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Alpine driver Jack Doohan has said he was “caught by surprise” by his heavy crash in Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix second practice, with team boss Oliver Oakes labelling it a “misjudgement”.The rookie spun off entering the high-speed Turn 1 in the opening stages of the one-hour session, smashing heavily into the barriers. Due to the severity of the impact, Doohan was checked at the medical …Keep reading

The FIA is attempting to prevent a repeat of the grass fires that derailed the second practice outing at Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix.Friday’s session was thrown into disarray by four red flags, two for offs by Jack Doohan and Fernando Alonso and another two for grass patches lining the Suzuka track catching fire.The dry grass approaching Turn 8 first caught fire with 13 minutes …Keep reading

NASCAR’s ‘Throwback Weekend’ at Darlington has been an annual tradition since 2015, with drivers and teams taking time to honor the history of the sport at one of its most historic tracks. While not as closely followed by every team, it’s still celebrated throughout the field with several commemorative paint schemes.We compiled all of the special Cup schemes here for you in numerical order to …Keep reading

The FIA has added a new circuit map from the Japanese Grand Prix onwards in a bid to reduce the need for safety car interventions after Formula 1 drivers need to abandon their cars on track, Motorsport.com has learned.After conducting a thorough analysis of safety car deployments during the 2024 season, the FIA concluded there were a surprising amount of instances where a safety car could be …Keep reading

Lando Norris headlined the opening practice session of Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix, as Yuki Tsunoda was just a tenth behind Max Verstappen in his first official run for Red Bull.Norris overcame a series of scrappy moments earlier in the session, particularly as his aggressive approach to the Casio Triangle ended in a near spin and, later, a brief off on the gravel on the corner …Keep reading

Oscar Piastri was fastest in second practice at the Japanese Grand Prix as four red flags led to a truncated session.After Lando Norris led the way in the morning, McLaren team-mate Piastri had the upper hand later in the day as his time of 1m28.114s was 0.048s faster than Norris.Four red flags led to plenty of running time being lost, the first of which occurred following a huge accident …Keep reading

Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies insists Liam Lawson’s talent has not “disappeared” after the New Zealander was demoted back to the team following two poor outings for Red Bull.Lawson is back behind the wheel of a Racing Bull for the Japanese Grand Prix after his promotion to the senior team was cut short, with Yuki Tsunoda swapped in to take his place.While he might not …Keep reading

Sauber has been prolific with its upgrade cycle in the opening races of Formula 1’s 2025 season, and the Swiss team has aimed to show Audi “a positive trend” and simultaneously improve its processes back at base.The Hinwil team has introduced a revised floor and rear wing assembly for the Japanese Grand Prix, having previously trialled a new front wing in Australia and new sidepods in China …Keep reading

After the expectation comes the reality. Yuki Tsunoda’s first day actually driving Red Bull’s diva-ish RB21 Formula 1 machine, as opposed to piloting an ersatz version of it in a simulator, answered some questions while leaving others hanging.Very few of those matters outstanding were Tsunoda’s fault, though, owing to the second practice session being punctuated by four red-flag periods …Keep reading

McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri believe Mercedes will be their biggest opponent in this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.After winning one race apiece in Australia and China, Norris and Piastri are the favourites to win in Japan and Friday’s practice running did little to suggest otherwise – Norris topped FP1 and Piastri headed a disjointed FP2 punctuated by …Keep reading