Liam Lawson will be in Qatar, but will he racing for AlphaTauri or watching on from the sidelines? Daniel Ricciardo has missed the last couple of Grands Prix, after breaking a metacarpal in his left hand following a practice crash at the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August. In his stead, Liam Lawson was given the nod to race the AlphaTauri and has impressed due to a mixture of confidence, speed, and ability to immediately match the pace of teammate Yuki Tsunoda – he even scored his maiden F1 points at the Singapore Grand Prix, one of F1’s toughest races. Will Liam Lawson be racing at the Qatar Grand Prix? Lawson’s impressive performances meant he became a late candidate for a full-time AlphaTauri seat for 2024, but was ultimately overlooked by Red Bull as they committed to Ricciardo and Tsunoda for next season. The Kiwi racer will be the reserve driver for Red Bull and AlphaTauri for next season but has made it very clear he wants nothing less than a full-time seat – … [Read more...] about Qatar verdict looms for Liam Lawson as F1 ‘consumes’ Daniel Ricciardo deputy
Confirmed 2019 f1 seats
‘We were built for racing, unlike Vegas’: COTA boss not concerned by new F1 rivals
Just this past weekend, the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas held one of its biggest events on its annual calendar: the NASCAR Cup Series. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Featuring a handful of special guest drivers including F1 champions Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen and multiple IMSA champion and Daytona 24 Hours winner Jordan Taylor, it was one of several major international motorsport events being held at the now ten-year-old circuit in 2023 – including the United States Grand Prix, which will take place in October. After a decade of the US Grand Prix at COTA – interrupted only by Covid – Formula 1 appears to have finally found a solid footing in America. Rather than fizzle out like so many other attempts to establish a US race over the decades, attendance at COTA has grown over recent years to the point where it now boasts the largest crowd of the season in terms of total attendance over the race weekend. F1’s arrival at COTA in 2012 … [Read more...] about ‘We were built for racing, unlike Vegas’: COTA boss not concerned by new F1 rivals
F1 2023 struggler unsure on popularity in home nation and key market
Despite being the first American in the sport since 2015, Logan Sargeant feels he does not have the home crowd support having spent many years away. As is the nature with Formula 1, if you want to make it to the top, you often have to live in Europe. Oscar Piastri, Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo are examples of drivers who moved across the world to further their career, while Sargeant is another one. The American left the States at a young age to continue his karting career and even now as F1 visits the country three times, he is not sure he has won over the home crowd just yet. Logan Sargeant unsure of popularity within American F1 fans For a country that has been given three races in a single season, it is clear there is a huge F1 interest in the US but they have yet to find someone to root for. Haas brand themselves as the American team but many feel disappointed that much of their productions takes place in the UK and Italy. While Sargeant has been labelled as … [Read more...] about F1 2023 struggler unsure on popularity in home nation and key market
Pollock confirms he is planning a return to F1 with new ‘equal-gender’ team
Former British American Racing Formula 1 team principal Craig Pollock has confirmed he plans to return to the sport with a new team in 2026. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Earlier this year the FIA opened applications for new teams to enter F1 in 2025, 2026 or 2027. Pollock plans to submit an application for his new project, named Formula Equal . He intends the team to include an even split between genders at all levels. “The concept and the idea was to try and build a F1 team, 50% male, 50% female, which is extremely hard to do if you have an existing F1 team,” he told CNN . “It’s a lot easier with a clean sheet of paper.” The FIA previously indicated it will confirm at the end of next month which if any prospective new F1 teams have been selected. Among the criteria they will be judged on is “considerations of sustainability, EDI (Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion), and societal benefit”. The backing for Pollock’s project is rumoured to come … [Read more...] about Pollock confirms he is planning a return to F1 with new ‘equal-gender’ team
Brawn among key F1 hires announced by Liberty
Ross Brawn has been confirmed as Formula One’s managing director for motor sports following the departure of Bernie Ecclestone . The 62-year-old’s appointment is immediate and comes as the sport’s new owners also confirmed long-time ESPN executive Sean Bratches as managing director for commercial operations. “It’s fantastic to be returning to the world of Formula One,” said Brawn. “I’ve enjoyed consulting with Liberty Media these last few months and I’m looking forward to working with Chase, Sean and the rest of the Formula One team to help the evolution of the sport. “We have an almost unprecedented opportunity to work together with the teams and promoters for a better F1 for them and, most importantly, for the fans.” New F1 CEO Chase Carey said Brawn “brought his magic touch to every team with which he has worked, has almost unparalleled technical knowledge, experience and relationships, and I have already benefitted greatly from his advice and expertise”. Brawn last … [Read more...] about Brawn among key F1 hires announced by Liberty
Records smashed and winning runs wrecked: The 2022 F1 season in stats
The 73rd season in the Formula 1 world championship was a record-setting one in a variety of ways with new all-time benchmarks set and some long-running sequences coming to an end. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free A 15-year continuous run ended for Lewis Hamilton , as did a peculiar record held by Daniel Ricciardo. And something happened in 2022 that has not occurred in Formula 1 since the 1979 season. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but these are some of the most outstanding records that were either set, broken or ended in the 2022 season… Record breakers Max Verstappen soared to unparalleled heights in 2022. As well as successfully defending his world championship title from 2021, he set a new all-time record for most wins in a single season with 15, breaking clear of Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher’s previous record of 13. Despite the incredible achievement, Verstappen’s season win percentage (68.18%) was actually lower than both … [Read more...] about Records smashed and winning runs wrecked: The 2022 F1 season in stats
F1’s TV audience decline stopped in 2016
Have Formula One’s television viewing figures finally stopped falling? Figures released by Liberty Media upon completion of its takeover of the sport yesterday show that, for the first time in six years, Formula One’s television viewing figures did not fall last season. Audiences remained at around 400 million in 2016, similar to the year before. Formula One has faced a struggle to hold on to viewers over the past eight years. The number of people watching F1 has fallen by one-third since 2008 : The sport has increasingly turned to pay television at the expense of free-to-air broadcasters in recent years. In Britain F1 will remain on Channel 4 for two more years before becoming exclusive to pay channel Sky in 2019. New owners Liberty Media has signalled it intends to continue moving F1 broadcasts from free-to-air to pay television services . However Liberty has also signalled a desire to make greater use of digital media to promote F1. CEO and president Greg Maffei said … [Read more...] about F1’s TV audience decline stopped in 2016
2022 F1 driver rankings #5: George Russell
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
New Asian-based team LKY SUNZ reveals bid to join F1 grid in 2025
Another potential new entrant to the Formula 1 grid has announced its intention to join the series. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free LKY SUNZ says it has secured backing from US sports fund Legends Advocates Sports Group and other Asian investors. It plans to submit an entry ahead of the FIA’s deadline for new applications, which were invited earlier this year. The project was co-founded by Benjamin Durand, who was previously involved in another attempt to enter a team in Formula 1. His Panthera Team Asia project was announced in 2019. Its other co-founders are Andrew Pyrah, who has been named chief commercial officer, and Paul Fleming, its chairman. LKY SUNZ – which takes its name from a combination of ‘Lucky’, which it calls a “nod to the Asian heritage of the team”, and ‘SUNZ’ representing the sun – intends to operate from a location in Europe. However it intends to construct a “state-of-the-art net zero green energy-powered factory complex” in the … [Read more...] about New Asian-based team LKY SUNZ reveals bid to join F1 grid in 2025