Automotors

Can Verstappen challenge McLaren again?Max Verstappen made the difference in a race he shouldn’t have won given the pure pace of the McLaren. But the weekend at Suzuka was atypical in many ways. Most of it was down to qualifying, and that’s where Verstappen shone with a special pole lap.The Bahrain weekend is different for a number of reasons. The abrasive tarmac at Sakhir makes tyre …Keep reading

Everything appeared crystal clear regarding the 2025 MotoGP championship… until lapnine of the Grand Prix of the Americas.It had seemed like the script was written in Marc Marquez’s favour: brother Alex would challenge but not quite have the pace, while Francesco Bagnaia would be thereabouts but ultimately fall short.Then, on that fateful lap at COTA, Marc went down. Bagnaia managed to …Keep reading

Seldom has it been more important in Formula 1 to seize the moment. While the first three grands prix of the season have been at outlier venues which have relatively little in common with most circuits on the calendar, all of them have been won from pole position.A small sample size, granted, but a consensus is forming among the teams and drivers that ‘dirty air’ – the problem the …Keep reading

The 2025 Japanese Grand Prix wasn’t a thriller. But to say it was boring would do an injustice not only to the race itself, but to one of the greatest performances by one of the greatest drivers in F1 history.It wasn’t a race F1 would win new fans with. Surely, for someone who happened to turn on the TV (is that still a thing?) early Sunday morning in Europe, or very late on Saturday night …Keep reading

Organisers have revealed the route for Paraguay’s inaugural World Rally Championship round later this year.The South American nation is set to make its WRC debut this year as it hosts round 10 of the 2025 season on 28-31 August on an expanded 14-round 2025 calendar, after signing a multi-year agreement.A burgeoning local rally scene that has helped produce established WRC2 and Junior WRC …Keep reading

The South African government is nearing a decision on which bid to support as it aims to bring Formula 1 back to the country. Organisers behind Cape Town’s bid have detailed the latest changes to their street race proposal.Earlier bids to revive the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami have failed, but the country’s government has promised a new push to bring the series back to the African …Keep reading

Billionaires are demanding, impatient creatures. In Aston Martin’s previous incarnations, continuity of personnel was a hallmark even as owners came and went; under Lawrence Stroll’s ownership… well, it was probably a mistake not to install a revolving door in the team’s lavish new technical ‘campus’.Since rebranding into British Racing Green, the cars have continued to toil and …Keep reading

Frederik Vesti will take part in opening practice with Mercedes at Formula 1’s Bahrain Grand Prix, driving George Russell’s W16.A Formula Regional European champion in 2019 and Formula 2 runner-up in 2023, Vesti has been on Mercedes’ books since 2021, currently acting as the team’s reserve driver alongside Valtteri Bottas – on top of his racing commitments in the IMSA SportsCar …Keep reading

The factory Aprilia team has confirmed that MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin will return from injury at this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix.Martin, who has missed the first three weekends of the year following a pre-season Supermoto training accident, had already expressed his desire to return to action in Doha when he visited the paddock at the Americas GP last weekend. Now his comeback has …Keep reading

It’s often said that Max Verstappen needs a strong team-mate to back him up during the races. With McLaren having two drivers capable of fighting at the front, they should be able to simply outsmart Red Bull and its leader with strategy.But that’s just theory. In practice, it doesn’t always work, as the Japanese GP proved: despite the pace advantage, Verstappen managed to hold on to his lead …Keep reading