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Haas team principal Guenther Steiner says Nico Hulkenberg is “absolutely” the best qualifying driver he has had driving for his team. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Hulkenberg joined the Haas team at the start of this season in place of Mick Schumacher . It is Hulkenberg’s first full campaign in Formula 1 since 2019, when he raced for Renault. Over the first ten rounds of the year, Hulkenberg has started inside the top 10 more than half the time, reaching Q3 on five occasions – once more than Red Bull driver Sergio Perez . He has also out-qualified team mate Kevin Magnussen by a ratio of 8-2. Alfa Romeo sporting director Beat Zehnder recently named Hulkenberg as the best qualifying driver he has ever worked with , as the driver raced for the team in 2013 when it was known as Sauber. Speaking to media in Hungary yesterday, Steiner agreed with with Zehnder’s statement. “I would say so, absolutely,” Steiner said. “He can put a lap together that … [Read more...] about Hulkenberg is the best qualifier I’ve worked with – Steiner

Nyck de Vries’ sacking just 10 races into his first full season as a grand prix driver is typical of Formula 1 in general and Red Bull in particular, according to several drivers. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free “That’s how Red Bull do it,” said Lewis Hamilton when asked about the team’s decision to cut de Vries from its junior team AlphaTauri before the halfway mark in the season. Asked whether the decision reflected how F1 works, Hamilton replied: “I’d say that’s how Red Bull works.” The team has some form in making dramatic driver announcements, such as when it promoted Max Verstappen to Red Bull in place of Daniil Kvyat four races into the 2016 season. De Vries’ place has been taken by Daniel Ricciardo, who hopes to use the opportunity to gain a return to Red Bull. Valtteri Bottas . “They obviously follow their view what is the best. “Obviously it’s really a shame for Nyck it was quite a short rookie season unfortunately. But also then it’s … [Read more...] about ‘Cutthroat.’ ‘Brutal.’ ‘That’s how Red Bull works’: F1 drivers on de Vries’ sacking

McLaren are unlikely to replicate their strong performance from the previous race says Lando Norris , who scored their best result of the season so far two weeks ago at Silverstone. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Norris, who qualified and finished second at the British Grand Prix, said “we know it’s not going to happen that often at all” over the rest of the season. A combination of the circuit’s characteristics suiting their car, plus the upgrade the team began to introduce two races ago, contributed to their result. His team mate Oscar Piastri finished fourth, and lost one position due to the timing of a Safety Car period. “We enjoyed the moment, for sure, but we know we’re not competing for wins or even podiums, we weren’t close to that very often,” said Norris. “A lot of things went right for this to happen, even though we should have had a P2 and a P3. “I think the confidence came from knowing that we took a good step in the right direction. I … [Read more...] about Norris warns McLaren’s Silverstone pace ‘won’t happen that often at all’

Renault has replaced the CEO of its sports car division Alpine for the first time since the brand’s entry into F1. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Laurent Rossi became CEO of Alpine in January 2021 ahead of its first season in F1, following the rebranding of its F1 team. Renault announced today Philippe Krief has taken over as Alpine CEO while Rossi will “focus on special projects linked to the transformation of the Group.” As CEO, Rossi’s responsibilities for the Alpine brand extended far beyond its F1 team. However he had a significant bearing on the operation and strongly criticised the team following the shaky start to its latest season. Alpine claimed a surprise victory in 2021, its first season in F1, and went on to finish fifth in the championship. It moved up a place to fourth the following year, but also lost the services of both Fernando Alonso and junior driver Oscar Piastri to rival teams. Its progress has stalled this year as Aston … [Read more...] about Rossi replaced after two-and-a-half years as Alpine CEO

Charles Leclerc is not convinced the new rules Formula 1 will trial this weekend are right for the sport. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The series will trial its ‘Alternative Tyre Allocation’ for the first time this weekend. The regulations were originally called the ‘Revised Qualifying Format’ because they limit which tyres drivers may use in each stage of qualifying. Ordinarily drivers have free choice of tyres in qualifying sessions and tend to pick the softest rubber. This means they get through several sets of tyres over the course of Q1, Q2 and Q3. This weekend drivers will be given fewer sets of the soft tyres and the rules state they may not use them in Q1 or Q2. Drivers must run on hard tyres in Q1 and the medium compound in Q2. However Leclerc is concerned about the effect that may have on the rest of the weekend. “It’s going to be very tricky because also the free practice preparations are quite a lot mixed,” he said. “I feel like we are … [Read more...] about Added “jeopardy” of new qualifying rule is not right for F1 – Leclerc

Stellantis is putting the brakes on production by temporarily halting operations at its Mirafiori plant in Italy. A spokesperson for the automotive conglomerate told Automotive News Europe that both assembly lines are on a hiatus this week. In addition, output will be halted again from October 19 until November 3. The decision to temporarily halt production is going to impact 2,400 workers who will not be paid for those days. Located in Turin, the Mirafiori factory is in charge of four Maserati models: the Ghibli and Quattroporte sedans, GranTurismo, and the Levante SUV. The smaller Grecale crossover is built at the Cassino factory in the Lazio region while the MC20 is assembled in Modena. Stellantis will discontinue the current-generation Ghibli and Quattroporte in December when production is scheduled to end, according to ANE . Of the two sedans, only the Quattroporte will be renewed in 2024 with a next-gen model set to spawn a fully electric derivative. Maserati … [Read more...] about Production Of Four Maserati Models And Fiat 500 Electric Suspended

At the very end of the 2024 Land Cruiser presentation held in early August, Toyota showed two shadowy silhouettes of unknown SUVs. One of them was a small boxy vehicle that looked an awful lot like how we'd imagine an FJ Cruiser revival. A couple of weeks later, a trademark was filed in Japan for the "Land Hopper" moniker, suggesting a name has been chosen for the compact off-roader. A new report suggests the box on wheels is coming soon. Japan's Best Car magazine claims a decision has been made to launch a smaller Land Cruiser positioned below the 250 and 300 models. It's said to take after the former in terms of styling and have roughly the same size as a Corolla Cross. For reference, the compact crossover is 176.1 inches long, 71.9 inches wide, and 64.9 inches tall. While the Corolla Cross has a unibody construction, the Land Hopper is said to be more rugged by riding on a body-on-frame platform by using a shortened GA-F architecture borrowed from the 250 and 300. … [Read more...] about Toyota FJ Cruiser Reboot To Get Gasoline And Hybrid Power: Report

KTM turned heads at the San Marino GP earlier this month when test rider Dani Pedrosa completed the weekend as a wildcard on the new carbon fibre frame. The 31-time MotoGP race winner finished fourth in both the sprint and the grand prix at Misano using the new frame, which was then tested on the Monday at the Italian venue by the race riders. Both Binder and Jack Miller rode the chassis on Friday at the Japanese GP, which the former used to top second practice by beating the eight-year-old lap record with a 1m43.489s. The South African says the new chassis has given him the rear grip he has been long requesting from KTM, but is “cautious” about the gains it has brought. “Well, I think for sure the new chassis has given me a little bit more rear grip, which is something I’ve been asking for,” he said. “So, it’s great to have that available and it helps you for sure. Grip is lap time. “I think we were all a bit surprised about how fast Dani was in Misano – the guy … [Read more...] about Binder buoyed after setting Motegi lap record on new KTM chassis

Honda rider Marquez had set a lap good enough to make the top 10 in Friday afternoon’s second practice session and thus secure a guaranteed spot in the second part of qualifying, but this was scrubbed for a yellow flag violation. The lap would have been good enough to get him into Q2, but the six-time MotoGP champion pushed for a further improvement and instead ended up in the gravel at Turn 1. With his best lap taken away, Marquez was left 14th-fastest, two spots behind team-mate Joan Mir , and facing the prospect of fighting his way out of the first part of qualifying on Saturday. But the six-time champion admits that he didn't realise that in reality he didn't need to push any harder to get through to Q2. “It was a good day, but unlucky,” summarised Marquez. “Some days I go into Q2 without [having] the speed, but today I had the speed and I was not able to be in Q2. “With the first tyre, I did a mistake on the first corner and I missed the lap. I touched the green … [Read more...] about Marquez feels “unlucky” to miss Motegi MotoGP Q2 after yellow flag confusion