Formula 1 chief Ross Brawn insists the championship will drop its Sprint Qualifying race proposal if it does not prove to be a success when trialed this season. On Monday it was announced that the F1 Commission had unanimously approved the new format – that will see a shortened 100km race take place on Saturday…
The United Autosports LMP2 team again topped the times with Filipe Albuquerque in the final session of the opening day of the World Endurance Championship prologue test at Spa. Albuquerque improved on his morning best by just over one tenth with a 2m04.822s set aboard United’s Oreca-Gibson 07 in the second session of the two-day…
Formula 1 has approved the introduction of Saturday ‘Sprint Qualifying’ races at a trio of grands prix this year in the biggest shake-up to the format in years. Championship organisers have been keen to amend the structure of the weekend for several years and previously floated the idea of a reversed-grid Saturday race at select…
The long-debated Sprint Qualifying format is expected to be approved by the F1 Commission today, paving the way for its introduction at three rounds later this year. In order for it to go ahead the plan must receive at least 28 votes out of 30. Each team has one vote, while Formula 1 Management and…
Toyota boss Jari-Matti Latvala has praised Sebastien Ogier for the “professional and fantastic job” he performed after he was involved in an accident ahead of this morning’s opening Croatia Rally stage. The collision between another vehicle is understood to have happened on a section of dual carriageway, with the impact causing significant damage to the…
Istanbul Park in Turkey could be added to the 2021 F1 calendar in place of the Canadian Grand Prix, which may have to be cancelled again due to the pandemic. While recent media reports in Canada claiming the race has already been called off are understood to be premature, F1 is making preparations to abandon…
Rally Croatia victor Sebastien Ogier will maintain the WRC event win but has been slapped with two fines and a suspended ban for his part in a traffic crash on the morning of the final day. Ogier crashed with a BMW as he made his way from service to the start of the day’s opening…
Red Bull have struck an important blow with the arrival of Ben Hodgkinson. The man who played an important role in the development of the engine at Mercedes, will make the switch to Red Bull in 2022, and that does cause some tension. The 2021 Formula One season has only just begun, but with Hodgkinson’s…
A potential energy deduction error caused the final lap chaos in Valencia on Saturday, which caused only nine drivers to finish the race, five drivers to be disqualified, and four drivers to retire from the race. During Saturday’s race, the series saw five safety cars, and as per the FIA rules an energy deduction of…
BMW’s Jake Dennis resisted race-long pressure to convert pole position into his first Formula E victory in Valencia. Dennis stormed to his maiden pole position, beating Andre Lotterer by 0.8s as track conditions went from damp to dry in qualifying. The British driver managed the race from the front, ensuring there wasn’t a repeat of…
Former MotoGP rider and 2014 Moto2 champion Tito Rabat will stand in for the injured Jorge Martin at Pramac for the Spanish Grand Prix following a violent crash at Portimao. Martin crashed heavily in the latter stages of FP3 last Saturday and suffered multiple fractures, with the Pramac rookie taken to hospital in Faro and…
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen believes that new regulations being introduced into F1 for the 2022 season will make it more difficult to drive the cars. A range of changes will come into effect next year that were originally planned for 2021 before being postponed due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The regulations…
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has said he is searching for a suitable replacement so he can step back from “this madness.” It has long been speculated that Wolff has been looking to walk away from his current position despite him purchasing a one-third stake in the Mercedes F1 Team in December – and the…
Formula 1 will continue to stage the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka until the end of the 2024 season after securing a three-year contract extension. Suzuka has held the Japanese Grand Prix in all but two years since its first staged an F1 race in 1987, but its existing contract was due to expire after…
Kevin Magnussen will team up with his father, Jan, for the 2021 Le Mans 24 Hours, with the two driving an LMP2 car. After being dropped by Haas, K-Mag joined the IMSA Sportscar Championship for 2021, signing with Chip Ganassi Racing. One of the things he has spoken of being keenest to do going forward…
Red Bull have recruited a senior figure from rivals Mercedes to lead their new Formula 1 engine programme. Ben Hodgkinson, head of mechanical engineering at Mercedes High Performance Powertrains, will become technical director at Red Bull’s equivalent department. It is being set up close to the chassis factory in Milton Keynes to take over the…
