Pre-Season Test #1 - Jerez Day 1 - Line Up

As the 2015 approaches, it is that time again.. Yep, you guessed it - Pre-Season testing! And the first stop is in Jerez, Spain.

Only 8 teams will be there as Marussia and Caterham remain absent from the grid. Force India has pulled out of the 4-day-test at Jerez, in order to focus their efforts on continuing to prepare for the upcoming season. However, Force India assure they will be at Barcelona.

Here is the line-up for Day 1.

Mercedes-Mercedes: Nico Rosberg
Red Bull-Renault: Daniel Ricciardo
Ferrari-Ferrari: Sebastian Vettel
Williams-Mercedes: Valtteri Bottas
McLaren-Honda: Fernando Alonso
Toro Rosso-Renault: Carlos Sainz Jr.
Sauber-Ferrari: Marcus Ericsson
Lotus-Mercedes: Pastor Maldonado 

We will be providing LIVE Commentary Coverage of all the pre-season testing. You can find it by following us on our Twitter @F1Insider78

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk
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2015 Provisional Calendar

While a lot of rumours have been surfacing recently of a +20 Race Calendar, as of right now the provisional calendar has just 20 with a race in Mexico being added after a 5-year-deal was signed earlier this season. It will be Mexico's first time on the F1 Calendar in over 20 years. It will be a very special event for Mexican drivers Sergio 'Checo' Perez and Esteban Gutierrez.

F1 2015 PROVISIONAL CALENDAR

1. Australia - Albert Park, Melbourne - March 15th
2. Malaysia - Sepang International Circuit, Sepang - March 29th
3. Bahrain - Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir - April 5th
4. China - Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai - April 19th
5. Spain - Circuit De Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona - May 10th
6. Monaco - Circuit De Monaco, Monte Carlo - May 24th
7. Canada - Circuit Gilled Villeneuve, Montreal - June 7th
8. Austria - Red Bull Ring, Spielberg - June 21st
9. Great Britain - Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone - July 5th
10. Germany - Nurburgring, Nurburg - July 19th
11. Hungary - Hungaroring, Mogyorod - July 26th
12. Belgium - Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot - August 23rd 
13. Italy - Autodromo Nazionale Di Monza, Monza - September 6th 
14. Singapore - TBA - September 20th
15. Japan - Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka - October 4th
16. Russia - Sochi Autodrom, Sochi - October 11th
17. Mexico - TBA - October 25th
18. United States Of America - Circuit Of The Americas, Austin, Texas - November 1st
19. Brazil - Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace (Interlagos), Sao Paulo - November 15th
20. Abu Dhabi - Yas Marina Circuit, Yas Island - November 29th

The dates and locations are subject to change.
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Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
No Copyright Infringement Intended.
 

Toro Rosso Confirms Max Verstappen for 2015

Today, the Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 Team has confirmed their 2015 Driver-Line-Up, consisting of their current driver, Russian rookie, Daniil Kvyat and newly introduced into the Red Bull Junior Team, Dutch FIA Formula 3 driver, 16-year-old Max Verstappen. 

Max will be the breaking the record of youngest F1 driver when he takes over the current seat of driver Jean-Eric Vergne, who will not be continuing on with the team. For JEV, it seems his F1 seat hunting has begun early. Max has also only competed in this year's Formula 3 championship. He has not completed a year with GP3 or GP2, which are both crucial championships that most drivers go through before their step-up into an F1 car.

While Verstappen has a huge amount of talent to prove, it's refreshing to see another young driver get the chance of a lifetime. There is no doubt he's been showcasing his talent, and the Toro Rosso team obviously can see he has a lot to show on their team. This signing will also make Toro Rosso the team with the youngest drivers on the 2015 grid so-far.

We send our congratulations to Max and wish him the best of luck for next year!

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
No Copyright Infringement Intended.

 

Mexico and Azerbaijan to join F1 Calendar

The month of July was full of news and stories from the racetrack. The announcement of new races on the calendar of 2015/2016 being only one of them. That's right! The teams are off to Mexico and Azerbaijan in the coming years. As you can imagine, this news has sparked a lot of excitement between the drivers and teams. 

Azerbaijan's race will take place in their Capital city, Baku. The race is said to be replacing the Korean Grand Prix on the 2016 season calendar. While this may come as bad news for the Korean fans, it does in fact offer the sport to a whole new audience in yet another part of Europe. 

Now, onto the other race announcement, the Mexican Grand Prix which is actually a returning race. After an absence of 23 years it's not surprising that the race is already engulfed in an extraordinary amount of excitement. A majority of this positivity is coming directly from none other than the two Mexican drivers on the grid, and their fans. At the press conference for the race in Hungary both Esteban Gutierrez and Sergio (Checo) Perez were present. They were both asked for their opinions on the news of the sport they both love and participate in, returning to their country. 

Perez, who was the first Mexican driver on the grid in 39 years, said that "I never raced in Mexico" so you can imagine how excited he would be to be given an opportunity to race in his home country. He additionally said that "It's great" for Mexico. Creating approximately 3000 jobs in the country, the impact it will have is incredible. The race is expected to be placed towards the end of next season to allow them to ready the track for the race that has been 23 years in progress. 

His fellow countryman, Esteban Gutierrez voiced his excitement by declaring "It's really a dream come true for many of us" not only referring to himself and Perez, but also to the fans of the sport back in Mexico. This was reinforced later as he went on to mention that he was excited to "Share with our supporters the sport". Eager, as ever, to widen the audience and open the possibility of watching F1 to more people. 

This news is not only good for the drivers but also for the sport. With the hope of bringing in new fans and audiences, it also freshens the sport, keeping current fans as entertained as ever. By giving the drivers new tracks and supplying action, the sport seems to be thriving as we all look on to the next season and get an inkling  of what could be in store. 

Article Written By: Frances Fry

Edited By: Amy Hawk

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Quotes belong to their rightful owners.

Featured News: New Races in 2015?

Formula1 is unpredictable and that's what keeps the sport so lively and exciting. Nothing is more unpredictable than the F1 Race Calendar though.

There were many races planned that got dropped from the 2014 schedule including India, Korea, New Jersey and Mexico. This year however is to see the addition of Russia and Austria.

As far as 2015 goes, let's play silly-season in April and take a look as to what countries we might see on the schedule for next year!

India - With this race dropped from the 2014 calendar, intentions are to have the race back for 2015, but with issues on deciding what time of the year the race will be held, the race may not return until 2016.

Mexico - While the circuit is still used for other racing championships, it hasn't been used for Formula 1 in quite a few years. A return to Mexico would be super exciting for drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Gutierrez who are both from Mexico. Perez from Guadalajara and Gutierrez from Monterrey.

Korea, Republic Of - Another race that was supposed to happen this year, but didn't, due to lack of last minute organization and also contract problems. This race, however is not set to return next year. But things do change.

New Jersey, USA - This is a race that was supposed to happen last year and this year. But due to Bernie not receiving proper papers and payments from the contract holders, the race is now not going to happen until next year. (Fingers crossed)

Morocco - Now this is a big rumour, but Bernie has said it would be a great place to hold and F1 race and I quite agree.

Long Beach, USA - The Long Beach street circuit in California has been home to Indycar for over 20+ years after F1 lost/dropped its contract with the circuit. There are talks that it would only cost about $9 Million to get things ready to bring F1 back to the circuit.

France - We have French drivers, why not a French race? Not only would it be popular but also quite beautiful. Although there's no talk of it happening in 2015, it's in the F1's future.

I'll be doing more articles regarding the planned race schedule of 2015, throughout this year, so keep checking back.

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
No Copyright Infringement Intended.

Indian GP cut from 2014 Calendar

So, it was announced earlier today that the Indian GP will not make a return until 2015, due to scheduling conflicts. Although it is set to return in 2015, it will not be at the end of the F1 season, but instead in the beginning, shoved somewhere around Malaysia and Bahrain. 

The Indian GP will still run later this year, in October. Bernie Ecclestone wants the GP to be moved to the beginning of the season but due to the fact it's already running at the end of this year, running it at the beginning of next year would set the same GP too close together.

So, instead of 22 races next year, we will be at 21, which is 1 more than the usual 20. We only have 19 this year due to New Jersey not being a ready circuit and no one was able to fill in for the extra European slot.

More info to come soon.

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.