Marcus Ericsson Tag

By FIA Lewis Hamilton led a Mercedes one-two in the opening practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix finishing half a second clear of team-mate Valtteri Bottas and almost seven tenths of a second ahead of the third-placed Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo. Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen and championship challenger Sebastian Vettel finished the session in fourth and fifth places, but both set their best times using the supersoft Pirelli compound, while Hamilton session-best time of 1:28.691s was delivered on soft tyres. Vettel ended the session just under a second offRead More

By FIA Hamilton, who comes into this weekend carrying a 40-point championship lead over chief rival Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari, posted a time of 1:33.584 a third of the way through the session after bolting on a set of hypersoft compound tyres as the field set about qualifying simulations. The Briton’s time saw him finish 0.199s ahead of Bottas. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was third fastest at the Sochi Autodrom, with the Dutch driver recording a best time of 1:33.827. That left him just under two hundredths of a secondRead More

By FIA Sebastian Vettel eclipsed Ferrari team-mate Kimi Räikkönen by almost three tenths of a second to top a second practice session for the Italian Grand Prix that saw a Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson emerge unhurt for a heavy, high-speed crash. Just two minutes after the green light had appeared at the end of pit lane to signal the start of the session, Ericsson crashed out. At the start of his first flying lap the Swede’s Sauber snapped to the left under braking on the approach to Turn 1 after hisRead More

By FIA Sebastian Vettel closed the gap on championship leader Lewis Hamilton with a controlled drive to the flag after overtaking the championship leader on a chaotic first lap defined by a Turn 1 collision that took out Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg, McLaren’s Fernando Alonso and Sauber’s Charles Leclerc. Max Verstappen took the final podium spot Red Bull Racing. At the start, Vettel got away well to immediately put pole-sitter Hamilton under pressure. But behind chaos was unfolding. Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg, starting fro P18, locked up massively on the approach toRead More

By FIA Lewis Hamilton powered from 14th on the grid to a 66th career victory, and back into the lead of the FIA Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship standings, as Sebastian Vettel crashed out of a dramatic, rain-hit German Grand Prix. Hamilton had climbed from 14th on the grid to fifth place by the midpoint of the race but with Vettel holding a solid lead after starting from pole position it looked the Briton’s best hope would be to minimise damage in the title race. However, rain then began to fall. With the showerRead 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

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Alfa Romeo Sauber have unveiled their 2018 challenger – the C37. Featuring a bold livery combining the classic white of Sauber and the deep red of Alfa Romeo, the car is a clear departure from last year’s woefully uncompetitive C36. In fact, of all the 2018 cars unveiled so far – Haas, Williams, Red Bull, the Sauber vies with the Williams for most radically overhauled. “The car philosophy is much different to that of the C36,” said Joerg Zander, technical director of Alfa Romeo Sauber. “TheRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Sauber and Alfa Romeo celebrated their new partnership today from the Alfa Romeo museum where they announced their 2018 driver lineup and unveiled a teaser of the 2018 livery that will adorn the cars that will be known as Alfa Romeo Saubers. Reigning F2 champion and Ferrari junior driver Charles Leclerc will make his much anticipated Formula One debut alongside Marcus Ericsson who returns for a fourth season with the team. Antonio Giovinazzi who contested the first two races for the Sauber earlier this year inRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor There is a red dawn rising at Sauber’s Hinwil Headquarters as the team announced a new partnership with historic car maker Alfa Romeo this morning. The Alfa Romeo name will return to Formula 1 in 2018 as part of a commercial and technical partnership with the Swiss outfit and be known as Alfa Romeo Sauber from 2018 onward. The multi-year deal is crucial for FCA Chairman Sergio Marchionne’s desire to put Alfa Romeo back on the world stage and is the first major step of creatingRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Kimi Raikkonen topped the time sheets for Ferrari on the first day of Pirelli’s Abu Dhabi tire test, where all 10 Formula One teams are evaluating the prospective 2018 tire compounds. The Finn clocked an impressive 1:37.768 on Pirelli’s new hypersoft compound, just three tenths ahead of Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull, and nearly a second ahead of World Champion Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton, who qualified and finished second behind team mate Valtteri Bottas on Sunday, hailed Pirelli’s hypersoft tires as the best tire Pirelli has made sinceRead More