Reports of Red Bull’s reign of dominance over the 2023 season coming to an end have been greatly exaggerated. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free In a year when competition between their rivals behind has been as unpredictable as it has been gripping, Red Bull have routinely rocked up to paddocks across the globe only to crush all opposition with near-militaristic execution. Then, in Singapore, a rare stumble from the world champions offered hope that the Red Bull giant could indeed be toppled. Yet six days later, Red Bull and Max Verstappen reminded everyone just how powerful a combination they are when they stormed to pole position in Suzuka by one of the biggest margins of the season – and the largest for nearly 20 years at the famous Japanese circuit. Not that it was of any surprise to their opposition. “Our internal messaging was ‘expect them to be back out front when we get back to Suzuka’,” admitted Mercedes’ trackside engineering director Andrew … [Read more...] about Verstappen sitting pretty but unexpectedly hot track could cook up drama
Motorcyclist tracks down hit and run driver while wearing a gopro
Logan Sargeant hit with 10-second penalty after Williams breach ‘third car’ regulations
Preparing their spare chassis “to more than an assembly comprising a survival cell”, Logan Sargeant has a 10-second penalty even before the first lap of the Japanese Grand Prix for Williams breaching third car rules. Sargeant suffered a big crash in Saturday’s Q1 at the Suzuka circuit when a snap of oversteer through the final corner put him onto the grass. Unable to control the car, he crashed into the barrier causing a significant amount of damage to the left side of his FW45. Williams forced into making extensive changes to get Logan Sargeant into the race He’ll now line up in the pit lane on Sunday as Williams have opted to make set-up changes while he also has a new chassis, gearbox, engine, wings, and suspensions. The changes are extensive, so extensive there was talk of this being a “third car”. The FIA confirmed this with Technical Delegate Jo Bauer saying: “Last night the Williams Racing team worked on car number 02, chassis 03, two hours after the chequered flag … [Read more...] about Logan Sargeant hit with 10-second penalty after Williams breach ‘third car’ regulations
Chennai To Bengaluru Electric Bus Catches Fire – Passengers Escape Unhurt
Home Off beat oi-Athul By Athul Published: Saturday, September 23, 2023, 11:17 [IST] Electric buses have been touted as the future of public transportation in India. Moreover, Indian bus manufacturers are investing heavily in developing long-distance electric buses that will suit Indian conditions. While a few Indian bus operators have started to understand the benefits of electric buses, a recent incident near Chennai involving an electric bus is likely to have an impact on the acceptance of electric buses by private operators. Speaking about the incident, an electric bus catches fire on its way to Bengaluru from Chennai on Friday morning. Thankfully, 10 passengers onboard the electric bus escaped without any type of injuries. Looking into the details of the incident, the electric bus travelling to Bengaluru from Chennai picked up its passengers from Koyambedu. However, when the electric bus neared Queensland … [Read more...] about Chennai To Bengaluru Electric Bus Catches Fire – Passengers Escape Unhurt
DTM Red Bull Ring: Van der Linde takes first win of 2023 in wet-dry contest
The Abt Audi driver recorded his first triumph since 2021, finishing almost two seconds clear of Laurin Heinrich , who led the first phase of the race from pole position. Van der Linde's team-mate Ricardo Feller prevailed in a thrilling late scrap with Rene Rast to take the final podium spot, while championship leader Mirko Bortolotti came home in ninth. The race started on a damp track, with most of the field opting for wet-weather tyres. Team 75 Motorsport Porsche driver Heinrich converted a maiden pole into the lead at turn one, but then was challenged on the climb to turn three by van der Linde. Heinrich managed to prevail in that battle, with van der Linde slipping to fifth after running wide and then getting swamped on the run to turn four by Heinrich's team-mate Ayhancan Guven, Mercedes-AMG driver Maro Engel and championship contender Thomas Preining . Heinrich pulled out a three-second advantage over Engel in the early stages, while van der Linde recovered … [Read more...] about DTM Red Bull Ring: Van der Linde takes first win of 2023 in wet-dry contest
Are Red Bull and Ferrari on back foot for potential Japanese GP tyre wrecker?
The iconic figure-of-eight track has always been punishing on its rubber, but things could well be a bit more extreme this time around. Race day is expected to be another scorcher, and complaints that George Russell mentioned on Friday about a "strange" sliding have been caused by a track surface that has had a 15% drop in macro roughness (so effective grip) compared to 12 months ago. As Ferrari's Charles Leclerc said: "Especially with the very warm temperatures this year, the overheating is really, really bad. So, I expect that it [the race] will be all about the tyre management and the strategy." A two-stopper looks nailed on then, but it comes with not all teams having the luxury of what appears to be the ideal tyre allocation to get them through without much drama. F1 tyre supplier Pirelli thinks the best approach to the race is to start on the soft, run through until laps 12-18, and then split the rest of the grand prix up into two hard stints. But that is … [Read more...] about Are Red Bull and Ferrari on back foot for potential Japanese GP tyre wrecker?
MotoGP Indian GP: Martin dominates chaotic sprint, Marquez third
Following a long delay to help dry up the starting grid, the 11-lap sprint got underway just after 5pm local time at the Buddh International Circuit, with VR46's Marco Bezzecchi starting from pole ahead of Pramac's Martin and team-mate Luca Marini . Martin got the best launch of the trio and immediately grabbed the lead, while Bezzecchi was trying to consolidate second when his team-mate Marini got the braking wrong for the tricky Turn 1, slamming into the back of his Ducati and sending him off the track. This gave Martin some clear air as he navigated the opening right-hander, with championship leader Francesco Bagnaia moving to second on the factory Ducati ahead of factory Honda duo Joan Mir and Marc Marquez . Martin was already a second clear of the chasing pack by the end of lap 2, with his Pramac-run Ducati clearly quicker than the works-entered GP22 of Bagnaia. Martin would pull out a lead of nearly three seconds by the middle part of the race but eased off … [Read more...] about MotoGP Indian GP: Martin dominates chaotic sprint, Marquez third
George Russell ‘shocked’ after seeing gap to Red Bull after qualifying
George Russell believes Mercedes are facing a tough race on Sunday at Suzuka, admitting it’s not the best circuit for the W14. The British driver qualified in eighth place for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, just behind Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton – the swooping and flowing Suzuka circuit not playing to the strengths of the W14. Having been amongst the star performers at last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, the contrast from weekend to weekend – particularly with Red Bull resuming their usual position at the front of the field – had George Russell shocked after the qualifying session ended as he was 1.3 seconds slower than Verstappen’s pole time. George Russell: The drop down the field is a shock to the system Speaking to media after claiming his eighth place grid slot in what was a subdued qualifying session from Mercedes, Russell said that their final positions sum up where the car is in the pecking order at a track demanding huge aerodynamic efficiency. “I’d say it’s a … [Read more...] about George Russell ‘shocked’ after seeing gap to Red Bull after qualifying
Russell admits he “took a step backwards” after Friday practice
George Russell said he’s “taken a step backwards” from Friday practice after qualifying eighth for the Japanese Grand Prix. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The Mercedes driver qualified three tenths of a second behind team mate Lewis Hamilton . The pair will share the fourth row of the grid, but were over a second away from pole position. Russell comfortably led his team mate in both Friday practice sessions at Suzuka. Yesterday he appeared to be in the hunt for second place behind eventual pole winner Max Verstappen , lapping close to the times set by the McLaren drivers and Charles Leclerc. However he admitted he didn’t get the best out of his car on Saturday. “There’s a sweet spot when it comes to circuits like this, which is very difficult to find and when you’re not there you can be quite far off the pace,” Russell explained. “We saw yesterday I was more competitive, we were much closer yesterday to the rest of the pack than we were today. … [Read more...] about Russell admits he “took a step backwards” after Friday practice
Suzuka layout ‘punishes’ Mercedes’ weakness in high-speed corners
Suzuka’s high-speed corners amplified a weakness of Mercedes’ car and left their drivers on the fourth row of the grid over a second behind pole-winner Max Verstappen . Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Lewis Hamilton said he made strides with his car’s set-up after a difficult Friday but could not overcome the shortcoming of its lack of rear-end grip. “Yesterday was a nightmare, not the kind of balance that you want on a track like this,” said Hamilton. “But we did some great work overnight, the car was feeling much nicer to drive today like it’s as good a balance as we could possibly get. “It’s just massively down on rear downforce, so we can’t carry anywhere near the speeds as these guys are carrying through that first sector.” Mercedes have found it consistently difficult to dial their car in from track to track this year. “We have a very peaky car,” said Hamilton. “When we talk about knife-edge [handling], it’s literally like trying to balance … [Read more...] about Suzuka layout ‘punishes’ Mercedes’ weakness in high-speed corners