Ex-Formula 1 driver Nico Rosberg has created his own driver development programme, aimed at being able to “find and support new talent in motorsport”. The 2016 F1 world champion has recruited two kart racers for the launch of the Rosberg Young Drivers Academy, with backing from Mercedes F1 partner Petronas. Rosberg has joined forces with

Brendon Hartley’s World Endurance Championship experience with Porsche brings a “fresh and unique insight” to the Toro Rosso Formula 1 team, according to technical director James Key. Hartley raced the Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 from 2014-2017, winning the world championship twice, and brings significant experience in how to get the maximum performance out of such

Renault was outsmarted by Formula 1’s big teams over the winter and is “disappointed” it has not made a bigger step, says chief technical officer Bob Bell. The French team has been the most consistent behind the big three outfits in the first three grands prix of the 2018 season but has had lower performance

Carlos Sainz Jr says his deficit to Nico Hulkenberg is partly because he is still learning his Renault Formula 1 team-mate’s “little tricks”. Hulkenberg has finished seventh, sixth and sixth in the first three grands prix of 2018, while Sainz has earned 10th, 11th and ninth places. Sainz pointed out that he had been ahead

Red Bull’s Chinese Grand Prix victory owed much to clever strategy and brilliant racecraft from Daniel Ricciardo, but development of its RB14 2018 Formula 1 car also helped. The team was keen to avoid a repeat of its slow start under the new car regulations last year, and this season’s contender features aggressive development of

Formula 1 should not be “dumbed down” by following IndyCar’s path of spec cars, says Haas team principal Gunther Steiner. IndyCar has implemented a common aerokit for 2018 that has moved it a step closer to a spec chassis, although there are areas open for development including suspension. Since the new car was introduced there

Felipe Massa believes his former team Williams is paying the price for putting money first in some of its decisions for the 2018 Formula 1 season. Williams has endured a tough start to the 2018 season and is the only team yet to score a point after the first three races. Massa, who retired from

Kevin Magnussen is the highest-rated driver among Autosport readers from the first three Formula 1 races of 2018, with Max Verstappen the lowest. For this year, Autosport has overhauled our popular driver ratings feature, enabling our Plus members to log their own ratings for each driver after every race. Magnussen is one of six drivers

Robert Kubica says 2016 Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg has taken a step back from being part of his management team. Rosberg took an active role in helping lead negotiations for Kubica with Williams as the team pondered a replacement for Felipe Massa. In the end, Williams opted for Sergey Sirotkin and Kubica was

Formula 1’s vision for its 2021 overhaul has been tipped to end the de facto split between the grid’s biggest teams and its current midfielders. Liberty Media and the FIA presented proposals to teams earlier this month in Bahrain, including a suggested cost cap and modification of how funds are distributed. Mercedes, Ferrari and Red

The 2018 Mercedes Formula 1 car is put under the microscope in this week’s episode of The Motorsport Show, which analyses whether the team has another “diva” on its hands. Mercedes has dominated F1 since the switch to V6 turbo-hybrid engines in 2014 but is yet to win a race this season as Ferrari and

Renault believes the quality of Nico Hulkenberg’s performances in Formula 1 this season is best exemplified by his team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr’s previous form against Max Verstappen. Sainz has been on loan at Renault from Red Bull since moving across from Toro Rosso late last year, and his stint in the energy drinks company’s junior

Mercedes chief strategist James Vowles says the squad is not the only Formula 1 team struggling to find a sweet spot with Pirelli’s tyres in all conditions. Vowles said finding consistency across the different compounds in varying conditions has been an issue for Mercedes and its 2018 title rivals. “The tyres this year are having

The Mercedes Formula 1 team has provided further explanation of the costly strategy decision that opened the door for Red Bull to win the Chinese Grand Prix. Red Bull chose to pit both Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo for fresh soft tyres during the Shanghai race’s safety car, but Mercedes left Lewis Hamilton – who

Sebastian Vettel’s suggestion that the timing of Formula 1 safety cars should be re-assessed to avoid changing race outcomes is questioned in this latest clip from The Motorsport Show. Vettel was critical of the FIA’s call in the aftermath of last Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix, and hinted that the fact he and race leader Valtteri

McLaren driver Fernando Alonso says he doesn’t “care too much” about the performances and results achieved by his former Formula 1 teams and partners. Alonso’s comments were prompted by questions over the current form of engine supplier Honda following the end of its troubled three-year partnership with McLaren and its subsequent switch to Toro Rosso.

Formula 1 will increase race fuel allowance in 2019 to allow teams “to use the engine at full power at all times” and make grand prix racing less conservative. An increase from 105kg to 110kg, agreed in today’s Strategy Group meeting in Paris and set to be ratified by the World Motor Sport Council, will

Ex-Formula 1 racer Rubens Barrichello has revealed he feels lucky to be alive after his recent health scare and the discovery of a tumour on his neck. The 11-time grand prix winner was rushed to hospital in February after suffering a severe headache at home. He was released a few days later but subsequently had

Formula 1 teams are actively helping FOM and the FIA with research into improving overtaking by contributing CFD resources to the project as the deadline for 2019 regulation changes approaches. It is the first time since teams participated in the FIA’s Overtaking Working Group a decade ago that they have been involved in such research.

A “disappointed” Jos Verstappen says his son Max needs to think more in the heat of Formula 1 battle after his clash with Sebastian Vettel in the Chinese Grand Prix. Speaking on Dutch TV channel Ziggo’s Peptalk show, Verstappen Sr admitted that Max’s move that led to Vettel’s spin, and earned the Red Bull driver

Potential aerodynamic changes to improve overtaking in 2019 will be a key topic debated at Tuesday’s Formula 1 Strategy Group meeting in Paris, with deadlines looming and some teams resistant. Following the lack of passing in the Australian Grand Prix, a Bahrain meeting involving the FIA, F1’s chief technical officer Pat Symonds and team technical

Fernando Alonso says Daniel Ricciardo’s Chinese Grand Prix victory for fellow Renault Formula 1 customer Red Bull is “good motivation” for a McLaren team that must do a better job. While Ricciardo won the Shanghai F1 race, Alonso finished 30 seconds behind in seventh having qualified 13th. He conceded Sunday’s result leaves McLaren with no

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton feared he would be caught up in the crash between the Red Bull of Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel during the Chinese Grand Prix. Along with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, Hamilton sneaked past the cars of Vettel and Verstappen who tangled with 14 laps left in the race, as Verstappen attempted to

Sebastian Vettel has questioned the timing of the Formula 1 safety car period that compromised his race in China. FIA race director Charlie Whiting called for the safety car after a collision between Toro Rosso drivers Brendon Hartley and Pierre Gasly left debris on the track, opting not to go for a virtual safety car

Fernando Alonso admitted his battle with Sebastian Vettel in the Chinese Grand Prix was “not fair” because the Formula 1 world championship leader’s Ferrari was damaged. McLaren driver Alonso was able to erase a six-second gap to Vettel in the closing stages of the race and pass the German down the inside of Turn 1

Pirelli designed its 2018 Formula 1 tyres to encourage strategic variation and its compound choices for the Chinese Grand Prix have created two key consequences that will decide this race. First, it has split strategies throughout the grid because of the severity of the step between each tyre. Carlos Sainz Jr says those starting on

Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson says a mix up with the team led to his grid penalty for Formula 1’s Chinese Grand Prix for ignoring double waved yellow flags. The 27-year-old was on his second run during the first stage of qualifying when team-mate Charles Leclerc spun exiting the final corner. Ericsson came through the corner shortly

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier has admitted the team might not have been ambitious enough with the performance targets for its 2018 Formula 1 car. Though McLaren has scored points in its first two races since switching from Honda to Renault power, it continued a run of midfield qualifying results when Fernando Alonso and Stoffel

Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time in final practice for Formula 1’s Chinese Grand Prix as Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo suffered a spectacular Renault engine failure. Vettel headed a one-two for Ferrari after jumping team-mate Kimi Raikkonen in the final third of the session, but his former F1 team will head into qualifying with serious

Formula 1 engine ‘party modes’ have become a big topic at the start of the 2018 season, with debate increasing over whether manufacturers should be allowed such settings. In this clip from Motorsport Show, Peter Windsor and Craig Scarborough explore what the term really means, and why teams cannot just push their engines to full