Max verstappen

The first team principal to run Max Verstappen in Formula 1 is “convinced” he will win the championship this weekend. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Franz Tost described how he had been impressed by Verstappen’s mental toughness from his first practice outing for his team, at the age of 17, at no less a track than the formidable Suzuka . “I knew him from the very beginning onwards and he was already mentally strong in those days,” Tost recalled in an exclusive interview for RaceFans. “Because if you remember right there were many people who criticised us to sit him in the Formula 1 car because he was only 17 years old, and even didn’t have a driver’s licence.” Ahead of Verstappen’s practice debut at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, Tost says some journalists told him he was “completely wrong” to put such a young driver in his car. “I said to them let’s talk in five years once more, I think it’s right. In the end it was right.” After Verstappen made … [Read more...] about Verstappen was mentally tough from his first day in an F1 car – Tost interview · RaceFans

Formula 1 drivers are optimistic the revised layout of the Yas Marina will improve overtaking opportunities during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free This weekend’s race is the first to take place on the significantly revised track, with a series of alterations at key points designed to improve overtaking opportunities. The old chicane of turns five and six leading to an acute hairpin has been replaced by a single, wider hairpin which will now have just a single braking zone and allow drivers to carry more speed. At the opposite end of the circuit, the previous sequence of turns 11, 12, 13 and 14 have been combined into a single, constant-radius corner now known as turn nine. The corner has been installed with positive camber, to encourage better mid-corner grip and provide more lines of attack for drivers to take. Furthermore, almost every corner in the final sector around the track’s hotel landmark has been made shallower, … [Read more...] about Yas Marina corner modifications earn early praise from drivers · RaceFans

No matter how many world championship title Lewis Hamilton wins, Sebastian Vettel will always consider Michael Schumacher the greatest Formula 1 driver of all time. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Hamilton could win a record eighth world championship this weekend, moving him past the record Schumacher established in 2004. The Mercedes driver has already broken Schumacher’s records for wins, poles, podiums and laps led. But even if he beats Max Verstappen to the title this weekend, it won’t change Vettel’s view on who ranks as the all-time greatest. “Michael is my hero. For that reason, I probably don’t want Lewis to win,” Vettel said of the title showdown. The four-times champion said Verstappen and Hamilton “both had a strong season and they are going into the last race with the opportunity to win the championship because they both deserve it. “In a way I’d be happy if Michael’s record still stands, but even if Lewis wins, to me Michael is … [Read more...] about Schumacher still the greatest even if Hamilton breaks his championships record – Vettel · RaceFans

Jolyon Palmer believes there is “no way” Ferrari would tell Carlos Sainz to move aside for Charles Leclerc at the Spanish Grand Prix. It may only be five grands prix into a 22-race campaign, but there is already talk that Ferrari may have to prioritise one of their drivers if they hope to win the Drivers’ Championship . The obvious candidate is Leclerc having earned more than double his team-mate’s points so far, but also because he now has Max Verstappen just 19 points behind him. Despite finishing with more points than his new team-mate last season, it stands to reason that if this form continues then Sainz will eventually become the second driver to Leclerc. While that possibility may become a reality someway down the line, former Renault driver Palmer believes it will not happen in Sainz’s home race this weekend. “I can pretty much guarantee it won’t be this weekend if it does come for Carlos,” he said on the F1 Nation podcast . “Can you imagine telling him … [Read more...] about ‘No way’ Sainz will suffer team orders at home race

Two classic Nigel Mansell Formula 1 cars fetched over £6million combined when they went up for auction in Monaco. As a Formula 1 World Champion and 31-time race winner, Mansell throughout his Formula 1 career got behind the wheel of several iconic cars. And two of those went under the hammer via Sotherby’s in Monaco. The first of these cars was the 1991 Williams FW14, the challenger that perhaps most famously became a taxi for Ayrton Senna at Silverstone that year. Mansell had claimed pole and won the race after leading every lap, as well as setting the fastest lap of the race, while Senna’s McLaren had ran out of fuel on the final lap. Mansell would pick his rival up on the victory lap to give him a lift back to the pits. That Williams FW14 was gifted to Mansell by the team at the end of the season, but having put it up for auction, the car fetched a whopping £3.45m. That’s even with the car unable to run, since Renault had taken their engine from it before the car … [Read more...] about Mansell made over £6m from two F1 cars at auction

The Baku race promoter has confirmed changes will be made to the unusual pit lane entry, following a request from the FIA. The 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix is scheduled to be held on 12 June, with various tweaks planned for the Baku Street Circuit before the race goes ahead. One of the changes planned is to the pit lane entry, which came in for some criticism during the course of last year’s event. In the 2021 edition of the Grand Prix, both Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll suffered sudden tyre failures that resulted in high-speed impacts with the opposite wall on the pit-lane straight. Verstappen had been leading the race at the time and Red Bull told the FIA that they had zero indication the tyres were about to go, with the Dutch driver pointing out the dangers of what might have happened if his car had speared off in the opposite direction and into the contentious pit wall entry. The circuit design was also highlighted by 2016 World Champion Nico … [Read more...] about Baku to tweak controversial pit entry ahead of 2022 race