Not From Chicago, But Close Enough

No race to talk about this week, but we did have our first interview with FD PROSPEC driver Jack Davis, so tune in till the end to hear that. Elsewhere around the paddock we talked about the Engine supplier situation with Mercedes customer teams, we broke down the new information in the Red Bull and VCARB teams, Mercedes recent success, and the most recent information on the ROLEX sponsorship news! Raven and Oliver also discuss some of the recent information about the F1 movie. Next week is the Hungaroring and we will break it down On The Gravel

Round 12 of the Formula One World Championship took us to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix for another classic in a season that is slowly seeing Red Bull’s dominance fade. It was a race that had it all! McLaren vs Mercedes, changeable conditions, a 5 car battle for the win, and Lewis Hamilton’s first win in two and a half years coming at his home race. 6 different winners in the first 12 races of the year says it all. Elsewhere around the paddock, Danica Patrick was fired from Sky Sports, Perez’s torrid run of form gets another look, and Hamilton wants to potentially purchase a MotoGP team. Haas officially announced Oliver Bearman, Alpine kept the doors closed on a private test with Schumacher and Doohan, and Adrian Newey gave a hint at when he’ll have his future sorted. This week wrapped up with recaps of the Formula 2 and MotoGP events as we came to a heartwarming end to a wild triple-header. Thanks for coming out On The Gravel with us, we’ll see you next week! ---- SUBSCRIBE TO THE ALITHIO NETWORK YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND ALSO WATCH ON THE GRAVEL

Round 11 of the Formula One World Championship took us to the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix. It was a pretty routine weekend, with track limits stealing the show as they typically do in the Styrian hills, along with a fight for the win between the classic pair of Norris and Verstappen that hit its first boiling point this season. With just a handful of laps to go, an over aggressive defense from Max caused contact, punctures, and the front running pair to slide down the order, allowing George Russell to swoop through and take only his second career win. Elsewhere around the paddock, the FIA’s super license rules have officially changed, Aston Martin has hired further Ferrari staff, and Austria improved its AI track limits detection system. Stroll and Gasly extended with their respective teams, Helmut Marko has hinted that Ricciardo’s end and Lawson’s return may be here very soon, and the Jos Verstappen/Christian Horner dumpster fire took another funny turn this weekend. Moto GP, Rally Poland, and Formula 2 rounded out our coverage for a fantastic week out On The Gravel. See you next week for Silverstone!

Round 10 of the Formula One World Championship brought us to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Spanish Grand Prix. It was a superb Saturday for Lando Norris, taking a second career pole position, but it wasn’t to be on the Sunday for the Brit. A stellar drive from Max Verstappen halted any chance of a win for Lando running an alternate tire strategy to fight back in the closing moments. Elsewhere around the paddock, Alpine is potentially debating becoming an engine customer, Domenicali is posing the idea to add more sprint races, and Adrian Newey set an outlandish salary request for Aston Martin. On top of this, F1 ticket prices are starting to become a real issue, VCARB brought a huge upgrade package to Barcelona, and a breakdown of the Mercedes email scandal took place. Outside of F1, a bit of time was spent going over the WEC calendar released last week and why the series officials are right in their hesitation to expand the calendar. Two more rounds to go in the triple header, we will see you back On The Gravel for the Austrian Grand Prix next week!

In the build up to the Spanish GP in a weeks time, On the Gravel took us to France for the 24 hr of Le Mans in the World Endurance Championship for a fantastic battle of wit, strategy and endurance. And what a race it was, with Ferrari winning Le Mans back to back after a 60 year drought. Elsewhere around the F1 paddock, Charles elaborated on his struggles from Canada, Perez’s triggering of the safety car was brought into question, and Zak Brown spoke on the toxic environment at Red Bull. The FIA also rewrote the super license rules this week for Antonelli, Norris believes it's between Ferrari and McLaren for the constructors, and Williams have offered Sainz a 4 year deal at Williams. Not the heftiest of weeks but still one to keep us on our toes On The Gravel, see you all in Spain in weeks time!

Round 9 of the Formula One World Championship took us to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the Canadian Grand Prix, arguably the most entertaining race weekend we’ve had all season, from a Mercedes on pole and the second ever dead heat in qualifying, to all the different strategies posed by the rain and a multi team challenge for the win. It wasn’t to be for George Russell or Lando Norris however, with multiple safety cars playing into Verstappen's favor, seeing him cross the line to take his 60th victory in Formula One. Elsewhere around the paddock, Yuki Tsunoda extended his deal with VCARB for a further year, Perez somehow earned a multiyear extension, and a deep dive into the newly released images and information about the 2026 regulations. Lights out for the Spanish GP is two weeks out, but the fabled 24hr of Le Mans is here to give us a full day of racing this coming weekend and we can't wait to share our thoughts with you next time out On The Gravel.

In the build up to the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend, a lot of time was spent On The Gravel this week hashing out the validity of the penalty points system after Kevin Magnussen escaped any investigation for the kerfuffle that occurred on the first lap of the Monaco Grand Prix last week, truly bringing into question why the system remains in place if the points aren’t dished out in a cut and dry manner. Other news around the paddock centered around Haas folding their Nascar outfit and its impact on the F1 side of the business, Mattia Binotto potentially joining Aston Martin, and the impact the lap one incident with Magnussen and Perez has on the potential future upgrades Red Bull hopes to bring this season. On top of this, a new C6 tire compound is being discussed, Flavio Briatore may be returning with Alpine and a dive into the standings and destructors championship. Takes on the Indy 500, Rally de Italy in WRC, and the Italian GP in MotoGP rounded up a lengthy stint for us, out On The Gravel!

Round 8 of the Formula One World Championship brought us to the Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo for one of the most boring races in the history of F1, aside from the first few corners and Charles Leclerc breaking his horrid streak of luck at his home race to be the first Monegasque driver to win at home. Around the paddock, McLaren wore a special livery to honor 30 years since Senna’s passing, Lawrence Stroll and Alonso are losing patience, and Checo has been offered an extension. Along with this, the FIA abandoned the spray guards, Sainz is on Williams radar, and the CEO of Liberty media seems to have a vendetta against the Andretti family. This was the race win and race winner that Formula One fans have been yearning for and its been well worth it. Canada is in 2 weeks time and we will be right here waiting, On The Gravel.

Round 7 of the Formula One World Championship took us to Imola for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, a slow burn of a race that built up to a wonderful race for the win towards the end for Verstappen and Norris. It wasn’t to be for Lando, but the Red Bull seems to be slowly losing its massive advantage over the field. In and around the paddock, Chicago is back in the headlines with rumors of a finalized deal for a date and circuit, Alex Albon extending with Williams past 2026, and Ferrari’s key engineering and development pickups from Mercedes. Along with this, Adrian Newey has stated that he wants to continue designing, Haas may be eying Zhou over Bearman, and Bottas may be turning some eyes at Alpine and Williams.  Plenty of racing is coming up this week with the Spanish GP in MotoGP, the 108th running of the Indy 500, and the Monaco GP in Formula One. Stick with us this week On The Gravel as we look on to see who’s drinking the milk and who blitzes the opposition on the streets of the principality!

In the week leading up to the Emilia-Romanga Grand Prix at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, the racing world blessed us with the famous Month of May, widely regarded as the greatest month of the year for world motor racing. This weekend had fans booked with the 6HRs of Spa in WEC, Rally de Portugal in the WRC as well as the French GP in MotoGP. Along with our coverage and takes on those three events, there was still news to be heard around the F1 paddock. A deep dive onto the penalty points system was due after last week's Miami GP along with Leclerc apparently having no water from the formation lap, the Miami GP setting US watch records and RB Powertrains taking hundreds of employees from the Mercedes HPP engine program. To finish off, the changes to Imola were discussed for the upcoming race, all the racing events for May were outlined and Leclerc’s long time race engineer Xavi Marcos is being reshuffled elsewhere at Ferrari. Many continuous weeks of fruitful racing are on the horizon and we intend to talk about it all here when we see you next, On The Gravel.