For a driver with 22 starts, no points and a highest finish of 14th to his name, Nikita Mazepin has attracted an extraordinary amount of attention in his single year in Formula 1.
And a single year is almost certainly all heâs likely to get after he was summarily sacked by Haas on Saturday.
Sanctions levied against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine forced the issue, and a growing number of national motorsport bodies, including Motorsport Australia, have moved to ban Russian licence-holders.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSMotoGP was at its unpredictable best in its first weekend back for 2022, with Enea Bastianini opening the season with an emotional maiden victory with the independent Gresini team.
The sophomore rider was a rare bright spot for Ducati on an unexpectedly difficult weekend for the Italian manufacturer â indeed expectations throughout the field bore little resemblance to the outcome of the race in Doha, with the form guide blown wide open.
Perhaps the sole exception was Fabio Quartararo, who would be taking no pleasure in discovering his dire pre-season predictions for Yamahaâs stinking form have proved true.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSThe 2022 Supercars championship got off to a chaotic start in Sydney, where debilitating humidity and intermittent rain challenged drivers on their first weekend back in the cockpit.
So tricky were conditions that even reigning champion Shane van Gisbergen wasnât immune, with a pair of high-profile Sunday offs derailing a hitherto imposing weekend.
These are the key talking points from a sometimes wet and almost always wild weekend in Sydney.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSMax Verstappen enjoyed a well-deserved break as the new world champion during the off-season, but thereâs clearly been no such rest for his lawyers.
Before a wheel had been turned in anger in 2022, Red Bull Racing and its new world champion announced theyâre extending terms until 2028.
Reports from the Netherlands place the value of the deal at around $A75 million per year â Lewis Hamilton-tier cash for a driver almost 13 years the Britonâs junior.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSLewis Hamilton and new world champion Max Verstappen will resume hostilities in a new season of Formula 1 later this month, but the blows from their brutal 2021 showdown are still reverberating.
Last December motorsport fans were treated to the closest finish in Formula 1 history: Hamilton and Verstappen, tied on points, in a final-lap duel to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the world championship.
A late-braking lunge on fresh tyres catapulted Verstappen down Hamiltonâs inside at turn five. Shod with older rubber courtesy of a late-race safety car, the Briton was powerless to fight back, and the Dutchman became the first driver to beat Hamilton to the crown in five years.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSMotoGP returns for 2022 with a record-breaking calendar, three world champions with points to prove and a field as wide open as ever.
Fabio Quartararo will attempt to defend his maiden championship, but the Frenchman has had barely a good word to say about Yamahaâs prospects after preseason testing. Meanwhile, Marc Marquez gets closer to full fitness with each passing day after two seasons of injury. And Joan Mir will be eager to prove his 2020 title was no COVID-influenced fluke.
There are two Aussies to keep an eye on too, with Jack Miller in desperate need of a strong, consistent showing to prevent a Ducati reshuffle among its mammoth eight-bike contingent, while Remy Gardner continues his year-long rivalry with nemesis turned teammate Raul Fernandez.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSNikita Mazepinâs chances of clinging to his Formula 1 seat have received a boost after the FIA declined to ban Russians from international motorsport despite IOC recommendations.
Mazepin will be allowed to race under the FIA flag subject to âadherence to the FIAâs principles of peace and political neutralityâ. The FIA also confirmed the Russian Grand Prix has been cancelled for 2022 for reasons of âforce majeureâ.
But the Haas driverâs future in the sport is far from certain. His position in the team dependent on the backing of Russian chemicals company Uralkali, in which his father, Dmitry, is a shareholder. Dimity Mazepin has ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine is now in its seventh day.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSThe Supercars will fire up for 2022 at a floodlit Sydney Motorsport Park this weekend with just one crucial question in mind: can anyone catch Shane van Gisbergen?
The challenge of title defence will be as hard as ever in the final year of the Gen2 regulations. Itâs a truism in motorsport that the longer the rules stay the same, the closer the field becomes, and the pandemic-induced delaying of Gen3 til 2023 has gifted Van Gisbergenâs would-be usurpers a final opportunity to hone their attacks to steal the crown.
But momentum counts for a lot in Supercars, and getting the campaign off to a strong start was key to Van Gisbergenâs title last year. Can he do it again this weekend in Sydney?
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSItâs rare for there to be so much buzz around Formula 1 testing, but 2022 is no ordinary pre-season.
This year the cars are new â and we mean new new. The technical rules have been completely rewritten by a specially-assembled team of crack engineers not simply to look more exciting, but to improve the racing over what will be a record-breaking 23-round season.
To level the playing field spending is restricted to a base level of around $190 million per season â less than half the pre-pandemic spending of some of the biggest teams. The lowest-ranked teams in the championship are also allowed more time in the wind tunnel to try to equalise performance, similar to a football draft.
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