Mar.28 (GMM) Rumours that F1’s commercial owner Liberty Media is also buying the two-wheeled equivalent, MotoGP, are becoming more and more concrete. A month ago, MotoGP’s long-time boss, Carmelo Ezpeleta, did not deny the buyout rumours, as reports swirled that promoter Dorna’s current owner, Bridgepoint, was in multi-billion dollar talks. “The majority shareholders of Dorna […]
Month: March 2024
Team title still ‘the objective’ in 2024 – Vasseur
Mar.28 (GMM) Beating Max Verstappen to the drivers’ championship this year is a long shot, Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur admits. However, after Carlos Sainz led home a Ferrari one-two following Verstappen’s fiery brake failure in Melbourne, the Frenchman admits the constructors’ crown should not be ruled out quite yet. “This is the objective,” Vasseur told […]
F1 return still ‘not an issue’, Vettel insists
Mar.28 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has thrown cold water on brand new speculation that he’s mounting an attempted return to Formula 1. The retired quadruple world champion had a high-profile test with Porsche’s works hypercar this week, and is strongly linked with the German marque’s third entry at Le Mans for June. “There’s a lot going […]
Antonelli linked with imminent Mercedes F1 test
Mar.28 (GMM) Mercedes is fast-tracking Kimi Antonelli’s introduction to a Mercedes F1 cockpit. Corriere dello Sport reports that the 17-year-old protege of Toto Wolff, a hot contender to replace Lewis Hamilton next year, will get his first outing in a 2022 car at Imola. The team has reportedly rented the track over the Easter weekend, […]
Sargeant unlikely to be sidelined again at Suzuka
Mar.28 (GMM) James Vowles says he’s “confident” Williams will have a car at Suzuka for Logan Sargeant to race. The decision to eject Sargeant from his car to give it to the other side of the garage following Alex Albon’s practice crash in Melbourne was highly controversial. “It’s incredibly hard for the bottom five teams […]
Other teams may have fired Wolff by now – Stuck
Mar.27 (GMM) Toto Wolff’s job may be on the line if he was boss at a different top team, according to F1 legend Hans-Joachim Stuck. As Mercedes’ hopes for a more competitive car for 2024 fade after three races of the new season, Wolff admitted in Melbourne that questions about his future are “fair”. “I […]
Spanish FIA official slams Alonso ‘brake test’ penalty
Mar.27 (GMM) One of the highest ranking Spanish motor racing officials has slammed the highly controversial penalty levied against Fernando Alonso in Melbourne. Some think George Russell crashed heavily in the closing moments of the Australian GP because he was ‘brake-tested’ by Alonso – a highly dangerous manoeuvre. Others, though, slammed the FIA stewards, including […]
Father wants winning team for Sainz in 2025
Mar.27 (GMM) Toto Wolff has followed in Christian Horner’s wheel-tracks by naming Carlos Sainz as a contender for a top race seat in 2025. Despite being the only driver to have beaten a Red Bull in the past two seasons, the Spanish driver is still officially unemployed for next year. According to F1 legend Hans-Joachim […]
Porsche delays Le Mans announcement after Vettel test
Mar.27 (GMM) Porsche has delayed a scheduled announcement about its full Le Mans driver lineup this year, ramping up rumours of Sebastian Vettel’s return to top motorsport. Last weekend, the Volkswagen-owned German marque announced that the retired quadruple world champion was returning to the cockpit for a full test this week at Spain’s Aragon circuit […]
Verstappen DNF linked to Red Bull scandal? – van der Garde
Mar.27 (GMM) Intrigue surrounding Max Verstappen’s first technical DNF for a full two years is only swelling, after he retired early in Melbourne with a stuck rear brake and subsequent fire. Brembo, a leading F1 brake supplier, has come out to deny speculation it was a component failure, insisting it was “probably” caused by car […]
No two-race ultimatum for Ricciardo – Marko
Mar.27 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has denied rumours a two-race ultimatum has been imposed on Daniel Ricciardo to up his game or lose his RB seat to Liam Lawson by the Miami GP. According to German specialist reports, Red Bull’s top consultant Marko dismissed the rumours that had appeared in the New Zealand press, triggered […]
Alonso in ‘new’ talks to replace Verstappen at Red Bull
Mar.26 (GMM) “Completely new rumours” involving Fernando Alonso and Red Bull have begun to circulate among Formula 1 insiders. That is the claim of former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, despite a much quieter weekend of intrigue and speculation in Melbourne surrounding the Christian Horner scandal and Red Bull power struggle. Nonetheless, some think what appears […]
Alpine drivers pin hopes on Suzuka upgrade
Mar.26 (GMM) Alpine is pinning its hopes on the next race in Japan to trigger a wave of momentum that begins to pull Renault’s once-great team off the back of the 2024 grid. Actually, following the disastrous pace seen in Bahrain and Jeddah, French duo Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly already looked happier in Melbourne […]
RB tells Ricciardo to ‘brake harder’ amid ultimatum rumours
Mar.26 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula 1 career may now be in a two-race countdown to the end. Not one to be liberal with praise, Red Bull’s powerful F1 consultant Dr Helmut Marko has said several times in the past days that Yuki Tsunoda is doing enough to keep his place in the energy drink company’s […]
Alonso went ‘too far’ with Russell ‘brake test’
Mar.25 (GMM) Fernando Alonso went “too far” in “using his elbows” in the dying moments of the Australian GP. That is the view not only of expert pundits, but also the FIA – whose stewards put three penalty points on his F1 superlicense and a 20-second penalty for the scary incident that effectively ended the […]
Wolff admits questions about quitting F1 ‘fair’
Mar.25 (GMM) As Mercedes’ past successes fade into distant memory, team boss and co-owner Toto Wolff admits questions about his own future in Formula 1 are “fair”. Having badly faltered with the now-scrapped 2022-2023 car concept, hopes were high for a much better season this year – Lewis Hamilton’s last in silver. But Hamilton has […]
Bottas criticises Sauber as hopes of Audi future fade
Mar.25 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas has issued some rare criticism of Sauber, amid rising rumours that he will be left out of the team’s plans for its works Audi future. The Swiss outfit, now 100 percent owned by Audi, went into the Melbourne weekend admitting that technical problems that have badly marred the pitstops so far […]
Marko hints ‘mature’ Tsunoda ready for top F1 seat
Mar.25 (GMM) Yuki Tsunoda’s star is continuing to rise rapidly, as Red Bull contemplates its next driver promotions and demotions in Formula 1. Experienced race winner Daniel Ricciardo, earlier the favourite to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull next year, is pitted against Japanese 23-year-old Tsunoda at the junior F1 team RB this year. And […]
‘No panic’ at Red Bull after defeat to Ferrari – Marko
Mar.25 (GMM) Carlos Sainz won the Australian GP, but the jury is out as to whether Ferrari can now mount a sustained attack on Red Bull’s dominance. The Spaniard admits his red car “worked really well” in Melbourne, but he admits that a clear gap to Red Bull persists. “It’s going to be tough to […]
Sainz ‘in talks’ with four F1 teams for 2025
Mar.25 (GMM) Carlos Sainz is suddenly being linked with an increasing number of Formula 1 teams for 2025. The 29-year-old Spaniard, who in his own words is “still without a job for next year” after Ferrari decided to replace him with Lewis Hamilton, gave himself the best possible endorsement by winning Sunday’s Australian GP. The […]