Fernando Alonso Tag

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It’s been a great couple of months for Belgian driver Laurens Vanthoor, who co-drove to the GTE Pro class victory in the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans with Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen in the No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR. Vanthoor picked up his first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory on May 6 in the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio, taking the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class win with co-driver Earl Bamber – a two-time overall Le Mans winner –Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS— Alexander Rossi will need time. The No. 27 NAPA Auto Parts Honda starts 32nd in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 after a slowly deflating tire on his pole day qualifying run slowed him. Two drivers -Jim Rathmann in 1957 and Mario Andretti in 1981- have finished second after starting 32nd and on Media Day Rossi was candid about how he’ll plan his attack on race day. “I’ll probably talk to Mario, I don’t think Jim’s race will be on YouTube,” said Rossi. “I don’t know what theyRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The Spanish Grand Prix proved a more straightforward affair than any other race so far this season, as Lewis Hamilton dominated the field from lights to flag, but behind him there was plenty of drama and action for fans to savor. A opening lap spin by Romain Grosjean in the Haas collected Nico Hulkenberg and Brendon Hartley and put them all out on the spot. Power unit problems forced Kimi Raikkonen to retire early. In the other Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel made a late pit stop fromRead More

By FIA Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas took top spot in the first practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but there were problems for Red Bull Racing as Max Verstappen crashed. The Dutch driver led the way in the opening half an hour of the session, setting the pace with a time in the mid-1m45s bracket. That left him marginally clear of Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, as the Renault-powered team began the weekend brightly. The outlook darkened soon afterwards, however, as Verstappen lost control on the approach to Turn 5Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Fernando Alonso helped lead a McLaren return back to relevancy after delivering with a fifth-place finish in the Australian Grand Prix. The Woking-based outfit spent the previous three seasons backed by Honda power, but an offseason switch to Renault as the engine supplier has already seen a strong return with the team. The performance in the Formula 1 season opener matched McLaren’s best result since Alonso scored a fifth-place effort in the 2016 United States Grand Prix. The 36-year-old Spaniard started from 10th on the gridRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Let’s face it, we all have mixed opinions about the Halo in Formula 1. Some understand it’s for the sake of safety, and the drivers wanted something to be done for head protection after notable incidents that’s ended seasons, and even a driver’s life. Others utterly despise the new look, and wish there was a different approach of protecting a driver, like the canopy NHRA Top Fuel drivers use. After opening day of free practice for the Rolex Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne, I sawRead More

By FIA Kimi Räikkönen kept Ferrari on top of the timesheets as pre-season testing came to a close in Barcelona today, with the Finn using the hypersoft tyre to eclipse surprise second-place man Fernando Alonso by half a second. Third quickest was Renault driver Carlos Sainz. Ferrari ratcheted up the pace on the final two days of the test, with Sebastian Vettel yesterday claiming an unofficial circuit record with a lap of 1:17.182. And Räikkönen got close to that mark on the final day of testing, posting a 1:17.221 duringRead More

By FIA Daniel Ricciardo set the fastest ever lap of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to top the timesheets on day two of the second pre-season Formula 1 test at the Spanish track. The Red Bull Racing driver used Pirelli’s new hypersoft compound to post a time of 1:18.047 that beat Felipe Massa’s 2008 record. It was also good enough, on the day, to eclipse world champion Lewis Hamilton by over three tenths of a second. Hamilton had led for most of the morning session and set his quickest time onRead More

By FIA Reigning F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton went quickest on the final day of the first pre-season test ahead of the 2018 FIA Formula 1 campaign, beating Stoffel Vandoorne by half a second. After a wet morning during which Mercedes’ W09 challenger was driven by Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton took over in the afternoon and used medium tyres to post a time of 1:19.333. That 0.521s clear of Vandoorne’s best which had been set on Pirelli’s new hypersoft tyres, one of seven dry compounds of offer this year. Ferrari’s SebastianRead More

By FIA Fernando Alonso posted the only timed lap of the day as snow and then heavy rain turned day three of Formula 1 testing in Barcelona into a wash-out. Overnight snow and freezing temperatures led to a long delay in the morning but the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was eventually declared fit for running at midday. However, persistent rain throughout the afternoon meant that few teams ventured out on track. Alonso completed the most laps, with 11, and the McLaren driver claimed the timesheet honours for the day with theRead More