Brazilian Grand Prix Tag

By FIA Max Verstappen went quickest in a closely contested opening practice session for the Brazlian Grand Prix, with the Red Bull Racing driver finishing just five hundredths of a second ahead of Ferrari’s Sebsatian Vettel and just under a tenth of a second clear of recently crowned 2018 champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes. Drivers from the top three teams traded fast laps throughout the opening hour of the session, with Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo initially leading the way with a time of 1m10.139s. That mark was soon bypassed byRead More

Sebastian Vettel took his 47th career grand prix win in a tight Brazilian Grand Prix that saw him  finish just 2.7s ahead of Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas. Ferrari team-mate Kimi Räikkönen took the final podium position after fending off Lewis Hamilton in the closing laps, the Briton having charged through the field after a pitlane start. At the start, Vettel snatched the lead ahead of Bottas, with the German sneaking through on the inside past the Finn. Further back Haas’s Kevin Magnussen collided with McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne, who was in turn pitched into the sideRead More

Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas claimed his third career pole position, beating Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by just ovet three hundredths of a second, as newly-crowned four-time champion Lewis Hamilton dramatically crashed out in Q1. The Briton, who had taken to the track early in a bid to put in a solid time in case of rain, lost control as he exited Turn 6. The back end of his car stepped out and he slid off into the tyre barriers, wrecking the front right side of his Mercedes. The crash resulted in aRead More

Valtteri Bottas beat team-mate Lewis Hamilton by just three thousandths of a second to top of the timesheet in an extremely tight final practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix. Just six hundredths of a second covered the top four drivers with Kimi Räikkönen finishing just 0.045 behind Hamilton and Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel fourth 0.013s further back. The session began under grey skies and the threat of rain, though in the end the session remained dry throughout. Räikkönen, using supersoft tyres, set the pace in the first half of theRead More

After dominating opening practice at Interlagos, Lewis Hamilton doubled up by topping the afternoon timesheets at the São Paulo circuit, edging team-mate Valtteri Bottas by just under five hundredths of a second. However, whereas Hamilton enjoyed a half second advantage over Ferrari’s third-placed Kimi Räikkönen in the morning session, afternoon practice was tighter, with Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo finishing just 0.228 behind four-time champion Hamilton after the drivers had completed their performance runs during the 90-minute session. In the morning Hamilton had led the way early in the sessionRead More

Lewis Hamilton headed a dominant Mercedes 1-2 in the opening free practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix, the Briton finishing a tenth of a second ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas and half a second clear of Ferrari’s third-placed Kimi Räikkönen. After spending the first half of the session controlling matters on Pirelli’s soft compound tyre, Hamilton switched to supersofts and after Bottas had taken top on the same compound with a time of 1:09.329, Hamilton responded by lowering the benchmark to 1:09.202. The lap was good enough to keep HamiltonRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief For the second time in as many seasons, Felipe Massa is announcing his retirement from Formula One competition effective once 2017 ends. The 36-year-old Brazilian retired last season, but following Valtteri Bottas’ move to Mercedes, Williams enticed him to return and team alongside incoming rookie Lance Stroll. The 2008 Formula One championship runner-up has a pair of sixth-place finishes (Australia, Bahrain) to his show as his best of the season, while also currently sitting 11th in the standings overall. A career that dates back to 2002,Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Pirelli have revealed the tire choices of the Formula One teams for the upcoming Brazilian Grand Prix. Although every team has elected to go with one set of the medium tire, the hardest compound offered for the weekend, there are some subtle differences with the other combinations. Mercedes will go with four soft sets, one more than Red Bull Racing and Ferrari, but will have one less set of supersofts to their rivals. Williams and Renault have both gone with only two soft sets, the fewestRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The F1 powers at be have granted an extra pre-season test day for Pirelli to develop their wet weather compounds for 2017. This comes after the company put in a request to the teams and the FIA to further develop the full wet tires before the season begins in March. It is understood that one of the 2015 mule cars developed by Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari will be used at a two day test at a so far unspecified location, likely Paul Ricard. The testRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor As part of the World Motor Sport Council gathering this week, the FIA has confirmed the 2017 Formula 1 Calendar. It features some interesting changes from the provisional calendar, namely the loss of the German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring, which showcases the sad state of affairs F1 faces in Germany, despite the success of Mercedes and Nico Rosberg. On the happier side, the US Grand Prix is confirmed after some speculation, no doubt the awesome race in October and its attendance record helped seal thatRead More