Fernando Alonso sends the Aston Martin hype train into overdrive on an underwhelming day for Max Verstappen, while Mercedes continues to struggle to return to form.
The Aston Martin hype train is gathering an alarming amount of speed just one day into the season proper.
The speculation began during the off-season with whispers of powerful numbers emanating from the wind tunnel.
Fernando Alonso’s performance during pre-season testing got the paddock’s attention with some remarkable long-run demonstrations.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSFernando Alonso beat the Red Bull Racing drivers to the top spot in second practice at the Bahrain Grand Prix in another tantalizing glimpse of Aston Martin’s potential. The Spaniard hustled his AMR22 to a best time of 1m 30.907s, pipping Max Verstappen by 0.169s. Sergio Perez was a further 0.002s back in third.
Alonso and Verstappen also looked closely matched on long-run pace, which dominated the only practice session of the weekend run in representative night-time conditions — although most teams burned through their stocks of the soft tire to keep their two sets of the more durable hard rubber for Sunday’s race.
As much as it was good news for Aston Martin, Red Bull Racing didn’t look as settled as it did at last weekend’s test.
Continue reading on RACERRed Bull’s Sergio Perez set a sizzling pace ahead of the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso at the opening practice session of the season in Bahrain.
Perez deployed the soft tire to set a session-best time of 1m 32.758s, almost half a second faster than the rest of the field and more than 0.6s quicker than teammate Max Verstappen in third.
Alonso’s second-place time caused the most interest, though, thanks to Aston Martin’s impressive pre-season showing and forecasts among the leading drivers that the green team could be set to join the front-runners. The two-time champion was 0.438s slower than Perez after his soft-tire run and 0.179s quicker than Verstappen.
Continue reading on RACERMartin Brundle says Max Verstappen could be the greatest driver in Formula 1 history and has likened the Dutchman to Brazilian icon Ayrton Senna.
Verstappen is preparing for his second world title defence, and claiming category honours again this season would see him draw level with Senna on three championships.
And at just 25 years old — barely older than Senna was in his first grand prix in 1984 — but in his eighth campaign, Verstappen’s powers are continuing to grow along with the improving form of his Red Bull Racing team.
There’s a lot to look out for in Formula 1’s longest ever season. With 23 races ahead of us running all the way to the end of November, the pressure on teams and drivers to maintain a high level of performance will be immense.
And it’ll be doubly hard when new challenges emerge. Will Aston Martin upset the equilibrium between the top three teams, and how might Mercedes handle falling into the midfield? How much influence can Fernando Alonso have on the podium make-up?
Lando Norris is dealing with his third teammate in four years, but for the first time in his career he’ll be the senior driver, not the up-and-coming young gun. Will that throw him off his game or make him only more ferocious?
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSLance Stroll opens up on his bike injury as the hype around Aston Martin’s potential grows.
The only way for Daniel Ricciardo to get back onto the Formula 1 grid in 2024 is to hope Sergio Perez falls on his sword, according to Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft.
Ricciardo was ousted from McLaren last season and has sought refuge at old team Red Bull Racing as a third driver for 2023 while he decides whether he has the enthusiasm to continue in F1.
The eight-time race winner had options to race in the bottom half of the field this year but said he doesn’t want to stay in the sport just to make up the numbers.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSEveryone is optimistic at the start of a Formula 1 season until the lights go out on Sunday.
F1’s 10 teams will have nowhere to hide this weekend. Unlike the gamesmanship of pre-season testing, which requires some heavy interpretation to make any sense of the times, the stopwatch won’t lie during the Bahrain Grand Prix.
But it’s not just championship points and race wins against which teams will measure success — indeed not every team is capable of winning races, and one or two might not even score points.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSAussie rising star Oscar Piastri will get just six months to prove that he belongs in Formula 1 before he risks being turfed out, according to Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle.
Piastri has enjoyed an illustrious junior career on his way to the premier class, with three successive championships, including rookie titles in Formula 3 and Formula 2.
Despite spending a year on the sidelines as an Alpine reserve driver, he remains one of the most highly anticipated rookies in recent years thanks to his sparkling CV.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSMichael Andretti is having a terrible time attempting to break back into the world of Formula 1.
Andretti, the 1991 CART champion son of 1978 F1 world champion Mario, has been trying to prise his way into the sport for more than a year but has been perpetually rebuffed.
First his attempt to buy Sauber fell flat. Then the sport offered him a lukewarm response to a request to enter as a new constructor.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSExtreme E is back for season 3! Join James Baldwin and Michael Lamonato as they bring you up to speed with the driver and team changes as well as the new sporting format for 2023.
It’s a brand-new season of Formula 1, but can Ferrari or Mercedes prevent Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen from winning the championship again?
It’s been a long 12 months in the life of Oscar Piastri.
From the highs of winning his junior titles to the purgatory of a year on the sidelines and the low of being painted as a Formula 1 villain, the 21-year-old Melburnian has borne much weight on his shoulders on the way to finally signing up with the historic McLaren team for his long-awaited F1 debut.
It means he arrives in the top tier of the sport already well seasoned by its cruel and unpredictable twists and turns — and with the reputational baggage that comes with that too.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSDespite the huge history and immense complexity of Formula 1 as a sport, sometimes it seems like nothing riles up F1 fans more than docudrama series Drive to Survive.
You either love it or loathe it. Either you binged it all on Friday night or you refuse to watch it. The drama is either a bit of fun or deeply disrespectful.
Whatever your personal taste, there’s no doubting its influence.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSAfter 16 years in Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton is used to contract speculation.
But contract years hit differently for the racing veteran these days. As the most successful driver of all time and comfortably the grid’s highest profile personality, he holds all the cards in any negotiation. His seven titles and unprecedented 103 wins have earnt him that right.
What Hamilton wants Hamilton gets. But what happens when what the Briton wants isn’t possible to obtain?
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSAfter 16 years in Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton is used to contract speculation.
But contract years hit differently for the racing veteran these days. As the most successful driver of all time and comfortably the grid’s highest profile personality, he holds all the cards in any negotiation. His seven titles and unprecedented 103 wins have earnt him that right.
What Hamilton wants Hamilton gets.
But what happens when what the Briton wants isn’t possible to obtain?
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSFor the second season in a row there’s only question worth asking in Formula 1: can anyone catch Max Verstappen?