Does what it says on the tin

Williams driver Alexander Albon does not expect the team to make a big step up the grid in 2023, similar to Haas last season. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Haas finished fifth at the opening race in Bahrain last year, having ended the previous season last in the championship. The team went on to take eighth in the constructors’ championship while Williams fell to last place. Heading into his second year with Williams, Albon is confident the team has made improvements on the weaker areas of last season’s FW44 but does not expect a major step up the order for the team. “I’d say at the start of the year, I don’t think it will be something like Haas, let’s say, when they came out the blocks and straight away were very competitive,” Albon told media including RaceFans at the team’s launch event today. “We have changed quite a lot with the car in terms of its philosophy and the areas where we’re trying to change the through-corner behaviour of the car. … [Read more...] about Albon doubts Williams can emulate Haas’ leap up the order in 2023 · RaceFans

By Thomas Mallon Knopf. 352 pp. $28 - - - Hollywood history is filled with has-beens and never-weres, so you're forgiven if you don't remember Dick Kallman, a small-time Broadway player turned television actor whose career reached its fleeting apogee when he starred in a 1965 sitcom called "Hank." After that show's cancellation the following year, Kallman didn't make another headline until 1980, when - having retired from show business and refashioned himself into a successful antiques dealer - he and his partner were brutally murdered in their Manhattan apartment in a robbery gone wrong. That this lurid episode chalks off the center of Thomas Mallon's engrossing new novel, "Up With the Sun," may seem peculiar at first, given the deftness with which Mallon has woven minor characters into the grand fabric of history dating back to 1994's "Henry and Clara." That novel, which set a tale of star-crossed lovers against the backdrop of Abraham Lincoln's assassination, was followed … [Read more...] about Book World: Thomas Mallon’s ‘Up With the Sun’ is a keen portrait of 1980 New York

The Suzuki Vitara is one of the very few subcompact crossovers that are available with a hybrid engine and all-wheel drive. In 2020, the model received new mild hybrid tech, which replaced the previous pure gasoline mill for the European market. It isn’t a very quick vehicle, obviously, but you’ll be surprised by how good the electrified Vitara is in the corners. The folks over at km77.com recently moose-tested a new Vitara equipped with that engine. The 1.4-liter mild hybrid powertrain under the hood is good for 129 horsepower (95 kilowatts) and 173 pound-feet (235 Newton-meters) of torque. As a side note, the only other subcompact crossover with all-wheel drive and a hybrid engine in Europe is the Toyota Yaris Cross . There’s also the Suzuki S-Cross , but it is slightly bigger and more expensive than the Vitara. Gallery: 2019 Suzuki Vitara 4 Photos This particular car rides on Continental … [Read more...] about Suzuki Vitara Is Fast Around The Cones In The Moose Test

HARTFORD -- In one way of looking at it, a gala fundraiser that drew business and political elites to honor a former elected official in a minor league baseball park on the coldest night of the year was just that, a gathering for a charity, like so many. On the other hand, the firepower at Dunkin’ Donuts Park Friday night to applaud Shawn T. Wooden, who served one, 4-year term as Connecticut’s state treasurer, would impress anyone familiar with politics, business and the civic power structure -- especially in the Black community -- in and beyond Connecticut. And that raised an obvious question. “Shawn Wooden was always committed to Hartford,” said U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the Brooklyn, N.Y. Democrat who’s minority leader in the House of Representatives and likely the future House speaker when and if the Dems win back that chamber. Wooden and Jeffries are pals from NYU law school. “He had so many opportunities to practice law across the country including at some of the … [Read more...] about Dan Haar: A flashy gala raises money — and speculation about a high-profile CT political career

When it comes to high-end hypercars and super-fast supercars, a few companies should come to mind first: Bugatti, Ferrari, Koenigsegg, Rimac, and Pagani, among others. These manufacturers have cemented themselves as the top dogs in the supercar and hypercar space, extending to their wealthiest clientele the fastest, rarest, prettiest – and in this case – most expensive cars on the planet. But in order to find out which of these unattainable-to-most vehicles is the priciest, we've scoured the invoice sheets and uncovered 40 cars all worth $1 million or more. The group includes hybrid Ferrari convertibles, an American speed king , a few electric Hypercars , and two a one-of-a-kind Rolls-Royce cars built for royalty. We should note, though: The prices listed here are the price of the vehicles when new. So we’re not counting auction cars like the Ferrari 250 GTO, or overpriced secondhand sales. But don’t worry, there’s still hundreds of millions worth of cars here to whet … [Read more...] about 50 Most Expensive Cars In The World

Fred Vasseur does not believe his “good relationship” with Toto Wolff will disintegrate this season as he takes on the role of Ferrari team boss, fighting Wolff’s Mercedes for race wins and potentially the championship titles. Such is the relationship between Vasseur and Wolff that when the Frenchman joined Renault in 2016 and needed a place to live in England, he crashed at Wolff’s house. They remained on good terms when Vasseur swapped from Renault to Sauber, but already questions are being asked about whether they can maintain that friendship now that Vasseur is in charge at Ferrari. The 54-year-old joined the Scuderia last month, taking up the reins after Mattia Binotto tendered his resignation. The former Ferrari team boss had a fractious relationship with Wolff, the latter blaming the Italian for Mercedes’ engine reliability issues, saying Ferrari’s engine cheating scandal from 2019 had forced the Brackley squad to push beyond the limits. Today, though, the Mercedes … [Read more...] about Fred Vasseur believes ‘good relationship’ with former housemate Toto Wolff is an ‘advantage’

It's Crawfish Week at Chron! For four days, the food team will be dropping fun stories about Houston's favorite crustacean. Read all our crawfish coverage here. As we say goodbye to one year and say hello to the next, there's always one pressing question on the lips of all Texans: When does crawfish season start? The mudbugs are a delicacy on the Gulf Coast, particularly in Louisiana and here in Houston. Here's what you need to know about this year's crawfish season. When is crawfish season? Broadly speaking, if it's warm enough, a crawfish season can start in November and end in July—but this is not typical. Peak crawfish season is in the spring, beginning in February or March and sunsetting in May or June. This is when the crawfish are going to be at their biggest and juiciest. Crawfish are kind of like us: They get chilly. If the weather is cold at the beginning of the season , they bury themselves in the ground, making it difficult to harvest them. Farmers who … [Read more...] about All your questions about Texas crawfish season answered

Formula 1 is on course to overtake NASCAR as the most popular form of motor racing in America, the country’s new driver believes. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Logan Sargeant will be the first driver from the United States to start an F1 season in 16 years when he lines up on the grid for the Bahrain Grand Prix next month. F1 has enjoyed a surge in popularity since it was bought by American media group Liberty Media six years ago. Sargeant is from Florida, but has mainly been based in Europe while pursuing his racing career. However he says interest in F1 has clearly grown in his homeland. “It seems almost as big as NASCAR and IndyCar, if not bigger,” the 22-year-old told media including RaceFans at Williams’ launch event today. While the popularity of IndyCar racing declined sharply when the series split into rival CART and IRL factions in the nineties, NASCAR has long been a huge draw for American fans, though its popularity has waned slightly … [Read more...] about F1 will overtake NASCAR as America’s favourite motorsport “shortly” – Sargeant · RaceFans