F1 News TheFoxPosts.com

Martin Brundle believes that Max Verstappen has gained little from his public refusal to obey team orders at the Brazilian Grand Prix. In the closing stages of the Interlagos race, Verstappen, who had recovered from an earlier clash with Lewis Hamilton, set his sights on challenging Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc ahead, who were running fifth and fourth. With the Dutchman unable to make further progress, he was instructed to concede his sixth place to Sergio Perez, who was running behind, to aid his teammate's battle for P2 in the Drivers' Championship. Verstappen refused the order , and made a public outburst on team radio that he was to never be asked to let Perez by again, adding "I gave my reasons", suggesting a long-standing cause for the refusal. Viewed by others: ...

The FIA has revealed that it has taken learnings from football and rugby to help with Formula 1 race direction. This comes as part of the first phase of the governing body's new Race Direction Development Programme (RDDP), which aims to 'streamline the Race Direction operation at F1 races'. After the Italian Grand Prix, the RDDP debriefed with officials using race footage and data to identify key areas for improvement in F1 race operations. The FIA has stated that it has "taken learnings" of refereeing procedures used by other international Sports governing bodies in Football and rugby , including the use of the Video Assisted Referee (VAR) system. Members of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) who provide the match officials to the Premier League, English Football League and FA Women’s Super League, will also be present at this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. ...

Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto believes it would've been "difficult" for Carlos Sainz to pass Lewis Hamilton and George Russell at the end of the Brazilian Grand Prix. The team took advantage of a late Safety Car to pit Sainz for a set of used Soft tyres, which put him behind Sergio Perez at the restart. Given Perez was on Mediums that were several laps older, it meant that he was a lot slower at the restart and resulted in him dropping down from P3 to P7 by the chequered flag. Even though it only took Sainz three laps to get past him, he was ultimately not able to keep up with the pace of Mercedes after using up his fresher tyres to pass Perez. Binotto believes that while Sainz could have been in the fight, it would have been more difficult to overtake both Mercedes with less than 10 laps to go. "I think the Mercedes was very fast and certainly [Carlos] could have been in the fight ," he told media, including TheFOXposts.Com . "It...

The Alpine Formula 1 team have terminated the employment of a key legal figure who was closely involved in the loss of Oscar Piastri to McLaren for 2023. After Fernando Alonso jumped ship to Aston Martin for next season in August to replace Sebastian Vettel, the team hoped to replace him with junior and reserve driver Piastri. However, he publicly rejected this offer stating that he "would not be driving" for the Enstone-squad alongside Esteban Ocon. By this stage in early August, Piastri had already signed a deal to join McLaren having never put pen to paper on a potential race drive with Alpine after repeated failings in the contract process, with the Contract Recognition Board's ruling exclusively revealed by TheFOXposts.Com. Alpine have now responded by relieving director of legal affairs Benedicte Mercer of her responsibilities. Viewed by others: ...

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff believes George Russell potentially had "a year too long" at Williams. Russell claimed his first victory in Formula 1 with Mercedes at the Brazilian Grand Prix, ending a 23-race win drought for the team. Wolff, who managed Russell during his years in the Mercedes Junior Programme, recalls the Briton's journey through the ranks competing in F1 feeder series GP3 and F2. "I thought about it at the end of the race, when he walked in as a 16-year-old with his suit, his tie, his PowerPoint presentation," said Wolff to media, including TheFOXposts.Com . "He's the first of our new Junior Programme that has won the race. "Obviously, Lewis [Hamilton] has been the most successful of the ones that has graduated [with Mercedes Benz backing]. "But six years later he [Russell] is the Grand Prix race winner." Viewed by...

Former BAR-Honda team boss Craig Pollock once opined that the role of team principal was the most challenging of all management positions: “There is no other job in the world where you are as publicly audited every fortnight, by extremely passionate people but with little or no knowledge of the overall picture.” The Scotsman, who founded the team that then became the mighty Mercedes steamroller, had a point: virtually every one of F1’s tens of millions of global fans hold critical opinions - more usually in hindsight - with their judgements generally being clouded by the travails of their favourite team or driver. Pollock spoke those words over 20 years ago, before the era of 1000-strong F1 teams; at a time when the internet was used for banking via dial-up modems and iPhones oohed at in sci-fi movies; Amazon lost millions daily and twitter was something birds did each morning; Facebook was a photo album and TikTok a nursery rhyme; Budget caps applied to grocery bills, Netflix ...

Ralf Schumacher has lashed out at Haas Team Principal Gunther Steiner, claiming the team is unlikely to retain Mick Schumacher for next year and that they were "never satisfied " with his performances. Schumacher's seat at the team has been in doubt over the last couple of weeks, with speculation that he could be replaced by Nico Hulkenberg for 2023. As such Ralf believes Steiner's behaviour towards nephew Mick in recent weeks has not been 'positive' and has criticised his running of the team. "I don't think Haas is going to decide in Mick's favour, otherwise they would have done that a long time ago," he told Sky Sports . "I think the way the team is dealing with Mick and the 'openness' of Team Principal Guenther Steiner - I'll just describe it politely - is not necessarily positive." Viewed by others: ...

Sebastian Vettel has revealed how a voice was "creeping up" on him telling him to announce his retirement from racing in Formula 1. Four-time World Champion Vettel is set for his 299th and final Grand Prix start at the 2022 season-finale in Abu Dhabi - having raced full-time since 2008. The German is set to bow out as the the fourth most successful driver of all-time after a two year stint at Aston Martin after leaving Ferrari in 2020. However, 35-year-old Vettel has revealed how retirement thoughts first hit him during the aftermath of his departure from Maranello. Vettel on retirement voice "I think I just felt a big relief, because the decision is a very big, life-changing one to me," Vettel explained on the F1 Beyond The Grid podcast. "It was in my head and growing inside me for a very long time, [and there were] a lot of conversations with my wife and with...

Ferrari was forced into halting development on its 2022 Formula 1 car as it "couldn't afford" new upgrades, according to boss Mattia Binotto. The team started the season with the quickest package, but have fallen back from runaway leaders Red Bull after winning two of the opening three races. Since the Austrian Grand Prix in July, Ferrari have not won a race as a potential title challenge has morphed into a fight for second with Mercedes in the Constructors' Championship. However, while the eight-time champions have been developing their car to try and mask the problems with it, Binotto has revealed that the development tap was switched off as the budget cap struck. Viewed by others: Ferrari Reports: Time running out for Binotto ...

The final Formula 1 race of the season at Abu Dhabi will have scorching temperatures throughout the weekend. The latest weather forecast from our friends at Weeronline.nl predicts high temperatures of 33 degrees centigrade on Friday, which is warmer than normal for Abu Dhabi. With it being a twilight race the temperatures will drop as the schedule progresses into the night, with it set to be around 28 degrees in the afternoon for both Saturday and Sunday, then 26 degrees for the start of the race. No showers are expected but there is a moderate breeze predicted to come in from the nearby sea. Source: https://thefoxposts.com/abu-dhabi-gp-weather-what-s-in-store-for-the-drivers-TheFOXposts-567.html?utm_so...

McLaren has unveiled a special livery for the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi. The new look is brought by partner BAT's brand Vuse and their Driven By Change campaign, which also had a similar one-off livery at the same race last year. Designed by Lebanese artist Anna Tangles, the livery will be carried on the MCL36 race cars driven by Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo. Louise McEwen, Executive Director, Brand and Marketing, McLaren Racing, said: “We are delighted to represent an emerging artist’s design on our race cars once again, championing creativity together with Vuse. "Anna Tangles produces stunning artwork and has a powerful story which perfectly embodies the spirit and values of the Driven by Change campaign. The initiative is building a legacy which we are excited to continue driving, using our global platform to amplify the talent of emerging creatives.” Check out the pictures below ...

Like every other that has gone before, the final race of the 2022 Formula 1 season in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is a time for reflection. A time to think reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the campaign coming to a close or perhaps left with the dreams of what might have been had X, Y or Z gone slightly differently. However, for some, they are bidding goodbye to the F1 paddock for what could - and in the case of at least one will, be the final Grand Prix of their racing career. There's also one or two things from the 2022 season which hopefully won't be a factor going into '23, so TheFOXposts.Com has rounded everything up ahead of the race weekend in Abu Dhabi. Farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye Although our departing drivers breaking into song and channeling their inner children from 1965 classic The Sound of Music, is unlikely, at least four drivers will be biding: ...

The final piece of the 2023 Formula 1 jigsaw has been put into place with the news that Nico Hulkenberg is set to replace Mick Schumacher at Haas. After two seasons, Schumacher's stint at Haas is over after an underwhelming second campaign forced team boss Guenther Steiner to look for other options - settling on the veteran German to partner Kevin Magnussen. It now means all 20 seats have final ly been filled - with just three World Champions competing - the fewest since just Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen raced in 2008, although '09, '19 and '20 had three competing as well. Half of the grid will be Grand Prix winners, as one World Champion in Sebastian Vettel and one multiple race winner in Daniel Ricciardo prepare to depart the grid. Joining are three rookies - one at McLaren and another at Williams while AlphaTauri are set to gain probably the most experienced 'rookie' driver in F1 history - and also one of the most versatile. ...

Guenther Steiner has explained that Haas have elected for a "well-seasoned" line-up for the 2023. The American F1 team chose to hire Nico Hulkenberg as their second driver for the 2023 season, partnering Kevin Magnussen. Their decision is a change in tactic from recent seasons, having elected to field two rookies in 2021: Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin. Crash damage and an inability to keep up with Magnussen's points total resulted in early-season pressure from Haas on Schumacher, with the 23-year-old failing to make the grade for a third year with the team. Viewed by others: Nico Hulkenberg Hulkenberg secures final seat, full F1 2023 driver line-up confirmed ...

Mick Schumacher has given his first response to the news that he will be replaced at the Haas F1 team. It was confirmed that the 23-year-old is to be replaced by Nico Hulkenberg for the 2023 season. Schumacher leaves after two seasons at the Haas team, with the German driver admitting to his "disappointment" at not extended his F1 contract. “This is going to be my last race with the Haas F1 team,” Schumacher's statement read. “I don’t want to hide the fact that I am very disappointed with the decision not to renew our contract. “Nevertheless, I would like to thank both Haas F1 and Ferrari for giving me this opportunity." Viewed by others: Haas F1 Team Why Haas dropped Schumacher to sign Hulkenberg ...