Mar.19 (GMM) Overtaking has not become easier with the new-for-2019 front wing designs. In a bid to help drivers to follow and pass their rivals, F1 introduced some new aerodynamic regulations for 2019, including the wider front wing. But Lewis Hamilton said after the 2019 season opener in Australia: “I didn’t notice any difference.” Romain […]
Month: March 2019
Former Bottas sponsor not responding to ‘f**k you’ outburst
Mar.19 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas’ former long-time sponsor is not commenting on whether he thinks the Mercedes’ driver’s comments were specifically addressed to him in Australia. Just after winning the 2019 season opener in Melbourne, Bottas went on the radio and said: “To whom it may concern, f**k you.” The Finn admitted it was an unplanned […]
Five theories to explain Ferrari crisis
Mar.19 (GMM) Elements of the Italian media are wondering if Ferrari’s 2019 title hopes have collapsed after just a single race. The Maranello team dominated pre-season testing, but in Australia were outclassed by Mercedes and Red Bull-Honda. The press is not impressed. “Even Alonso in 2012 did better than Vettel in 2019,” wrote Il Giornale. […]
Red Bull ‘not looking behind at Ferrari’ – Marko
Mar.18 (GMM) Red Bull-Honda is setting its sights on championship leaders Mercedes, not the struggling Ferrari team. That is the claim of Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko, who said Melbourne showed that the team is competitive with its new Honda engines. “It’s encouraging for the future that we did not get a single warning on […]
Too soon to say pressure getting to Gasly – Horner
Mar.18 (GMM) Boss Christian Horner has backed new recruit Pierre Gasly after a difficult start to 2019 for the Red Bull driver. Promoted from Toro Rosso to replace Daniel Ricciardo, Frenchman Gasly crashed twice in testing, had a dire qualifying session in Melbourne, and may be showing signs of feeling the pressure of life at […]
Mercedes still opposed to budget cap – Wolff
Mar.18 (GMM) Toto Wolff has renewed Mercedes’ opposition to plans for team budget caps in 2021. In Melbourne, FIA president Jean Todt said preparations for “cost control” are “quite well advanced”. He said the plans will be presented by the governing body and Liberty Media to the teams in London on March 26. But top […]
Ricciardo needs ‘harder skin’ for midfield life – boss
Mar.18 (GMM) Cyril Abiteboul says Daniel Ricciardo may develop a “harder skin” for life further down the F1 grid. Having switched from the top team Red Bull, Australian Ricciardo endured a horror start to his Renault adventure by damaging his wing even before the first corner at home in Melbourne. He said afterwards that the […]
Italian press blasts ‘weak’ Vettel
Mar.18 (GMM) Mattia Binotto says Ferrari is not panicking after a bad start to the 2019 season. The entire paddock was stunned in Melbourne to discover that, after the Maranello team’s dominance of winter testing, Mercedes and also Red Bull-Honda were faster at the first race. “We need to analyse what happened here in peace […]
Kubica does not regret F1 return
Mar.18 (GMM) Robert Kubica insists he does not regret returning to formula one. The Pole had a horror weekend in Melbourne, which was his first race since returning from an eight-year recovery from permanent arm injuries. Not only is Williams by far the slowest team, Kubica was outpaced by his teammate George Russell and even […]
Bottas ends ‘difficult six months’ – Wolff
Mar.18 (GMM) The newly-bearded Valtteri Bottas issued a serious rebuke to his detractors after winning the 2019 season opener in Melbourne. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said the Finn gave the best possible response to those who left Bottas “completely written off” after his bad 2018 season. “I’m really happy for Valtteri because the last six […]
Top drivers don’t want Melbourne resurfacing
Mar.17 (GMM) Championship rivals Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel think organisers of the Australian grand prix should not resurface the Albert Park track. Days ago, Australian Grand Prix Corporation chief Andrew Westacott declared: “It is likely the circuit might need resurfacing.” But Ferrari’s Vettel said after qualifying in Melbourne that the circuit’s bumps are “part […]
McLaren agrees with Renault about ‘B teams’
Mar.17 (GMM) McLaren boss Zak Brown says he agrees with the team’s engine supplier about so-called ‘B teams’. Renault not only says it will not join Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull-Honda by going down the route of partnering with junior teams, the French marque insists it will campaign to outlaw the practice in the next […]
More than one candidate for Whiting’s job
Mar.17 (GMM) There is more than one candidate to replace the late F1 race director Charlie Whiting. In Melbourne, where Whiting passed away in his hotel room in the early hours of Thursday morning, Michael Masi was appointed as his eleventh hour replacement. But Der Spiegel reports that American Scot Elkins, the official deputy race […]
Impossible to say if Williams can fix car – Kubica
Mar.17 (GMM) Robert Kubica has confessed to “embarrassing” mistakes in Melbourne. But the Pole, returning to the grid after an eight year absence with a permanent arm injury, says his Williams has not only been slow, but hard to drive and inconsistent. “On Friday, in the second half of the session, people were doing race […]
Gap to Mercedes in Melbourne ‘staggering’ – Marko
Mar.17 (GMM) Ferrari was not the only top team scratching its head after qualifying in Melbourne. Prior to the 2019 season opener weekend, Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko predicted that Ferrari was two tenths ahead of Red Bull, with Mercedes only third. In actual fact, Mercedes utterly dominated qualifying, with Max Verstappen only splitting the […]
Renault not a disappointment in Melbourne – Hulkenberg
Mar.17 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg has denied that the start of Renault’s 2019 campaign in Melbourne is “a disappointment”. “I can’t see why it’s a disappointment,” the German driver told Canal Plus broadcaster. “Why do you say that?” Indeed, Hulkenberg outqualified his new teammate Daniel Ricciardo, but the pair both missed out on ‘Q3’. “I don’t […]
Racing Point is ‘my project’ – Perez
Mar.17 (GMM) Sergio Perez says he sees Racing Point as his “project” in F1. Earlier, the Mexican was targeting a return to a top team such as Ferrari. But last year, when he forced Force India into administration, he says he placed a bet on the future with the newly Lawrence Stroll-owned outfit. “I think […]
Sainz lost Red Bull ‘ticket’ in 2017
Mar.17 (GMM) Carlos Sainz says he lost his chance to race for Red Bull at the end of 2017. Last year, when Red Bull needed a replacement for the Renault-bound Daniel Ricciardo, Spaniard Sainz was a contender but ultimately Pierre Gasly got the call. “It could have gone either way, me or Gasly,” Sainz told […]
Hulkenberg says Netflix doco ‘exaggerated’ Magnussen rivalry
Mar.17 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg have denied that their feud is still simmering. In the newly released Netflix docuseries, Magnussen – who famously told Hulkenberg to “suck my b*lls” in 2017 – is depicted as still prioritising his rivalry with the German. “I haven’t seen it yet, but I can say that Hulkenberg […]
Ferrari still favourites for race – Rosberg
Mar.17 (GMM) Mercedes’ dominance in Melbourne so far does not mean the whole season will be like that. That is the view of Frederic Vasseur, the Alfa Romeo team boss. “I’m not surprised because Mercedes also did it last year,” the Frenchman told the RTBF broadcaster. “It’s not indicative of what the season will be […]