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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

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

The 100th running of the famous Indianapolis 500 saw a former Formula One driver becoming a surprise first rookie winner since 2001. Elsewhere both Super Formula and the Nurburgring 24 Hours were affected by abnormal weather conditions while the World Touring Car Championship encountered tyre dramas at the Nordschleife. Indycar Round 6 of 16: Indianapolis 500 Alexander Rossi took victory on his first attempt at the Indianapolis 500 with a brilliantly calculated fuel-saving drive. In just his first season of Indycar Rossi has had a tough start to the year but has showed signs of improvement, and eleventh in qualifying was another step forward. He never looked like a contender though until he was left out during a late caution to clear the wrecked cars of Mikhail Aleshin and Conor Daly, and despite falling out of sync with everyone else and pitting 36 laps from the end for fuel, he nursed his car to the finish. Carlos Munoz finished an equally surprising second to complete … [Read more...] about Shock as rookie wins 100th Indianapolis 500

For the 30th time in 71 seasons of the Formula 1 world championship, the drivers’ title was decided in the very final race of the season. But what was F1’s best ever final showdown? Recap all thirty of the final race title deciders below and then let us know which one you feel was the best climax seen in a Formula 1 season. 1950: Fangio vs Fagioli vs Farina The first world championship produces the first title showdown at Monza. Fangio needs a win or second place to become the inaugural world champion, but Fangio retires twice in two separate cars, opening the door for Farina who takes the win and the first ever world title. 1951: Fangio vs Ascari vs Gonzalez The next year, another threeway showdown for the title at the season-ending Spanish Grand Prix around the streets of Barcelona. Going into the final round with the lead, Fangio holds off Ferrari’s Jose Froilan Gonzalez to take the chequered flag and secure his first of five titles. 1956: Fangio vs Collins Peter … [Read more...] about Which was F1’s best down-to-the-wire title fight?

Harry Metcalfe of the Harry's Garage YouTube channel and a former editor of the UK's Evo magazine got to tour the new Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale with Design Project Manager Alessandro Maccolini. Metcalfe starts with a tour of the original 33 Stradale . The company made just 18 of them but intended to produce 50 examples. They featured a 2.0-liter V8, making max power at 8,800 rpm behind the driver's head. Metcalfe didn't bring this up, but some cars had slightly different styling, like single or stacked headlights (see both variants in the gallery below). Gallery: Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale: Supercar Sunday 8 Photos He then meets with Maccolini to check out the new 33 Stradale and compare it to the original. The Alfa team got the briefing to begin working on the project two years ago. They crafted a vehicle with modern details and classic touches. The 33 … [Read more...] about Let Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale Designer Take You On Tour Of New Supercar

McLaren have released behind-the-scenes images of their new wind tunnel as their aerodynamics team moves back in-house for the first time since 2010. With the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) having first opened its doors in 2003, the team soon found some of their equipment was quickly becoming out of date. The most prominent of those was the wind tunnel with McLaren deciding to close it down in 2010 and instead rent Toyota’s in Germany, but have always longed to bring everything back on site. McLaren hope to start new era with launch of wind tunnel That dream became a reality recently when McLaren unveiled their state-of-the-art wind tunnel on the site of where the previous one once was. The project began in 2019 but the COVID pandemic saw the completion date pushed back with the wind tunnel now up and running. The benefits of having an in-house wind tunnel are obvious. For starters, you save money by not having to ship parts over to Germany but also the turnaround of … [Read more...] about McLaren unveil ‘biggest investment’ in decades with launch of new wind tunnel