Australian Grand Prix Tag

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Fernando Alonso helped lead a McLaren return back to relevancy after delivering with a fifth-place finish in the Australian Grand Prix. The Woking-based outfit spent the previous three seasons backed by Honda power, but an offseason switch to Renault as the engine supplier has already seen a strong return with the team. The performance in the Formula 1 season opener matched McLaren’s best result since Alonso scored a fifth-place effort in the 2016 United States Grand Prix. The 36-year-old Spaniard started from 10th on the gridRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Haas F1 Team put together their most promising race weekend to date, only to have it come undone midway through the Australian Grand Prix. Kevin Magnussen started fifth on the grid, but made a phenomenal move on Max Verstappen around the outside of Turn 1 off the start to grab fourth. The 25-year-old Dane held the position solidly despite constant pressure from the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing pilot. The breakout performance was helped when Verstappen spun on Lap 10 entering in Turn 1, which elevatedRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Sahara Force India opened up the 2018 Formula 1 season with a less than ideal start after failing to score a single point at the Australian Grand Prix. The outing marks the first time since Monaco last year that the team failed to score within the top 10. Sergio Perez started 12th for his eighth career race at Albert Park, but struggled to work his way up the field. The 28-year-old Mexican ended the day 11th. “It was quite an unlucky weekend for us, but thereRead More

By FIA Sebastian Vettel took a sensational Australian Grand Prix victory, taking advantage of a mid-race safety car to beat arch-rival Lewis Hamilton. The defending champion was forced to settle for second place ahead of the second Ferrari of Kimi Räikkönen. Local hero Daniel Ricciardo finished fourth. Hamilton led away comfortably at the start, dismissing a brief challenger from Raikkonen as they made their way through the first corners. Vettel held third place but behind Haas’ Kevin Magnussen got the jump on Verstappen who dropped to fifth ahead of Grosjean,Read More

By FIA Lewis Hamilton took his first pole position of the 2018 season in imperious fashion, beating Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen and third-placed Sebastian Vettel by nearly seven tenths of a second. It was a bittersweet sesssion for Hamilton’s Mercedes team, however, as the defending team-mate, Valtteri Bottas, crashed out heavily at the start of the final session. Räikkönen set the pace early in Q1, eventually rising to a time of 1:23.096s ahead of the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. The order changed when Hamilton began to put togetherRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The Australian Grand Prix kicks off the 2018 Formula 1 season this weekend. Last season featured the closest title fight the sport has seen since 2012, and the field is riding a wave of momentum at the moment, hoping for an even more competitive year. Expectations are for a three way fight at the top between defending champions Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. If practice times this week from Albert Park are any indication that could very well be the case, at least for the firstRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Let’s face it, we all have mixed opinions about the Halo in Formula 1. Some understand it’s for the sake of safety, and the drivers wanted something to be done for head protection after notable incidents that’s ended seasons, and even a driver’s life. Others utterly despise the new look, and wish there was a different approach of protecting a driver, like the canopy NHRA Top Fuel drivers use. After opening day of free practice for the Rolex Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne, I sawRead More

By FIA Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel grabbed top spot in final practice for the Australian Grand Prix with a late surge on ultrasoft tyres at the end of a we-dry session at Albert Park. With the track damp and greasy until the closing stages most teams opted to play safe and remain on intermediate tyres during the final minutes of the session, with Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen setting the pace with a lap of 1:31.680 on the green-banded tyres with just a minute to go. Vettel, though had bolted onRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Daniel Ricciardo has been hit with a three-place grid penalty for the Australian Grand Prix. The 28-year-old Aussie was found by race stewards to have been going too fast under red flag conditions just past halfway in the second practice session. The interruption came due to a loose wire at the start/finish line. The Aston Martin Red Bull Racing pilot was on a qualifying simulation lap when the session was halted, but while returning to the pits was deemed to have been going above the minimumRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Romain Grosjean helped lead the Haas F1 to its most successful Friday in team history. The 31-year-old Frenchman finished both practice sessions in the top 10 for the Australian Grand Prix among the top 10. He ended sixth-best in the afternoon with a lap of 1 minute, 24.648 seconds, which fell 0.197 of a second behind Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. “It’s been a good day,” said Grosjean, who completed 34 laps on the day around the 3.295-mile, 16-turn circuit. “I’m happy with the car and the guysRead More