Air safety investigators

Max Verstappen was “not happy” when the Safety Car was deployed in the closing stages of the Canadian Grand Prix because he expected it would leave him vulnerable to Carlos Sainz Jnr. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The Red Bull driver was chasing down the race-leading Ferrari when the Safety Car was deployed with 21 laps to go. Verstappen had given up the lead to get onto fresher rubber, and knew the Safety Car would allow Sainz to do the same and restart immediately behind him. “We did our strategy and I think for us it worked,” said Verstappen. “At that second stop, of course, I had the fresher tyres, I was closing in on Carlos, but I was not sure if I actually would fully close that gap to the end of the race.” Sainz had slightly quicker pace in the opening stages of the race and Verstappen was concerned it would be difficult to contain the Ferrari driver once the Safety Car was deployed. “The Safety Car came out and I was not very happy with that … [Read more...] about Verstappen expected Safety Car would play in Sainz’s favour

For the 30th time in 71 seasons of the Formula 1 world championship, the drivers’ title was decided in the very final race of the season. But what was F1’s best ever final showdown? Recap all thirty of the final race title deciders below and then let us know which one you feel was the best climax seen in a Formula 1 season. 1950: Fangio vs Fagioli vs Farina The first world championship produces the first title showdown at Monza. Fangio needs a win or second place to become the inaugural world champion, but Fangio retires twice in two separate cars, opening the door for Farina who takes the win and the first ever world title. 1951: Fangio vs Ascari vs Gonzalez The next year, another threeway showdown for the title at the season-ending Spanish Grand Prix around the streets of Barcelona. Going into the final round with the lead, Fangio holds off Ferrari’s Jose Froilan Gonzalez to take the chequered flag and secure his first of five titles. 1956: Fangio vs Collins Peter … [Read more...] about Which was F1’s best down-to-the-wire title fight?

Home Two wheelers oi-Athul By Athul Published: Monday, October 2, 2023, 10:03 [IST] Bajaj Auto recently launched the new Bajaj Pulsar N150 motorcycle in India. This new 150cc motorcycle is positioned between the sportier Pulsar N160 and the commuter-ish Pulsar P150 motorcycle. However, the new Bajaj Pulsar N150 is priced extremely close to the Pulsar P150 motorcycle at Rs 1.18 lakh (ex-showroom). In fact, only a few hundred rupees split both these 150cc motorcycles apart. While the sportier Pulsar N160 is aimed at a younger audience and the Pulsar P150 is aimed at a more mature audience who requires a more powerful commuter motorcycle. As such, where does the new Pulsar N150 fit? Looking into details, the Bajaj Pulsar P150 motorcycle failed to meet expectations. Mostly because many people did not like the sleek and slender looks of the model, which was not a design associated with the 'Pulsar' nameplate. In order … [Read more...] about New Bajaj Pulsar N150 Motorcycle – Who Should Buy It

From the moment George Russell stepped into Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes for the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix and almost drove it to victory, his Mercedes future became inevitable. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Finally, in 2022, Russell received his highly-anticipated promotion into the factory Mercedes seat alongside one of the greatest drivers of all time. Now he could finally fight at the front and be in contention for poles, wins and possibly even a championship title. At least, that was how it was supposed to be. Even Russell had to admit that he expected to have more success than he and Mercedes were able to achieve over the start of the 2022 season. The team’s W13 was radical, rigid but not rapid. And as Russell prepared for his first weekend as a full-time Mercedes driver, he and the team knew they would likely not be fighting for the win, for the first time in almost a decade. Valtteri Bottas qualifying ninth in a Mercedes at Imola in 2021 after … [Read more...] about 2022 F1 driver rankings #5: George Russell

The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association has issued a statement explaining how they arrived at the decision to continue the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix following yesterday’s missile strike. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The FIA and Formula 1 reacted to the explosion 10 kilometres from the Jeddah Corniche Circuit during yesterday’s first practice session by insisting the event would go ahead . Team principals indicated they supported the decision unanimously. However the drivers remained in a meeting at the circuit discussing the event until the small hours of the morning. Several of their team principals returned to join the discussion. As the meeting broke up the consensus appeared to be that the event would continue, despite the concerns that had been aired. GPDA chairman Alexander Wurz issued a statement on behalf of the group saying the drivers had “natural human concerns” over the attack. They aired “a large variety of opinions” in their meeting but … [Read more...] about F1 drivers explain why they agreed to race in Saudi Arabia despite “concerns” over attack

The 2022 Formula 1 season was full of drama on track and in the paddock, some of it leftover from the previous year’s controversies. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free With all that going on, it was easy to overlook some of the strange and surprising stories of the last 12 months. Red Bull ‘launched’ a show car Formula 1 car launches always attract huge interest as they can give the first indication of how the teams will compare against each other for the season ahead with any innovative designs. That was especially the case this year as teams produced their first designs for radically new regulations. Preferring not to give the opposition an early peek at their real RB18, Red Bull instead presented a repainted show car at their launch on February 9th. The real thing, which appeared in testing two weeks later, looked very different. Red Bull presents first images of new car for 2022 F1 season Magnussen’s F1 return has big repercussions After … [Read more...] about Helmet rows, hot mics and more forgotten motorsport stories from 2022

After five red flags in just 75 minutes of running, Formula 2 drivers say stoppages are inevitable at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit . Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The red flags flew twice during the 45-minute free practice session, after Cem Bolukbasi and Theo Pourchaire crashed heavily . The session was abandoned with 8 minutes remaining. The 30-minute qualifying session was stopped three times. Pourchaire was in trouble again, his car catching fire. Then Logan Sargeant crashed and finally a third red flag was shown in error following a GPS failure on Frederik Vesti’s car. The interruptions posed an added challenge for teams as Formula 2 has changed its regulations on refuelling this year. Teams are no longer allowed to refuel their cars during sessions, meaning some drivers began to run low after too many aborted attempts. Teams needed to weigh that risk as part of their strategies, said Richard Verschoor. “Of course you want to have the best … [Read more...] about Red flags are a natural part of Jeddah say F2 drivers after five in two sessions

Charles Leclerc said his efforts to make progress in the Canadian Grand Prix were frustrated by a series of “DRS trains” and a slow pit stop. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free He started the race on the back row of the grid after collecting a series of penalties for power unit parts changes. He finished in fifth, having predicted fourth was the best he could expect heading into the race. Having spent many laps stuck behind other drivers, a slow tyre change cost him an opportunity to run in clear air. “Unfortunately with the pit stop this put us a bit in a bad situation because we had cleared the DRS train and we got another DRS train after the slow pit stop,” he explained. “I had to push on the tyres and that cost me a little bit at the end. But overall it was just a race where I had to be patient. “At the beginning I was stuck behind a DRS train. In the middle part of the race I was stuck behind Esteban [Ocon], who had much newer tyres and was very … [Read more...] about Leclerc frustrated by “DRS trains” and slow pit stop in climb from back row to fifth

Mick Schumacher’s Formula 2 victory in Sochi yesterday is in jeopardy after rival teams gave notice of their intention to appeal a stewards’ decision concerning the race. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Schumacher’s Prema team were fined €10,000 after the stewards ruled team principal Rene Rosin “committed an act prejudicial to the competition” by gesturing to the Prema pit crew when Schumacher and team mate Robert Shwartzman came into the pits during the feature race. Rosin was originally investigated for breaking F2’s rules which limit the number of team personnel who may participate in the race. Formula 2 teams are limited to a maximum of 12 “team personnel who are associated in any way with the operation of the cars” during events. According to the stewards, Rosin was not included on the list of the team’s operational personnel which was submitted ahead of the event. However he was observed gesturing to the team’s pit crew to warn them that … [Read more...] about Schumacher’s F2 win faces protest threat from rival teams