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Helmut Marko believes that Daniel Ricciardo is not currently on the "level" of fellow Red Bull Formula 1 drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez . Ricciardo returned to the team as a test and reserve driver for the 2023 season, with his role also involving simulator work and commercial activities. In terms of what Ricciardo has achieved so far on the simulator, Marko has delivered a harsh verdict. Comparing him to Verstappen and Perez, Marko stated that the Australian is "not on their level", in an interview with Formul1.de as quoted by Motorsport-Total . However, Marko will not reveal exactly how large the gap is between Ricciardo and his teammates, adding: "Those are internal details." Change in Ricciardo After leaving Red Bull at the end of 2018, Ricciardo spent two seasons with Renault before his ill-fated spell with McLaren came to a premature end after the 2022 campaign. Marko feels that the eight-time race winner chan...

McLaren CEO Zak Brown says he is optimistic about the team' s future – despite their poor start to 2023. A reshuffle in the off-season saw previous Team Principal Andreas Seidl leave to be replaced by the team's Racing Director Andrea Stella. Following a poor start to 2023, Technical Director James Key was released and the team's technical structure was revised. McLaren are currently fifth in the Constructors' Championship, but only have 14 points from the first five races of 2023, with Lando Norris' sixth place in Melbourne the team's best finish of the season so far. But despite a troubled start to 2023, Brown sought to accentuate the positive, highlighting the culture change that Stella had tried to bring about, and noting that the driving partnership of Norris and Oscar Piastri was arguably the best in F1. "The energy inside the team right now is awesome," Brown told media, including TheFOXposts.Com . "You have a bad weekend...

Excuse my referring to the cancelled event by a truncated title, but the full name - Formula 1 Qatar Airways Gran Premio Del Made in Italy E Dell'Emilia Romagna 2023 – convolutes the headline. From the title it is, though, abundantly clear the event enjoys enormous support from regional politicians, thus the promoters had no choice other to cancel the race once it became clear locals were hurting massively. On Tuesday, the word was that the promoters would attempt everything to salvage the Grand Prix, including pumping out the paddock and shoring up the banks of the Fiume Santerno which flows alongside the circuit. The next day, realisation hit official suits that this 'carry on regardless' attitude suggests F1 cares not a damn about aiding locals whose houses and possessions were floating downstream, to say nothing of the fact that continuing with the Grand Prix would have diverted resources away from those most in need. Indeed, there are reports of at least eight ...

George Russell has cast doubt over Mercedes ' chances of winning in Formula 1 2023, saying the race for third "may be more exciting." Both Mercedes and Ferrari have dropped off in 2023, allowing Aston Martin to catch them up and Red Bull to sneak off, with the RB19 having claimed all five wins and four one-twos to start the season. Mercedes are bringing a huge upgrade package to this weekend's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola that they hope will begin their process of hunting Red Bull down - but one-time Grand Prix winner Russell admits it is a "shame" to see such dominance. Viewed by others: Alpine F1 Team Alpine detail 'shortcut' plans after 'amateur' blast from CEO ...

Lewis Hamilton has warned against portraying F1's current technical regulatory era in a negative light despite conceding the rules will need to evolve to prevent Red Bull's current domination of the sport. The aerodynamic structure of F1 was radically overhauled for last year in a bid to create a greater racing spectacle. Aero devices were taken away from the top surface of the cars and replaced with a focus on ground effect, theoretically allowing for closer racing with drivers able to remain in close proximity to those ahead through corners. After an encouraging first year, on-track action has failed to deliver upon promises this season with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in particular coming under fire for its lacklustre spectacle. F1 's case has not been helped by Red Bull's dominance in the first five races, with nearest challenger Fernando Alonso steering his Aston Martin home over 20 seconds behind second-placed Sergio Perez at the Miami Grand Prix and a ...

Alex Albon has revealed why he "didn't agree" with some of Williams' strategy calls during the Miami Grand Prix. The British-Thai driver was heard expressing his frustration when he was told at one stage in the race to push on his tyres. At another point in the Grand Prix, Albon believed that he should be pushing more instead of doing tyre management. Speaking after the race – which he ended in 14th place – Albon explained his reasons for telling the team that he didn't agree with these decisions. Albon on strategy calls "I think at the time I got told to manage the tyres, we weren't catching the cars in front," Albon told media, including TheFOXposts.Com . "So it was either try and not manage and try and catch the cars and overtake them, or just stay at the back. "I'd rather be aggressive and then suffer the consequences later than never try and just finish last, so that was why I think I said I don't rea...

Max Verstappen hunted down and passed Formula 1 title rival Sergio Perez in the closing laps to claim victory in the Miami Grand Prix. Verstappen started down in ninth with Perez on pole position, but both Red Bull drivers elected to start on different strategies, meaning they would converge late in the 57-lap race. The World Champion took Hards for a long opening stint, and having scythed through the traffic was leading when Perez dived for the pits on Lap 20 to get rid of the Mediums he started on. Verstappen eked the advantage out to nearly a pit-stop advantage over the Mexican as he extended his run - before finally boxing for his own set of Mediums. He would make short work of passing Perez on Lap 48, three laps after his stop and won by 5.384s. Fernando Alonso was third for Aston Martin for the fourth time in 2023, as Charles Leclerc could only manage a lowly seventh with Lewis Hamilton sixth having also followed the Verstappen strategy. Perez leads open...

Max Verstappen maintained his blistering form in third-and-final Formula 1 practice for the Miami Grand Prix. In the final session before qualifying, Verstappen continued where he left off in the second practice on Friday by topping the time sheets in Florida, holding a Health y advantage over the chasing pack - headed by Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari. A 1:27.535 was good enough for Verstappen, with title rival and teammate Sergio Perez third fastest, but half-a-second down on the World Champion. Qualifying begins at 21:00 BST, which is 16:00 local time in Miami. To read the full report from free practice three, click here. You can check out the full results from Free Practice 3 from the F1 Miami Grand Prix below: Result Free practice 3 - Miami Pos. Driver Team Time Tyre ...

George Russell overcame Mercedes Formula 1 car trouble to clock the fastest time in the opening practice session for the Miami Grand Prix. On his first lap in Florida, Russell reported a problem with his steering, which was down to the team running a development part. Russell radioed in his discomfort in turning saying it would not matter if he lost half the session while it was fixed. He returned to the track late on - and in the dying embers bolted on a set of Soft tyres to post the fastest time, a 1m30.125s, eclipsing teammate Lewis Hamilton in an encouraging practice for Mercedes. Charles Leclerc was third fastest for Ferrari - ahead of World Champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez only 11th in the sister Red Bull. Verstappen immediately fastest The World Champion, and race winner in the inaugural race 12 months ago, was quickly into his stride as he headed out with flow-vis paint and Hard tyres aboard the Red Bull RB19. Verstappen held the fastest ...

Sergio Perez is the Formula 1 master of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Not only he has now become the only driver to win in Baku more than once ('two-and-a-half times' as he pointed out with the sprint win), it was an expected win. Such was Red Bull's pace advantage over the field, it was accepted that pole-man Charles Leclerc would be quickly dispensed with and a straight fight between Perez and Max Verstappen. Yes, the Mexican was lucky with the timing of the Safety Car, everyone gets a bit here and there after all, but he also pulled out nearly three seconds over the World Champion. This was Perez's day - and now just six points behind Verstappen, the question is can he really challenge for the championship? Viewed by others: FIA Stewards issue verdict after scary Ocon pit incident review ...

Lewis Hamilton believes that the new Sprint format introduced at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix could have featured more track time. The first-ever Sprint Shootout replaced Free Practice 2 on Saturday morning, with the session deciding the grid for the Sprint later in the day. With the Shootout taking place at 12:30 local time, there was a gap in the action until the Sprint was held at 17:30 local time, and Hamilton feels that this could have allowed for an extra session. "There was four hours waiting between sessions today," Hamilton told media, including TheFOXposts.Com , after the Sprint in Baku. "I think today we could have done at least three sessions. "I don't know if that's possible." However, when asked about the tyre allocation used during the Sprint Shootout – where drivers use one set of Mediums for each of the first two Shootout sessions, followed by the Softs for the final session – Hamilton sounded a positive note. "P...

After a four-week break in proceedings, the 2023 F1 season will get back underway this weekend with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. A mixture of tight and twisty sections interspersed with more open straights at Baku City Circuit can pose a challenge for the drivers and teams, but can the weather also throw in an additional factor to consider? With thanks to our friends at WeerOnline.nl , here's the current weather forecast for the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Viewed by others: Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2023 Updated full weekend schedule for the F1 2023 Azerbaijan GP Analysis Ferrari Why Ferrari's aggressive work at Maranello could 'blunt' Red ...

Ferrari Racing Director Laurent Mekies is poised to join the AlphaTauri Formula 1 team, TheFOXposts.Com has learned from Italian sources. According to the sources, Mekies will be working alongside Team Principal Franz Tost , and it is expected to be part of a wider personnel rearrangement at the Faenza team. As part of their restructuring, AlphaTauri recently announced the signing of Lars Stegelmann, who joined as the team's Head of Commercial in March. The moves suggest that the AlphaTauri team is not for sale, and points to a commitment by Red Bull to improve the performances of their second team. TheFOXposts.Com also understands that various offers have been made to the Red Bull group to purchase AlphaTauri, including one for at least $800m which was rejected, but the restructuring points to AlphaTauri not being for sale for the foreseeable future. Speculation has been building about the future of the team, with Red Bull's Motorsport Advisor Helmut Marko...

It will be "relatively easy" for McLaren to bring their long-awaited Formula 1 upgrade package to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, despite it being a Sprint event, according to Andrea Stella. The team identified a new development path late in the design of their MCL60, opting to lower expectations for the first three races while the floor parts were developed in time for Baku. However, as the Grand Prix weekend will feature a Sprint event, there will be just one hour of practice before qualifying and cars heading into parc ferme, as opposed to the three hours on a normal race weekend. In addition, there is also a second race start to get through, with contact on the opening lap in Baku common as cars battle for position. Despite this, Stella is confident that the upgrade s will be applied seamlessly. Viewed by others: Lewis Hamilton ...

Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer is not concerned by a possible cost cap impact from the squad's dramatic exit out of the Australian Grand Prix. Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon made contact at the penultimate restart of an eventful race, resulting in both retiring from the running due to the damage sustained. When asked about the ramifications from this on the budget cap, Szafnauer voiced his confidence that the team would not be too greatly affected. "From a budget cap perspective, I think we are going to be okay, from everything I know," the Team Principal explained to media, including TheFOXposts.Com . "So I don't think there's any concerns. It will be costly so, from a money perspective, it probably would have been a lot less costly had it not happened." Preparations for Baku In terms of whether there could be an impact on the team's preparations for the next race on the calendar – the Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Szafnauer sugg...

Nelson Piquet Jr claims he was "treated like a dog" by Renault Formula 1 management in the aftermath of Crashgate - and that he did not "hinder" Felipe Massa. The events of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix have been highlighted once again recently as then-Ferrari driver Massa says he is seeking legal options about whether he has a case to get that year's World Championship standings changed to hand him the title after comments from then- F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone . Ecclestone claims that he and then FIA president Max Mosley knew about the Renault plan to have Piquet Jr crash deliberately to trigger a Safety Car - during which a Massa pitstop went disastrously wrong as he took the fuel rig with him when leaving the box. A podium turned into a pointless evening for Massa - who would ultimately lose the title to Lewis Hamilton by one point - but as RacingNews365 previously wrote, the Brazilian is best to leave the past behind. The events of Crashgate be...

Several F1 drivers have given contrasting views on the current four-week break between races. Following the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix – originally scheduled for 16 April – Formula 1 opted not to replace the event, meaning that a gap opened up between the races in Australia and Azerbaijan. Charles Leclerc is amongst those to welcome the opportunity for the team to put some extra work in, given Ferrari's difficult start to the 2023 season. "I think in the situation we are in as a team, we take this as an opportunity to work as much as possible during this break in order to get upgrades as quickly as possible and be as com Pet itive as we want the sooner in this season," Leclerc told media, including TheFOXposts.Com . "It's still a very, very long season, we've only done two races. So, we are fully motivated to get back on top. And we'll try to use these weeks in the best way possible." Mixed feelings for some Fo...