Edd Straw

Formula 1

Aston Martin on the hunt for a new F1 technical director

Aston Martin plans to appoint a new Formula 1 technical director as part of its ongoing process to create what it calls “a more focussed technical management structure with greater strength in depth”

Formula 1

Bottas’s ‘difficult situation’ is different to what came before

Undergoing his worst statistical start to an F1 season as a Mercedes driver, Valtteri Bottas is unlikely to have it easier any time soon

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The Red Bull-Honda upgrade eight years in the making

Red Bull and AlphaTauri have benefitted from an ExxonMobil oil upgrade over the past two Formula 1 races, with the specification introducing new components first experimented with eight years ago

Formula 1

What Tsunoda thinks he’s doing wrong in his tough F1 start

AlphaTauri rookie Yuki Tsunoda has caused three red flags in his seven Formula 1 qualifying sessions. But he thinks he’s identified where he’s going wrong

Formula 1

AlphaTauri’s quietly proved its F1 mini-slump is over

There was a trend in AlphaTauri’s very promising 2021 Formula 1 season that threatened to wreck its push for fifth in the constructors’ championship. The evidence from the French Grand Prix is that it’s solved

Formula 1

The weakness in Russell’s ‘best race’ for Williams

George Russell labelled the French Grand Prix as possibly his greatest Formula 1 race for Williams, but it also exposed a key weakness

Formula 1

Ferrari/McLaren trend peaks with French GP ‘crazy situation’

The French Grand Prix wasn’t the first reversal in fortunes from qualifying to race day in the 2021 McLaren/Ferrari fight – but it was perhaps the most dramatic

Formula 1

Edd Straw’s French GP driver ratings + reader debate

The best French Grand Prix since it returned to the Formula 1 calendar featured some brilliant charging drives, and some clumsy lapses. Here’s how Edd Straw rated the field’s performances – debate his scores with him live at 5.30pm UK time

Formula 1

How Alonso talked Alpine out of a team order

Alpine instructed Fernando Alonso to cede position to Esteban Ocon during the first stint of the French Grand Prix, only to reverse the order after the Spaniard suggested it was a more logical strategy to make a pitstop to give his team-mate clear air

Formula 1

Alpine looks poised to regain respectability at home race

A heroic late Fernando Alonso charge in Baku and some dogged Esteban Ocon defending in Spain are the only bright spots from Alpine’s recent grands prix, and that’s hurt it in the Formula 1 constructors’ championship. It needs its home race to be better

Formula 1

Hamilton and Bottas’s Mercedes F1 chassis swap explained

Mercedes Formula 1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have swapped chassis between the Azerbaijan and French Grands Prix

Formula 1

McLaren demands transparency from FIA in F1 tyre controversy

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl wants the FIA and the Formula 1 teams involved to be more open about the reasons for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix tyre failures

Formula 1

Haas drivers at odds over meaning of Mazepin apology

Nikita Mazepin believes that he did nothing wrong in the last-lap incident with Mick Schumacher during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix despite his Haas team-mate saying that he had received an apology

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Aston Martin adds Alfa’s chief designer to growing F1 roster

Alfa Romeo chief designer Luca Furbatto will join the Aston Martin Formula 1 team as engineering director ahead of the 2022 season

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Alpine can’t blame F1 Sunday weakness on street-track blip

F1 returns to more conventional circuits with a triple-header at Paul Ricard and the Red Bull Ring, but there are still big question marks over Alpine’s race pace

Formula 1

Is Ferrari making the right moves to win the 2022 F1 title?

With back-to-back poles and having reached third in the constructors’ championship, Ferrari is on course to achieve its 2021 Formula 1 goals. But this season is really all about getting back into title contention next year after the dire low of 2020

Formula 1

An old disadvantage may be Aston Martin’s new F1 weapon

Formula 1’s new cost cap could make bookkeeping as significant as exploiting the technical regulations to the limit as Edd Straw explains

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Ricciardo’s McLaren adaptation mission enters crucial weeks

Daniel Ricciardo has pinpointed Formula 1’s upcoming triple-header as a potential turning point in his struggle to adapt to the McLaren. His optimism could be well-founded

Formula 1

The underrated skill crucial to nailing F1 qualifying this year

A recurring theme during the 2021 Formula 1 season has been qualifying not going down to the wire in Q3. That plays to an often underestimated aspect of the skillset of F1 drivers – and one where Max Verstappen’s losing out to Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc

Formula 1

Sainz’s ‘anger’ at himself is helping make him formidable

Carlos Sainz Jr’s Ferrari career has started well, to the point that even an Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend that made him “angry” showcased one of the qualities that have made him a formidable Formula 1 driver

Formula 1

F1 qualifying ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ is just a fallacy

Formula 1 drivers keep criticising each other over their behaviour in qualifying, but the ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ they cite isn’t worth the paper it’s not even written on

Formula 1

Alonso’s ‘mini prix’ heroics leave no room to doubt him

Fernando Alonso’s late-race display of trademark killer instinct capped off what was already an impressive Baku weekend. It’s the best evidence yet that he’s lost nothing in his time away from Formula 1

Formula 1

Mercedes plans changes to prevent repeat of ‘brake magic’ error

Mercedes has promised changes to its car in response to Lewis Hamilton’s Baku switch error, and also shared its theory for Valtteri Bottas’s poor weekend

Formula 1

Williams F1 team boss Roberts leaving, won’t be replaced

Williams team principal Simon Roberts is leaving the Formula 1 team as part of an internal restructure following Dorilton Capital’s takeover.

Formula 1

Ricciardo’s vital McLaren progress muffled by Baku shunt

Daniel Ricciardo’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend appeared to be a big improvement before he became one of five drivers to crash in qualifying. Edd Straw looks at the progress Ricciardo’s making

Formula 1

Edd Straw’s Azerbaijan GP driver ratings + reader debate

Two past greats who’ve had tough starts to 2021 are among the biggest scorers in Edd Straw’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix driver ratings, while chances wasted are punished with very low marks. Debate Edd’s scores with him live at 5.30pm UK time

Formula 1

Pirelli’s early findings from high-speed Baku F1 tyre failures

Pirelli’s initial understanding of Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix tyre failures is that both were caused by debris not wear

Formula 1

The set-up trade-off that made Ferrari a shock pole contender

Wild circumstances played a part in Charles Leclerc’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix pole, but Ferrari was in contention on merit – which very few people had expected in Baku

Formula 1

Norris: Ferrari ‘a long way ahead’ in Azerbaijan

Lando Norris declared Ferrari to be “a long way ahead” of McLaren after the opening day of practice for Formula 1’s Azerbaijan GP

Formula 1

Alonso enjoying F1 return more than he expected

Fernando Alonso has revealed that he is enjoying his Formula 1 comeback more than he expected despite a difficult start to the season with Alpine

Formula 1

Post-Monaco sim sessions made things ‘more clear’ to Ricciardo

Intense work in the simulator since his miserable Monaco Grand Prix has given Daniel Ricciardo new insight into how to conquer the 2021 McLaren Formula 1 car

Formula 1

The holes Ricciardo has dug himself out of before

Daniel Ricciardo’s reached a baffled low in his struggle to acclimatise to McLaren, but a look at how he’s turned things around during other bleak moments in his Formula 1 career offers a lot of hope

Formula 1

The ‘more robust’ F1 driver spearheading Alfa Romeo’s season

Antonio Giovinazzi’s 10th place finish in Monaco finally got Alfa Romeo off the mark in 2021 – a well-deserved reward for the Italian who is enjoying his best season in Formula 1 so far

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The case for Mercedes keeping Bottas for 2022

With George Russell vying for a Mercedes seat next year, Edd Straw assesses why Mercedes might opt to keep Valtteri Bottas for 2022 instead

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‘Future world champion’ is a misleading F1 stereotype

You could argue that there are six ‘future world champions’ on the 2021 Formula 1 grid. But the chance of them all winning titles is tiny

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Has Perez used his five-race Red Bull ‘warm-up’ well enough?

Sergio Perez felt he’d need around five grands prix to acclimatise to the Red Bull Formula 1 car. He’s now at that point. Edd Straw looks at the strengths and weaknesses of Perez’s start to Red Bull life

Formula 1

Does Alpine still need to look beyond Ocon for 2022?

After being outperformed by Daniel Ricciardo and with Fernando Alonso arriving, Esteban Ocon went into 2021 under pressure to justify his place at Alpine. Edd Straw takes a look at how that picture has changed

Formula 1

Vettel is the silver lining in Aston Martin’s tough 2021

There were initial concerns about Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin performance – but he is now emerging as a bright spot in its difficult campaign

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Does Leclerc need to change his style after latest error?

Charles Leclerc’s Monaco qualifying crash was his sixth significant error in the last 22 Formula 1 weekends – which is clearly too high a rate. Edd Straw takes a look at Leclerc’s mistakes and his attitude to them

Formula 1

Edd Straw’s 2021 Monaco GP driver ratings + reader debate

Edd Straw gives his verdict on every driver’s performance in a 2021 Monaco Grand Prix weekend that offered a huge range of emotions and achievements. Agree or disagree? Debate it with him in the comments at 7.30pm UK time on Monday