F1 Tag

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton powered towards the 63rd pole position of his career in Shanghai, edging out Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by just under two tenths of a second, with the German claiming second spot on the grid ahead of the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas by just 1000th of a second. Hamilton was the first to make a move in Q1 setting the early pace with a time of 1:33.333. Team-mate Bottas then slotted into P2, four-tenths behind the three-time champion. The Briton’s time in P1 was short, however, as VettelRead More

Sebastian Vettel edged team-mate Kimi Räikkonen to head a Ferrari one-two in a busy final practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix. Valtteri Bottas was third for Mercedes, almost four tenths of a second adrift of Vettel. Vettel’s best lap of 1:33.336 came 20 minutes from the end of the session and put him over a second clear of Räikkönen. The Finn then responded with a lap of 1:33.389, just 0.053 behind the German. Ferrari’s supersoft pace set a tough benchmark for Mercedes to beat and when the team’s driversRead More

Friday’s second practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix was cancelled due to poor weather conditions that prevented the medical helicopter from operating. The first session at the Shanghai International Circuit had already been disrupted due to the helicopter not been able to land at the hospital designated for the event, and with little improvement in conditions in the following hours, the start of the second practice period, scheduled for 2pm local time, was delayed. Eventually, with around 12 minutes remaning in the time allotted, the decision was taken toRead More

Max Verstappen set the fastest lap of opening practice for the Chinese Grand Prix in a session heavily disrupted by red flags. In damp and cool conditions Verstappen found a gap between two lengthy stoppages to post a best time of 1:50.491 on intermediate tyres, a lap that put him almost 1.6s clear of Williams’ Felipe Massa. The session got under way at the scheduled time but was halted soon after as weather conditions elsewhere in Shanghai made it impossible for the medical helicopter to land at the hospital designatedRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Antonio Giovinazzi is set to continue his duties with the Sauber F1 Team as Pascal Wehrlein’s replacement for the Chinese Grand Prix, with a possibility of the Bahrain Grand Prix as well. The team said the following: “Pascal Wehrlein will again be replaced by Antonio Giovinazzi to ensure that the German will be back in the cockpit of the Sauber C36-Ferrari, in best physical shape, at the earliest possible opportunity – either the Bahrain Grand Prix or the Russian Grand Prix.” Wehrlein participated in the openingRead More

Sebastian Vettel took his and Ferrari’s first win the Singapore Grand Prix of 2015 beating Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas to Australian Grand Prix victory after a strategic slip by the champions allowed Vettel to inherit the lead midway through the race at Albert Park. Pole sitter Hamilton was in control of proceedings ahead of Vettel until his first pit stop on lap 17. After taking on soft tyres, the three-time champion emerged behind the slower Red Bull of Max Verstappen, as Vettel took the lead. Hamilton could findRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo will start the Australian Grand Prix from 15th position after being handed a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change. The 27-year-old Aussie spun in Turn 14 during Q3 on Saturday and backed his RB13 into the barrier, causing significant damage to the rear. Since he didn’t officially turn a lap during the session, Ricciardo was previously set to start the race from 10th. The penalty pushes Force India’s Sergio Perez up to 10th and slid Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso, EstebanRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Jolyon Palmer has called out Renault after a rough Saturday came to a halt after a last place result in qualifying for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. The 26-year-old Brit took blame for his crash in second practice on Friday, which forced the team to rebuild the R.S.17. However, Palmer struggled with pace in FP3, ending the session 19th before the day worsened in qualifying. With a lap at 1 minute, 28.244 seconds, Palmer was well over a second off the next slowest car, which wasRead More

Lewis Hamilton took the first pole position of the new Formula One season, edging Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas to take his sixth Australian Grand Prix pole by three tenths of a second. Home favourite Daniel Ricciardo crashed out, however, hitting the wall early in the final part of qualifying. The Red Bull driver is set to start tomorrow’s race in P10. Hamilton set the pace in Q1, claiming top spot 10 minutes into the session with a time of 1:24.191. That was good enough to keepRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Formula 1 rookie Lance Stroll will take a five-place grid penalty after his FW40 required a gearbox change due to a crash in final practice. The 18-year-old Canadian lost control of his car on the exit of Turn 10. The backend made the initial contact with the wall, causing damage to the rear chassis, front wing and front suspension. The crash came towards the end of FP3, bringing out the red flag before ultimately sidelining the remainder of the session. Stroll was the subject of aRead More