F1 Tag

July 12th, 1930 – August 23rd, 2015 Founder of Ligier car company, sports car and F1 teams Formula One driver 1966 – 1967 Guy Camille Ligier enjoyed one of the most unique careers of all the movers and shakers of the motorsports world in his time. A French national team rugby player, a motorcycle racer and a construction magnate, the often wild Ligier transitioned to racing cars in the early 1960’s. He began his career in a Formula Junior Elva, then racing sports cars for Porsche, before working up theRead More

Sebastian Vettel took his first pole position as a Ferrari driver and the team’s first since the German Grand Prix of 2012 with a dominant performance in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix. The German will be joined on the front row by former Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, the Australian taking his best qualifying position since last year’s Chinese Grand Prix. Kimi Räikkönen was third fastest for Ferrari ahead of the second Red Bull of Daniil Kvyat as Mercedes were soundly beaten. Lewis Hamilton was fifth, though he wasRead More

After winning his second Indy 500 this year, speculation for racing legend Juan Pablo Montoya to take on the challenge of Le Mans has increased ten fold. Montoya, the only active driver to have wins at Indy and Monaco to his name could, with a win at La Sarthe, become only the second man in history to claim racing’s elusive Triple Crown. British super star Graham Hill is the only man to achieve the feat so far, when he completed the third leg by winning Le Mans in 1972 drivingRead More

Red Bull Racing will end its longtime relationship with engine supplier Renault, at the end of the season, according to AUTOSPORT. Since the introduction of the V6 turbo era in Formula 1, Renault has had an array of performance and reliability issues that has led to a tumultuous relationship with the Milton Keynes-based squad. Red Bull’s contract with the French manufacturer was set to expire at the end of the 2016 season, with long-standing rumors that the team could break the contract without penalty due to performance issues. Both DanielRead More

Nico Rosberg mourned the death of his engine which failed with just two laps remaining in the Italian Grand Prix while pursuing Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel for second. Mercedes spent all of its remaining engine tokens heading into Monza, but for Rosberg it mattered little as the German had to fall back on the old spec engine following issues with the new power unit prior to qualifying on Saturday. The engine Rosberg was forced to run with had been used in six full race weekends. “To have it explode two lapsRead More

Sebastian Vettel has called on F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone to keep Monza on the series calendar amid rumors that the longtime home of the Italian Grand Prix could be dropped in 2016. The German finished second behind Lewis Hamilton at Monza, leading the charge for Scuderia Ferrari while teammate Kimi Raikkonen grabbed fifth. The uncertainty for over the future for one of F1’s most historic and prestigious venues as the host of the Italian Grand Prix has also put other tracks, such as Imola, back into consideration. Matteo Renzi, theRead More

Team boss Eric Boullier has stated that McLaren “intends” to keep longtime F1 veteran Jenson Button for 2016. McLaren has an option on the 2009 world champion’s contract, but also has two youthful talents waiting in the wings in Kevin Magnussen and Stoffel Vandoorne. Both have made a case to be in a second car for McLaren, let alone another team on the grid, which is something Boullier and company might be entertaining. Similar to putting a player on loan in soccer, McLaren may put a transfer fee on theRead More

Mercedes were in a league of their own in the first practice session ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, with F1 championship leader Lewis Hamilton heading team-mate Nico Rosberg in a one-two for the German marque, with Hamilton finishing over 1.5s ahead of nearest non-Mercedes rival Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari. The opening practice session of the weekend at Monza began quietly and there were 13 minutes on the clock before Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen set the first timed lap of the day. His team-mate Carlos Sainz was swiftly back toRead More

After facing a 105-place grid penalty at Spa-Francorchamps, McLaren braces for another rough weekend as they approach the ‘Temple of Speed’ for the Italian Grand Prix. In Belgium, Honda introduced an upgraded engine and brought into play two fresh power units. However, the decision to change power units once again in Monza is believed to be more of a strategic move to help increase the engine pool, instead of any technical issues. With the changes it means penalties once again for Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso. Button will serve aRead More

Mercedes has decided to use all of its engine development tokens for the Italian Grand Prix. The German manufacturer had not improved its power unit at any event previously this season, but the move is believed to help them in the long run. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will start Monza with its third power unit of the season, and has added changes that take up the seven remaining tokens the team had left available. The decision to use all of the tokens at Monza was more about the developmentRead More