Ferrari the car

In the round-up: Haas team principal Guenther Steiner says that concerns over the reliability of the Ferrari power unit grew after the Monaco Grand Prix In brief Ferrari PU reliability concerns “a little bit bigger” after Monaco – Steiner Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Haas team principal Guenther Steiner says that concerns over the reliability of the Ferrari power unit grew after the Monaco Grand Prix. The team had to retire driver Kevin Magnussen’s car during the race due to a water leak with his car’s ERS. Two days earlier, Valtteri Bottas had missed almost the entire first practice session due to a Ferrari power unit problem in his Alfa Romeo. Steiner says that following the multiple problems in Monaco, concerns about the reliability of the Ferrari power units has grown. “Obviously we had some issues, mainly in Monte Carlo – before we didn’t have any big issue with it – but Monte Carlo, there were issues for us and Alfa [Romeo], so … [Read more...] about Ferrari power unit reliability concerns “a little bit bigger” after Monaco – Steiner

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

Lewis Hamilton’s rivals say his success is fully deserved, as he makes his first attempt to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of career victories today. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Hamilton’s next win will put him level with Schumacher’s all-time record of 91 grand prix victories, which was set in 2006. Like Schumacher, Hamilton has been able to achieved sustained success and win multiple championships due to the quality of equipment he’s driven. But his rivals say that does not diminish his achievement. “I think what Lewis is on course to achieve, and I’m sure he will overtake all of these stats, it is incredible,” said George Russell . “He’s obviously a fantastic driver. He’s been on it from the first day he jumped in a Formula 1 car and I’ve got a huge amount of respect for him. “I’ve got a huge amount of respect for Michael Schumacher, I’ve a huge amount of respect for Lewis Hamilton, they’re both greats, but I’ll be pleased for Lewis to … [Read more...] about Hamilton’s success not just due to his car, say rivals, as he nears Schumacher’s record

In the early phase of the season, the Mercedes would have the edge in races because its W14 car was much less harsh on its tyres than the Ferrari SF-23. However, as Ferrari has made gains in understanding why its 2023 challenger was so hard on its rubber early on, its race pace has improved dramatically. And with the two teams now locked in a fight for runners-up in the constructors' championship, the switch in car characteristic could prove critical as their fight plays out over the remaining six races of the campaign. At the recent Japanese Grand Prix, where tyre degradation was a critical factor in deciding the pace on Sunday, Ferrari showed how on top of things it was as Charles Leclerc finished ahead of the Mercedes lead car of Lewis Hamilton . This was a result that Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin believed proved that Ferrari was no longer behind with its management of tyre degradation. Shovlin reckoned that Mercedes' lack of … [Read more...] about Mercedes fears it has lost race-day F1 tyre edge over Ferrari

It is Qatar race week everyone! And we kick things off with another busy day full of talking points from the world of Formula 1. Lewis Hamilton admitted that his relationship with Formula 1 is “love-hate” these days, though battling team-mate George Russell plays a positive role, while Hamilton also offered insight as to why “casual” Ferrari talks have never resulted in a signed deal. All this and much more, so let us dive into the action… Andretti F1 application approved by the FIA The biggest news of the day came as Andretti Formula Racing saw their application to join the F1 grid accepted by the FIA, but that does not mean they are becoming the 11th team just yet. Andretti, who have secured an engine partnership with General Motors through Cadillac, now face another arguably even bigger hurdle to overcome, as they enter commercial talks with FOM and try to convince Formula 1 officials that they deserve to expand the grid. The FIA said Andretti’s was the only application … [Read more...] about Andretti application approved as Lewis Hamilton talks F1 ‘love-hate story’ – F1 news round-up

McLaren have started a Formula 1 season with victory on 13 occasions, and in a further seven seasons they managed to win by the second race. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free But after two grands prix in 2023, the team have finished no higher than 15th and sit last in the constructors’ standings. Have they ever started a season this badly before? 1966 Monaco GP: DNF, Belgian GP: DNS In McLaren’s first year as a manufacturer team in F1, founder Bruce McLaren raced a single M2B and did not even enter all of that season’s races. The team’s debut came in Monaco, where McLaren put his car tenth on the grid. He only went nine laps before an oil leak ended his day, but did briefly make it up to sixth place after some thrilling wheel-to-wheel action. His short time in the race was also recorded for the ‘Grand Prix’ film that was released in cinemas later that year. Later, points finishes at the British and United States grands prix meant McLaren finished … [Read more...] about Two races, no points: How 2023 compares to McLaren’s worst starts to a season

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 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

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