There can’t be many more enjoyable ways for a Formula 1 fan to spend an afternoon than nosing around the HQ of the undisputed champions of the hybrid era – and thanks to Official Team Partner Bose, that’s exactly what Executive Editor Stuart Codling had the chance to do last week. “From the outside, it’s
MotoGP support series MotoE says its inaugural 2019 season will go ahead, despite having had to cancel the planned Jerez opener after all its bikes were lost in a fire. The 18 Energica Ego Corsa bikes that were set to contest the campaign were destroyed when the MotoE paddock caught fire overnight after the opening
Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola says the Italian marque was informed by MotoGP officials in February that running a winglet in front of the rear wheel would be illegal. Rivola, who joined the Aprilia MotoGP squad from the Ferrari Formula 1 team this year, was one of the driving forces behind the protest filed in
Hyundai is planning a major mid-season update to its i20 Coupe in a bid to keep up with its World Rally Championship rivals, with Toyota and Citroen starting strong. While Thierry Neuville took the title fight to the final round last season, there’s a fear the Hyundai is slipping back in terms of pace against
The FIA has identified how it will fill three mandatory senior officiating roles in the Formula 1 season-opening Australian Grand Prix, following the shock death of Charlie Whiting. F1’s sporting regulations require the FIA to nominate a race director and permanent starter for each grand prix, both of which must be present at the start
The nascent all-electric MotoE championship has had its whole roster of Energica Ego Corsa bikes destroyed by an overnight fire at Jerez. The MotoE field has been at the circuit for three days of pre-season testing, but all 18 bikes that had taken to the track on the opening day on Wednesday were burned. The
Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting has passed away aged 66. A statement from the FIA confirmed that the Brition died from a pulmonary embolism in Melbourne, on the eve of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix weekend. Whiting had been present in the Albert Park paddock on Wednesday. FIA president Jean Todt said: “It is
The outcome of the appeal against the Ducati MotoGP team’s new winglet device will be announced before the series’ Argentinian Grand Prix at the end of this month. Honda, Suzuki, KTM and Aprilia all protested the factory Ducatis of race winner Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci, and Jack Miller’s 2019 specification Pramac Ducati, after the
The FIA has promised to take action about artificial jumps on World Rally Championship stages following the controversy on Rally Mexico last week. The opening Guanajuato spectator stage was cancelled after a metal jump was damaged and started to throw the cars into the air at unexpected angles. The FIA’s 2019 ‘WRC Safety Action List’
IndyCar champions Scott Dixon, Will Power and Josef Newgarden believe Ganassi’s rookie signing Felix Rosenqvist will be a major threat this season after his impressive debut in St Petersburg. Rosenqvist outqualified his reigning champion team-mate Dixon to take third on the grid, led the race after a restart pass on Power and eventually finished fourth.
Daniel Ricciardo’s decision to move from Red Bull to Renault is something his former Formula 1 team boss Franz Tost says he has “never understood and will not understand”. This weekend’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix will be Ricciardo’s first in F1 driving for a non-Red Bull team, after deciding to leave his long-time backer to
Reigning Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton says he is “building up” towards a “dream” first MotoGP test, as he accepts he needs more mileage on a racing bike. Energy drink brand Monster Energy, which sponsors Hamilton as well as the Yamaha factory team, is known to be keen on arranging a ride swap between him
Juan Pablo Montoya believes a lack of dirt racing backgrounds among foreign drivers is one of the key reasons why more are not competing in the NASCAR Cup Series. Montoya moved into NASCAR full-time in 2007 following the end of his Formula 1 career at McLaren, and took two wins in 255 starts, mostly with
Hayden Paddon has confirmed a programme of 2019 events designed at keeping him in line for a World Rally Championship return as soon as possible. Paddon missed out on a Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC seat this season after Sebastien Loeb signed to drive for the manufacturer. The Kiwi driver was offered a programme with Hyundai
Jorge Lorenzo believes an encouraging first MotoGP weekend with Honda was “destroyed a little bit” by a significant practice crash. Lorenzo’s started the weekend by finishing second to Valentino Rossi in first practice, although he ended the first day at the Losail circuit just outside the top 10 after Friday’s more representative night-time session. He
Renault Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo has signed a deal with the agency that represents 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg, football star Cristiano Ronaldo and basketball ace Dwyane Wade. Ricciardo has joined the Renault team for 2019 from Red Bull after a lengthy decision-making process last year. The seven-time grand prix winner has not had
Citroen team principal Pierre Budar has clarified his firm’s position on its World Rally Championship future following comments attributed to the firm’s CEO Linda Jackson. Jackson was quoted as saying Citroen would walk away from the WRC at the end of next year if electric or hybrid technology was not incorporated into the regulations for
IndyCar frontrunners Scott Dixon and Will Power have praised the series for avoiding “random” caution periods in the St Petersburg season-opener. Sebastien Bourdais’ Honda letting go soon after the first pitstops and a track banner becoming strewn across the course at Turn 3 were both incidents that could have prompted yellows. But race control elected
The Ferrari Formula 1 team has revealed a revised livery for its 2019 F1 car for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Ferrari’s new SF90 challenger had been launched and made its debut in pre-season testing with extensive branding for Mission Winnow, an initiative by title sponsor Philip Morris (pictured below). But news had broken during
Suzuki MotoGP rider Alex Rins admits he was “very angry” during the 2019 season opener in Qatar, as he felt his rivals were “playing” with him. Rins charged from 10th on the grid in the first few laps, and quickly emerged as Andrea Dovizioso’s main rival for the lead. He would overtake Dovizioso during several
Jimmie Johnson believes his struggling Hendrick Motorsports team showed encouraging signs of recovery in last weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix. Aside from his contentious win in the non-championship Clash event at Daytona, Johnson’s eighth place at Phoenix was his best result since Talladega last October and his most competitive performance since fighting for the
IndyCar is in talks about a future race in Argentina, using the World Superbike Championship’s circuit in the country. Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman & Company, owner of IndyCar, said the series is talking to promoter Grupo OSD about a race at the El Villicum circuit in San Juan, which joined the WSBK calendar last
Kimi Raikkonnen says Alfa Romeo’s place in the Formula 1 pecking order is a “big mystery” after finding it tricky to explore his new car’s potential in pre-season testing. The former Sauber entry appears to be in the thick of the midfield battle, although not quite at the front of it as the first week
The Toyota World Rally Championship team will start testing a new alternator this week in an effort to solve the problem that halted Jari-Matti Latvala on Rally Mexico. Latvala’s Yaris WRC lost electrical charge ahead of the evening superspecial last Friday, forcing him out of fourth place. The problem was centred on a connection on
Valentino Rossi believes Yamaha’s MotoGP bike is “more or less” in the same position it was last year, despite an impressive recovery in the Qatar Grand Prix. Rossi struggled in the cool evening conditions on Friday and Saturday in Qatar, but having qualified 14th he finished the race fifth, just six tenths behind winner Andrea
Reigning DTM champion and HWA Formula E driver Gary Paffett will complete the Intercontinental GT Challenge in a Strakka Mercedes-AMG GT3. After Mercedes pulled out of the DTM, Paffett made the switch to Formula E for 2018/19, where his HWA team has struggled and he lies 17th. He is one spot ahead of his team-mate,
While the protest against Ducati at the Qatar Grand Prix was quickly dimissed, it’s easy to see why its rivals are appealing – as Oriol Puigdemont explains The case centres around a winglet on the bottom of the Ducati, in front of the rear tyre. It was trialled by factory rider Danilo Petrucci, and then
Philip Morris has underlined that Mission Winnow will remain Ferrari’s active 2019 Formula 1 title sponsor, despite the team name change and logos being removed for the Australian Grand Prix. Mission Winnow logos first appeared on the Ferrari at last year’s Japanese Grand Prix, but the initiative’s involvement in F1 has caused some controversy. Australian
Formula 1 will award a world championship point to the driver setting the fastest lap of a grand prix from 2019 after a proposal was met with unanimous approval. Autosport reported last week that the plan had been approved by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council but will still subject to the result of an
Ross Brawn believes Charles Leclerc is unlikely to be able to beat his Ferrari Formula 1 team-mate Sebastian Vettel in their first season together. Leclerc, replacing Kimi Raikkonen at the Maranello team after just one season at Sauber, has been tipped to be one of the stars of 2019 following an impressive debut campaign in