Formula1 Archives - Octane Photography

Aug 06

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Alpine, Colapinto, Formula1

Colapinto Escapes Unharmed After Crash During Pirelli Tyre Test

Franco Colapinto walked away unscathed from a crash during Pirelli’s Formula 1 tyre testing at the Hungaroring, where Alpine, McLaren, and Racing Bulls are participating in a two-day programme focused on developing tyres for the 2026 season. Alpine confirmed in a brief statement that Colapinto was “OK” after being evaluated at the circuit’s medical centre following an incident at Turn 11 — a notoriously challenging right-hander. The crash prematurely ended Colapinto’s testing schedule and comes at a turbulent moment in the young Argentine’s F1 journey. Since stepping in for Jack Doohan at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the 22-year-old has struggled to find form. He remains point-less, has crashed twice in qualifying, and has been outqualified by teammate Pierre Gasly in seven of their nine races together. There were glimmers of progress in Hungary, where Colapinto outqualified and finished ahead of Gasly for only the second time since joining the grid. However, this latest setback adds to mounting pressure, especially amid speculation linking Valtteri Bottas to Alpine — with rumours suggesting a mid-season switch could be on the cards. Alpine currently sits at the bottom of the constructors’ standings with just 20 points, trailing ninth-placed Haas by 15.

Jul 01

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Alpine, Bottas, Formula1

Bottas a potential Colapinto replacement

Valtteri Bottas has emerged as the leading candidate for a surprise switch to Alpine later this year should the Formula 1 team decide it wants to replace Franco Colapinto. Alpine’s executive advisor Flavio Briatore, who is currently its de facto team principal, has approached Mercedes to discuss the potential availability of its reserve driver. While it is understood that discussions between Alpine and Mercedes over Bottas have been very preliminary, and have not advanced towards a deal definitely happening, they do suggest that Briatore is considering his driver options amid Alpine’s ongoing struggles. Bottas, who was dropped by Sauber at the end of last year, has made no secret of the fact he wants to get back into a full-time F1 race seat. While it was previously thought that the all-new Cadillac operation was his best hope, as talks between the Bottas camp and F1’s incoming team have already begun, the possibility of jumping into an Alpine seat could offer Bottas another F1 lifeline – both for later this year and into 2026. Sources suggest Mercedes would have no problem in letting Bottas take on an F1 return with Alpine, especially as it will become a Mercedes customer team from […]

Jun 08

by darren in Media 0 comments tags: Alpine, Formula1

Why Alpine F1 driver change is failing so far

When Alpine’s controversial early Formula 1 driver change happened barely a month ago, Alpine boss Flavio Briatore asked only three things of Franco Colapinto: “he needs to be fast, not crash, and score points”. Alpine only gave its rookie Jack Doohan six grands prix before bringing Colapinto in the expectation he would be a clear upgrade. But in three races since replacing Doohan, Colapinto is 0 for 3 in meeting Briatore’s demands – and this move is really not working out as planned. Like his predecessor, Colapinto hasn’t scored a point so far, although he’s had half the number of races Doohan did. He’s shunted out of qualifying at Imola, spent a tricky first F1 weekend in Monaco off the pace, then looked slow again in Spain at the outset. It seemed like a much-need improvement was on the cards in qualifying – only for Colapinto to miss his final Q1 run with a technical problem that he might have accidentally caused himself. Unfortunately, Barcelona was irreversibly compromised by that qualifying problem, and Colapinto was consigned to a third race in a row spent stuck near the back of the field. Despite Briatore’s subsequent claims to the contrary, Alpine said […]

May 23

by darren in Crash 0 comments tags: Formula1, Redbull, Tsunoda

Tsunoda Crash Imola 2025

Yuki Tsunoda survived a spectacular high-speed crash that saw his Red Bull car somersault into the barriers during qualifying for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Mar 28

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Formula1, Lawson, Red Bull

Max Verstappen “not happy” after Liam Lawson exit

According to Helmut Marko, Max Verstappen is “not happy” with Red Bull’s decision to replace Liam Lawson after just two race weekends. Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has revealed that four-time champion Max Verstappen is “not happy” after the team decided to drop Liam Lawson ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix. After just two race weekends of his rookie Formula 1 season, Red Bull announced that Lawson is moving back to its sister team Racing Bulls, and Yuki Tsunoda will be taking the spot alongside Verstappen from the Japanese Grand Prix onwards. The Milton Keynes squad assessed both Lawson and Tsunoda in the latter stages of the 2024 season to decide who would replace Sergio Perez in the team for 2025. Despite the Japanese driver’s four-year experience in Racing Bulls, they opted to sign Lawson, citing his ability to consistently perform under pressure. However, after just three races, including the sprint race in China, the team has made a U-turn on this choice. After the announcement was made yesterday, Marko has revealed to De Telegraaf that Verstappen is not happy with the decision. He explained: “We know Max is not happy. But we need two cars at the front. Not only for the constructors’ championship but also to help Max […]

Mar 22

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Formula1, Jordan

Eddie Jordan former F1 team owner dies aged 76

Eddie Jordan has passed away at the age of 76; Jordan had an F1 team for 15 seasons, winning four races; The Irishman recently oversaw Adrian Newey’s transfer from Red Bull to Aston Martin and led a consortium that bought rugby union club London Irish out of administration. Jordan had an F1 team, Jordan Grand Prix, from 1991 to 2005 and was a former shareholder of Celtic Football Club. Last year, the Irishman revealed he was diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of cancer. Jordan said he suffered with bladder and prostate cancer which spread to his spine and pelvis. A family statement on Thursday read: “It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Eddie Jordan OBE, the ex-Formula 1 team owner, TV pundit and entrepreneur. “He passed away peacefully with family by his side in Cape Town in the early hours of 20 March 2025.” They added: “EJ brought an abundance of charisma, energy and Irish charm everywhere he went. We all have a huge hole missing without his presence. He will be missed by so many people, but he leaves us with tonnes of great memories to keep us smiling through our sorrow.” Jordan’s team won […]

Mar 19

by darren in Crash 0 comments tags: Alonso, Formula1, McLaren

Alonso crash at the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix

A dramatic opening to Sunday’s Formula 1 race as Fernando Alonso is sent flying off the track at La Source, during the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix

Mar 18

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Formula1, Lawson, Red Bull

Five race development plan for Red Bulls Lawson

The Australian Grand Prix didn’t go to plan for Liam Lawson but Helmut Marko won’t pass judgement on the Red Bull rookie until he’s completed “three to five” races with the senior team. Promoted to Red Bull for the F1 2025 championship after 11 Grands Prix with the junior team over two seasons, Marko made it clear before the campaign that Lawson’s job was to “help” Max Verstappen win the titles for Red Bull. Alas, Race One didn’t go to plan. Lawson was knocked out in Q1 at the Albert Park circuit after aborting his final flying lap in Q1 when a wayward moment through Turn 10 was compounded by a slide at the penultimate corner. Down in 18th place on the grid and with rain forecast for the Grand Prix, Red Bull bolted a different specification rear wing and rear beam wing onto the New Zealander’s car but it came to nought. Lawson added his name to the list of non-finishers when he crashed late in the race, the Red Bull driver one of four rookies who didn’t see the chequered flag along Isack Hadjar, Jack Doohan and Gabriel Bortoleto. Spinning off on his slick tyres as others pitted […]

Mar 17

by darren in Track 0 comments tags: Formula1, Shanghai, Verstappen

Shanghai On-Board Lap with Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing F1 takes us for a lap around the Shanghai International Circuit during Qualifying for the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix

Mar 17

by darren in Crash 0 comments tags: Ericsson, Formula1, Sauber

Ericsson crash 2018 Italian Grand Prix

Marcus Ericsson walked away relatively unscathed after losing control at 220mph during practice for the Italian Grand Prix on Friday. Ericsson’s Sauber hit a wall and rolled three times after it appeared his DRS failed to close under braking. The car came to a standstill the right way up and Ericsson was helped out of his car by marshals and taken to Monza’s medical centre.