Fernando Alonso says Alpine decided to fit a new power unit to his car – incurring a grid penalty – when it realised they were not competitive this weekend.
Dieter Rencken's articles on RaceFans
Dieter Rencken has held full FIA Formula 1 media accreditation since 2000, during which period he has reported from over 300 grands prix, plus other categories such as World Rally Championship, MotoGP, World Endurance Championship, World RallyCross Championship and Formula E for a variety of media outlets. He joined racefans.net as special contributor in 2018. Dieter is recognised as an authority on global motorsport politics and economics. He writes the annual 'What F1 Teams Spend' and F1 earnings guides and his weekly columns provide behind-the-scenes analysis of the sport. In 2012 he first unpicked F1’s previously opaque financial and governance structures, and has been credited with bringing much-needed transparency to F1. He has 'scooped' several of the sport’s biggest news stories, including the Aston Martin/Red Bull Valkyrie project, Haas F1’s formation, Carlos Sainz Jnr's shock move to Toro Rosso, Fernando Alonso’s Daytona and Dakar entries, and, more recently, Canadian Lawrence Stroll’s acquisition of Force India (Racing Point) and his subsequent take-over of Aston Martin.
Beating Hamilton to pole position “a tiny bit of a surprise” for Verstappen
2021 United States Grand Prix
Posted onMax Verstappen admitted he felt some surprise at taking pole position for the United States Grand Prix following Mercedes’ strong start to the event on Friday.
Hamilton and Verstappen say they’ll keep it clean at start after practice run-in
2021 United States Grand Prix
Posted onLewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen said they will try to avoid their third clash of the season when they line up on the front row of the grid for the United States Grand Prix.
Vasseur not blaming Giovinazzi over Turkish GP points loss
2021 Turkish Grand Prix
Posted onAlfa Romeo team principal Frederic Vasseur refuses to blame driver Antonio Giovinazzi for costing the team points after he failed to follow their orders in the Turkish Grand Prix.
Steiner supports Verstappen’s decision not to take part in Drive to Survive
2021 United States Grand Prix
Posted onHaas team boss and prominent Drive to Survive figure Guenther Steiner supports Max Verstappen’s decision not to participate in the series.
COTA’s bumps have got significantly worse since last race – Ferrari
2021 United States Grand Prix
Posted onThe bumps at the Circuit of the Americas are even worse than the teams expected before this weekend’s event, says Ferrari’s sporting director Laurent Mekies.
Q2 “now the absolute minimum goal” for Williams – Latifi
2021 United States Grand Prix
Posted onNicholas Latifi says the progress Williams has made this year means they should progress beyond Q1 every race weekend.
Mercedes’ ride height trick “not something they’ve just introduced” – Horner
2021 United States Grand Prix
Posted onRed Bull team principal Christian Horner suspects rivals Mercedes have had a means of lowering their ride height on straights to boost their top speed for several races.
No silver bullet on Mercedes says Wolff as Red Bull call attention to ride height movement
2021 United States Grand Prix
Posted onRed Bull claim Mercedes found a way to “drop the rear ride height significantly in Turkey” to increase performance, but Toto Wolff says there’s no “silver bullet” on their car.
Hamilton pleased by F1’s “huge” progress in America, but eager for return to Africa
2021 United States Grand Prix
Posted onLewis Hamilton says he has seen tremendous growth in the appetite for Formula 1 in America, but wants the sport to look to Africa next.
Herta’s IndyCar success should qualify him for F1 drive – Alonso
2021 United States Grand Prix
Posted onFernando Alonso thinks Colton Herta would be “a good fit” for Formula 1 if the IndyCar race-winner wants to compete in the series.
Verstappen’s rivals don’t share his concerns over “fake” Drive to Survive
2021 United States Grand Prix
Posted onMax Verstappen’s rival Formula 1 drivers don’t share his concerns over how the sport is portrayed in popular Netflix series Drive to Survive.
Mercedes’ gains come from set-up changes, not upgrades – Bottas
2021 United States Grand Prix
Posted onValtteri Bottas says the progress Mercedes have made in recent races has come from set-up changes, not new parts.
Bumpy COTA surface “make or break” for US Grand Prix
2021 United States Grand Prix
Posted onFormula 1 drivers expect the bumpy surface at the Circuit of the Americas will present a serious challenge in their first race at the track since 2019.
Vettel to take grid penalty for power unit parts change at COTA
2021 United States Grand Prix
Posted onSebastian Vettel has revealed he will take a grid penalty at this weekend’s United States Grand Prix.
Bottas wasn’t aware of possible Andretti takeover during Alfa Romeo talks
2021 United States Grand Prix
Posted onFuture Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas was unaware of any links between the team and Andretti before signing for them, he revealed.
Verstappen welcomes Newey’s return after injury as Mercedes make gains
2021 United States Grand Prix
Posted onMax Verstappen says having Adrian Newey back in the Red Bull garage will help the team make progress following the gains rival Mercedes made in recent races.
Hamilton expects “incredibly difficult” title fight after losing points lead
2021 United States Grand Prix
Posted onLewis Hamilton is braced for a tough fight with championship rival Max Verstappen over the final six races of the season after falling behind in the points standings.
Andretti also approached Haas but no “concrete” talks on takeover
2021 United States Grand Prix
Posted onMichael Andretti has had talks with Haas as the IndyCar champion is understood to be seeking an opportunity to take over a Formula 1 team.
Fans show limited support for F1’s sprint qualifying format in official survey
2021 F1 season
Posted onA survey revealed limited support from fans for F1’s new sprint format, but CEO Stefano Domenicali is encouraged by the results and plans more rounds next year.
