May 31 (GMM) Monaco only “reluctantly” signed a contract with Liberty Media to keep the fabled street race on the Formula 1 calendar in 2023 and 2024. Following intense speculation last year that the parties were at stalemate, F1 and Monaco announced that a new deal had been struck. Michel Boeri, who has been Automobile […]
Month: May 2023
Sainz wants swift end to contract rumours
May 31 (GMM) Carlos Sainz wants Ferrari to end all the speculation about his race seat by concluding contract negotiations by early next year. The Spaniard signed an initial two-year deal with the Maranello team that kicked off in 2021, but in April of 2022 he extended that deal for 2023 and 2024. But in […]
2026 rules slow cars down too much – Newey
May 31 (GMM) Adrian Newey has warned that Formula 1’s sweeping rule changes for 2026 threaten to slow the cars down too much. When Honda last week announced its fully-fledged return to the sport for 2026 in a works collaboration with Aston Martin, the Japanese carmaker said the FIA’s rules vision was the key to […]
Ferrari can still win races in 2023 – Vasseur
May 31 (GMM) Ferrari can still win races with its 2023 car, team boss Frederic Vasseur insists. After Monaco, many critics claimed the Maranello based team is still struggling with both performance issues and repeated strategy mistakes. Vasseur, however, told Italian reporters this week that while there were mistakes in the Principality, there were “no […]
Schumacher to test 2023 Mercedes next week
May 31 (GMM) Mick Schumacher is set to brush off the dust and return to the wheel of a Formula 1 car next week. Official Formula 1 supplier Pirelli has announced that, immediately after the Spanish GP at the same Barcelona circuit, both Mercedes and Ferrari will conduct two days of testing for the 2024 […]
Dominant Red Bull loses three engineers
May 31 (GMM) Red Bull is losing another three members of its dominant Formula 1 team. The most prominent is Rob Marshall, the chief engineer who was believed to be working on the energy drink-owned team’s 2026 car. After approaching two decades with Red Bull, he is stepping down immediately but won’t join McLaren as […]
Good race in Spain ‘important’ for de Vries – Tost
May 30 (GMM) Serious pressure remains on the shoulders of struggling Dutch rookie Nyck de Vries. The 28-year-old headed into Monaco amid Red Bull official Dr Helmut Marko’s warning that more poor results for the Alpha Tauri newcomer could result in his ousting. De Vries then had a smoother weekend on the Principality’s streets – […]
Red Bull’s season like McLaren in 1988 – Berger
May 30 (GMM) F1 legend Gerhard Berger says Fernando Alonso’s 2023 season reminds him of his own past. Back-to-back reigning champion Max Verstappen looks set to cruise to a third consecutive title this season – with fellow two-time champion Alonso, 41, increasingly shaping up as his main rival apart from Sergio Perez. “I read somewhere […]
Monaco GP promoter Boeri to be pushed out
May 30 (GMM) Michel Boeri looks set to be pushed aside as Monaco looks to secure its future on the Formula 1 grid. Days ago, Boeri – who has been president of the Automobile Club de Monaco since 1972 – warned that the fabled street race could be “dead” by the end of 2025 as […]
Aston Martin to build own F1 gearbox
May 29 (GMM) The next step in Aston Martin’s push for ultimate success in Formula 1 is to build its own gearbox. Throughout the Lawrence Stroll-owned era spanning the Racing Point and Aston Martin identities, and even before when the team was known as Force India, the Silverstone based team bought both engines and gearboxes […]
‘Better’ to make mistakes with 2023 car – Sainz
May 29 (GMM) Ferrari is pinning its hopes on key car upgrades that the fabled Italian team will unveil this weekend in Barcelona. Red Bull went to Monaco expecting that Ferrari’s slower-corner strength may pose a threat to the energy drink-owned team’s dominance in both qualifying and therefore the race. Ultimately, it was another messy […]
Momentum builds for French GP comeback
May 29 (GMM) Momentum is building as France aims to return to the Formula 1 calendar. Paul Ricard lost its place on the schedule amid mounting losses at the now-disbanded promoter – but there were plenty of signs of life behind the scenes in Monaco last weekend. RMC reports that F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali met […]
Szafnauer uncomfortable with Alpine team structure
May 29 (GMM) Esteban Ocon raced through an apparent spat between his Alpine team bosses to put the Renault-owned team back on track in Monaco. In Miami recently, it became clear that new-in-2022 team boss Otmar Szafnauer was in the hot seat as Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi singled him out amid Alpine’s failure to improve […]
‘Patient’ de Vries tries to revive F1 career
May 29 (GMM) Nyck de Vries hopes he put his Formula 1 career back on track on the streets of Monaco. The 28-year-old Dutch rookie headed to the Principality having been warned by Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko that he perhaps only has three more races to rescue his seat after a disappointing start to […]
Apologetic Perez ‘broken’ after Monaco zero
May 29 (GMM) Max Verstappen looks set to enjoy a clear run to his third consecutive drivers’ title in 2023. His Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez, travelled to Monaco determined not to let Verstappen’s points gap grow – but he left the Principality a hefty 39 points behind. “He’s broken,” former Formula 1 driver Giedo […]
Mekies still blocked from making Alpha Tauri move
May 28 (GMM) Laurent Mekies is currently blocked from leaving Ferrari in order to prepare to take over as Alpha Tauri team boss next year. Red Bull-owned Alpha Tauri made the announcement about Mekies’ forthcoming new role at the end of April – so early that Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur called the timing of the […]
Marko insists ‘no problem with Schumacher name’
May 28 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has hit back at claims he has “a problem with the Schumacher name”. Last week, Mick Schumacher’s uncle Ralf suggested Alpha Tauri boss Franz Tost actually wanted to sign Mick for 2023 rather than struggling rookie Nyck de Vries. Ralf says team owner Red Bull’s top Austrian official Marko […]
Marko slams Perez for ‘stupid’ qualifying crash
May 28 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko lashed out at Sergio Perez’s “stupid” qualifying crash that may just have cost the Mexican his shot at the world championship. Trailing teammate Max Verstappen by 14 points in the drivers’ standings, Perez said Monaco was a critical weekend for him. “I don’t want him to start building that […]
Wolff slams ‘Cirque du Soleil’ Monaco crane
May 28 (GMM) Toto Wolff has hit out at Monaco track workers for lifting Mercedes’ newly-launched ‘B’ car high in the air for all rivals to see in Monaco. After Lewis Hamilton crashed in the last practice session in Monte Carlo, a crane lifted his car high into the air – and within minutes high-resolution […]
No talks with other drivers amid Hamilton ‘pact’
May 28 (GMM) There are “no stumbling blocks” in Toto Wolff’s negotiations with Lewis Hamilton over a new Mercedes contract. The pair arrived in Monaco this week amid swirling rumours about a big-money offer to the seven time world champion supposedly made by Ferrari president John Elkann. Even Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko doesn’t believe […]