F1 Tag

Nico Rosberg set the pace in the first practice session ahead of Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix, taking top spot with 0.2s in hand over championship rival Lewis Hamilton. The winner of last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, Rosberg continued his good form at high-speed Monza finishing over a second clear of his nearest non-works Mercedes rival, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. Ferrari are running an upgraded power unit for the team’s home race. Both Rosberg and Hamilton had been quickest on the supersoft tyre, but later in the session both men went quickerRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The Formula 1 season returned from summer break last weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, and once again Ferrari was hit with a rough Sunday drive. Despite strong showings throughout the weekend, in which Kimi Raikkonen led FP3 and qualified a close third to polesitter and eventual race winner Nico Rosberg, the Italian squad had its race unravel at the opening corner of the Belgian Grand Prix. Expectations were high for both Raikkonen and teammate Sebastian Vettel, four-time and two-time winners of the event, but a controversial collision withRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Kevin Magnussen has passed medical checks, but will require one final assessment on Thursday prior to racing in the Italian Grand Prix. The 23-year-old Dane lost control on lap six of the Belgian Grand Prix at Eau Rouge before suffering heavy impact into the barrier at Raidillon. The Renault driver sustained a heavily bruised left ankle, which have forced him to undergo a series of checks to indicate that he is fit to race at Monza this weekend. Doctors from the FIA will make the finalRead More

Nico Rosberg closed the points gap to title rival Lewis Hamilton with a comfortable Belgian Grand Prix win but the championship-leading Briton limited the damage with a sparkling drive from P21 to third and a podium finish behind Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo. The race began in dramatic fashion. Rosberg made a good getaway from pole to take the lead but Max Verstappen making his first career front-row start began slowly from P2. He was passed by the fast-starting Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, but Red Bull driverRead More

Nico Rosberg took his sixth pole position of the 2016 Formula One season at Spa-Francorchamps ahead of Max Verstappen who became the youngest driver to claims a front-row start at a grand prix. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was third and will line up on the second row with team-mate Sebastian Vettel. With championship leader Lewis Hamilton set to start at the back of the grid due to penalties incurred following a host of power unit changes, Rosberg put himself in the perfect position to claw back some of the 19-point deficitRead More

Kimi Raikkonen topped the timeheets in final practice for the Belgian Grand Prix as he edged Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo by two tenths of a second at Spa-Francorchamps. Raikkonen’s Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel was third. Mercedes Nico Rosberg set the early pace with a lap of 1:48.880 set on soft tyres and that stood until almost the half way point in the session. Ferrari then sent both its drivers out on supersoft tyres and Raikkonen promptly jumped to the top of the timesheet with a lap of 1:48.406. ThatRead More

Max Verstappen went quickest in the second practice session ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, as Red Bull Racing turned a low key morning session into a headline-making afternoon outing with Daniel Ricciardo taking second spot. In the first session Verstappen finished in seventh position, behind Ricciardo. Part of the reason for that was Mercedes’ decision to run the supersoft tyre in FP1, while their rivals chose to stick with tradition and leave their performance runs until the afternoon. With Mercedes leaving the red-banded tyre alone in session two, theRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Current McLaren-Honda driver and two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso is debating leaving the sport once his contract expires next season if the 2017 regulations fail to bring back enjoyment into grand prix racing. “I think in the last couple of years especially with this turbo engine era I think the car is a little different to drive,” said Alonso, in Thursday’s press conference at Spa-Francorchamps. “I don’t say that’s better or worse, everyone will have his opinion, I’ve been lucky enough to drive 2003Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Fernando Alonso will have to start from the back of the grid for this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix after requiring an engine change following first practice. The Spaniard suffered a water leak in the ERS in FP1 in the wake of Honda spent seven tokens for a major power unit upgrade that debuted at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The Mclaren-Honda F1 Team confirmed that the two-time Formula 1 world champion will need new ICE, MGU-H, MGU-K, turbo, energy store and control electronics. With it being Alonso’s sixthRead More

Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg set the fastest time of opening practice for the Belgian Grand Prix with the German also becoming the first driver to set a timed lap in a session using the Halo device, which underwent more testing. As the session got underway at Spa-Francorchamps, four cars took to the circuit sporting the cockpit head protection device – Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz, Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo, Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg and Rosberg. All except Rosberg used the device for a single installation lap, but as times began toRead More