Author: Sri Hari

Charles Leclerc,  Ferrari’s F2 championship leader has secured four free practice sessions with Sauber over the rest of the season. The Monegasque will drive Sauber C36 in FP1 at the Malaysian, United States, Mexican and Brazilian Grands Prix. Sauber has confirmed Leclerc will drive instead of Marcus Ericsson at Sepang circuit this Friday. Leclerc had a very strong performance in his first  F2 season and has been touted to join Sauber next year. He had completed an FP1 program with the American team, Haas, last year. Ferrari agreed to a…

McLaren’s move from Honda to Renault was more than just an engine swap. Honda was financing most of McLaren’s budget. So, in effect, they were paying McLaren to use their engine. But that is not the relationship McLaren will have with Renault. The French company has their own works team so McLaren is just another customer for their engine, like Red Bull. McLaren went from paid to use the engine, to pay to use the engine. But that is not the relationship McLaren will have with Renault. The French company has…

The newly expanded Motor Museum of Western Australia has a new attraction, Daniel Ricciardo’s RB10 that won the Australian his first Grand Prix. Ricciardo is loaning the car permanently to the museum after acquiring it from Red Bull Racing. The Australian  comfortably outperformed his then-teammate  Sebastian Vettel in 2014 to win the Canadian Grand Prix. After the Singapore Grand Prix Ricciardo flew to Perth to attend the unveiling of his donation to the museum. Talking to the West Australian, Ricciardo said, “It was a breakthrough season for me and I…

It is wrong to presume Ferrari will struggle in the next races after they lost the Singapore race to Mercedes, says Kimi Räikkönen. Ferrari was the favourite to win the race at Singapore. The tight, twisty corners and the high downforce of Marina Bay circuit were better suited for the Italian car than its German rival. But a massive accident involving pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel, Räikkönen and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at the start of the race sent all the three on an early retirement. It did not take Lewis Hamilton…

The circuit that hosts the Mexican Grand Prix, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez was unaffected by the massive earthquake that hit the country two days ago (19th September). In spite of the emergency like situation in and around Mexico City, the authorities did a comprehensive assessment of the venue. They ruled that the circuit and its surroundings did not incur any structural damages. A circuit spokesperson said, “There is no damage to the circuit – it was examined completely. We released all our personnel from work so they can spend some time…

Gunther Steiner hopes  Haas has finished running on all the difficult circuits after the team finished badly in the Singapore race. Both of the Haas drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen struggled to get a good balance at the Marina Bay circuit. The team had a similar experience in another high downforce circuit earlier this year at Hungary Grand Prix where Grosjean retired and Magnussen finished one lap down in 13th. In Singapore GP, the team did not do well in the qualy with Grosjean and Magnussen coming in at…

Eric Boullier admitted his team is facing two weeks delay in their development plans for the next year’s car due to the engine change decision. On 15th September, McLaren announced their decision to part ways with Honda and switching to Renault engine from next season. The deal came after weeks of intense negotiations between Honda, McLaren, Toro Rosso and Renault. Toro Rosso will switch to Honda engine from next season and they are loaning Carlos Sainz to Renault as a compensation for agreeing to the swap. The delay in the…

After his third consecutive victory and a 28 point lead over his main rival Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes should not slow down says Team boss Toto Wolff. Following his win at Monza,  Hamilton got a lead over Vettel in the world championship for the first time this season. With his unexpected victory in Marina Bay, he has widened the gap even further making it difficult for his German rival. With six more races to go, i.e.  150 points still at stake Wolff says the battle is far from…

Renault is planning to have a strong presence in 2018 to get a better position in the drivers market to attract a heavy hitter for 2019 season. In 2018, Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jr will race for the French manufacturer. The team hopes to improve upon its current score and position in constructors championship standing. Sainz is on a loan for one season from Red Bull and may not be available for 2019. A lot of driver contracts are expiring at the end of 2018 with only Sebastian Vettel…

The three-way accident at the start line on Sunday generated a lot of discussion among F1 fans, critics and the commentators. More or less the entire top order of the grid, Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen and Max Verstappen retired early, giving Hamilton an excellent opportunity to win the Singapore Grand Prix. So who should we blame for such a big upset? FIA stewards investigated video evidence, heard from the drivers and the teams involved and ruled that no one person can be held responsible for the accident. This was a…