Taking time out from Formula 1 to race in other series rejuvenated Fernando Alonso for his return to the sport with Alpine.
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.
How F1 and IndyCar success gave McLaren confidence to tackle Extreme E
2021 F1 season
Posted onMcLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown says the team’s success in Formula 1 and IndyCar gave it the confidence to take up the challenge of racing in Extreme E.
McLaren expands motorsport programme again with new Extreme E team
Other motorsport
Posted onMcLaren will expand its motorsport programme to include the recently-launched Extreme E series in 2022, in addition to its Formula 1 and IndyCar teams.
Farewell to a man whose passion for competition shaped McLaren and F1
News Focus
Posted onThough he avoided the limelight Mansour Ojjeh, who has died at the aged of 68, was an enormously important figure to McLaren and Formula 1.
Alfa Romeo’s “big step forward” not reflected in points yet – Vasseur
2021 F1 season
Posted onTeam errors, misfortune and debatable officiating decisions have cost Alfa Romeo points, says team principal Frederic Vasseur.
F1’s heavy cars at odds with sustainability push – Hamilton
2021 F1 Season
Posted onLewis Hamilton has said the 2022 weight increase for Formula One cars seems at odds with sustainability and sporting aims.
Tsunoda’s Baku speed “really worried” team boss Tost
2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Posted onAlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost admitted he feared Yuki Tsunoda would crash during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Ferrari losing too much pace in traffic – Binotto
2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Posted onAfter a promising qualifying, where Charles Leclerc took pole, Ferrari say they only lacked race pace when running behind other cars in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Williams team principal Roberts steps down in reshuffle
2021 F1 season
Posted onWilliams team principal Simon Roberts has left the outfit, 12 months since joining it in the wake of its sale to Dorilton.
Perez delivering “exactly what we’ve been looking for” – Horner
2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Posted onRed Bull team principal Christian Horner says Sergio Perez’s performance in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is exactly what the team has needed.
Verstappen deserves points lead after Hamilton’s ‘huge mistakes’, says Villeneuve
2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Posted onMax Verstappen and Red Bull deserved to keep their championship leads as they are making fewer mistakes than Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes, says Jacques Villeneuve.
Verstappen’s tyres were not “abused” before race-ending failure
2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Posted onRed Bull believed Max Verstappen was in no danger of failing to reach the end of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix until a tyre deflation put him out.
“Really weird” lack of pace due to car fault or tyres, Bottas believes
2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Posted onValtteri Bottas says there was no obvious cause for his poor pace in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after finishing 12th.
Mercedes “can’t keep losing points like this” says Wolff after worst two races since 2012
2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Posted onMercedes CEO Toto Wolff says the team cannot afford to continue squandering points-scoring opportunities following its poor results in Azerbaijan and Monaco.
FIA to examine Mazepin-Schumacher near-miss which was overlooked during race
2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Posted onFIA Formula 1 race director Michael Masi said he will look into an incident which left Mick Schumacher fuming at Haas team mate Nikita Mazepin.
Vettel: F1 “got lucky” drivers missed Baku’s pit entry barrier in high-speed crashes
2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Posted onMax Verstappen and Lance Stroll’s crashes would have been much worse if they had hit the pit lane entry barrier, says Sebastian Vettel.
Pirelli’s suspicion falls on debris as FIA promise “thorough investigation” into crashes
2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Posted onMax Verstappen’s deflated but intact left-rear tyre offers Pirelli the best clues into the role debris may have played in his and Lance Stroll’s huge Azerbaijan Grand Prix crashes.
Leclerc backed off before Hamilton passed him for lead
2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Posted onCharles Leclerc revealed he lost the lead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix to Lewis Hamilton after backing off because he had cut a corner.
You can’t let crash fears get into your mind – Hamilton
2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Posted onLewis Hamilton says he put out of his mind any fears of suffering a similar crash to Max Verstappen during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Why the Azerbaijan GP was stopped for Verstappen’s crash but not Stroll’s
2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Posted onWhile Lance Stroll’s crash was covered under a Safety Car, FIA race director Michael Masi red-flagged the race when Max Verstappen crashed to ensure it finished ‘under green’.
