Jul.29 (GMM) Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc will move to Maranello next year, Ferrari chairman John Elkann has announced. In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Agnelli family heir defended Ferrari’s decision to oust Sebastian Vettel. “In the last decade we have had champions like Alonso and Vettel but it is more difficult […]
Month: July 2020
Wolff says talks with Mercedes ‘on right track’
Jul.29 (GMM) Toto Wolff says his talks with Daimler over his future at the top of Mercedes’ works team are “on the right track”. In the past weeks and months, and particularly since he bought into Lawrence Stroll’s Aston Martin project, there has been speculation the Austrian is on the verge of moving on. When […]
2021 ‘token’ system not fair on McLaren – Seidl
Jul.29 (GMM) McLaren has added its concerns to the complex ‘token’ system that will govern car upgrades for 2021. To cut costs amid the corona crisis, the teams will only be allowed to make minor modifications to limited areas of their 2020 cars for next season. But we reported recently that Racing Point and Alpha […]
Heidfeld says expectations on Leclerc ‘unrealistic’
Jul.28 (GMM) Charles Leclerc has not had a good start to 2020, according to former F1 driver Nick Heidfeld. Indeed, although he was a surprise second in the uncompetitive Ferrari in the first Austrian race, the 22-year-old took all of the blame for a crash with his teammate Sebastian Vettel in the second. And although […]
Red Bull, Honda to hold meeting before Silverstone
Jul.28 (GMM) Honda officials are meeting with their Red Bull counterparts this week to discuss the disappointing start to their 2020 championship campaign. Red Bull went into the year confident Max Verstappen may become the youngest ever Formula 1 title winner. But in Austria and Hungary, Mercedes clearly dominated, and that dominance is expected to […]
Haas undeterred by Hungary radio penalty
Jul.28 (GMM) Gunther Steiner says Haas will not change its approach to racing, even though it cost the small American team in Hungary. Kevin Magnussen lost a point after the race near Budapest because the team asked both drivers to pit for dry tyres after the formation lap. The radio instruction contravened a 2017 rule […]
Aston Martin deadline looming for Vettel – report
Jul.28 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has mere days to decide if he wants to join the Racing Point team – set to become Aston Martin – in 2021. That is the claim of Auto Bild correspondent Bianca Garloff, reiterating that the July 31 deadline ties in with a clause in Sergio Perez’s current contract. On July […]
Zanardi ‘stable’ after fourth operation
Jul.28 (GMM) Alex Zanardi’s condition is once again listed as “stable” following a fourth operation. On Monday, we reported that the former F1 driver had to be moved from a rehabilitation clinic back to intensive care, because his condition had become “unstable”. But Milan’s San Raffaele hospital reports that Zanardi has now undergone another “delicate […]
Turkey could return to F1 calendar in 2020
Jul.28 (GMM) The Turkish government has admitted Istanbul could be yet another venue to be added to the 2020 ‘corona calendar’. The latest confirmed additions to the schedule are the Nurburgring, Portimao and Imola, taking the calendar up to 13 races and counting. “We are pleased that we continue to make strong progress in finalising […]
Vettel could go to Alpha Tauri in 2021 – Schumacher
Jul.27 (GMM) Yet another option for Sebastian Vettel may have emerged for 2021. Ralf Schumacher believes the quadruple world champion could move to Red Bull’s second team Alpha Tauri. Earlier, with Red Bull Racing saying it has no room for the Ferrari refugee, the 33-year-old German was believed to be close to signing for Aston […]
‘Unstable’ Zanardi back in intensive care
Jul.27 (GMM) Alex Zanardi is back in intensive care. After a full month in a hospital in Siena, Italy, following a horror hand-cycling crash, the Italian was moved to a rehabilitation centre last week. His son Niccolo said there had been “encouraging signs” since Zanardi’s sedation was stopped, and hoped the 53-year-old would soon be […]
Ferrari team tweak ‘not the solution’ – Schumacher
Jul.27 (GMM) Ralf Schumacher doubts Ferrari’s organisational shakeup will fix the struggling Italian team’s problems. Last week, following the Maranello outfit’s horror start to 2020, it was announced that a new Performance Development department had been created. “It sounds to me like they are trying to demonstrate to the outside world that something is changing,” […]
Promoter claims Canada GP health plan ‘was not even read’
Jul.27 (GMM) The promoter of the Canadian GP has hit out at local authorities for not supporting his push to bring Formula 1 to Montreal amid the corona crisis. After F1 announced that all races on the American continent – the US, Canada and Mexico – have been scrapped for this year, Francois Dumontier called […]
Alfa Romeo admits 2020 pace ‘a disaster’
Jul.27 (GMM) It will “take time” for Alfa Romeo to pull itself off the very bottom row of the Formula 1 grid. That is the admission of boss Frederic Vasseur, who admits that the team operated by Swiss-based Sauber travelled to Austria earlier this month “not knowing what to expect”. “We had a couple of […]
Red Bull will not develop own ‘DAS’ system – Marko
Jul.27 (GMM) Red Bull has decided against developing a Mercedes-like ‘DAS’ steering system. After the FIA rejected Red Bull’s protest against the innovative technology, Marko announced that although it is “difficult to reproduce”, the team is “discussing whether we will do it”. However, the Austrian official has now told Auto Motor und Sport that “DAS […]
Black racing driver calls Jackie Stewart ‘racist’
Jul.27 (GMM) The first black man to test a Formula 1 car has called triple world champion Sir Jackie Stewart “racist”. It comes after reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton said Stewart’s recent comments about racism in Formula 1 – that there is not “as big a problem as there might seem” – were “disappointing”. “Sir […]
Portugal, Nurburgring hoping for F1 spectators
Jul.27 (GMM) It may not be long before spectators return to Formula 1 races. Although the sport’s three races on the American continent – Austin, Brazil and Mexico – have now been scrapped for 2020, another three races in Europe have just been announced. They will take place at the Nurburgring, Portugal’s Portimao circuit, and […]
Todt, Ecclestone respond to Hamilton over racism
Jul.24 (GMM) FIA president Jean Todt says he wants to keep “political debate” out of Formula 1. Last week, Lewis Hamilton called out both Todt and F1 CEO Chase Carey for lacking “leadership” amid his Black Lives Matter activism. The Mercedes driver also criticised F1 legends Emerson Fittipaldi, Sir Jackie Stewart and F1 supremo Bernie […]
F1 wanted spectators at 2020 Hockenheim race
Jul.24 (GMM) Hockenheim will definitely not host a Formula 1 race in 2020. The former German GP venue had been in talks with Liberty Media about filling in for one of the cancelled races on this year’s coronavirus-affected calendar. “A decision has already been made,” Hockenheim boss Jorn Teske told Sport1. “There will be no […]
Priest says Zanardi ‘only sometimes conscious’
Jul.24 (GMM) Alex Zanardi is “only sometimes conscious” as he recovers from his serious head and facial injuries following a full month in hospital. That is the word of Father Luca Poli, a priest at the rehabilitation clinic where the former Formula 1 driver is now recovering. Zanardi’s son Niccolo said this week that he […]