F1

Twenty-five years after its famous début victory in the 1995 Le Mans 24 Hours, the wonderful McLaren F1 GTR is the subject of this major two-volume history – McLaren F1 GTR : The Definitive History by Mark Cole and published by Porter Press. […]

2009 Formula 1 World Champion, Jenson Button will make his McLaren Customer Racing 720S GT3 debut in the Silverstone 500 race this weekend, November 7/8 – three years after he last competed in a McLaren, at the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix. […]

McLaren Automotive is introducing a new service to authenticate the heritage of iconic McLaren F1 supercars. The launch of the new programme is coincident with the unveiling of the first F1 to be approved for certification, the renowned ‘25R’ 1997 F1 GTR Longtail. Pristine after a full restoration to ‘as new’ condition by McLaren Special Operations, the last F1 GTR to compete in period is one of the stars of the Hampton Court Concours of Elegance (31 August – 2 September 2018). Even among F1 GTRs, this car, designated ‘25R’, is unique – and now it is as near to being new as we can make it. The car is the exemplar of everything that the new certification programme stands for and we are proud to have ‘25R’ as the very first McLaren F1 Certified car. — Ansar Ali, Managing Director, […]

Bette Hill occupied a unique position in Formula One history, as wife and mother of two world champion drivers. Her husband Graham won the title in 1962 for BRM and again for Lotus in 1968. Her son Damon Hill did so for Williams in 1996. Bette Hill, born Bette Shubrook on June 12, 1926, passed away this December 8, 2017. One of four girls born to a cricketer who also worked for The Times, and a mother who was ambitious for her children in the proper way, Bette and her sisters were achievers, and she understood the competitive imperative. One played piano, another was a champion schools swimmer, the third was also sporting, and Bette herself rowed for Britain in 1952 and 1954 and finished third in the European Championship quadruple sculls at Compiègne in 1954. Bette and Graham were married for 20 years […]

Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing have further strengthened their Innovation Partnership with the announcement that the Formula One team will compete as ‘Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’ from 2018. The successful partnership, that has already produced the sold-out Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar, will yield future products and an exciting new Advanced Performance Centre that will open on the Red Bull Racing campus in Milton Keynes later this year. The British luxury carmaker will also evaluate the opportunity to be involved in the team’s power unit from 2021 after being asked by the FIA to join discussions on future engines for F1TM.

We decided to go a little more toward the sporting side this week – guess that is still a carry over from Daytona this past weekend. So, our Video of the Week this time is titled “Brits Who Made The Modern World: The Lotus 25”. In this 22 minute film, Peter Snow finds out how Britain’s successful Formula One industry has its origins in a remarkable amateur racing club and a visionary group of motor enthusiasts. He meets the surviving members of the Lotus Engineering team whose revolutionary car, the Lotus 25, changed the sport forever. To quote our old friend Wikipedia: The Lotus 25 was a racing car designed by Colin Chapman for the 1962 Formula One season. It was a revolutionary design, the first fully stressed monocoque chassis to appear in F1. In the hands of Jim Clark it took […]

Aston Martin’s Innovation Partnership with Red Bull Racing is to be extended to cover the 2017 season following an agreement signed at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Aston Martin is also confirming that all 150 road car versions of its groundbreaking AM-RB 001 hypercar have been sold out. Customer deliveries of the AM-RB 001 will commence in early 2019. Red Bull Racing’s Chief Technical Officer, Adrian Newey, Aston Martin’s Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichman and Aston Martin’s Chief Special Operations Officer, David King, created the AM-RB 001 to provide the ultimate blend of cutting edge F1TM technology with Aston Martin’s signature sports car design. Just 175 examples, including 25 track-only specials, will be built, with all 150 road versions now allocated to customers.

Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing are today revealing their ground-breaking hypercar; codenamed AM-RB 001. The product of a unique Innovation Partnership between the British luxury brand and eminent F1TM team, this ambitious, uncompromising and wholly extraordinary collaboration combines the vision and skills of two world-leading brands to create a road car the like of which has never been seen before. The three men charged with realising this shared vision are Adrian Newey, Red Bull Racing’s Chief Technical Officer and the world’s most successful F1TM designer, Marek Reichman, Aston Martin EVP and Chief Creative Officer and David King, VP and Chief Special Operations Officer. Together they spearhead a formidable alliance. One that combines more than a hundred years of specialism – both with heritage, making some of the world’s most beautiful and charismatic GT cars, and with technological brilliance and […]

The McLaren F1 is regarded by many as the car which rewrote the supercar rule book. With only 64 road car examples built between 1993 and 1998, the original McLaren F1 is one of the rarest and highly-regarded models among collectors, enthusiasts, and petrolheads. McLaren Special Operations (MSO) continues to maintain and manage McLaren F1s globally, and is offering one of last ever and finest examples of this highly-regarded model for sale. McLaren F1 chassis #069 is in factory condition, having covered less than 2,800 miles since new. During 1998, only six examples of the original McLaren F1 were completed, and chassis #069 was the 60th model overall to be hand-built in Woking, England. It is presented in Carbon Black complimented by subtle detailing throughout, including a stealth finish to the 17-inch centre-locking magnesium wheels. The central driving seat is […]

Aston Martin and Formula One team Red Bull Racing have announced a partnership which sees Red Bull Racing’s Chief Technical Officer, Adrian Newey and Aston Martin’s Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichman collaborate to produce a ground-breaking Aston Martin hypercar. Codenamed Project ‘AM-RB 001’, the new hypercar will represent the ultimate blend of cutting edge F1TM technology with Aston Martin’s signature sports car design. The combined talents of Newey, widely noted as the most successful Formula One designer of all time, and Reichman, Aston Martin’s design chief since 2005, are set to produce the ultimate hypercar. Combining the strongest elements of Red Bull Racing, Red Bull Advanced Technologies and Aston Martin, this new Innovation Partnership unites the world’s best aerodynamicists, composite experts and manufacturing masters. All the parties offer different elite capabilities and the combination of all of those skills, ensuring […]

Nick Chester looks ahead to Abu Dhabi, the last race of the season and reviews the team’s performance in Interlagos. What are the challenges of Abu Dhabi? The first sector is generally medium speed with a couple of high speed corners and not too technically challenging; a reasonable level of downforce works fine here. The second sector is more power hungry with two good straights and two low speed corners – a low speed hairpin and a low speed chicane so it’s important to manage these well. The final sector is quite technical with a number of low and medium speed corners where the car needs to be well balanced and work well to achieve a good lap time. Putting all that together is key – you need a car that works well in low speed corners and be good […]

A very rare McLaren F1 has became the most expensive British car after it was sold as part of a record-breaking £43 million fleet. The 1998 McLaren F1, part of the Pinnacle Collection featuring 25 super-important models from the past 50 years, sold for £8.8 million – nearly $14 million USD. This made the super-rare hypercar, built in Woking, Surrey, the most expensive British car to ever sell publicly. The McLaren, capable of more than 240mph, is one of only two road-spec F1s upgraded by the British firm to LM specification.

Carmen Jordá is one step closer to her goal of racing in Formula 1 today, as it was announced she would be joining the Lotus F1 Team family for the year as a Development Driver. With her sights firmly set on driving the E23 Hybrid before the year is out, Carmen will work closely with the team on an intensive simulator programme in Enstone, while being put through her paces thanks to a comprehensive fitness regime to prepare for the opportunity. Combined with attending Grands Prix and tests for Lotus F1 Team, Carmen’s role will focus on assessing the latest developments of the team’s 2015 challenger. With racing experience in both Europe and America, Carmen’s distinctive perspective will serve to further enhance the E23’s evolvement curve. Daughter of ex-driver Jose Miguel Jorda, Carmen Jordá has been racing professionally since 2001 […]

Caterham is preparing to return to Formula One for the 2014 finale in Abu Dhabi next month according to AutoWeek. As it was put into administration following founder Tony Fernandes’ ill-fated sale to Colin Kolles-managed investors, the team as well as backmarker Marussia sat out Austin and will again be absent in rainy Brazil this weekend. But it then emerged on Wednesday that Caterham’s administrators, led by Finbarr O’Connell, have lodged an official team entry for the 2015 season. Marussia, now renamed to the operating company Manor, is also on the provisional FIA entry list. But reports that Caterham and Marussia have paid the $500,000 entry fee already are wide of the mark. That fee is not due until late November. O’Connell, however, who now runs Caterham, said it was imperative to lodge a 2015 entry so that the team […]

The 59th Coppa InterEurope Storica Event, round four of the FIA Historic Formula One Championship Series at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, will add another piece of history to its racing weekend June 3-5, while honoring a special moment in American motor racing history. Scuderia del Portello, together with Lawrence Auriana, will hold a race for 1.5-liter Grand Prix cars, titled “The Phil Hill Trophy,” celebrating the 50th anniversary of Phil’s victory at Monza and subsequent World Championship Title. Alma Hill, Phil’s widow, and son Derek, will present the trophy and honor America’s first Formula 1 Champion who succumbed to Parkinson’s disease in 2008, at the age of 81. At Monza in September 1961, Phil Hill clinched the 1961 Formula 1 World Championship at the wheel of a Ferrari 156. The quiet, unassuming, Santa Monica-resident, led the way to Europe for a […]