Charles Leclerc says Red Bull Racingâs RB19 is in another league compared to the rest of the grid after finishing a distant third to a dominant Sergio Perez-Max Verstappen one-two.
Leclerc started from pole position and held off both Verstappen and Perez at launch, but his defence of the lead was destined to be short-lived.
Verstappen breezed past him on lap 4 once DRS had been activated, and Perez wasnât far behind, demoting Leclerc to third on lap 6 before the Red Bull Racing drivers charged up the road to an eventual 21-second victory over the Ferrari driver.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc beat both Red Bull drivers to pole position for the second day in a row despite crashing out of the first-ever sprint shootout.
Leclerc again wielded his Ferrariâs formidable pace in the technical middle sector to set the fastest time in the new condensed qualifying session, but a snap of oversteer entering Turn 5 led to him sliding nose-first into the outside barrier, ending his session early.
Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen were presented with an open goal to snatch top spot, but neither was able to improve by enough to deprive the Monegasque of a second one-lap triumph in 24 hours.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc isnât convinced Ferrari has the pace to convert pole to victory in Sundayâs Azerbaijan Grand Prix but says the carâs unexpected turn of speed is welcome nonetheless after a difficult start to the season.
Leclerc beat title leader Max Verstappen to pole position by 0.188s after the pair had set identical times with their first runs in Q3, the difference coming in the technical middle sector of the track. It was the Monegasqueâs third consecutive pole in Baku but first of the year and first since last seasonâs Singapore Grand Prix in October.
Ferrari has endured its worst start to a Formula 1 campaign in years, having slipped well off Red Bull Racingâs pace since the end of last season, Leclerc admitted he didnât expect to be in the pole conversation this weekend.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc bested Max Verstappen to start Sundayâs Azerbaijan Grand Prix from pole position for the third year in succession.
Ferrari had looked quick all day in Baku, vying for top spot in the single hour of practice afforded to the drivers under the sprint rules and looking consistently competitive through the qualifying hour.
The scene was set for a duel between Leclerc and Verstappen, and the pair set equal times with their first laps, the Dutchman taking top spot by virtue of crossing the line first.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc has been reassured by Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur that the teamâs recovery is still on track despite racing director Laurent Mekiesâs impending departure and rumours linking him to Mercedes.
AlphaTauri announced this week that Mekies would replace Franz Tost as team principal at Faenza from next season. Itâs the third significant departure from the team in the last six months.
Former principal Mattia Binotto left at the end of last season and chassis head David Sanchez will defect to McLaren for 2024 after a period of leave. Several other personnel of lesser profiles have also reportedly left the team since the end of last yearâs campaign.
In a preseason of so far underwhelming or even downright misleading car launches, Ferrariâs 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 teamâs 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 SPORTSIf you thought this yearâs 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 sportâs 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 SPORTSMattia Binotto has resigned as team principal of Ferrari effective at the end of the year.
Ferrari has begun its search to replace its outbound manager but says it doesnât expect to confirm a new appointment until next year.
âWith the regret that this entails, I have decided to conclude my collaboration with Ferrari,â Binotto said in a statement. âI am leaving a company that I love, which I have been part of for 28 years, with the serenity that comes from the conviction that I have made every effort to achieve the objectives set.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSMattia Binotto has resigned as team principal of Ferrari effective at the end of the year.
Ferrari has begun its search to replace its outbound manager but says it doesnât expect to confirm a new appointment until next year.
âWith the regret that this entails, I have decided to conclude my collaboration with Ferrari,â Binotto said in a statement. âI am leaving a company that I love, which I have been part of for 28 years, with the serenity that comes from the conviction that I have made every effort to achieve the objectives set.”
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSSebastian Vettel has raced his final grand prix.
He leaves behind a mighty Formula 1 legacy of four world championships, 52 victories, 122 podiums and 57 pole positions â rare air any way you cut it and leaving an indelible mark on the sport.
But so much of that success has been front loaded. Itâs been close to a decade since Vettel last won a championship, and the bulk of his race wins are a long way behind him.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSThe budget cap is the story that wonât go away.
When teams arenât being accused â or accusing other â of breaking it, theyâre making a virtue about how hard theyâre working to stay underneath it.
Ferrari is the latest team to admit that theyâve felt the squeeze of the hard financial ceiling â and team boss Mattia Binotto says itâs why the team has fallen behind Red Bull Racing.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSFerrari has denied it will sack Mattia Binotto at the end of the year despite numerous reports in the Italian media that the team principal is set for the chopping block.
Both the prestigious Gazzetta dello Sport, Italyâs most widely read sports paper, and the Italian edition of Motorsport have reported Ferrari will call time on Binottoâs career after the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this weekend.
The team released a short statement overnight describing the reports as being âtotally without foundationâ.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSCarlos Sainz led Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc to the top of the time sheet in first practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Sainz, pole-getter last weekend in the USGP at Circuit of The Americas, set a best time of 1m20.707s to best Leclerc by just 0.046s in a largely trouble-free session for the works team.
The same couldnât be said for the Ferrari power unit, however, which failed in the back of Pietro Fittipaldiâs Haas car after just nine laps in a plume of smoke down the front straight.
Continue reading on RACERCarlos Sainz took his third career pole position with top spot at the United States Grand Prix.
The Spaniard dueled exclusively for pole with Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, who had taken provisional pole after the first laps, while both Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen threatened from third and fourth.
Leclerc improved with his second lap, but not enough to fend off Sainz, who bested him by 0.065s. Itâs Ferrariâs first pole at the Circuit of The Americas, but Sainz said it wasnât enough to make his team favorite for victory.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc topped an unrepresentative second practice session at the United States Grand Prix ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo.
The extended 90-minute practice session was entirely co-opted by Pirelli for an in-season tire test given the dearth of opportunities for private testing during the packed 23-race season, making the times close to opaque for comparison purposes for this weekendâs race.
However, any driver who was replaced by a reserve or rookie driver in FP1 was exempt for the first 30 minutes to undertake regular set-up work, which meant Leclerc, Bottas and Ricciardo were eligible to run regular tires before switching to tire testing.
Continue reading on RACERCarlos Sainz bested Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton for the top spot in first practice for the United States Grand Prix at Austinâs Circuit of The Americas.
The Ferrari driver was the first among the front-runners to set a time on the soft tire and immediately rocketed to top spot with a 1m36.857s in warm and blustery conditions, with the ambient temperature 86 degrees F and the circuit peaking at 104 degrees F.
Hamilton responded for Mercedes in his upgraded W13, but the Briton was almost half a second off the pace, slipping to 0.475s adrift of the benchmark.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc has taken his ninth pole position of the season after title leader Max Verstappen was forced to abort his final flying lap by the team
The qualifying hour started wet enough for intermediate tires after heavy rain earlier in the day, but ended will all 10 drivers in the pole shootout on slicks despite some standing water still on track, particularly in the final sector beneath the grandstands.
Rather than plan for two separate runs, most drivers were fueled for one long stint to build tire temperature, meaning provisional pole constantly changed hands as grip ramped up.
Continue reading on RACER