Formula One Category

By FIA After more than three years at the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, Laurent Mekies, FIA Safety Director and Deputy to the F1 Race Director, is to leave the Federation. Mr Mekies joined the FIA in October 2014 as Safety Director, being responsible for all Safety and Medical matters for the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile across all its Championships, as well as R&D and homologation activities for both track and road. At the start of 2017 he was appointed Deputy F1 Race Director in addition to his existing duties. InRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Pirelli has revealed the tire selections for Formula 1 teams ahead of next week’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix. The Italian manufacturer and exclusive tire supplier for F1 has added both the Hypersoft and Superhard compounds for 2018. However, the event at Albert Park in Melbourne will see the Ultrasoft, Supersoft and Soft rubber combinations, with each team allowed to choose 10 of 13 sets. McLaren, Mercedes and Williams have chosen nine sets of the Ultrasofts, while Ferrari and Renault have elected for seven. Renault, along withRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The 2018 Formula 1 season is upon us with the Australian Grand Prix just under two weeks away. One of the more compelling stories of the offseason is that of Robert Kubica. The Polish driver returns to F1 in a reserve role with Williams as he continues his remarkable comeback. Our friends from Mobil 1 The Grid have brought together a highlight of Kubica as he readies for a new role this season. Video Credit: Mobil 1 The GridRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor 2019 will see a revamped Formula 3 Series enter the scene by joining Formula 2 as part of the Formula 1 support race schedule. Currently much of the younger, global talent with their eyes set on F1 is divided between the numerous national or regional F3 series and the newer GP3 series. Many of the smaller F3 series will carry one, but GP3 will disappear as the FIA continues its mission to streamline the path to Formula One. In 2019 the new F3 series complete withRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Romain Grosjean propelled Haas F1 Team to a new benchmark on the final day of preseason testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The 31-year-old Frenchman completed 181 laps on Friday around the 2.892-mile, 16-turn road course – the most among the 12 drivers. The strong outing comes after teammate Kevin Magnussen posted the previous best a day prior with 153 total laps. The day’s activities left Grosjean with a remarkable 523.452 miles run, while also posting the fifth-best time at 1 minute, 18.412 seconds in the No.Read More

By FIA Kimi Räikkönen kept Ferrari on top of the timesheets as pre-season testing came to a close in Barcelona today, with the Finn using the hypersoft tyre to eclipse surprise second-place man Fernando Alonso by half a second. Third quickest was Renault driver Carlos Sainz. Ferrari ratcheted up the pace on the final two days of the test, with Sebastian Vettel yesterday claiming an unofficial circuit record with a lap of 1:17.182. And Räikkönen got close to that mark on the final day of testing, posting a 1:17.221 duringRead More

By FIA Sebastian Vettel broke the circuit record set yesterday by Daniel Ricciardo by almost a second to top the timesheets on the penultimate day of pre-season Formula 1 testing in Barcelona. The Ferrari ended the day over a second clear of nearest rival Kevin Magnussen of Haas, as other frontrunners sent much of the day on long runs. Vettel’s table topping time arrived in morning session as the German sampled the hypersoft Pirelli tyres. And as the bulk of drivers, including Vettel, moved to race simulations in the afternoonRead More

By FIA Daniel Ricciardo set the fastest ever lap of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to top the timesheets on day two of the second pre-season Formula 1 test at the Spanish track. The Red Bull Racing driver used Pirelli’s new hypersoft compound to post a time of 1:18.047 that beat Felipe Massa’s 2008 record. It was also good enough, on the day, to eclipse world champion Lewis Hamilton by over three tenths of a second. Hamilton had led for most of the morning session and set his quickest time onRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team has announced that Tatiana Calderon has been placed as a test driver for the 2018 Formula 1 season. The 24-year-old Colombian was a development driver with the the Switzerland-based squad in 2017 prior to the newly promoted role. Her new responsibilities will include training sessions in the simulator and “coaching with engineers both on-site during several GP weekends, as well as at the team’s headquarters.” In addition to being a test driver, Calderon is also taking part in the GP3 SeriesRead More

By FIA Sebastian Vettel set the quickest time of the opening day of the second and final pre-season test ahead of the 2018 FIA Formula 1 season, edging Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas by just two hundredths of a second. Bottas made the early running on a busy morning for 2018’s expected front runners, putting in 86 laps on his way to a best time of 1:20.596, set on soft compound Pirelli tyres. However, he was deposed from top spot shortly before lunchtime when Vettel logged a lap of 1:20.396 using mediumRead More