The three-day test at the Malaysian venue provided plenty of indicators as to who has made the biggest leap since 2023, and who could be on the back foot going into the new season. In the midst of high heat and humidity, double reigning champion Franco Bagnaia set a blistering time of 1m56.682s to top […]
Month: February 2024
Alpine F1 team didn’t wait for Hamilton move to start driver talks
Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes for Maranello in 2025 and extended deals for Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris at their respective Ferrari and McLaren teams were the first steps in what is expected to be a busy silly season. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly are among the many drivers on the current grid who […]
Hamilton ‘non-poaching’ clause set to prevent key Mercedes F1 departures
Hamilton dropped a bombshell on Mercedes last week when he told the squad that he had activated an early exit from his deal so he can join Ferrari in 2025. The switch immediately opened up suggestions that other senior staff at Mercedes – such as his engineer Pete ‘Bono’ Bonnington – could follow him as […]
Red Bull F1 team makes first option move on Albon
Albon has been the subject of intense speculation over his future in recent weeks, with reports linking him to Red Bull as Sergio Perez‘s replacement, as well as the vacant Mercedes seat in the wake of Lewis Hamilton‘s shock Ferrari move for 2025. While speculative reports Red Bull offered Albon a multi-year contract from 2025 […]
Ferrari to carry new energy drink F1 sponsor into Hamilton era
The US-based company had a low-key arrangement with the team last season that covered the three American races in Miami, Austin and Las Vegas. That has now extended to a full global partnership with its logos featured on the cars and on drivers’ overalls. Founded in 2004, Nasdaq-listed Celsius Holdings sold an 8.5% share of […]
Failed crash tests proof of Alpine’s ambitions, says its F1 chief
The Enstone-based outfit revealed a virtually all-new challenger for 2024 at its factory on Wednesday, with technical director Matt Harman claiming that the only carry-over component from last season was the steering wheel. It hopes that the aggressive targets the team has set for the new car, which was only finished in the early hours […]
Yamaha MotoGP team still chasing mechanical grip “missing since 2019”
The Japanese manufacturer had been testing an upgraded version of the M1 across the two tests at Sepang this month in its pursuit to close the gap to the front and become a race-winning force in MotoGP again. Quartararo and new signing Alex Rins both got to ride the 2024 version of the bike in […]
Why new British GP deal shows F1 and Silverstone need each other
Recent months have seen more and more venues sign up for the long term. The number of races with their slots guaranteed until at least 2030 is in double figures, with Melbourne leading the way thanks to its 2037 end date. On the F1 side, the longer deals give the organisation a steady flow of […]
What we learned from MotoGP’s Sepang 2024 test
As MotoGP heads off from its annual winter Sepang residency, this year’s pre-season shakedown and test had plenty of focus points going into it and even more coming out. Ducati demonstrated its new weapon will remain the standard as a number of its riders went under the lap record with ease. To see a Ducati […]
Rivals will now take revamped RB F1 team “more seriously”
The team, which launched its new VCARB 01 in Las Vegas late on Thursday night, will continue with its most experienced ever line-up this season, with Ricciardo joined by Yuki Tsunoda. PLUS: How the renewed Red Bull influence is present in RB’s new F1 car The Australian said the move away from being focused on […]