Alfa Romeo’s new C42 car struggled with mileage through the three-day test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya last week, completing 175 laps in total. Only Haas (160) managed fewer laps during the test. It left new signing Valtteri Bottas saying the team had “work to do” in the second test after the Finn failed to […]
The Barcelona test was the first time teams and drivers were able to experience the definitive 18-inch race tyres mated to the 2022 cars that they were designed for, having tested them on converted mule cars last year. Given that so much else was new in the 2022 package, tyres were not a major topic […]
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit hosted its first race last December, but drew criticism from drivers over its safety due to the number of blind corners on a high-speed street track. Last year’s race was interrupted by two red flags and a number of crashes, prompting GPDA director George Russell to tell Autosport that the track […]
F1 teams were caught by surprise at last week’s pre-season Barcelona test by the way that their cars suffered some extreme bouncing down the straights, thanks to the aero properties of the 2022 challengers. The phenomenon, which also occurred the last time ground effect was in F1 in the early 1980’s, is trigged by downforce […]
It was a fascinating session, not least because of the unexpected emergence of the porpoising phenomenon, something that despite all the modelling work that they had undertaken, the teams had seemingly not anticipated. The issue was a major topic of conversation through the week, and it is likely to remain so as F1 heads into […]
While many opted to show off only early development parts during their official launches, it is clear that teams are pushing hard to keep adding more downforce before the season gets underway. McLaren presented two versions of its front wing when launching the MCL36: the one in the renders and the one on the physical […]
The Woking-based team has long considered O’Ward a potential candidate to make the switch from American racing to F1 in the long term. However, opportunities for him to drive F1 machinery have previously been quite limited, with his only run so far being in last year’s Abu Dhabi rookie test. But with F1’s rules making […]
Russian forces commenced major military action against Ukraine last Thursday, prompting worldwide condemnation and a series of sanctions being enforced by the western world. The Ukrainian capital of Kyiv has been subject to regular missile attacks, as have other major cities, in the five days since the invasion began. Peace talks are underway on the […]
Hamilton set a pair of fastest lap times, finishing with a 1m19.138s set in the final 10 minutes on the C5 tyres, to eclipse Russell’s 1m19.233s from the morning session and claim the fastest lap time of the Barcelona pre-season test. Russell’s effort, also set on C5 tyres, came under threat from both his Mercedes […]
Norris set the pace for McLaren on the opening day of testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, and ended up with the fourth-fastest time overall across the three days. McLaren racked up 367 laps with the new MCL36 car during the test, trailing only Ferrari and Mercedes for mileage. Mercedes driver George Russell said on […]