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Filip Cleeren
Author

Filip Cleeren

After concluding his journalism studies Filip decided to jump in at the deep end and become a freelance motorsports writer, which took him on a nomadic 50-country journey from Indianapolis to Le Mans and from Melbourne's Albert Park to the Dakar in Argentina. Born and raised in Belgium and now settled in sunny Barcelona, Spain, Filip first joined Motorsport.com in 2015 to help establish the Dutch edition before transitioning to the English-language team. In 2023 he became one of Motorsport Network's main F1 correspondents, with the 2026 season his fourth year on the ground at the majority of grands prix. Being Flemish, when he's not covering F1 you're likely to catch him watching pro cycling instead, but he also has a soft spot for Southampton FC and the Toronto Blue Jays. Don't ask!

Latest articles by Filip Cleeren

Winners and losers from F1's spectacular Chinese Grand Prix

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Chinese GP
Winners and losers from F1's spectacular Chinese Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton's first Ferrari GP podium "one of the most enjoyable F1 races ever"

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Chinese GP
Lewis Hamilton's first Ferrari GP podium "one of the most enjoyable F1 races ever"

Kimi Antonelli fights tears after maiden F1 win: "I gave myself a heart attack at the end"

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Chinese GP
Kimi Antonelli fights tears after maiden F1 win: "I gave myself a heart attack at the end"

McLaren suffers F1 Chinese GP disaster as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri hit trouble

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Chinese GP
McLaren suffers F1 Chinese GP disaster as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri hit trouble

Bahrain and Saudi Arabian F1 races officially cancelled amid Middle East conflict

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Bahrain GP
Bahrain and Saudi Arabian F1 races officially cancelled amid Middle East conflict

Alex Albon: Williams "cannot hide" behind F1 2026 car weight

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Chinese GP
Alex Albon: Williams "cannot hide" behind F1 2026 car weight

McLaren lacking aerodynamic load and efficiency as it learns Mercedes F1 engine

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Chinese GP
McLaren lacking aerodynamic load and efficiency as it learns Mercedes F1 engine

Max Verstappen: Every lap is survival in "undriveable" Red Bull F1 car

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Chinese GP
Max Verstappen: Every lap is survival in "undriveable" Red Bull F1 car

Five quick takeaways from F1's Chinese GP sprint and qualifying

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Chinese GP
Five quick takeaways from F1's Chinese GP sprint and qualifying

Why time has run out for F1 to save its Bahrain and Saudi races

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Bahrain GP
Why time has run out for F1 to save its Bahrain and Saudi races

Exclusive: Graeme Lowdon on what's next for Cadillac after short F1 honeymoon

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Australian GP
Exclusive: Graeme Lowdon on what's next for Cadillac after short F1 honeymoon

Spanish GP releases latest Madring F1 renderings

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Spanish GP
Spanish GP releases latest Madring F1 renderings

Audi will eventually have one of the best engines in F1, says Gabriel Bortoleto

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Australian GP
Audi will eventually have one of the best engines in F1, says Gabriel Bortoleto

Williams: Up to five proposals on table to fix “energy-starved” 2026 F1 cars

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Australian GP
Williams: Up to five proposals on table to fix “energy-starved” 2026 F1 cars

What's next for Aston Martin and Honda after torrid start to F1 2026?

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Australian GP
What's next for Aston Martin and Honda after torrid start to F1 2026?

Exclusive: Mario Andretti blown away by 'unexpected' Cadillac F1 chassis tribute

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Australian GP
Exclusive: Mario Andretti blown away by 'unexpected' Cadillac F1 chassis tribute

Melbourne F1 start "near-miss" shows safety still a concern – McLaren

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Australian GP
Melbourne F1 start "near-miss" shows safety still a concern – McLaren

James Vowles: All solutions to Williams F1 car weight are "in my inbox today"

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Australian GP
James Vowles: All solutions to Williams F1 car weight are "in my inbox today"

Andrea Stella praises “very tough” Oscar Piastri: He will come back ‘more determined’

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Australian GP
Andrea Stella praises “very tough” Oscar Piastri: He will come back ‘more determined’

How Cadillac fared on its Formula 1 debut

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Australian GP
How Cadillac fared on its Formula 1 debut

McLaren offers frank summary of F1 2026 performance with 0.5-1s gap to Mercedes

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Australian GP
McLaren offers frank summary of F1 2026 performance with 0.5-1s gap to Mercedes

Winners and losers from F1's chaotic Australian Grand Prix

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Australian GP
Winners and losers from F1's chaotic Australian Grand Prix

Oscar Piastri had "100kW extra power I didn't expect" in Australian GP pre-race crash

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Australian GP
Oscar Piastri had "100kW extra power I didn't expect" in Australian GP pre-race crash

Oscar Piastri out of Australian GP after dramatic crash on way to grid

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Australian GP
Oscar Piastri out of Australian GP after dramatic crash on way to grid

McLaren's theory on Mercedes' concerning Australia F1 advantage

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Australian GP
McLaren's theory on Mercedes' concerning Australia F1 advantage

Andrea Stella: "Very dramatic" Australian GP qualifying "exposes weaknesses" of 2026 F1 rules

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Australian GP
Andrea Stella: "Very dramatic" Australian GP qualifying "exposes weaknesses" of 2026 F1 rules

Lance Stroll, Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz allowed to start F1 Australian GP

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Australian GP
Lance Stroll, Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz allowed to start F1 Australian GP

Lando Norris: F1 has gone from “the best cars ever” to "probably the worst”

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Australian GP
Lando Norris: F1 has gone from “the best cars ever” to "probably the worst”

Five quick takeaways from the first F1 qualifying session of 2026

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Australian GP
Five quick takeaways from the first F1 qualifying session of 2026

F1 Australian GP: George Russell leads interrupted FP3 as Kimi Antonelli suffers heavy crash

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Australian GP
F1 Australian GP: George Russell leads interrupted FP3 as Kimi Antonelli suffers heavy crash

FIA to revert Australian GP straight mode change after F1 team pushback

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Australian GP
FIA to revert Australian GP straight mode change after F1 team pushback

Race our experts! Motorsport.com's F1 Fantasy league returns

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Australian GP
Race our experts! Motorsport.com's F1 Fantasy league returns

Stefano Domenicali: Premature F1 2026 criticism "not right"

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Australian GP
Stefano Domenicali: Premature F1 2026 criticism "not right"

F1 Australian GP: Charles Leclerc leads first 2026 practice as McLaren and Aston Martin hit trouble

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Australian GP
F1 Australian GP: Charles Leclerc leads first 2026 practice as McLaren and Aston Martin hit trouble

Lando Norris on snowy drift challenge with the Solbergs: "One of the most fun cars I've ever driven"

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Australian GP
Lando Norris on snowy drift challenge with the Solbergs: "One of the most fun cars I've ever driven"

Lando Norris: 'McLaren won't be on the back foot' at the start of F1 2026

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Australian GP
Lando Norris: 'McLaren won't be on the back foot' at the start of F1 2026

Esteban Ocon claims overtakes look "quite difficult on paper" as he points to minimal gains

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Australian GP
Esteban Ocon claims overtakes look "quite difficult on paper" as he points to minimal gains

F1 returnee Valtteri Bottas loses grid drop after all

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Australian GP
F1 returnee Valtteri Bottas loses grid drop after all

Ollie Bearman warns Australian GP could be "worst-case scenario" for new F1 regulations

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Australian GP
Ollie Bearman warns Australian GP could be "worst-case scenario" for new F1 regulations

Aston Martin F1 drivers limited to 25 laps to avoid nerve damage

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Australian GP
Aston Martin F1 drivers limited to 25 laps to avoid nerve damage

Why Alonso's patience with Aston Martin and Honda is reliant on time he doesn't have

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Australian GP
Why Alonso's patience with Aston Martin and Honda is reliant on time he doesn't have

FIA eases Australia GP curfews as F1 teams reroute staff

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Australian GP
FIA eases Australia GP curfews as F1 teams reroute staff

Alpine F1 team confirms Alex Dunne's academy role

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Australian GP
Alpine F1 team confirms Alex Dunne's academy role

The Piastri Effect – Australian GP on track for another attendance record

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Australian GP
The Piastri Effect – Australian GP on track for another attendance record

F1's Drive to Survive "won't please everybody", but it isn't going anywhere

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F1's Drive to Survive "won't please everybody", but it isn't going anywhere

We rate the F1 2026 title contenders - Max Verstappen

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We rate the F1 2026 title contenders - Max Verstappen

F1 scraps mandatory Monaco GP two-stop rule for 2026

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F1 scraps mandatory Monaco GP two-stop rule for 2026

FIA announces clampdown on compression ratio tests from June 2026

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Australian GP
FIA announces clampdown on compression ratio tests from June 2026

Cadillac names first F1 car after American icon Mario Andretti

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Bahrain Pre-Season 2
Cadillac names first F1 car after American icon Mario Andretti

Laurent Mekies exclusive: "My job is to protect Red Bull's DNA, not to change it"

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Laurent Mekies exclusive: "My job is to protect Red Bull's DNA, not to change it"

Exclusive: Max Verstappen's Red Bull F1 role "goes far beyond driving", says Laurent Mekies

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Exclusive: Max Verstappen's Red Bull F1 role "goes far beyond driving", says Laurent Mekies

Spanish GP reveals striking Pininfarina designed trophy for inaugural Madrid F1 race

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Spanish GP
Spanish GP reveals striking Pininfarina designed trophy for inaugural Madrid F1 race

Honda reveals alarming cause of "extremely challenging" Aston Martin F1 engine issue

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Bahrain Pre-Season 2
Honda reveals alarming cause of "extremely challenging" Aston Martin F1 engine issue

Will nobody win the Australian GP? Why sandbagging is an art form in F1

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Will nobody win the Australian GP? Why sandbagging is an art form in F1

Apple and Netflix join forces to distribute F1 2026 content

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Australian GP
Apple and Netflix join forces to distribute F1 2026 content

Pirelli's head of motorsport Mario Isola steps down

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Pirelli's head of motorsport Mario Isola steps down

Everything we learned from Season 8 of F1's Drive To Survive

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Bahrain Pre-Season 2
Everything we learned from Season 8 of F1's Drive To Survive

Team by team: How Bahrain's double pre-season test went for the F1 2026 field

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Bahrain Pre-Season 2
Team by team: How Bahrain's double pre-season test went for the F1 2026 field

F1 considering format changes, 12 sprints from 2027

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Bahrain Pre-Season 2
F1 considering format changes, 12 sprints from 2027

Stefano Domenicali: F1 should "stay calm" over challenging 2026 rules

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Bahrain Pre-Season 2
Stefano Domenicali: F1 should "stay calm" over challenging 2026 rules