F1 has turned its sprint race into a standalone Saturday event, with sprint qualifying deciding the starting grid followed by the sprint race later in the day. Here’s how the latest sprint race format changes will work.During qualifying for Sunday’s grand prix, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took pole position, initially from McLaren’s Lando Norris but the British driver dropped to 10th after …Keep reading
Behind polesitter Max Verstappen, who will land his third title if he scores three points in the Saturday sprint race at Losail, Mercedes drivers George Russell and Hamilton snared second and third place in Friday night qualifying for the Qatar GP.But the duo were only bumped up after faster McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both belatedly had their final Q3 lap times deleted for …Keep reading
Norris went second in Q3 in Losail for McLaren, which proved to be the second-fastest car through the high-speed corners behind Red Bull’s dominant polesitter Max Verstappen.But the Briton immediately realised he wouldn’t start there as he had caught a slide into the Turn 10 left-hander that spat him out wide past the white line, which saw his lap time deleted.Norris also lost his first, almost …Keep reading
Andretti’s plans took a step closer to becoming a reality when the team was approved by the FIA, and it now falls to the F1 organisation and its owner Liberty to assess the commercial position of the potential new entrant.Existing team bosses have continued to express their opposition to a new team coming in, in essence because of the future requirement to divide the prize fund 11 ways instead …Keep reading
Verstappen will start ahead of Mercedes duo George Russell and Lewis Hamilton after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.As this is a sprint weekend format, these sessions set the grid for Sunday’s race and have no impact on Saturday’s sprint event.Qatar GP qualifying results …Keep reading
Alpine targeted retaining fourth in the 2023 constructors’ standings while closing the gap to Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes. However, it has fallen to sixth behind Aston Martin and McLaren.Team boss Otmar Szafnauer and long-time sporting director Alan Permane have departed this season, reportedly having disagreed with Renault’s top brass over how soon success could be delivered.Alpine CEO Laurent …Keep reading
The FIA announced this week that the Andretti project had passed the first two phases of the entry process, having been approved by the governing body.The matter now passes to F1 for a commercial discussion, which will revolve in large part around the potential impact on the finances of the 10 existing teams.MORE: How the FIA went from seven F1 new team bids to AndrettiSome drivers have been wary …Keep reading
With his Maranello squad having unlocked some key understandings of its car since the Dutch GP, its form was also lifted recently by a new floor that arrived in Japan.It was able to edge ahead of main rival Mercedes at Suzuka, as the two teams lock horns in the fight for second in the championship.However, Red Bull’s total runaway pace in Japan has left its rivals in no doubt about the gulf that …Keep reading
The American has shown flashes of pace throughout his first season in F1, but these have been outweighed by mistakes which have mounted up over recent races – with notable crashes at Zandvoort, Singapore, and Suzuka following the summer break.This has led to speculation that Sargeant could be moved aside for 2024 should Williams wish to mitigate further repair bills, and the team has been forced …Keep reading
Ricciardo broke a metacarpal in his left hand during a practice crash at Zandvoort, which paved the way for 21-year-old Kiwi racer Lawson to make his F1 debut in the Netherlands.The Super Formula points runner-up has impressed during four cameo appearances, with his rapid adaption capped by scoring two points for finishing ninth in the Singapore GP.With Lawson taking a backseat next season by …Keep reading