Circuit de Catalunya Tag

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The 2018 Formula One season is finally upon us. After the long winter break, all 10 teams hit the track this morning at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain. While the full picture of who is competitive, who has got it right, and who has got it wrong won’t fully form till the end of testing next week, there are meaningful things we can gleam just from breaking down the first day’s running. The biggest caveat in doing so are two variables that made today’s runningRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Aston Martin Red Bull Racing has unveiled their challenger for the 2018 Formula One season – the RB14. Along with the mandatory halo, the car is seen with a unique livery of blue and silver on a dark blue camouflage-type concept, which is distinctly different from the traditional red and dark blue colors. However, the team reaffirmed it is a “special edition” and the primary livery will be presented at preseason testing in Barcelona next week. Other differences can be seen with the sidepods, which areRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Mercedes reclaimed the top time in pre-season testing from Ferrari today by becoming the first to crack the 1 minute 20 second barrier around Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. A morning run on the ultra soft tires for Valtteri Bottas netted an impressive 1:19.705 lap time. Enough to edge Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by two tenths of a second. Keeping with recent form the Ferrari ran a harder compound of tire than the Mercedes as Vettel did his run on softs, which indicates there is still plenty of paceRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Red Bull Racing will keep us guessing till the last second and unveil the RB13, their 2017 challenger on the last day before pre-season testing: February 26th. One of the most anticipated Red Bull designs in years, the RB13 is widely expected to launch the Milton Keynes squad into championship contention against the all conquering Mercedes silver arrows if Adrian Newey can pull another gem out of his bag of tricks. We will quickly find out its spot in the pecking order as Daniel Ricciardo andRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Dashing the Christmas wishes of many drivers, Mercedes has announced that it will not name a successor to Nico Rosberg’s vacated seat till 2017. After newly crowned Rosberg announced his retirement, Mercedes has been in desperate straits to name his replacement ahead of the largest technical changes the sport has seen in 20 years. Much to their chagrin, top drivers Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel are under ironclad contracts with McLaren-Honda and Ferrari. Recently retired veterans like Jenson Button and Felipe Massa are not viable optionsRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Pirelli’s racing manager, Mario Isola has claims that the tires Pirelli will supply Formula One with in 2018, will be different from the 2017 compounds they are currently working on. Much is being made about the vast changes to the cars for 2017 that will see them lap up to five seconds quicker than in 2016, but none more so than about the much wider tires Pirelli will bring to the table. Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull were tasked with modifying 2015 cars to simulate theRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Testing resumed today for Pirelli’s 2017 Formula 1 tires. This time the tests occurred in two locations and with two teams sampling the new rubber. Ferrari got their second look at the tires with Kimi Raikkonen trying them at Circuit de Catalunya in Spain, and Mercedes drafted in Pascal Wehrlein for the team’s initial impression of the compounds by turning laps at Paul Ricard in France. Wehrlein completed 134 laps, Raikkonen a few less on 111. The laps turned by Raikkonen will provide the more crucialRead More

Max Verstappen became Formula One’s youngest ever race winner with victory in an enthralling Spanish Grand Prix that saw Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg collide at the start. Making his debut for Red Bull Racing, Verstappen took the lead midway through the race and remained icy cool in the closing stage as he came under intense pressure from Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. He crossed the line just 0.6s ahead of the Finn to win aged just 18 years and 227 days, breaking Sebastian Vettel’s seven-year-old record, set when theRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Welcome to our newest segment at Tribute Racing; Grand Prix Profile. The Grand Prix Profile, or GPP for short will be a look at each F1 venue, with a breakdown on its history and place in the sport. With the aim to give you a real glimpse at the heart and character of the many amazing places, the world’s most amazing sport visits. We begin in Spain, F1’s triumphant return to its European heartland comes early each May with the sports traditional visit to Circuit deRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor Formula One’s second pre-season test ended the way the first test began; with Sebastian Vettel in his Ferrari firmly atop the timesheets. The German slapped a set of Pirelli’s super-softs in the morning session to post the fastest time of the pre-season with a strong 1:22.852 tour of Circuit de Catalunya. With Ferrari the quickest car on five of the eight days of testing, things near the sharp end of the field seem to have tightened between them, Mercedes and Williams. Vettel also ran the haloRead More