Carlos Sainz Tag

By FIA Lewis Hamilton went quickest in the first practice of the new season, as the 2018 FIA Formula 1 World Championship campaign got underway in Melbourne. The defending champion beat Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas by over half a second as running got underway at the Albert Park circuit, with Max Verstappen a further two tenths of a second off the pace. With the temporary circuit lacking grip, teams played a waiting game in the early stages and more than 20 minutes before Williams rookie set the first timed lapRead More

By FIA Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel set the quickest time of day two of the first pre-season Formula 1 test in Barcelona, outpacing Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas by three tenths of a second. McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne finished third on the timesheet a further three tenths back. The day began in muted fashion as overnight snow and rain meant conditions were tricky early on and many teams avoided significant running before the halfway point of running. One of those was Red Bull Racing, with the Milton Keynes team being restricted to the garageRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Motorsports Tribune reviews the top 10 Formula 1 drivers of 2017. Our list begins with 10th place finisher Nico Hulkenberg. Nico Hulkenberg, No. 27 Renault Sport Formula 1 Team 2017: 10th in the championship, 43 points Wins: 0, Podiums: 0, Top 5: 0, Top 10: 8, Poles: 0, Laps Led: 0, Fastest Laps: 0 Best Finish: 6th – Four times (Spain, Great Britain, Belgium, Abu Dhabi) Nico Hulkenberg holds the unfortunate record of having the most Formula 1 race finishes without a podium, 135 Grands Prix. TheRead More

Lewis Hamilton took one step closer to a fourth title with his 72nd career pole position at the Circuit of the Americas. The Briton’s path was shadowed by title rival Sebastian Vettel, however, with the Ferrari driver recovering from a tricky start to the weekend to claim a front-row berth just 0.2s behind the Mercedes driver. After handling problems on Friday, Ferrari opted to change Vettel’s chassis overnight and in the build-up to Q3 the German began to find the rhythm that had eluded him in practice. He couldn’t match Hamilton,Read More

Lewis Hamilton maintained his grip on top spot in practice for the United States Grand Prix, but the Mercedes driver was pushed hard by a much-improved Ferrari, with Sebastian Vettel getting to within a tenth of a second of the championship leader in FP3 at the Circuit of the Americas. Third place in the session went to Mercedes Valtteri Bottas, with Kimi Räikkönen fourth in the second Ferrari. Just 0.277s separated the top four drivers. Hamilton was also to the fore in the early part of the session where longer runsRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief AUSTIN, Texas – Carlos Sainz is ready to begin the next chapter of his Formula One career with Renault for this weekend’s United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. The 23-year-old Spaniard moved over to the Enstone-based squad after being at Scuderia Toro Rosso since 2015. Currently sitting ninth in the championship standings, Sainz put in a career-best effort of fourth at Singapore last month. The move will give Sainz four races with his new team in preparation for 2018. However, looking towards thisRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor After racing in Malaysia and Japan for Toro Rosso, 2016 Formula 2 (formerly GP2) champ Pierre Gasly is set to miss the U.S. Grand Prix in order to compete in the Super Formula season finale to try and add another series championship to his CV. Gasly temporarily replaced Daniil Kvyat in the team’s lineup and is expected to be paired with the Russian for 2018, but he is only half a point off the championship lead in Super Formula behind Toyota driver Hiroaki Ishiura. It isRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Renault and Toro Rosso have agreed that Carlos Sainz Jr. will move to the French team after the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend. This had been the original aim of the deal between Red Bull and Renault when it was agreed that Toro Rosso would loan Sainz to the French outfit. However, negotiations between Renault and Jolyon Palmer broke down and the British driver remained alongside Nico Hukenberg. The negotiations later resumed and Palmer has announced that tomorrow will be his last race with the team,Read More

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel went quickest in opening practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, beating Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton by two tenths of a second. The session was interrupted, however, by a heavy crash involving Carlos Sainz. Sainz’s smash came shortly after the midpoint of the session. The Toro Rosso driver ran wide on the entry to Turn 12, after the hairpin, and lost control of his car. The Spaniard spun across the track and arrowed nose first into the barriers, scattering debris across the surface. The session was immediately red-flagged asRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Williams Martini Racing has narrowed down its driver search for Lance Stroll’s 2018 partner to three, according to Motorsport Magazine. Current pilot Felipe Massa, who has been with the team since 2014 despite an initial planned retirement prior to the team losing Valtteri Bottas to Mercedes, is said to still be a possibility for the Grove-based outfit. However, the plan is to test out Paul di Resta and Robert Kubica before settling on the 2018 seat. For di Resta, who serves as the team’s reserve driver,Read More