Penalties have once again become a talking point this year, with title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen both having taken fourth power units and the associated move down the grid. Many observers fear that another change and thus a penalty for either man over the final five races of the season could have a […]
Month: October 2021
New MotoGP champion Quartararo has brought “positivity” to team
Quartararo secured his first MotoGP title at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Misano, after championship rival Francesco Bagnaia’s crash from the lead made it mathematically impossible for the Ducati rider to stay in the battle. As a result, Quartararo became the first French top-class grand prix motorcycle champion, completing the feat in only his […]
Alonso and Ocon seeking answers on Alpine’s US GP F1 struggles
Both drivers retired from Austin’s race after issues with the rear of their respective cars, but even before that point it soon became a race to forget. Ocon sustained front wing damage on lap 1 after contact with Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi and lacked the pace to recover much ground, while Alonso was stuck battling […]
US GP contact with Ricciardo “on the limit of legality”
Ricciardo managed to get the jump on Sainz in the opening stages after a close first-lap battle that saw the McLaren and Ferrari drivers go side-by-side. Sainz had looked to recover the position by undercutting Ricciardo at the second round of pit stops, only for a slow service by Ferrari to allow McLaren to respond […]
Autosport Podcast: United States GP review
Hamilton beat polesitter Verstappen off the line and got the lead into Turn 1, but Red Bull successfully performed an undercut strategy to get Verstappen out ahead. Although Hamilton drew closer as Verstappen’s tyres began to wear, Red Bull took the initiative again and brought Verstappen in on the 29th lap – with Hamilton stopping […]
Austin bumps were ‘on the limit’ for F1, says Ocon
F1 headed to last weekend’s United States Grand Prix expecting a tough time from the bumps, in the wake of complaints having surfaced about them during the recent MotoGP event there. But while the bumps did not trigger any safety concerns for the F1 drivers, they did cause multiple headaches for teams. For as well […]
Mercedes hasn’t found issues with remaining F1 engines
Bottas took his sixth new Mercedes internal combustion engine at the US GP, which landed him a five-place penalty, dropping him from fourth to ninth on the grid. In the race he was only able to recover to sixth place. It was his third penalty of the year after going to the back of the […]
When an F1 dream hit a Pembrey dead-end
The Pembrey circuit in Wales isn’t an obvious destination for a potentially career-making Formula 1 test. But for future sportscar ace Nicolas Minassian, the opportunity to drive the Dallara-Honda test hack at the remote Carmarthenshire track in 1999 carried the very real possibility of a foot in the door at the BAR-Honda team for 2000…. […]
VR46 still progressing on “very slow” Aramco MotoGP deal
Valentino Rossi will bring his VR46 team into MotoGP full-time from 2022 and will field Ducati machinery for Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi. But the outfit’s genesis in the premier class has been plagued by controversy surrounding its title sponsorship, which was originally announced back in April as being Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco – […]
Mercedes F1 suspension could bring ‘powerful’ gain in final races
Intrigue has surrounded the way that Mercedes has tuned its rear suspension system so that the back end of the car drops down at high speed on the straights. This behaviour helps reduce drag to boost top speed, and Red Bull believes it played a key part in the advantage that Mercedes had at the recent Turkish Grand Prix. […]