F1 2016 Tag

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The 2016 Formula One season will go down in history as one of the most surprising, and unique in recent years. It will be known for Nico Rosberg’s epic battle with Lewis Hamilton, for Max Verstappen’s rise at Red Bull, for the retirement of beloved veterans, and Rosberg’s willingness to walk away from the sport having won his only world title. Here are our top five moments of the year. 5. Retirement Announcements Beloved veterans Jenson Button and Felipe Massa shocked the sport by announcing theyRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix proved an exciting finale for the 2016 Formula One season and brought us a slew of interesting stats and facts, as new records were set, veterans retired, and Nico Rosberg clinched his maiden World Drivers Championship. Here are 10 of the best facts and stats from the dramatic duel in the desert. 10. Nico Rosberg joins his father Keke (1982) as only the second father-son duo in history to be F1 champions. Graham (1962,1968) and Damon Hill were the first toRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Colorado based company Liberty Media has confirmed it will undertake a buyout of Formula One from current majority stakeholders CVC Capital Partners, who have owned the majority stake in F1 for a decade. Liberty has already purchased a stake of 18.7% for $746 million. The plan calls for them to purchase the rest of CVC’s shares, at which point the company will be aptly renamed from the Liberty Media Group to the Formula One Group. Despite some changes behind the scenes, few immediate changes will happen.Read More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Monza’s place in Formula 1 as the home of the Italian Grand Prix looks to be secure after event organizers and Bernie Ecclestone came to an agreement during negotiations for a new race contract. The circuit is F1’s most historic track, having first held the Italian Grand Prix in 1922 and has been on the calendar for every season of the championship, bar 1980 when it briefly lost the race to Imola. Ecclestone had been upping the pressure on Angelo Sticchi and the ACI (Automobile ClubRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor In a special press conference inside the Williams Martini motor-home Felipe Massa emotionally announced that he will retire from Formula One at the end of the season. “I must start by especially thanking my wife and my father, my whole family, my manager Nicolas and all the people who have supported me throughout my career. Thank you to God for giving me the opportunities I have had in life and, above all, for protecting me. A huge thank you as well to everyone I have workedRead More

By Steve Aibel, Senior F1 Writer Formula 1 has made a decision to delay the introduction of a head protection system until the 2018 season. The push back will allow for better testing and, in theory, deployment of a safer system. On one hand this is a responsible decision and understandable, but perhaps more importantly, this is another example of Formula 1’s inability to communicate a consistent working plan that is clear to the F1 paddock. Lets first discuss the decision to delay the Halo or any sort of additional head protectionRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor After losing 7th gear in his Mercedes W07 late in the British Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg received specific instructions from the team in order to carry on to what became a second place finish. Before the end of the race it was announced that the stewards would investigate the situation as it appeared  Mercedes may have violated Article 27.1 of the Sporting Regulations, the sport’s new clampdown on pit to driver radio communications. The Stewards have determined that the team did break the rules and handedRead More

Lewis Hamilton took his fifth career Canadian Grand Prix win to close the gap to championship-leading Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg to just nine points as the German finished fifth. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel managed to take the lead at the start but could not make a two-stop strategy work and he finished second ahead of a hard-charging Valtteri Bottas who scored Williams’ first podium finish of the season. Hamilton began the race from pole position but when the lights went out he bogged down slightly, as did fellow front-row starter Rosberg,Read More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor In a special press conference held today from Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Dutch brewery Heineken finally unveiled its new and much speculated sponsorship deal with Formula One. The deal runs through 2020 but has an option to extend through 2023 and is reportedly worth up to $250 million. A major tenet of the deal will see Heineken serve as the title sponsor for three races per season from 2017 on, they will also be the title sponsor for this September’s Italian Grand Prix as well.Read More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor After his first Verizon IndyCar Series victory in over a year, Team Penske star Will Power has brought a bit of criticism upon IndyCar Race Control’s longstanding tradition of closing the pits when a yellow occurs. It may not be a popular or safe move to win a race and immediately use it as a platform for criticism, but in this instance Power is right. What he is calling for is a Virtual Safety Car, along the same lines of what Formula One uses, in orderRead More