While discussions between teams and series bosses about an overhaul of the sprint format for next year are ongoing, FOM has finalised the location of the six events that will take place next season. While Austria, Circuit of the Americas, Brazil and Qatar already featured on this season’s sprint schedule, two of the events have […]
Month: December 2023
Ducati wants to “imitate” Red Bull’s 2023 F1 domination in MotoGP
Francesco Bagnaia won back-to-back titles for Ducati in the season-ending Valencia Grand Prix last month, becoming the first rider in history to do this with the Italian manufacturer. It capped off a season in which Ducati was ultimately guaranteed to walk away as world champion, with the top three spots in the riders’ standings belonging […]
How to be an ace engineer: Engine designer John Judd
To most people, the scenario facing John Judd in 1988 would be a fitting dictionary definition of stress. For its entry into Formula 1 as an engine manufacturer, the Engine Developments company he’d co-founded with Jack Brabham had undertaken to supply three teams, including Williams following its split with Honda. Its high-profile alliance with the […]
All-new Sauber F1 car concept for 2024 “looks interesting”
In its last season under the Alfa Romeo name, the Swiss outfit slumped from sixth to ninth in the world championship, scoring only 16 points. Bottas says the team realised that it had reached the end of the line with its 2023 car and that an all-new approach was needed as a revised design team starts […]
Gardening leave avoided “intensity” of in-season F1 team switch
Mekies will officially join the soon-to-be-renamed Faenza outfit on January 1. He will work alongside CEO Peter Bayer in a two-man arrangement as former boss Franz Tost heads for retirement. Former Ferrari sporting director Mekies remains a Maranello employee until the end of this month, but he has been on gardening leave and has not […]
F1 champion Verstappen says ‘Alonso only wants to return to Le Mans if it’s with me’
Two-time F1 world champion Alonso competed in endurance racing during his sabbatical from F1, winning Le Mans twice in 2018 and 2019 with Toyota’s LMP1 team as well as taking a World Endurance Championship crown. He hasn’t ruled out going back to the French endurance classic in the future even while he is still active […]
The Marquez problem Yamaha is about to face with its MotoGP superstar
Want to know how bad the 2023 season was for Yamaha and Fabio Quartararo? Even with double the number of races than the previous season, the 2021 world champion could only score 172 points – 76 less than he scored in 2022 with three victories on his way to runner-up spot in the championship. From […]
Sauber breaks tradition by revealing 2024 UK F1 launch
In its various guises, Sauber has launched its cars in Austria, Germany and, most often, Switzerland, with the 2023 C43 unveiled in a joint ceremony in Zurich and the team’s headquarters in Hinwil. But the outfit has never lifted the covers in the UK, something that will change ahead of the 2024 season. Speaking at […]
Pol Espargaro feels like he has reached “the beginning of the end” in MotoGP
The 2013 Moto2 world champion has raced full-time in MotoGP since 2014, with spells at Tech3 Yamaha, KTM, Honda and then back to KTM-backed Tech3 GasGas squad for 2023, scoring eight podiums in the process. Serious injury in practice for the Portuguese GP ruled Espargaro out until August’s British GP, with the Spaniard scoring just […]
Perez opens up on F1 2023 slump
It feels like ages ago since Perez lived up to his once-valid ‘street race king’ moniker and won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, cutting team-mate Max Verstappen’s lead to just six points as he vowed to take the 2023 title fight all the way. His pole in the subsequent Miami Grand Prix, with Verstappen down in […]