Race Weekend Central

F1 Midweek: The Quiet Storyline from Singapore – Alex Albon

Alex Albon (Photo: FIA Images)

(credit: FIA images)

Check the headlines for Formula 1 and they tend to center on three main stories. The first ledes deal with Ferrari’s one-two performance, taking the win and the second place on the podium, a feat they had struggled to execute in the last, um, like nine years or something. (Not that bad, really, as their …

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F1 Midweek: The Singapore Grand Prix, the Revolution That Wasn’t

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(Photo: FIA Images)

This weekend highlights one of the more strikingly innovative races on the Formula 1 calendar. Announced in 2007 and developed over a year’s span, the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix ran in 2008. It marked dual firsts in being the first street circuit in Asia but more significantly was the first and only night race in …

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F1 Midweek: Ferrari & Sebastian Vettel in a Difficult Marriage

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Sebastian Vettel is falling behind his teammate (credit: FIA media)

The race this past Sunday looks to be the sign of change at Ferrari. At its home track for the Italian Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc put his car on pole then titillated and frustrated Lewis Hamilton with a battle for first for nearly half the race before driving away with the win. That’s a pretty …

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Charles Leclerc Gives the Tifosi a Reason to Rejoice at Italy

Charles Leclerc salutes the crowd in Monza.

Charles Leclerc salutes the Monza crowd (Photo: FIA Images)

Formula 1’s Italian Grand Prix gave a little bit of everything on Sunday (Sept 8).  The main thing that it offered was a battle at the front, which is something that has rarely been seen.  First, Charles Leclerc fended off Lewis Hamilton for nearly two-thirds of the race, and then when Hamilton’s tires had given …

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Charles Leclerc Continues His Torrid Pace Through Confusing Italian Grand Prix Qualifying

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(Credit: FIA)

Qualifying for Formula 1’s Italian Grand Prix turned out to be one of the more peculiar in more recent memory.  When things don’t go as usually expected, the weather tends to feature in the narrative. Sometimes the culprit could be the tires.  Then, in a few exceptions, the track itself provides an added element of …

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F1 Midweek: Alex Albon Moving Up to Red Bull Brings Intrigue

Alex Albon (Photo: FIA Images)

(credit: FIA images)

As Formula 1 begins its month-long summer break, the news that has rippled through the tranquil waters came in the form of Red Bull making a driver change. Pierre Gasly has been demoted to Toro Rosso beginning with the next race, the Belgian Grand Prix on September 1. The driver taking Gasly’s seat will be …

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F1 Midweek: The F1 Season Needed the German GP but It Wasn’t a Classic

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Valtteri Bottas bowing out of the German GP was a surprise (credit: FIA Images)

This past week’s Formula 1 race, taking place in Hockeheim, Germany, gave the season one of its most unpredictable and brightest moments of the year. The German Grand Prix was supposed to be a homecoming celebration for Mercedes, a chance for them to display their dominance in front of their home crowd and to further …

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F1 Midweek: Refueling, Daniel Ricciardo Highlight the Week’s Storylines

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(Photo: FIA Media)

Refueling One of the more intriguing things being floated about in the paddock is the return of refueling during races.  The sport eliminated refueling as part of the in-race element beginning with the 2010 season in a move predicated on safety.   The move came on the heels of a number of petrol related incidents in …

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F1 Midweek: Haas F1’s Disastrous Season

Haas F1

Little has gone right for Romain Grosjean and Haas F1 this year (credit: FIA media)

This past Sunday brought a fair amount of drama from Silverstone as Lewis Hamilton earned his sixth British Grand Prix victory and Sebastian Vettel continued his tour de force implosion when he rear-ended Max Verstappen and took himself out of the points. The battles from the third position through 14th gave glimpses of wonderful competition …

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F1 Midweek: Red Bull/Honda Pairing Produces Promise

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The Red Bull - Honda pairing looks like it is starting to pay off (credit: FIA Images)

Lost amid the asininity in declaring the winner of Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix this past Sunday was the fact that the race produced a rare change in the pecking order for powerplants. With the win, Max Verstappen gave Honda its first moment in the spotlight, atop the podium, since the Bronze Age. Or something …

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F1: Charles Leclerc Takes Second Pole in Austrian GP Qualifying

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(Credit: FIA)

In what seems to be an upset but should not be, Charles Leclerc drove his Ferrari to pole position on Saturday (June 29) at the Red Bull Ring. This kind of result is exactly what Ferrari and their fans have been expecting all season as the cars have been fast but unable to put things …

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