All posts by Adam Tate

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Bernie Ecclestone is no longer the chief executive officer of Formula One. His four decade reign atop the sport has come to an end, confirmed by Liberty Media naming Chase Carey as his replacement. Ecclestone who saw the writing on the wall, stepped down graciously and released the following statement. “I’m proud of the business that I built over the last 40 years and all that I have achieved with Formula One, and would like to thank all of the promoters, teams, sponsors and television companiesRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor A day after Liberty Media’s shareholders approved the plan to purchase the remaining shares of Formula One from CVC Capital Partners, the World Motor Sport Council and the FIA have approved the sale in full during their meeting today in Geneva. Liberty Media representatives held a special presentation on their plans for F1 with the WMSC representatives and participated in a Q&A session before the deal was unanimously approved. The FIA released the following statement on the historic deal. “The World Motor Sport Council has unanimouslyRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The F1 powers at be have granted an extra pre-season test day for Pirelli to develop their wet weather compounds for 2017. This comes after the company put in a request to the teams and the FIA to further develop the full wet tires before the season begins in March. It is understood that one of the 2015 mule cars developed by Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari will be used at a two day test at a so far unspecified location, likely Paul Ricard. The testRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor McLaren dropped a big hint with the teaser poster for their car unveiling this season. It’s orange and black theme is believed to indicate a return to the firm’s classic papaya orange livery, famously introduced by company founder Bruce McLaren. The iconic orange hue has often been used as a testing livery for the team, such as the case of Pedro de la Rosa’s car above. It has also been used for special edition road cars like the F1 LM that celebrated the team’s victory atRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor There is a reason Toto Wolff is so happy Valtteri Bottas has finally signed for Mercedes. Consequently, there is a reason Claire Williams is so happy Felipe Massa is back with her team as Bottas’ replacement. Teams with experienced veterans are rejoicing ahead of the 2017 regulations because they know that experience will count more than ever before. It is not unusual for cars and teams to be pushed to their breaking point during the debut season of major rule changes, but 2017 is going toRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Mercedes released a statement today confirming the widely held belief that their technical chief Paddy Lowe is leaving the team he helped steer to three consecutive championships. As we first reported one month ago, Lowe is bound for Williams, but contractual and financial negotiations have been complicated by Valtteri Bottas’ talks with Mercedes over Nico Rosberg’s vacated seat, and Felipe Massa’s potential return to the Grove based squad. Such news formally coming to light indicates that some manner of solution has been found at the crowded negotiation tableRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor With recent news out of Ferrari it looks like Formula 1 will once again be flirting with the 1,000 horsepower threshold soon. Mercedes comfortably hit 900 plus horsepower with their 2016 power unit and the old V10’s also broke 900 hp, but the last time F1 engines produced over 1,000 hp was during the peak of the original turbo era in the mid-80’s. According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Ferrari’s 2017 car, code named 668, is an all out attempt by the prancing horse to reign inRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The 2016 Formula One season will go down in history as one of the most surprising, and unique in recent years. It will be known for Nico Rosberg’s epic battle with Lewis Hamilton, for Max Verstappen’s rise at Red Bull, for the retirement of beloved veterans, and Rosberg’s willingness to walk away from the sport having won his only world title. Here are our top five moments of the year. 5. Retirement Announcements Beloved veterans Jenson Button and Felipe Massa shocked the sport by announcing theyRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Brazilian media sources are now reporting that recently retired F1 driver Felipe Massa has signed a deal with Williams to return to the grid in 2017 for his former team. By doing so he paves the way for his old team mate Valtteri Bottas to join Mercedes and fill the vacancy left by Nico Rosberg’s surprise retirement. Massa, who announced his retirement in September at the Italian Grand Prix was apparently eager to come back and help his former team. Williams had a desperate need forRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Wider-faster-louder cars and fat Pirelli slicks are already set to make Formula One 2017 an exciting prospect for the fans, but if reports out of South America are to be trusted it could get a lot more exciting with Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado potentially returning to the grid. The controversial and crash prone driver could soon be back to his legendary hunting grounds. The 2012 Spanish Grand Prix winner, known for his searing speed and devil may care driving style, is reportedly in talks with several F1 teamsRead More