F1 Gossip: Red Bull rules out signing ex-Mercedes F1 engine guru

In the latest F1 gossip column, Red Bull has ruled out signing the man behind Mercedes’ dominant V6 engine, while the latest season of Netflix’s F1 documentary - ‘Drive to Survive' - launched on Friday.

Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko has ruled out signing ex-Mercedes engine chief Andy Cowell.

Cowell was responsible for Mercedes’ High Performance Powertrains division, with it responsible for producing Mercedes' dominant V6 power unit at the start of the hybrid era in 2014.  

In an interview with RaceFans, Marko admitted Red Bull was interested in signing Cowell to its new F1 engine division but said: “he is not currently an option”.

The latest season of Netflix’s F1 documentary - ‘Drive to Survive' - launched on Friday.

Here’s the ten episode titles and who they will be focusing on:

1.  Cash is king - Preparing for the new COVID-impacted season

2. Back on track - The start of the new season

3. Nobody's fool  -  Focus on Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas

4. We need to talk about Ferrari - Ferrari's worst season since 1980

5. The end of the affair - Ricciardo's decision to leave Renault

6. The comeback kid -  Pierre Gasly’s win at Monza

7. Guenther's choice - Haas’ driver changes for 2021

8. No regrets - Sainz’s move to Ferrari

9. Man on fire - Grosjean’s fireball crash

10. Down to the wire - End of the season

2016 F1 champion Nico Rosberg says he has sympathy for Mick Schumacher because, like him, his father was a successful F1 world champion and the added pressure that entails. (F1-Insider)

Pirelli believes F1's 2021 cars are as fast as last year's despite the FIA making technical changes in a bid to slow them down on safety grounds. (MotorsportWeek)

Former F1 driver and Channel 4 TV pundit David Coulthard doesn’t think Lewis Hamilton’s decision to sign a new contract with Mercedes so close to the start of the season suggested he was contemplating retirement. (The Sun)

A fake reproduction of Ferrari’s 2019 F1 challenger - the SF90 - was seized by Italian customs on arrival to the country from Brazil.

The copy was a 1:1 scale version of the SF90, without the mechanical and technical parts. (Ansa.it)