F1 Tag

By FIA Ferrari began its 2019 Formula 1 campaign in style as Sebastian Vettel topped the timesheets at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya lapping almost four tenths second quicker than nearest rival Carlos Sainz of McLaren and posting an impressive total of 169 laps as testing got underway in Spain. Vettel’s table-topping time was set just before the lunch break, with the four-time champion registering a time of 1:18.161. At the time that was almost 1.8 seconds clear of nearest rival Sergio Perez of Racing Point. The time then served asRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Scuderia Ferrari has officially replaced Maurizio Arrvabene with Mattia Binotto as their team boss Monday, ending a four-year term that’s notably seen a turnaround and shortcomings. “The decision was taken together with the company’s top management after lengthy discussions related to Maurizio’s long term personal interests as well as those of the team itself,” said in a statement by Ferrari. “Ferrari would like to thank Maurizio for his valuable contribution to the team’s increasing competitiveness over the past few years, and wish him the best forRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The biggest open secret in the racing world has finally been confirmed. After Lance Stroll’s billionaire father Lawrence Stroll, the Canadian fashion magnate purchased Sahara Force India F1 Team and saved it from the brink of bankruptcy in August, everyone in the paddock has been waiting for the announcement that Lance would leave the beleaguered Williams outfit for his father’s new team. That confirmation came today as the team announced that Stroll has agreed to a long term deal with the team and joins Sergio PerezRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The 69th season of Formula One has officially concluded, and Mercedes continued to steamroll the competition in the Hybrid Era. Lewis Hamilton once again proved to have risen on the occasion as Sebastian Vettel faded away due to Ferrari’s costly errors that eliminated him from the championship race. Not only that, the 2019 season is starting to look clear with key names having no choice but to become a test driver or find different ventures in favor of even younger drivers and even the comeback for theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The comeback trail has come full circle for Robert Kubica, who was announced Thursday that he’ll join Williams Racing for the 2019 Formula One campaign, and will be back on the main grid for the first time since the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Kubica, 33, will be partnered up with F2 star and current Mercedes-AMG Petronas test driver George Russell, who’s 13 years his junior as part of a new driver direction for the team that’s under-performed all season. “Firstly, I would like to thankRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Fourteen rounds done, seven to go, and since my first installment, there’s been so many changes across all 10 Formula 1 constructors and its 20 drivers. A few would-be contenders have gone by the wayside like Fernando Alonso and Red Bull, and others have flourished after a quiet or abysmal opening leg such as Kimi Raikkonen and Haas F1. We even saw a hot mess behind closed doors, resulting a new constructor and have so far been tremendous. In my latest installment of “Heptagon Viewpoints,”Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The FIA have approved the mid-season entry of Racing Point Force India Formula 1 Team ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. The colors remain the same, however, the change in names also means that Sahara Force India is loses all its constructors points and is prohibited from competing in the Formula 1 World Championship. A rebirth prevented that threat, as the Lawerence Stroll-led and newly branded Racing Point Force India is set to make their Formula 1 debut, bearing the colors pink,Read More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor After the shocking news that Daniel Ricciardo was bound for Renault in 2019, Carlos Sainz has been in desperate need of a seat for next season. For months there has been talk linking him to McLaren to replace Stoffel Vandoorne, but with Fernando Alonso’s huge announcement that he is leaving Formula 1 at the end of the season, it gave the Woking-based team the chance to snag Sainz quickly and they wasted little time in doing so. Sainz replaces his childhood hero and fellow countryman inRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The future of Force India has found a positive ending Tuesday, as they’ve agreed to accept a bid from current Williams driver Lance Stroll’s father, Lawrence Stroll, to bring the 10-year-old team out of administration. Force India has been under siege since senior driver Sergio Perez attempted to save the team, and were put under administration since the Friday before the Hungarian Grand Prix. The cause of administration was as a result of parties looking to avoid possible debts. A consortium was made, and LawrenceRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Antonio Giovonazzi’s unofficial lap record at the Hungaroring lasted exactly one day, as Mercedes junior George Russell edged ahead with a stout 1:15.575 on the hypersoft tires as the final in-season test of 2018 came to an end. Russell just beat out Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari to set the fastest time of the day by less than a tenth of a second. The two traded fast times for much of the afternoon session until Raikkonen failed to match Russell’s pace on the softest compound. JakeRead More