Prospecting and qualifying leads

Listen to this article A team that began its time in Formula 1 under controversial circumstances, Arrows’ 24-year spell in the championship came to an end in 2002 amid mounting financial problems. Still the team with the most world championship race starts (counting the Footwork years) under its belt – at 382 – without ever taking a victory, Arrows came close to troubling the top step of the podium throughout its curious history – but fell short each time. The British squad, started up by former Lotus F1 driver Jackie Oliver, Alan Rees and Franco Ambrosio, went through multiple ownership changes in its latter years. It spent six seasons as Footwork in the 1990s, before Tom Walkinshaw took over for 1997 and restored the Arrows name. Although the team made an encouraging start under his tenure, with the Scot’s investment helping to bring 1996 champion Damon Hill and famed designer John Barnard into the team, it arguably over-reached its capabilities with an in-house engine … [Read more...] about Top 10 Arrows F1 drivers ranked: Hill, Warwick, Fittipaldi and more

Sebastian Vettel has decided to hang up his helmet at the end of the season. It’s a decision which would likely have been received very differently had he taken it two years ago. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Back then,Vettel was on his way out of Ferrari after Charles Leclerc had wrecked the four-time champion’s claim to be the team’s top driver. Over his final season in red, Vettel was out-scored by his team mate by a ratio of nearly three to one. He fared better against Lance Stroll at Aston Martin last year and little has changed this year. However the team has taken another step backwards in competitiveness, so the pair are fighting over fewer points than before. Stroll has managed four points-scoring finishes, all for 10th place and a single point each time. Vettel has done slightly better, climbing as high as sixth in Baku (also the scene of his best finish last year), giving him a clear lead over his team mate in the championship. This is … [Read more...] about Aston Martin set to lose their top-performing driver for the third time in a row · RaceFans

IndyCar racer Marcus Ericsson, Charles Leclerc’s former team-mate, believes there’s a fundamental lack of trust between the two sides. Ericsson, who won the Indy 500 earlier this year, was team-mates with Charles Leclerc during the Monegasque’s debut season in Formula 1 in 2018 as the pair raced for Sauber. With Leclerc’s championship hopes in 2022 all but fully extinguished as his early season lead has turned into an 80-point deficit with nine races remaining, Ericsson put himself in the shoes of his former colleague and said he reckons Leclerc’s frustrations are adding to the mistakes being made by Ferrari. “I think he’s very frustrated. I think that he’s been fast this year, but it’s just been a lot of issues,” he said on Sky F1’s Any Driven Monday . Ericsson pointed to the example of Leclerc spinning off into retirement all by himself, while leading the French Grand Prix in July, as an example of those frustrations. “What happened in Paul Ricard, one of the … [Read more...] about Marcus Ericsson: There’s a lack of trust between Ferrari and the drivers

Fernando Alonso says Kimi Raikkonen has had a strong start to the season with Lotus. Alonso, who trails Raikkonen by six points after three races, said: “Kimi is having a fantastic start to the season and driving maybe better than anyone.” Sebastian Vettel leads the drivers’ championship at the moment but Alonso believes “championship positions are not really important” at this stage. “But at the same time, it?������s not a big surprise to see Lewis where he is,” said Alonso. “He is one of the best drivers on the grid right now and last year he put McLaren in a competitive position and this year he is doing it with Mercedes.” “We know the Red Bull is probably the strongest car,” he added. Alonso believes Red Bull did not fully exploit their potential last week: “In China, on race pace, Sebastian was quickest in all the stints, but had chosen a strange strategy for qualifying.” Ferrari’s Shanghai victory does not automatically make them the team to beat according to … [Read more...] about Alonso: Raikkonen ‘driving better than anyone’ · RaceFans

Manager Dave Martinez looked to Keibert Ruiz with one out in the seventh inning to provide a jolt to an offense that hadn't had much energy. At that stage of the game, the Washington Nationals hadn't scored and had only four hits. They had left two runners on base, but here was a spot for Ruiz to come through with another pair on. Ruiz fell behind in the count 0-2, then swung at a low curveball and hit a groundball toward Padres second baseman Brandon Drury. Fans at Nationals Park groaned as the ball went into his glove, then was quickly flipped to shortstop Jake Cronenworth, who fired a strike to former Nationals first baseman Josh Bell to end the frame. It was the Nationals' league-worst 110th double play; they grounded into another in the eighth inning in a 6-0 loss to the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Since the start of July, Washington has won just one series. "Some days, you got to tip your hat off to their pitchers," Martinez said. "[Starter Blake] Snell was good. I … [Read more...] about Offense comes up blank as Nats lose series in Juan Soto’s return

Daniel Ricciardo looks to be facing the end of his Formula 1 career if he leaves McLaren at the end of this season, says Ralf Schumacher. The Australian has reportedly been told he will be replaced by his younger compatriot Oscar Piastri for the 2023 campaign. That news has yet to be confirmed, however, and forms a leading storyline in the ‘silly season’ saga that began with Sebastian Vettel announcing he will retire after the season-finale Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November. Aston Martin therefore needed a driver and signed Fernando Alonso from Alpine , who promptly announced Piastri as the Spaniard’s successor. That was knocked down within a couple of hours by the reigning Formula 2 champion though, who posted on social media the information was “wrong” and that he would not be driving for Alpine next year – as his strong links with McLaren began to emerge. Talk of the amount of compensation Ricciardo would demand from McLaren if his contract was ended a … [Read more...] about Ralf Schumacher thinks Daniel Ricciardo’s time in Formula 1 is over