All posts by Joey Barnes

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief There is a lot to be proud of at Haas F1 Team as both Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean put in a stout effort in the Japanese Grand Prix as the team scored double-points for just the second time in their short Formula One history. Magnussen’s day started from 12th and drove a masterful race and capped it off with a tough wheel-to-wheel battle with Williams’ Felipe Massa in Turn 1 on Lap 42 en route to an eight-place finish. The aggressive move also opened theRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Sebastian Vettel saw his chances at a fifth Formula One championship dealt its biggest blow yet with an early retirement from Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix. It was the third consecutive weekend that Scuderia Ferrari have dealt with problems at the start of the race in some form or another. The 30-year-old German was leading the championship up to the Italian Grand Prix, but with just four rounds left in 2017 he now sits second behind Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton – who stretched his margin out toRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Kimi Raikkonen’s shunt in final practice has led to a gearbox from Ferrari and a five-place grid penalty for the Japanese Grand Prix. The 37-year-old Finn lost control of his SF70Hwhile running through the pair of Degner corners when he lost control at the second part and slid off into the gravel trap and ultimately the wall. The heavy damage to his left rear was enough to end his session and provide Ferrari mechanics a busy task before qualifying. Regulations state that the each unit must lastRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Fernando Alonso has been assessed a 35-place grid penalty after his McLaren-Honda team had to change out the power unit and will start the Japanese Grand Prix. The big blow comes at Honda’s home race after the engine was found to have a hydraulic issue following the second practice session, leaving the team to break curfew for the second time this season in order to complete the task. The 36-year-old Spaniard’s tally of power unit work has become lengthy this Formula One season – Six controlRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief A tough time for Ferrari has become even more so after Kimi Raikkonen failed to make the grid for the start of the Malaysian Grand Prix, and was ultimately forced to retire before turning a lap. The 37-year-old Finn was expected to start from the second position, but cited a loss of power during the warmup 30 minutes prior to the race. The issue only magnifies problems that also hit teammate Sebastian Vettel on Saturday prior to qualifying, which led to starting the race from last.Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief A French Revolution in Formula 1 is upon us. The racing talent that exists in France has long been considered in the upper echelon, but in Formula 1 it endured a depression of sorts. Those days are over. The country has enjoyed seeing the likes of Sebastien Loeb and Sebastien Ogier conquer World Rally Championships many times over, with the two combining to win the last 13 titles (Loeb 2004-’12, Ogier 2013-’16). It is quite possible that total will move to 14 with Ogier currently leadingRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Just two weeks removed from crashing out in Singapore, Sebastian Vettel insisted he is only focused on this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix. The Scuderia Ferrari driver looked primed for a solid points haul after starting on pole for the Singapore Grand Prix, but was part of an opening lap melee at the start-line with teammate Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen. That incident was magnified after championship leader Lewis Hamilton went on to win the race, leaving the 30-year-old German 28 points behind withRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Scuderia Toro Rosso has revealed that Red Bull junior driver Pierre Gasly will replace Daniil Kvyat for “the next Grand Prix,” starting this weekend in Malaysia. The 2016 Formula 2 (previously known as GP2) champion, Gasly has been competing this year in Japan in Super Formula – a path similar to McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne, winner of the 2015 F2 title. The number of races remaining this season that the 21-year-old Frenchman will compete in isn’t confirmed, with the one certainty that he will not compete inRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief In what was widely known to happen at some point, Red Bull Racing announced on Monday that Aston Martin will serve as their title sponsor for the 2018 Formula One season. The official name at the start of next year will be set as Aston Martin Red Bull Racing. A partnership that formed in 2016, the duo combined their innovation and technology to form the Aston Martin Valkyrie – a dynamic hypercar that will be run in 2018 before going live to customers in 2019. TheRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Honda has confirmed that Fernando Alonso’s power unit, which was under threat of being damaged from the opening lap crash in Singapore, has been cleared for use in the upcoming Malaysian Grand Prix. The incident came after Alonso made a blazing start, but was a victim of circumstances following the collision between Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen. Alonso continued on for a handful of laps later before being forced to retire. Amid concerns of a damaged power unit, Yusuke Hasegawa, executive chief engineer andRead More