Sirotkin’s backers pushing hard for Williams seat
Sergey Sirotkin’s backers are pulling out all the stops to get their protégé into Williams’ second seat alongside Lance Stroll in 2018. The 22-year-old Russian emerged as a surprise contender for the drive after last month’s post-season Abu Dhabi tyre test, and is now rumored to be Williams’ preferred choice for next year, crushing Robert…
A Global War on Nature and the Politics of Extinction
Maybe baby steps will help, but the world needs a lot more than either the United States or China is offering to combat the illegal traffic in wildlife, a nearly $20-billion-a-year business that adds up to a global war against nature. As the headlines tell us, the trade has pushed various rhinoceros species to the…
Reversing Course, UK Opens National Parks to Fracking
Fracking will now be permitted in national parks, “areas of outstanding natural beauty,” and potentially near drinking water sources, members of the UK Parliament said Wednesday, marking a reversal of course from the commitment it made just three weeks ago to pass a prohibition, and infuriating opponents of toxic drilling. On January 26, the House…
'Time to Act Is Now': North American Scientists Unite Against Tar Sands
“No new oil sands or related infrastructure projects should proceed unless consistent with an implemented plan to rapidly reduce carbon pollution, safeguard biodiversity, protect human health, and respect treaty rights.” So begins a letter (pdf) published Wednesday by more than 100 leading scientists from the U.S. and Canada, two days after G7 countries pledged to…
Red Bull running ahead of schedule to avoid slow start to 2018
Red Bull Racing has worked ahead of schedule this year on the design of its 2018 car in order to avoid the team’s customary slow start to its campaign, says Helmut Marko. Wind-tunnel correlation issues were among the problems which hampered the development of this year’s RB13 in the first half of 2017. But when…
Haas’ Romain Grosjean unveils his 2018 lid
Like Max Verstappen, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso, Haas’ Romain Grosjean has made a few adjustments to the livery of his 2018 helmet. The French driver released on Twitter a short animation of his helmet scheme in the making, a design created by Adrien Pavot for supplier Bell. The Haas F1 Team took everyone by…
Renault’s Hulkenberg: ‘First impressions are positive’
Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg concluded the team’s first day of pre-season with the fourth fastest time and some good impressions to go with it. The German driver raked in 73 laps in the first half of the session – the most laps of anyone in the morning – before team mate Carlos Sainz took over testing…
SMP Racing aims for Sirotkin-Kvyat line-up at Le Mans
SMP Racing founder Boris Rotenberg wants to see Daniil Kvyat join his SMP LMP2 squad at Le Mans this year. The 23-year-old Russian who departed the Red Bull family at the end of last year will be Scuderia Ferrari’s reserve and development driver in 2018. But Rotenberg would also like to see Kvyat behind the…
The FIA approves Formula 1’s first Halo supplier
The FIA has announced that Dutch company CP Tech has received certification as F1’s first supplier of the mandatory Halo cockpit protection system. A subsidiary of Dutch group Nedschroef, the company is a provider of ultra-strong components and solutions for the automotive and motorsport industry, and it will be included in the FIA Technical List…
Raikkonen to step down from Ferrari at the end of 2018!
Scuderia Ferrari has announced that Kimi Raikkonen will step down from his current role at the end of the 2018 season. “During these years, Kimi’s contribution to the Team, both as a driver and on account of his human qualities, has been fundamental,” Ferrari said in a statement released Tuesday morning. “He played a decisive…