F1 Tag

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton again went quickest at the Albert Park Circuit as he beat Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel to top spot in the second practice session for Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. Hamilton had claimed P1 in the first practice session of the new F1 season, running just over half a second clear of team-mate Valtteri Bottas and the three-time champion’s late afternoon margin over Vettel was similar, with the German being eclipsed by 0.547s. Hamilton’s best time of the session, a lap of 1:23.620 was over four seconds quickerRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Before we discuss some of the changes hitting Mercedes, let’s take a look at some of what was accomplished under the old regulations. First off, they enter 2017 as the defending champions as a constructor, and as a driver’s champion with the Nico Rosberg.  The past three seasons have seen the German outfit capture three constructor titles, which were matched equally with driver’s championships, along with 51 victories. However, the stunning retirement of reigning F1 champion Rosberg put the team in a bit of a scramble.Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Simply put, Scuderia Ferrari did not meet the expectations of 2016. The Italian squad enjoyed three wins in their first campaign with four-time champion Sebastian Vettel in 2015, which brought title aspirations into last season. However, a surprisingly uncompetitive season by Ferrari standards left them with a rare season of zero victories. Solid chances for wins were squandered at Australia and Canada last season, and worse, Red Bull Racing overthrew them as main challengers to rival Mercedes. The new technical regulations are a welcomed site asRead More

Lewis Hamilton went quickest in the first practice session of the new Formula One campaign, finishing more than half a second clear of new team-mate Valtteri Bottas at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. The three-time world champion ended the session at Melbourne’s Albert Park Circuit with a best time of 1:24.220, set on ultrasoft tyres, to beat Bottas, who moved to Mercedes from Williams at the start of this year, by 0.583 seconds. Apart from the Mercedes pairing, no other driver ran with the purple-banded Pirelli tyres during the sessionRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Sahara Force India put in one of the better performances last year, coming in fourth in the overall constructor’s standings. The Silverstone-based squad witnessed two podiums by Sergio Perez, who outpaced his very consistent teammate, Nico Hulkenberg. With Mercedes power still a part of its program and gradual progression year-to-year, it isn’t far off the groupthink that Force India could soon be a consistent challenger for podiums every race weekend. Drivers                                                                                    No. 11 Sergio Perez (Mexico) No. 31 Esteban Ocon (France) Key Personel Team Principal /Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Scuderia Toro Rosso continues to inch its way up the grid and show flashes of becoming a real force within the sport. The Faenza-based team finished seventh in the constructor’s standings, all despite having to adapt to losing Max Verstappen to senior team, Red Bull Racing. However, the return of Daniil Kvyat began to pay dividends towards the end of the season, most notably at Singapore where he displayed a brilliant challenge to Verstappen. All things considered, returning Kvyat and the highly regarded Carlos Sainz Jr.Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Brand new to the grid in 2016, Haas F1 Team had an incredible year by several standards. The American group scored points in their debut race in the Australian Grand Prix with Romain Grosjean and paced to eighth in the constructor’s standings with 29 points overall on the season. As potential showed in several events, so did the lack of development as good outings became tougher as the year went on. However, one of the best debut campaigns in the history of F1 being the beginningRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The Sauber F1 Team will be hoping for a return to form in its 25th anniversary season competing in Formula 1, with the debut of the C36 as its challenger. With Manor now gone from the sport, many look to the Switzerland-based outfit as the cellar dwellers for 2017. Although the team is burdened with an older Ferrari power unit, the characteristics of the car matched with reliability from preseason testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya give reason to hope. Drivers                                                                                    No. 9 Marcus Ericcson (Sweden) No.Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief With a long off-season in the books and the official Formula 1 season starting in just days, Sergio Perez is ready to go. The 27-year-old Mexican enters his seventh season (fourth with Sahara Force India) and believes that Australia is the perfect location for everything to kick off. “The first race of the year is always good fun,” said Perez. “We’ve had a long winter to recharge the batteries, but now I just want to go racing again. Australia is the best place to start theRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Max Verstappen has spoken out and believes Red Bull Racing’s newest creation, the RB13, isn’t quick enough to challenge Mercedes and Ferrari once they take to the grid for the Australian Grand Prix next Sunday. Preseason testing showcased the Milton Keynes-based squad underwhelming, still contending around fourth overall on speed, but considerably behind its rivals. “We still have to wait and see how good we really are,” Verstappen told Dutch outlet De Telegraaf. “Personally, I don’t think we can fight for the win at the moment. MuchRead More