Lance Stroll Tag

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Formula 1 rookie Lance Stroll will take a five-place grid penalty after his FW40 required a gearbox change due to a crash in final practice. The 18-year-old Canadian lost control of his car on the exit of Turn 10. The backend made the initial contact with the wall, causing damage to the rear chassis, front wing and front suspension. The crash came towards the end of FP3, bringing out the red flag before ultimately sidelining the remainder of the session. Stroll was the subject of aRead More

Sebastian Vettel set the fastest ever lap of Albert Park to top the FP3 timesheet in Melbourne, ahead of Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton. The session ended early when Lance Stroll crashed out with ten minutes left on the clock. After a slow start to the weekend, Ferrari ramped up the pace in final practice, with Vettel and team-mate Kimi Räikkönen making the running from early on. The German set the early pace but with 25 minutes remaining Räikkönen vaulted to the top of the order. His run onRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor After two seasons with regular podiums, Williams Martini Racing slipped behind Force India last year for a disappointing fifth in the Constructor’s standings. A turbulent off season saw them lose Valtteri Bottas to Mercedes after Nico Rosberg’s surprise retirement. This caused an awkward exchange when the team immediately called veteran Felipe Massa out of retirement. The affable Brazilian agreed and he leads Williams for at least one more season. He is joined by Canadian rookie Lance Stroll, who won blitzed last year’s European F3 Championship andRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Ferrari saved their best for the last day of preseason testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as Kimi Raikkonen blitzed the field en route to the fastest time of winter and the second fastest lap ever recorded at the track. His 1:18.634 very nearly reached the 1:18.243 Fernando Alonso set while testing slick tires on the Renault R28 in preparation for the 2009 season. Of far more importance to Ferrari, Raikkonen’s time is seven tenths of a second faster than Mercedes’ best lap and eight tenths better thanRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor It was all thumbs up for Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari today. The four time champ looked absolutely unassailable as he set the fastest time of testing so far and completed a day high 156 laps. His 1:19.024 on ultra softs bested the Mercedes duo on the same tires by three tenths of a second and Felipe Massa’s Williams by four tenths. So confident was Vettel that he visibly slowed on the final straight for most of his fast laps, an ominious sign for their challengers that theRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Following renderings of its 2017 challenger, Williams has finally released the first images of the FW40. The famous Martini Racing stripes remain a part of the team for a fourth consecutive season and runs upward on a very pronounced sharkfin, similar to every team with the exception of Mercedes. The sidepods and airbox are also noticeably modified compared to last year’s car. The team welcomes the return of veteran Felipe Massa, whom came back from a brief retirement at the end of last season when ValtteriRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor There is a reason Toto Wolff is so happy Valtteri Bottas has finally signed for Mercedes. Consequently, there is a reason Claire Williams is so happy Felipe Massa is back with her team as Bottas’ replacement. Teams with experienced veterans are rejoicing ahead of the 2017 regulations because they know that experience will count more than ever before. It is not unusual for cars and teams to be pushed to their breaking point during the debut season of major rule changes, but 2017 is going toRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Williams officially announced Felipe Massa is re-joining the team for the 2017 Formula 1 season. The 35-year-Brazilian’s return means that he will team alongside incoming rookie driver Lance Stroll, with Valtteri Bottas released to join Mercedes – also on a one year deal. Massa announced his retirement from F1 at the end of the 2016, but the shocking retirement of reigning world champion Nico Rosberg just days after winning the title opened up negotiations between Mercedes and Williams in an attempt to bring on Bottas. WilliamsRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Brazilian media sources are now reporting that recently retired F1 driver Felipe Massa has signed a deal with Williams to return to the grid in 2017 for his former team. By doing so he paves the way for his old team mate Valtteri Bottas to join Mercedes and fill the vacancy left by Nico Rosberg’s surprise retirement. Massa, who announced his retirement in September at the Italian Grand Prix was apparently eager to come back and help his former team. Williams had a desperate need forRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The FIA have unveiled their provisional list of entries for the 2017 Formula 1 season, with four seats currently vacant. Despite several entries being set several weeks ago, the recent retirement of World Champion Nico Rosberg has Mercedes scrambling to fill the seat, while both seats at Manor remain empty along with one at Sauber. Although Toro Rosso will move away from Ferrari power next season, it isn’t known yet which label they  will give the Renault powerunits – likely copying that of its senior team,Read More