Apr.23 (GMM) Ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari, the fabled Italian Formula 1 team is now tipped to sign a lucrative deal with a title sponsor. Ferrari has not had a title sponsor since the ‘Mission Winnow’ project involving ongoing but behind-the-scenes tobacco backer Philip Morris. But before Hamilton arrives with salary requirements that no doubt dwarf that of his predecessor Carlos Sainz, Sport Business reports that Ferrari is set to announce a title sponsor deal with Hewlett-Packard (HP). “Driver salaries do not count against Formula 1’s ‘cost cap’,” explained F1 correspondent M ..read more

Apr.22 (GMM) Christian Horner has slammed his Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff’s intensifying push to woo Max Verstappen away from Red Bull for 2025 and beyond. The ‘silly season’ is reaching an early boiling point at present, largely because of Lewis Hamilton’s shock Ferrari move opening up his Mercedes race seat. That’s making Carlos Sainz, set to lose his seat at Maranello, a key player – with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez also out of contract at the end of the season. “Apparently they’re only offering Carlos a one-year contract,” 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg said on Sky Deutschland in Shangha ..read more

Apr.22 (GMM) Formula 1 is on the cusp of what would almost certainly be another highly controversial reform. After 2002, at the height of Ferrari’s ultra-dominant Michael Schumacher era, F1 expanded the awarding of points for P1 through P6 all the way to P8 as well. By 2010, the top 10 were all scoring points in each grand prix, with an additional point for the fastest race of the lap added in 2019 as the Liberty Media era got into gear. But now, the small teams are reportedly complaining that even a single point for P10 is proving almost impossible, with Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg admitting his si ..read more

Apr.22 (GMM) Just like Ferrari and also McLaren, Mercedes is planning a key car update for the forthcoming Miami GP. The formerly-dominant team, now in a three-season slump that has cost Mercedes the post-2024 services of Lewis Hamilton, showed no signs of recovery last weekend in China. “This is a bad car,” an increasingly forthright and dejected team boss and co-owner Toto Wolff told Sky Deutschland on Sunday, when George Russell finished sixth. “We will bring some new things to Miami, which we really need, but now we are behind the Ferraris and also Lando Norris, and that is simply not good ..read more

Apr.22 (GMM) The pressure is piling on the shoulders of Lance Stroll. Daniel Ricciardo, struggling to hang onto his Formula 1 career, lost control of his tongue in Shanghai when talking to reporters about being rear-ended by Stroll’s Aston Martin behind the safety car. “I slowly started to calm down and then I was told what Lance thinks of it,” the Australian said. “Apparently, I’m an idiot and it was my fault, so that made my blood boil because it’s clear as day and it’s also behind a safety car. “So I’m doing my best not to say what I want to say, but f**k that guy – and I’m still being nice ..read more

Apr.21 (GMM) Haas looks set to lose Nico Hulkenberg at the end of the season. Last year, the now-ousted team boss Gunther Steiner brought the 36-year-old out of retirement to replace Mick Schumacher – and he promptly shone. It’s put long-time Haas driver Kevin Magnussen in difficulty, as new boss Ayao Komatsu told the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet this week that a contract extension for the 31-year-old Dane is not yet a certainty for 2025. There’s almost no doubt, however, that Haas would like to retain Hulkenberg. “There is a team that is really putting pressure on the driver market at the m ..read more

Apr.21 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton’s former Mercedes teammate has slammed the seven time world champion for rolling out constant excuses about his 2024 troubles. Hamilton went into the Chinese GP lambasting critics who “talk sh*t” about him – but he then impressed by being P2 in both sprint qualifying and Saturday’s short race. However, by Saturday afternoon for the real qualifying session, he had slumped to a woeful P18 – and quickly blamed an experimental car setup. “We have to (do that) at the moment,” said the 39-year-old. “In this sprint, George (Russell) and I had very similar cars, but then we ..read more

Apr.21 (GMM) A contract extension for Sergio Perez is appearing more and more likely. His current deal expires at the end of 2024, and at a very awkward time for the 34-year-old Mexican – just as on-form Ferrari refugee Carlos Sainz is also on the move. But Perez has, so far in 2024, suddenly taken a big step closer to Red Bull Racing teammate Max Verstappen’s pace. “Probably because he’s out of contract!” laughed team boss Christian Horner in Shanghai. “No – I think he’s worked hard over the winter, perhaps with a slight change to his approach to the weekends.” Indeed, Perez openly admits tha ..read more

Apr.21 (GMM) Daniel Ricciardo is hopeful his Formula 1 career is back on track. The embattled Australian had hoped to humble his RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda this year and leapfrog into the Red Bull Racing seat next to Max Verstappen for 2025. Tsunoda, however, has had the clear edge so far, even triggering speculation that Shanghai this weekend could be 34-year-old Ricciardo’s last in F1 before he is replaced by Liam Lawson. “Everybody in the team is shutting that (speculation) down,” Ricciardo said ahead of the Chinese GP. “But I do have to earn my spot. “At the end of the day, if I am getting m ..read more

Apr.20 (GMM) Honda is making no secret of its desire to see a Japanese driver at the wheel of a Honda-powered car for Formula 1’s new rules era beginning in 2026. Currently, the engines powering the four Red Bull-owned cars in F1 are officially called ‘Honda RBPT’ – the latter acronym standing for Red Bull’s new powertrains project. “The reason for that is because the battery units manufactured by Honda are assembled by RBPT,” said Honda Racing Corporation president Yasuharu Watanabe. “After 2021, our professional staff moved to Red Bull Powertrains and so they now have the know-how to develop ..read more