Formula 1
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Russell: Mercedes locked in F1 "battle of fine margins"
The German manufacturer has endured a bruising start to the 2024 season, with it yet to finish on the podium and currently lying in fourth in the constructors’ championship – just one point ahead of Aston Martin.But while on paper its situation does not look promising, Russell thinks that Mercedes' fate has been exacerbated by tiny elements – and a relatively minor uplift in pace would...Keep reading -
What is the cooldown room in F1? All you need to know about the procedure
Over time F1 fans have watched the live broadcast cut to the driver cooldown room after each grand prix to see the top three finishers debrief the race.In 2023 it caused various memes online, as world champion Max Verstappen headed to the cooldown room for 21 of 22 grands prix. Fans joked that it was like the Red Bull driver had his own podcast with different guests - or drivers - on each...Keep reading -
Bottas: Permanent fix for Sauber F1 pitstop woes "by Imola"
Sauber introduced more advanced pitstop equipment for this year, but from the first race in Bahrain, it has encountered cross-threading issues on the wheel nuts, which led to disastrous pitstops over the first few races.The Swiss team made some modifications and changed procedures to mitigate its hardware issues since Bahrain which has generally worked, but Sauber's pitstops are still generally...Keep reading -
COTA: F1 and MotoGP double-header possible but not probable
Earlier this month it was announced that Liberty Media, the American entertainment company which also owns F1, acquired a 86% stake in Dorna Sports, valuing the MotoGP, WorldSBK and MotoE promoter at €4.2 billion.It revived the idea of the two championships experimenting with a joint weekend, which according to Dorna sporting director Carlos Ezpeleta was "not discarded" but not actively worked...Keep reading -
Perez: Red Bull can be more resilient to graining after Melbourne
Red Bull continues to be the dominant team in 2024, but its race performance was less convincing in last month's Australian Grand Prix, in which Ferrari looked to edge ahead.The Melbourne race was marked by heavy front graining, which is believed to be a factor in why Ferrari was so strong relative to Red Bull.Max Verstappen's early retirement meant it was much harder to make comparisons, but...Keep reading -
Red Bull says it can't match "very lucrative" Audi F1 offer to Sainz
Sainz and his management have been engaged in discussions with every F1 team that has a viable opening for next season when he will be replaced at Ferrari by Lewis Hamilton.This selection is headlined by the possibility of Sainz going to Red Bull as a replacement for Sergio Perez or if Max Verstappen makes a shock choice to leave F1's current best squad as a result of the ongoing Red Bull...Keep reading -
Hamilton: Ferrari F1 switch doesn't need "vindicating"
The seven-time world champion announced at the start of February that he would be switching to Ferrari in 2025 after electing to activate an exit clause in a deal he had originally signed with Mercedes.And while the ongoing competitive differences between Mercedes and Ferrari have prompted onlookers to debate about whether or not he has made the right move, he says what others think is...Keep reading -
Antonelli completes maiden Mercedes F1 test
Mercedes junior driver Antonelli is under consideration to replace Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton in a Silver Arrow in 2025, with the team using older machinery to fully assess his abilities before making a decision.The first of these tests was conducted across two days at the Red Bull Ring, where the Italian drove the W12, the car that so nearly took Hamilton to a record-breaking eighth world...Keep reading -
The story behind Shanghai's "painted" F1 track surprise
Having had no notification in pre-event notes from the FIA regarding any resurfacing, the colour of the asphalt – which has already worn away on the racing line in places – left some concluding that the circuit had had a paintbrush taken to it.As Daniel Ricciardo said: "It looks like they've painted the track or something. They've done something to the surface."I don't know how the track's...Keep reading -
Ricciardo brushes off F1 future worries, new chassis brings "peace of mind"
The Australian managed to reignite his F1 career with the AlphaTauri squad last season, either side of his hand fracture-enforced layoff, with a series of strong drives following his mid-season call-up to the Italian squad.He has been so far unable to replicate that form into 2024 with the rebranded team, which has proved particularly difficult as Yuki Tsunoda has dazzled on the other side of the...Keep reading -
Sainz: All my best 2025 F1 seat options are "still open"
The direction of Sainz's career once he leaves Ferrari is currently the subject of major F1 paddock interest, given he is being dropped by the Scuderia in favour of Lewis Hamilton, while also being the only non-Red Bull driver to have won races since 2022.The F1 driver market is in rare early overdrive in 2024, with most of the grid also out of contract just as Sainz and his camp try to plot his...Keep reading -
Norris: McLaren can win races in F1 2024 if it gets everything right
The orange team currently sits third in the 2024 constructors’ standings – 55 points better off and two places higher than at the same stage a year ago – and heads the Mercedes and Aston Martin teams in the tight battle behind the dominant Red Bull squad and Ferrari.While that is a major year-on-year improvement, Ferrari has established itself as Red Bull’s closest challenger so far this...Keep reading -
Leclerc: Sainz simply doing a better job in recent F1 races
Since returning from the appendix surgery that ruled him out of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Sainz has outqualified Leclerc in both Australia and Japan, and won the Melbourne race from second on the grid.Leclerc has also finished behind his team-mate in both races, placing as runner-up at the Australian Grand Prix and finishing fourth behind the podium-finishing Sainz at Suzuka.Asked if it was...Keep reading -
Alonso: Stroll more sensitive to Aston F1 car handling issues I drive around
Alonso was speaking in the pre-event press conference for F1’s returning Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai, a week on from the announcement that he will continue to race with Aston for at least the next two years beyond his current contract expiring at 2024’s conclusion.When asked if Aston is now developing its AMR24 car package around him as the team’s main figure – Alonso having registered...Keep reading -
Williams may as well “go home” if spares situation changes its F1 approach, says Albon
The Thai driver and team-mate Logan Sargeant have faced a challenging start to the season with Williams having been without a spare chassis and not being flush with replacement parts.With Sargeant having been forced to sit out the Australian Grand Prix because of the need for his team-mate to take his car, and the American crashing in opening practice in Japan, things were not helped much in the...Keep reading -
Aston Martin ‘not convinced’ Alonso would definitely want to stay in F1
The Silverstone-based squad last week announced a new long-term deal with Alonso that will carry their partnership into the new rules era in F1 from 2026.But despite the contract talks being straightforward between both parties once they began, team principal Mike Krack has revealed to some private concerns that F1’s ever-expanding schedule and demands could have been a factor in triggering...Keep reading -
What Aston Martin’s curfew burn told us about its F1 upgrade trajectory
Although there is no downside to using them up if needed, teams also know that if they are not in their back pocket for the end of the season, then that carries big risks.For if the points battle is tight, the last thing a team would want would be some unexpected late-night work triggering a final race grid penalty that could derail all the year’s efforts up until that point.It is why it is...Keep reading -
Why F1 teams are racing into the unknown in China
Five years is an awful long time in Formula 1 and it feels even longer given the global pandemic that interrupted F1's visits to Shanghai.The last time F1 travelled to China, Max Verstappen had only won five races and RB was still racing as Toro Rosso rather than its previous name AlphaTauri.In the meantime, as the Shanghai International Circuit hosted a makeshift COVID-19 hospital in 2022 rather...Keep reading -
What could have been: When Villeneuve’s shock return thwarted an F1 rookie
Jacques Villeneuve’s return to Formula 1 at Renault for the inaugural Chinese Grand Prix in 2004 was a seminal moment in Franck Montagny’s career. Then a test driver for Renault, he had been the logical choice for the seat vacated by Toyota-bound Jarno Trulli. But instead it was 1997 world champion Villeneuve who got the nod for the final three races of 2004 alongside Fernando Alonso.Montagny...Keep reading -
Three-time F1 world champion Verstappen named in 2024 Time 100 list
Verstappen won 19 of the 22 races on the F1 calendar in 2023, and secured last year's drivers' championship in early October after finishing second in the Qatar sprint race.His achievements over the past three seasons in F1 have thus ensured his place on this year's Time 100 list, which includes world leaders, writers, entertainers and other global icons across a range of industries.Verstappen...Keep reading -
Newey: F1’s grid to close up even more before being ‘blown apart’ in 2026
While Red Bull remains the team to beat in F1 right now, Newey has no doubt that the opposition is closing in, as the world champion squad finds it harder and harder to make gains with its car.He sees no reason why one of his outfit’s competitors cannot even leap ahead under the current rules set before things are thrown up in the air by the new car and engines that are coming from 2026.Newey...Keep reading -
Schumacher F1 watch collection could top $4 million in auction
On 13 May, in the week leading up to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Christie’s Auction House will be offering a selection of watches from the personal collection of the seven-time world champion in an auction in Geneva.The star item is a unique Platinum Vagabondage 1 that had been commissioned for Schumacher as a personal gift from his former Ferrari boss Jean Todt.The watch showcases the strong...Keep reading -
Sauber F1 driver Zhou says early China-to-UK move was "a shock"
Shanghai native Zhou first raced in Europe in 2010 following success in Chinese karting competitions.He went on to move to English city Sheffield two years later, at the age of 12, to give his career the impetus it needed, but the cultural shift was substantial.“It was a bit of a shock, coming from a huge city like Shanghai,” the current Sauber driver said. “Plus Sheffield is all the way up...Keep reading -
Hamilton needs talk with Wolff to prepare Ferrari F1 move
Hamilton's bombshell move to Maranello was announced on 1 February, and the Briton has since been focusing on his 12th and final F1 season at Mercedes, with team principal Toto Wolff stating after the Australian Grand Prix that what was happening this year at Ferrari was "not his main priority today", referring to his driver.Yet, there will come a time when Hamilton and Mercedes will need to...Keep reading -
What is really going on with F1’s 2026 active aero plans
Evaluation of 2026 aero ideas had left sim drivers experiencing some weird phenomena – including difficulties in spinning out on the straights under acceleration in low-downforce configuration, or being unable to run anywhere near flat out in what should be high-speed corners.The situation hinted at F1’s rule makers potentially being on the backfoot with its preparations for the new rules era...Keep reading -
Honda targets F1 title bid with Aston Martin from 2026
From 2026 Honda will move its works engine deal to Aston Martin, ending its successful association with Red Bull.Following Honda's initial decision to withdraw from F1, which led to Red Bull deciding to take its engines in-house and link up with Ford for 2026, the Japanese brand was forced to seek a new works partner when it reversed its exit decision.After being approached by several candidates...Keep reading -
The off-track action that makes the Miami GP an F1 race like no other
Sponsored by This year sees the third iteration of the event, which seems to get bigger and better each year. Las Vegas is a tough act to follow, so Miami is sure to be stepping things up yet again for 2024 – and with MoneyGram, you could be there.If the number of celebrities in attendance and the amount of F1-related events taking place around the city are a measure of an F1 event’s...Keep reading -
F1 publishes sustainability gains amid 2030 net zero push
F1's Net Zero by 2030 campaign aims to cut 50% of absolute carbon emissions compared to its 2018 baseline, which encompasses the energy consumption at its facilities, F1's race events and all the travel and logistics in between. It pledges to put a credible offset strategy in place for the rest of its emissions.While the full suite of data on 2023 is not available yet, F1's latest impact report...Keep reading -
Alpine fast-tracks F1 floor upgrade to China amid recovery push
Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly have yet to score points as a late car concept change has seen the Enstone squad make a sideways step while its midfield rivals all made significant gains compared to last year.Initial upgrades brought at the Japanese Grand Prix appeared to give a glimmer of hope, with Ocon advancing to Q2 to qualify 13th, but both he and Gasly were powerless to fight...Keep reading -
How Haas delivered its F1 "game changer"
Having expressed concern over the winter that it could start the year on the back foot, and potentially even be on the last row, its situation is much better than that. Amid the pack of five teams picking up the rear, its tally so far leaves it seventh in the constructors' championship.But the biggest transformation at Haas is not something that can be measured in points. Instead, it can be gauged...Keep reading -
Horner: Red Bull’s 2026 F1 engine project “hitting targets”
Red Bull Powertrains will be working in conjunction with Ford to help deliver the engine that will power the current world champion squad for F1’s new rules era.It already has its dynos hard at work in evaluating the performance of its new turbo-hybrid design and while there have been various rumours about the level of progress Red Bull is making with its project, Horner insists everything is on...Keep reading -
Mercedes becomes first F1 team to exceed £500m turnover
The company that runs the squad, Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd., declared a turnover for 2023 of £546.5 million, which covers the year that ended December 31.This figure represents an increase of £71.9 million over the 2022 figure of £474.6 million.As a comparison, Red Bull Technology, the company behind Red Bull’s F1 team, had a turnover of £385.6m in 2022.However, despite the increase in...Keep reading -
McLaren F1 team bracing for "damage limitation" in Chinese GP
McLaren started off 2024 in good shape, heading into the fifth round of the season as the third team in the pecking order, ahead of Mercedes.But while it remains strong on high-downforce circuits, the team admitted at the start of the year that its persistent low-speed weakness still hadn't been addressed yet.That weakness could come back to haunt it at some circuits more than others, with F1's...Keep reading -
Komatsu: Gene Haas still keen to invest in F1 team if money not wasted
After four podium-less seasons during which Haas scored just 52 points in total, team principal Guenther Steiner and technical director Simone Resta left the squad last winter.The former was replaced by ex-trackside engineering director Komatsu while the latter's position was taken over by Andrea de Zordo, who used to be the outfit's chief engineer.These decisions were made amid team founder and...Keep reading -
Verstappen: 'Not smart' to pick returning China for F1 sprint weekend
China last hosted an F1 race in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic derailed its grand prix.F1 now returns to the demanding Shanghai International Circuit after four seasons in which it didn't appear on the calendar, with teams facing several unknowns on how this generation of cars will perform there.Furthermore, the circuit has since been resurfaced, meaning very little existing data is valid at...Keep reading -
Mercedes form leaves Wolff in two minds on F1 2025 driver path
Lewis Hamilton’s decision to join Ferrari for next year means that Mercedes is on the hunt for a new team-mate for George Russell.There are two different paths that the team can go down: hunting out the best experienced driver it can to help its push to the front, or throwing everything behind its rising junior star Andrea Kimi Antonelli to get him up to speed.On the experienced front, the...Keep reading -
Why the signs were always evident that Sainz could cut it at the top
Having read Autosport almost all my life, I’m chuffed to have been given a regular column in a magazine/website that I respect. I am sure that I will return to what I know best before too long – running race teams – but for the moment, while I recharge my metaphorical racing batteries, I plan to tell a few stories about my 40-odd years in the sport.I’m going to kick off with Carlos Sainz...Keep reading -
Interview: Newey’s vision on what F1 should be
Throughout his career we have seen plenty of ideas for his ultimate F1 machine – which famously included his Red Bull X2010 created for Gran Turismo. It was a 1400bhp fan car that smashed the track record at Suzuka by 20 seconds during simulator runs.But delivering the perfect F1 car is not just about having the ultimate cars, because a grid full of X2010s would probably not deliver brilliant...Keep reading -
Suzuka remains keen to add Super Formula to F1 Japanese GP bill
Last year there were talks between Yoshihisa Ueno, the president of Super Formula promoter JRP, and the Suzuka race organisers to bring Japan's leading domestic single-seater series to the event.Super Formula left a two-month gap between its first round in March and its second event in May for the F1 support event to potentially move into.A support slot for Super Formula didn't materialise for...Keep reading -
How Ferrari has kept itself in the F1 hunt despite no major upgrades
What is perhaps most interesting about Ferrari's performance, however, is that it has come without it bringing any significant upgrades to its car.While work is under way on what is understood to be a pretty major development step for the start of the European season at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, changes have so far been only minor touches.It was a small tweak to the rear suspension's upper...Keep reading -
Hamilton: MotoGP and F1 shared events would be “epic”
Liberty, which has owned F1’s commercial rights since 2017, announced at the start of April that it had acquired an 86% ownership stake of Dorna Sports and MotoGP in a deal valued at €4.2 billion.Following this, MotoGP Dorna sporting director Carlos Ezpeleta said his organisation was “not ruling out” the possibly of subsequent future shared race weekends with F1.At the recent Japanese...Keep reading -
Newey: Monaco example shows why F1 2026 will be a “strange formula”
F1 manufacturers are now hard at work in developing their next-generation turbo hybrids, which will feature a 50/50 split in power between the internal combustion engine and battery.The nature of what is coming has opened the door for what could be some unique characteristics because there will be a premium on energy recovery.Newey has revealed that effectively turning the ICEs into generators...Keep reading -
Ex-F1 racer Pirro makes motorbike racing debut at Goodwood
The 62-year-old Italian contested the Hailwood Trophy for 250cc and 350cc two-stroke grand prix and Formula 750 motorcycles that raced up to 1983. He qualified the Michael Russell-entered Yamaha TZ250 20th in the 34-bike field, 9.7 seconds off pole.The Le Mans winner of 2000-02 and 2006-07, who recently left his role managing the McLaren young driver programme, ran 20th in race one on Saturday...Keep reading -
What drives your dreams? A chance to WIN a Dream Weekend in Miami
Sponsored by The Florida venue is one of F1’s newest destinations, but after two seasons it has already become a popular fixture on the calendar, not only for the on-track action that F1 brings to any venue but also for the entertainment that the US races add on top.America now plays host to three F1 races and speaking ahead of last year’s race, Hamilton said: “They are massive sporting...Keep reading -
McLaren hopes to "out-develop" F1 rivals in "race of upgrades"
McLaren caused 2023's biggest upset by revamping its car to move from the midfield towards the front of the grid, taking nine podiums from July's Silverstone round onwards to finish fourth in the constructors' standings.While it hasn't yet scaled the same heights as when it was the second-fastest team on the grid on certain occasions, McLaren has consolidated its place in the chasing group behind...Keep reading -
Alonso: No F1 team has Aston Martin’s ‘ambitions’ as Newey intrigue flies
The Silverstone-based squad has undergone a huge transformation since Stroll took over the assets of the former Force India team, rebranding it as Racing Point before it became Aston Martin in 2021.With huge investment, which has included a new factory, the team has become podium contenders – but still wants more as it sets sights on fighting for championship glory.And, as Autosport revealed...Keep reading -
Horner has learned “not to listen” to Wolff over F1 title claim
Max Verstappen’s dominant performance at the Japanese Grand Prix, as he took his third win from four races this year, left few in any doubt that the Dutchman is the clear favourite to grab his fourth world title this season.And while closest challenger Ferrari hopes it can find gains to start putting Red Bull under more pressure for wins, Wolff thinks it a pipe dream that anyone can stop...Keep reading -
Which engine does each F1 team use in 2024?
That is represented in the price, as the sporting regulations state the standard fee between a manufacturer and customer team is €15,000,000, making it the most expensive car part.The price is also why some teams will not produce their own power unit, instead buying one from another constructor or outside engine supplier.On the 2024 F1 grid, there are four engine suppliers - Ferrari, Honda RBPT...Keep reading -
Sainz: Red Bull’s F1 advantage may be wiped away by Ferrari upgrades
Ferrari has been Red Bull’s closest challenger so far, and Sainz is the only driver other than Max Verstappen to have won this year with his triumph in the Australian Grand Prix.Red Bull’s performance in Japan last weekend, where Verstappen led home a dominant 1-2 ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez, has left few in any doubt that the Milton Keynes-based squad is clear favourite for the titles...Keep reading -
Hulkenberg: Japan F1 GP fightback was "half a miracle" for Haas
Having qualified a promising 12th at Suzuka, Hulkenberg lost out after the red flag as his anti-stall system kicked in during the second start. This dropped him to 17th position before he had the first pitstop of the race, as early as lap five.However, the German subsequently had two strong stints on hard tyres. He overtook five drivers on the track, including Aston Martin's Lance Stroll in the...Keep reading
