Formula One Tag

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor After incredibly lengthy negotiations, the contract to extend the Italian Grand Prix at Monza through 2019 has finally been signed. It came after months of rumor and speculation on the future of the race. It came after Imola challenged to move the race. It came after Bernie Ecclestone and Angelo Sticchi Damiani butted heads several times. News of the new contract being agreed to broke during the Italian Grand Prix weekend back at the beginning of September, but officials insisted there were still small details toRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix proved an exciting finale for the 2016 Formula One season and brought us a slew of interesting stats and facts, as new records were set, veterans retired, and Nico Rosberg clinched his maiden World Drivers Championship. Here are 10 of the best facts and stats from the dramatic duel in the desert. 10. Nico Rosberg joins his father Keke (1982) as only the second father-son duo in history to be F1 champions. Graham (1962,1968) and Damon Hill were the first toRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter Author’s note: This is part of a 10-part series discussing tracks around the world that I feel would be a good fit for the Verizon IndyCar Series. The opinions here are expressed solely of the author and not necessarily of the Motorsports Tribune. While the Circuit of the Americas has made a name for itself as the home of Formula 1’s United States Grand Prix, a Verizon IndyCar Series race could be a nice addition. The 3.427-mile road course just outside of Austin, Texas hasRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Mercedes AMG Petronas drivers Nico Rosberg, and Lewis Hamilton have picked the exact same supply of tires for their championship showdown at Yas Marina for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Each of them will have four sets of softs, two sets of super-softs, and seven sets of the super sticky ultra-soft compounds for the weekend. The driver’s choices echo Mercedes’ boss Toto Wolff’s strategy of giving their drivers each an equal opportunity to claim the championship. Whoever wins will not claim the title by fluke ofRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor US based Liberty Media’s $8 billion buyout plan of Formula One is set to face its first regulatory hurdle as the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) may mount an investigation into the plan to ensure that the deal doesn’t violate antitrust and anti-competition laws. The CMA released the following statement on the matter. “The CMA is considering whether it is or may be the case that this transaction has resulted in the creation of a relevant merger situation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise ActRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor After much speculation Williams has finally announced that European F3 Champion Lance Stroll will join Valtteri Bottas for the 2017 Formula One season, replacing retiring veteran Felipe Massa. Stroll, who turned 18 last Saturday, has followed in the path of Max Verstappen, by showing incredible promise in the junior series. In further assistance to Williams and its battle to stay at the sharp end of the grid is Lawrence Stroll, his billionaire father, an investor and fashion magnate in their native Canada, who also happens toRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Ross Brawn, the legendary former team principal and technical director who oversaw massive success at Benetton, Ferrari, Brawn, and Mercedes is set to return to the Formula One paddock in 2017. But it won’t be in the familiar role of working with a team, instead he will take up the role of Sporting Director. The news, broken by esteemed journalist James Allen is very interesting; Brawn will not replace Bernie Ecclestone, nor have any dealings with the commercial aspect of the sport. He will mainly actRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The FIA has confirmed a number of rule changes for the 2017 season today. With new cars substantially different and faster than the current machines, the sport’s governing body has had to issue rule changes out piecemeal style, but we can glean some important information from today’s announcement. Power Units The power units themselves aren’t changing for the 2017 season, but how they are to be regulated will. Currently teams have been able to change multiple parts of the power units and incur grid penalties forRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Highly respected UK newspaper, The Financial Times, has just reported that tech giant Apple is in talks to buy the McLaren Technology Group, parent company of the famed F1 team and car manufacturer in a deal that may be worth up to $2 billion. McLaren has quickly moved to deny the reports, but The Financial Times said it had three sources corroborate the report that talks were indeed in place between the two companies. McLaren is currently owned by three entities: F1 Principal Ron Dennis, company chairmanRead 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