All posts by Joey Barnes

Team boss Eric Boullier has stated that McLaren “intends” to keep longtime F1 veteran Jenson Button for 2016. McLaren has an option on the 2009 world champion’s contract, but also has two youthful talents waiting in the wings in Kevin Magnussen and Stoffel Vandoorne. Both have made a case to be in a second car for McLaren, let alone another team on the grid, which is something Boullier and company might be entertaining. Similar to putting a player on loan in soccer, McLaren may put a transfer fee on theRead More

Reigning F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton does not believe Mercedes should not supply engines to Red Bull Racing. Red Bull Racing currently has a contract with Renault as its supplier till the end of 2016, but the team wants to expire that agreement a year early to the end of this season. Renault has struggled in Formula 1 since the inception of the V6 turbo era. With Lotus changing from Renault last season to Mercedes power this year – a move that saw the team grab its first podium inRead More

After facing a 105-place grid penalty at Spa-Francorchamps, McLaren braces for another rough weekend as they approach the ‘Temple of Speed’ for the Italian Grand Prix. In Belgium, Honda introduced an upgraded engine and brought into play two fresh power units. However, the decision to change power units once again in Monza is believed to be more of a strategic move to help increase the engine pool, instead of any technical issues. With the changes it means penalties once again for Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso. Button will serve aRead More

Mercedes has decided to use all of its engine development tokens for the Italian Grand Prix. The German manufacturer had not improved its power unit at any event previously this season, but the move is believed to help them in the long run. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will start Monza with its third power unit of the season, and has added changes that take up the seven remaining tokens the team had left available. The decision to use all of the tokens at Monza was more about the developmentRead More

Williams has confirmed that it will retain Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas for the 2016 Formula 1 season. The team had an option on Massa’s contract to extend his deal for another year, with expectations being that the Brazilian would stay on for a third consecutive season. Bottas had been linked and considered the heavy favorite to Kimi Raikkonen’s seat over at Ferrari, but with the Italian team picking up Raikkonen’s option for 2016 much of the talk surrounding the Williams driver has been relaxed in recent weeks. The moveRead More

After months of speculation on where he may land, it was announced Tuesday that Nico Hulkenberg signed a two-year contract extension and will stay on at Sahara Force India for 2016 and 2017 Formula 1 seasons. The German driver has made a home at the Silverstone-based squad, racing for them for much of his Formula 1 career. Originally a test driver for Force India, Hulkenberg raced with the team in 2012 before departing for Sauber for whom he raced one season for prior to returning. Hulkenberg’s name was linked toRead More

After winning the Firestone Pit Performance Award for spending the least amount of time on pit lane at Pocono Raceway last weekend, the crew of the No. 98 Bryan Herta Autosport Honda driven by IndyCar Series rookie Gabby Chaves donated their $10,000 prize money to Wilson’s Children’s Fund in honor of the late Justin Wilson. Chaves was in contention for the win in the ABC Supply 500 in large part due to the team’s efforts, who won the award for the first time. “It was (the crew’s) decision to makeRead More

After being chosen by the family of the late Justin Wilson to replace the fallen driver and honor his memory, Oriol Servia captured a 12th-place finish in the IndyCar season finale at Sonoma Raceway. Servia was one of Wilson’s closest friends and amid the tragedy the family felt that they would honor him the best way they knew how, at the race track, and he was not alone as Justin’s brother, Stefan, joined him. It was the Spaniard’s first race in the series since the Indianapolis 500 earlier this yearRead More

After what appeared to be a disastrous season, Ryan Hunter-Reay bounced out of the IndyCar Series cellar to nearly break into the top five of the championship standings. The Andretti Autosport driver came into Sonoma 11th in the standings, but a runner-up finish and double points pushed Hunter-Reay up to sixth in the final championship results, moving ahead of Marco Andretti for best on the team. Hunter-Reay’s wave of momentum started four races ago with a win in Iowa, then a seventh at Mid-Ohio, followed by another win last weekRead More

After winning the 2015 IndyCar Series championship, newly crowned four-time champion Scott Dixon shared his thoughts on racing the upcoming Ford GT in the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year. Dixon has several starts for team owner Chip Ganassi, who currently owns teams in IndyCar, NASCAR and United SportsCar. Ganassi has Chevrolet as his supplier in IndyCar and NASCAR, but his United SportsCar efforts are with Ford and next year they are expected to compete in the World Endurance Championship as well. “I haven’t been to Le Mans, so IRead More