Sergey Sirotkin, set to smash the record next year as the youngest ever F1 racer, has hit back at claims he is a "pay driver". The 17-year-old's father is a key figure among the Russian entities that have bailed out the ailing Sauber. Currently just ninth in the Formula Renault 3.5 series, behind highly rated drivers like the McLaren-backed Kevin Magnussen, and the likely next Toro Rosso driver Antonio Felix da Costa, Sirotkin's fast-track to the grid has earned him the 'pay driver' label. "That […]

Michael Schumacher has singled out a quartet of drivers as the very best in Formula One at present. The great German, who with 91 wins and seven titles is the most successful driver in the sport's history, finally called time on his long career at the end of last season. Now, watching on, the 44-year-old Schumacher said he is most impressed by a group of four. "Vettel, Alonso, Raikkonen and Hamilton are the best at the moment," he told the Italian Sky programme I Signori […]

17 year old Sergey Sirotkin is set to race for Sauber in Formula 1 next season. Here's why he shouldn't be written off...

Pat Symonds, the former Renault F1 engineering head who was banned from Formula One in 2009 after a Singapore Grand Prix crash scandal, has joined Williams as chief technical officer. Williams, the former champions who have yet to score a point in nine races this season, announced the move on Tuesday and said their current technical head Mike Coughlan had left the team with immediate effect. Coughlan had also joined Williams after serving a ban, a two-year one imposed in 2007 for his role in […]

Luca di Montezemolo on Wednesday said he is not ready to talk about Felipe Massa's future at Ferrari. The Brazilian has been involved in a string of on-track incidents dating back every race since Monaco, amid speculation the Italian team might finally choose another teammate for Fernando Alonso next season. "Yes, these are critical moments," team boss Stefano Domenicali said after Massa's spin into retirement at the Nurburgring, "and of course we are not happy with the results. "But we have to support Felipe, because […]

Williams were expecting better results from qualifying after a promising FP3 this morning. Instead its drivers will start the British GP from eight and ninth row. “We were expecting to be a bit closer to the top ten today, but we were struggling to put everything together in the car for one lap,” Pastor Maldonado explained. “Hopefully tomorrow we can work on our race pace and fight with the teams around us to move up a few positions. We need to keep improving as a […]

Red Bull driver Mark Webber says that his deal with Porsche was concluded some time ago. Webber announced on Thursday that he will be leaving Formula 1 at the end of the season to drive for Porsche in the World Endurance Championship. "[I'm] very, very excited about my new chapter and the new challenge ahead. One of the most famous and most well-respected brands in automotive and motor racing in Porsche, so that’s something which personally I’m very satisfied about taking on," he said ahead […]

Adrian Sutil believes Force India can continue its strong run of form at this weekend's British Grand Prix. Force India currently sit in fifth place in the world championship. Sutil also reckons it is not inconceivable that he can finish on the podium in the near future. "Seven races, very different circuits, but for us the results were similar. The car was strong everywhere and it can also be here. I would say top six," he said. "We were so close to the podium many […]

Esteban Gutierrez isn’t expecting Sauber to make a leap forwards this weekend as he pins his hope on improvements being made after next month’s young driver test. Gutierrez, who won the GP2 feature race at Silverstone last season, has had a troublesome start to his Formula 1 career and has yet to finish in the top 10. “Unfortunately this year, with the difficult situation right now, we cannot expect a lot more but our focus is to be consistent, to get the most from what […]

Red Bull’s young driver programme has had a mixed rate of success over the past decade. They’ve found plenty of duds in the pack, but one – Sebastian Vettel – has gone on to become one of the most acclaimed drivers in Formula 1 history. The next man in line in Red Bull’s scheme is Portuguese driver Antonio Felix da Costa. Last season, da Costa went from being on the brink of failure to junior formulae stardom. After signing with Red Bull mid-season, his stuttering […]

World champion Sebastian Vettel claims he does not know what his points margin is at the top of the 2013 championship, or that Fernando Alonso is his main title rival. The triple-consecutive championship winner is superstitious; he always slides a lucky coin under his boot laces, and gives his chassis a female name on the Wednesday before the first race of a season. But he told British reporters on Wednesday that his deliberate efforts to avoid knowing the championship points situation is just "to keep […]

Honda's return to Formula One in 2015 is being warmly welcomed in the paddock. Amid poor results and the global financial crisis, the Japanese carmaker pulled out as a team at the end of 2008, but will return in 2015 as a works supplier of the new turbo V6 engine to McLaren. "I think it's very good for the team and for McLaren's future," said Jenson Button, "but I think it's also good for the sport. "It means we will have four engines in Formula […]