All posts by Adam Tate

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The French Grand Prix is poised to make a surprise return to the Formula One calendar in 2018, after an absence of a decade. The race, last hosted by the rural Magny-Cours circuit in 2008, will come to the Paul Ricard circuit, where the French Grand Prix was previously held between 1971 and 1990. The track is owned by Bernie Ecclestone’s family trust, but the F1 supremo has insisted that they will rent the circuit to the event promoters for the Grand Prix in order toRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor In the surprise announcement heard ’round the world, newly crowned Formula One Champion Nico Rosberg retired from F1 today, effective immediately. The news came as a shock to Mercedes, to F1, and to fans around the world. Even Lewis Hamilton who has claimed not to be too surprised, no doubt was. Rosberg who completed 206 starts, for 23 wins, 30 poles, 57 podiums, and one World title; thanked his family, his team, his wife and his fans for all the support he has received in hisRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Red Bull Racing announced a lubricant and sponsorship deal with oil giant ExxonMobil today. The deal is somewhat of a coup against rivals McLaren who have enjoyed a very succesful, 21 year partnership with the world’s wealthiest company. The deal will see Red Bull use ExxonMobil fuels and lubricants, as well as feature ExxonMobil branding on the cars, the drivers’ fire suits and helmets. Renault, who supplies Red Bull’s engines will stick with fellow French company Total for their lubricant and fuel needs. It will beRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor As part of the World Motor Sport Council gathering this week, the FIA has confirmed the 2017 Formula 1 Calendar. It features some interesting changes from the provisional calendar, namely the loss of the German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring, which showcases the sad state of affairs F1 faces in Germany, despite the success of Mercedes and Nico Rosberg. On the happier side, the US Grand Prix is confirmed after some speculation, no doubt the awesome race in October and its attendance record helped seal thatRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor After incredibly lengthy negotiations, the contract to extend the Italian Grand Prix at Monza through 2019 has finally been signed. It came after months of rumor and speculation on the future of the race. It came after Imola challenged to move the race. It came after Bernie Ecclestone and Angelo Sticchi Damiani butted heads several times. News of the new contract being agreed to broke during the Italian Grand Prix weekend back at the beginning of September, but officials insisted there were still small details toRead More

February 15th 1929 – November 29th 1975 Indy 500 Winner – 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans Winner – 1972 Formula One World Champion – 1962, 1968 Monaco Grand Prix Winner – 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969 Graham Hill, the most affable driver of arguably the most talented generation of drivers in the history of motorsport did not pass his driver’s test till the remarkable age of 24. After a stint in the Royal Navy and time spent as an engineer, Hill’s racing debut came at the wheel of aRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Pirelli’s final tire test of 2016 wrapped up at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi today. It was the first time the modified 2015 chasis from Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari appeared together on track, and it was Pirelli’s last chance to evaluate potential tire compounds for 2017’s bigger, wider tires. Lewis Hamilton turned laps for Mercedes before withdrawing from the test due to illness. Pascal Wehrlein completed the test for Mercedes. Both Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen ran for Red Bull, while Kimi RaikkonenRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix proved an exciting finale for the 2016 Formula One season and brought us a slew of interesting stats and facts, as new records were set, veterans retired, and Nico Rosberg clinched his maiden World Drivers Championship. Here are 10 of the best facts and stats from the dramatic duel in the desert. 10. Nico Rosberg joins his father Keke (1982) as only the second father-son duo in history to be F1 champions. Graham (1962,1968) and Damon Hill were the first toRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor American businessman Zak Brown, founder of the world’s largest motorsports marketing firm, Just Marketing International (JMI) has just accepted the role of Executive Director at McLaren. The news comes in the wake of the shock departure of longtime McLaren Chief, Ron Dennis who will see his tenure expire with his contract at the end of 2016. McLaren has been adamant to emphasize that Brown will not replace Dennis, but rather collaborate with company COO Jonathan Neale to lead the business side of the company, and thatRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Mercedes AMG Petronas drivers Nico Rosberg, and Lewis Hamilton have picked the exact same supply of tires for their championship showdown at Yas Marina for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Each of them will have four sets of softs, two sets of super-softs, and seven sets of the super sticky ultra-soft compounds for the weekend. The driver’s choices echo Mercedes’ boss Toto Wolff’s strategy of giving their drivers each an equal opportunity to claim the championship. Whoever wins will not claim the title by fluke ofRead More