Race Weekend Central

F1 Review: Max Verstappen Wins USGP in Commanding Fashion

F1 Grand Prix Of Usa

AUSTIN, TEXAS - OCTOBER 24: Race winner Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing celebrates on the podium with NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal during the F1 Grand Prix of USA at Circuit of The Americas on October 24, 2021 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202110250089 // Usage for editorial use only //

Red Bull and Mercedes used different strategies to give their Formula 1 drivers the best chance of winning the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday (Oct. 24). When the checkered flag waved on lap 56, Red Bull and Max Verstappen prevailed, giving him his eighth win of the year and …

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Slipstream Saturday: Mercedes Tinkering & the Colton Herta Question

Formula One COTA NASCAR 2021

Mercedes on track at COTA, 2021 United States Grand Prix, Friday (credit: LAT Images / Mercedes F1)

Formula 1 is back in the U.S.! After a hiatus brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the series has returned and brought with it the drama of a close title battle. While Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen may be stealing the spotlight, that does not mean that the lights are not shining on other parts …

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F1 Midweek: Circuit of the Americas in the Spotlight; Danica Patrick on Sky Sports?

F1 Grand Prix Of Usa, Max Verstappen

(Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

After a one-year hiatus owing to the restrictions enacted by Formula 1 regarding travel and COVID-19, the series returns to Texas for the U.S. Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. This trip is the first in the final half-dozen races of the season and the first of two in North America, with the Mexican …

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F1 Review: Steady & Smooth Valtteri Bottas Wins Wet Turkish Grand Prix

Valtteri Bottas celebrates winning the Turkish Grand Prix, drinking champagne, LAT Images

Valtteri Bottas celebrating his Turkish GP win (Photo: LAT Images via Mercedes AMG F1)

Valtteri Bottas nailed the start of the Turkish Grand Prix and then set sail on his way to claiming his 10th win in Formula 1. Bottas’ last win came at the Russian GP in 2020 and he had struggled through some poor performances in 2021, but after starting from pole, he put together a clean …

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Should NASCAR Be Following Formula 1’s Lead?

NASCAR Female Fan Nashville 2021

Female NASCAR fans, the overlooked demographic (Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

I’ve been running into some fascinating surprises over the past few months. Of course, nothing foreshadows these little moments, and, really, they seem to be tangential conversational detours. But what I’ve encountered is that many women are starting to watch Formula 1. As a usual F1 scribe, I love to hear this. Not only does …

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F1 Midweek: Tires & the Turkish Grand Prix; Underwhelming Aston Martin

Lance Stroll Feature

(Photo: Aston Martin Media)

With Formula 1 returning to action this weekend after a rest weekend, there are a number of topics to consider as the teams turn laps in Turkey. The main focus for the weekend will no doubt center on the driver’s championship and the close race between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen (246.5 points – 244.5). …

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F1 Midweek: Losing & Learning, McLaren & Lando Norris

Lando Norris, Mclaren Mcl35m Front On

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35M out front at Sochi (credit: McLaren Media)

This past Sunday (Sept. 26) at the Russian Grand Prix, Lando Norris gave away what would have been his first Formula 1 win. His mistake came when he thought he could manage his slick tires to the end of the race on an increasingly wet track. While it might be easy to chalk up his …

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F1 Review: Sir Lewis Hamilton Extends His Excellence at the Russian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton emerged victorious at the 2021 Russian Grand Prix. (Photo: Steve Etherington / Mercedes)

Lewis Hamilton celebrates at the 2021 Russian Grand Prix, Sunday - (credit:Steve Etherington, Mercedes - AMG)

Lewis Hamilton started fourth, got squeezed heading into turn 1, fell back to seventh, and then started his climb through the Russian Grand Prix field.  By lap 2, he had taken sixth but could not make the gains that would be anticipated from his Mercedes in the early stages of the race. Instead, he held …

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F1 Slipstream Saturday: Aston Martin Stays the Course, Red Bull Make Excuses and Schumacher

Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin Amr21

Action, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, GP2114a, F1, GP, Italy Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR21 (credit: Aston Martin Media)

With Formula 1 taking the weekend off before returning in Sochi, Russia, the news cycle has been somewhat quiet. That, of course, does not mean that are not a few things to check on as the sport heads off for the penultimate race at the Sochi Autodrom. Odds & Sods – Aston Martin announced that …

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F1 Midweek: Is F1 Sending a Message to Max Verstappen?

MONZA, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 11: Second place finisher Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing celebrates in parc ferme during the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Italy at Autodromo di Monza on September 11, 2021 in Monza, Italy. Lars Baron/Getty Images

(Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images via Red Bull Content Pool)

While Daniel Ricciardo celebrated by drinking the victory champagne out of his shoe at the Italian Grand Prix last weekend in Monza, Italy, the big story from the race – well, truly, the big story – is that Daniel Ricciardo won a race. A quick aside: Ricciardo’s win should not be cast aside too quickly. …

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F1 Review: Daniel Ricciardo’s Victory at the Italian Grand Prix Ends McLaren Drought

Daniel Ricciardo celebrates on the podium of the 2021 Italian Grand Prix Sept. 12.

(credit: McLaren Media)

For the second straight year, the Italian Grand Prix at Monza (Sept. 12) provided an upset winner.  Last year, Pierre Gasly benefitted from an unusual set of circumstances that placed him in second on a restart after a red flag – a position from which he jumped to the lead and then held on for …

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F1 Review: Max Verstappen Peerless in F1’s Return to the Dutch Grand Prix

F1 Grand Prix Of The Netherlands

ZANDVOORT, NETHERLANDS - SEPTEMBER 05: Race winner Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing celebrates on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of The Netherlands at Circuit Zandvoort on September 05, 2021 in Zandvoort, Netherlands. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images) // SI202109051288 // Usage for editorial use only //

By the end of the first lap, Max Verstappen had cleared Lewis Hamilton by almost two seconds and from then on, he faced no challenge in claiming the win at the Dutch Grand Prix. Formula 1 returned to Zandvoort, Netherlands for the first time since 1985 on Sunday (Sept. 5) and the scene surrounding Verstappen’s …

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