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Last weekend Red Bull have clinched the first of the two world championship titles available in 2023, sealing the constructors’ trophy last weekend at Suzuka. They did so having dropped only one race victory the entire season. Max Verstappen is virtually guaranteed to secure his third consecutive drivers’ title at the sprint race in Qatar . But are they getting the credit that they should for their run of dominance? RaceFans’ writers have their say: Fans seldom cheer those on top Since their penalty for exceeding the budget cap by £1.8m in 2021 , the team has faced a tough sell. Fans at Silverstone were heard shouting ‘cheat’ at Verstappen and Perez earlier in the year whilst the pair were on stage. Despite their clear dominance in the sport also a result of many talented people working behind the scenes too, it feels like Red Bull have to work twice as hard to impress those are not fans of the team. But this shouldn’t take away from what they have achieved in the … [Read more...] about Do Red Bull get the credit they deserve for their unrivalled success?

Thursday marked media day at Suzuka ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, where the world waits agog to see how Red Bull get along… Following their drubbing at last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, all eyes are on Red Bull to see whether the World Champion team bounce back to their usual strength at a track that looks tailor-made for their car. It’s led to some tasty headlines, with Lewis Hamilton weighing in on their underperformance, while there’s plenty of other news from up and down the grid. Let’s look through the big F1 news stories from Thursday! Lewis Hamilton watching to see extent of Red Bull dominance With Red Bull’s RB19 failing to make it into Q3 before a subdued race on Sunday in Singapore, Lewis Hamilton says a bad result for Red Bull in Japan would confirm that ‘something’s up’ following the FIA’s recent introduction of a technical directive aimed at curtailing flexing bodywork and joints. “I would think that if they’re not 30 seconds ahead like they have done in … [Read more...] about Lewis Hamilton’s suspicions about Red Bull, and Sebastian Vettel comeback talk renewed – F1 news round-up

I’ve always been pretty anti-gatekeeping when it comes to automotive enthusiasts. In my mind, it doesn’t matter what you drive or how much you know – park next to me at Cars and Coffee any time. However, Bring A Trailer’s latest listing has me reevaluating that stance, as it’s auctioning off a commendably low-mileage version of a condemnedly bad car. How does a 16,908-mile 2008 Dodge Avenger SE sound to you? Listed today with no reserve and bidding currently at $1,250, the Avenger looks to be in excellent condition, consistent with its low average of 1,127 miles per year – even high-wear areas like the driver seat bolsters and door handle look showroom fresh. As one commenter points out, this is potentially the most-photographed Avenger in history, and the seller even takes the time to bust out a paint meter and show that the ubiquitous Dodge Inferno Red Crystal paint has stood up to the test of time very evenly and consistently. The zero-accident claim on the included CarFax … [Read more...] about Remember The 2008 Dodge Avenger? This BaT Auction Hopes You Don’t

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

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?

Max Verstappen and Red Bull winning Formula 1’s 2023 Japanese Grand Prix by a commanding 19.4-second margin might sound a very familiar tale, but this was coming one week on from their shock defeat in the Singapore race. There was therefore plenty of attention being paid to the potential true impact of the twin technical directives now in force covering flexing wings and floors. But Red Bull utterly rebuffed this intrigue with its RB19’s display back at a smooth, sweeping course where the car was designed to thrive. His usual advantage restored, Verstappen was devastatingly good, while team-mate Sergio Perez had another poor weekend. McLaren took up the chase, with Ferrari slipping back to third quickest but showing good progress in an important area. Then there were a few themes of the Singapore weekend cropping up again, plus the latest on Daniel Ricciardo ’s injury recovery, the final moves in the driver market and a bizarre Alpine team orders spat. All that … [Read more...] about 10 things we learned from the 2023 F1 Japanese Grand Prix

Here's a nightmare scenario for anyone who drives a low-riding sports car. Before diving into the story, the good (and surprising) news here is that nobody was injured. As for the bad news, the pictures should make that quite obvious. This unwelcome Chevrolet meetup took place on September 18 in Thornton, Colorado, a suburb of Denver to the north. Specifically, the crash happened at the intersection of Colorado Boulevard and 168th Avenue, also known as Country Road 2. Crews from three municipalities responded, with the Thornton Fire Department sharing these spooky images of a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck perched squarely atop a C8 Corvette . We call these photos spooky for two reasons. There's the obvious shock factor of having pickup truck wheels perched just outside the Corvette's cockpit. You can bet its occupant (or occupants, we don't know how many people were inside the 'Vette) had a moment of terror as the Silverado came to rest on the windshield. The second … [Read more...] about Chevy Silverado Crushes C8 Corvette In Crazy Crash, Everyone Walks Away

I'm off to Fuji tomorrow, full of anticipation. This has been a wonderful championship, where most of the races have been great and a minority dull. Last year's Fuji race was very dramatic and had a big influence on the outcome of the championship, as Alonso lost the chance of points with an uncharacteristic crash. A couple of points that day would have made him champion at the end of the season. It just shows you that a split second error at this stage of the season is potentially disastrous, as Ferrari found in Singapore. This year Lewis Hamilton again has the advantage going into these final races; seven points. But the McLaren team is also working far more effectively than it was at this stage last year and he is benefitting from that. The McLaren, as we have seen, is also a better car in the rain than the Ferrari and that could prove an important factor at Fuji. Against that Felipe Massa is driving with a lot of confidence at the moment and the Ferrari was half  a second … [Read more...] about Off To Fuji

Just five days after failing to win a grand prix for the first time in 2023 following a weekend in Singapore where they were far from being the best team, Red Bull arrived in Japan eager to seize back the narrative and remind everyone they are the team to beat every weekend at every circuit. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Last time out, the signs of trouble were there for Red Bull from the start. Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez ended the first day of running outside the top six, around seven tenths of a second off the pace of the Ferraris. It was Red Bull’s worst Friday of the season so far, which, in many ways, speaks to the relentless speed and consistency they have otherwise enjoyed through the year. But in the space of two hours of running on Friday, Red Bull appear to have snuffed out their rivals’ hopes that Singapore slump would carry over to Suzuka. Verstappen ended the first day in Japan over three tenths of a second faster than Charles Leclerc … [Read more...] about Ferrari resurgence continues but Perez must find 16kph to match Verstappen