Michael May, F1 driver

Red Bull is pretty open that it needs to quickly turn around the performance of its RB20 if it is not going to lose both Formula 1 championships this year.But saying what it wants is one thing, doing it is another – especially because it does not yet have a clear explanation on what has gone wrong.We can forget wild conspiracy theories about the FIA asking for devices to be removed from its car ...

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Ferrari believes Charles Leclerc being undercut by Lando Norris boosted his chances to take a momentous home win for the team at the Italian Grand Prix.Following an on-the-edge lap-one pass by team-mate Oscar Piastri, polesitter Norris lost enough momentum to cede second place to Leclerc, who then split the McLarens during the opening stint.On lap 15 Norris was the first of the frontrunners to ...

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Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache has conceded that the team may have hit the ceiling with the development of its F1 car, though suggested the overall limit of the regulations has not been reached.The Milton Keynes-based outfit has established itself as the benchmark in the latest technical era, with Max Verstappen winning almost three-quarters of the races in that time.But rivals McLaren ...

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RB CEO Peter Bayer says his Formula 1 team has evidence its Barcelona upgrades are working, but may be "fooling" it regarding the sweet spot of its car set-up.RB brought a raft of upgrades to the VCARB01 at last weekend Spanish Grand Prix, including an updated floor, a new rear wing and a re-designed engine cover.But instead of continuing on their points-scoring run, Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel ...

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Perez damage bill up to three million euros, warns MarkoRed Bull advisor Helmut Marko reckons Sergio Perez's massive Lap 1 crash could cost the team up to three million euros.Perez hit the wall hard on the run up the hill towards Massenet after contact with Haas driver Kevin Magnussen.The Mexican was tagged by Magnussen on the right-hand side and hit the barriers sideways with the left-hand side ...

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McLaren's cars have recently excelled in high-speed corners but have not been as strong as its main opposition in the low-speed stuff.Although the characteristics of the MCL38 have slightly changed with its latest upgrade – which has improved its performance in slower corners - the team is not yet a match for Red Bull in this area.With Monaco being the slowest circuit on the F1 calendar, on ...

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But as paddock whispers emerged in Monaco that the Spaniard is in talks with the Grove-based squad, a deeper analysis of what the team can offer shows it might not be such a crazy option for him.Of course, as a driver at the top of his game who has shown he can fight on equal terms with the very best, Sainz’s preference is obviously be to keep himself in a race-winning seat for 2025.But with Red ...

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Aston's major Imola update, which included a floor redesign, a front wing and diffuser, was shaken down by Fernando Alonso in FP1 before Lance Stroll also received the parts from FP2 onwards.However, on a weekend where rival teams also wheeled out new parts or further dialled in those from Miami, Aston's upgrades may have delivered absolute performance but not relative competitiveness.Alonso's ...

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Verstappen has turned F1 into a one-man show over recent seasons, as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz is the only other driver to have won a race since last year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.And despite rivals throwing everything they can at trying to close down Red Bull’s advantage, the world champion squad is still clearly in a class of its own at the front.It means that with Verstappen in the form of ...

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The Thai driver and team-mate Logan Sargeant have faced a challenging start to the season with Williams having been without a spare chassis and not being flush with replacement parts.With Sargeant having been forced to sit out the Australian Grand Prix because of the need for his team-mate to take his car, and the American crashing in opening practice in Japan, things were not helped much in the ...

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Ferrari has been Red Bull's closest challenger so far, and Sainz is the only driver other than Max Verstappen to have won this year with his triumph in the Australian Grand Prix.Red Bull's performance in Japan last weekend, where Verstappen led home a dominant 1-2 ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez, has left few in any doubt that the Milton Keynes-based squad is clear favourite for the titles again ...

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The Sauber squad has arrived at Suzuka for this weekend’s 2024 Japanese GP after pitstop issues blighted each of its showings in the opening three rounds of the new season.The problem concerns wheelnuts getting crossthreaded during changes, which meant the team made adjustments to its procedures for the Melbourne round last time out.But a reoccurrence of the problem at Bottas’s first stop ...

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The saga surrounding Christian Horner and his future as team principal at Red Bull has dominated the agenda and grabbed front pages around the world.As the multiple layers of a very complicated story continue to be unwrapped, every time it appears that things are ready to calm down they erupt again.Perhaps the biggest bombshell came after the Bahrain Grand Prix when Jos Verstappen launched a ...

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While a raft of in-season upgrades delivered an impressive ramping up of McLaren’s form throughout 2023, the team started pondering towards the end of the year whether the changes had also introduced nasty characteristics that made the car less settled on the edge. This was especially highlighted in the final races of the year when the car’s unpredictable nature prompted Lando Norris to make ...

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There was no shortage of headlines to result from a 23-race Formula 1 calendar in 2023, MotoGP's addition of sprint races at every round and the influx of manufacturers arriving into the World Endurance Championship's Hypercar class.Our team of writers scouring the paddocks of international and national motorsport series has diligently covered 24-hour races and border-crossing rallies, showpiece ...

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Ever since the Italian Grand Prix last month, the FIA has been refining its approach to the inherent difficulties of slow cars in qualifying causing problems for cars on quick laps.In the past, the only demand placed on drivers was for them to maintain a minimum speed on their lap back to the pits after putting in a hot lap – as this prevented them from dawdling and causing trouble for ...

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The two-day test is the latest step in Pirelli’s programme of no-blanket slick running, although it is set to be compromised by rain.Pirelli’s hope was to introduce the new tyres in 2024, but at last Friday’s F1 Commission it was agreed to postpone the move to remove blankets, and then have another look for 2025.The decision came too late for Pirelli to change its run plan for Spa, and thus ...

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The first and second stages of a three-step upgrade to change “pretty much every single aerodynamic part on the car” appears to have turned around McLaren’s poor start to the season.Since the first updates arrived in Austria, Lando Norris has qualified inside the top four for the three GPs and finished runner-up to Max Verstappen at Silverstone and last weekend at the Hungaroring.But team ...

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At the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix a Porsche pace car intervened for the first time after a collision between Francois Cevert and Jody Scheckter.
The FIA's 50-year safety car anniversary is somewhat misleading, however, as further appearances were few and far between. The safety car as we know it has only been a regular fixture since the 1993 season.
One man has been at the wheel for 24 of ...

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The seven-time world champion endured a difficult opening day of practice at Barcelona, as Mercedes had its first proper run on a regular circuit of new upgrades following their introduction in Monaco.
Hamilton ended second practice 11th fastest overall, 0.642 seconds adrift of pace setter Max Verstappen, with team-mate George Russell less than two-tenths quicker in eighth.
But with the ...

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While some love the way that the series is trying to open its doors for new followers, others are not so happy with the direction. They feel that there is a danger the championship’s chiefs are ignoring the quality of the racing that is critical to keeping the hardcore fan interested.
But while consensus on that front may not be reached for a while, there is one thing that has become crystal ...

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Of course, it’s the FIA’s F1 safety car driver Bernd Maylander. The 51-year-old from Waiblingen, in the southwest of Germany, has the ice-cold veins required to keep F1’s racers in check when things go off the rails.
Maylander is in his 24th season of driving the safety car and has only missed a couple of races since his debut in 2000 – including Monaco in 2001, after he fractured his ...

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Had he converted it into victory, the Italian’s career might have taken a different direction – but not only did he lose the lead to a brief fit of road rage, he ended the afternoon in the wall, as he so often did.
Instead that race morphed into a memorable first comeback victory for Niki Lauda, by a stroke of fate the man who had replaced de Cesaris at McLaren.
The win vindicated the ...

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Verstappen had dominated most of the proceedings despite losing the initial lead from pole to Mercedes' George Russell and Hamilton, before a first red flag caused by Alex Albon crashing out solo and putting debris and gravel across the road.
At the second standing start Hamilton maintained his lead, but as soon as the DRS overtaking aid was reactivated, Verstappen blasted by into a lead he ...

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Red Bull holds exploratory talks with McLaren over engine supply
On Friday, Red Bull chief Christian Horner confirmed reports that McLaren CEO Zak Brown had visited Red Bull Powertrains to explore a potential engine supply deal from 2026.
Horner said it was "natural we would speak with potential customers" as McLaren ponders whether to stay with current supplier Mercedes or find an ...

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