All posts by Adam Tate

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The 56th edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona kicks off the racing year with one of the most star studded grids of the season. Among the starters of tomorrow’s endurance classic are three 2018 Formula One drivers who have come stateside to compete against the best of IMSA, as well as some of better talents from NASCAR and IndyCar. Fernando Alonso is continuing his exploration outside of F1 as the next chapter of his triple crown attempt (Monaco GP, Indianapolis 500 and 24 Hours ofRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor IndyCar has announced changes to the rules and format of qualifying for oval races from 2018 on, according to a recent article by RACER.com. The old system of a driver lottery, the equivalent of drawing a name from a hat is replaced by a new system designed to up the tension and spectacle in a logical and fair manner. For the races at Phoenix, Texas, Iowa, Gateway and Pocono drivers will qualify in championship order according points. Drivers at the bottom of the standings will qualifyRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor IndyCar has increased the minimum weight for both the super speedway and road course/short oval trims for the universal aerokit equipped cars in 2018, according to RACER.com. The weights, which exclude driver, fuel, drinking bottle and ballast have gone up by 10 pounds in each trim and are now 1,620 pounds for the road course/short oval trim, and 1,590 pounds for super speedway trim. The move is due to the new safety measures introduced for the coming season, specifically more robust zylon anti-intrusion panels for theRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Motorsports Tribune reviews the top 10 Formula 1 drivers of 2017. Our list continues with second-place finisher Sebastian Vettel. Sebastian Vettel, No. 5 Scuderia Ferrari 2017: 2nd in the championship, 317 points Wins: 5, Podiums: 13, Top 5: 17, Top 10: 18, Poles: 3, Laps Led: 286, Fastest Laps: 5 Best Finish: 1st – Five times (Australia, Bahrain, Monaco, Hungary, Brazil) Sebastian Vettel had a dream start to the 2017 season, and a nightmare finish. His season of two halves saw Ferrari come closest to theRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Motorsports Tribune reviews the top 10 Formula 1 drivers of 2017. Our list continues with third-place finisher Valtteri Bottas. Valtteri Bottas, No. 77 Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport 2017: 3rd in the championship, 305 points Wins: 3, Podiums: 13, Top 5: 18, Top 10: 19, Poles: 4, Laps Led: 187, Fastest Laps: 2 Best Finish: 1st – Three times (Russia, Austria, Abu Dhabi) Valtteri Bottas had the most daunting task of any driver heading into the 2017 Formula 1 season. A last minute call to move fromRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Motorsports Tribune reviews the top 10 Formula 1 drivers of 2017. Our list continues with fourth-place finisher Kimi Raikkonen. Kimi Raikkonen, No. 7 Scuderia Ferrari 2017: 4th in the championship, 205 points Wins: 0, Podiums: 7, Top 5: 15, Top 10: 16, Poles: 1, Laps Led: 40, Fastest Laps: 2 Best Finish: 2nd – Two times (Monaco, Hungary) Kimi Raikkonen was the only driver from the big three teams in 2017 not to win a Grand Prix. It is a hard statistic to swallow for aRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Motorsports Tribune reviews the top 10 Formula 1 drivers of 2017. Our list continues with eighth-place finisher Esteban Ocon. Esteban Ocon, No. 31 Sahara Force India Formula One Team 2017: 8th in the championship, 87 points Wins: 0, Podiums: 0, Top 5: 2, Top 10: 18, Poles: 0, Laps Led: 0, Fastest Laps: 0 Best Finish: 5th – Two times (Spain, Mexico) Esteban Ocon had one of the best seasons of any driver in Formula One in 2017. The fact that it was his first fullRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Motorsports Tribune reviews the top 10 Formula 1 drivers of 2017. Our list begins with 10th place finisher Nico Hulkenberg. Nico Hulkenberg, No. 27 Renault Sport Formula 1 Team 2017: 10th in the championship, 43 points Wins: 0, Podiums: 0, Top 5: 0, Top 10: 8, Poles: 0, Laps Led: 0, Fastest Laps: 0 Best Finish: 6th – Four times (Spain, Great Britain, Belgium, Abu Dhabi) Nico Hulkenberg holds the unfortunate record of having the most Formula 1 race finishes without a podium, 135 Grands Prix. TheRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Pirelli’s new hypersoft tires, which Lewis Hamilton called, “Pirelli’s best tire since returning to F1,” won’t make their debut until the fourth race of 2018 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Italian Tire manufacturer has unveiled their compound selection for the first three Grands Prix of 2018 and the softest compound in their range did not make the cut, despite the first race of the season, the Australian Grand Prix taking place on a street circuit. For Australia, Pirelli will bring the soft, super-soft and ultra-soft tires. ForRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor McLaren has unveiled their most extreme road car yet and named it after the most extreme racing driver to ever pilot one of their F1 cars, the one and only Ayrton Senna. The new McLaren Senna is their most track focused offering to date with a 4.0 liter twin turbocharged V8 that develops 789 horsepower and 590 lb ft of torque. The car is also the lightest McLaren since the original F1 and comes in at a svelte 2,641 pounds, albeit without fluids onboard. It isRead More