Formula 1

The pole position time for the Sakhir Grand Prix in December is set to smash a Formula 1 record that has stood for 46 years. On Friday afternoon, F1 confirmed its second race to be held in Bahrain will be run on the ‘oval’ layout of the circuit. F1 has estimated that qualifying times for

Formula 1 returns to action after a brief pause following the Spanish Grand Prix for the next triple-header, beginning in Belgium. After a dominant victory last time out at Catalunya, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton leads team-mate Valtteri Bottas in the championship by 37 points ahead of this weekend’s Belgian GP at the iconic Spa. Thursday

Lewis Hamilton says nobody but the drivers are “pushing Pirelli” about making better Formula 1 tyres, with Romain Grosjean revealing the GPDA recently discussed the issue with the manufacturer. After his dominant win last time out in Spain, Hamilton called on Pirelli to develop a stronger tyre construction for 2022 that would avoid the tyre

The FIA has toughened up on its policing of track limits for the Belgian Grand Prix, with drivers now warned that they must not run wide at three corners. While the kerb on the apex of Raidillon has long been a focus of the FIA, with drivers pushing the limits in cutting the corner to

Outgoing Mercedes Formula 1 engine chief Andy Cowell remains undecided on his next move upon leaving the team at the end of the year. Cowell will leave Mercedes after 16 years with the company at the end of the season, having served as the managing director of Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP) since 2013. Cowell

Toto Wolff believes Formula 1 is set for the “biggest transition” in its history through the upcoming changes to the technical and financial structure of the series. F1 announced last Wednesday that the entire grid had met the early-sign deadline for the new Concorde Agreement, committing to the revised commercial terms that will last from

Each Formula 1 team will be allowed to have 10 extra personnel in the paddock from this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix. The change coincides with the return of the teams’ own hospitality buildings at Spa after they were obliged to use temporary facilities provided by the circuits, and a central catering provider, for the first

Renault has asked the FIA if it can withdraw its appeal against the punishment handed out to Racing Point for copying Mercedes’ Formula 1 brake ducts. The controversy over Racing Point’s cloning of the Mercedes car had looked set for an FIA International Court of Appeal hearing, after the Silverstone-based outfit lost 15 constructors’ championship

Autosport has launched a new series of podcasts to celebrate our 70th birthday, starting with game-changing grand prix cars. The first issue of Autosport magazine appeared on 25 August 1950 and as part of our celebrations we have taken on the challenge of selecting the greatest competition cars from each of the major international categories.

Max Verstappen is ‘annihilating’ his Formula 1 team-mates in a way not seen since the likes of Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, says Jenson Button. The Dutchman hasn’t been beaten by a team-mate in the F1 standings since he was paired with Daniel Ricciardo in 2017, and even then Verstappen out-qualified the Australian 13-7. That

Esteban Ocon believes a new power unit in his Renault Formula 1 car will help him bounce back at the Belgian Grand Prix following a difficult race in Spain. At Barcelona, Ocon was only able to qualify 15th – and finished the race 13th after struggling all weekend for performance. For the seventh race of

Red Bull has faith that its high-rake concept is still the right way to go in Formula 1, despite some rivals suggesting it may have reached its limit of performance. The Milton Keynes-based outfit has led the way with its high-rake concept in F1, with technical chief Adrian Newey convinced that it is the best

Nico Hulkenberg has no interest in taking a test or reserve driver role in Formula 1, despite putting himself back in the spotlight after his brief Racing Point return. The German made a surprise comeback to F1 for the two Silverstone races earlier this month following Sergio Perez being sidelined because of coronavirus. He failed

Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff sees the upcoming ban on qualifying modes as a challenge – and he believes that it will potentially give the team more performance in races. The FIA wrote to the teams last week informing them of a plan to allow only one mode for qualifying and the race, with

The upcoming clampdown from the FIA on car copying in Formula 1 will have “zero impact” on Racing Point’s business model, according to Otmar Szafnauer. The FIA has confirmed will be tweaking the regulations from 2021 to clamp down on car copying, preventing teams from reverse engineering other designs through photography. It comes in the

AlphaTauri Formula 1 boss Franz Tost expects to see F2 racer Yuki Tsunoda driving one of the team’s cars “sooner or later.” The 20-year-old is a protege of both Red Bull and its engine supplier Honda, and is widely regarded as one of the best current prospects from Japan. Tsunoda finished ninth in the FIA

Formula 1 drivers are relishing the pending addition of Turkey’s Istanbul Park to the 2020 calendar, and expect Turn 8 to be “easy flat” in the modern cars. F1 is set to confirm the return of the Turkish Grand Prix in the final 2020 calendar in the near future, reviving the race after nine years

Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul says his team is pursuing its appeal in the Racing Point brake duct case in order to make the rules “crystal clear” in Formula 1. Renault protested the Racing Point brake duct design after the Styrian, Hungarian and British rounds and following a hearing at Silverstone during the build-up to the

Max Verstappen thinks Formula 1’s current stretch of nine races in 11 weekends is “the limit” and hopes to return to a more regular schedule in 2021. Following the coronavirus pandemic which effectively called off the first half of the planned 2020 race calendar, F1 bosses have produced a heavily revised schedule, and in a

McLaren Formula 1 team principal Andreas Seidl is confident that Mercedes will remain the benchmark power unit supplier despite the upcoming clampdown on engine modes. The FIA informed the teams last week that it wants them to run a single mode in qualifying and the race, which was initially set to be introduced from the

The FIA clampdown on Formula 1 teams usage of qualifying engine modes has been postponed until the Italian Grand Prix, instead of next weekend’s Belgian GP as originally intended. The concession has been made to allow engine manufacturers more time to conduct dyno testing before they head into a race weekend committed to the new

Williams has announced that its Formula 1 team has been sold to American private investment firm Dorilton Capital, but will retain its identity and name. Williams confirmed back in May that it was considering a partial or full sale of its F1 team in a bid to ease financial pressures, and that it was undergoing

Haas Formula 1 team drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen have welcomed the FIA’s planned review of formation lap radio restrictions. Both drivers were docked 10 seconds at the Hungarian Grand Prix after they discussed a change to slick tyres with their respective engineers, before pitting at the end of the formation lap. To the

Ferrari Formula 1 boss Mattia Binotto says there’s “nothing to complain about” regarding the late changes to the 2021 aero rules that the FIA plans to impose on safety grounds. Teams were told in a letter issued during the build-up to the Spanish Grand Prix that there will be further cuts to downforce levels for

Mercedes Formula 1 chief strategist James Vowles says that it’s “unlikely” the team has resolved the tyre problems it experienced at Silverstone – despite a strong race in Spain. After losing out to Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the 70th Anniversary GP, Mercedes undertook what Vowles calls “incredible work” to address its tyre blistering

Lewis Hamilton says the way Formula 1 rival Sebastian Vettel has handled his pending Ferrari exit proves strength of character, hoping “something really positive” comes up for him in 2021. Four-time Formula 1 world champion Vettel will leave Ferrari at the end of the year after the team opted against renewing his contract beyond the

Pirelli has postponed its 2021 Formula 1 prototype FP2 running until later in the season in order to take more time to hone the tyres. At the moment Pirelli is expected to retain the current tyres for a third season, but the Italian company wants to refine them if it can do so in order

Formula 1 race director Michael Masi is confident that the planned clampdown on the use of multiple engine modes can be successfully policed by governing body the FIA. Teams were informed last week by letter that the FIA wants to have one mode in use for both qualifying and the race, with the details to

Ferrari and Williams have confirmed that they has signed the new 2021-25 Concorde Agreement with the Formula 1 organisation and the FIA, cementing their futures in the championship. The Maranello organisation is the second of the 10 current teams to formally announce that it has signed up, following a statement from McLaren earlier today. Today

Haas Formula 1 boss Guenther Steiner has downplayed the dramatic swing in the team’s form over the Spanish GP weekend, saying it should be taken “with a pinch of salt”. Romain Grosjean was as high as fifth in FP2 in Barcelona on Friday, but the Frenchman slipped to 17th in qualifying on Saturday and then