Lewis Hamilton have McLaren’s new MCL33 contender two thumbs up yesterday as he responded to a message posed by former foe Fernando Alonso on Instagram. McLaren unveiled yesterday its stunning ‘papaya orange’ racer which it hopes will lead its charge up the field in 2018 after three years of purgatory for the Woking-based outfit. Alonso’s…
Read moreRenault’s Abiteboul: ‘Still difficult to read Pirelli’s tyres’
Renault’s Cyril Abiteboul says the French outfit needs to improve its understanding of Pirelli’s tyres after both its drivers struggled on their respective rubber in Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix. Renault scored a double-points finish in the Principality, with Nico Hulkenberg coming home P8 while Carlos Sainz rounded off the top ten. While the former was…
Read moreBoullier confident of parity between Renault-powered teams
McLaren sporting director Eric Boullier says that he has no concerns about receiving equal treatment from Renault in 2018. The team has just extricated itself from a troubled three-year partnership with Honda. Next season it will be supplied with power units by Renault. As well as its factory team, the manufacturer is also providing engines…
Read moreHuman Rights Abuses Rampant Under Drug War, 100 Groups Tell UN
Citing large scale human rights abuses and discriminatory enforcement practices, more than 100 organizations on Wednesday sent an open letter (pdf) to the United Nations calling for a significant shift in global drug policy. The international coalition is comprised of non-governmental organizations and drug reform advocacy groups—such as Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties…
Read moreSky gets exclusive F1 rights in Italy but bails in Germany!
Formula 1 has confirmed that Sky Italia will broadcast F1 live in a new three-year deal, but its German counterpart has pulled the plug on F1. While Sky Italia receives exclusive broadcast and digital rights until 2020, Italian F1 fans will unfortunately suffer a cut-back in free-to-air coverage as state broadcaster RAI, a partner of…
Read moreShape-Shifting Robot Sent Inside Crippled Fukushima Reactor
For the first time, a robot entered the highly radioactive primary containment vessel (PCV) of Reactor 1 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on Friday, in order to investigate the state of its dangerous and damaged interior, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has said. The plant was heavily damaged by the 2011 earthquake…
Read moreForce India ready to unleash once again its ‘matured’ drivers
Having learned their lessons from 2017, Force India’s Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon will be allowed to race each other when the season kicks off in Melbourne in March. The Silverstone-based outfit was forced to put both men under strict orders in the latter part of last year following a series of on-track encounters which…
Read moreThe Long History of Israel Gaming the 'Iranian Threat'
Western news media has feasted on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s talk and the reactions to it as a rare political spectacle rich in personalities in conflict. But the real story of Netanyahu’s speech is that he is continuing a long tradition in Israeli politics of demonising Iran to advance domestic and foreign policy interests. The history…
Read moreTeams resume testing in Barcelona on Day 4
Pre-season testing as resumed at the Circuit de Catalunya today following yesterday’s weather-impacted botched schedule. Teams found snow and sub-zero temperatures and when they arrived on site yesterday, with the track closed in the first three hours of the scheduled session as the medical helicopter remained grounded. Eventually the track went green, but the cold…
Read moreHaas expands on Steiner’s US driver comments
Gene Haas elaborated on team principal Guenther Steiner’s recent negative comments about signing an American driver to the US outfit. Steiner sparked a storm last month when he suggested that no American driver was currently ready to race in Formula 1. The comments did not go down well in the US, mainly within the IndyCar…
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