Sebastian Vettel remains at Ferrari for 2018 alongside Kimi
Italian team complete their driver line up
Just a few days after Ferrari confirmed they’re retaining Kimi Räikkönen for the 2018 season, the Scuderia have announced a contract extension with Sebastian Vettel as well. The German driver has secured a three year deal with the Italian team, which will see him race in red until the end of the 2020 season.
Felipe Massa crashes out of practice in Spa on F1 return
Red flag in FP1, rain hits running in FP2
Felipe Massa was back in the car for Williams after sitting out the Hungarian Grand Prix due to illness. After a summer break of recovery, Massa was back fit and fighting, but crashed out of FP1 just 16 minutes in. The driver was uninjured but the car was damaged and required a chassis change, that meant Massa had to miss FP2 in its entirety.
McLaren extend contract with Stoffel Vandoorne for 2018
Re-signing for Stoffel ahead of home race at Spa
It is Stoffel Vandoorne’s home race this weekend in Belgium, and there is good news and bad news for the young driver. The good news is that he’s been re-signed at McLaren for an undisclosed period of time. Chief Zak Brown said: “Let me put it this way, when we signed Stoffel, we intended that he would race for us for a significant number of years, and that remains our firm intention.”
Kimi Räikkönen confirmed at Ferrari for 2018
Scuderia secure one half of their lineup
Ferrari released one of the shortest press statements in motorsport today confirming their continued partnership with Kimi Räikkönen for the 2018 season, or as they call it, their “technical and racing agreement.” It’s unusual timing for the announcement, as they would usually want to create headlines around the Italian Grand Prix, which is only about ten days away.
Formula One launches eSports virtual championship
Gamers set to go head to head for glory
With the growing popularity of eSports - championships of online gamers competing against each other for high prizes - Formula One have jumped right on the bandwagon. This isn't something you'd have seen F1 doing in years of old, but this year Formula One will run their first eSports world championship, running through the final months of the year.
Robert Kubica drives 2017 Renault during Hungary two-day test
Mid-season testing complete before summer
Just before the summer break officially kicks in, the Hungaroring played host to two days of mid-season testing, featuring young drivers, current drivers, and, of course, Robert Kubica. All eyes were on the Pole as he continues to test out whether he might be able to make an F1 return, and his fourth fastest on the second day, Wednesday, was a good sign. He completed 142 laps, as well, so fitness not an issue either.
Ferrari score double podium in Hungary as Red Bull drivers fall out
Vettel converts pole position to race win
The top five drivers in Hungary finished in the same order they started in, but that result belies some pretty tense racing. It was your traditional Hungarian race, without much in the way of overtaking, but it got off to a dramatic start when Max Verstappen took out his teammate Daniel Ricciardo on the first lap. Ricciardo retired from the race, bringing out the safety car, whilst Verstappen was handed a 10 second penalty to be taken at his one and only pit stop.
Sebastian Vettel scoops Hungarian pole position in Ferrari 1-2
Mercedes miss out on pole as Ferrari top the times
There were two talking points heading into qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix – the first being Paul di Resta’s sudden opportunity to get behind the wheel of an F1 car. He managed to finish 19th, and within seven tenths of a second of teammate Lance Stroll. Both Saubers dropped out in Q1, both Williams and Kevin Magnussen, who set exactly the same lap time as Sergio Pérez but missed out due to the Force India crossing the line before him.
Paul di Resta steps in to Hungary qualifying for unwell Felipe Massa
Massa to sit out qualifying and race day
Williams have had to call upon the skills of their reserve driver Paul Di Resta, stepping in for Felipe Massa who has fallen ill during practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix. The statement from Williams said: “Felipe visited the medical centre and hospital for precautionary tests on Friday, after feeling unwell and dizzy during FP2."
Daniel Ricciardo leads Friday practice at the Hungaroring
Red Bull lead the way as Renault and Haas struggle
Daniel Ricciardo led both Friday practice sessions for Red Bull in Hungary, but Mercedes and Ferrari were never too far behind, giving hopes that this weekend’s race might see three teams battling for the win. It was a scrappy day for some, however, with several crashes. Celis Jr and Giovinazzi were taking their Friday driver opportunities, but Giovinazzi managed to crash into the barriers. Romain Grosjean also crashed, making it a doubly bad start for Haas.
Sauber set to continue with Ferrari power after Honda deal collapse
Next season's engine deals are all but complete
One day after confirming they would not be going ahead with their technical partnership with Honda, the Sauber F1 Team have revealed they will continue with Ferrari power. The team currently use Ferrari’s engines, and have been partnered with the Italian manufacturer since the late 1990s. Their current partnership involves them running last year’s engine but the new deal looks set to run “the latest power unit specification as of 2018.”
Sauber confirm technical partnership with Honda will not go ahead
Team continue to reshuffle plans and expectations
The Sauber team continue to go through plenty of changes as they adjust to life under new management, and now they’ve revealed that previous plans to partner with Honda for engines for the 2018 season and beyond have now been cancelled. Their statement was relatively brief, but brand new team principal Frédéric Vasseur has expanded on what has been going on.
FIA push through halo head protection device for 2018
Safety concerns outweigh lack of support
The FIA have revealed some findings from a meeting between the FIA, team representatives, and the strategy group, and they’ve decided to go ahead with the halo device for enhanced cockpit protection, despite the fact the majority of reports about the device have revealed little support. In February, the FIA admitted opinion from the drivers was split 50/50, but now they say it’s the way forward.
Hamilton closes the championship gap to 1 point with Silverstone win
Last lap punctures spoil Ferrari's day
Lewis Hamilton took a comfortable victory in front of the home crowd at Silverstone, and with Sebastian Vettel finishing seventh, he has closed the gap to the championship leader to just a single point. Vettel suffered a puncture on the penultimate lap which dropped him down a handful of positions, whilst Kimi Räikkönen also had a tyre failure one lap before that. Kimi managed to finish third, though, so still getting on the podium, with Bottas taking that crucial second position.
Hamilton takes pole position in front of Silverstone home crowd
Ricciardo drops out in first session
Lewis Hamilton was comfortably quickest around the Silverstone track as he secured his fifth British GP pole position. He was half a second up on next best Kimi Räikkönen, who in turn had a couple of tenths on Sebastian Vettel. Valtteri Bottas was fourth, with a five place gearbox penalty to take.
Bottas leads the way on pace as Vettel shows off the shield at Silverstone
British GP weekend gets underway with practice
Free Practice Friday at Silverstone was free of too much drama, and it was Valtteri Bottas who was fastest in both morning and afternoon sessions. Sebastian Vettel had other things on his mind, , as he and the Ferrari team tested out the new shield cockpit protection prototype. He only had the windshield style device on his car for a few minutes, however, before stopping the test early because it made him feel dizzy. He said: “I think it’s because of the curvature, you get quite a bit of distortion.”
Formula 1 confirm partnership with Snapchat for future content
Digital media strategy expands again
Quite famously, last year, Lewis Hamilton caused a whole heap of trouble by quite blatantly using Snapchat during a dull press conference. Fast forward just ten or so months later, and the new bosses in charge of F1 have fully embraced the Snapchat revolution. I’m not sure there will be bunny ears as part of the new deal, but F1 has agreed a partnership with Snap Inc to share content on Snapchat of F1 events.
F1 rocks up in London for last minute pre-Silverstone roadshow
Crowds line the streets for music and demos
It’s not a sight you see very often, but on the Wednesday before the British Grand Prix, nineteen drivers turned up for an event in London, with several cars participating in a street demo around the iconic Trafalgar Square. There was a stage, where musical performances took place, interviews with drivers occurred, and Valtteri Bottas sprayed the crowd with champagne.
Ex-Renault chief Frederic Vasseur joins Sauber as team principal
Swiss team find Kaltenborn's replacement
Sauber have only been parted from ex-team principal Monisha Kaltenborn a few short weeks, but they have now found a replacement in the form of Frederic Vasseur, who was previously with the Renault team. Vasseur spent one season with Renault, but has plenty of experience in other racing categories.
Silverstone throw future of British Grand Prix into doubt once more
Break clause in contract for 2020 and beyond
Formula One is gearing up for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the midpoint of the 2017 season, but circuit organisers are looking beyond this year and are having doubts about the future of the event. Chairman of the BRDC who own Silverstone, have revealed huge losses for the past two years, and they’re expecting more loss this year. Chairman John Grant says: “We have reached the tipping point.”
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