Month: December 2023

27 Dec 2023

Ducati’s “new history” in MotoGP began in 2015 – Tardozzi

The Italian manufacturer has now won back-to-back riders’ titles with Francesco Bagnaia in 2022 and 2023, marking the first time in its MotoGP history that this has happened. It capped off a year of utter dominance for Ducati, having scored a total of 43 podiums and 17 grand prix wins across its eight riders, while […]

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27 Dec 2023

F1 2023 has “been my best year”

That was the year Norris made his F1 debut with McLaren, with which he has remained after signing two contract extensions in 2021 and 2022. Although the papaya team had a tough start to the season just gone, its development work helped it go from battling to escape Q1 to regularly being Red Bull’s closest […]

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26 Dec 2023

Newey not planning on walking away from Red Bull F1

Newey, who celebrates his 65th birthday on Boxing Day, has been credited as being an essential part of turning Red Bull into a championship-winning machine upon his arrival in 2006.  He initially made a name in F1 with his first technical director role at Leyton House before moving to Williams and then McLaren, designing cars […]

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26 Dec 2023

Bottas “in denial for five years” at versus Hamilton at Mercedes F1

Following the shock retirement of newly crowned F1 world champion Nico Rosberg, Bottas left Williams to join Mercedes for 2017. He remained alongside Hamilton until a 2022 move to Sauber (then branded Alfa Romeo).  During their time together, Hamilton won 50 grands prix and four drivers’ titles while Bottas scored 10 victories.  To keep competing […]

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26 Dec 2023

Adrian Newey’s F1 championship-winning cars from FW14B to RB19

Adrian Newey today (26 December) celebrates his 65th birthday in a year where he has contributed to yet another F1 championship-winning car. He and his Red Bull colleagues created the RB19, which won 21 of 22 grands prix to dominate both the 2023 F1 constructors’ and drivers’ world championships. However, it was not the first championship the […]

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25 Dec 2023

Autosport Top 50 of 2023: #1 Max Verstappen

Eleven laps remain of the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Max Verstappen is 3.6 seconds behind his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez. Defeat in Baku, and a 2-2 record from the opening four races of the season, stare back from the leading RB19. But then that gap starts to come down – quite rapidly at first – […]

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25 Dec 2023

Autosport Top 50 of 2023: #3 Lando Norris

Outside of the Red Bull-Ferrari-Mercedes triumvirate, Lando Norris was the only driver to manage a podium finish in 2022, with his third place at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. When McLaren limped out of the starting blocks in 2023 with a car in dire need of an aerodynamic overhaul, Norris must have imagined that it […]

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25 Dec 2023

F1 “not far away” from IndyCar level of convergence

IndyCar is known for its close, action-packed races with Dallara-built cars that are largely spec outside damper development and having two different engine manufacturers. It leads to very close racing, with top six qualifying shootouts on several road courses covered by three tenths or less. In its 2023 opener at St Petersburg, there was a […]

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