All posts by Joey Barnes

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

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Charles Leclerc is set to appear in four FP1 appearances this season with Sauber, beginning at the Malaysian Grand Prix. The 19-year-old Frenchman is a Ferrari junior driver and currently leads the F2 Championship by 59 points with four rounds remaining. He has been linked for a possible seat for the Swiss outfit for 2018 following the recent announcement of a continued technical partnership with Ferrari. “The Sauber F1 Team is pleased to confirm that Charles Leclerc will be in the cockpit of the Sauber C36-FerrariRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Carlos Sainz came from 10th on the grid to survive a treacherous and wet Singapore Grand Prix to finish just off the podium in fourth-place – his best ever in Formula One. Oddly enough the result comes on the heels of the announcement of Sainz set to go to Renault next season, and with additional rumors of a potential switch as early as next round in Malaysia. However, the 23-year-old Spaniard was beyond overjoyed with the banner outcome. “WOW,” said an emotionally charged Sainz. “What aRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief An opening lap collision in the Singapore Grand Prix brought an unexpectedly early end to the Ferrari pair of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel. Vettel started on pole on a wet grid as a consistent light rain came into play, and jumped slightly ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen, who started alongside in second. However, while trying to set up his entry to Turn 1, his Ferrari teammate got a stellar launch from third and was challenging to two lead cars. The lack of roomRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Max Verstappen insists that his opening lap collision in the Singapore Grand Prix that resulted in the retirements of he, and the Ferrari duo of polesitter Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, was something not of his own making. The 19-year-old Dutchman started second on a slippery grid and at lights out was put in a precarious position as Raikkonen, who started from third, got a great launch and put wheels alongside entering Turn 1. At that moment, Vettel was setting up for his entry into theRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Schmidt Peterson Motorsports has confirmed that a third entry for the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil will be a partnership with French team, Calmels Sport, and will feature pilot Tristan Gommendy. The 38-year-old Frenchman last raced in America during the Champ Car era in 2007 with PKV Racing before moving back to Europe to compete in multiple junior formula series. The chance to drive in next year’s Indy 500 will also be his first on an oval, having spent theRead More