Formula 1 The biggest format constraint F1 must free itself from As Formula 1 prepares to approve a major change to how its sprint race weekends work, Edd Straw urges the series to release itself from a mindset that’s still holding its format experimentation back
Formula 1 A lot is riding on Alpine’s Baku F1 upgrade plan Alpine’s looked more promising in the 2023 Formula 1 season so far than the results suggest. Will the “reasonable” upgrade it has planned for Baku get it properly into the group behind Red Bull, or will rivals’ improvements be bigger?
Formula 1 Ferrari’s frivolous case shows right of review being exploited Ferrari’s case to have Carlos Sainz’s Australian GP penalty re-examined isn’t the first time the F1 right of review has been frivolously submitted and predictably thrown out. Is it time for such action to be penalised?
Formula 1 Audi to test prototype 2026 F1 engine this year Audi will run a prototype of its 2026 Formula 1 power unit on the test bench before the end of this year
Formula 1 The peril Alfa Romeo risks with stalling F1 progress Alfa Romeo may have scored points in two of the first three races of the 2023 Formula 1 season, but its position in the pecking order is a far cry from the form it started last season in
Formula 1 What Haas being ‘back to normal’ in F1 actually means Haas has got “back to normal” this year, in the words of its Formula 1 team principal Guenther Steiner – but what does that actually mean and where does it leave Haas in F1’s pecking order?
Formula 1 F1’s rookie trio ranked so far – and where they must improve A month-long F1 calendar gap and the three-race ‘mini-season’ that preceded it gives us a good chance to assess the 2023 rookies. Which of them has made the most positive impression?
Formula 1 No ‘B car’ – so what is Ferrari’s F1 development plan? Ferrari isn’t planning to produce a “completely different” car this season – so what is its development plan for 2023 and how will that impact its 2024 direction?
Formula 1 Rise, fall, spike – F1’s unusual relationship with the red flag You may think F1’s rate of red-flagged races has been a steady climb – it hasn’t. But it sure is spiking right now
Formula 1 F1’s early-2023 mini controversy highlights a surreal contrast The early-2023 mini-controversy over Formula 1 grid boxes – including penalties for Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon – involves bafflingly low-tech policing for such a high-tech championship as Edd Straw explains
Formula 1 Norris: F1 restart critics don’t know what goes on in cars Formula 1 drivers came under fire for incidents at the final Australian GP standing restart. But Lando Norris says those complaints are from people who “don’t know what’s going on inside the car”
Formula 1 Piastri’s home race examined: More evidence McLaren got it right There was clearly good fortune in Oscar Piastri’s four-point Melbourne haul – but it was exactly the drive McLaren needs from its rookie now
Formula 1 Edd Straw’s 2023 Australian Grand Prix F1 driver rankings Max Verstappen was supreme in Formula 1’s Australian Grand Prix but Edd Straw found the weekend performance of some of the chasing drivers even more impressive
Formula 1 How Williams’s best F1 performance in two years was achieved Williams reached Q3 for the first time in the 2023 Formula 1 season in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, leading the midfield pack thanks to a performance founded on Alex Albon’s excellence and getting the best from the tricky Pirelli rubber
Formula 1 Errors, tow blunder and no rain – Leclerc’s rare qualifying blip Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc said he cannot remember the last time he felt so unhappy with his own performance in qualifying after managing only seventh on the grid for the Australian Grand Prix – but what went so wrong? Edd Straw takes an in-depth look
Formula 1 Red Bull’s weakest F1 track? Don’t be fooled by Melbourne jinx On paper Red Bull and Max Verstappen have a relatively woeful Formula 1 record at Albert Park – but don’t expect that to stay the same for long
Formula 1 FIA clarifies F1 pitstop penalty rules after Alonso controversy The FIA has issued a rules clarification clarifying what constitutes the car being “worked on” during a penalty pitstop after Fernando Alonso was hit with a 10-second penalty following the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that was later rescinded
Formula 1 Ferrari’s first hint it too may need bigger F1 concept change Carlos Sainz admits “the capacity of development’ of Ferrari’s Formula 1 car concept is lower than that of the dominant Red Bull RB19
Formula 1 If F1 wants to slash practice, drivers will back it Grand Prix drivers support Formula 1 CEO’s Stefano Domenicali’s aspiration to reduce the amount of practice sessions with nothing at stake on race weekends in future
Formula 1 F1 mustn’t target Red Bull’s dominance for sake of its integrity Three teams’ dominance of 21st century F1 – broadly speaking – reflects wider problems, but ones that are being tackled. But endlessly adjusting rules can’t be used to shortcut that; doing so would be no sporting contest at all
Formula 1 Ex-BAR boss’s plans for ‘equal gender’ F1 team entry Former BAR Formula 1 team boss Craig Pollock has revealed a project to create a “gender-equal team” that is bidding to join the grid as part of the ongoing new-teams process.
Formula 1 Where Hamilton’s currently losing out to Russell Lewis Hamilton is ahead of Mercedes F1 team-mate George Russell after two races, but that’s not indicative of how comfortable the two have been – certainly not in Jeddah. There’s one limitation in particular that Russell appears to be dealing with better
Formula 1 Sainz rebounded from his F1 nadir – but now faces a new problem Carlos Sainz’s 2023 Formula 1 season hasn’t got off to a great start, but he’s come a long way since the mess he was in at the time of last year’s Australian Grand Prix
Formula 1 Red Bull supremacy doesn’t mean F1 has failed Formula 1 has a cost cap, sliding scale aero development restrictions designed to peg top teams back and rules that should help overtaking. So why is Red Bull so dominant?
Formula 1 This point-less 2023 F1 driver might be saving his career Yuki Tsunoda hasn’t got a hope of hitting the targets his team boss set for his 2023 Formula 1 season unless AlphaTauri gives him a better car. Amid that, Tsunoda’s own performances are everything you could ask for
Formula 1 One-team title fights can be F1’s messiest – watch out Red Bull If Sergio Perez can properly take the fight to Max Verstappen and create an all-Red Bull 2023 Formula 1 title fight, it’s likely to be even more fractious than if drivers from rival teams were going head to head
Formula 1 ‘We can’t be happy with this’ – Alpine’s blunt self-appraisal Alpine is well aware its step forward in F1 2023 hasn’t been enough – as Esteban Ocon and Alpine sporting director Alan Permane explain
Formula 1 Mercedes may need ‘6-12 months’ to close F1 knowledge deficit Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says it will take “between six and 12 months” to catch up with Red Bull’s depth of understanding of the fine aerodynamic detail needed to maximise the performance of the current generation of Formula 1 cars
Formula 1 ‘Red Bull more dominant than Mercedes was’ – Is Hamilton right? Lewis Hamilton says he’s never seen a Formula 1 car as fast as Red Bull’s 2023 car – but are his comments short-sighted given Mercedes’ previous dominance? Edd Straw assesses his claims
Formula 1 Edd Straw’s 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix F1 driver rankings The second race of the 2023 Formula 1 season was another Red Bull whitewash, but that doesn’t mean its two drivers were the only ones to turn in great performances. Here’s Edd Straw’s rankings from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Formula 1 Verstappen’s rivals think he can still win Saudi GP. Can he? Max Verstappen’s Formula 1 rivals are sure he can still win the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from 15th on the grid. We assess his chances
Formula 1 How an F1 rookie’s ‘perfect weekend’ spiralled into a mess A weird track limits infraction, a spin, a wall hit and last on the grid added up to a disastrous Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualifying for Logan Sargeant. But up to then, he’d been impressing in Jeddah and on course to outperform team-mate Alex Albon
Formula 1 Mercedes: F1 development gains already ‘much bigger’ after shift Mercedes is working on new developments that already show a big gain relative to its current Formula 1 car, according to team boss Toto Wolff
Formula 1 Hamilton ‘doesn’t feel connected’ to Mercedes F1 car Lewis Hamilton says he “doesn’t feel connected” to Mercedes’ 2023 Formula 1 car after he qualified four places behind his team-mate George Russell at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Formula 1 Villeneuve Pironi doc may shift your view of F1’s tragic feud The tragic tale of Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi is well known. But the new documentary about them may change your perception of it
Formula 1 Alpine bullish for Jeddah after seeing ‘pace to annoy’ Mercedes Alpine expects a stronger Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend and hints it could even have the pace to threaten Mercedes, with Pierre Gasly saying “there would have been the pace to annoy them” in the Bahrain Grand Prix given a better grid position. Ocon started ninth in Bahrain, but his race was ruine
Formula 1 F1’s modern street circuit master? Perez’s reputation assessed All eyes will be on Sergio Perez in Jeddah after his two F1 wins in 2022 underlined his reputation for street circuit mastery. What is it about his style that works so well between the barriers?
Formula 1 Quick upgrades, ‘mega room for improvement’ – Ferrari’s plan Ferrari believes its current F1 car already has “mega room for improvement”, but is also pursuing an aggressive early-2023 update plan
Formula 1 Williams’s tech leadership instability is stunting revival hopes Look at the number of technical director changes at Williams over the 12 years and its slide down the F1 pecking order, and it’s not hard to spot the correlation. That’s not to say those who’ve been there have done badly, but it does suggest the instability is hurting it
Formula 1 Red Bull rivals’ whitewash fears won’t be realised (probably) The way Red Bull dominated the F1 season opener led George Russell to predict it “should win every single race” in 2023. That was a point about Red Bull’s supremacy rather than a serious bet, but such a feat – one never achieved previously – seems incredibly unlikely
