Sep.12 (GMM) Toto Wolff has insisted on “clear confidentiality clauses” being added to Alex Albon’s Williams contract for 2022. “He is a Williams driver for 12 months,” the Mercedes boss said at Monza. Just a week ago, Wolff indicated he was concerned about the prospect of a Red Bull-backed driver signing for Williams because of […]
Month: September 2021
Aston Martin interested in Ricciardo – report
Sep.12 (GMM) A wild rumour about Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel’s respective futures is doing the rounds in the Monza paddock. Although the Alfa Romeo cockpit is being touted as the last vacancy on the 2022 grid, it is conspicuous that Aston Martin and Vettel are still reluctant to talk about their contractual status for […]
Red Bull improving car ‘every week’ – Hamilton
Sep.12 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton is predicting an “easy win” for his championship rival Max Verstappen on Sunday. The Mercedes driver, whose deficit to Red Bull’s Verstappen blew out to 5 points on Saturday, fell behind the top cars after making a poor start to the sprint race. “The line between hero and zero is extremely […]
Gasly frustrated by Perez’s new Red Bull deal
Sep.11 (GMM) Pierre Gasly has made clear his ongoing frustration and confusion about not being re-called by Red Bull’s senior team. The Frenchman, who was promoted from and then relegated back to the energy drink company’s second Formula 1 team in 2019, has been retained by Alpha Tauri for 2022. Gasly, 25, admits he isn’t […]
De Vries denies signing 2022 F1 contract
Sep.11 (GMM) Nyck de Vries has dismissed as “nonsense” claims that he has already signed a contract with a Formula 1 team for 2022. Some were surprised when Mercedes-powered Williams announced that it has inked a 2022 deal with the Red Bull-backed Alex Albon. Most expected Toto Wolff’s influence to overrule the deal in favour […]
Berger tells Schumacher not to ‘waste energy’
Sep.11 (GMM) F1 legend Gerhard Berger has warned Mick Schumacher against wasting “unnecessary energy” on an ongoing dispute with his teammate. Fellow Haas rookie Nikita Mazepin has stepped up his on-track aggression and off-track rhetoric in his intra-team battle with Schumacher at the back of the grid. But Berger, who raced against Schumacher’s famous father […]
Mercedes ‘too fast’ for Verstappen at Monza – Marko
Sep.11 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has admitted that new championship leader Max Verstappen may not win at Monza. So far this weekend, despite Verstappen’s dominance last week at Zandvoort, Mercedes’ straight-line advantage over the Red Bull is obvious. “It is always difficult for us on this circuit,” Dutchman Verstappen told De Telegraaf. “During practice we […]
Toyota boss tempting Raikkonen back to rally
Sep.11 (GMM) A return to top-level rallying could be in Kimi Raikkonen’s future. That is the view of Jari-Matti Latvala, a former world rally driver who this year took over as team boss of Toyota’s works world rally team. “I believe Kimi would still be able to drive rallies,” Raikkonen’s fellow Finn told Ilta Sanomat […]
Sauber eyes F1 team sale to Michael Andretti
Sep.11 (GMM) As the rest of the ‘silly season’ settles, Alfa Romeo has found itself the centre of attention from a speculative point of view in Formula 1. The cockpit alongside Valtteri Bottas’ is now the last realistic opening on the 2022 grid, and the candidates are lining up to replace Antonio Giovinazzi. However, some […]
Drivers eye reverse grids for F1 sprint races
Sep.11 (GMM) Formula 1 is considering uncoupling the new Saturday ‘sprint race’ from the qualifying format in future. At Monza, the sport is trialling the new ‘sprint qualifying’ format – with a normal-style Friday qualifying session setting the grid for a short race on Saturday – for the second time. However, while Valtteri Bottas will […]
Tsunoda ‘surprised’ to keep Alpha Tauri seat
Sep.10 (GMM) Yuki Tsunoda admits he was “surprised” that Red Bull kept him at the junior team Alpha Tauri for 2022. Hailed for his feisty and speedy style at the beginning of the year, the 21-year-old Japanese rookie then risked his Red Bull backing with a series of erratic mistakes. “In the first half of […]
Mazepin brushes off Ralf Schumacher’s criticism
Sep.10 (GMM) Nikita Mazepin has dismissed the criticism of his Haas teammate’s famous uncle. At Zandvoort, following yet another on and off-track stoush between the Russian and fellow rookie Mick Schumacher, Mick’s uncle Ralf said Mazepin has “no place in Formula 1”. Mazepin, however, defended his aggressive style, insisting at Monza that “this is a […]
Vettel admits 2022 contract not confirmed
Sep.10 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel admits his deal to keep racing for Aston Martin in 2022 is not yet confirmed. Unofficially, the last vacant cockpit on next year’s grid is at Alfa Romeo – but technically, Aston Martin is also yet to announce Vettel and Lance Stroll. “There is no news,” quadruple world champion Vettel, who […]
7-8 sprint qualifying races in 2022 – Domenicali
Sep.10 (GMM) “A third” of the 23 grands prix next year will feature the new ‘sprint qualifying’ weekend format. That is the news direct from the mouth of F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, who gave an interview to Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport. The second sprint qualifying event is taking place this weekend at Monza, and […]
Giovinazzi not ready to kick F1 ‘drug’
Sep.10 (GMM) Antonio Giovinazzi says he is not ready to quit the “drug” of Formula 1. His boss at Alfa Romeo, Frederic Vasseur, admits that the Ferrari-linked Italian is just one of several candidates to be Valtteri Bottas’ 2022 teammate. The favourite seems to be Formula 2 front-runner and Chinese Guanyu Zhou, who reportedly has […]
2022 Spanish GP deal expected ‘soon’
Sep.10 (GMM) Barcelona is looking to extend its race contracts with both Formula 1 and MotoGP “soon”. “It’s the same with MotoGP,” answered Circuit de Catalunya director Josep Lluis Santamaria, when asked by El Mundo Deportivo about the expiring F1 deal. “Like F1, it was over this year and the news will come out in […]
No Alfa Romeo seat for Hulkenberg
Sep.10 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg’s days on the Formula 1 race grid appear to be over. Having lost his full-time race seat after 2019, and subsequently becoming an Aston Martin reserve, the 34-year-old had left the door open for a potential racing return in 2022. However, the last remaining seat on the grid for next year […]
‘Huge relief’ Dutch GP pressure over – Verstappen
Sep.10 (GMM) Max Verstappen admitted he is relieved his home grand prix at Zandvoort is now behind him. The Dutchman said he enjoyed the fanaticism of the orange-clad crowd last weekend, where he duly responded to the pressure with pole, the win, and his return to the top of the world championship. “Everyone expected me […]
‘No idea’ if Russell better than Bottas – Hamilton
Sep.10 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton says he isn’t sure if George Russell will be a tougher teammate to beat than the departing Valtteri Bottas. Earlier, the seven time world champion made it clear to Mercedes that he wanted Bottas to stay – but was ultimately overruled. When asked what influence he had on Toto Wolff’s decision, […]
Schumacher ‘different’ after brain injury – wife
Sep.9 (GMM) Michael Schumacher is “different” in the wake of his brain injuries sustained in a skiing accident in late 2013, his wife Corinna has revealed. Excerpts of some of the German-language sections of the new official Netflix film about the F1 legend have emerged in the media, including in Kolner Express newspaper. “I have […]