Red Bull

Although Alonso and Red Bull had a war of words over the Belgian Grand Prix weekend about alleged offers for next year, Verstappen is clear that the outfit was not interested in the Spaniard. Instead, he says that part of the attraction of future teammate Pierre Gasly was the fact that the pair have had a good working relationship in the past. “Alonso was not an option, I know that ... ...

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Although the Dutchman did not have the pace to properly fight race winner Lewis Hamilton, he was able to qualify on the front row and then a better strategy helped him finish well clear of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel. While Red Bull is well aware of the power deficit it has to its rivals, Verstappen is now convinced that on the chassis front the team is ahead. "I think we have the best car in ... ...

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Although Max Verstappen was able to start on the front row and finish runner-up in Singapore with the more powerful Spec C, the weekend was not without problems because the Dutchman was hit by mapping issues. It meant his power unit kept bogging down or dumping him into a false neutral whenever he was not at full throttle. Red Bull is hopeful that the mapping issues can be sorted out before ... ...

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Max Verstappen complained about his engine's power delivery on team radio on Friday and again in FP3. Before qualifying, the team thought it might be looking at the third row of the grid, but Verstappen earned second place, despite having to abort his second and faster run due to an engine cut-out. His teammate Daniel Ricciardo was down in sixth. "It was a fantastic lap, and unbelievable ... ...

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Buemi raced for Toro Rosso from 2009 to 2011 and is now reserve driver for both Red Bull teams in addition to his racing roles in the World Endurance Championship and Formula E. The 29-year-old has won both of those championships, as well as this year's Le Mans 24 Hours, and was in the frame for a return to F1 last year before Red Bull picked Brendon Hartley. Toro Rosso is currently short on ... ...

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During a qualifying simulation run on hypersoft tyres in the final half hour, Ricciardo lapped in 1m39.711s, not only deposing Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel from the top spot but also obliterating his own fastest time from the equivalent session last year, a 1m42.489s. Max Verstappen made it a Red Bull 1-2, and Vettel's teammate Kimi Raikkonen ended the session seven tenths off the pace in fourth ... ...

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Norris will make his grand prix debut when he partners Carlos Sainz at McLaren next season.  He was linked with Toro Rosso earlier in the year but McLaren was not keen to relinquish its protege and Red Bull did not want to sign another team’s driver on loan.  McLaren F1 team CEO Zak Brown said: “We knew he would've been snapped up by another team. “But we were ultimately always on ... ...

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McLaren announced in July that Key would be joining the team, much to the frustration of Red Bull, who insisted that he had a contract with Toro Rosso. The two parties had been talking about an early release for Key, but the announcement took Red Bull by surprise, and put a spanner in the works of the negotiations. There have been suggestions that Red Bull might be willing to do a deal that ... ...

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Red Bull had expected Ricciardo to sign a new one-year contract in the days after the Hungarian GP, but instead he called team boss Christian Horner to inform him that he was going to Renault in 2019. Belgium was the first time he had seen most of the race team since then. "I'm honestly happy to say it was really minimal, minimal awkwardness," Ricciardo said at Monza. "On Thursday for sure I ... ...

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Renault admits that the new spec comes with some reliability risks, to the extent that the works team won't use it as it tries to consolidate its fourth place in the championship. However, Red Bull and McLaren were given the option to take those risks while benefiting from increased performance. The former has decided to run it at Monza, initially in the car of Daniel Ricciardo. Abiteboul ... ...

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The build-up to this weekend’s Belgian GP has featured a bizarre tit-for-tat as Alonso said Red Bull approached him to replace Renault-bound Daniel Ricciardo’s in 2019. Alonso claims to have turned down “four or five” offers, including one from Red Bull, to stick with his decision to quit F1 at the end of this year. Red Bull insists it has not approached him since 2007. “I had ... ...

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Alonso, leaving Formula 1 at the end of 2018, said that he has had two offers from Red Bull in 2018, including one this month to replace Daniel Ricciardo. The team, however, denied that was the case. Alonso expressed his frustration at the criticism he says has been levelled at him by the Red Bull management, and claimed he had offers from the team six times. "I had a couple of offers ... ...

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Red Bull will part ways with both Ricciardo and engine partner Renault at the end of this season, the Australian moving to the works Renault team as Red Bull switches to Honda power units. Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko said recently that "nobody can keep up" with Honda's resources, despite the Japanese manufacturer having not finished higher than fourth since its return to F1 in ... ...

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A new development of the Esso Synergy fuel that ran for the first time at the Hungaroring should show better around the power track of Spa-Francorchamps, with the step forward enough to potentially make a difference in grid positions. At last year's Belgian GP, Max Verstappen missed out on a slot on the second row by just 0.110 seconds. David Tsurusaki, ExxonMobil Global Technology Manager ... ...

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Two-time world champion Alonso will stop racing in F1 at the end of the season, accusing the sport of being too predictable and dominated by the same teams. In the build-up to this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, Alonso was asked by Sky Sports F1 if he thought the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull were put off giving him a seat because hiring another top driver would cause them ... ...

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Ricciardo shocked Red Bull at the start of F1's summer break by agreeing to join Renault next season instead of signing a new deal as his current employer had expected. Red Bull motorsport advisor Marko said he did not understand the decision and thought Ricciardo would sign a new contract during the post-Hungarian Grand Prix test on the Tuesday in Budapest. Ricciardo has now explained how ... ...

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The team's RB14 car has appeared in the garages at Spa-Francorchamps with the new mirror design, which is aimed at helping improve airflow. The idea is that by effectively opening up the face of the mirror, a channel can be created through it to help better manage airflow over the rest of the car. The air can then be directed to a specific place along the sidepod area. Ordinarily the mirror ... ...

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Gasly has been chosen to replace Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull next season after the Australian's decision to leave his long-time backer to join Renault. Horner told Motorsport.com that Red Bull's willingness to back young drivers "pays off" and "without that, these guys [Vettel, Ricciardo, Verstappen] wouldn't be getting the chance". In our exclusive video, Horner explains: "The Red Bull ... ...

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Honda is preparing to supply Red Bull with F1 engines next season, after its work with the Toro Rosso junior team convinced Marko and his fellow chiefs to split from Renault. While Honda struggled when it returned to F1 in 2015 with McLaren, despite its superb development facility in Sakura, Marko believes it is now poised to unleash its potential. "With Toro Rosso everything is working ... ...

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The Frenchman is being promoted from Toro Rosso as replacement for Daniel Ricciardo, following the Australian's shock switch to Renault for 2019. Gasly headed into the summer break knowing he was under consideration for the seat, but was caught by surprise when he took a call last week from Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko informing him about the team's plans. "When Helmut started ... ...

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Gasly currently drives for Red Bull’s junior team Toro Rosso, having made his debut in last year’s Malaysian Grand Prix before being promoted to a full-time drive for this season.  He finished fourth in Bahrain, earning Honda’s best result since returning to F1 in 2015, and has since banked seventh in Monaco and sixth in Hungary to comfortably outperform teammate Brendon ... ...

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Sainz drove for Red Bull's junior team Toro Rosso for three seasons and is currently on loan at Renault, but will lose that drive because Daniel Ricciardo is quitting Red Bull to join the French manufacturer for 2019. Ricciardo's surprise decision gave Sainz a shot at Red Bull but current Toro Rosso driver Gasly quickly emerged as the favourite. When Red Bull loaned Sainz out, it retained an ... ...

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Ricciardo, who has been part of Red Bull's senior F1 team since 2014, stunned the organisation last week by sealing a surprise move to the factory Renault outfit for next year. His decision has left a coveted, top-tier F1 seat vacant, and this has led to suggestions Red Bull could offer two-time champion Alonso a route back to the sharp end of the grid – as the Spaniard has been mired in the ... ...

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Ricciardo had suggested during the post-Hungarian Grand Prix test that a fresh Red Bull contract would be sorted after his summer holiday in the United States.  He then informed the team two days later than he had signed a deal with Renault.  “Daniel said he decided after a long flight to America that he wanted a change,” said Horner on F1’s official podcast. “If you look at the ... ...

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Dennis was a Racing Steps Foundation-backed rising star who won races in European Formula 3 and GP3 before he stopped racing single-seaters at the end of 2016. He switched to GT3 racing for 2017 with Audi-backed squad WRT before joining Aston Martin’s roster of drivers this year, and the British manufacturer’s partnership with Red Bull meant Dennis became a simulator driver for the F1 team ... ...

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