Race Weekend Central

F1 Midweek: Where Are the Chinese Drivers?

2021 Italy F2 Theo Pourchaire Guanyu Zhou Christian Lundgaard podium Florent Gooden DPPI Alfa Romeo Racing

(Photo: Florent Gooden/DPPI via Alfa Romeo Racing)

With his deal to drive for Alfa Romeo in 2022, Shanghai’s Guanyu Zhou became the first full-time Chinese driver in Formula 1 when it was announced on Nov. 15. Zhou, currently in his third season of Formula 2, has four wins to his name and is a championship contender for 2021. He also won the …

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F1 Midweek: Which Could Be the Next Country Represented for the First Time?

Zhou Alfa Romeo

Guanyu Zhou will drive for Alfa Romeo in 2022 (credit: Alfa Romeo media)

Guanyu Zhou became the very first Formula 1 driver from China when Alfa Romeo announced that he would be driving for the team in 2022.  The move signals a shift that has been occurring in F1 over recent years as more countries are represented on the grid.  Alex Albon became the first driver with Thai …

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F1 Midweek: Who Could Play Spoiler at the Brazilian Grand Prix?

Pierre Gasly

Pierre Gasly at the Italian GP (Photo: Miguel Medina/Getty Images)

With the Sao Paulo Grand Prix set to end a three-race stint for Formula 1 in the Americas, many pundits have been predicting that this race could lead to another incident between championship rivals Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. The two have already come together notably at Silverstone and Monza but they doing their best …

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F1 Midweek: Max Verstappen, Miami, Mexico Momentum

2021 Circuit of the Americas Formula 1 Max Verstappen woohoo Peter fox Getty Red Bull

(Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images via Red Bull Content Pool)

Do you smell it? The fresh air? Fresh air. That is what the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship has been for longtime followers of the sport. While Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel have thrown their fair share of effort at Lewis Hamilton through the hybrid era (2014-present), 2021 marks Hamilton’s most serious title fight yet, …

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F1 Midweek: F1 Celebrates Stellar Return to the U.S.

F1 made a triumphant return to the U.S. in October 2021 with the U.S. Grand Prix. (Photo: Getty Images)

AUSTIN, TEXAS - OCTOBER 24: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Red Bull Racing RB16B Honda 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 //

This past weekend (Oct. 23-24), Formula 1 made its return to the U.S. F1 visited Texas and the Circuit of the Americas for the first time since 2019. Max Verstappen won the 2021 United States Grand Prix in thrilling fashion, holding off Lewis Hamilton over the final six laps, who had closed the gap from …

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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 Midweek: 3 IndyCar Drivers That Could Succeed in F1

Alex Palou celebrates winning the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series championship

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)

While it’s possible the Guanyu Zhou blew his chance at F1 for reasons unknown, Michael Andretti did not. Andretti, an NTT IndyCar Series owner, has bought an 80% stake in ALFA-Romeo Racing ORLEN’s parent company Sauber. This means that a new name is being tossed around for the final seat in 2022 F1: Colton Herta. …

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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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A Look Back at Nikita Mazepin’s 2021 Season

Nikita Mazepin races his teammate in the Grand Prix of Bahrain. (Photo: Haas Media)

Haas may struggle with Nikita Mazepin (credit: Haas media)

At the beginning of the 2021 season, Nikita Mazepin was looked at as the laughing stock of Formula 1. Although pay drivers aren’t uncommon, (see: Lance Stroll, Nicholas Latifi and pretty much the whole Formula 2 grid) the Russian rookie made headlines that rippled through the F1 world. Both his dangerous driving in F2 and …

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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 Midweek: Is Alex Albon the Right Choice for Williams?

Alex Albon (Photo: FIA Images)

(credit: FIA images)

In what seems like a weird turn of events, Alex Albon has been signed to drive alongside Nicholas Latifi in the 2022 F1 season for Williams. Red Bull and Mercedes have been rivals ever since 2013, and seeing a Red Bull reserve driver join the ranks of a Mercedes affiliated team seems a bit like …

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