Autosport

Ayrton Senna’s first and second Formula 1 world titles, beating Alain Prost in the iconic McLaren MP4/4 in 1988 and then ruthlessly removing his rival from the Japanese Grand Prix two years later, are better known, but his third crown was arguably th

Formula 1 has announced the return of Imola to the 2021 calendar after being forced to postpone the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix, with the new season now starting in Bahrain. F1 had unveiled a 23-race calendar that was due to start in Australia

Renault Formula 1 boss Cyril Abiteboul has left the company with immediate effect ahead of the team’s rebrand as Alpine. Abiteboul has worked on Renault’s F1 project since 2014, and helped oversee its works return to F1 two years later as team princi

Multiple Le Mans 24 Hours winner Joest Racing has been brought in by niche sportscar manufacturer Glickenhaus to bolster its maiden World Endurance Championship campaign in 2021. The German squad will be returning to the WEC for the first time since

Toyota has released the first pictures – and a name – for its new World Endurance Championship Le Mans Hypercar. The Japanese manufacturer has put out shots of the GR010 running in camouflage ahead of its official unveiling tomorrow (Friday), when th

Grand prix winner Robert Kubica will make his prototype race debut at this month’s Daytona 24 Hours. The Alfa Romeo F1 reserve will drive an ORECA-Gibson 07 for the Danish High Class squad in the IMSA SportsCar Championship opener on 30-31 January. T

Successful British racing car constructor Lola could return to modern motorsport if the right buyers can be found. Lola, which scored success in many branches of the sport including endurance racing, Indycar and junior single-seaters, ceased car prod

British Touring Car Championship veteran Tom Chilton has got his hands on a BMW for his 15th season in the series. Chilton, a 14-time race winner in the BTCC, will team up with Adam Morgan at Ciceley Motorsport, which has replaced its ageing Mercedes

Ex-Formula 1 driver Stoffel Vandoorne will dovetail his Formula E campaign for Mercedes this year with an assault on the World Endurance Championship with Jota Sport in LMP2. The former McLaren driver will race one of two ORECA-Gibson 07s fielded by

Pat Patrick, who has died aged 91, fielded the winning car at the Indy 500 on three occasions and his eponymous team claimed the CART title twice. But the oilman with a love of racing arguably had a much more enduring legacy on North American single-

Stephane Peterhansel put himself in prime position to win a record 14th Dakar Rally as Autosport went to press, after chief rival Nasser Al-Attiyah hit trouble on Tuesday’s ninth stage of the Saudi Arabia event. While Peterhansel (above) and his X-ra

I was very sad to hear of the death of Mr Brands Hatch, Brian Jones (Obituary, 7 January). During the 1980s I almost felt Brands to be my second home, as I attended as many car meetings through the season as I could, including grands prix, 1000km, FF

The 1991 Formula 1 contest is not as famous as the controversial seasons that preceded it, but you could make a strong case for it being Ayrton Senna’s finest championship success. The year is often recalled as one that was decided by Senna’s quartet

Having got close to toppling McLaren the year before, Ferrari started the season with high hopes. But neither the 642, an updated version of the 1990 challenger, nor the 643 that arrived at the French Grand Prix were quick enough to defeat McLaren an

In recent seasons, Autosport has been in the habit of producing a ‘Class B’ points table, using the current Formula 1 scoring system but eliminating the dominant teams. So we’ve decided to do the same for 1991 – minus McLaren, Williams, Ferrari and B

In the years immediately succeeding its whitewash of the 1988 season, McLaren was forced to cope with a resurgent Ferrari as it sought to extend its dominance into the next decade of Formula 1. The exodus of Alain Prost and designer Steve Nichols fro

The combination of Williams and Adrian Newey produced McLaren’s sternest challenge in years, even in the revered aero pharaoh’s early years. Sure, Williams had also embarked upon the path of saturating its cars with driver aids, but it also now had s

Five constructors’ titles in six seasons, plus drivers’ crowns for Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve. If the Williams legend was established in the 1980s, it was in the following decade when the team branded its status as

Following Ferrari’s title near-miss with Alain Prost in 1990, after Ayrton Senna’s professional foul at Suzuka, star rookie Jean Alesi stepped up to the big time from Tyrrell to join fellow countryman Prost at Maranello for 1991. Instead of serving u

Team Tyrrell Drivers’ championship 8th Highlights Qualifying second at Monaco, finishing second at Montreal Tyrrell got hold of potent Honda V10s for 1991, and Modena and the 020 showed plenty of potential. But, as engineer Nigel Beresford – who ran

This May will represent the 30th anniversary of Rick Mears joining the four-time Indianapolis 500 winners’ club, after a stunning outside pass on Michael Andretti at Turn 1 on lap 188 of the 200. It will therefore also be the 30th anniversary of Andr

Car Ligier JS35 Engine Lamborghini 3512 naturally aspirated V12 Power 700bhp at 13,800rpm Suspension double wishbones, pushrod-activated coil springs/dampers Gearbox transverse six-speed semi-automatic Xtrac Tyres Goodyear Far removed from the halcyo

Incredibly, Michael Andretti found a way to be even more dominant in 1992 than in 1991, and yet miss out on the title! Despite winning the championship with the Chevrolet unit, Michael was eager to switch to the Cosworth XB powerplant that he and fat

The switch to 3.5-litre naturally aspirated engines for world sportscars was controversial, but helped create one of the most spectacular sportsracers of all time. Ross Brawn applied a Formula 1-style approach to the design of the Tom Walkinshaw Raci

The rivalry between Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz is legendary in grand prix motorcycle racing history, and the fact that it enthrals so many even today is testament to the staying power of their stories. For fans of two-wheeled racing, it’s at lea

When Nick Tandy joined the Porsche factory roster back in 2013, he had a dream – to claim a win in one of the big enduros for his new employer. After eight seasons with the German manufacturer, and as he sets out on a new chapter of his career with C

Nick Tandy’s programme in his maiden season with Porsche encompassed racing in the American Le Mans Series enduros at Sebring and Petit Le Mans with the Walker Racing-run Falken Tire squad. It yielded a win at Road Atlanta together with Wolf Henzler

The mighty Jaguar XJ-based Super Saloon that Tony Hazlewood and Gordon Mayers built as successor to Hazlewood’s DAF V8 in 1975 is undergoing restoration for a planned racing return this season, the hulk having lain dormant for more than 40 years. Jon

British Touring Car Championship race-winning team Ciceley Motorsport will field a Mercedes GT4 car in British GT this year. The Lancashire team, which will switch from its venerable Mercedes A-Class to run BMW 330i M Sport machines in the BTCC this

Governing body Motorsport UK has outlined the fees and process involved in transporting cars and equipment to Europe following the conclusion of the Brexit transition period at the end of December. Motorsport UK had been seeking clarification of what

Ginetta GT4 Supercup champion Will Burns will make his return to the British GT Championship this year with Assetto Motorsport. The Weston-super-Mare driver last competed in British GT in 2018 in a Pro-Am Ginetta fielded by HHC Motorsport, taking a b

Matias Zagazeta has become the first driver with previous British Formula 4 experience to be announced as competing in the category again this year. The Peruvian had a tricky rookie season in the series last year, taking a best result of fifth drivin

The Production VW Golf GTI Mk2 category will merge with the Production BMW Championship this season. The Golf GTI Mk2s previously shared a grid with the faster and newer Mk5 models but, with the COVID-19 pandemic reducing competitor numbers last year

Classic Sports Car Club Special Saloon and Modsports stalwart Ricky Parker-Morris, who passed away last Thursday, embodied everything great about amateur motorsport. That he was taken by COVID-19, having been project managing the construction of Chel

The British Automobile Racing Club has announced Mark Turner as its new sporting manager. Turner’s previous experience includes being coordinator for the SEAT Cupra Championship and series manager for the China-focused Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup and Jagua

Given the shortened nature of the 2020 club racing season, we always thought it could be very close in the battle to top the revived Autosport National Driver Rankings. But, just like knowing what will happen next in the coronavirus pandemic, it was

Last year was an incredible 12 months both on and off the track – what do you make of the 2020 season? GARY PREBBLE We had three DNFs to start the year [in the Castle Combe Saloons] so it wasn’t looking great for the season; it certainly cost me the

MOTORSPORT.TV The first series of the all-new Racing Files documentary box set is available to watch now on Motorsport.tv. Seven episodes, each 26 minutes in length, track back through the entire history of motor racing. There are studies of the most

When Autosport asks Formula E race winner Mitch Evans to reminisce about the time he declined a contract to race in Australian Supercars, the expected response is to turn the clock back to the end of 2015. Having edged future electric rivals Daniel A

A pair of Puma race gloves signed by Lewis Hamilton in a frame, worth more than £1000 Lewis Hamilton matched Michael Schumacher’s remarkable record of seven Formula 1 world drivers’ titles in 2020. In which race did he clinch the crown? A) The Eifel

To defend the Vauxhall Astra Coupe and its Bertone lines is to also defend the BTC Touring era of the British Touring Car Championship – and that’s just fine. Of course, it’s the Super Tourers that bring out the rose-tinted lenses. But the crazy spen

The polesitting Porsche 936/81 of Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell appears to lead the field at the commencement of the 1981 Le Mans 24 Hours formation lap, although a tardy take-off by the #11 Porsche means its front-row starting sister car, driven by Joch