Japan f1 grand prix

The Silverstone-based outfit began 2023 as Red Bull’s main challenger, with Fernando Alonso rolling off five podium finishes from the first six races. He also had a shot at winning the Monaco Grand Prix. But since the midpoint of the season, Aston Martin’s form has fallen back, and Alonso has had just one podium – second place in the Dutch GP – in the last eight races. It has also slipped back to fourth in the constructors’ championship and now runs the risk of falling to fifth, behind the resurgent McLaren squad, if it does not lift its performance over the rest of the year. Team principal Mike Krack is aware of the need for things to improve, as he acknowledged it would be bad for morale if the team ended the year on the back foot. Asked if it was critical Aston Martin did not see out 2023 drifting backwards, Krack said: “Yeah, I 100% agree. This is very important. It's a bit of the opposite of last year. “If you have a good start, and then others are overtaking … [Read more...] about Aston Martin admits it must turn around trend of F1 season

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

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

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

Former F1 driver Christijan Albers is shocked that Sergio Perez has avoided the same Red Bull treatment as Nyck de Vries, but feels the end must be coming. Just when it seemed as though Perez had overcome his mid-season slump at Red Bull, the Mexican racer is back under the spotlight after a pair of difficult outings in Singapore and Japan, the latter particularly concerning. While Red Bull’s rare off day in Singapore contributed to Perez’s troubles, he earned few plaudits for his collision with Alex Albon, resulting in a five-second penalty, while he picked up two further five-second penalties in Japan, the second of those for steaming into Haas’ Kevin Magnussen at the hairpin. Christijan Albers warns Sergio Perez this has to “end somewhere” Red Bull has maintained that Perez will remain in the cockpit for F1 2024, the final year of his contract, but Albers is surprised that Perez is being given the chance to remain in his seat, considering how De Vries was not so fortunate. … [Read more...] about Pundit ‘amazed’ Red Bull keep Sergio Perez after ‘destructive’ Nyck de Vries approach