Formula 1

Pirelli has been forced to scrap 1800 of its Formula 1 tyres after the Australian Grand Prix’s cancellation, but they will now be used as fuel for a cement factory. With the current generation of tyres and wheel rims, Pirelli always has to write-off tyres that have been mounted but not been used, because of

Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team boss Fred Vasseur says that running the Australian Grand Prix without McLaren would have been unfair on the British team. McLaren announced its withdrawal from the Melbourne race late on Thursday evening after a team member tested positive for coronavirus. The other nine team bosses met with F1 managing director

Coronavirus has caused sporting events around the world to be postponed and cancelled, with Formula 1, Formula E and MotoGP among them. Other series have also paused races in response to coronavirus, as large public gatherings will inevitably increase the risk of transmission between hosts. As situations react to the ever-changing effect that the COVID-19

Australian Grand Prix chief Andrew Westacott will discuss the possibility of rescheduling the race for later in the year with Formula 1 following its cancellation. Officials from the FIA, F1 and the Australian Grand Prix Corporation called off the race on Friday just two hours before the planned start of practice, after the first case

Red Bull boss Christian Horner says Formula 1 considered putting the paddock in ‘lockdown’ in attempts to continue with the Australian Grand Prix, but did not get the teams’ support. In the wake of a McLaren team member contracting coronavirus, the Woking-based outfit withdrew from the season opener in Melbourne. That move prompted late-night talks

Formula 1 has confirmed that scrapping the summer shutdown will be one of the best ways of getting enough races in this year. The coronavirus pandemic has forced F1 to abandon the opening four races of the season, and it is not expecting to resume until May at the earliest. However, the likelihood is that

The cancellation of the 2020 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix due to the coronavirus pandemic proved to be a chaotic and farcical episode. The outbreak of COVID-19 has played havoc with the motorsport world, with numerous series forced to cancel and postpone races. F1 fully intended to carry on with the Australian GP, but not

Formula 1 has announced Bahrain and Vietnam Grands Prix have been postponed as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Following the cancellation of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, F1 confirmed the second and third rounds of the 2020 campaign will be called off as well. No new date has been announced for the races, and

A further 14 McLaren Formula 1 employees have entered a two-week quarantine after coming into close contact with the individual who tested positive for coronavirus at the Australian Grand Prix. McLaren announced on Thursday evening that one of its crew had tested positive for COVID-19, prompting the team to withdraw from the Albert Park event.

Just three Formula 1 teams remained willing to race in the Australian Grand Prix had the event not been officially cancelled this morning. The running of the 2020 F1 season-opener in Melbourne was thrown into doubt on Thursday when the McLaren team announced its withdrawal from the weekend when one of its crew tested positive

Australian Grand Prix promoters are “in discussions” with the FIA, Formula 1 and the state of Victoria regarding the “broader implications” of a McLaren team member testing positive for coronavirus. A statement from the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, attributed to its CEO Andrew Westacott, revealed that eight F1 personnel have been tested for COVID-19 following

World champion Lewis Hamilton says it is “shocking” that Formula 1 has gone ahead with the Australian Grand Prix amid the global coronavirus pandemic. While governments around the world are imposing lockdowns in their countries with a host of travel bans in place, Hamilton says he is baffled over why the season opener has gone

As the outbreak of COVID-19 continues to envelop the world, more sporting events – and particularly – motorsport are being hit hard by the fallout from the situation. Since the Chinese Formula 1 Grand Prix was postponed, MotoGP has lost the first four rounds of its 2020 season to travel restrictions and the countrywide quarantine

Renault says its new title sponsorship deal with Dubai logistics company DP World boosts its prospects of staying in Formula 1 for the long term. The new multi-year deal was announced ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, with the team tweaking its yellow-and-black livery for 2020 as a result of the tie-up. With Renault’s board

Autograph sessions will be replaced by Q&A interviews during the Australian Grand Prix weekend in a bid to limit interaction between Formula 1 drivers and fans. The Australian Grand Prix Corporation has confirmed there will be changes to driver-related events, including signing sessions being changed to live interviews. The famous Melbourne Walk , where fans

Formula 1 has announced a multi-year partnership deal with Saudi Arabian state energy and chemicals giant Aramco, as talks continue over the possibility of a Saudi GP. The company is the first global partner that F1’s owners Liberty Media has signed since it took over the management of the organisation at the start of 2017.

Haas driver Romain Grosjean says the current competitive differences between Formula 1 cars is like “asking Roger Federer to go with a ping-pong racket to Roland Garros”. Grosjean, who has started 164 grands prix over an 11-year span, has 10 podium finishes to his name and has led laps in seven races, coming close to

Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix boss Andrew Westacott says the Melbourne 2020 season-opener will not follow Bahrain and be run without spectators amid coronavirus fears. Westacott cited the Women’s T20 World Cup final, which took place on Sunday at Melbourne Cricket Ground with a crowd of over 86,000, despite many countries issuing bans on large

Ferrari Formula 1 boss Mattia Binotto hopes his team can help the to “put a smile on people’s faces” in Australia as a distraction from the growing coronavirus crisis. In recent days Ferrari has been the focus of concerns about the opening races of the season going ahead because of a lockdown in parts of

Toto Wolff has dismissed suggestions Formula 1 is becoming less attractive as a result of Mercedes’ recent domination, saying the series is “on a really good path”. Mercedes won 15 out of 21 races last year en route to an unprecedented sixth consecutive set of F1 titles, extending its streak of championship wins that dates

Bahrain has decided to run its Formula 1 grand prix behind closed doors as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Just days after the kingdom announced that it was halting ticket sales as it moved to evaluate its response to the situation, it has now announced that spectators will not be allowed at the 22

The Ferrari Formula 1 team says its preparations for the Australian GP are continuing as planned, despite the lockdown announced by the Italian government on Saturday. Restrictions on travel in a number of provinces – including Modena – confirmed overnight led to concerns that at least some Ferrari employees who had not already left would

Haas Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean has brushed off criticism he has faced from social media trolls, saying he would prefer to be disliked than have “no charisma at all”. Grosjean was a vocal figure through the team’s difficult 2019 season, often expressing his frustration over team radio and in post-race interviews. The Frenchman recorded

The Formula 1 and MotoGP season-openers face fresh uncertainty after the Italian government announced plans to impose strict quarantines on a number of regions where teams are based on Saturday. Amid growing concerns about the escalating coronavirus situation in Italy with the country the worst affected in Europe – with 233 deaths and 5883 people

Chase Carey feels Formula 1’s previous bosses had become too critical of the series and were “crapping” on the product instead of taking action to rectify any issues. Carey took over as F1’s CEO and chairman following the completion of Liberty Media’s acquisition of the series in January 2017, replacing Bernie Ecclestone. Liberty’s takeover sparked

Formula 1 insists it is not taking any ‘unnecessary risks’ by holding the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, as it is unwilling to shut the season down over coronavirus concerns. The 2020 campaign is due to start in Australia next weekend despite recent uncertainty regarding the fate of the opening events over the virus outbreak. With

The FIA has dropped the rule that restricted how many times a Formula 1 driver could change their helmet livery during the season. The rule was originally introduced to help the spectators identify drivers more easily. However, it was unpopular with many competitors who liked to change their designs on a regular basis, such as

The FIA has set up a “crisis cell” to oversee its reaction to the developing coronavirus outbreak, amid further threats to motor racing events. While motor racing’s governing body has long stated it was monitoring the situation, it has stepped up its efforts with a committee that will hold meetings on every other day to

AlphaTauri has set a September deadline to fix the specification of gearbox taken from Red Bull next year – even if its sister team takes more time to develop it further. As part of a closer relationship between the two Red Bull-owned teams, Toro Rosso will continue taking a host of parts including suspension, gearbox,

Max Verstappen reckons Formula 1 drivers will have to use different lines through the Zandvoort banking at this year’s Dutch Grand Prix – especially when their tyres start going off. The Red Bull driver became the first man to lap the revamped circuit in a grand prix car, and drove a 2012 RB8 around the