FIA Tag

By FIA Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas went quickest in the opening practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix, finishing more than eight tenths of a second ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton and almost a second clear of third-placed Sebastian Vettel. The Mercedes drivers’ dominance of the session was established early with Bottas using soft tyres to push into the 1m18s bracket. At that point the were backed up by Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo, but the Australian wouldn’t figure in the session for much longer. With grip at the premium onRead More

By FIA Lewis Hamilton claimed a fortunate 63rd career win and control of the Drivers’ Championship standings at the end of a chaotic and incident-packed Azerbaijan Grand Prix that saw long-time race leader Sebastian Vettel drop to fourth after a collision between the Red Bull drivers and Valtteri Bottas exit the race from the lead with a late puncture. Kimi Räikkönen was left to take second place behind Hamilton, with Force India’s Sergio Perez taking a second career podium finish in Baku thanks to a late pass on Vettel. The 2018Read More

By FIA Sebastian Vettel grabbed his 53rd career pole position at the Baku Circuit Circuit, edging Lewis Hamilton by just under two tenths of a second in an enthralling qualifying session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Vettel’s party might have been spoiled by team-mate Kimi Räikkönen, who was on course to beat the German’s time on his final flying lap, but a mistake in Turn 16 mean the Finn lost all the time gained in his first two sectors and he finished sixth behind third-placed Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes and the Red BullsRead More

By FIA Sebastian Vettel set the pace in final practice ahead of qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, finishing more than three tenths of a second clear of Lewis Hamilton. The final part of the session was disrupted by a crash involving Williams drive Sergey Sirotkin that brought out the red flags. After a quiet start to the session Friday’s fastest man, Daniel Ricciardo, posted the first time but he was quickly beaten by the Ferraris of Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen. With Mercedes still appearing to be marginally more uncomfortableRead More

By FIA Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo went quickest in the second practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, edging Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen by 0.069s. Last year’s winner at the Baku City Circuit, Ricciardo was straight into the groove in the late afternoon session claiming top spot 10 minutes into the 90-minute practice period. Ricciardo worked his way up to a best early supersoft of time of 1:43.512s and before the field began to move to ultrasoft-shod qualifying runs as the session approached the half-way mark. The Australian again establishedRead 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 FIA The Formula 1 Strategy Group and the Formula 1 Commission met today, 17th April, at the FIA headquarters in Paris, in the presence of Jean Todt, FIA President, and Chase Carey, Chief Executive Officer of Formula 1. Positive and constructive discussions were held regarding the future of Formula 1. Firstly, regarding technical regulations for the 2019 season, the following changes were agreed, subject to World Motor Sport Council approval: • Increase the fuel allowance for the race from 105 to 110 kg, in order to be able toRead More

By FIA Daniel Ricciardo took a thrilling victory at the Chinese Grand Prix, benefiting from a mid-race safety car to rise from sixth to first in a handful of laps, thanks to fresh tyres and brilliant passing moves. Mercedes’s Valtteri Bottas finished second ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton, as pole sitter Sebastian Vettel dropped to eighth place following a collision with the second Red Bull of Max Verstappen. At the start Vettel made a slightly slow getaway and as Räikkönen got away well, the German moved right toRead More

By FIA Sebastian Vettel led a Ferrari one-two and set a new track record in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix, with the German edging team-mate Kimi Räikkönen by just 0.087s as Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas finished third ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Raikkonen set the early pace in Q1 with a lap of 1:32.474, with the Mercedes cars of Bottas and Hamilton slotting in behind. However, seven minutes into the 18-minute session Vettel jumped to the top of the order with a lap of 1:32.171. Vettel’s time was good enoughRead More

By FIA Sebastian Vettel set the pace in final practice beating team-mate Kimi Räikkönen by more than four tenths of a second, with Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas third. There was trouble for Daniel Ricciardo, though, with the Red Bull driver exiting the session with what looked to be an engine failure. In cool temperatures and with a strong wind sweeping across the track, the session was slow to get going with Räikkönen setting the early pace with a time of 1:34.794. That stood until Ferrari team-mate Vettel joined the fray. TheRead More