Nov.19 (GMM) Red Bull and Honda are moving closer to extending their works Formula 1 collaboration beyond 2020. Officially, the Japanese engine manufacturer – like others on the grid – are yet to sign up for the sweeping new regulations of 2021. But after a difficult return to the sport with McLaren in 2015, Honda […]
Month: November 2019
Max’s grandfather Frans Verstappen dies
Nov.19 (GMM) Brazil GP winner Max Verstappen’s grandfather has died. 1Limburg, as well as other Dutch news sources, are confirming that Frans Verstappen, who is Jos Verstappen’s father, died of cancer in a hospice at the age of 72. Frans was reportedly admitted earlier in November. Jos, Max and Frans had a difficult relationship. In […]
Vettel-Leclerc lineup a ‘luxury’ for Ferrari – boss
Nov.19 (GMM) Even after they crashed in Brazil, Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto still says having both Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc on the team is “a luxury”. However, as the duo is summoned to Maranello for crisis talks this week, the Italian press is not signing up to that explanation. “It’s not fair to blame […]
‘Unfair’ to question Honda speed – Binotto
Nov.18 (GMM) Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto has refused to echo Sebastian Vettel’s words about the surprising performance of Honda’s 2019 engine in Brazil. After rivals earlier questioned the legality of Ferrari’s power unit, Vettel said cheekily in Brazil that it is actually Honda’s engine that is “suspicious”. And although Pierre Gasly’s second place finish in […]
Raikkonen yet to study new rules for 2021
Nov.18 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen says he isn’t sure he will still be in Formula 1 in 2021. At 40, the Finn – who has had a disappointing last part of the 2019 season with Alfa Romeo – admitted he never imagined that his F1 career would last so long. “Definitely not,” he told Brazil’s Globo. […]
Governor says Sao Paulo to sign new ten-year F1 deal
Nov.18 (GMM) Sao Paulo’s mayor is confident the city will keep the Brazilian grand prix. Throughout the weekend at Interlagos, fuelled by comments made earlier in 2019 by Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, rumours went up and down the paddock about Rio de Janeiro potentially taking over the race. But mayor Joao Doria said on Sunday: […]
Gasly showed ‘class’ and ‘talent’ in Brazil – Marko
Nov.18 (GMM) A podium in Brazil is “proof” that Pierre Gasly is a talented Formula 1 driver. That is the view of Dr Helmut Marko, even though Red Bull’s notoriously harsh driver manager demoted the Frenchman earlier this season. But Gasly has been strong since he returned from the senior team to Toro Rosso, and […]
Signing Kubica for 2020 ‘would be great’ – Szafnauer
Nov.18 (GMM) Team boss Otmar Szafnauer has confirmed that Racing Point is also pushing to sign up Robert Kubica for 2020. At the end of a fraught return to the grid for the Pole this year, Kubica admitted that he is looking forward to the season finale in Abu Dhabi. “Very good,” he said in […]
Ferrari missing ‘little’ for 2020 title – Barrichello
Nov.18 (GMM) Ferrari is missing “very little” in order to charge for the world championship in 2020. That is the view of former Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello, who was Michael Schumacher’s teammate in the team’s ultra-successful period between 2000 and 2005. Brazil, a Sao Paulo local, attended the Interlagos race at the weekend and said […]
Ferrari drivers ‘damaged the team’ by crashing
Nov.18 (GMM) Mattia Binotto was furious after Ferrari’s drivers collided in the closing stages of the Brazilian GP. Even before the Interlagos crash, the relationship between Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc was already unsettled as they vie for top status. “The two drivers must realise that they have damaged the team,” said Binotto, the Maranello […]
Racing Point ‘watching’ Mick Schumacher
Nov.17 (GMM) Racing Point boss Otmar Szafnauer admits he is keeping an eye on Mick Schumacher. Formula 2 driver Schumacher, 20, is the high profile son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher, and already a part of Ferrari’s development academy. But Szafnauer told Speed Week: “Everyone in the pitlane is watching what Mick Schumacher is doing […]
Drivers deny battle for third about Ferrari hierarchy
Nov.17 (GMM) Ferrari’s two drivers are determined to be crowned ‘best of the rest’ in 2020. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have already locked out first and second places in the drivers’ championships. But Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel are all within 19 points of one another for third. “My goal is […]
Ferrari could stop Wolff becoming F1 boss
Nov.17 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone isn’t so sure that Toto Wolff will be the next F1 supremo. In Wolff’s rare absence this weekend in Brazil, rumours are abounding that the Mercedes chief is lining up to replace Liberty Media’s F1 CEO Chase Carey. But Carey’s predecessor, 89-year-old Ecclestone, told the Daily Mail that Wolff’s ascendency to […]
‘No deadline’ for 2021 decision – Marko
Nov.17 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko says there is “no deadline” for Red Bull to commit to Formula 1 beyond 2020. At present, there is great uncertainty up and down pitlane about 2021, after Liberty Media finally published the sweeping new regulations and started negotiations for the next Concorde Agreement. Mercedes, Renault and Honda are all […]
Ecclestone thinks Mercedes could quit F1
Nov.17 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has told the F1 world not to dismiss rumours about Mercedes quitting the sport. In Brazil, after Mercedes won its sixth consecutive drivers’ and constructors’ championships this season, there are rumours that American racing legend Roger Penske could buy the German team. Penske immediately denied it, former F1 supremo Ecclestone told […]
Hamilton better than Schumacher and Senna – Irvine
Nov.17 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton is a better driver than both Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna. That is the claim of Eddie Irvine, who is perhaps best known in Formula 1 for having been Schumacher’s teammate at Ferrari between 1996 and 1999. “Hamilton is the best ever driver,” he is quoted by Germany’s RTL. “Much better […]
Mercedes working hard on 2020 car – Allison
Nov.17 (GMM) Mercedes is already working hard on its car for 2020. Indeed, team boss Toto Wolff is this weekend missing his first grand prix since 2013, given that Mercedes has already wrapped up both titles. “We obviously want a good result here, but the bulk of the team in Brackley is already preparing for […]
Verstappen manager admits Honda could quit
Nov.17 (GMM) Max Verstappen’s manager has admitted the possibility that Honda could quit Formula 1 after 2020. Next year is Verstappen’s last chance to break the record as the youngest ever world champion. And key to that chance, the Dutch driver’s manager Raymond Vermeulen declared, is Red Bull’s works engine supplier. “We – that means […]
Red Bull tells Mercedes to protest Ferrari engine
Nov.17 (GMM) Ferrari’s rivals in Brazil held fire on lodging an official protest against the Maranello team’s engine. With two technical directives already issued and both Mercedes and Red Bull-Honda teaming up against Ferrari, rumours that a protest was imminent died down as qualifying took place at Interlagos. “We did our part,” Dr Helmut Marko […]
F1 owner looked into buying Indycar – reports
Nov.16 (GMM) Liberty Media, F1’s owner since 2016, looked into also buying the premier American open wheeler series. Last week, American racing legend and billionaire Roger Penske shocked the racing world by announcing he has bought Indycar as well as the fabled Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport claims that Liberty was […]