Mercedes Formula 1 team boss Toto Wolff says it was “painful” to see Valtteri Bottas’s and Lewis Hamilton’s cars handicapped by cooling issues in the Austrian Grand Prix. Both cars ran Mercedes’ most extreme cooling set-up available in Austria, but were still forced to run at restricted power. Bottas and Hamilton, who finished third and

The long wait to learn whether Max Verstappen had kept his Austrian Grand Prix victory was a result of various influencing factors, says FIA Formula 1 race director Michael Masi. Verstappen beat Charles Leclerc to win the race at the Red Bull Ring but his race-winning move was placed under investigation as the two drivers

Ferrari will not appeal the outcome of the Formula 1 stewards’ investigation into Max Verstappen’s Austrian Grand Prix-winning move, despite believing the “wrong decision” was made. Red Bull driver Verstappen made contact with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc while overtaking him for the lead at Turn 3 on the 69th lap of the 71-lap event, and went

Mercedes Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas says it is weird how Ferrari “always” seems to gain half a second on the straights no matter the circuit layout. Ferrari appears to have overtaken Mercedes as F1’s engine benchmark but also has a different aerodynamic philosophy to its rival that prioritises a higher top speed at the

The FIA has confirmed that Lewis Hamilton will start fourth on the grid for the Austrian Grand Prix as a result of his penalty for impeding Kimi Raikkonen in qualifying. Hamilton had qualified second behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at the Red Bull Ring, but was given a three-place grid drop for the incident with Raikkonen,

The FIA has confirmed that Lewis Hamilton will start fourth on the grid for the Austrian Grand Prix as a result of his penalty for impeding Kimi Raikkonen in qualifying. Hamilton had qualified second behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at the Red Bull Ring, but was given a three-place grid drop for the incident with Raikkonen,

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc pipped the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton to set the pace in the final Formula 1 practice session before qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix. Leclerc was the only driver to lap below 1m04s at the Red Bull Ring as FP3 set up an enticing Ferrari versus Mercedes battle for pole position. Bahrain

Renault will make an overnight modification to its DRS mechanism after an unusual oscillation was seen on the flaps of both its Formula 1 cars in Austrian Grand Prix practice. Although the exact cause of the problem is still being investigated, Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul told Autosport that the team has decided to make the

Carlos Sainz Jr says he feels “sour” about McLaren’s promising Friday practice showing because he will take a grid penalty for Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix. Sainz will start at the back of the grid after McLaren opted to hand him Renault’s B-Spec engine that was introduced in Daniel Ricciardo’s factory-run car for the French

Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in opening practice for the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix as Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel split the two Mercedes. Championship leader Hamilton took control of the session at the end of his running on a second set of soft tyres. His 1m04.838s eclipsed Vettel’s best by 0.144 seconds after

The bid to get Formula 1’s tyre specification changed mid-season centres on some teams suffering a perceived ‘double penalty’ by thinner-tread rubber they believe was wrongly introduced. F1 teams will meet with the FIA and Pirelli on Friday morning in Austria to formally discuss a return to the 0.4mm thicker tread tyres used last year.

Carlos Sainz Jr has bumped Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas from the top three in Autosport readers’ Formula 1 driver ratings after another impressive showing at the French Grand Prix. McLaren driver Sainz registered a second ‘Class B’ victory of the season by finishing sixth at Paul Ricard and was the only driver from the midfield group

Alex Albon will be hit with a grid penalty at the Austrian Grand Prix for taking Honda’s upgraded Formula 1 engine, which he did not use in France. Honda introduced its Spec 3 engine last weekend but split its use across the two Toro Rosso drivers to avoid that team suffering grid drops with both

Lewis Hamilton’s critics should recognise the opportunity they have to see “maybe the best driver that has ever existed” in Formula 1, reckons the Mercedes driver’s team boss Toto Wolff. The five-time world champion’s ultra-successful move to Mercedes has earned him a place among the best drivers in F1 history by various statistical measures. Hamilton

Formula 1 testing could return to Silverstone in 2020 – but only if the British Grand Prix stays on the calendar. Over the French GP weekend teams discussed possible venues for next year’s two in-season tests, which have to take place on the Tuesday and Wednesday after a race weekend. Bahrain GP track Sakhir is

The FIA is ready to roll out more bespoke bollard lanes in Formula 1 runoff areas this year in its push to clamp down harder on drivers abusing track limits. Amid a growing debate about how to deter drivers from cutting corners, the FIA trialled more extensive use of lanes that directed cars around bollards

Max Verstappen says it is “bullshit” to suggest Formula 1 cars are not challenging enough, and is baffled by Romain Grosjean’s claim that driving a kart is harder. Lewis Hamilton has suggested this season that the current generation of Formula 1 car is too easy to drive, while Grosjean revealed he was more tired driving

Formula 1 race director Michael Masi says he is open to changing rejoining rules for 2020 in the wake of the incident between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel in Canada. The controversy caused by Vettel’s five-second penalty at the Canadian Grand Prix for rejoining the track in an unsafe manner and pushing Hamilton off circuit

Williams Formula 1 chief technical officer Paddy Lowe’s departure has finally been confirmed after a leave of absence that began before the start of the 2019 season. Lowe has been on leave for “personal reasons” since March 5, with his last Williams appearance coming in pre-season testing at Barcelona. Williams has now announced that he

Formula 1 sporting boss Ross Brawn says he cannot wait to work with Lewis Hamilton in shaping the championship’s future and says meetings are now scheduled to get driver input. After dominating a straightforward French Grand Prix last weekend, Hamilton was critical of F1’s rulemaking process and said the series is nowhere near where it

Formula 1 race director Michael Masi says he does not understand why Sergio Perez was so upset at his French Grand Prix penalty. Racing Point’s Perez was handed a five-second penalty at Paul Ricard for gaining places after cutting across the run-off areas at Turns 3 and 4 on the opening lap, and Perez said

The FIA says the quick change of start lights at the French Grand Prix should not have caught Formula 1 drivers by surprise because it was within its permitted tolerances. Sebastian Vettel was among a handful of drivers to admit after the race he was “a bit surprised” by how quickly the lights went out,

Daniel Ricciardo has dropped from seventh to 11th in the final Formula 1 French Grand Prix classification after receiving two five-second penalties for overtakes on the last lap. The Renault driver overtook McLaren’s Lando Norris at the chicane but locked up while doing so, which forced Norris to take evasive action and allowed Kimi Raikkonen

Lewis Hamilton says boring Formula 1 races are not the drivers’ fault and instead the blame lies at the rulemakers for a “constant cycle” of making bad decisions. Hamilton dominated Sunday’s French Grand Prix, winning by 18 seconds after a straightforward race with little action to earn his sixth victory in eight races maintained Mercedes’

Romain Grosjean believes the Haas Formula 1 team needs to “stop blaming the tyres and start blaming ourselves” after its struggles in French Grand Prix qualifying. The American outfit has been one of the hardest hit by this year’s specification of tyres, which are harder to get into their optimum working range, and regularly found

Red Bull Racing’s Pierre Gasly says he made the wrong set-up choice in qualifying for the French Grand Prix, leaving him struggling for pace and ninth on the grid. Red Bull added downforce to Gasly’s car after FP3, but in Q1 the Frenchman found he had lost performance. Gasly will now start the race on

The McLaren Formula 1 team is to build an all-new windtunnel at its Woking factory. Although McLaren has made significant progress in 2019 its car still lacks fundamental downforce and, after new team principal Andreas Seidl analysed what improvements need to be made, McLaren’s board has signed off the construction of a new windtunnel. The

Ferrari’s attempt to have the decision that cost Sebastian Vettel Canadian Grand Prix victory reviewed failed on Friday at Paul Ricard, despite the Formula 1 team presenting new evidence. The outfit felt it had “pretty overwhelming” evidence to show but, in rejecting a review, FIA stewards deemed the material presented featured “no significant and relevant

Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton says he was surprised he caught his “serious moment” in French Grand Prix second practice immediately before his incident with Max Verstappen. Hamilton went wide at Turn 3 and sideways over the kerb, taking out a plastic bollard, but regained control of the car as he slid into the

Sebastian Vettel says the updates the Ferrari Formula 1 team brought to Paul Ricard for the French Grand Prix did not perform as expected in Friday practice. The Italian outfit introduced new wings and brake duct updates as part of a package that it hoped would address the weaknesses of its current car. Although some