F1 2018 Tag

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The Spanish Grand Prix marks Formula 1’s return to Europe after the early season fly away races. It also marks the first big round of updates the teams implement for their new cars. For many, it is when the season truly begins as Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is the benchmark for the teams to find their true place in the pecking order and see if they have moved ahead or fallen behind their rivals since they last visited Barcelona for pre-season testing. Ferrari has clearly had theRead More

By FIA Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas went quickest in the opening practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix, finishing more than eight tenths of a second ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton and almost a second clear of third-placed Sebastian Vettel. The Mercedes drivers’ dominance of the session was established early with Bottas using soft tyres to push into the 1m18s bracket. At that point the were backed up by Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo, but the Australian wouldn’t figure in the session for much longer. With grip at the premium onRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The Azerbaijan Grand Prix had it all, from a surprise winner for the second year in a row, a lot of crashes and controversy at Red Bull, to a second podium in Baku for Sergio Perez and Force India. Sebastian Vettel initially pulled away from Lewis Hamilton and appeared to have the race in the bag, but late pressure from Valtteri Bottas and the safety car period after Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen crashed in turn 1 turned the race on its head. Vettel out brakedRead More

By Adam Tate The Chinese Grand Prix was a thrilling, unpredictable race that also happened to throw a generous quantity of stats our way. Here are some of the best nuggets and details to ruminate on while we wait two weeks for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the end of the month. Up first is Ferrari’s Saturday success in 2018. Sebastian Vettel notched up his 52nd pole position. Kimi Raikkonen backed him up with a close second on the grid which gave the Scuderia their first back to back front rowRead More

By FIA The Formula 1 Strategy Group and the Formula 1 Commission met today, 17th April, at the FIA headquarters in Paris, in the presence of Jean Todt, FIA President, and Chase Carey, Chief Executive Officer of Formula 1. Positive and constructive discussions were held regarding the future of Formula 1. Firstly, regarding technical regulations for the 2019 season, the following changes were agreed, subject to World Motor Sport Council approval: • Increase the fuel allowance for the race from 105 to 110 kg, in order to be able toRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix gave us a much clearer picture of the running order for 2018 than the season opening Australian Grand Prix did. The great news is that the long range pace of Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull is very close this season. Of the three, Ferrari has capitalized the most on their rivals misfortune and it leads both championships with Sebastian Vettel 17 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton after opening the season with back to back victories. Ferrari leads Mercedes in theRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix was the most thrilling in the desert kingdom in years as a high speed game of chess between Ferrari and Mercedes kept the winner in doubt until the final corner of the final lap. In the end Sebastian Vettel pulled off a magnificent victory as he nursed badly worn tires to the finish after switching from a planned two stop strategy to a one stopper. Valtteri Bottas closed on him in the Mercedes, but was unable to unseat his German rival. BehindRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The season opening Australian Grand Prix gave us more questions than answers to start the 2018 season. This weekend in Bahrain F1 fans will hope for a clearer running order and less mysterious proceedings. Has Mercedes advantage over the rest of the field grown? Can Ferrari’s straight line speed and penchant for hot conditions give them the edge? What is the true pace of Red Bull? Is the pace of Haas for real? All these questions will be answered as the hot Sakhir sun slips belowRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The Australian Grand Prix gave us plenty of interesting moments this year, it also gave us more than a handful of meaningful statistics to crunch on. Here are some of the best of them from the first Grand Prix of 2018: First and foremost are the milestones for Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel as they continue rewriting the F1 record book. Hamilton sets a new all-time pole position record every time he goes fastest of all on a Saturday and he racked up his 73rd thisRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The Australian Grand Prix kicks off the 2018 Formula 1 season this weekend. Last season featured the closest title fight the sport has seen since 2012, and the field is riding a wave of momentum at the moment, hoping for an even more competitive year. Expectations are for a three way fight at the top between defending champions Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. If practice times this week from Albert Park are any indication that could very well be the case, at least for the firstRead More