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image: Audi   This announcement from Audi is the first acknowledgment from the team on its intentions to join Formula 1. Sauber appears to be the front runner for Audi to look at. Audi is joining F1 in the 2026 season, after more than a year of rumors the team announced its plans but has not said which team they will partner with. Audi contributes the continued rise in popularity of the sport and its focus on being environmentally conscious as reasons to join F1. Audi also helped shape the future powertrain regulations with Porsche, who is also joining F1 in partnership with Red Bull in 2026. Audi Sport's facility in Neuberg, Germany will serve as the team's home base for the power unit development. Hiring and investments into the team are under way, this according to a press release from the company:    The power unit will be built at Audi Sport’s state-of-the-art Competence Center Motorsport in Neuburg an der Donau, not far from AUDI AG’s company headquarters in In...

Daniel Ricciardo says he is willing to walk away from F1 for a while if the right opportunities do not present themselves for the 2023 season. Although his future is up in the air, Ricciardo is proud of his time with McLaren. It has been less than 24 hours since Daniel Ricciardo announced his split from McLaren, a decision that was not a surprise based on the past few weeks of "silly season" 2022. Ricciardo was notified that Formula 2's Oscar Piastri was taking his seat, however that has not been finalized as Alpine feels they have the rights to Piastri's contract for 2023. When asked if he would consider time away from F1 if the right offer does not come along, Ricciardo told reporters that F1 is the only racing he is interested in at this point in his career. Not having Daniel Ricciardo in Formula 1 would be a big change for the sport, as he has been a huge part of the growth and expansion of Formula 1 in the United States. Formula 1 legend Sebastian Vettel has been...

 This week, the FIA has ratified the 2026 power unit regulations.  These new regulations serve two main purposes, the first of which is improving sustainability and the second reducing costs.  Following the ratification of these regulations, we now know the means by which the FIA intends to meet these targets. The current power units are 1.6 liter turbocharged V6s with two hybrid components.  The first of the hybrid components is the MGU-K which is an electric motor that sits alongside the engine block and is connected by a gear to the crankshaft.  The MGU-K recovers heat generated from braking.  This energy is then stored in the battery and available for deployment. When energized, torque is directly applied from the MGU-K for immediate and significant acceleration.   The other hybrid component is the MGU-H.  This is a small electric motor that sits on the shaft between the compressor and impeller of the turbocharger.  Heat from turboch...

  Sources: McLaren has informed Daniel Ricciardo it plans to replace him with Formula 2 champion Oscar Piastri next season. According to multiple reports, Ricciardo was informed of the decision by team boss Andreas Seidl following the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday evening. The two parties are now discussing a financial settlement to leave his contract a year early. ESPN has reported from information from multiple sources that McLaren and Piastri have signed a deal for next year. On Tuesday, Alpine surprisingly made an announcement that Piastri would replace Aston Martin-bound Fernando Alonso. Piastri tweeted an hour later stating he would not be racing for Alpine in 2023. Alpine's appeal to the FIA contract recognition board would be the only thing stopping Piastri joining McLaren. If McLaren's contract with Piastri is upheld, Ricciardo appears to be the frontrunner for the Alpine seat the fellow Australian did not want for the 2023 season. Ricciardo raced at Alpine when...

If you are new to the F1 experience, you my have heard of "Silly Season".  This term refers to a time, generally halfway through the season, when the driver market heats up as teams find extra motivation to find their pairings for the next season. This year's Silly Season has been rumbling in the background through the last few races with the nonchalant confirmations of Gasly remaining at AlphaTauri and Ricciardo's and McLaren's continued commitment to each other.  However, Sebastian Vettel's surprise announcement this past week has truly signaled that Silly Season is in full swing.  Aston has made a surprise announcement of their own this morning, stating that Fernando Alonso will leave Alpine and join Aston for a multi-year contract starting next season.  This surprise move leaves one seat open at Alpine, which is likely to be filled by Alpine rising star Oscar Piastri.  The reigning F2 champ had been previously tied to Williams pending and expected extensio...

  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...

 Statement from Nelson Piquet Nelson Piquet released the above statement in response to the media's reaction to his use of a racial slur directed towards Lewis Hamilton in an interview from 2021. The 7-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton, condemned Piquet's comments, stating "It's more than language. These archaic mindsets need to change and have no place in our sport," he said. "I've been surrounded by these attitudes and targeted my whole life. There has been plenty of time to learn. Time has come for action. Formula 1 and the FIA have faced a lot of pressure from the media on their responses to Piquet's comments. Both released statements condemning racist and discriminatory language and behavior, however both failed to mention Piquet or to address the issue directly.  Nelson Piquet has been banned from from the paddock as a result of his racist comments, however at this time it is unknown whether this is a lifetime ban or not. For more F1 news and ...

  Lewis Hamilton has condemned Nelson Piquet for using a racially abusive term about him in an interview following with 2021 British Grand Prix. Piquet, a 3-time Formula One world champion, used the derogatory term in a podcast as he was discussing rivals Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen's collision on lap 1 at Silverstone in 2021. The podcast came to light this week, and has sparked major controversy in the F1 world, rightfully so.  Piquet, the father of Max Verstappen's girlfriend, Kelly, accused Hamilton of mishandling his car into the first corner and stated Hamilton was "lucky" to continue in the race. Motorsport.com Brazil editor Carlos Costa translated Piquet's comments, which said: "But the n***** put the car on the inside of Copse. Copse is a very high speed corner, there's no way two cars can make it side by side. He played dirty. His luck is that Verstappen for f****d. And Hamilton was very lucky." Although the podcast was recorded in Nov...

DNF: Sergio Perez Suffered a gearbox failure on lap 8 resulting in a virtual safety car allowing his teammate to make an early switch from mediums to hards, dropping only to third. Hearbreak for Checo just as his own championship bid came alive. DNF: Mick Schumacher  Experienced a Power Unit failure on lap 20 after running competitively in the top 10. DNF: Yuki Tsunoda Had a unique collision with the barriers on pit exit on lap 49, making poor use of the impressive 2.4s stop offered by the pit crew. The resultant safety car allowed several cars to pit with minimal losses. P17 Kevin Magnussen After contact with Hamilton on the opening laps, KMag was forced to pit with resultant front wing damage. This dropped him far behind the pack and unable to capitalize on the vsc from Perez's failure.  P16 Nicholas Latifi King Latifi had a disappointing home GP.  By managing to not DNF and have a better pit strategy than Magnussen, he keeps his p16 streak alive.  P15 Lando Norris...

  Red Bull's Max Verstappen takes pole ahead of Alpine's Fernando Alonso in Qualifying for the Formula 1 2022 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. Carlos Sainz rounds out the top 3 taking 3rd on the grid for Ferrari. Rain falling led to a very interesting Qualifying in Montreal. Q3 began with all drivers electing to run on intermediate tires, allowing more aggressive driving and quicker pace around the track. Max Verstappen was nearly untouchable throughout all of Qualifying, and turned up the intensity even more in Q3 solidifying P1 with minimal difficulty. Alpine's Fernando Alonso stunned Ferrari's Carlos Sainz to take P2 on the final lap of Q3. Sainz had a chance at P1 until a big slide exiting the final corner derailed those plans and ultimately led to P3 on the grid. Lewis Hamilton took P4 for Mercedes, which split its strategy late in Q3 and switched George Russell to  soft tires. Russell spun at the opening corners of his opening lap on the soft slick tires, causing ...