Jul.15 (GMM) Mick Schumacher is not ready for a move into a top Formula 1 team, according to 2016 world champion and fellow German Nico Rosberg. Schumacher, the 23-year-old son of Rosberg’s former Mercedes teammate and F1 legend Michael Schumacher, had a torrid start to the 2022 season. But he upped his game significantly with […]
Month: July 2022
Tsunoda might not keep seat for 2023 – Tost
Jul.15 (GMM) Yuki Tsunoda’s career in Formula 1 is hanging in the balance, his boss has admitted. Recently, Red Bull confirmed that Pierre Gasly will remain with its second team Alpha Tauri next year – but there was no similar confirmation for his teammate. Japanese 22-year-old Tsunoda, who was last week called a “problem child” […]
Alpine ‘not failing Alonso’ – boss
Jul.15 (GMM) Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi says he wants “two drivers” rather than one to be regularly scoring points for the Renault-owned Formula 1 team. The comments come amid 40-year-old Fernando Alonso’s expiring contract, and the mercurial Spaniard’s increasing complaints about his “strange” recent run of reliability problems. “Esteban (Ocon)’s car is always good,” he […]
Belgian governments back embattled Spa GP
Jul.15 (GMM) Belgian governments are throwing their weight behind efforts to save the embattled Belgian GP. It is now largely accepted in the paddock that the fabled Spa-Francorchamps may be a victim of Formula 1’s expansion to new markets like Las Vegas and South Africa. “The sport is growing so much that there’s a lot […]
Mazepin suing Haas in Swiss court
Jul.15 (GMM) Nikita Mazepin says he has filed suit against Haas for unpaid wages in a Swiss court. We reported about the axed Russian driver’s decision to pursue legal action last month, following his and sponsor Uralkali’s expulsion over the Ukraine crisis. “What I’m talking about is that contractual obligations were not fulfilled,” Mazepin, 23, […]
Ricciardo speaks out amid raging new rumours
Jul.14 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo has taken to social media to calm raging new speculation that his McLaren seat for 2023 will be snatched by another driver. Even before this week’s events, multiple drivers were linked to struggling Australian Ricciardo’s seat, even though it is believed his contract is watertight. Indycar driver for the Andretti team, […]
Gasly says Alpha Tauri ‘slowest car’ in F1
Jul.14 (GMM) Pierre Gasly has denounced his 2022 car as “the slowest” in Formula 1. Recently, and despite pushing for a move to a more competitive team, the 26-year-old Frenchman had the option in his Red Bull contract taken up for one more season at Alpha Tauri. “He is definitely in the group of the […]
Alfa Romeo CEO has ‘no idea’ about Audi F1 takeover
Jul.13 (GMM) Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imperato has refused to deny that Audi could be poised to take over the Swiss based Formula 1 team Sauber. Currently, the carmaker giant Stellantis – at which Imperati is a top executive – has an official naming deal with Sauber that runs until the end of 2025. But […]
Honda not ruling out full F1 return in 2026
Jul.13 (GMM) Honda is keeping the door to Formula 1 ajar. We reported over the Austrian GP weekend that a powerful Honda delegation was trackside at the Red Bull Ring, including the Japanese carmaker’s president and CEO Toshihiro Mibe. It is believed Red Bull is poised to announce a works engine collaboration with Porsche for […]
Herbie Blash should be new race director – Ecclestone
Jul.13 (GMM) Mick Schumacher has defended Sebastian Vettel for storming out of the official drivers’ briefing in Austria. The quadruple world champion had a EUR 25,000 fine suspended by the FIA but Schumacher, 23, said his friend and countryman was not alone in his frustrations. “I had the impression that we were going in circles […]
Mercedes has solved ‘porpoising’ problem
Jul.13 (GMM) Mercedes seems to have solved its problems with ‘porpoising’. As recently as Baku one month ago, Lewis Hamilton suffered extreme back pain as a result of the reigning champion’s 2022 struggles with the ground-effect phenomenon. Many believe it was a trigger for the FIA’s subsequent clampdown, which has now been delayed until Spa-Francorchamps […]
Former F1 team owner sentenced to jail
Jul.13 (GMM) Former Force India team owner and boss Vijay Mallya has been sentenced to four months in jail. It is the outcome of the Indian billionaire’s long-running dispute with his country’s authorities, with the Supreme Court handing down the jail term in connection with the collapse of Kingfisher Airlines. The next step for India […]
Number 1 driver not Ferrari’s ‘top priority’ – Massa
Jul.13 (GMM) Reliability is Ferrari’s “top priority” rather than the nomination of a clear number 1 driver for the 2022 drivers’ title battle. That is the view of Felipe Massa, who admits he was clearly the Maranello team’s number 2 at the tail end of the ultra-successful Michael Schumacher era. “The roles were clear in […]
F1 still ‘too boring’ under new rules – Alonso
Jul.13 (GMM) Fernando Alonso says Formula 1 is still “too boring” under the all-new technical rules that debuted in 2022. The Spaniard says he only decided to return to the sport after a sabbatical last year because of the looming ground effect rules, which debuted this season with the intention of closing up the field […]
Ralf Schumacher faster than F1’s 2022 grid
Jul.12 (GMM) Ralf Schumacher stunned spectators at the Austrian GP by lapping faster than the current-generation Formula 1 cars. The former F1 driver, whose 23-year-old nephew Mick races for Haas, was reunited with his 2003 Williams car, whose V10 engine had been detuned from the original 950 to 850 horsepower. Laptimes were not officially recorded […]
No police reports filed over Austria GP incidents
Jul.12 (GMM) Police are in the dark over an apparent series of incidents that occurred trackside at the Austrian GP on Sunday. Drivers, teams, the FIA and Formula 1 slammed the “completely unacceptable” conduct of mainly Dutch supporters of world champion Max Verstappen. One female ‘victim’, Nienke, told the German newspaper Bild: “Several men groped […]
Steiner won’t be pressured over Schumacher talks
Jul.12 (GMM) Gunther Steiner insists he will not be pressured to talk about Mick Schumacher’s future at Haas. The boss of the small American team triggered speculation about Schumacher’s future as he struggled with both performance and crashes earlier in 2022. But he was voted ‘driver of the day’ in Austria after two consecutive points […]
Ferrari ‘hierarchies clearer’ after Austria – media
Jul.12 (GMM) Pressure is building on Ferrari to make Charles Leclerc the clear number 1 driver to challenge Max Verstappen for the 2022 world championship. Team boss Mattia Binotto insisted in Austria that because Leclerc and Silverstone winner are so close on points, there will be no standing team orders for now. The Italian media, […]
Ricciardo safe but McLaren rumours rumble on
Jul.12 (GMM) McLaren CEO Zak Brown says Daniel Ricciardo will still be with the team in 2023 – but even so, the rumours continue to rumble. The latest official news is that Indycar driver and Brown’s fellow American Colton Herta, who drives for the Andretti team, will test a McLaren in Portugal this week. “We […]
Schumacher has made ‘big step’ forward – Magnussen
Jul.11 (GMM) Mick Schumacher took another step away from losing his Formula 1 seat with a strong performance in Austria. Mere weeks and even days ago, speculation was rife that Haas was not happy with the prospect of another Ferrari-backed contract for the struggling son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher. Austria, though, was the 23-year-old’s […]