Racing

[raceweekendpromotion] What did you think of today’s race? Share your verdict on the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. RaceFans has held polls on every F1 race since 2008 to find out which fans thought of each round of the season. Join in the latest poll and give your verdict on the race: 10 being the highest and 1 the lowest. Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed. What were the best and worst moments of the race? What was the main thing you’ll remember about it? Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below: Rate the 2021 Sao Paulo Grand Prix out of 10 1 (2%) 2 (0%) 3 (1%) 4 (1%) 5 (1%) 6 (3%) 7 (11%) 8 (26%) 9 (33%) 10 (23%) Total Voters: 261 Loading ... 1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’ A RaceFans account is required to vote. You can register an account here or read more about registering here . When this … [Read more...] about F1 Rate the Race: 2021 Sao Paulo Grand Prix | RaceFans

Jolyon Palmer believes there is “no way” Ferrari would tell Carlos Sainz to move aside for Charles Leclerc at the Spanish Grand Prix. It may only be five grands prix into a 22-race campaign, but there is already talk that Ferrari may have to prioritise one of their drivers if they hope to win the Drivers’ Championship . The obvious candidate is Leclerc having earned more than double his team-mate’s points so far, but also because he now has Max Verstappen just 19 points behind him. Despite finishing with more points than his new team-mate last season, it stands to reason that if this form continues then Sainz will eventually become the second driver to Leclerc. While that possibility may become a reality someway down the line, former Renault driver Palmer believes it will not happen in Sainz’s home race this weekend. “I can pretty much guarantee it won’t be this weekend if it does come for Carlos,” he said on the F1 Nation podcast . “Can you imagine telling him … [Read more...] about ‘No way’ Sainz will suffer team orders at home race

The Baku race promoter has confirmed changes will be made to the unusual pit lane entry, following a request from the FIA. The 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix is scheduled to be held on 12 June, with various tweaks planned for the Baku Street Circuit before the race goes ahead. One of the changes planned is to the pit lane entry, which came in for some criticism during the course of last year’s event. In the 2021 edition of the Grand Prix, both Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll suffered sudden tyre failures that resulted in high-speed impacts with the opposite wall on the pit-lane straight. Verstappen had been leading the race at the time and Red Bull told the FIA that they had zero indication the tyres were about to go, with the Dutch driver pointing out the dangers of what might have happened if his car had speared off in the opposite direction and into the contentious pit wall entry. The circuit design was also highlighted by 2016 World Champion Nico … [Read more...] about Baku to tweak controversial pit entry ahead of 2022 race

Haas is planning to bring a significant upgrade for the French Grand Prix, team principal Guenther Steiner has confirmed. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Several of the teams’ rivals are expected to run upgrades at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix. But the Haas drivers will have to wait another seven races for the team’s first significant change to its car. “You will see when we bring the upgrade it’s everywhere,” said Steiner. “We will make a nice package. I wouldn’t say ‘everywhere’, that’s exaggerated, but quite a big one. It’s not just a turning vane or something like this, it’s quite a few changes.” However Steiner said it is difficult to estimate what kind of gains the team expect to see from its Paul Ricard upgrade. “It’s not only the upgrades, it’s also you understand the car better,” he explained. “You make improvements. “Especially this year it’s difficult to say with the bouncing because if you have bouncing you are really slow. Then if … [Read more...] about F1: Haas drivers face seven-race wait for team’s ‘quite big’ upgrade package · RaceFans

Listen to this article But Maffei quickly downplayed the chances of adding a fourth American event alongside Austin, Miami and Las Vegas, saying that trying to put on a race in the Big Apple was a “fight we don’t need to have.” Former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone tried for years to get a race either in or close to New York. In 2011 a site at Port Imperial in New Jersey, with the city skyline as a backdrop, was earmarked by promoter Leo Hindery. The race was included on the 2013 F1 calendar and work had started on readying the venue before the project collapsed due to lack of funding. Since taking over the F1 business in 2017, Liberty has prioritised adding races in “destination” U.S. venues. While the company was always interested in New York, and even took another look at New Jersey, the Miami and Las Vegas projects reached fruition first. Speaking at a financial event in New York on Thursday, Maffei was asked by the moderator if a Grand Prix in the city was on the cards. … [Read more...] about New York City mayor offers Liberty a site for F1 race

Alpine’s Esteban Ocon has shed some light on the mental challenges he faced after losing his race seat with the Force India team at the end of 2018. Esteban Ocon’s F1 career may be going quite successfully at this point, given his current long-term deal with Alpine and a race victory last season , but it’s been a long road back to F1 prominence after dropping off the grid three years ago. Ocon was left without a drive at the end of the 2018 season, following the sale of the Force India team to the Racing Point consortium led by Lawrence Stroll. Force India had been forced into administration after running into financial difficulties under owner Vijay Mallya, with the team changing hands and coming under Stroll’s ownership in August 2018. With Perez on a long-term deal at the team, and Stroll signing his son Lance to the second seat, Ocon was left on the sidelines for the 2019 season. Finding refuge as Mercedes’ reserve and development driver under Toto Wolff’s management, … [Read more...] about Ocon ‘cried in the parking lot’ after losing race seat

The Grand Prix Trust, an organisation which exists to help F1 team staff who have fallen on hard times, held a reunion lunch at Silverstone on Monday, bringing members together for the first time since the Covid-19 outbreak. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The organisation was set up by Sir Jackie Stewart over three decades ago, when it was originally known as the Grand Prix Mechanics’ Charitable Trust. Among its 10 trustees are its chairman Martin Brundle , F1 motorsport director Ross Brawn, former Williams designer Sir Patrick Head and Red Bull’s sporting director Jonathan Wheatley. A registered charity, the trust provides help and advice to F1 team personnel and others directly involved in the sport, including those who have worked for companies in the F1 supply chain for at least two years. Over more than three decades it has helped hundreds of F1 team staff and their families who have been affected by injury, ill health or loss of income. The … [Read more...] about How the Grand Prix Trust is reaching out to F1 team staff seeking support · RaceFans

The FIA’s clampdown on drivers wearing jewellery and non-compliant underwear prompted a mixture of criticism and derision from competitors. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Lewis Hamilton turned up at an FIA press conference in Miami wearing every item of jewellery he could lay his hands on, while Sebastian Vettel briefly sported a pair of boxer shorts on the outside of his overalls before one session. However Grand Prix Drivers Association chairman Alexander Wurz recently gave his full backing to the FIA’s tough new line. He described how he learned the importance of following the rules after speaking to former sportscar racer Kris Nissen, who was badly burned in a crash in 1988. Nissen, now 61, told RaceFans he believes strongly that today’s drivers should follow the FIA’s requirements on fireproof clothing. He suffered burns to more than a third of his body when his Porsche 962 sports-prototype car crashed at Fuji and caught fire. He joined … [Read more...] about Interview: “Totally ridiculous” not to follow FIA underwear rules · RaceFans

The first team principal to run Max Verstappen in Formula 1 is “convinced” he will win the championship this weekend. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Franz Tost described how he had been impressed by Verstappen’s mental toughness from his first practice outing for his team, at the age of 17, at no less a track than the formidable Suzuka . “I knew him from the very beginning onwards and he was already mentally strong in those days,” Tost recalled in an exclusive interview for RaceFans. “Because if you remember right there were many people who criticised us to sit him in the Formula 1 car because he was only 17 years old, and even didn’t have a driver’s licence.” Ahead of Verstappen’s practice debut at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, Tost says some journalists told him he was “completely wrong” to put such a young driver in his car. “I said to them let’s talk in five years once more, I think it’s right. In the end it was right.” After Verstappen made … [Read more...] about Verstappen was mentally tough from his first day in an F1 car – Tost interview · RaceFans