Anyone hoping for a repeat of the unpredictable SĂŁo Paulo Grand Prix ought to reset their expectations.
With a regular grand prix weekend format at a well-manicured circuit with stable and predictable weather, Red Bull Racing was back at its best ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in both single-lap pace and during the race simulations at the end of second practice.
Max Verstappen, despite missing first practice to give rookie Liam Lawson a run, was right on the pace from the moment he jumped in the car for the twilight session, sweeping from minds the memory of Mercedesâs one-two finish in first practice â and the teamâs strong result one week ago in Brazil.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSDaniel Ricciardo will rejoin Red Bull Racing as the teamâs third driver in 2023, according to team motorsport adviser Helmut Marko.
The team hasnât formally confirmed the news, but Marko told Sky Sport Deutschland on Friday at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that the Australian would be returning to Milton Keynes in a promotional and ambassadorial role next season.
âRicciardo will be our third driver,â Marko said. âWe have so many sponsors, we have to do show runs and the like, so of course heâs one of the most high profile and best suited.â
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSThe 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix could be Daniel Ricciardoâs last race in Formula 1.
Whether or not this is his final drive is predicated on an enormous gamble with a slim chance of success.
You know the story by now. Ricciardoâs two years and McLaren have been so battering and bruising that the team will pay him not to race next year.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSThe last race of the season is finally upon us, and while we donât have the tense showdown of last year â some may say thankfully so given the aftermath â the sport arrives in Abu Dhabi with a surprising number of loose ends to tie up.
The battle for second in both championships has attracted renewed interest after the chaos of Brazil. Red Bull Racing has done its best to prevent an internal feud from forming after Max Verstappen denied Sergio Perez a chance to take the upper hand over Charles Leclerc for second place, and this weekend weâll find out the extent of the damage done last weekend.
But while Ferrari is on the attack in the drivers standings, itâs on the defensive against Mercedes in the teams championship. The German marque is on the move and Ferrari has been caught out focused on 2023. Could it really slip to third after such a dominant start to the season?
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSNico Hulkenberg will return to Formula 1 next season with the Haas team, ousting Mick Schumacher from the sport.
The 35-year-old German last raced in F1 in 2019 for Renault, and despite not racing in any category since then, he said he felt like heâd ânever really leftâ.
âIâm very happy to move into a full-time race seat with Haas F1 Team in 2023,â he said. âIâm excited to have the opportunity to do what I love the most again and want to thank Gene Haas and Guenther Steiner for their trust.
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 SPORTSA Formula 1 team comprises two drivers, but you sometimes get the sense that Red Bull Racing would do just fine with one.
For one, Max Verstappen has been so dominant this year that his points alone would be enough for third in the constructors championship, less than 100 points behind Ferrari.
But after all weâve seen from the five-time constructors championship-winning team, having just the one driver would also save it a great deal of internal turmoil and embarrassment.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSFormer McLaren driver turned Formula 1 pundit David Coulthard has called for Daniel Ricciardo reappraise some of his life choices in his year off to get back to his best before 2024.
Ricciardo has confirmed that he wonât be on the grid next year after turning down options to race in the lower reaches of the midfield following his sacking by McLaren.
The Australian is targeting a reserve-driver position for 2023, with Mercedes and Red Bull Racing believed to be in negotiation for his services.
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 SPORTSRacing drivers arenât like normal people.
When a bad case of food poisoning would be enough to keep the average person away from work and in bed for days, the same clearly doesnât occur to a Formula 1 driver, who feels compelled to ignore the calls for natural recuperation and jump back in the car.
Just ask Lando Norris, who was running as high as third in the SĂŁo Paulo Grand Prix despite having been unable to eat or drink anything for two days in Brazil.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSA front-row lockout converted into an easy one-two finish â Mercedes had the SĂŁo Paulo Grand Prix so firmly in its grasp that it felt like we were back in the mid-2020s, as though this season had never really happened.
The only difference was the scale of the celebrations, and not just in acknowledgment of George Russellâs long-awaited first victory.
It had been more than 11 months since Mercedes last won a race and more than two years since its cars finished first and second.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSItâs sometimes the case in Formula 1 that the most interesting races produce the most miserable drivers â and there was a fair bit of misery on track as the field took the chequered flag at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix
Max Verstappen was committing a minor mutiny by ignoring team orders, sending Red Bull Racing into meltdown and freeing Sergio Perez to say a bit more of what he really thinks of being teammates with the Dutchman.
Charles Leclerc was slamming his team for not allowing him past Carlos Sainz for a spot on the podium to bolster his chances of finishing runner-up in the championship.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSGeorge Russell is a winner at last in Formula 1, although the hard work is still to come on Sunday.
Russell followed Max Verstappen past pole-getter Kevin Magnussen early in the sprint to set up a private duel for first place in the 100-kilometre dash, and after biding his time, he began his siege on the lead.
Twice he tried around Verstappenâs outside at the first turn but was rebuffed.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSThey say if you want excitement on track, just add water. But sometimes just the threat of wet weather is enough.
Rain has been on the forecast all weekend, and having dampened the track before the start of qualifying, it was looming large on the radar again as the top-10 shootout got underway.
It forced teams and drivers to do their best to harmonise the radar, the conditions in the pit lane and their gut instincts to make a decision on how to approach the make-or-break first minutes of the Q3.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSDaniel Ricciardo has acknowledged he could be starting the final two races of his Formula 1 career as he prepares for year on the sidelines in 2023.
Ricciardo had his McLaren contract terminated a year early in August and has been unable to secure a competitive seat on the grid for next season.
Heâs heavily tipped to join Mercedes as a reserve driver to keep himself in the paddock ahead of an attempted 2024 return.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSThe final fortnight of Formula 1 is upon us, but thereâs no time to relax for Red Bull Racing with a couple of important achievements still in sight.
RBR has turned a shaky start to the year into a season for the ages, and while the team and Max Verstappen have already set some new benchmarks for domination, thereâs still more to achieve.
Verstappen took the overall record for most wins in a season with his 14th victory last time out in Mexico City.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSThe 2022 championship fight has been straightforward in every way its predecessor season wasnât, with the racing on track largely uncontroversial and the aggro of 2021 almost entirely absent, with only the cost cap fracas briefly disturbing the peace.
But that only rings true if you look exclusively at the battle up front.
Just behind the frontrunning pack, the battle for fourth is anything but quiet.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSIt hasnât taken long for Max Verstappenâs place in the pantheon of driving greats to be weighed up.
His second championship has put him in rare air. Heâs now won more titles than 17 of F1âs most iconic legends and is tied with legends like Fernando Alonso, Mika Häkkinen, Emerson Fittipaldi, Jim Clark, Graham Hill and Alberto Ascari.
Only 10 drivers have won more than two championships.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTS