Alpine has announced Aussie rising star Jack Doohan will be the team’s official reserve driver for the 2023 Formula 1 campaign at the French marque’s season launch in London.
Doohan, 20 years old, will combine his F1 duties with a second full-time campaign in Formula 2 with Virtuosi Racing, which powered him to three wins and sixth in the drivers championship last season.
The Gold Coast native wasn’t on hand at the launch of the 2023 car due to Formula 2 testing obligations in Bahrain overnight.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSThe Silver Arrows are back in black for 2023.
Mercedes pulled the covers off its 2023 challenger, the W14, in a slick but understated online launch this week to reveal it was returning to the darker hues of its 2020–21 cars.
But the decision was about more than just style. As is increasingly the trend in Formula 1, much of the car is unpainted carbon fibre in a desperate measure to reach the minimum weight. The opportunity for a livery redux was just a bonus.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSLewis Hamilton says he will continue to speak his mind during the 2023 Formula 1 season in defiance of an FIA ban on political speech in motorsport.
Late last year the FIA inserted a clause into the International Sporting Code, world motorsport’s fundamental governance document, that bans drivers from making “political, religious and personal statements” without prior written approval.
Punishments for breaking the code range from a simple warning to the suspension of a competition licence and a maximum fine of €250,000 ($387,000).
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSOscar Piastri says he’s under more pressure from his glittering junior career than his messy 2022 split with Alpine as he prepares to make his long-awaited Formula 1 debut next month.
Piastri’s crumbling relationship with Alpine was one of last year’s major storylines despite the Aussie rising star spending the season on the sidelines as a reserve driver.
The Melburnian and his manager, nine-time grand prix winner Mark Webber, had grown frustrated with the French team’s lack of urgency in drawing up a new contract securing him a place on the 2023 grid.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSIn a preseason of so far underwhelming or even downright misleading car launches, Ferrari’s spectacular debut of its 2023 title challenger was a breath of the kind of fresh air you can only get in central Italy.
Into the temporary grandstand at the team’s famous Fiorano test track packed 500 famously passionate tifosi, allowed to gather in person for a launch for the first time in three years.
In attendance were drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz and new team principal Frédéric Vasseur.
In the garage was the car the team hopes will banish the sour memories of last season and bring the championship home to Maranello, the SF-23.
In an age of launches becoming increasingly about digital renders of paint jobs and endless marketing guff from sponsor bigwigs, this was proper old-school Formula 1.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSAustralian young gun Oscar Piastri says he doesn’t expect to fall into the same trap as Daniel Ricciardo as he prepares for his Formula 1 debut with McLaren.
Piastri has replaced Ricciardo in Woking’s line-up this season after his compatriot struggled for two years to adapt to a line of difficult-to-drive cars.
Ricciardo was trounced by younger teammate Lando Norris over two gruelling campaigns as he tried in vain to change his driving style to suit his machinery.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSDaniel Ricciardo could make his first official outing as the Red Bull Racing third driver with a demonstration run around Mount Panorama at the Bathurst 12 Hour.
The endurance race announced today that Red Bull Racing will send its RB7 show car to the mountain for the 3–5 February event to “attack” the iconic circuit in a series of exhibition runs.
No driver has been named for the program, but Daniel Ricciardo would be an obvious choice.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSDrivers who make unapproved “political, religious and personal statements” could be thrown out of races or handed massive fines under a new rule written into international regulations this week.
The FIA has inserted a clause into the International Sporting Code, world motorsport’s fundamental governance document, that bans drivers from making any statement deemed non-neutral by the governing body without prior written approval.
“The general making and display of political, religious and personal statements or comments notably in violation of the general principle of neutrality promoted by the FIA under its statutes, unless previously approved in writing by the FIA for international competitions,” new regulation 12.2.1.n states.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSThree-time Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin is a “very special” talent who deserves a Formula 1 test, according to ex-F1 driver Romain Grosjean.
McLaughlin won three Supercars titles in 2018–20 before moving to the United States to join the IndyCar series with Team Penske, where he has rapidly established himself as a protagonist.
After a workmanlike debut season, the Kiwi burst from the blocks in his follow-up 2022 campaign with a first-round victory. He won two more races and collected a further four podiums in the 17-round season to finish fourth in the championship just 50 points behind title-winning Australian Will Power.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSMcLaren CEO Zak Brown says he’s been unfairly accused of mistreating Daniel Ricciardo in his team’s early split with the Australian.
Ricciardo joined McLaren on a three-year deal in 2021 as one of Formula 1’s most highly rated drivers but was sacked in August this year after 18 months of underperformance.
He will be replaced by compatriot Oscar Piastri from next season.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTS‘Round 1’ and ‘Australian Grand Prix’ just seem to go together — or they did, anyway.
For almost its entire tenure to date Melbourne has hosted the opening race of the Formula 1 season, with the motorsport world descending on Albert Park for a sunny sporting festival to kick off the battle for racing’s biggest prize.
It took a pandemic to break the tradition. The wealthier races in the Middle East have muscled in, and with pre-season testing now tending to take place in the warmer climes of Bahrain, the sport has decided it’s just easier to open proceedings in the desert rather than Down Under.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSAmerican auto giant Ford is mulling a surprise return to Formula 1 with Red Bull Racing.
According to Autosport, Ford has emerged as a candidate to partner the reigning constructors champion on its in-house power unit project for the new engine rules in 2026.
Red Bull Racing is investing in its engine-building capability in a bid to become a self-sufficient works constructor, having been reliant on customer motors for its entire 17-year history.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSRed Bull Racing has long given the vibe of a championship-winning team in exile, and at the ninth time of asking since its previous era of domination came to an end, Milton Keynes is back at the top of Formula 1.
Max Verstappen led the way there, but this was a team-driver joint effort to return to the front.
But it’s not the only partnership that found success in 2022, and most teams found reasons to be at least a little bit optimistic that they’d got the new regulatory era off to an at least decent start.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSIf you thought this year’s driver market was wild, little did you know what was coming during the off-season for the team managers.
Formula 1 has never known team principal chaos like this. In an unprecedented two weeks, four team principals left their posts with varying degrees of autonomy. And in a hectic couple of hours this week, three positions were filled in a merry-go-round highly orchestrated between the teams.
Ferrari and McLaren, the sport’s oldest and grandest teams, have new principals. Audi has positioned itself for its 2026 debut with a new CEO. Williams, for so long last among the teams, finds itself still in the hunt for new management.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSFrédéric Vasseur will replace Mattia Binotto as Ferrari team principal in 2023, the Italian team has confirmed today.
Vasseur will leave his position at the helm of Alfa Romeo at the end of the month to take up the most famous job in world motorsport.
He will reportedly be replaced by current McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl. The Alfa Romeo-branded Sauber team will become the Audi works entry in 2026.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSJost Capito is leaving his role as Williams team principal and CEO after just two years in the job.
The heritage team issued a short statement on Tuesday confirming Capito would be relieved of his duties before the start of the 2023 season.
Technical director François-Xavier Demaison, who was hired in March 2021, will also leave the team in a management clean-out ahead of the new season.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSWhen Richie Stanaway left the Supercars in 2019, he had no intention of coming back.
The then 28-year-old had come to the end of an underwhelming two-season stint in the series, having returned from Europe to Australia after plying his trade in the World Endurance Championship with Aston Martin.
His first year at Tickford was unconvincing, but his switch to Garry Rogers Motorsport, pushing out Garth Tander in the process, was even worse. The change of scenery failed to revitalise him, and despite barely having had the chance to catch his breath and settle into being back Down Under, he was out of the sport at the end of the year.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTS