Mar.8 (GMM) Liberty Media is contemplating a significant rule change for 2019. Roger Benoit, a veteran correspondent for the Swiss newspaper Blick, revealed: “Liberty Media wants to award a point for the fastest race lap from 2019. “They think it will increase the tension to the end of the race,” he said. Benoit, though, is […]
Month: March 2019
Bottas gets Hamilton engineer for 2019
Mar.8 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas new a new race engineer for 2019. The Mercedes driver struggled last year, and for 2019 has emerged with a determined attitude and a new beard. The Finn also has a new race engineer. “My preparation has not really changed,” he told Bild newspaper. “What is new is that I have […]
Ross Brawn backs Mick Schumacher
Mar.8 (GMM) Mick Schumacher has won the backing of Liberty Media’s F1 sporting boss, Ross Brawn. Brawn was the technical boss at Ferrari during the Italian team’s ultra-successful Michael Schumacher era. Now, Michael’s 19-year-old son is the top member of the Ferrari development ‘academy’, and is being advised by Nicolas Todt, the son of FIA […]
Mercedes must not do ‘too much’ to catch Ferrari – Wolff
Mar.8 (GMM) Toto Wolff says Mercedes can fight back in 2019. Based on winter testing, it appears that the reigning world champions are trailing both Ferrari and Red Bull-Honda. “We estimate that we are two, three tenths behind Ferrari and two tenths ahead of Mercedes,” Dr Helmut Marko, a top Red Bull official, told APA […]
Hakkinen applauds Alfa Romeo for 2019 car
Mar.8 (GMM) Mika Hakkinen has applauded Alfa Romeo for its daring 2019 car. The 1998 and 1999 world champion admits he was among those who were surprised when the wraps came off the former Sauber outfit’s new single seater. “I said ‘The car looks different’,” the Finn is quoted by the Finnish broadcaster MTV. “It […]
Marko warns Gasly after two testing crashes
Mar.8 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has warned Pierre Gasly to drive more cautiously. Marko is the top Red Bull official under team owner Dietrich Mateschitz, and he is targeting “a minimum of five wins” in the first Honda-powered year. “I believe we also have a certain chance of the world championship,” he told APA news […]
Boss ‘not surprised’ by Leclerc’s pace
Mar.8 (GMM) Mattia Binotto says Ferrari is “not surprised” about the testing performance of team newcomer Charles Leclerc. In winter testing, most agreed that 21-year-old Leclerc, who replaces Kimi Raikkonen, looked a match for Sebastian Vettel. “We are not surprised with what we saw from him,” new team boss Binotto said. However, he has said […]
Raikkonen hoping for Lotus-like season in 2019
Mar.8 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen is quietly hoping for a race win in 2019. The Finn has left Ferrari after a long career with the Maranello marque, and now drives for the Ferrari-linked Sauber team — now known as Alfa Romeo. In 2012, the now 39-year-old Raikkonen returned to F1 following a rallying and Nascar sabbatical, […]
Rumour – Williams to supply Pirelli test car
Mar.8 (GMM) Williams appears to have been nominated as the supplier of a Pirelli test car for 2021. Earlier, we reported that F1’s official supplier was seeking a test car to conduct development of the 18 inch tyres for 2021 later this year. “One of the biggest problems at the moment is to find a […]
Webber says two drivers ‘best’ in 2019
Mar.8 (GMM) Mark Webber has named two drivers as “the best” on the current F1 grid. The former F1 driver says he has been following Barcelona testing and reading the news ahead of the 2019 season opener in Australia next week. “There’s a lot of shadow-boxing going on,” he told the Australian Financial Review. The […]
Marko predicts ‘three way battle’ for drivers’ title
Mar.7 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko is predicting a “three-way battle” for the 2019 world championship. Most predictions after winter testing agree that Ferrari is leading Red Bull-Honda and Mercedes as the sport heads to Australia. That is despite the fact that some observers say the new Red Bull-Honda works collaboration is a “question mark”. But […]
Paddy Lowe leaves Williams
Mar.7 (GMM) Paddy Lowe has left Williams. The struggling team, whose 2019 car was delayed to the point that Robert Kubica said he is only “20pc” prepared for Australia, is calling it a “leave of absence for personal reasons”. But it is clear that Lowe, a highly regarded engineer from his earlier time at McLaren […]
Sainz responds to Marko saying McLaren ‘at the back’
Mar.7 (GMM) Carlos Sainz has responded to Dr Helmut Marko’s claim that McLaren will be “at the back” in 2019. Red Bull official Marko said last week: “Ferrari is ahead, then it’s us in front of Mercedes. And then there is the big midfield, where it will be very tight. “McLaren and Williams are at […]
F1 under pressure over jailing in Bahrain
Mar.7 (GMM) Pressure is once again being applied on the management of formula one by human rights activists. The activists are concerned about the sport’s annual race in Bahrain, where the grand prix was even cancelled amid unrest in 2011. Human Rights Watch and 16 other groups have sent letters to F1 authorities over the […]
Magnussen expects ‘intense’ midfield battle
Mar.7 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen is expecting an “intense” midfield battle in 2019. Last year, Haas impressed as it got in the thick of a close midfield scrap with Renault, McLaren, Force India, Sauber and Toro Rosso. And, based on winter testing, those same protagonists are still closely matched for 2019. “I can imagine it being […]
Alfa Romeo has ‘good car’ for 2019 – Giovinazzi
Mar.7 (GMM) Antonio Giovinazzi says Alfa Romeo has produced a “good” car for 2019. Many are even predicting that the former Sauber team, with its ever closer ties to Ferrari, might be ready to become ‘best of the rest’ this year. “The tests went well,” Giovinazzi, the first Italian on the grid for eight years, […]
Todt hits out at F1 rule change negativity
Mar.7 (GMM) Jean Todt has hit out at the constant negativity in formula one. The FIA president calls the sport “a world of controversy”, and refers as an example to the new aerodynamic rules designed to make overtaking easier. “I’ve heard everything, from it’s a waste of money to it’s a fantastic improvement in overtaking […]
Racing Point becoming ‘normal team’ – Green
Mar.7 (GMM) 2019 will be a transition year for the team formerly known as Force India. That is the view of team boss Otmar Szafnauer, when asked by Auto Motor und Sport about the future of the new Lawrence Stroll-owned ‘Racing Point’ outfit. Force India almost collapsed financially last year prior to the Stroll acquisition, […]
Renault to ‘talk to McLaren about B team alliance
Mar.7 (GMM) Cyril Abiteboul says Renault will not be joining the “crazy arms race” in F1. Auto Motor und Sport reports that while 1600 employees work at Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull-Honda respectively, Renault has just 1200 at Enstone and Viry. “We now have the operation we decided to have,” team boss Abiteboul said. “What […]
Alonso would say ‘yes’ to top team comeback
Mar.6 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has admitted he could say “yes” to a formula one comeback. Clearly disillusioned with perpetual life in the midfield, the two-time champion quit F1 at the end of 2018 and will tackle Le Mans and the Indy 500 this year. But Spanish media reports quote the 37-year-old as saying a return […]