Mar.22 (GMM) Spectators will not be permitted to attend round three of this year’s world championship in Portugal in early May. Earlier in March, when Portimao was unveiled as a last-minute replacement race, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said he was “working with the promoter” because he hoped to “welcome fans in a safe way”. However, […]
Month: March 2021
Mazepin denies ‘attacking’ in Bahrain test
Mar.19 (GMM) Nikita Mazepin admits he and fellow rookie Mick Schumacher may struggle to shine at the wheel of their Haas cars in 2021. It has been a rocky prelude to the season for the American team and its new Russian driver, amid controversy over the ‘Russian flag’ livery and Mazepin’s off-track incident and reputation. […]
Seidl thinks rivals may copy McLaren diffuser
Mar.19 (GMM) McLaren is hoping to kick off the 2021 season with a podium. Many analysts believe that the famous British team could have its nose slightly in front of an extremely tight midfield this season. The 2021 McLaren’s clever exploitation of a loophole in the new diffuser rules have also received praise. “It will […]
F1 debut ‘ten times more difficult’ for Schumacher
Mar.19 (GMM) Nico Rosberg thinks Mick Schumacher’s Formula 1 debut will be “ten times more difficult” than his own was back in 2006. “It’s not easy to be the ‘son of’,” the now retired 2016 world champion, whose father Keke Rosberg won the world championship in 1982, told Sport1. “And it will be ten times […]
Alonso said 2021 Alpine ‘a little slow’
Mar.19 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has admitted his Alpine car for 2021 is “a little slow”. That is the claim of Antonio Lobato, a well-known and respected Spanish F1 broadcaster. He told Marca sports newspaper: “Regardless of his recent accident, his age and whatever else is being said, Alonso looks like a bull. The Alpine machine […]
Wooing Andy Cowell to Red Bull ‘difficult’ – Marko
Mar.19 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has once again played down Red Bull’s chances of enticing Andy Cowell back to Formula 1 to lead the new engine operations at Milton Keynes. The Austrian told motorsport-magazin.com that Red Bull is already busily preparing the in-house engine facilities ahead of Honda’s official departure at the end of the […]
Mercedes made ‘worst start to season in seven years’
Mar.19 (GMM) Williams’ new CEO Jost Capito hopes Formula 1 steers away from “artificial restrictions on competition”. He was speaking as most analysts agree that Mercedes, having dominated every championship of the hybrid era since 2014, is suddenly suffering with the mandatory aerodynamic rule tweaks ahead of the 2021 season. “If we talk about the […]
Boss admits Tsunoda used DRS too early
Mar.19 (GMM) Yuki Tsunoda’s boss has admitted the Japanese rookie was activating DRS too early en route to his impressive laptimes in the official Bahrain test. “Yuki is still a beginner,” Alpha Tauri team principal Franz Tost told Sky Deutschland. “DRS is usually automatic and he activated it too early during the tests. He won’t […]
Red Bull reserve seat ‘never an option’ – Hulkenberg
Mar.18 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg says becoming reserve driver at Red Bull this season was “never an option”. Actually, the German is expected to sign up as Mercedes’ works reserve driver, to potentially also be on standby for Aston Martin and McLaren. The 33-year-old admits he was really chasing the Red Bull race seat, which ultimately […]
McLaren’s Seidl doesn’t ‘feel sorry’ for Vettel
Mar.18 (GMM) McLaren boss Andreas Seidl has played down the need to feel “sorry” for Sebastian Vettel. After losing his Ferrari seat and moving to Aston Martin, the quadruple world champion notably struggled for pace and reliability in the Bahrain test. Ralf Schumacher said afterwards that he feels “a little sorry” for the German. “Poor […]
Norris could ‘surprise’ in 2021 – Russell
Mar.18 (GMM) Lando Norris could be a “surprise” of the 2021 season. That is the prediction of his friend and countryman George Russell, who races for Williams but is obviously eyeing Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes seat for 2022. “I think Lewis will stay, but the question is whether he wants to,” Russell said. So for the […]
Mercedes has ‘aerodynamic problem’ – Schumacher
Mar.18 (GMM) Mercedes’ 2021 car has an “aerodynamic problem” that could be difficult to solve, according to former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher. Most analysts agree that Red Bull is now clearly the favourite to become the first team since the hybrid era began to beat Mercedes to a title. “Mercedes is definitely struggling with an […]
Alpine rebrand kept Renault in F1 – CEO
Mar.18 (GMM) Rebranding as Alpine justified the Renault group remaining in Formula 1, according to the Enstone based team’s new CEO Laurent Rossi. “The thinking behind Renault and F1 was constantly questioned within the company, for various reasons,” Rossi, who will report directly to Renault CEO Luca de Meo, told Auto Hebdo. “Whenever we encountered […]
Ferrari has improved ‘a bit’ for 2021 – Leclerc
Mar.18 (GMM) Ferrari has only caught up “a bit” since 2020, so fans should not “expect miracles” this season. That is the news from Charles Leclerc, amid reports that the Maranello team may have recovered up to 40-50 horsepower with its new engine for 2021. “No, I don’t think we have made up all the […]
2021 McLaren ‘pretty impressive’ so far – Leclerc
Mar.18 (GMM) McLaren looks set to enter the 2021 season as the third force behind Red Bull and Mercedes. “I have the impression that Red Bull will be a very good competitor for Mercedes this year,” Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc told Codesport Monaco. “The McLaren was also pretty impressive.” McLaren’s 2021 car has also impressed whilst […]
Teams already recovering lost downforce – Isola
Mar.18 (GMM) Formula 1 teams have already recovered more than half the downforce loss caused by the tweaked aerodynamic regulations for 2021. Some believe the sport made the rule change to chip away at Mercedes’ dominance, but it was also supported by Pirelli to relieve the ever-increasing strain on the tyres. “The original plan saw […]
Doping ban won’t stop Russian GP – promoter
Mar.17 (GMM) Organisers of the grand prix at Sochi are pressing ahead with preparations for the race in September, despite Russia’s anti-doping ban from international sport. There is already controversy over Haas’ new ‘Russian flag’-style 2021 livery, while Nikita Mazepin is unable to display the Russian flag on his overalls or car. Sochi GP promoter […]
Mazepin not preferred Haas driver – Steiner
Mar.17 (GMM) Nikita Mazepin will not get preferential treatment at Haas this season, team boss Gunther Steiner insists. Mick Schumacher may be the more famous and popular Haas rookie for 2021, but the company headed by Mazepin’s billionaire father Dmitry is the team’s new title sponsor. “Both drivers are equal in the team,” Steiner insisted […]
Ferrari makes ‘medium step’ with 2021 engine – Steiner
Mar.17 (GMM) Ferrari has not made a “big step” with its 2021 engine, according to customer team Haas’ boss Gunther Steiner. Some analysts are saying Ferrari’s new engine is 40 horsepower better than the underperforming power unit of 2020. Haas boss Steiner told the German broadcaster RTL: “I cannot say that it is a big […]
Alfa Romeo made ‘biggest jump’ for 2021 – Russell
Mar.17 (GMM) Alfa Romeo has made “the biggest jump of any team” ahead of the 2021 season. That is the view of Williams driver George Russell, who thinks Haas will instead be his British employer’s main rival this year. Alfa Romeo, he says, impressed him in Bahrain testing. “Kimi (Raikkonen) looked very, very fast,” said […]