All posts by Joey Barnes

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Kimi Raikkonen overcame a rough start and avoided trouble en route to finishing third in Sunday’s Heineken Chinese Grand Prix. The 38-year-old Finn got a nice jump from second on the grid, but Scuderia Ferrari teammate and pole sitter Sebastian Vettel came across the track and pinched Raikkonen on the inside. The bad entry angle into Turn 1 meant Raikkonen had to ease off the throttle, which pushed him down to fourth by the end of the opening lap. The 2007 World Champion managed to takeRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief AVONDALE, Arizona – It has been a relatively quiet weekend for Josef Newgarden. Picking up where he left off at the season opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the 27-year-old Tennessean will start tonight’s Desert Diamond West Valley Casino Phoenix Grand Prix at ISM Raceway from seventh on the grid at 185.279 mph. There was hope for more after Team Penkse teammates Simon Pagenaud and Will Power paced the second and third best times, respectively. However, the reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion believes the trackRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The Formula 1 season is officially underway following an exciting Australian Grand Prix two weekends ago, but now the focus turns toward the second and third rounds of the championship. As such, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo previews the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix and the Heineken Chinese Grand Prix. Our friends from Mobil 1 The Grid have brought together the Aussie’s thoughts on the first back-to-back events of 2018. Video Credit: Mobil 1 The GridRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief ESPN has issued an apology after a variety of technical issues plagued its debut as the chief provider of Formula 1 broadcast coverage in the United States. The problems began with the “On the Grid” prerace show on ESPN2 as the video feed from coverage partner Sky Sports came through without audio. The network then cutaway to another show as the incident persisted before returning with that particular problem resolved 10 minutes prior to lights out. “We deeply apologize to Formula 1 fans for the technicalRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Fernando Alonso helped lead a McLaren return back to relevancy after delivering with a fifth-place finish in the Australian Grand Prix. The Woking-based outfit spent the previous three seasons backed by Honda power, but an offseason switch to Renault as the engine supplier has already seen a strong return with the team. The performance in the Formula 1 season opener matched McLaren’s best result since Alonso scored a fifth-place effort in the 2016 United States Grand Prix. The 36-year-old Spaniard started from 10th on the gridRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Haas F1 Team put together their most promising race weekend to date, only to have it come undone midway through the Australian Grand Prix. Kevin Magnussen started fifth on the grid, but made a phenomenal move on Max Verstappen around the outside of Turn 1 off the start to grab fourth. The 25-year-old Dane held the position solidly despite constant pressure from the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing pilot. The breakout performance was helped when Verstappen spun on Lap 10 entering in Turn 1, which elevatedRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Sahara Force India opened up the 2018 Formula 1 season with a less than ideal start after failing to score a single point at the Australian Grand Prix. The outing marks the first time since Monaco last year that the team failed to score within the top 10. Sergio Perez started 12th for his eighth career race at Albert Park, but struggled to work his way up the field. The 28-year-old Mexican ended the day 11th. “It was quite an unlucky weekend for us, but thereRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Daniel Ricciardo has been hit with a three-place grid penalty for the Australian Grand Prix. The 28-year-old Aussie was found by race stewards to have been going too fast under red flag conditions just past halfway in the second practice session. The interruption came due to a loose wire at the start/finish line. The Aston Martin Red Bull Racing pilot was on a qualifying simulation lap when the session was halted, but while returning to the pits was deemed to have been going above the minimumRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Romain Grosjean helped lead the Haas F1 to its most successful Friday in team history. The 31-year-old Frenchman finished both practice sessions in the top 10 for the Australian Grand Prix among the top 10. He ended sixth-best in the afternoon with a lap of 1 minute, 24.648 seconds, which fell 0.197 of a second behind Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. “It’s been a good day,” said Grosjean, who completed 34 laps on the day around the 3.295-mile, 16-turn circuit. “I’m happy with the car and the guysRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Sebastian Vettel is confident that Ferrari has not shown its true pace after an unspectacular showing in Friday’s opening practice sessions for the Australian Grand Prix. As it stands, Lewis Hamilton swept the two sessions for Mercedes, with Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen pulling to within 0.127 of a second behind after a strong showing in the afternoon. However, it was Kimi Raikkonen leading the way for Ferrari, who paced fourth best at 0.283 of a second behind the leader, with Vettel posting fifth but over halfRead More