There was a time in the mid-1970s when Rupert Keegan, who has died aged 69 after a long battle against cancer, was hailed as the next James Hunt. The similarities were obvious: they both started out with a habit of crashing Formula Ford cars, then rose rapidly through the single-seater ranks to Formula 1 and enjoyed the playboy lifestyle. Sponsorship from gentleman’s magazine Penthouse and Durex …Keep reading
The McLaren Formula 1 team has announced it has signed Red Bull’s chief strategist Will Courtenay as its new sporting director.Having initially joined the team as a systems engineer in 2003 under its Jaguar guise before moving to a strategy role once the team became Red Bull in 2005, he rose to become the world champions’ head of race strategy for the past 14 years. But Courtenay will join title …Keep reading
Aston Martin managing director, commercial and marketing, Jefferson Slack has laid down the gauntlet with a direct target to be fighting for Formula 1 world championship honours by 2027.Having been on the grid in various guises since 1991 when racing as Jordan, the Silverstone-based team has transformed since a consortium led by Lawrence Stroll acquired it in 2018 and evolved into Aston Martin …Keep reading
Proceedings in Singapore were not quite as compelling compared to those in Azerbaijan a week ago. There was no battle for the lead, nor was there a real three-team battle at the front; instead, this was a championship big-picture race.Lando Norris put the field to the sword, but Max Verstappen gamely mitigated the damage to his championship lead – and then said little about it afterwards as he …Keep reading
His demeanour at the end of the Singapore GP – not to mention the rumours linking Liam Lawson with his seat – left F1 media in little doubt that the Marina Bay event could be Daniel Ricciardo’s final race.But if that’s the case, is it fair or is Red Bull making the wrong decision?Our writers offer their views.His time in F1 is up – Ben HuntSadly, despite being one for characters in Formula 1, I Read more…
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff believes his Red Bull Formula 1 rival Christian Horner is just “stirring sh*t up” by namechecking George Russell as a future Red Bull option.Red Bull’s long-term driver line-up has been one of the main conversation topics over the Singapore weekend, with Daniel Ricciardo expected to be replaced ahead of Austin’s US Grand Prix by reserve driver Liam Lawson at Red …Keep reading
Max Verstappen’s rift with the FIA over their decision to hand him a community service sanction for swearing, is poised to fizzle out.The Formula 1 world champion was left upset at the Singapore Grand Prix when he was summoned to the stewards for saying his car “was f***ed” in the previous race in Baku.His comment, made during a live TV broadcast, drew the wrath of the FIA, who issued him with a …Keep reading
Norris was lapping comfortably a couple of seconds ahead of title rival Max Verstappen early on before there was a short team radio discussion where he explained that he was running at ‘pace six’.His pit wall came back and said: “Ok, in which case we’d like to use a bit of that pace to try and get a five-second gap to Max, if possible, by the mid-teens.”Norris duly pushed harder and …Keep reading
Daniel Ricciardo admits there is a real chance he will not drive in Formula 1 again – but is more “at peace” with a potential exit than he was two years ago.Reports leading into the Singapore Grand Prix suggested the Australian’s position at RB was in the balance depending on his performance at the Marina Bay Circuit, with reserve driver Liam Lawson waiting in the wings.A disappointing …Keep reading
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella has called for the relationship between Red Bull and RB to be “addressed” after Daniel Ricciardo’s “peculiar” fastest lap at the Singapore Grand Prix stole a point away from race winner Lando Norris.With McLaren dominant around Marina Bay, Norris was looking at taking eight points out of Max Verstappen’s lead at the top of the drivers’ championship …Keep reading