authorities are investigating whether the branding is in fact clandestine cigarette advertising for Ferrari’s title sponsor Philip Morris. Camilleri is a former Philip Morris CEO. He said […]
No 2020 Spanish GP negotiations yet
Mar.6 (GMM) Negotiations with Liberty Media about extending Barcelona’s F1 race contract have not even started yet. The Circuit de Catalunya is among a handful of race promoters who are yet to commit to the sport beyond this year. “We are talking but not negotiating,” circuit president Vincenc Aguilera told El Mundo Deportivo newspaper. “Negotiations […]
‘Times not right’ for VW in F1 – Domenicali
Mar.6 (GMM) “The times are not right” for Volkswagen to enter formula one. That is the view of former Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali, who today is the CEO of the VW marque Lamborghini. Volkswagen is instead well represented in Formula E, with Audi already there are Porsche set to follow. Domenicali told La Gazzetta dello […]
FIA should keep working on engine ‘grey areas’ – Abiteboul
Mar.6 (GMM) The FIA should keep working to end the ‘grey areas’ in the engine regulations. That is the view of Renault team boss Cyril Abiteboul. This week, we reported that the governing body has clamped down on various loopholes in the rules, with one engineer telling Auto Motor und Sport: “We have received more […]
Renault in fight with five teams – Abiteboul
Mar.6 (GMM) Renault is bracing for a tough fight to be ‘best of the rest’ in 2019. Acknowledging that it is not quite ready to take on Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull, boss Cyril Abiteboul said Renault is nonetheless happy with its new car. “We were third in the testing kilometres and nothing is fundamentally […]
Liberty preparing F1 for ‘Brexit’
Mar.6 (GMM) Liberty Media is working on “contingency plans” in the event that a so-called ‘no deal Brexit’ proceeds at the end of the month. Mercedes’ boss Toto Wolff has already warned that Britain’s impending exit from the European Union would be the “mother of all messes” for the sport’s multiple UK-based teams. Chase Carey, […]
Only Williams off the pace in 2019 – de la Rosa
Mar.5 (GMM) Williams is the only team that is really struggling as F1 heads to Australia for the season opener. That is the view of Pedro de la Rosa, who made his analysis of the 2019 pecking order after spending a day trackside at the Barcelona test. “I’ve never seen such a close pre-season,” said […]
Red Bull axe increased Kvyat’s F1 ‘hunger’
Mar.5 (GMM) Daniil Kvyat says he has changed his approach to formula one since being dumped at the end of 2017. Still just 24, the Russian had a meteoric rise and fall at Toro Rosso and Red Bull Racing, but has been given his “last chance” by Dr Helmut Marko for 2019. Marko says Kvyat […]
Ferrari to drop all ‘Mission Winnow’ branding
Mar.5 (GMM) Ferrari will abandon its ‘Mission Winnow’ branding ahead of the trip to Australia for the 2019 season opener. Earlier, it had already emerged that the Maranello team has now dropped the controversial brand from its official name. It follows investigations in Australia and also Italy into whether the Philip Morris initiative was actually […]
FIA moves to end engine rules ‘grey areas’
Mar.5 (GMM) The FIA has clamped down in various ‘grey areas’ of the engine regulations ahead of 2019. One unnamed engineer told Auto Motor und Sport: “We have received more technical directives for the engine than ever before.” It follows a period of intense speculation about the so-called grey areas of loopholes in the highly […]
Renault engine 50hp better in 2019 – Abiteboul
Mar.5 (GMM) Renault’s 2019 engine could be up to 50 horse power better than its predecessor. That is the eye-opening claim of Cyril Abiteboul, the French works team’s boss. Renault has been steadily building up its team in recent years, and this year wants to close the gap to Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull. “We […]
Haas ‘even better’ than in 2018 – Grosjean
Mar.5 (GMM) Haas is staying quiet amid reports it is in the running to be ‘best of the rest’ in 2019. What is clear is that the midfield behind Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull is almost unprecedentedly close. Also clear is that the precise midfield pecking order is, in Kimi Raikkonen’s words, a “mystery”. Some […]
Assen refusing to give up on Dutch GP
Mar.5 (GMM) Assen is refusing to give up on hosting a future Dutch grand prix. That is despite the fact that even the Dutch sports council says Zandvoort is the only potential venue for a F1 race in the Netherlands. “Assen really does not stand a chance,” the council’s president Michael van Praag told Noordhollands […]
Leclerc will be close to number 1 Vettel – Alesi
Mar.5 (GMM) Another former F1 driver says he would bet on Ferrari in 2019. Jean Alesi, who drove for the Maranello team in the 90s, said the signs from the Barcelona tests were very positive. “We saw a competitive Ferrari from the first laps and that is worth gold,” the Frenchman told Radio Sportiva. “For […]
Ferrari ready to beat Mercedes – Frentzen
Mar.5 (GMM) Ferrari is ready to win the 2019 world championship. That is the claim of former F1 driver Heinz Harald Frentzen, who told Abendzeitung newspaper that Ferrari made a strong impression in Barcelona testing. “Mercedes will continue to be among the dominant teams,” said the German, who is now 51. “But currently I have […]
Raikkonen ‘always’ tweaks own seat
Mar.5 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen says he has “always” made his own tweaks to his seat. The Finn caused a stir on social media when it emerged that he got hands-on in the Alfa Romeo garage to make amendments with files and power-tools to his carbon seat. “That’s normal with me. I’ve been doing that for […]
Ferrari struggling with reliability – Surer
Mar.5 (GMM) Ferrari may be grappling with a real reliability issue ahead of the 2019 season. Last week, as he played down the Maranello team’s superiority, boss Mattia Binotto said of the 2019 car: “I would like to see it more reliable overall. “To win we will have to be the strongest and we are […]
Perez no longer planning Ferrari future
Mar.5 (GMM) Sergio Perez is looking ahead to a “major improvement” for his car in Melbourne. Racing Point – formerly Force India – had a particularly low-profile winter test season, with the car not notably fast and visibly similar to its predecessor. “We are not the fastest in the middle of the grid but not […]