Max Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz Jnr are at risk of grid penalties in Qatar, and the world championship leader could start behind both Mercedes.
RJ O'Connell's articles on RaceFans
Motorsport has been a lifelong interest for RJ, both virtual and ‘in the carbon’, since childhood. RJ picked up motorsports writing as a hobby in 2014, which then blossomed into a more regular endeavour by 2017 – where he established a reputation for offering in-depth coverage of Japanese motorsports, in particular the Super GT Series and the Super Formula Championship, which was scarcely seen in western publications. American open-wheel racing has been a part of RJ’s interest in motorsport, and in 2021, he joined RaceFans as a writer covering the IndyCar Series.
Vettel suspects yellow flag was withdrawn at end of Q3 “because Max was coming”
2021 Qatar Grand Prix
Posted onSebastian Vettel backed out of his final lap in qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix after Pierre Gasly suffered a puncture late in Q3.
Flying Hamilton takes dominant pole position in Qatar
2021 Qatar Grand Prix qualifying
Posted onLewis Hamilton grabbed the pole position for the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix, four-tenths of a second ahead of championship leader Max Verstappen.
2021 Sao Paulo Grand Prix Star Performers
2021 Sao Paulo Grand Prix
Posted onLewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen were RaceFans’ Star Performers of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Here’s why.
McLaren suspect chassis crack led to Ricciardo’s race-ending power loss
2021 Sao Paulo Grand Prix
Posted onMcLaren suspect the loss of power which forced Daniel Ricciardo out of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix was caused by a problem with his chassis.
Verstappen says he took “safer” option by running wide in Hamilton incident
2021 Sao Paulo Grand Prix
Posted onMax Verstappen explained why he ran wide when Lewis Hamilton tried to overtake him on the outside at the Descida do Lago corner during a contentious moment in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Tsunoda given two penalty points for collision with Stroll
2021 Sao Paulo Grand Prix
Posted onYuki Tsunoda was deemed ‘wholly at fault’ after colliding with Lance Stroll, receiving a ten-second time penalty and two penalty points on his superlicence.
Staff changes at Haas also prompted Mazepin’s tearful post-qualifying interview
2021 Sao Paulo Grand Prix
Posted onNikita Mazepin revealed his unexpectedly tearful response after qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix was not solely due to the errors on his lap which left him last in Q1 again.
Penalty appeal too risky for Mercedes as Hamilton’s title hopes suffer huge blow
2021 Sao Paulo Grand Prix
Posted onLewis Hamilton’s banishment to the back of the grid for sprint qualifying is a blow to his title hopes, but Mercedes couldn’t risk a protest.
Hamilton claims Saturday pole with dominant qualifying performance
2021 Sao Paulo Grand Prix qualifying
Posted onLewis Hamilton out-qualified championship leader Max Verstappen on Friday, setting the grid for Saturday’s Sprint race.
Honda “cannot believe” how many engine changes Mercedes have made
2021 Sao Paulo Grand Prix
Posted onHonda F1 technical director Toyoharu Tanabe admitted that he was surprised how many replacement power unit parts Mercedes have fitted to their cars in the last stretch of the 2021 Formula 1 season.
2021 Mexico City Grand Prix Star Performers
2021 Mexico City Grand Prix
Posted onPierre Gasly, Max Verstappen, Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel were RaceFans’ Star Performers of the Mexico City Grand Prix. Here’s why.
“Not my lucky day” says Bottas after turn one collision and botched pit stop
2021 Mexico City Grand Prix
Posted onValtteri Bottas admitted it was “not my lucky day” in Mexico after a series of calamities left the pole-winner 15th at the finish.
Mazepin has “no real reason to be upset” over latest run-in – Schumacher
2021 Mexico City Grand Prix
Posted onMick Schumacher said his team mate shouldn’t be upset over their incident in Q1, but Nikita Mazepin believe the pair are being treated differently.
Bottas on pole in shock Mercedes front row lock-out in Mexico
2021 Mexico City Grand Prix qualifying
Posted onValtteri Bottas has taken pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix ahead of Lewis Hamilton after Red Bull’s challenge unexpectedly faded in qualifying.
Perez on top as Red Bull extend lead over Mercedes in final practice
2021 Mexico City Grand Prix third practice
Posted onSergio Perez led a Red Bull one-two in the final practice session for the Mexico City Grand Prix, the team enjoying a comfortable lead over closest rivals Mercedes.
New 2022 F1 cars only ‘0.5-2 seconds slower’ despite 40kg weight rise
2022 F1 season
Posted onFormula 1 cars built to new technical rules for 2022 could be as little as half a second slower than their predecessors despite being much heavier.
RaceFans’ top 10 IndyCar drivers of 2021
IndyCar
Posted onÁlex Palou won the IndyCar title in only his second year in the series. But did any of his rivals have a more impressive 2021 campaign?
Aston Martin consider weight-saving livery tweaks as F1 cars edge towards 800kg
2021 F1 season
Posted onAston Martin are looking for aesthetic improvements and lightness from their 2022 livery as F1’s minimum weight has been increased again.
While the pressure’s off I can “push myself” more – Russell
2021 United States Grand Prix
Posted onGeorge Russell says Williams’ championship position allows him to experiment with his approach and take more risks in the final races of 2021.