Max Verstappen Tag

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost highlighted Daniil Kvyat’s spirited battle with Max Verstappen in the Singapore Grand Prix as the turning point of his 2016 Formula 1 season. The Russian started the season off with Red Bull, but was swapped in favor of Max Verstappen prior to the Spanish Grand Prix – which the Dutchman went on to claim as his first F1 victory. Kvyat’s return to Toro Rosso started off rough, but his ninth-place run at Singapore was impressive enough to warrant being re-signed andRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Roughly three months away from the start of the 2017 Formula 1 season and there is still just as much unrest as there was when Nico Rosberg announced his retirement just days after winning the championship in Abu Dhabi in late November. But uncertainty is a good thing. Now, it appears that longtime Williams driver Valtteri Bottas will finally get his shot with a top team as Rosberg’s replacement (although nothing has officially been confirmed). A variety of rule changes still have the teams looking atRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The 2016 Formula One season will go down in history as one of the most surprising, and unique in recent years. It will be known for Nico Rosberg’s epic battle with Lewis Hamilton, for Max Verstappen’s rise at Red Bull, for the retirement of beloved veterans, and Rosberg’s willingness to walk away from the sport having won his only world title. Here are our top five moments of the year. 5. Retirement Announcements Beloved veterans Jenson Button and Felipe Massa shocked the sport by announcing theyRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Pirelli’s final tire test of 2016 wrapped up at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi today. It was the first time the modified 2015 chasis from Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari appeared together on track, and it was Pirelli’s last chance to evaluate potential tire compounds for 2017’s bigger, wider tires. Lewis Hamilton turned laps for Mercedes before withdrawing from the test due to illness. Pascal Wehrlein completed the test for Mercedes. Both Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen ran for Red Bull, while Kimi RaikkonenRead 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

Nico Rosberg was crowned 2016 Formula One World Champion as he finished second behind team-mate and title rival Lewis Hamilton at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel was third for Ferrari. Hamilton took the win he needed in the race but despite a hugely tense finish in which the leading Mercedes drivers were hunted down Sebastian Vettel, Rosberg clung on to second to win the title by just five points. Both Hamilton and Rosberg got away well at the start and the pair slotted into first and secondRead More

Lewis Hamilton will start tomorrow’s title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from pole position after beating championship rival Nico Rosberg in qualifying by three tenths of a second. The drivers standings leader will start second ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. The Mercedes drivers were on track early in Q1 and Hamilton laid down a heavy gauntlet by posting a superb lap of 1:39 487. Rosberg followed his team-mate across the line but with the German admitting over the radio that it wasn’t a good lap and that heRead More

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel set the quickest time of final practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix finishing ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and the second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen as Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg slipped to fourth and fifth respectively. The title-contending Mercedes pair had comfortably topped both opening practice sessions but on a hot, sunny afternoon at the Yas Marina Circuit, both were eclipsed in final practice as Vettel finished 0.290s clear of Hamilton and almost four tenths ahead of Rosberg. Vettel was joined in beatingRead More

Lewis Hamilton won a dramatic, rain-lashed and incident packed Brazilian Grand Prix to take the battle for the Drivers’ Championship title to the final round in Abu Dhabi in two weeks’ time. In a three-hour race repeatedly neutralised by safety cars, crashes and red flags, Hamilton led from start to finish to win ahead of title rival Nico Rosberg. But it was Max Verstappen who provided thrilling entertainment, with the Red Bull driver rising from 16th place in the closing stages to take the final podium place. Force India’s SergioRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Kimi Raikkonen put in one of his best qualifying efforts of the season ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix with a third place effort on Saturday, but wasn’t overly impressed with the lap. The 37-year-old Finn bettered Scuderia Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel, who could only manage fifth, and Red Bull Racing teenager Max Verstappen. The 2007 F1 World Champion is in the midst of a battle with both in securing fourth place in the Drivers’ Championship, trailing Vettel 187-178 while also being ahead of Verstappen byRead More