On Thursday, Perez stressed that he now feels he has an equal opportunity to succeed at Red Bull and is supported by the team.However, the Saudi Arabian GP winner added that before he arrived at Red Bull in 2021 “they were just going racing with two cars because they had to”.The clear implication was that his immediate predecessors Daniil Kvyat, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon did not enjoy …Keep reading
Mixed Melbourne weather and Formula 1 data systems trouble resulted in frustratingly truncated first practice running for the 2023 Australian Grand Prix, where Red Bull led the way but faced rare issues.Max Verstappen topped the times in FP1, the only fully dry session on Friday at Albert Park, but had off-track moments and a dramatic spin late in the session, while team-mate Sergio Perez also …Keep reading
Verstappen’s 1m18.790s led the way ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who jumped up the order late on after initially struggling with the handling of his W14, and running adrift of his team-mate George Russell during the early exploratory laps on the harder tyres.Sergio Perez took third in the second Red Bull ahead of Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso, although the former’s best time was set on …Keep reading
The clarification has resulted from a review of the Alonso penalty stop and the grid placement offence that triggered it.As well as a tidying up of the penalty pitstop rules the review has resulted in changes to the grid boxes, which have been extended in width from 2.5m to 2.7m from this weekend, with an experimental central white line added to help to guide the drivers in Melbourne.In …Keep reading
Gonzalez won the British F3 National class title with T-Sport in 2006, then raced in GP2 and tested for the Lotus/Caterham and Marussia F1 teams before a six-race IndyCar spell for Dale Coyne Racing in 2015. Subsequent health issues then sidelined the British-educated Venezuelan.“I stopped because, for some time, I became slightly ill,” said the 36-year-old, who contributes to ESPN …Keep reading
Erstwhile technical director James Key has departed McLaren, leaving a three-pronged new arrangement headed by three technical directors, namely Peter Prodromou (aerodynamics), Davide Sanchez (car concept and performance) and Neil Houldey (engineering and design).Stella suggested that under the previous structure the contribution of Prodromou in particular had been restricted.“I think …Keep reading
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali thrust the sanctity of free practice into the limelight in an interview last weekend with SportTV. He said: “I am a supporter of the cancellation of free practice sessions, which are of great use to the engineers but that the public doesn’t like.”Arguments in favour of slashing the three one-hour sessions include taking away data from engineers and drivers to increase …Keep reading
Unreliability and damage for both Piastri and team-mate Lando Norris in the opening two races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have left McLaren bottom of the constructors’ championship and without a point.Despite this poor opening, 1996 F1 world title winner Hill reckons rookie Piastri will not need to worry about a bad run sapping his confidence, even if the Australian is yet to deliver a …Keep reading
The Haas driver has made his comeback with Haas this season, having not raced full time since he was dropped by Renault at the end of 2019.He kept race-sharp, however, as reserve and test driver for the Racing Point/Aston Martin team over the past three years, taking part in four grands prix in that period.But as he bids to make the most of his fresh opportunity with Haas, the German has …Keep reading
While the Silverstone-based squad has proved to be a close challenger to Red Bull in the opening two grands prix of the season, it has also been clear that there are big differences in how the two cars perform. While Aston Martin’s AMR23 has clear strengths in braking, acceleration and low-speed corners, it is also noticeable how much it is giving away to Red Bull on the …Keep reading