Steve Aibel Tag

By Steve Aibel, Senior F1 Writer A new Formula 1 season always, ALWAYS brings with it a sense of optimism that roots deeply within the bones of race enthusiasts worldwide. After three seasons where both World Championships were decided practically before the cars even hit the track, this season carves out a hope of a more paralleled distribution of the points making up the Word Championship. In 2017, there is a sense on wonder underlying the series. With new commercial control, an update to the formula, and an interesting driver shuffle, 2017 hasRead More

*Editor’s Note: The Motorsports Tribune Formula 1 and IndyCar team got together for a round table discussion following the retirement of World Champion Nico Rosberg less than a week after the F1 season officially ended. They give their thoughts over six topics as we enter a most interesting off-season.  QUESTION 1: With Nico Rosberg’s surprise retirement from Formula 1 just days after capturing his first title, what will be his legacy? JOEY BARNES, (Editor-in-Chief): The retirement was absolutely staggering, so much so that he could be remembered more for thatRead More

By Steve Aibel, Senior F1 Writer Nico Rosberg flattened the field again en route to his 7th race win in a row across two seasons and his 18th Formula 1 victory. The win at the Russian Grand Prix was the 4th in a row for Rosberg this year. He now has a perfect, 100 points for the season, which amounts to a 43 point lead over teammate and three time champion Lewis Hamilton. Rosberg finds himself in rare company! With 7 wins in a row, Rosberg ties Alberto Ascari and MichaelRead More

By Steve Aibel, Senior F1 Writer Testing in any racing series can be long, drawn out, and frankly, unexciting. TODAY WAS NOT ONE OF THOSE DAYS! With Ferrari bringing out the safety oriented Halo head protection system live for the first time, Williams making a strong statement concerning overall race pace, and Romain Grosjean spinning the Haas entry twice, Day 3 was filled with some interesting storylines as we approach the Barcelona test finale tomorrow. Kimi Raikkonen topped the timesheet with the fastest lap seen in testing so far! He alsoRead More

By Steve Aibel, Senior F1 Writer With 75% of pre-season testing complete, the paddock is voraciously checking items from their preparation lists to insure they are ready for the 2016 opener which is just over two weeks away in Australia. On Day 2 of testing, Valtteri Bottas led the time charts remarking that he is “feeling prepared and good in the car.” Bottas will hand over pilot duties over to Felipe Massa for the final two days of testing. Williams put the Fw-38 atop the leader board while in qualifying trim usingRead More

By Steve Aibel, Senior F1 Writer Formula 1 has always been a European based sport, circling the globe, bringing the top echelon of motorsports to fans in all countries.  American based teams have been in and out of Formula 1 with no team winning a Constructors Championship. Only Penske, Eagle and Shadow (which has its genesis in the US) have secured race wins in the series. If we don’t count Shadow, which had a British presence, no US based team spent more than 4 years in F1.  From a driver’s perceptive,Read More

By Steve Aibel, Senior F1 Writer Gold?  I’m afraid not! The color of the year for Formula 1 still looks to be Silver! While Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari led Day 4 in testing, it was Mercedes who fired the warning shot across the paddock. The Silver Arrows completed 675 laps across 4 days of testing while never using a tire other than the Medium Pirelli compound. To put this in perspective, Toro Rosso was a distant second in laps completed, over 200 laps in arrears. Stealing a page from their successfulRead More

By Steve Aibel, Senior F1 Writer Here it is! The first 2016 Formula 1 livery debut comes from Red Bull. This new look highlights the transfer of title sponsorship from Infiniti to famed watch maker Tag-Heuer and has afforded an opportunity for Red Bull to create a new branding platform for 2016. The design more prominently features Red Bull and utilizes a matte finish in some areas. The new livery is not on a 2016 chassis which will be seen for the first time in the garage at Barcelona on theRead More

By Steve Aibel, Senior F1 Writer 2016 Formula 1 Is Set To Take Off And These Story-lines Will Dominate The Season! The Battle At The Sharp End Of The Field For the racing aficionado, Formula 1 offers great battles throughout the field if you watch closely. The problem, and it’s a big one, is that the closest racing is not always at the front of the field for wins and podiums. Especially during the past two seasons, the new turbo charged power units, have penciled in Mercedes as the winner, weekRead More