Motorsport News November 3, 2022

Let’s be honest, the Mexican Grand Prix last weekend wasn’t really edge-of-the-seat stuff. Max Verstappen was in dominant form, and only a split strategy between the Dutchman and the chasing Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton inject a modicum of excitement in proceedings. However, even that dilemma was quickly vanquished by the Red Bull driver. It means the two-time Wold title holder has eclipsed the record, which had been jointly held by Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, for the most wins in a single season. The German pair managed 13, but Max has now garnered 14. And there are two races remaining in 2022. Comparing statistics season to season can be a dangerous thing, because there are now way more races than there have been in previous years. But there is no doubt that…

It’s a mark of Max Verstappen’s dominance this season that the Mexico City Grand Prix was another of his record-breaking weekends. The track’s highest-ever attendance – a mighty 395,902 over the three days – witnessed Verstappen’s 14th victory of the year. That number of wins breaks the 2004 record of 13, set by Michael Schumacher back in those all-dominant Ferrari days. Yes, there are more rounds in the present era, but the Red Bull has clearly been in a class of its own in 2022. If you discount Verstappen and his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase (who picked up the winning constructors’ trophy on the lofty Mexico City GP podium) it was the other 395,900 packed into the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez last weekend who actually wanted Sergio Perez to take the victory. There were…

Rival teams have slammed the FIA’s punishment of the Red Bull cost-cap breach as being too lenient and think it does not hinder the team enough. Bosses at Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes have hit out at the punishment, which constitutes a £6.07 million fine and a 10% reduction in Red Bull’s ability to use its windtunnel and other aerodynamic tools in 2023. Red Bull was said to have overspent by £1.86 million in the 2021 season, when it won the title with Max Verstappen after a dramatic final round in Abu Dhabi. Ferrari racing director Laurent Mekies said: “We at Ferrari think that this amount [of overspend] is worth around a couple of tenths per lap, and so it’s easy to understand that these figures can have a real impact on the…

Red Bull Racing chief Christian Horner says that the fine meted out to the squad is more detrimental than any loss of points from the 2021 season. The Milton Keynes squad was slapped with a £6.07 million fine and a reduction in the amount of aerodynamic work it can undertake for the next 12 months. Red Bull overspent by £1.86 million and Horner says it has a harsh censure. “We have been provided a significant financial and sporting penalty – $7 million is an enormous amount of money and the more draconian part is the sporting penalty, which is a 10% reduction in our ability to use our windtunnel and aerodynamic tools,” said Horner. “That is an enormous amount. That represents between 0.25 seconds and 0.5s of lap time. It comes in from…

Seven-time World champion Lewis Hamilton is nearing a fresh deal with Mercedes to remain on the Formula 1 grid beyond the end of his current contract, which finishes at the end of 2023. The Briton told media recently that he was keen to stay on with the Brackley-based operation, who he has driven for following a switch from McLaren in 2013. The 37-year-old said that he expected a new deal to be thrashed out soon “We are going to do another deal,” he said. “We’re going to sit down and we’re going to discuss it in these next couple of months, I would say.” Hamilton has also opened up about his reaction to the Red Bull breach of the cost cap, which some suggest could have been a factor in him losing…

Team principal Christian Horner says that the Milton Keynes squad is on a firm footing following the death of Red Bull Racing boss Dietrich Mateschitz recently. The Austrian billionaire passed away shortly before the recent United States Grand Prix in Texas, the same weekend when the squad won the constructors’ championship with a victory for Max Verstappen. Horner said that the future had been mapped out for Red Bull Racing and its sister team AlphaTauri, and Red Bull would still be going ahead with its bespoke powertrains division, which is in the pipeline. Horner said: “The future is set. He’s put in place a very strong foundation for the future. And with, in 2026, Red Bull becoming a power unit manufacturer, that was the missing piece of our jigsaw, and [Mateschitz] had the…