Flattering F1 champ once, right? (9)
I believe the answer is:
laudatory
'flattering' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'once right?' is the wordplay.
'once' becomes 'lauda' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'right?' becomes 'tory' (Tory can mean Conservative or right-wing).
'lauda'+'tory'='LAUDATORY'
'f1 champ' is the link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for laudatory that I've seen before include "Expressing praise and commendation" , "puffing" , "Eulogistic" , "Full of praise" .)