Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

No one likes dealing with car repairs. They’re expensive, unexpected, and always seem to happen at the worst possible time. But whether you like it or not, car repairs are a fact of life. So how can you prepare for them? And how can you make sure you’re not getting ripped off? Keep reading to find out.

How to Prepare for Car Repairs

You can do a few things to prepare for the inevitable car repairs. First, be sure to stay up-to-date on your vehicle’s maintenance schedule. This will help you avoid more serious and expensive repairs down the road. Additionally, be sure to set aside money each month into a savings account specifically for car repairs. 

This way, when something goes wrong, you’ll have the money on hand to cover the cost without putting it on a credit card or taking out a loan. Finally, consider signing up for an extended warranty like an Endurance Warranty or service contract. While this won’t cover everything, it can help reduce the costs of some repairs by giving you access to discounts or even free labour.

The Average Cost of Car Repairs

According to AAA, the average cost of an automotive repair is $500. However, that number can vary greatly depending on the type of repair you need. For example, a minor repair, such as changing your oil, may only cost $50, while a major repair, such as replacing your engine, could cost upwards of $5,000. 

Therefore, it’s essential to know what kind of repairs your car may need and how much they might cost to plan accordingly and be prepared for when the situation arises.

It was a difficult FIA Formula 1 World Championship Singapore Grand Prix for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell both making bad mistakes from either end of the grid.

Hamilton looked to be battling for a podium in the first half of the race, but as he was chasing down Carlos Sainz Jr. he hit the barriers, meaning he had to repair his damaged front wing. While trying to work his way back through the field, he went too deep into a corner losing a position late on to Max Verstappen, meaning he finished in a disappointing ninth place despite nearly snatching pole position on Saturday.

Russell started from the pitlane due to some reliability concerns and a poor performance in qualifying on Saturday, which saw him knocked out in Q2. A number of errors and a switch to slicks too early saw Russell finish last of all of the runners that saw the chequered flag.

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff was disappointed with the team not maximising the car’s race pace, and also explained the gamble to switch Russell to the slick tyres earlier than the rest.

“This season has given us several tough lessons – and today was another one. We started from opposite ends of the grid with our two cars, but we couldn’t capitalise on the car’s race pace with either of them, when it came to an end result. Lewis was fighting for the podium for much of the race – but also battling a car balance that was on a knife edge today, in difficult conditions and on the bumpy surface.

Despite Scuderia Ferrari securing their fourth FIA Formula 1 World Championship double podium finish of the season at the Singapore Grand Prix, Mattia Binotto has admitted that he leaves the Marina Bay Street Circuit with a sense of disappointment after the team failed to secure the race victory.

Charles Leclerc failed to convert pole position into the race win for the seventh time this season after a slow start from the Monegasque driver off the line allowed Sergio Perez to reach turn one in the lead of the race.

Leclerc was largely able to stick with the pace being set by the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver out front but was unable to put himself in a position where an overtake would have been possible. By the time of the changeover point onto the slick tyres, Ferrari and Leclerc opted to do the opposite to Perez, which would see Leclerc bring his F1-75 in for a set of medium tyres the lap before Perez.

A slow out-lap from Leclerc, who was struggling to generate any grip on his new set of medium tyres, would allow Perez to rejoin the grid still in first place. Even with the late threat of a penalty to Sergio Perez for a safety car infringement, which the Mexican was later awarded a five-second time penalty for, Leclerc was unable to pull close enough to Perez that the penalty awarded to the Mexican did not affect the final standings of the race.

For Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard struggled considerably in his first stint of the race on the intermediate tyres and found himself more focused on keeping Lewis Hamilton at bay in fourth place than attempting to join the fight at the front. Hamilton’s mistake which saw him head nose first into the barriers at turn seven, allowed Sainz the necessary respite to get to his second stint still in third place.

Everything you need to know about the Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix... all the details, stats, pictures and quotes.

Despite achieving his third consecutive podium of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship at the Singapore Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc has been left ruing his poor start to the race, which the Monegasque driver stated put him on the back foot for the remainder of the race.

Leclerc’s work to secure pole position on Saturday at the Marina Bay Street Circuit had been undone by the time the Scuderia Ferrari driver reached turn one as the Monegasque suffered from wheel spin at the race start, allowing Sergio Perez to claim the lead of the race.

The Ferrari driver was able to stick with the pace being set by the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver but was largely unable to threaten the Mexican for the lead of the race. In an attempt to overtake Perez in the pits, Ferrari and Leclerc opted to do the opposite to the race leader, which would see the twenty-four-year-old pit before the Red Bull driver. With Leclerc struggling to generate any grip on his out-lap, the attempt at the undercut would prove unsuccessful as Perez, who pitted a lap later, would rejoin the race still in the lead.

Even with the late possibility of a time penalty being applied to Sergio Perez for a safety car infringement, Leclerc was unable to close the gap to the race leader and would finish seven and a half seconds behind Perez, the deficit would later become just two and a half seconds as Perez was handed a five-second time penalty for the safety car infringement.

Putting the disappointment of once again failing to convert pole position into the race victory to the side, Leclerc stated that he felt the team had taken a step forward in terms of their race execution.

Mike Krack, the Team Principal of Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1 Team, has heaped the praise on both of his drivers after both Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel were able to work their way through the tricky conditions of the Singapore Grand Prix to claim the team’s second double points finish of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season.

Both Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel were able to make their way up into the top ten on the opening later, with Vettel particularly enjoying a remarkable start to the race with the German climbing five places to eighth by the end of the opening lap. The Aston Martin duo had taken advantage of Max Verstappen’s poor start to the race but the Dutchmen would soon be passing Lance Stroll on the second lap and would eventually make his way past Sebastian Vettel at the safety-car restart on the eleventh lap of the race.

A mistake from Yuki Tsunoda on lap twenty-one would allow Stroll to rejoin the point-paying positions and just moments later both Aston Martin drivers would be moving up a place in the order as Fernando Alonso’s race came to an abrupt end.

The Aston Martin pitwall followed the rest of the grid in electing to pit both drivers onto a set of medium tyres on lap thirty-four, with Sebastian Vettel coming in first, followed by Lance Stroll a lap later. A slow out-lap from Vettel would subsequently allow Stroll to execute an overcut on his teammate and rejoin the grid in seventh place.  

In the closing stages of the race Vettel was able to fend off an attack from Lewis Hamilton, with the Brit making a mistake into turn eight with just one minute remaining in the Grand Prix, allowing Verstappen to mount a late charge towards the German driver. Verstappen was successful in his pursuit for seventh place as he passed Vettel on the run into turn seven on the final lap of the race but the Dutchmen was unable to pass Lance Stroll, who finished two seconds ahead of the championship leader in sixth place.

After securing his best finish of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, Lance Stroll has hailed his team’s efforts around the Marina Bay Street Circuit as the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team driver was able to secure a sixth-place finish at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Starting from the sixth row of the grid in eleventh place, Stroll would gain one place on the opening lap thanks to the slow start suffered by championship leader Max Verstappen. Stroll would soon fall outside the points on the following lap as the Dutchmen was able to make a late move heading into turn seven to get past the Canadian driver.

Stroll would make his move into the points-paying positions on lap twenty-one by taking advantage of the misfortune of Fernando Alonso’s retirement and Yuki Tsunoda’s slide. As a result of the two incidents, Stroll then found himself running in ninth place, directly behind Sebastian Vettel.

The Aston Martin driver would come in for his one and only pit-stop of the race on lap thirty-six and was able to execute the overcut on his teammate to rejoin the action in seventh place with Vettel placed behind him in eighth.

Stroll would once again gain a place as a result of Max Verstappen’s misfortune after the Dutchmen locked up attempting to overtake Lando Norris into turn seven. Stroll would come home to cross the finish line in sixth place and despite Verstappen’s best efforts to rectify his earlier mistake, the Canadian was able to finish two seconds ahead of the championship leader.

Jody Egginton believed Scuderia AlphaTauri deserved to take more than just a solitary point away from the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday, with questionable strategy decisions meaning they dropped down the order.

Having started with both Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda inside the top ten and with weather conditions uncertain following a heavy downpour that saw the race delayed by over an hour, the team scored only a tenth-place finish on Sunday thanks to Gasly, while Tsunoda crashed out.

Egginton, the Technical Director at AlphaTauri, believes the decision from the pit wall to pit both drivers for dry tyres came too early, and it meant Gasly fell behind Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel in the final result.

Tsunoda crashed out at turn ten not long after making his own pit stop, meaning the potential double points finish turned into just a single point and a drop to ninth place in the Constructors’ Championship behind the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team.

“After all of the hard work put in by the team and drivers over the weekend, we have failed to maximise the opportunity to score good points with both cars tonight,” said Egginton.  “This is due to our engineering team committing too early to the switch to dry tyres.

Pierre Gasly admitted to being disappointed with finishing only tenth in Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix, with the Frenchman feeling he missed out on a potential top five finish by pitting too early for slick tyres.

The Scuderia AlphaTauri driver had been just behind McLaren F1 Team’s Lando Norris in the opening phase of the race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit but was one of the first to pit for Pirelli’s medium compound, and the time lost compared to some of his main rivals meant he slipped behind them.

Whereas Norris was able to move up the order and finish fourth, the second McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo and both Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team drivers edged ahead, and he was left with only one point to his name come the chequered flag.

“I’m very disappointed today, that’s not the result we should’ve had,” said Gasly.  “We were having an excellent race, behind Lando and ahead of the two Aston Martins, but we took a massive risk boxing early and lost some positions.

“I don’t fully understand why we made this decision, so we’ll need to review everything and learn from this mistake.

Charles Leclerc blames his poor getaway as the reason for him spending the Singapore Grand Prix staring at Sergio Perez' exhaust pipe.

Blaming anti-stall for his poor start, a difficult Singapore Grand Prix does nothing to lift Max Verstappen's mood following Q3 meltdown.

A needless mistake sees Lewis Hamilton lose out on a possible podium finish, as the seven-time world champion admits to a "pretty rubbish day".

Adding 10 much-needed points to McLaren's tally, Daniel Ricciardo puts Singapore result on a par with Melbourne performance.

McLaren F1 Team Principal Andreas Seidl couldn’t have been happier at the outcome of the first Singapore Grand Prix since 2019, as Lando Norris finished fourth and Daniel Ricciardo fifth, to seal a first double top five finish of the season for the Woking-Based Team.

The result at the Marina Bay Circuit was beyond McLaren’s wildest dreams, as not only did they seal a double top five finish, but Constructors’ Championship rivals the BWT Alpine F1 Team saw both of their drivers retire with what appeared to be a double engine failure. As a result of McLaren’s four-five finish and Alpine’s double-DNF, the papaya-side are staggeringly back into fourth in the Constructors’, after scoring twenty-two points in challenging conditions.

Norris was consistent all race. The Brit made a strong start and ran in fifth for the majority of his opening stint; however, he rose to fourth thanks to Lewis Hamilton going into the barrier. The McLaren driver defended brilliantly from Max Verstappen, who ended up in the Turn Seven runoff following a Safety Car restart due to trying a lunge on Norris. Pitting during the Safety Car period worked perfectly for Norris and Ricciardo, who made his way through the field from sixteenth to fifth in what was his best drive of the season.

Seidl knows full well that his team are now “back in the game”, with the pressure seemingly now on their French rivals to comeback.

“Twenty-two points. Back in the game! Thanks to the entire team for delivering an excellent result this weekend, in hot, humid conditions here at the track in Singapore, back at the MTC and our colleagues at Mercedes HPP. Daniel and Lando both had superb drives today in tricky conditions.

Lando Norris‘ run of finishing in seventh-place finally came to an end, as the McLaren F1 Team driver crossed the line in a brilliant fourth-place, after a strategically flawless performance.

The British driver made a strong start to the Singapore Grand Prix and quickly found himself all on his own in fifth. With conditions being treacherous, Norris was told that he’d be extending his opening stint on the Intermediates by as long as possible, something which worked perfectly for both him and the Woking-based team.

Norris did amazingly to defend fifth from Max Verstappen not long before his pit-stop, which he made during a full Safety Car was released due to Yuki Tsunoda having crashed at Turn Ten.

This allowed Norris a beautifully cheap stop which elevated him to fourth, which is where he had risen to after Lewis Hamilton slid into the barrier. In all honesty, nothing else really happened for the Brit during his race, apart from a scary moment when Verstappen nearly went into the back of him at a Virtual Safety Car restart; however, that was before his cheap pit-stop.

Norris was impossible to overtake, something the Dutchman found out at the restart for Tsunoda’s crash, where he went into the run-off at Turn Seven following a hige lock-up whilst trying to lunge up the inside of the Brit.

Today's post-race press conference with Sergio Perez, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

It was a disappointing Singapore Grand Prix for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell both making critical mistakes.

Hamilton was battling Carlos Sainz for fourth but slid straight on into the barriers, leaving him with no option but to pit to replace his broken front wing. Luckily the seven-time World Champion combined the stop with the switch to slick tyres meaning not too much time was lost but enough to push him down the order from fourth to ninth.

The seven-time champion tried to save his race but found himself battling Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. The Brit went to overtake Vettel and found himself overtaken by Verstappen as a result.

“I think we started off with a pretty decent weekend and it was just really unfortunate at the end, no matter how hard I was trying it was just not possible to overtake.

“Today was about who gets on the slicks first and it would have been slice and dice with Carlos, which I was working towards. But that went out of the window when I had that lockup going into Turn 7. Your heart sinks a little bit, but you get back up again and try.

Twenty-two points. Back in the game!

We are disappointed with the result of today's race.

Details of each driver's tyre strategy during the Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix.