F1 Tag

Nico Rosberg made it three sessions from three as he added top spot in final practice for the Japanese Grand Prix to the fastest times he set in both Friday sessions. The championship leader finished FP3 three tenths of a second clear of Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo as Lewis Hamilton ended the session in seventh place after failing to get in a clean lap in the final stages on a crowded track. Rain overnight and in the morning left the Suzuka circuit greasy and low on grip and theRead More

Nico Rosberg edged team-mate Lewis Hamilton by just seven hundredths of a second to take top in the second free practice of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend at Suzuka. Rosberg’s best time of the session was 1:32.250. After Ferrari ended the first practice session more than a second off the pace set by Rosberg, there was encouragement for the Italian squad, as Kimi Raikkonen got to within four tenths of Rosberg’s time at the end of the afternoon’s performance runs. In the morning it had been two-by-two, with Mercedes followedRead More

Nico Rosberg went quickest in opening practice for this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, eclipsing Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton by two tenths of a second. The Mercedes pair set their best times on the soft tyre, as did third-placed Sebastian Vettel. The Ferrari driver ended the session almost 1.1s adrift of Hamilton, however. Kimi Raikkonen was fourth quickest, just under three tenths behind his team-mate. The Finn also set his best time on the soft tyre. Red Bull Racing, meanwhile, chose to avoid the yellow-banded Pirelli compound during the session. TheRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Sergio Perez has announced that he will remain at Force India for the 2017 Formula 1 season. The 26-year-old Mexican’s was the center of speculation on his eventual destination for next season, including Ferrari and Haas, but despite several delays with Force India he will return with the team. Bob Fernley, Force India’s deputy team principal, said on Friday that he was confident the details in the deal would be finalized with Perez. Perez’s return to the Silverstone-based squad means that he can continue to addRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Sebastian Vettel’s day came to an early end at the first corner of the Malaysian Grand Prix after hitting and sending Formula 1 championship leader Nico Rosberg into a spin, destroying his own car in the process. The 29-year-old German had a blistering start from row three and climbed to the inside of Turn 1 with Max Verstappen on his right. The aggressive move was labeled “crazy” from the Red Bull Racing driver in a near repeat in reverse roles of the Belgian Grand Prix. “IRead More

Lewis Hamilton continued to set a blistering pace ahead of qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix, eclipsing Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen by almost half a second and beating championship leader Nico Rosberg by more than six tenths of a second. The first portion of the session was dominated by Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, with the Australian driver setting an early marker of 1:36.483 on medium tyres. However, until the half hour mark approached neither Mercedes driver had been out on track and when Hamilton and Rosberg eventually appeared, onRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Fernando Alonso will take a 15-place grid penalty after McLaren-Honda fitted new power unit components to his car ahead of final practice on Saturday. The 35-year-old Spaniard had already taken a 30-place penalty following a new power unit for Friday’s practice, in which Honda upgraded the engine block and the exhaust in an effort to reduce weight. Originally the plan was to revert to a previous engine for qualifying and the race, but now the team opted to the older engine with a new turbocharger andRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Sahara Force India deputy team principal Bob Fernley believes that there is a strong likelihood that current driver Sergio Perez will remain with the team for the 2017 Formula 1 season. Perez has been the center of much speculation this season, originally linked as Kimi Raikkonen’s replacement earlier this year at Ferrari until the Italian-squad re-signed the Finn, and now linked to a possible seat at the Haas F1 Team. The 26-year-old Mexican has delayed his plans on several occasions and has recently stated that nextRead More

Formula One World Championship leader Nico Rosberg set the fastest time of opening practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix in a session that was red-flagged when Kevin Magnussen’s Renault caught fire in the pit lane. Magnussen had just two installation laps on the board when returned to the garage with a suspected fuel leak. As his car was wheeled back into the car he was suddenly told to jump out as flames burst from the airbox behind his head. The fire was quickly brought under control but fuel continued toRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Highly respected UK newspaper, The Financial Times, has just reported that tech giant Apple is in talks to buy the McLaren Technology Group, parent company of the famed F1 team and car manufacturer in a deal that may be worth up to $2 billion. McLaren has quickly moved to deny the reports, but The Financial Times said it had three sources corroborate the report that talks were indeed in place between the two companies. McLaren is currently owned by three entities: F1 Principal Ron Dennis, company chairmanRead More