Since the introduction of F1 sprint races in 2021, teams have been given additional breathing room in the budget cap make up for the extra on-track running, as well as receiving an accident allowance for major incidents in the 100km Saturday events. The matter has been a subject for debate between the teams, F1 and […]
Month: December 2022
Aston Martin explains the unique F1 tyre scrubbing tactic it used in 2022
The Silverstone-based squad stood out on the grid this year for the way that it frequently went in to grand prix races with no new medium and hard compound tyres left. That was because regularly in free practice sessions it scrubbed race sets of tyres for a single lap. The tactic caused some intrigue and […]
F1 reveals six sprint races for 2023 including Spa and Baku
Autosport revealed over the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend that Baku and Spa were both being lined up to host a sprint after it was agreed in September there would be six 100km sprints in 2023, up from three this year. On Wednesday, F1 formally confirmed the six sprint locations for 2023, which are: Azerbaijan […]
Russell picks up Autosport’s Moment of the Year Award
The British star joined Mercedes alongside Lewis Hamilton for 2022 and, after a tricky campaign with the W13, scored his first world championship grand prix win at Interlagos in Brazil. The win, which came a day after Russell had overtaken Max Verstappen to head the sprint race, was his 81st GP start and helped the […]
FIA’s Ben Sulayem reveals court case and $20 million deficit headaches
Ben Sulayem became the successor to Jean Todt in last December’s election, and arrived at Formula 1’s governing body in the days after the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. But reflecting on his experiences over the past 12 months, Ben Sulayem says that there was no honeymoon period for him as he walked straight […]
F1 windtunnel handicap no excuse for not doing better
The Woking-based squad fully accepts that its current infrastructure puts it on the back foot against bigger squads like Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. However, there are hopes that the addition of major new investments in a windtunnel and simulator, which are due to be ready next year, will have a big impact in pushing it forwards. […]
“No doubt” floor changes for 2023 were right thing to do
Following the overhaul of the technical regulations for this year and the return of ground effect, a number of teams encountered severe porpoising through pre-season testing. Although many teams made changes to their cars to combat the issue, the recurring problems prompted the FIA to intervene on safety grounds mid-season, introducing a new metric to measure how […]
MotoGP champion Bagnaia “accepts” criticism of his fraught 2022
Ducati rider Bagnaia suffered four DNFs in the first 10 races of the 2022 season, three of which his own crashes, which led to him slipping 91 points off championship leader Fabio Quartararo at the midway point of the year. The Italian rallied in the second half of the season, winning six times to add […]
Verstappen’s focus will be “mainly endurance” after F1 career
Two-time world champion Verstappen has previously said he did not expect to keep racing in F1 into his 40s, and that he is keen to sample other disciplines of motorsport. Verstappen signed one of the longest contracts in F1 history when he penned an extension with Red Bull until the end of 2028 earlier this year, by which […]
Fastest driver will lead AlphaTauri F1 in 2023
Tsunoda is set for his third F1 season with the Italian team after learning the ropes alongside Pierre Gasly. With the Frenchman departing for Alpine, Tsunoda will be joined by Nyck de Vries, who boasts an impressive CV across Formula E, Formula 2 and sportscars, but is a rookie in F1. While Tsunoda has been […]