Alex Kalinauckas, The Athletic Journalist Profile

Articles

Liberty Media’s $4.2bn MotoGP deal finally gets European Commission approval

4 days ago | nytimes.com | Alex Kalinauckas

Formula 1 commercial rights owner, Liberty Media, can finally complete its acquisition of the MotoGP motorcycling world championship after receiving unconditional approval from the European Union’s European Commission executive arm. Liberty Media announced back in April 2024 that it was buying MotoGP rights holder Dorna Sports in a $4.2billion deal.
Why Ferrari can’t win in F1, but it can win Le Mans. Plus, Robert Kubica praise

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Alex Kalinauckas

Prime Tire Newsletter | This is The Athletic’s twice-weekly F1 newsletter. Sign up here to receive Prime Tire directly in your inbox on Tuesday and Friday. Welcome back to Prime Tire, where I still don’t know what Lando Norris was thinking in going left and not right against Oscar Piastri late in the Canadian Grand Prix. But the other big story from Montreal concerned Ferrari.
Why hasn’t George Russell got a Mercedes F1 contract extension yet? It’s overdue

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Alex Kalinauckas

George Russell’s eyes narrowed under his flowing locks. His look hardened, steel glinting in what was left of his vision. This was the pre-event media day at the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix and I’d just asked what Russell made of critics who were then saying he makes too many mistakes under pressure.
Canadian Grand Prix strikes deal to remain on F1 calendar through 2035 season

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Alex Kalinauckas

The Canadian Grand Prix will remain on the Formula One calendar through the 2035 season, after a new deal was reached with the championship’s commercial rights holder, Liberty Media. The Montreal race already had a deal in place that ran up until the 2031 season — which included the two lost events in 2020 and 2021 to the COVID-19 pandemic — but this has now been extended for a further four years.
The other sad F1 race clash. Plus, McLaren struggles early in Canada

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Alex Kalinauckas

Prime Tire Newsletter | This is The Athletic's twice-weekly F1 newsletter. Sign up here to receive Prime Tire directly in your inbox on Tuesday and Friday. Welcome back to Prime Tire, where the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix is getting underway on the same weekend as another major motorsport race.
Former F1 team boss Guenther Steiner eying MotoGP team CEO role, confirms investment talks

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Alex Kalinauckas

Former Haas Formula One team boss Guenther Steiner has confirmed he is in discussions to invest in a MotoGP team, which could lead to a new role as a squad CEO in the top category of global motorcycle racing. Steiner was axed as Haas team boss at the end of 2023, eight years after its F1 debut in the 2016 season. Following his exit, he began working extensively as an F1 television pundit.
Did Max Verstappen get off lightly? A poll. Plus, a fix for the Monaco GP

3 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Alex Kalinauckas

Prime Tire Newsletter | This is The Athletic's twice-weekly F1 newsletter. Sign up here to receive Prime Tire directly in your inbox on Tuesday and Friday. Welcome back to Prime Tire, where we're basking in the glow of our largest ever response to a poll on this newsletter. Or so Patrick tells me, at any rate.
Why Max Verstappen didn't get disqualified for Spanish Grand Prix collision

3 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Alex Kalinauckas

Max Verstappen's controversial collision with George Russell was an extraordinary end to Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. Russell called the Red Bull driver's move "very deliberate," while Verstappen himself on Monday admitted the move "was not right and shouldn't have happened."The option to remove Verstappen from the race results was available to the stewards of the Barcelona event, per F1's rules.
Max Verstappen says George Russell collision 'not right' and 'shouldn't have happened'

3 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Alex Kalinauckas

Max Verstappen has admitted his controversial clash with George Russell in Formula One's 2025 Spanish Grand Prix was "a move that was not right and shouldn't have happened". The Red Bull driver was hit with a 10-second penalty for the incident that Russell felt was "very deliberate" and opened a debate over whether Verstappen should have been more harshly punished. "It's something that I've seen numerous times in sim racing and on iRacing.
Submit your questions for our F1 mailbag

3 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Alex Kalinauckas

Oscar Piastri dominated the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix ahead of his McLaren teammate Lando Norris, but all the post-race chat was about Max Verstappen's clashes with Mercedes driver George Russell. The Red Bull driver had put McLaren under pressure with an attacking three-stop strategy, but was undone first by the timing of the late safety car period and then having to save a huge moment at the late restart when running hard tires with the rest on the faster softs.