Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Romain Grosjean admits he came “very close” to following Ferrari in going out with intermediate tyres in the final segment of Formula 1 qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix. Ferrari paid the price for the decision to leave the pitlane on intermediates
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Fernando Alonso said he did not leave one millimetre anywhere on “one of the best laps in my life” at Suzuka to secure 18th in Formula 1 qualifying in Japan. McLaren’s terrible 2018 season continued with Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne only outqualifying
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. World Rally Championship title hopeful Ott Tanak has extended his Rally GB lead on Saturday morning, while Sebastien Ogier continued to jump up the order after a troubled Friday. Across the five stages, Tanak drew out another 15s at the top of
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Suzuki MotoGP rider Andrea Iannone reckons Marc Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso can beat the rest of the field by half a lap in the Thailand Grand Prix as they have a big advantage in race pace. Honda rider Marquez and Ducati’s Dovizioso
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow was perplexed by a much improved Yamaha during the Thailand Grand Prix weekend, finding the sudden step forward “really strange”. Yamaha has yet to win a race this season and has in particular struggled in recent races, having
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. World Rally Championship leader Thierry Neuville’s title hopes were dealt a blow when he slid off road and into a ditch on the second stage of Saturday’s Rally GB running. The Hyundai driver began the day second overall, half a minute behind
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Sebastian Vettel says he is “not blaming anybody” at the Ferrari Formula 1 team for the failed tyre gamble in Japanese Grand Prix qualifying. Vettel and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen were the only drivers to be sent out on intermediate tyres at the
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Marc Marquez fought his way through Q1 to secure pole position for MotoGP’s inaugural race in Thailand, beating Valentino Rossi by just a hundredth of a second. Honda rider Marquez was forced into the first part of qualifying after a crash during
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Andrea Dovizioso remained on top in third practice for MotoGP’s Thailand race, as Marc Marquez crashed and consigned himself to a place in the first part of qualifying. After setting the pace in Friday’s second session, Dovizioso was again fastest on Saturday
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Jorge Lorenzo has decided to sit out the Thailand MotoGP race, and could miss the following round in Japan due to injuries sustained in his nasty practice crash. Lorenzo announced earlier this week he would attempt to compete in the inaugural race
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Sebastien Ogier has promised to take a “full risk” approach to the second day of Rally GB, as he bids to keep his 2018 World Rally Championship title assault alive. Ogier is currently sat fifth overall after Friday’s running and he made
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. The World Rally Championship’s in-form driver Ott Tanak holds a commanding overnight lead after Friday’s Rally GB running, ahead of his title rival and current standings leader Thierry Neuville. Tanak’s lead has grown to 28.8 seconds over Neuville after he won the
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Lewis Hamilton wants Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli to move “three steps softer” with its 2019 selection in order to remove “ridiculous” one-stop races. Pirelli expanded its tyre range for this year, moving a step softer with its existing compounds and adding
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Honda believes it has made a “big improvement” with its upgraded Formula 1 engine after working on the issues that delayed the new specification until this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix. The Japanese manufacturer’s updated engine was used in practice last week in
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Ducati rider Jorge Lorenzo says he is leaning towards sitting out the Thailand MotoGP race after a “scary” crash in Friday practice. Lorenzo high-sided off his Ducati Desmosedici GP18 in the second practice session, and was taken to hospital afterwards. The Spaniard,
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Even though the MotoGP title is almost in Marc Marquez’s hands, in Thailand, Ducati will face a track that will demonstrate whether the Desmosedici is the best bike on the grid – whichever circuit it faces. During pre-season testing, MotoGP riders got
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Yamaha MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi says he does not know where Yamaha’s improved pace in the opening day of the Thailand Grand Prix came from. Rossi and team-mate Maverick Vinales filled the top two spots in the first practice session and Vinales
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Max Verstappen called Japanese Grand Prix practice on Friday “one of my worst this season” and said he did not enjoy “one lap” in his Red Bull Formula 1 car. Verstappen was fourth-fastest in practice two at Suzuka, splitting the Ferraris, but
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Yamaha MotoGP rider Maverick Vinales topped first practice for the inaugural Thailand Grand Prix at Buriram, heading team-mate Valentino Rossi by just under three tenths of a second. Times quickly tumbled in the opening part of the 45-minute session as the new-for-2018
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Toyota World Rally Championship driver Esapekka Lappi established an early lead on Rally GB after setting the fastest time on the Tir Prince superspecial. The Finn heads compatriot and team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala by just 0.3 seconds following the 1.7-mile opening stage. Championship
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Sebastien Ogier is still the driver Thierry Neuville fears most in the 2018 World Rally Championship title fight, despite Ott Tanak now being ahead of the reigning champion. Heading into this week’s Rally GB, Neuville leads Tanak by just 13 points following
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Marcus Ericsson is talking with IndyCar teams as he eyes a full-time racing campaign in the United States alongside his role as third driver for Sauber in Formula 1. Ericsson will lose his Sauber seat at the end of the season with
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Leading World Rally Championship drivers believe the revised route for this year’s Rally GB is the best itinerary produced since the event moved to Wales. The 2018 event, which starts on Thursday evening, has undergone significant change with two days in mid-Wales
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Red Bull made it “easier” for Renault to steal Daniel Ricciardo away by blocking the French Formula 1 manufacturer’s attempts to permanently sign Carlos Sainz Jr, according to Cyril Abiteboul. Renault’s shock signing of Ricciardo means Sainz’s short spell with the team
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Valentino Rossi says it is “difficult to continue” if Yamaha maintains its poor form during the next two years of his contract with the MotoGP manufacturer. Yamaha is undergoing its longest-ever winless streak in MotoGP with no sign of the run ending
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. James Hinchcliffe hopes his 2019 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports team-mate has a similar driving style to Robert Wickens, as he feels the DTM convert raised the level of his IndyCar performances. Wickens joined the series in 2018 and made an immediate impression by
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Jorge Lorenzo says he still blames Honda’s Marc Marquez for the Aragon crash that left him injured, despite praising his MotoGP rival for getting in touch after the incident. Lorenzo crashed out on the opening lap of the Aragon race after a
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. M-Sport Ford has decided against using its new-specification engine for Rally GB this week and taken a “safe” option instead. Sebastien Ogier had been hoping to run the new more powerful engine for Britain’s World Rally Championship round, but a failure during
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Sergio Perez believes Suzuka should have a DRS zone on the back straight that forces Formula 1 drivers to risk taking the famous 130R corner with the rear wing open. The FIA has been experimenting with additional or longer zones this year
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Sebastien Ogier gave Ford an ultimatum to back M-Sport’s World Rally Championship effort more, and its failure to do so prompted his decision to leave for Citroen. Ogier and M-Sport won the 2017 WRC titles as effective privateers, and appeared set for