Infighting, arrogance and a Formula One exodus - what's happening at Alpine?
Following their third double DNF of the season in Hungary, Alpine were in the headlines during Belgian Grand Prix weekend and it wasn’t for…
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Following their third double DNF of the season in Hungary, Alpine were in the headlines during Belgian Grand Prix weekend and it wasn’t for…
Night racing in Sydney has been a staple of the Supercars championship since 2018 and it never disappoints. Delivering exciting and energised racing, with…
It’s Formula One’s last hurrah before the mid-season break, and while traditionally the Belgian Grand Prix is the first race after the summer shutdown,…
Daniel Ricciardo took to the grid at the weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, completing his Formula One return after eight months away from racing and…
Amid shock news of Daniel Ricciardo’s return to racing, the Formula One world championship arrives in Budapest, the scene of one of the Aussie’s…
The summer of sports continues in England, amongst the likes of The Ashes and Wimbledon with Formula One returning to the spiritual home of…
The Supercars championship’s northern expedition continued, with the streets of Townsville playing home to the sixth round of the 2023 series and also marking…
The Red Bull Ring once again holds a Formula One Sprint weekend, as the divisive format makes a return for the Austrian Grand Prix…
In what is an idyllic winter escape, the Supercars championship ventured to the Top End of Australia for another unpredictable and exciting Darwin Triple…
Formula One returns across the Atlantic and to the North American continent in front of an adoring capacity crowd at the Canadian Grand Prix.…
Following on from the Monaco masterclass from Max Verstappen, the Formula One world championship arrives for the 33rd running of the Spanish Grand Prix…
After the cancellation of the last round in Imola due to the devastating floods in the Emilia Romagna region, Formula One is back and…
From the abrasive, tyre hungry track surface of Wanneroo Raceway out west to the cold and short Symmons Plains, the Supercars circus continues to…
Fernando Alonso is currently enjoying his best start to a Formula One season since 2013 and in fact scoring more points in the first…
Formula One debuted much hyped-up and fresh changes to its Sprint format ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which served as the first of…
It was very much the wild-west for the Supercars championship as the series travelled to Western Australia for the Perth SuperSprint as the third…
The 2023 Australian Grand Prix was a massive success of an event, attracting a record 444,631 people across a blockbuster four days, though the…
From the narrow streets of Newcastle to the fast and flowing bends of Albert Park, it was a sight to see the Supercars championship…
Formula One returns to Australian shores once again, with plenty of excitement and intrigue following the first two rounds of the championship. Be sure…
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri look to have a huge challenge in from of them at Albert Park.
I cracked up at someone suggesting the paint was bought off Temu 😂
Liking your prediction there Stuart, finally are we going to see Lando claim a win?
'Welcome back': Reliving the last Chinese Grand Prix ahead of its much-anticipated return five years later
Thanks Blink and for sure, we get our traditional GP qualifying on a Saturday afternoon and not forget about the results as was the case with last year’s format.
The lack of data with these new tyres, the new cars themselves and the old surface (which apparently has been painted over to make it look like fresh tarmac) will make for some interesting racing and strategy calls.
And as for Antonelli, given that Mercedes won’t really be a title challenger next year either based off where they’re currently at – it might not be such a huge risk after all to put him in. But it is dependent on his F2 results for sure.
'Welcome back': Reliving the last Chinese Grand Prix ahead of its much-anticipated return five years later
Taking that odd development path in 2022 and then failing to grasp that it perhaps isn’t the path to success in the ground-effect era when they committed to it again in 2023, certainly hasn’t helped Mercedes’ cause.
'We need to continue to push hard': McLaren's 12-month progress shows gains can be made in a cost cap era
Well up until this year, all I’ve had from both sides whenever talking about Ferrari drivers, is Leclerc, Leclerc, Leclerc. Even after the win in Singapore last year, more was made about Leclerc when he found comfortability in the SF-23 than what Sainz was getting out of it. I was absolutely gutted that Sainz left McLaren, but understood the lure of Ferrari made for a better proposition. Still, it was an awesome partnership between he and Lando.
And yeah, Audi with Andreas Seidl and James Key; who he’s already worked with at McLaren has the makings of being great. But wherever he goes, my wish is to see him as the spearhead because (as you say) he’s more than capable demonstrating that in a car that isn’t.
Carlos Sainz may not be underrated any longer but he does deserve a seat worthy of his talent
Also easy to follow for anyone not fully into the sport.
Supercars Melbourne SuperSprint talking points: Clinical Red Bulls, Fords implode and short races praised
As much as Logan cops it for his performances, he’s a consummate professional for still turning up for the rest of the weekend to do the Melbourne Walk and other event activations. It was a bit poor though, not have him included on the driver’s parade.
How to destroy a driver's self-belief: Williams' Melbourne car swap could affect Logan Sargeant's overall confidence
It’s poor of Williams to not have a spare chassis yes, but it is due to the bizarre set of circumstances and the risk that they took has ultimately backfired. Yes, the Excel spreadsheets can be attributed to this.
Because James Vowles, Pat Fry and co decided over the off-season to tear apart the Williams F1 procedures manual and start from scratch – they’ve all been stretched to the point where in order to upgrade/improve a process for the future – they had to compromise on dedicating resources to build that third chassis for the opening handful of rounds. Vowles himself acknowledged that in Melbourne and wasn’t certainly hiding from his own deciding making and took full accountability.
As much as it sucks for Logan and its unheard of in modern F1 of drivers having to give up their cars for their teammate – it all comes back to the that fact Williams have long been in a hole and somebody has finally come along to burst their way out of it. Even if it means ruffling some feathers along the way.
How to destroy a driver's self-belief: Williams' Melbourne car swap could affect Logan Sargeant's overall confidence
Yuki Tsunoda looked pretty handy in the first session, I’d say he’ll get points and outshine Ricciardo. And, hoping for a good weekend for Logan too.
Australian F1 Grand Prix full schedule: Albert Park, Melbourne 2024
And live blog coverage here on The Roar come Sunday from yours truly 😁
Australian F1 Grand Prix full schedule: Albert Park, Melbourne 2024
Stuart, you are spot on.
Let’s cast our minds back to 2014 or thereabouts, when it was prophesied about this Dutch whiz kid would one day. Who’d have thought almost a decade on, that said prophecy would’ve been fulfilled as it is?
So many drivers are talked about in high regard, but so few then achieve what Max has and his individual talent cannot be discounted. So when you say it’s an insult to say it’s all because of the car – you are correct.
We are living in the Max Verstappen era, but also as Sebastian Vettel once wisely said, ‘nothing lasts forever’.
Don't tell me F1 is boring... Yes, we've seen Hamilton dominate, but this time it's simply Verstappen greatness
What I loved though was seeing F1 Academy do its first race of the season in Saudi and on International Women’s day too.
F1's state of disrepute a much-needed wake-up call to the powers that be
Might need a race like last year to see the Aussies in with a chance of better results!
For the first time in a decade, two Aussies headline the Australian Grand Prix - can either of them capture an elusive podium?
Yep, Ricciardo in the press conference was pretty much like if we have a repeat of last year’s race then they’ll do well. Oscar said realistically top five is what they are expecting.
For the first time in a decade, two Aussies headline the Australian Grand Prix - can either of them capture an elusive podium?
Throughout last year, I couldn’t help but compare the sort of season Verstappen was having to Marquez’s mighty 2019 where he scored 420 out of Honda’s 426 team championship points and outscored second placed Dovizioso by 6-race wins worth of points. His teammate that year? Lorenzo who by no means a slouch, couldn’t even crack the top ten on that Honda.
It's Verstappen versus the world after Bahrain deja vu... but don't press the panic button just yet
🤢 🤢 🤢
Is my reaction to the proposed Mario Kart circuit.
It's Verstappen versus the world after Bahrain deja vu... but don't press the panic button just yet
It is crazy to think the lengths that drivers would go to in that era, in pursuit of the maximum. We can only be grateful that those limits can be explored today without the constant threat of fatality or even serious injury.
It's Verstappen versus the world after Bahrain deja vu... but don't press the panic button just yet
For sure Sarah, you summed it up spot on about Verstappen and the RB20. So amongst the dominance, we have to recognise the perfect harmony between driver and car – which in this case too sees the organic element being that difference to maximise the performance.
It's Verstappen versus the world after Bahrain deja vu... but don't press the panic button just yet
Great stuff James, I think it is nice to have the conversation of comparison from time-to-time. I recall in 2015 I wrote here about MotoGP having more entertainment and better racing than F1 at that point – only to get lambasted for making the inference and advise not to watch F1 then.
While NASCAR isn’t quite my cup of tea for the time being and I’ll admit to not being any sort of expert, I certainly have grown to respect it as an overall product a lot more. The Netflix series they did about the Playoffs was great and didn’t shy away from showcasing the drivers in a way that they’re all ruthless and will demonstrate it on track and off it. Just shows how simplicity sometimes is best and much can be learned from it.
With F1 however, my perennial hope is that it delivers on the raceability pillar that Ross Brawn and co sold us with their vison for the ground-effect technical regulations. I do believe the cost cap is a good thing for the sport – it’s just the teams currently chasing Red Bull seem to want to kick stones around and drum up negativity about it, rather than trying to utilise/maximise their resources in such optimal way. If McLaren and Aston Martin can make exponential leaps to join the top teams, then surely they along with Mercedes and Ferrari all make that final step towards being on par with Red Bull.
'Would you rather watch the same guy win?' Settling the great F1 vs NASCAR debate
And even RB makes you think of Red Bull. One of the worst branding exercises in F1 history!
F1 2024 Preview: An endurance test for drivers as the season is set to go boldly longer and further than ever before
I love how neither of us could escape Sergio Perez being our bold prediction, though great we are predicting differently 😂
F1 season predictions: Young gun for Mercedes seat, Ricciardo's redemption arc, surprise Aus GP winner
Thank you Blink!
I hope that there’s a lesson to be learnt from this investigation into Christian Horner and a warning to be heeded, in that the sort of behaviour he was accused of (and subsequently cleared of) is unacceptable in the workplace. I still feel furious over how the Team Principals were coercively lobbying the then Race Director at the end of the 2021 title fight.
Regardless of whether you’re working the Maccas assembly line or running a multi-million dollar sports franchise – a healthy and positive workplace culture is crucial. I don’t buy into the ‘pressure cooker’ or ‘ruthless’ business means you have to behave like an animal. Hopefully James Vowles’ fresh take on leadership will prove me right there.
F1 2024 Preview: An endurance test for drivers as the season is set to go boldly longer and further than ever before
😂 😢
Bathurst 500 talking points: Supercars season off with a bang, but Kostecki saga overshadows it
Prime real estate! While I was there for the 12 Hour I saw a sign advertising a couple of villas past Forrest’s Elbow and thought, how nice would it be to have a house there.
Bathurst 500 talking points: Supercars season off with a bang, but Kostecki saga overshadows it
Re the Melbourne sprint races; yeah given how incident prone they can be at that track, I’d be surprised if we had much green flag racing to keep anyone hooked.
In terms of the time between rounds; this is bone I’ve had with Supercars for a long time. The breaks between rounds is way too long to keep even a rusted on follower from losing interest in the championship – particularly when you’ve got both footy codes on in the winter every weekend. NASCAR do how many rounds per season? And they transport their freight by road too? 12 rounds (while grateful during the pandemic they could meet that minimum) stretched across from February to the end of November is not good enough for a ‘premier’ national touring car series.
Bathurst 500 talking points: Supercars season off with a bang, but Kostecki saga overshadows it
No pit-stops either might mean Sauber do well! Especially with Zhou starting in the top ten.
'Welcome back': Reliving the last Chinese Grand Prix ahead of its much-anticipated return five years later