Toro Rosso Tag

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Max Verstappen was left frustrated at his Toro Rosso teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. and the team’s strategy following the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday. The Dutchman had a promising start to the race, maintaining fifth after a frantic start. However, the 18-year-old’s afternoon took a wrong turn following a restart after the red flag on lap 18. Verstappen endured a slow stop on lap 33, dropping in the running order and falling in behind Sainz. From there Verstappen was slowed by his teammate, which led toRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor Nico Rosberg led home a Mercedes one-two finish from Albert Park in what was a madcap start the 2016 season. Despite the typical result of a Mercedes double podium, the circuitous route the race took to its conclusion proved entertaining, terrifying and intense. The plot thickened before the race ever got underway as Daniil Kvyat’s Red Bull succumbed to electrical gremlins by stalling on the way to his grid position. The team ran to remove the car while the rest of the field embarked upon aRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor Lewis Hamilton has claimed pole position for the Australian Grand Prix with a stunning 1 minute, 23.837 lap around the Albert Park circuit to reach career pole number 50. It was about the only true excitement of the session as F1’s controversial new qualifying format completely imploded. Q1 had barely begun and the field was immediately thrown into chaos as teams struggled to cope with the elimination countdown clock. Many drivers complained as they were on good laps, but the 90 second countdown clock nullified theirRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor Formula One’s second pre-season test ended the way the first test began; with Sebastian Vettel in his Ferrari firmly atop the timesheets. The German slapped a set of Pirelli’s super-softs in the morning session to post the fastest time of the pre-season with a strong 1:22.852 tour of Circuit de Catalunya. With Ferrari the quickest car on five of the eight days of testing, things near the sharp end of the field seem to have tightened between them, Mercedes and Williams. Vettel also ran the haloRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor With the benefit of Ferrari power for 2016, Red Bull’s ambitious junior squad thinks that it can take aim at the podium with its talented young drivers this season. Last season rookie sensations Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz moved the team up a notch in the pecking order and despite some rookie mistakes and bad luck, had some excellent drives, including two 4th place finishes for Verstappen, at Hungary and Austin. Last year’s STR10 marked 10 years since Red Bull bought out lovable F1 backmarkers MinardiRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor The second day of running in Barcelona once again saw Sebastian Vettel top the session for Ferrari. The four time champ lowered his best time from yesterday by two seconds after slapping on a set of Pirelli’s new ultra-soft compounds. Daniel Ricciardo had the second best time for Red Bull, also on the ultra-softs, but near 3/4th’s of a second behind the Ferrari. Sergio Perez validated Force India’s performance by putting in the third best lap of the day on the super-softs. Nico Rosberg took overRead More

Teenager Max Verstappen set the fastest time of the opening practice session for Mexico’s first grand prix in 23 years. The Toro Rosso driver set a time of 1:25.990 late in the session as the damp conditions that prevailed at the start of running improved. The Dutch driver finished 0.305 seconds ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Daniil Kvyat, with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen third, with an identical time to Kvyat’s 1: 26.295. Early morning rain saw drivers begin the session in damp conditions and with the newly laid surface still settlingRead More

Lewis Hamilton claimed his third Formula One World Championship title with victory in an incident-packed United States Grand Prix that saw the Briton’s Mercedes’ team-mate Nico Rosberg take second place ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. The win, Hamilton’s 10th of the season, puts him on 327 points in the championship, 76 points ahead of nearest challenger Sebastian Vettel. With a maximum 75 points on offer from the final three rounds, Hamilton cannot be overtaken in the standings. Hamilton joins a list of three-time champions that includes Jack Brabham, Sir JackieRead More

Red Bull Racing will end its longtime relationship with engine supplier Renault, at the end of the season, according to AUTOSPORT. Since the introduction of the V6 turbo era in Formula 1, Renault has had an array of performance and reliability issues that has led to a tumultuous relationship with the Milton Keynes-based squad. Red Bull’s contract with the French manufacturer was set to expire at the end of the 2016 season, with long-standing rumors that the team could break the contract without penalty due to performance issues. Both DanielRead More

Toro Rosso rookie Max Verstappen overcame a collision with Williams driver Valtteri Bottas and a drive-through penalty to achieve a fourth place result at the Hungaroring, the best finish of his young Formula One career. The collision came after a safety car restart and damaged the 17-year-old’s front wing. However, after several drivers were involved in incidents that took themselves out of a good result late in the going, Verstappen found himself in fourth at the finish. “I’m incredibly happy, to finish P4 is an incredible result,” said a jubilantRead More