F1 Tag

FIA Formula 2 Championship leader Charles Leclerc edged McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne to top the timesheet on day one of the final in-season test of the 2017 Formula One campaign. Ferrari Academy driver Leclerc set a time of 1:17.746 in the closing moments of the session to beat Vandoorne’s best time by 0.088s. However, while the McLaren driver used purple-banded ultrasoft tyres to set his personal best, Leclerc’s P1 time came on soft compound Pirelli rubber. Vandoorne had run quicker than the Ferrari driver in the morning session but the afternoon was notRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Formula 1 is set for its second in-season test of 2017, with the two-day event set to take place at the Hungaroring. Per regulations, a minimum of two of the four sessions must be run by a driver not currently competing for the championship. In several cases, teams go to reserve and/or test drivers, or also decide to try out young drivers from various junior formula categories. The test will also feature the highly-anticipated return of former Canadian Grand Prix winner Robert Kubica, who will beRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Sebastian Vettel believes his steering issue that attempted to plague his victory began prior to the start of the Hungarian Grand Prix. The 30-year-old German started the race from pole and held over a 3.5 second gap on Scuderia Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen in the early stages following a brief safety car period. However, Vettel cited a problem with his steering in the lead-up to his first pit stop. This allowed Raikkonen to close the gap and play as a buffer the remainder of the race toRead More

Sebastian Vettel took his fourth victory of the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix ahead of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen to establish a 14-point lead over Lewis Hamilton as the Briton finished fourth, behind team-mate Valtteri Bottas. While the result reflected the quartet’s starting positions, the 70 laps were not without drama, however. Midway through, race leader Vettel began to report handling problems and his pace flagged. Raikkonen, in second, was forced to sit behind the slower Vettel and act as a bulwark to Mercedes as the Silver Arrows attacked duringRead More

Sebastian Vettel took his second pole position of the season with a blistering lap at the Hungaroring that smashed the track record by more than two seconds. The Ferrari driver set a time of 1:16.276 to power past the mark set by Rubens Barrichello in qualifying for the 2004 race here. Vettel’s time put him two tenths clear of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen as Ferrari annexed the front row. Valtteri Bottas was third for Mercedes but it was a disappointing Q3 for Lewis Hamilton. The Briton made a mistake on hisRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Williams F1 Team have elected to go forward with Paul di Resta in replacement duty for an unwell Felipe Massa for the Hungarian Grand Prix. The 31-year-old last raced for Force India in 2013, but was brought in last year as a reserve driver with the Grove-squad. Massa complained of dizziness after FP2 on Friday and sought medical treatment, but the symptoms returns on Saturday and he prematurely ended his FP3 session. Williams released the following statement: “Felipe visited the medical centre and the MH EKRead More

Sebastian Vettel set the fastest ever lap of the Hungaroring in a Formula One car to top the final practice session ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. There was trouble for Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo, however, with a hydraulic problem halting the Australian’s progress shortly after the halfway point in the session. Vettel was quick from the off, rapidly getting into his stride in the first half of the session by recording a time of 1:17.790 on the supersoft Pirelli compound. That put him ahead of team-mate Kimi RaikkonenRead More

Daniel Ricciardo’s impressive start to the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend continued this afternoon as the Red Bull Racing driver followed his quickest time of the morning with another pacesetting lap in second practice. A winner here in 2014 and a podium finisher at each of the past two events in Budapest, Ricciardo powered his upgraded Red Bull Racing RB13 to a time of 1:18.455 set on supersoft tyres. That put him just under two tenths clear of next fastest man Sebastian Vettel, who looked much more comfortable with his FerrariRead More

Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo set the quickest time of the opening practice session for the Hungarian outpacing Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen by just over two tenths of a second. The Australian, who was at the wheel of a much updated RB13, set a best time of 1:18.486s on the supersoft Pirelli tyres. Raikkonen was 0.234 behind the Azerbaijan Grand Prix winner, with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton a tenth of a second further back in third place. Ricciardo’s P1 time was just 0.05 seconds off the fastest ever lap of the circuitRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Sauber has confirmed that it will continue its run in Formula 1 with Ferrari as their engine supplier following a multi-year deal that was announced Friday morning. The announcement comes a day after the Hinwil-based canceled plans to start 2018 with Honda as its power supplier, which was set up by former team principal Monisha Kaltenborn. However, her departure in June brought in former Renault boss Frédéric Vasseur as her replacement and thus the team has elected to further their commitment with Ferrari. “I am veryRead More