All posts by Adam Tate

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor From worst to first, Williams Martini Racing has turned around its biggest Achilles heel – their pitstop work. After several disastrous stops in 2014 and 2015 cost the team potential shots at victory, Rob Smedley knew something needed to change. The performance chief of the Grove based outfit put together an internal working group with the goal not only of abolishing mistakes in pitlane, but to become the best on the grid. After the first five races of 2016, the fruit of this endeavor has seenRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Welcome to our newest segment at Tribute Racing; Grand Prix Profile. The Grand Prix Profile, or GPP for short will be a look at each F1 venue, with a breakdown on its history and place in the sport. With the aim to give you a real glimpse at the heart and character of the many amazing places, the world’s most amazing sport visits. We begin in Spain, F1’s triumphant return to its European heartland comes early each May with the sports traditional visit to Circuit deRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor Word on the street is that Daniil Kvyat’s days at Red Bull Racing may be numbered. His clumsy double punting of Sebastian Vettel in the opening of last weekend’s Russian Grand Prix may well be the undoing of the promising young Russian’s season. According to multiple reports Red Bull boss Helmut Marko, not one to show mercy, may swap Kvyat with Max Verstappen for the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix. The move, which sounds unusually harsh even by Marko’s standards, may be more strategic than the kneeRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor Lewis Hamilton will take a 5 spot grid penalty for this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix for Mercedes changing the gearbox in his car. It was damaged after contact from William’s Valtteri Bottas in the wild start to the Bahrain Grand Prix. The team released the following statement via Twitter and shed some light on their decision to change the box ahead of China. The gearbox of Lewis Hamilton’s F1 W07 Hybrid sustained damage in Bahrain which required a physical inspection for full assessment. Having done so, theRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, better known as Imola, the beloved home of the San Marino Grand Prix from 1981 to 2006 has stated it is ready to return to Formula One. Since losing Italy’s second round of the championship a decade ago, the track has undergone massive renovations and is one of the few FIA Grade 1 circuits not currently on the schedule, which is odd when one considers that the raison d’etre of grade 1 circuit is to host Formula One. With the fraughtRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor The letter worked! Just hours after all 11 teams unanimously signed a letter demanding the old qualifying system of 2006-2015 be reinstated, it has been reinstated! Miraculously Bernie Ecclestone, Jean Todt and the FIA went down without a fight this time and agreed to terms the teams, drivers and fans have been calling for since qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix on March 19th. Once rubber stamped by the Strategy Group, the F1 Commission and lastly the World Motorsport Council, the return to the tried and true qualifyingRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor All 11 Formula One teams have come together and drafted a unanimous letter to FIA President Jean Todt, Bernie Ecclestone and CVC Capital Partners, demanding a return to the 2006-2015 qualifying format. The letter makes it clear that the teams want the disastrous elimination format dropped immediately and that any ideas of aggregate qualifying Ecclestone may have, are not wanted either. It is easily the strongest show of force from the teams on a single issue in some time and something that team bosses and driversRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor Marco Andretti set the top time in today’s Manufacturer aerokit test from Indianapolis Motor Speedway in windy, somewhat rainy conditions. Andretti led a field of 15 drivers, who logged a combined 501 laps on the 2.5 mile superspeedway. His 223.427 mph lap just edged his Andretti Autosport team mate Ryan Hunter-Reay, which will give Honda some reason to smile, as their full superspeedway kit may finally give them an edge on their Chevy powered rivals. The full results can be found here. The purpose of the twoRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor Top Gear, the show that caused the world to fall in love with cars again, is nearly back. The long reboot after the Exodus of Clarkson and Co. is nearly complete and the all new series will debut soon. Thankfully for viewers, the program looks to be more of the same game, just with new faces and personalities behind the wheel. The first trailer features ridiculous challenges, an Ariel Nomad, Aston Martin’s track only Vulcan, Jenson Button in a McLaren 675LT, a Viper vs Corvette vsRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor IndyCar rookie and F1 reserve Alexander Rossi had his first oval experience this past weekend in IndyCar’s long awaited return to the Desert Mile at Phoenix International Raceway. In the lead up to the race, the newcomer was noticeably surprised at the transition and different skill set required for a fast, short oval. The first 10 laps I drove around an oval I was a little bit timid about it, but I enjoyed the experience. It’s a very unique set of circumstances you have to understandRead More