1665290400F1 Japanese Grand Prix: Nyck de Vries lands F1 seat at AlphaTauri as Pierre Gasly joins Alpine for 2023Nyck de Vries will race in Formula One next season for AlphaTauri after he was announced as a replacement for Alpine-bound Pierre Gasly.
The 27-year-old Dutchman impressed on his F1 debut as he stepped in for Alex Albon to finish ninth at the Italian Grand Prix earlier this season.
A champion in both Formula 2 and Formula E, de Vries has an impressive CV and is pleased to have landed a seat in F1.
De Vries replaces Gasly, who raced for AlphaTauri – formerly Toro Rosso – for five and a half years, having also spent half a season with Red Bull.
Having come through the young driver programme with Red Bull, the Frenchman now completes Alpine’s line-up alongside compatriot Esteban Ocon – with Fernando Alonso leaving for Aston Martin.
Nyck de Vries lands F1 seat at AlphaTauri as Pierre Gasly joins Alpine for 2023De Vries will race in F1 next season after he was announced as a replacement for Alpine-bound Pierre Gasly
Kieran Jackson9 October 2022 05:40
1665289740F1 Japanese Grand Prix: QUALIFYING REPORTMax Verstappen hit out at Lando Norris as the Formula One champion-elect narrowly avoided a collision with the McLaren on his way to pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Dutchman will retain his title if he wins and takes the fastest lap in Sunday’s race and he gave himself the best chance of doing so by going quickest in qualifying.
But it could have been a different story after Norris took evasive action having sped up to the back of a slower Verstappen as the pair prepared for their respective flying laps; Norris called for Verstappen to be given a penalty afterwards but the Dutchman was handed a reprimand by the stewards and keeps his pole position.
“We were on our outlap and we were all lining up to create a gap to everyone and then somehow he still wanted to get me into the chicane,” explained Verstappen. “But I was on the point of accelerating and I was on very cold tyres, so I had a little moment and that’s why he had to drive around me.
“But if he had just a bit more respect for me, because everyone is anyway lining up and I don’t think anyone is trying to pass into that last chicane, so by trying to pass me you create that kind of thing.”
Max Verstappen claims pole for Japanese Grand Prix as he bids to wrap up titleThe Dutchman will retain his title if he wins and takes the fastest lap in Sunday’s race at Suzuka
Kieran Jackson9 October 2022 05:29
1665289586F1 Japanese Grand Prix: It’s raining in Suzuka!As the cars head out for their reconssaince laps before heading to the grid, the rain is still falling at Suzuka – but it’s only slow and steady!
Not as heavy as we saw last week in Singapore, so we should get a start on time. Most cars have gone out on intermediates, with a few on full wets.
Max Verstappen looking very relaxed and confident in his garage, on a day where he could win the world title!
Also an update on the starting grid: Pierre Gasly, who qualified in 17th, will start from the pit lane due to a new rear wing…
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
Kieran Jackson9 October 2022 05:26
1665288840F1 Japanese Grand Prix: Daniel Ricciardo won’t race in F1 next year but Aussie is targeting return in 2024Daniel Ricciardo has confirmed he is not expecting to be on the Formula 1 grid next year and is targeting a return to the sport in 2024. Currently at McLaren, it was announced last month that Ricciardo will be replaced by fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri for next season.
Ricciardo’s options for a drive elsewhere were already limited before both Pierre Gasly’s move to Alpine and Nyck de Vries coming in to race for AlphaTauri were announced at Suzuka on Saturday.
With only two seats remaining on the 2023 grid – one at Williams, the other at Haas – Ricciardo admits he instead will be gunning for a drive the following year.
“To be honest, the Gasly news I was aware of, I knew they were talking for a while and I knew they were very interested in Pierre,” he said, shortly after qualifying 11th for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Daniel Ricciardo does not expect to race in F1 next year but eyes return in 2024The 33-year-old Australian has been heavily linked with a role as a reserve driver at Mercedes
Kieran Jackson9 October 2022 05:14
1665287880F1 Japanese Grand Prix: ‘I’m not planning on going anywhere’: Lewis Hamilton could race for another five yearsLewis Hamilton has hinted he could race for another five years after Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff revealed the pair had recently spoken about his future. The seven-time world champion has one more year left of his Mercedes deal at the end of the current season.
Hamilton, 37, holds the record for the most wins, pole positions and podiums in Formula One history and is tied with Michael Schumacher for the most drivers’ championships. But he appears to be far from finished, Wolff revealing last weekend that “we sat down and he says ‘look, I have another five years in me, how do you see that?’”
Asked ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix if that was his plan, Hamilton replied: “I haven’t spoken to him (Wolff) about his comments but I can’t say just yet. Possibly, yes, I’m feeling good. I love what I’m doing. We have a lot of work to do, a lot to achieve still. So I’m not planning on going anywhere, any time soon.”
Wolff hailed Hamilton as the “shining star on and off track” in F1 and it was with one eye on his future out of the car where the Briton explained why he wants to remain in the sport for well beyond an additional five years.
Lewis Hamilton hints he could race for another five yearsThe seven-time world champion has one more year left of his Mercedes deal at the end of the current season
Kieran Jackson9 October 2022 04:58
1665286140F1 Japanese Grand Prix: Abu Dhabi rivalry ‘popping back up again’ as Horner and Wolff needle each otherMark Webber believes that the rivalry between Toto Wolff and Christian Horner is “popping back up again” as speculation continues about potential breaches of Formula 1’s budget cap.
The Mercedes and Red Bull team principals regularly clashed during the 2021 season throughout a closely-fought title rival between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
The Drivers’ Championship was eventually won in contentious circumstances by Red Bull’s Verstappen, with the ill-feeling between Wolff and Horner coming to a head during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after the controversial intervention of former race director Michael Masi.
Relations between the pair and the two teams have been rather more cordial this season with Verstappen cruising to a second consecutive crown and Mercedes’ largely uncompetitive, but rumours that Red Bull may have breached the 2021 budget cap have inflamed tensions.
Wolff suggested ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix that it was well known that Red Bull were being investigated over a breach, leading Horner to threaten legal action after what he described as “a completely unfounded allegation”.
Kieran Jackson9 October 2022 04:29
1665285240F1 Japanese Grand Prix: Nyck de Vries lands F1 seat at AlphaTauri as Pierre Gasly joins Alpine for 2023Nyck de Vries will race in Formula One next season for AlphaTauri after he was announced as a replacement for Alpine-bound Pierre Gasly.
The 27-year-old Dutchman impressed on his F1 debut as he stepped in for Alex Albon to finish ninth at the Italian Grand Prix earlier this season.
A champion in both Formula 2 and Formula E, de Vries has an impressive CV and is pleased to have landed a seat in F1.
De Vries replaces Gasly, who raced for AlphaTauri – formerly Toro Rosso – for five and a half years, having also spent half a season with Red Bull.
Having come through the young driver programme with Red Bull, the Frenchman now completes Alpine’s line-up alongside compatriot Esteban Ocon – with Fernando Alonso leaving for Aston Martin.
Nyck de Vries lands F1 seat at AlphaTauri as Pierre Gasly joins Alpine for 2023De Vries will race in F1 next season after he was announced as a replacement for Alpine-bound Pierre Gasly
Kieran Jackson9 October 2022 04:14
1665284280F1 Japanese Grand Prix: QUALIFYING REPORT Max Verstappen hit out at Lando Norris as the Formula One champion-elect narrowly avoided a collision with the McLaren on his way to pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Dutchman will retain his title if he wins and takes the fastest lap in Sunday’s race and he gave himself the best chance of doing so by going quickest in qualifying.
But it could have been a different story after Norris took evasive action having sped up to the back of a slower Verstappen as the pair prepared for their respective flying laps; Norris called for Verstappen to be given a penalty afterwards but the Dutchman was handed a reprimand by the stewards and keeps his pole position.
“We were on our outlap and we were all lining up to create a gap to everyone and then somehow he still wanted to get me into the chicane,” explained Verstappen. “But I was on the point of accelerating and I was on very cold tyres, so I had a little moment and that’s why he had to drive around me.
“But if he had just a bit more respect for me, because everyone is anyway lining up and I don’t think anyone is trying to pass into that last chicane, so by trying to pass me you create that kind of thing.”
Max Verstappen claims pole for Japanese Grand Prix as he bids to wrap up titleThe Dutchman will retain his title if he wins and takes the fastest lap in Sunday’s race at Suzuka
Kieran Jackson9 October 2022 03:58
1665283440F1 Japanese Grand Prix: Daniel Ricciardo won’t race in F1 next year but Aussie is targeting return in 2024Daniel Ricciardo has confirmed he is not expecting to be on the Formula 1 grid next year and is targeting a return to the sport in 2024. Currently at McLaren, it was announced last month that Ricciardo will be replaced by fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri for next season.
Ricciardo’s options for a drive elsewhere were already limited before both Pierre Gasly’s move to Alpine and Nyck de Vries coming in to race for AlphaTauri were announced at Suzuka on Saturday.
With only two seats remaining on the 2023 grid – one at Williams, the other at Haas – Ricciardo admits he instead will be gunning for a drive the following year.
“To be honest, the Gasly news I was aware of, I knew they were talking for a while and I knew they were very interested in Pierre,” he said, shortly after qualifying 11th for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Daniel Ricciardo does not expect to race in F1 next year but eyes return in 2024The 33-year-old Australian has been heavily linked with a role as a reserve driver at Mercedes
Kieran Jackson9 October 2022 03:44
1665282600F1 Japanese Grand Prix: What does Max Verstappen need to win the world title today? Max Verstappen failed to claim his second world title in Singapore last weekend but his seventh-placed finish still means he is in prime position to wrap up the Championship at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The 25-year-old has a 104-point lead to Charles Leclerc at the top of the Driver Standings, with only the Ferrari man and Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez (106 points behind) able to mathematically stop the Dutchman.
With the 2021 cost-cap saga being delayed to after this weekend’s Grand Prix, focus turns to action on track: here’s what Verstappen needs this weekend to wrap up a dominant title as F1 returns to Suzuka.
What Verstappen needs
Verstappen has won 11 races out of 17 this season and leads second-placed Leclerc by 104 points heading to Japan, the first of the five remaining races.
There are a possible 138 points available until the end of the season – five race wins at 25 points each, a fastest lap point at each and eight points for the sprint race winner in Sao Paulo.
More below:
What Max Verstappen needs to clinch the F1 world title in Japan this weekendMax Verstappen missed the chance to claim his second world title in Singapore but he can do so at Suzuka
Kieran Jackson9 October 2022 03:30
