2:21 PM ET SPIELBERG, Austria — Renault has played down the impact of its latest engine upgrade, following suggestions it might have unlocked a Q3 “party mode” to rival Mercedes at the Austrian Grand Prix. While the Renault engine’s race performance is not far off class leaders Mercedes and Ferrari, its power deficit in the
Formula 1
1:59 PM ET SPIELBERG, Austria — After his latest session behind the wheel for Williams Robert Kubica joked that the strongest feature of the team’s problematic FW41 is its livery. Austria was the latest in Kubica’s scheduled appearances in a race weekend’s opening practice session. The Pole, who is Williams’ reserve driver for 2018, replaced
5:53 AM ET SPIELBERG, Austria — Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel has questioned Formula One’s decision to add an extra places for artificial overtaking devices to be used during this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix. F1 cars are equipped with a Drag Reduction System (DRS) on the rear wing which helps give a chasing driver a speed boost
1:39 PM ET Connor McDonagh Max Verstappen is confident Daniel Ricciardo will be his teammate at Red Bull in 2019. Ricciardo’s future has dominated the media headlines in recent weeks with the Australian linked with Mercedes, Ferrari and even McLaren in recent weeks. Interest from Mercedes and Ferrari appears to have cooled with Red Bull
1:05 PM ET SPIELBERG, Austria — Mercedes has brought a significant aero upgrade to the Austrian Grand Prix in the hope of solidifying its advantage in the drivers’ and constructors’ championships. After an engine upgrade saw Lewis Hamilton take a comfortable victory at last week’s French Grand Prix, Mercedes will debut a new sidepod design
11:09 AM ET Connor McDonagh Kevin Magnussen says it’s unlikely he will be driving for any team other than Haas in 2019. Silly season is in full swing with the futures of Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen dominating the headlines in recent weeks. Magnussen’s future with the American squad is yet to be confirmed with
6:34 AM ET Haas boss Guenther Steiner says 2018 is the first opportunity Kevin Magnussen has had to showcase his true racing talent. Magnussen has been one of the standout performers this season and has scored all of the American team’s 27 points, most recently holding off Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas on the final lap to
6:58 AM ET F1’s return to France didn’t got to plan for all concerned and in this week’s talking points we discuss the traffic, Sebastian Vettel’s Turn 1 error and McLaren’s deepening problems. ESPN’s F1 editor Laurence Edmondson, associate editor Nate Saunders and F1 writers Kate Walker and Maurice Hamilton offer their opinions below. With
7:32 AM ET A round-up of the best radio soundbites from the French Grand Prix, which featured an irritated Romain Grosjean and more frustration for Fernando Alonso. “Get out of here! Get out of here quick!” After Marcus Ericsson’s crash at the end of FP1, the back of his Sauber caught fire rather dramatically, prompting
5:03 AM ET McLaren racing director Eric Boullier has admitted his team is unlikely to fight for championships as long as it is an engine customer of Renault. McLaren will use Renault engines until the end of the 2020 season after ditching its works deal with Honda over the winter. The switch followed three years