Scott Mitchell-Malm

Formula 1

Ricciardo set for hand surgery – how many F1 races will he miss?

As Daniel Ricciardo goes in for surgery, the Italian GP at Monza is already a no-go – and he may have to miss more events

Formula 1

What Palou ‘letting down’ McLaren means for its F1 team

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown feels “let down” by Alex Palou’s behaviour over his alleged Formula 1 and IndyCar contract reneging, which impacts McLaren’s F1 team this year

Formula 1

What’s behind surprise Marko comments about Perez’s 2024 seat?

There’s been an implicit understanding that Sergio Perez, while under contract, doesn’t have the Red Bull 2024 seat under lock and key. Helmut Marko has now made that understanding explicit

Formula 1

Ricciardo’s replacement has a big task but a bigger opportunity

Red Bull loves throwing a driver into the deep end in Formula 1 and now it’s Liam Lawson’s turn to sink or swim. It’s a huge risk for his future F1 prospects but it’s also one enormous opportunity to take his F1 future into his own hands, says Scott Mitchell-Malm

Formula 1

Ricciardo out of Dutch GP with broken hand, Lawson gets debut

Daniel Ricciardo has broken his hand and will be replaced at AlphaTauri for the remainder of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend by Formula 1 debutant Liam Lawson, The Race understands

Formula 1

Ferrari’s important revelation about ‘brand new’ 2024 F1 car

Ferrari’s 2024 Formula 1 car will be a “brand new” design as it is “crystal clear” what it has got wrong so far in the ground-effect rules era

Formula 1

F1 rivals’ grim outlook on when Red Bull can be caught

Red Bull’s domination of F1 right now is such that the question of whether it might be caught is no longer confined to 2023 – but rather the remainder of the current rules cycle

Formula 1

‘I wish I did this deal!’ – Leclerc Ferrari F1 contract latest

Charles Leclerc joked that he wishes he signed a lucrative new Ferrari Formula 1 contract that was rumoured during the summer break. While a new deal is yet to be agreed, it seems an inevitability

Formula 1

Albon 1-to-1: What’s next for the face of Williams’s F1 revival?

In this exclusive interview, Alex Albon tells The Race about being the most comfortable version of himself yet, being trusted to lead Williams, and balancing the long-term nature of that project with other opportunities that might arise

Formula 1

F1 spotlight already on its next at-risk driver after De Vries

Logan Sargeant has outlasted Nyck de Vries – which also means it’s now Sargeant who stands on F1’s shakiest ground. Williams hasn’t lost faith, but has made it pretty clear he must show more

Formula 1

The Verstappen blueprint Norris is gambling on replicating

There are more similarities than you might think between the patience Max Verstappen showed in his first years at Red Bull and what Lando Norris is going through at McLaren now. Just as Verstappen had thoughts about leaving, so too Norris faces a test of his faith

Formula 1

The F1 megastar-in-the-making traits of Oscar Piastri

McLaren’s mid-season surge has given Oscar Piastri a first proper chance to show Formula 1 what he can do. Scott Mitchell-Malm explains what’s most impressive about Piastri, with help from his engineer Tom Stallard – and there’s a lot in common with Max Verstappen

Formula 1

Verstappen’s inadvertently broken Red Bull’s F1 driver system

Red Bull’s junior driver system transformed the route to Formula 1, but its talent pool has become weaker recently and there’s been an incredibly high turnover of drivers at its top end. Max Verstappen’s inadvertently caused that, and though he’s well worth it, it’s still a problem

Formula 1

What Palou saga says about McLaren’s antagonising ‘F1 tactics’

What does losing out on signing Alex Palou to its IndyCar team mean for the future of McLaren’s ‘F1 tactics’ across the pond? Well don’t expect them to change anytime soon, says Scott Mitchell-Malm

Formula 1

Grading every F1 team’s 2023 season so far

Who are the successes and failures of 2023? Well to separate the star performers from the ‘must do betters’, The Race has graded all 10 Formula 1 teams based on their performance in the first half of the season

Formula 1

The last remaining leader trying to calm the Alpine storm

In Formula 1, there simply isn’t the time for a team to feel sorry for itself. That means strong leadership is essential even at a team in as much disarray as Alpine – and right now one person appears to have rolled up their sleeves

Formula 1

Vague Alpine ‘project’ exacerbates Renault F1 dysfunction

The phrase “the project” was used relentlessly as Alpine tried to explain its clearout of senior Formula 1 team management. All it did was draw more attention to what a meandering mess this team has become

Formula 1

What Ricciardo’s hit-and-miss reality means for his F1 return

The second race of Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 comeback was more a case of riding out the lows without looking completely lost in the AlphaTauri. Even if that’s not the best-case scenario it has its benefits

Formula 1

Mooted name change for Red Bull’s other F1 team is problematic

Suggestions of what the AlphaTauri F1 team could be renamed from 2024 are now doing the rounds. That raises concerns for Scott Mitchell-Malm, who says in the current closed-shop environment identity absorption cannot be encouraged

Formula 1

One year on, two shock F1 moves couldn’t look any better

When two of their drivers publicly spurned them, Alpine F1 chiefs sounded sure they’d have the last laugh. Instead, their tenures are over and those drivers are thriving in their 2023 homes

Formula 1

What McLaren – and venting Norris – must learn from Spa ‘spiral’

Lando Norris’s worst fears over how slow his McLaren Formula 1 car would be on the straights were instantly and painfully realised at Spa – and his radio reaction was borderline “surly”, says Scott Mitchell-Malm. But Norris and McLaren did at least salvage their race and can learn lessons

Formula 1

What’s costing McLaren ‘up to a second’ on Spa straights

Oscar Piastri thought it would be hard to hold Max Verstappen off in the Spa sprint, but was still surprised by how quickly he was dismissed at the safety car restart. It was evidence of a compromise that’s going to hamper McLaren all weekend

Formula 1

Why a usual Spa F1 underdog rocketship has been grounded

Alex Albon and Williams expected to star at Spa, and with good reason. Here’s why they haven’t so far

Formula 1

What happened in unseen Spa incident Alonso got a warning for

A close call between Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg went largely unnoticed during the chaotic early period in Formula 1’s Belgian Grand Prix sprint – but ended up translating into a stewards’ warning to Alonso

Formula 1

Prost’s incredible criticism shows depth of Renault’s F1 flaws

The depths of Renault’s flawed approach to Formula 1 and how its works team continues to be mishandled have been laid bare by scathing criticism from its former advisor Alain Prost

Formula 1

IndyCar star Palou a potential 2024 option for two F1 teams

IndyCar championship leader Alex Palou has been linked with two Formula 1 teams for a possible race seat in 2024

Formula 1

Williams frustration rises as rivals rebuff F1 rule tweak bid

A proposal that is key to Williams’s Formula 1 recovery plan was rebuffed by rival team bosses in a Formula 1 Commission meeting that a frustrated James Vowles felt ended up going “round in circles”

Formula 1

Senior staff exits show Alpine is an F1 team in chaos

Alpine announcing the departure of Otmar Szafnauer, Alan Permane and Pat Fry from the team all in one weekend is a concerning development in what is an increasingly chaotic period for Renault’s works Formula 1 team

Formula 1

What happens if rain impacts Belgian GP or other F1 sessions

The Belgian GP is potentially set up for the rare combination of an already-unconventional F1 weekend schedule and rain altering plans

Formula 1

F1 drivers want ‘bold’ calls to delay/cancel Belgian GP sessions

The risk of the Spa circuit in the wet means F1 drivers want the FIA primed to take “bold” decisions about delaying or cancelling sessions

Formula 1

What makes Belgian GP tougher than Ricciardo’s first race back

Daniel Ricciardo impressed in Hungary – but he may have to dig deeper in what should be a less favourable Belgian GP weekend

Formula 1

Vasseur 1-to-1: Ferrari mistakes, drivers and ignoring the noise

Seven months into Fred Vasseur’s vision of a better Ferrari, Scott Mitchell-Malm sits down with him to find out what’s going right and wrong

Formula 1

Norris podium banishes some McLaren nightmares – but not all

Lando Norris’s second place in Hungary gave McLaren something it’s not had in more than a decade – a second consecutive F1 podium. It said more about the team’s real progress than its Silverstone form, too, but it doesn’t mean all its weaknesses are gone

Formula 1

How Ricciardo saved himself from much bleaker Hungarian GP

Daniel Ricciardo starting and finishing in the same position was in no way reflective of the rollercoaster nature of his Hungarian Grand Prix. His role in changing his fortunes was indicative of the confidence he’d found come Sunday

Formula 1

Ricciardo’s big rediscovery makes F1 return a success already

There’s a rhythm and momentum to Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula 1 comeback weekend at the Hungarian Grand Prix that he has missed for a long time

Formula 1

A different kind of Perez setback was frustratingly familiar

Sergio Perez shook off a crash in Hungarian GP first practice and looked like he’d atone for that until a late setback in qualifying. The fact things only had to be slightly different to have a transformative outcome only makes this familiar story more frustrating

Formula 1

F1’s meandering wannabe giant has found its direction again

Zak Brown admits McLaren “stalled out” in 2022 – and lost momentum this year. It shouldn’t get carried away by its recent Formula 1 form, but the start of the “Andrea Era” has had a sizeable impact

Formula 1

What watching every lap of Ricciardo’s first day back revealed

Daniel Ricciardo has completed his first proper day back in F1. There was understandably plenty of attention on his performance through Friday practice at the Hungarian GP – including from The Race’s journalists, with Scott Mitchell-Malm and Edd Straw following every lap both onboard and trackside

Formula 1

Second big Alpine change in 10 days as contentious Rossi exits

Under a fortnight after a change at Alpine that seemed to be about inserting a ‘shield’ between the Formula 1 team and the wider company, Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi is out

Formula 1

How Perez is handling the Ricciardo hurricane

Sergio Perez is struggling at Red Bull, a driver who used to have his seat has made clear he wants to reclaim it, and is returning to the grid in an affiliated team amid huge fanfare. Here’s what Perez makes of Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula 1 comeback and its implications for him