All three start-up teams who joined F1 in 2010 have gone but Haas may provide the template to realise Ross Brawn’s dream of a grid where anyone can winChange is coming to Formula One and the sport, which has evolved in an awkward, disjointed and unsatisfactory fashion in recent years, badly needs to get it right.In the short term the new 2017 regulations seem to have at least worked in the sense of having two teams – Mercedes and Ferrari – competing at the front, with a good chance Red Bull will be joining them as the season progresses. It is a step forward from the dominance Mercedes have enjoyed for the past three years. However, the big three being...
McLaren reap the rewards of clever PR but Fernando Alonso punctures the team’s bonhomie; Bernie back in the spotlight; Ferrari have race paceMcLaren’s decision to allow Fernando Alonso to race in the Indy 500 rather than at Monaco was greeted almost universally as a welcome move. Certainly it generated more positive press than the team have enjoyed in a long time. It was clever PR and they followed it by bringing back Jenson Button to replace Alonso in Monte Carlo. Related: Mercedes consider team orders to stop F1 threat of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel I have never raced with less power in my life Continue reading...
The former F1 world champion has ambitions to complete motorsport’s triple crown but the decision is also revealing about his relationship with the teamSo Fernando Alonso is to miss the Monaco Grand Prix to compete in this year’s Indy 500. After McLaren’s shock at the start of this season, when discovering their Honda power unit was woefully underperforming for the third year in succession, the team have turned the tables with a surprise of their own that has rather knocked those travails into a cocked hat. Perhaps that was partly the point but it also informs as to where the team are now, about Alonso, his future and relationship with McLaren. Equally, whatever the motives, it is a decision for...
Max Verstappen shows he can sing in the rain; long live overtaking – it’s now better than ever; Niki Lauda should know better than bet against Mercedes Related: Lewis Hamilton out to make it a friendly F1 title battle with Sebastian Vettel Related: Lewis Hamilton leads from start to finish to win Chinese F1 GP Continue reading...
The Mercedes and Ferrari drivers continue their Formula One duel in China on Sunday and Hamilton is relishing the challenge of Vettel having a competitive carIn 2011, Lewis Hamilton took second place at the Korean Grand Prix in what was a remarkable drive in an underperforming McLaren. Sebastian Vettel was the winner but Hamilton, a second a lap slower than the two Red Bulls and suffering from understeer owing to debris stuck in the front wing, held off Mark Webber for 34 laps to secure the place.The McLaren team principal, Martin Whitmarsh, said: “I can’t speak more highly of the drive he did in those circumstances,” and it really was a striking achievement. Hamilton, much to everyone’s surprise, saw it...