All posts by Joey Barnes

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Mercedes have revealed their 2017 car – the W08 – at Silverstone on Thursday. Lewis Hamilton completed a handful of laps for filming day on a damp day on a set of wet Pirelli tires at the circuit that hosts the British Grand Prix. After a series of short stints he returned on slick rubber, ramping up the pace before pitting the car for the official launch. Valtteri Bottas also enjoyed a brief run in the afternoon, his first run with the team since moving overRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Force India became the fourth team to showcase their 2017 car, revealing the VJM10 during an online presentation at Silverstone. The silver and black liver has a hint of orange streaking from the nose down to the back of the side pods, with similar features to recently revealed challengers Williams, Sauber and Renault. The most notable difference comes with the front wing, which features a slit ‘thumb-nose.’ The backend of the VJM10 also sees an extended shark fin. The car was unveiled by Sergio Perez andRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The winning helmet design that Lewis Hamilton will carry for the 2017 Formula 1 season has been chosen. The Mercedes driver had to make the tough choice over 8,000 submitted entries from participants through Instagram, but eventually settled on a rendering by Rai Caldato of Caldato Design. The winning design features ties to the 32-year-old Brit’s hero, Ayrton Senna, past helmets and stars to signify his three championships. The featured design can be seen below courtesy of Hamilton’s Instagram post. Here it is. The winning helmetRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Renault Sport F1 Team became the third squad to reveal its 2017 Formula 1 car – the RS17. The launch came at an event in London with the team also officially introducing race drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Jolyon Palmer, and test driver Sergei Sorotkin. Having finished ninth in the constructors’ standings last season, Renault Sport president Jerome Stoll set the target for fifth place for the upcoming season. “The RS17 is the first car which Enstone and Viry (Renault’s UK and French F1 bases) have beenRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Sauber F1 Team celebrates their 25 years in Formula 1 with an all-new livery on the C36 chassis – their 2017 challenger. Although he only just joined the Hinwill-based squad in January, new technical director Jorg Zander  pushed its development after replacing Mark Smith, whom began the car’s design but left in March last season. Powered by a year-old Ferrari engine which is likely to hamper its full potential, Zander put a bigger focus on the aerodynamics. “We put greater emphasis on aerodynamic stability as opposedRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Williams has announced that it has signed former Ferrari chief aerodynamicist Dirk de Beer to be its head of aerodynamics ahead of the 2017 Formula 1 season. His time at Ferrari began in 2013, but de Beer revealed plans to leave Maranello last year and will now begin work with Williams on March 1. With time spent at Renault – then known as Lotus F1 – under the position of head of aerodynamics, he enjoyed his debut into the sport with Sauber following a stint workingRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief An enjoyable ride has come to an end in the Verizon IndyCar Series for KV Racing Technology. The team confirmed on Thursday via a release that it has officially closed its doors and will support Juncos Racing, as team owner Ricardo Juncos seeks to move up to IndyCar after several seasons spent in the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires. “I want to thank all those who have written to express their appreciation of the efforts of KV Racing Technology during the last 14Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief AVONDALE, Ariz. – Finally, Indy cars are back on track! The Verizon IndyCar Series started the 2017 season on Friday with testing at Phoenix International Raceway with some welcomed surprises that put optimism in effect for the year to come. Some new faces in fresh places, but maybe none more exciting than Josef Newgarden taking to the 1-mile oval in the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet. He finished P1 on the scoring pylon in the year’s first test session during the afternoon at 190.129 mph, butRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief In only five months, the McLaren F1 team and CEO Jost Capito have officially split up. Formerly the head of Volkswagen’s motorsport efforts, Capito left to join the Woking-based team and worked alongside bosses Eric Boullier and Jonathan Neale – coming onboard at last year’s Italian Grand Prix. However, with former chairman Ron Dennis out and McLaren bringing in a new executive director in Zak Brown, the team elected to part ways with Capito. “Regrettably, we have not been able to find common ground with JostRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief It was just two weeks ago that Lewis Hamilton offered fans a chance to design his 2017 helmet livery and that number has closed at 8,000 entries. The three-time F1 world champion took to Instagram to showcase his excitement and announced that the winner will be picked in the days to come. F1 regulations call for a driver to run the same helmet design for the duration of the season, with a one-off special design at a race of their choosing. Wow, over 8,000…Thanks for allRead More