f1a.US

  Charles Leclerc was happy with the race pace, and was in a position to win mid-way through the race. He blames the team's decision to switch him to hard tires as the turning point in the race. Another weekend to forget for Charles Leclerc... Ferrari appeared to be in prime position to steal some points from Red Bull, as Carlos Sainz started in P2 and Leclerc in P3.  Leclerc showed great pace early in the race, taking the lead on lap 31 of 70. A second pit stop and a switch to hard tires appeared to be what undid all of his hard work as he struggled to warm up the tires and maintain good pace. Calling the hard tires "S***" before losing position to eventual race winner Max Verstappen, Leclerc hit the pit lanes again to change to soft tires. He managed a P6 finish. "I'm very, very disappointed obviously," Leclerc stated. It is unknown why Ferrari felt hard tires were the best option at that point in the race. The few drivers that had switched to hard tires e...

  The reigning world champion wins the Hungarian Grand Prix from P10 to extend his championship lead to 80 points over Charles Leclerc. It was a Qualifying to forget for Max Verstappen and the rest of the Red Bull team, as he finished in P10 and teammate Sergio Perez finished P11, their worst combined start of the year. Both drivers received new power units following the poor qualifying results. Neither were required to serve grid penalties as they had not yet reached the maximum number of power units allotted per season.  Although damage control was the intent, Verstappen quickly drove through the field and found himself amongst the race leaders. Despite a spin mid-race after over taking Leclerc for P3, Verstappen overtook Leclerc once more due to a poor tire strategy from Ferrari. With 3 laps to go, Afla Romeo's Valtteri Bottas had a power unit failure causing a virtual safety car to take place. The race resumed with 1 lap remaining that forced drivers to use extra caut...

  Each season presents F1 teams with the challenge of continually improving their car to ensure that it remains competitive.  The new technical regulations of this season compound this issue.  Not only have teams rolled out brand new cars, they need to do their best to keep up with the aggressive development of the teams around them.  This is the reason that teams bringing upgrade packages, or not doing so, is so newsworthy.  Thus far, the teams have chosen different strategies for introducing upgrades.  The most peculiar of these strategies is that of Haas.  We are officially half way through the season and Haas has refrained from introducing any significant upgrades.  The Haas team did use a rotary tool to trim the rear wing in Baku, but that is it.  Haas promises that they will introduce one upgrade package within the next few races, through we have heard this before.  Haas as admitted that they are already pouring resources into next...

  Toto Wolff did something unusual and showed tough love to driver George Russell over team radio during the French Grand Prix, but it was necessary. Mercedes had a lot to celebrate after the French GP. A P2 and P3 finish is better than most people in F1 expected. It was not smooth sailing for George Russell, and team Principal Toto Wolff had to intervene over team radio to calm Russell down towards the end of the race.  During his battle for P3 with Red Bull's Sergio Perez, Russell felt Perez gained an illegal advantage after he left the track at turn 8 as Russell tried to make a move on the inside. Perez rejoined the track ahead of Russell and was not forced to give-up the position to Russell. Russell intently urged his team to demand a penalty, and continued to complain vehemently that Perez gained an unfair advantage by leaving the track and rejoining ahead of Russell. Team Principal Toto Wolff eventually got on team radio and told Russell "George, keep your head down...

  Pain.... One word that can describe what Charles Leclerc feels after suffering another massive loss at the French Grand Prix, crashing out of the lead and handing Max Verstappen a 25-point race win. Leclerc has been Max Verstappen's closest competition in 2022, but frequent mistakes and poor team strategies have cost him.  Speaking to the media after the race, Leclerc stated, "I mean, I feel like I'm performing at the highest level of my career since the beginning of the season, but there is no point of performing at that very high level if I then make those mistakes." Leclerc originally thought a mechanical issue with the car was the cause for the incident, but immediately took responsibility in post-race interviews. "32 points overall, 25 today. I think it was likely that we were going to win this race because we were fast, and 7 in Imola because of my mistake. So if at the end of the year we count back and it's 32 points missing, then I know it's com...

  If you have ever watched the French Grand Prix, you have probably noticed the trophies are a bit different... and if you are new to Formula 1, the gorilla trophy will no doubt make you scratch your head. Even though the FIA has regulations in place stating that trophies must "be in the form of a cup", the French GP organizers decided this regulation will not apply to them. We have been blessed with one of the most interesting trophies on the calendar. The trophy has been designed in the shape of a gorilla by French artist and sculptor, Richard Orlinksi. Several of his sculptures can be found around the circuit as well. 'The bear' and 'the horse' made an appearance back in 2018 when F1 returned to the Paul Ricard circuit. To add to this, there is a massive gorilla that joins the podium finishers on the stage post-race. This is the gorilla that the trophies are smaller versions of.  When Pirelli sponsored the event, the gorilla trophies also held little tires,...

  Leclerc Wins In Austria Yes... We know we are a week late here, but better late than never. With that being said, Austria provided the excitement we anticipated, and the drama we need. Leclerc was able to pull out the Grand Prix win in Austria on July 10th, something he and Ferrari were both desperate for. Ferrari had a chance to bring in some major points, as Carlos Sainz was putting pressure on Max Verstappen late in the race in a battle for P2. Unfortunately, Sainz was knocked out of the race as his power unit blew up, causing the car to go up in flames. Sainz was able to escape injury free, but it was a disappointing result as Ferrari was poised for a P1 and P2 finish. Charles Leclerc had not taken home a race win since April 10th in Australia. A 3 month win drought that was due to end. During that 3 month period, Leclerc failed to finish (DNF) twice in Spain and Azerbaijan. Otherwise, poor strategies and untimely pit stops derailed Leclerc's chances to bring home wins. Lecle...

This weekend the Styrian hills will be host to hundreds of thousands of fans converging upon the Red Bull Ring.  The permanent Red Bull Energy Station is sure to bring high drama and even more racing, as this is the season's second to feature sprint qualifying. Though the action of Silverstone's closing laps will indeed be a hard act to follow, the Austrian GP is sure to deliver.  An ever resurgent Mercedes and a Ferrari under pressure to put an entire weekend together will surely spice up the championship battle. Red Bull are hometown favorites, though they seem to be the favorite every weekend.   The Red Bull Ring is a deceptive and interesting track.  It is a short circuit, with lap times expected to be just over one minute in duration.  Half of that time is spent flying down three long straights with DRS zones, which will favor low drag setups, while the remainder is a rollercoaster of jarring turns and decreasing elevation.  The latter section wil...

  British Grand Prix Review: Sainz wins first F1 race, but Ferrari's race strategies are questionable. Carlos Sainz was able to convert his first pole position in Formula 1 to his first victory at Silverstone on Sunday. One would assume this is great news for Ferrari, but questionable race strategies from Ferrari potentially ruined a 1-2 finish for the team. Sainz had a poor start to the British Grand Prix, as Max Verstappen beat him off of the line. This was mute as a horrible crash before turn 1, resulting in 3 DNFs and Zhou Guanyu sliding upside down and flipping into the fence protecting the fans, caused a red flag and the remaining drivers restarting from their starting positions on the grid. Zhou is okay, but once again the halo proves its worth in saving Zhou's life on Sunday. Once the race resumed, Sainz was able to hold off an aggressive push from Verstappen into turn 1. Both Red Bull's Sergio Perez and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc sustained front wing damage a...