Charles Leclerc Tag

By FIA Lewis Hamilton powered to a dominant Spanish Grand Prix win as Mercedes scored its first 1-2 finish of the season, with Valtteri Bottas finishing ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen as Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel dropped from second place to fourth after a mid-race pit stop. Vettel had stolen second place from Bottas in a dramatic start to the race, but the German then pitted early to change to medium tyres. Red Bull’s chasing drivers meanwhile went deep into the race before taking on fresh tyres and whenRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Formula 1 is so often the dream for many young aspiring drivers, but it is about to become a reality for Charles Leclerc. The 20-year-old from Monaco is set to begin the next chapter of his racing career when the lights go out for this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix. The climb has been about as methodical as one can get, winning three races en route to the GP3 title in 2016 and moving on to capture seven wins and claim the FIA Formula 2 (formerly GP2Read 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 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 Alfa Romeo Sauber have unveiled their 2018 challenger – the C37. Featuring a bold livery combining the classic white of Sauber and the deep red of Alfa Romeo, the car is a clear departure from last year’s woefully uncompetitive C36. In fact, of all the 2018 cars unveiled so far – Haas, Williams, Red Bull, the Sauber vies with the Williams for most radically overhauled. “The car philosophy is much different to that of the C36,” said Joerg Zander, technical director of Alfa Romeo Sauber. “TheRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Motorsports Tribune reviews the top 10 Formula 1 drivers of 2017. Our list continues with fourth-place finisher Kimi Raikkonen. Kimi Raikkonen, No. 7 Scuderia Ferrari 2017: 4th in the championship, 205 points Wins: 0, Podiums: 7, Top 5: 15, Top 10: 16, Poles: 1, Laps Led: 40, Fastest Laps: 2 Best Finish: 2nd – Two times (Monaco, Hungary) Kimi Raikkonen was the only driver from the big three teams in 2017 not to win a Grand Prix. It is a hard statistic to swallow for aRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Sauber and Alfa Romeo celebrated their new partnership today from the Alfa Romeo museum where they announced their 2018 driver lineup and unveiled a teaser of the 2018 livery that will adorn the cars that will be known as Alfa Romeo Saubers. Reigning F2 champion and Ferrari junior driver Charles Leclerc will make his much anticipated Formula One debut alongside Marcus Ericsson who returns for a fourth season with the team. Antonio Giovinazzi who contested the first two races for the Sauber earlier this year inRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor There is a red dawn rising at Sauber’s Hinwil Headquarters as the team announced a new partnership with historic car maker Alfa Romeo this morning. The Alfa Romeo name will return to Formula 1 in 2018 as part of a commercial and technical partnership with the Swiss outfit and be known as Alfa Romeo Sauber from 2018 onward. The multi-year deal is crucial for FCA Chairman Sergio Marchionne’s desire to put Alfa Romeo back on the world stage and is the first major step of creatingRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Sebastian Vettel topped the timesheets for the Pirelli tire test at Yas Marina Circuit on Wednesday. The final time Formula 1 cars will be on track for 2017, Vettel concluded the day with a time of 1 minute, 37.551 seconds on the new hypersoft tire compound at the 3.451-mile, 21-turn track. The early part of the day was halted by the four-time champion as his Ferrari stopped on track to bring out a red flag briefly before resuming. Mercedes rival Valtteri Bottas, who also won theRead More

Valtteri Bottas beat Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton by almost half a second to top the timesheet in first practice for this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix. The Finnish driver set a best time of 1:17.824s on Pirelli’s ultrasoft tyres with Hamilton 0.466s behind and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen a further tenth back in third place. Hamilton goes into this weekend’s race knowing that fifth place or better will seal his fourth Drivers’ title but the Briton has stated that he would like to claim the crown with a victory. That aimRead More