Sergio Perez believes the fact he’s Mexican plays a part in how he is perceived and treated by the F1 media. Perez’s nationality has made headlines in recent weeks, due to the Mexican driver being singled out by Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, in which the 80-year-old Austrian alluded to his nationality playing a part in his failure to match Max Verstappen this season. Perez was damned with faint praise by Marko, who told ServusTV: “Let’s remember that he is South American and so his head is not as focused as Max Verstappen or as Sebastian Vettel was, but racing is his forte and he had a very good race.” Helmut Marko apologises for Sergio Perez comments Marko came forward to issue an apology through ServusTV, stating, “Concerning my remark about Sergio Perez, ServusTV Sport and Talk, Monday September 4: I would like to apologise for my offensive remark. “I want to make it absolutely clear that I do not believe that we can generalise about the people from any … [Read more...] about Sergio Perez points to George Russell crash as evidence of nationality bias
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F1 2023 struggler unsure on popularity in home nation and key market
Despite being the first American in the sport since 2015, Logan Sargeant feels he does not have the home crowd support having spent many years away. As is the nature with Formula 1, if you want to make it to the top, you often have to live in Europe. Oscar Piastri, Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo are examples of drivers who moved across the world to further their career, while Sargeant is another one. The American left the States at a young age to continue his karting career and even now as F1 visits the country three times, he is not sure he has won over the home crowd just yet. Logan Sargeant unsure of popularity within American F1 fans For a country that has been given three races in a single season, it is clear there is a huge F1 interest in the US but they have yet to find someone to root for. Haas brand themselves as the American team but many feel disappointed that much of their productions takes place in the UK and Italy. While Sargeant has been labelled as … [Read more...] about F1 2023 struggler unsure on popularity in home nation and key market
Helmet rows, hot mics and more forgotten motorsport stories from 2022
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
Records smashed and winning runs wrecked: The 2022 F1 season in stats
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
‘We were built for racing, unlike Vegas’: COTA boss not concerned by new F1 rivals
Just this past weekend, the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas held one of its biggest events on its annual calendar: the NASCAR Cup Series. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Featuring a handful of special guest drivers including F1 champions Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen and multiple IMSA champion and Daytona 24 Hours winner Jordan Taylor, it was one of several major international motorsport events being held at the now ten-year-old circuit in 2023 – including the United States Grand Prix, which will take place in October. After a decade of the US Grand Prix at COTA – interrupted only by Covid – Formula 1 appears to have finally found a solid footing in America. Rather than fizzle out like so many other attempts to establish a US race over the decades, attendance at COTA has grown over recent years to the point where it now boasts the largest crowd of the season in terms of total attendance over the race weekend. F1’s arrival at COTA in 2012 … [Read more...] about ‘We were built for racing, unlike Vegas’: COTA boss not concerned by new F1 rivals
George Russell, Lando Norris or Charles Leclerc to win the most titles? Their ex-coach tells all
Le Mans winner and driver coach Matt Howson told the On Track GP Podcast about the connection he has to multiple drivers on the current Formula 1 grid, having coached several of them through their days in Formula Renault. Howson, who counts himself as Lewis Hamilton’s first ever team-mate in car racing, going alongside him in the same series back in 2001, coached the likes of Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Lando Norris when they made the step up from karting, and has been able to assess their natural talent first-hand. He went into detail about the “alien” talent these drivers in particular possessed, even at a young age, and was put on the spot about who he feels will eventually end up with the most titles come the end of their Formula 1 careers. Matt Howson joins On Track GP Podcast for intriguing conversation Howson, who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 class alongside On Track GP regular Richard Bradley, joined the podcast to discuss his career to date, as well … [Read more...] about George Russell, Lando Norris or Charles Leclerc to win the most titles? Their ex-coach tells all
Ferrari power unit reliability concerns “a little bit bigger” after Monaco – Steiner
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