Car FYI

Photo Credit: LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd. Saturday’s qualifying for the inaugural Formula 1 race in the Arab nation of Qatar has assembled what is certain to be a dramatic opening lap showdown between this season’s title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. In setting the grid for Sunday’s 57-lap main event on the fast, high grip 5.380-kilometer Losail International Circuit, it was the driver of the #44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team race car that took honours. Lewis Hamilton’s pole-winning lap time of 1-minute, 20.827 seconds in the final Q3 session putting a cap on a time trial where the seven-time World Drivers’ Champion handily controlled through the three sessions. Joining Hamilton on the front row of the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix will be Max Verstappen’s Red Bull Racing machine. The Honda-powered entrant was 0.455 seconds slower than the rival Mercedes race car. With the race at Losail being the t...

Photo Credit: Mark Sutton/LAT Images/Pirelli untitled The week between the Dutch Grand Prix and this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix has involved a series of major announcements ahead of the 2022 Formula 1 season. The biggest domino was British driver George Russell tapped to pilot an entry for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team as a teammate to Lewis Hamilton. This move for next season occurred as Alexander Albon was announced to return to Formula 1 in the Williams Racing team while current Mercedes-AMG Valtteri Bottas would depart for the Alfa Romeo Racing organization. In the case of Bottas, his final races with the German factory team are widely expected to be his last, best chances at Formula 1 glory. Formula 1's second sprint qualifying weekend at the Autodromo Nationale de Monza was an opportunity for the Finnish driver to leave a lasting impact on the 2021 season. The Italian Grand Prix is one of the three events in the 2021 Formula 1 season to use the league...