Formula One

[Jimbuna]

Michael Masi set to lose FIA job as Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes to get their wish granted.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/motorsports/michael-masi-set-to-lose-fia-job-as-lewis-hamilton-and-mercedes-to-get-their-wish-granted/ar-AATQlls?ocid=mailsignout&li=AAnZ9Ug

[Jimbuna]

Michael Masi has been removed as F1 race director as part of a restructure at governing body the FIA in the wake of last year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem announced a series of changes as a result of the inquiry into the controversial end to last year's World Championship.

Masi failed to correctly apply the rules in a late safety car period and had a direct impact on the outcome of the title race.

Two men will now alternate in the role, while extra help will be provided to officials.

The new race directors will be Eduardo Freitas, who formerly performed the role in the World Endurance Championship, and Niels Wittich, who did so in the DTM German Touring Car Championship.

Masi will be "offered a new position within the FIA", Ben Sulayem said.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/60418716

[Red October1984]

"This year is our year!" the Ferrari fans exclaimed while crawling out of their hibernation where they have been on a steady drip of Copium.



Super happy for Max and what a season finale that was but I'm excited to see where this new car takes us in 2022! God willing I will be able to go attend the US Grand Prix again in Austin.

[Buddahaid]

All the teams are in full optimism mode hoping the rules changes even the odds. It's fun to see the cars actually don't look all the same and I can't wait for testing this week to see what actually rolls down the track.

[Jimbuna]

Formula 1 has terminated its contract with the Russian Grand Prix.

The sport's commercial arm, which controls the calendar, has decided racing in the country is impossible following the invasion of Ukraine.

The race in Sochi scheduled for September this year has already been cancelled. There will now no longer be a race in St Petersburg, where it was due to move in 2023.

[Cyborg322]

Formula 1 has terminated its contract with the Russian Grand Prix.

The sport's commercial arm, which controls the calendar, has decided racing in the country is impossible following the invasion of Ukraine.

The race in Sochi scheduled for September this year has already been cancelled. There will now no longer be a race in St Petersburg, where it was due to move in 2023.

Everything is being banned even the The Fédération Internationale Féline is feline the pressure
Russia’s Cats Are Now Banned From International Competition and they can't drive or hold an AK

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/russias-cats-banned-international-competition-1315925/

[Jimbuna]

I doubt Vladolf Putrid will either know or care.

[mapuc]

The Danish F1 driver Kevin Magnussen has return to HAAS

https://www.haasf1team.com/news/kevin-magnussen-returns-haas-f1-team

Markus

[Threadfin]

Testing is over, and now it kicks off for real.

My analysis of every team at this stage, in order based on where I think they are at the moment

1. Red Bull. Probably a toss-up with Ferrari, but take top spot because they turned the fastest lap, which is the point right? They ran a lot of laps and turned the fastest time, while having few reliability issues. They progressed through their programmes like clockwork, and both drivers impressed. It could hardly have gone better. Red Bull were the most deceptive team in the run-up to the season, essentially hiding everything until the last moment. They sort of did the same by making big design changes overnight Friday. But what they did worked, and the RB18 looks like it has a title challenge in it. Red Bull look relaxed and confident.

2. Ferrari. I'd really put them at 1a, their pre-season has been that good. Even though Red Bull pipped them at the line for fastest lap, there no way to know if any team was running at maximum pace. And like Red Bull, Ferrari had a great testing phase, looking composed and quick. Like every team they suffered from the porpoising, maybe more than most, but seem to have gotten it under control. The F1-75 (75th anniversary) looks great, is quick and seems robust based on the pre-season. Both drivers seem quietly confident, while downplaying any hype. Like Red Bull, their programme could hardly have gone better once the hopping was solved. Ferrari look like genuine title contenders heading in to the first race at Sakhir.

3. Alpha Tauri. The top two spots seemed clear based on results so far. The rest is more muddled. But of those teams, Alpha Tauri seemed to have the best package in terms of pace, reliability and having everything go to plan. My gut tells me they won't be third at the end of the season, but they head in to the first race in good shape. in some ways as Ferrari goes, so goes AT. And those signs are bright. I think Gasly is underrated and set to turn some heads. That is counterbalanced by Tsunoda being the other driver. But all signs are that he is more focused and well aware of what he needs to improve to be a top driver. I wasn't impressed with his driving last year, he struggled to score most of the season. And he is a bit of a hot head. But he's the most refreshing interview in the paddock, and I expect a sharp improvement from him. So everything looks in place for the AT-03 to get a hot start. But can they maintain that as other teams get their acts together?

4. Alpine. Few are talking about Alpine, but they put both cars in the top six on the time sheets on the final day of testing. Both drivers seem optimistic. The A522 sounds great, is obviously quick and was sporting Racing Point's 2020 livery. What can go wrong? Alonso made me eat my words last year, and seems even more confident now. It wouldn't surprise me to see this team as 'best of the rest' come the end of the year. They will be happy about how things have gone so far.

5. Mercedes. They only sit fifth because of all the teams, none seem more off-balance than Merc. There's obviously pace in the W13, but surprisingly, Mercedes have been unable to unlock it. They ended testing with as many questions as answers, and are still suffering from porpoising with testing now over. Both drivers sound concerned, and Merc will start the season on the back foot to a degree. But this is Mercedes, and you don't win eight titles on the bounce unless you can engineer the sh!t out of it. And they looked out of sorts after testing last year too, and went on to win the first race. But because everyone has gotten a do-over, and it looks like the field is compressed as a result, a slow start for Merc would be more difficult to overcome.

6. Haas. Seriously. Haas basically mailed it in last year, declining to upgrade their car and spending all of their resources developing this year's VF-22. It looks to have paid off. The car looks to have genuine pace, and the team will be thrilled at their prospects of fighting for points this year, having finished last at every race last year. At a glance, the disastrous off-track events could seem dibilitating, but I think are a blessing in disguise. If Haas can sort their funding, then replacing Mazepin with Magnussen is a big upgrade. Schumi Jr will look to improve and I think we will be seeing Haas scoring on a regular basis this year.

7. Alfa Romeo. Heading in to Sakhir last year I was saying AR were the grid's most-improved team. That faded quickly and they ran the entire season just out of the points. This season they look better, the C42 has genuine pace based on testing times, although they suffered quite a bit from niggling reliability issues. Bottas shrugged it all off and will be looking to storm out of the gate. Zhou is an unknown, but didn't look out of place or awed by his new situation like Tsunoda and Mazepin did a year ago. If AR can get control over their mechanical reliability I think they will make some noise this year.

8. McLaren. The most disappointing team for me after testing. Little went right. Like other teams McLaren suffered from reliability issues, but theirs were not so niggling. Front axle and brake issues are more fundamental than leaks and that sort of thing. I think the MCL36 is probably quick, but they didn't really get a chance to show it. With Ricciardo missing Bahrain with Covid, McLaren will be hoping things improve in a hurry. I don't expect them to finish this far down, but they don't kick it off from a position of strength.

9. Aston Martin. Again, this is all sort of muddled, and AM could be third, or eighth, or anywhere. They quietly went about their business, but I don't think AMR22 has title pace in it at the moment. But it looks great, and Aston Martin have reason for optimism. Vettel was a better driver last year, but I'm not sold on him and Stroll making much noise this year. We will see.

10. Williams. When they revealed the FW22 it felt like maybe Williams was back. But the car doesn't look all that quick at this stage, and they had trouble with reliability. The pairing of Albon and Latifi doesn't inspire me and right now it just feels like WIlliams are the back markers. But these things can change quickly.

I think this season we will see every team scoring points, and maybe a six or seven car midfield, if you know what I mean. So much is still unknown, and Bahrain will show us more clearly where things stand. But right now, I'd predict a Red Bull and Ferrari battle for the title, especially if Merc don't get a handle on things straight away.

Bring it on!

[Buddahaid]

I really don't know what to think mainly because I don't have any takeaway over how the new aero will change overtaking, plus the power units being frozen.

[Jimbuna]

Three months on from the tumultuous climax to the 2021 championship, a new one begins with the shadows of that day in Abu Dhabi still hanging over the sport.

After losing an eighth world drivers' title in controversial and painful circumstances, Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team are trying to move on, at least in public.

The man who beat him, Max Verstappen, probably starts the new season as favourite, but his Red Bull team principal Christian Horner continues to snipe, throwing various accusations at Mercedes. That they "bullied" the sport's governing body into making changes; they mounted a campaign to discredit Verstappen's title, and so on.

Meanwhile, the ramifications of a day on which the sport's referee made up the rules as he went along continue to reverberate. The FIA, recognising that errors were made at Yas Marina, has indeed made changes.

A report into the events of the day is expected to be published this weekend. But already race director Michael Masi has been moved into a different role, his freestyling with the rules under extreme pressure at Yas Marina judged to have made his position untenable.

In his place, two people will alternate in a role that is not meant to be so high profile. A more robust structure has been put in place around them. And a face from the past has been brought back to try to add a little gravitas and experience.

The new race directors will be advised by Herbie Blash, F1 veteran and long-time associate of the late FIA F1 director Charlie Whiting, whose death on the eve of the 2019 season saw Masi elevated into the role he has now lost.

As if that was not enough to be going along with, the sport's rule book has been ripped up and rewritten from scratch. An all-new set of technical regulations has been introduced in the hope of producing cars that are closer in terms of performance, and can race more effectively, too.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/60724378

[Skybird]

Think I continue getting my fix on the Nord in VR.

[Buddahaid]

Mercedes did get outperformed by a large margin and start the year on the back foot.

And look at Magnussen and HAAS! Last years last place team solidly in the midfield.

[Buddahaid]

Oh boy what a difference a year makes!

[Jimbuna]

A pretty good start to the season for Hamilton, Russell and Mercedes, all things considered.

https://i.postimg.cc/DZ0CD6DF/Untitled11.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
https://i.postimg.cc/C12vVDT8/Untitled12.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/cC8F1H0b/Untitled13.jpg (https://postimg.cc/sGsYw3BY)

[Buddahaid]

Ferrari would appear to have the edge over Mercedes in the power unit for now and the Red Bull Honda unit seems to be suffering on reliability.

Also the Ferrari aero package looks to be working better with Mercedes fighting harder for grip.

Magnussen and HAAS are clearly the best of the rest after Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull which makes me think the Ferrari power unit is the best so far with McClaren Mercedes apparently finding themselves swapped with HAAS.

The new era cars do seem to keep the pack closer and with DRS allowing for a wonderful bit of tit for tat lead changes between LeClair and Verstappen.

Next race will be very interesting now that the teams have a race day's worth of data to digest.

[Jimbuna]

Way far too early to be reading this sort of rubbish.

Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes team have rubbed salt into Max Verstappen's wounds after they took to social media to taunt Red Bull following the retirement of both their drivers from the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday. Hamilton took advantage of the Red Bull chaos by securing a third-place finish.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/motorsports/lewis-hamiltons-mercedes-rub-salt-into-max-verstappen-wounds-with-viral-taunt-of-rivals/ar-AAViljs?ocid=mailsignout&li=BBoPWjQ

[Buddahaid]

Way far too early to be reading this sort of rubbish.

It seems to have backfired since Lewis didn't even get to Q2 and Perez takes pole by just 0.025 s from Ferrari with Max coming in fourth.

Horrible wreck for Schumaker destroying his HAAS but he looks like he escaped any serious injury and then Ocon nearly repeats it on the last lap.

[Buddahaid]

Very exciting race with the winner being Max after a lap by fight in the end. Ferrari take the other two podium positions.

Russel outperforms Lewis again coming in fifth with Lewis just getting in the points at tenth with Magnussen beating him at ninth.

It does look as if Mercedes are gaining performance and that Lewis is getting a better handle on the new car.

EDIT: I forgot to mention Perez gets hung out when a safety car comes out right after he pits.

[Red October1984]

This year is our year






-A Ferrari Fan watching since 2014

[Jimbuna]

Still early days bur if Mercedes performance doesn't improve soon I can see Hamilton retiring at the end of the season or perhaps even earlier.

[Threadfin]

Brilliant racing yesterday. I think the track is unsafe and poorly suited to Formula 1 cars, been saying this since second practice last year, and thankfully it didn't produce any serious injuries or worse this year. Schumi Jr must have a few aches and pains this morning though. It's too fast for how blind and tight it is. There is zero run-off and a stopped car in the wrong spot is a disaster waiting to happen. Add to this the fact it is Saudi Arabia, and add to that the fact missiles are in the air, and the bottom line is F1 should get out, in my view. Toto Wolf said he thinks F1 can change the world. I'd tone that down a few notches. F1 isn't changing Saudi Arabia, but it can change the perception of Saudi Arabia, and that's what sports-washing is all about.

There are reports that say that during the driver and team meeting on Friday night F1 was 'encouraged' to put the race on despite fears, because to not do so would affect how easily they got out of the country. A little strong-arming? If that's true then F1 needs to seriously consider its involvement here, not that it shouldn't have been doing so already. But this facility was built at enormous expense, and they only just signed a long extension. F1 is selectively righteous, money talks, and I don't expect much course correction here. But let's see what comes out once they've flown out.

Setting aside the off-track issues, the race yesterday was brilliant. Well done to Max, he ran a great race. I had the television broadcast on, plus had F1 TV Pro running with Max's in-car camera and radio for nearly the entire race. He was complaining about Leclerc crossing the pit entrance line, and I was worried he'd grow impatient, shades of Bahrain last year with Merc continually running over the track limits in turn 4. But he kept cool and calm and got by during a thrilling battle with Leclerc. Those two are at the top of their game, in perfectly matched machinery with nothing between them. Last season was the best F1 season I've ever watched, and this year is shaping up to be even better. Not just the fight in the table, but the actual racing on the track, all down the order.

That's because the new cars are delivering. By retaining downforce in the corners, trailing cars have more exit speed now, and that is translating to much better racing, overtaking not just relegated at the end of the straight via slipstreams, outbraking and DRS. The order's more jumbled, the field is tighter and the two fastest teams have nothing between them. And there are 21 more of these to come.

[Jimbuna]

Charles Leclerc took a dominant victory in the Australian Grand Prix to move into a commanding position in the World Championship.

The Ferrari driver was in total control of the race when his main rival Max Verstappen retired with a technical failure on his Red Bull at two-thirds distance.

Verstappen is 46 points - almost two clear wins - behind Leclerc after just three races of the season, in two of which the Red Bull has failed to finish.

Red Bull's Sergio Perez was second after winning battles with Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.

Remarkably, in the context of Mercedes' disappointing start to the season, Russell is second in the drivers' championship at this early stage and Mercedes second in the constructors' chase.

[Jimbuna]

https://i.postimg.cc/TP8tNqfL/Untitled1.jpg (https://postimg.cc/18H0fFgs)

https://i.postimg.cc/bY63fjqj/Untitled22.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[Buddahaid]

Ferrari and LeClerc seem unstopable this year with another win but what happened to Sainz? He was on the back foot from the start and never got it together. Max has another unpredictable DNF ruining an almost certain second place finish but he just didn't have enough for a win. Russell tops Louis after Louis gets caught out when a safety car comes out right after his pit stop and I don't buy his explanation for the comment that the team put him in a bad place. Shut up and drive.

[Jimbuna]

Russell for me will be the surprise package this season.

[Buddahaid]

Russell for me will be the surprise package this season.

Yes, I agree. The bad outcome from last year seems to have broken something in Louis' spirit that a difficult car isn't helping to fix while Russell is riding a huge step up wave. I think that will change in a few more races.

[Buddahaid]

The Miami Hard Rock venue sold out and looks like a big win. That said, I think turns 14 and 15 should get dropped with these heavy duty full size pickup footprint cars running. It's really an F1 fantasy world, and Disney level at that!

And, it appears the major porpoising problem has been solved with the application of short perforated skids near the rear tires that stop the lightweight floor from bottoming out and stalling. I think they will stay legal within bounds so all teams can benefit, but damn if the Mercs don't look fierce at last. :o

[Jimbuna]

George Russell was fastest in Friday practice at the Miami Grand Prix in Mercedes' most competitive showing by far this season.

Russell was 0.106 seconds quicker than Ferrari's title leader Charles Leclerc, whose rival Max Verstappen suffered reliability problems for Red Bull.

Verstappen failed to set a time while team-mate Sergio Perez was third, ahead of Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes.

[Buddahaid]

Ferrari are still king with RedBull on their heels although Max is having reliability problems which are worrying. Mercedes fell off a bit today but they still look like things are coming together and I expect Russell would have placed in the top six if he had managed to get in a final hot lap. Turns 14, 15, and 17 look like the trouble zones so far.

[Jimbuna]

I'd like to think Hamilton will make the podium but I very much doubt it.

[Jimbuna]

Red Bull's Max Verstappen survived a late-race assault from title rival Charles Leclerc's Ferrari to win the inaugural Miami Grand Prix.

Verstappen was cruising to an easy win after passing Leclerc early on but a late safety car brought them together for a re-start with 10 laps to go.

Leclerc strained everything for five laps to get close enough to pass but Verstappen broke his challenge.

Verstappen's win cut Leclerc's championship lead to 19 points.

[Jimbuna]

https://i.postimg.cc/QtDT9xff/Untitled11.jpg (https://postimg.cc/7CB6jD8z)

https://i.postimg.cc/G2jskwNd/Untitled11a.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/5yNQgKdv/Untitled11b.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[Buddahaid]

LeClerc and Ferrari are still magic with RedBull hot on their heels. Mercedes appear to have finally come to grips with their problems and have halved the pace deficit and are a solid third best after qualifying. HAAS puts both cars into Q3 for the first time in part thanks to Norris having a lap deleted for running out of bounds, and speaking of boundaries, I love having the white line back as the only track limit and I wonder if lap records will be stagnant for a few years because of it.

[Jimbuna]

Lewis Hamilton has said he is finding it difficult to get the best out of this year's Mercedes.

Car upgrades helped Hamilton's team-mate George Russell to Mercedes' best qualifying position of the season with fourth at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Hamilton, 0.119 seconds slower than Russell in sixth, said he was "really struggling with the car this year".

"The car has potential to be third or fourth and I am not able to pull that out of the car," Hamilton said.

"I just don't feel that great in the sense of my driving and I'm working as hard as I can.

"I am still way off. I just struggle with confidence in the rear of the car. I don't know how to get around that.

"I don't know what I am going to do but I will keep trying to work hard and trying to figure it out. I just have no rear end in the car in the qualifying sessions."

[Buddahaid]

Wow! LeClerc has the race bagged then loses power and finds a DNF costing him the championship lead. Hamilton and Magnussen bump early on finding themselves bringing up the rear and Lewis radio calls essentially giving up. The team says work with it and he almost takes fourth but has to cede a position to save fuel winding up fifth. Mercedes upgrades are working and the team is now competing at the sharp end. A race without a safety car finally as well.

[Jimbuna]

Max Verstappen fought back from an early spin to win the Spanish Grand Prix after title rival Charles Leclerc retired from a dominant lead.

It was Verstappen's fourth victory in six races this year, helped by Red Bull imposing team orders on Sergio Perez.

It gives him the championship lead for the first time in 2022 and he heads to Monaco next weekend with a six-point advantage over Leclerc.

Mercedes' George Russell took a strong third after a long and valiant attempt to hold Verstappen at bay early in the race.

And his team-mate Lewis Hamilton fought back to fifth place following a first-lap collision with Kevin Magnussen's Haas, which gave the seven-time champion a puncture and dropped him to the back of the field.

Hamilton moved into fourth behind Russell with a move on Ferrari's Carlos Sainz around the outside of Turn One with six laps to go.

But Hamilton lost the position again after being told to slow down because he had a coolant leak, and could not use full throttle.

Russell received the same message to lift-and-coast at the end of the race. In his case, his car was overheating throughout the grand prix.

[Jimbuna]

https://i.postimg.cc/j2f1F9qL/Untitled1.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

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[Jimbuna]

Sergio Perez won an incident-packed, wet-dry Monaco Grand Prix after his Red Bull team outfoxed rivals Ferrari.

The Mexican rose from third to the lead during a part of the race in wet conditions after the start was delayed for an hour after a downpour of rain.

Red Bull's strategy also vaulted Max Verstappen from fourth to third, behind Ferrari's Carlos Sainz but ahead of the Dutchman's title rival Charles Leclerc.

As a result, Verstappen extended his championship lead to nine points.

[Jimbuna]

https://i.postimg.cc/FK2rMj9B/Untitled11.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/Qt18hHCx/Untitled12.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/yxKVds3h/Untitled13.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[Jimbuna]

Max Verstappen won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and took control of the World Championship after an engine failure on Charles Leclerc's Ferrari.

Leclerc's second engine-related retirement from the lead in three grands prix leaves him trailing Verstappen by 34 points, despite six pole positions in eight races.

And it continues the impression that Ferrari's season is falling apart after such a promising start, as Leclerc's team-mate Carlos Sainz also failed to finish following a hydraulic failure.

Verstappen led team-mate Sergio Perez to a Red Bull one-two, as George Russell took third for Mercedes, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton fighting back to finish fourth.

[Jimbuna]

https://i.postimg.cc/SKqszqfm/Untitled222.jpg (https://postimg.cc/yDQBwMGG)

https://i.postimg.cc/mrwrYqmC/Untitled.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/85zztHY3/Untitled22.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[Buddahaid]

After a fascinating wet and drying qualifying, Max takes pole with the Alpine of Alonso on P2. Race day Max takes the lead in the first corner and remains in control of the lead for the whole race and a win. This time Red Bull has the DNF with Perez dropping out early. LeClerc starting from last makes it to P5 with the two Mercedes in P4 (Russell) and P3 (Hamilton) ahead. Sainz dogs Max for the last twelve laps, or so, but has to settle for P2. Fun and clean race with only Tsunoda dropping out for hitting a wall at turn one, er two, exiting the pit with new tires.... The Mercs were almost up with Red Bull and Ferrari for pace.

[Jimbuna]

Red Bull's Max Verstappen held off a late challenge from Ferrari's Carlos Sainz to win the Canadian Grand Prix.

The two started the final 15 laps nose to tail after a late safety car but, despite heavy pressure from Sainz, Verstappen held on with older tyres.

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell took third and fourth for Mercedes as Ferrari's Charles Leclerc recovered to fifth from the back of the grid.

[Jimbuna]

https://i.postimg.cc/zvcnPc7P/111.jpg (https://postimg.cc/kRW62wkx)

https://i.postimg.cc/jqgQ5DTQ/222.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

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[Jimbuna]

Lewis Hamilton "doesn't seem to be bothered about losing" and could be replaced at Mercedes by "fed up" chief Toto Wolff, according to Bernie Ecclestone.

Hamilton, 37, is enduring one of the toughest seasons of his career with Mercedes unable to compete with Red Bull and Ferrari at the front of the grid. Instead, he and new team-mate George Russell are scrapping for podiums whenever a quicker car has a mechanical issue.

Russell has impressed by finishing in the top five of all nine races so far this season, while Hamilton's form has been slightly more erratic. Former Formula 1 supremo Ecclestone is unimpressed by that from the seven-time world champion, and believes Mercedes chief Wolff could end his £40m-per-year contract early.

"Lewis might sell his position to Toto," the 91-year-old suggested to the Daily Mail. "This is how much I am getting, I'll step down and give me half of what I would get. Toto can go and do one of his magic deals, offer someone less money and keep £20m.

"Nobody needs to tell Toto this because he has already thought of it. Lewis would probably stop under those circumstances. I don't know what he is doing dressing up in all those funny clothes. Has he a deal to it? Is it to get noticed? Maybe that's it."

He continued: "I didn't think [Russell] was that good but he has done an excellent job. I'm surprised. Or is it a case of Lewis doing a bad job? A bit of both. Toto is getting a bit fed up with Lewis. I don't think he's trying, do you? Let's put it another way, Lewis doesn't seem bothered about losing.

"It's not like him. He has a competitive nature but he's taking losing a bit easy for my liking. I don't think he is actively helping George. I don't think he's doing anything. I don't think he cares too much. He's not prepared to put the effort into winning that he did."

Ecclestone went on to suggest Hamilton had been faking the back pain that he demonstrated after climbing out of his Mercedes at the end of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Briton had talked about the agony that had been caused by the car's porpoising, but this was dismissed as "bull****".

"George is taller and if it was going to happen to anyone it would have happened to him," Ecclestone added. "There was a bit of Nigel Mansell about it. At least with Nigel, he would get out of the car and rub his left leg as if he had broken it. Next moment, it would be his right leg."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/motorsports/lewis-hamilton-could-sell-mercedes-seat-as-toto-wolff-is-getting-fed-up-with-brit/ar-AAYU9fX?cvid=d404df8d6da34a33a8a21e07a93b46d9

[Jimbuna]

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz took his first Formula 1 victory at the end of an extraordinary British Grand Prix packed full of incident and drama.

The Spaniard benefited from questionable strategy calls from Ferrari, which cost his team-mate Charles Leclerc the win and a chance to revive his title hopes.

Lewis Hamilton was in the battle for victory but finished third behind Red Bull's Sergio Perez after a frantic final final nine laps following a late safety car.

Leclerc could finish only fourth and Ferrari missed the opportunity to make up significant ground in the title race on a bad day for championship leader Max Verstappen.

The Red Bull driver finished only seventh, his car slowed by floor damage caused by running over debris, but lost only six points to Leclerc as a result of Ferrari's race management.

Verstappen leads Perez in the championship by 34 points, with Leclerc a further nine adrift.

The race was delayed for an hour after a huge pile-up at the first corner caused a red flag, which took attention away from environmental protesters who had invaded the track after the start.

Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu vaulted the barriers at the first corner after sliding upside down across the gravel trap, but was freed from the car by paramedics and declared uninjured after a check-up at the medical centre.

Williams driver Alex Albon was flown to Coventry Hospital for precautionary checks after he was involved in a separate accident, Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel punting him into the pit wall.

Zhou's accident was triggered when Mercedes' George Russell and Pierre Gasly's Alpha Tauri touched, spinning Russell into the side of Zhou.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/62030429

[Jimbuna]

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[Buddahaid]

Congrats to Sainz in a very exciting race. It's amazes me how accidents still find ways of circumventing safety barriers in new and interesting ways.

[Jimbuna]

Lewis Hamilton says he disagrees with fans at the British Grand Prix booing his rival Max Verstappen, saying: "We're better than that."

The Dutchman received jeers from a section of the crowd while he did his interview after qualifying second to Ferrari's Carlos Sainz at Silverstone.

Hamilton, who was booed by Verstappen fans during their title fight last year, said: "I would say we don't need to do that.

"No booing. We've got such great fans. Our sporting fans feel emotions up and down, but I definitely don't agree with booing."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/62022394

[Jimbuna]

Formula 1 will investigate claims that some spectators at the Austrian Grand Prix suffered discriminatory abuse.

Lewis Hamilton was one of those to call for action, saying he was "disgusted and disappointed" by the reports.

"Something must be done to ensure races are safe spaces for all," he added.

Formula 1's statement read: "We take these matters very seriously, have raised them with the promoter and event security, and will be speaking to those who reported them."

It added that the reported behaviour was "unacceptable and will not be tolerated".

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: "We are shocked to hear that there have been some incidents of abusive behaviour in the grandstands and the fan parks. This is completely unacceptable and we hope that security and the authorities deal with this swiftly as there is no place for it in racing or society as a whole.

"We value inclusion and want a safe space for fans to enjoy our sport."

Ferrari added in a Twitter post: "There is no room for abuse either verbal or physical against any group of people in sport. Therefore we stand together with F1 in stating that this behaviour is completely unacceptable."

[Jimbuna]

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc passed title rival Max Verstappen three times on his way to a commanding victory in the Austrian Grand Prix.

Carlos Sainz was on course to make it a Ferrari one-two before he suffered an engine failure with 14 laps to go - the latest in a series for Ferrari.

Leclerc faced a tense final 10 laps with a sticking throttle, as Verstappen came back at him, but he held on.

Leclerc cut Verstappen's championship lead to 38 points, to revive his hopes.

And it moves him back ahead of Red Bull's Sergio Perez to second in the standings.

Lewis Hamilton took third for Mercedes after starting eighth for his third podium finish in a row as his season finally begins to come together. Team-mate George Russell followed him home in fourth place.

[Jimbuna]

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https://i.postimg.cc/15fjJ7hx/11.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/WbCfKmTd/22.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[Jimbuna]

Charles Leclerc gifted Max Verstappen victory and a huge advantage in the World Championship by crashing out of the lead of the French Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver, in need of a good result to keep his title hopes alive, lost control at the Beausset right-hander two laps after the Red Bull had made its first pit stop.

Verstappen's seventh win in 12 races gives him a 63-point lead with 10 races to go.

Lewis Hamilton, on his 300th Formula 1 start, took a strong second, and his Mercedes team-mate George Russell third and the final podium place after a frantic and bad-tempered fight with Red Bull's Sergio Perez in the closing laps.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was fifth, questioning his team's decision to make a second pit stop just after he had taken third place from Perez with 11 laps to go.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Mercedes driver George Russell stunned himself and Formula 1 with a sensational maiden pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Briton pipped the Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, while championship leader Max Verstappen was 10th with engine problems.

McLaren's Lando Norris was fourth, ahead of the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso

Russell's team-mate Lewis Hamilton was seventh, 0.765 seconds slower.

Hamilton's DRS overtaking aid failed on his final run. Before that, he had been less than 0.2secs off Russell on their first runs in the final session.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/62364083

[Jimbuna]

Sebastian Vettel: Lewis Hamilton & Fernando Alonso say retiring champion is a 'legend' of F1

Fellow multiple world champions Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso have paid tribute to Sebastian Vettel after he announced his retirement.

The four-time champion said on Thursday that he would step away from F1 at the end of this season.

Hamilton and Alonso, whose careers have paralleled Vettel's, both described him as "a legend of our sport".

And Hamilton praised Vettel's move towards activism, especially on the climate crisis, in recent years.

Hamilton said: "I am sad to hear he's leaving. I think he is one of the most impactful F1 drivers who has ever lived and I feel very proud to have been here in the time he was.

"He is the most conscious - I like to think I am up there with him, in terms of conscious of the impact we're having and what we can do with our platform.

"He has been such a great voice and I am really proud of him for that."

The seven-time champion also posted a personal message to Vettel on Twitter, saying: "Seb, it's been an honour to call you a competitor and an ever greater honour to call you my friend.

"Leaving this sport better than you found it is always the goal. I have no doubt that whatever comes next for you will be exciting, meaningful, and rewarding. Love you, man."

Alonso, who famously lost out in two close title battles with Vettel in 2010 and 2012 when the Spaniard was at Ferrari and the German at Red Bull, said: "Four titles and not only [a legend] as a driver, as a human being.

"He has very strong values and a very correct way of thinking. We will miss him. I will miss the battles on track.

"Our careers were very close together always, together with Lewis. We miss one of the three. But family and other things are probably in this decision so I wish him the best and a lot of happiness."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/62340559

[Jimbuna]

I certainly won't condone this sort of treatment towards anyone but it doesn't surprise me.

I got death threats after F1 title decider - Masi

Former race director Michael Masi says he received death threats following the controversy that saw Max Verstappen claim his debut world title last year.

The 44-year-old failed to apply the regulations correctly in a safety-car period at the end of December's final Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi.

It led to the Dutchman, 24, passing Britain's Lewis Hamilton when the race was restarted for one final lap. Mercedes' Hamilton, 37, had been on course to win an eighth world title.

"There were some dark days," Australian Masi told News Corp.

"Absolutely, I felt like I was the most hated man in the world. I got death threats. People saying they were going to come after me and my family."

An inquiry by motorsport's governing body, the FIA, found "human error" was responsible for the incorrect application of the rules in the 2021 title decider.

A first world championship victory for Verstappen denied Hamilton a record eighth title.

"They were shocking," Masi, who formally left the FIA earlier this month, said of messages he received on Facebook. "Racist, abusive, vile, they called me every name under the sun."

[Jimbuna]

Red Bull's Max Verstappen drove an outstanding race to win the Hungarian Grand Prix from 10th on the grid despite a spin costing the lead.

Verstappen passed title rival Charles Leclerc twice, raising fresh questions about Ferrari's race operations.

Red Bull's pit strategy also vaulted Verstappen ahead of pole-sitter George Russell, who lost out on second place to team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Carlos Sainz was fourth and Leclerc sixth as Ferrari's season imploded.

The result left Verstappen with an 80-point lead over Leclerc with nine races remaining, an advantage that looks unassailable given Red Bull's steadiness and Ferrari's flakiness.

A race gripping from start to finish, featuring divergent strategies, and the constant threat of rain on a grey, windy and cool day, provided a perfect symbol of the season so far.

Verstappen was imperious in moving through the field from his lowly grid position, caused by engine problems, Red Bull solid and aggressive on their strategy, and Ferrari uncertain as they converted second and third on the grid to having neither driver on the podium at the finish.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Red Bull's Max Verstappen crushed the rest of the field to take a stunning victory in the Belgian Grand Prix.

The World Championship leader was in a class of his own as he fought quickly from 14th to take a firm lead by lap 18 and disappear into the distance.

Verstappen was a second a lap - sometimes more - quicker even than team-mate Sergio Perez, who completed a one-two for a dominant Red Bull.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz held off Mercedes' George Russell to take third.

[Jimbuna]

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https://i.postimg.cc/VN715626/11.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/j5mbQ1xY/22.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[Buddahaid]

Red Bull's Max Verstappen crushed the rest of the field to take a stunning victory in the Belgian Grand Prix.

The World Championship leader was in a class of his own as he fought quickly from 14th to take a firm lead by lap 18 and disappear into the distance.

Verstappen was a second a lap - sometimes more - quicker even than team-mate Sergio Perez, who completed a one-two for a dominant Red Bull.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz held off Mercedes' George Russell to take third.

The only thing I'd want to add to that is the rookie move Hamilton made ruining his race and very likely ruining another engine which will ruin his next race. It looks to me he isn't adjusting well to not having the best car and is getting desperate. He could have waited for a better opportunity to pass Alonso and possibly found himself another podium finish.

[Jimbuna]

I personally think it is time he retired.

[Buddahaid]

An unsurprising win for Verstappen in his home grand prix with Perez unable to keep the same pace proving Max is king this year. Perez still doesn't know when to back out and continues to blame other drivers for his bad judgement.

Mercedes looked really good and it would appear they have closed the gap to Ferrari. Russel forced a pit stop for softs during the last safety car giving him the edge over Lewis, who stayed out, costing Lewis a podium finish much to his consternation. Russell gets P2!

Ferrari! How do they manage to screw up so nicely time and time again? No left rear tire for Sainz on his first pit stop destroying his race which was further compounded by an unsafe release penalty at a later stop. Still, LeClerc manages to hold on to a podium spot in P3.

And what the heck was going on with Tsunoda? He pulls over thinking he has a loose wheel, gets told to continue on to a pit stop, has another tire change, comes out still with a problem, comes back in and some work gets done around the steering wheel etc. Meanwhile, Ferrari thinking there will be a safety car from the first Tsunoda stop, pits losing track position. That was salvaged when Tsunoda's second stop actually did cause a VSC. Weird.

[Jimbuna]

Max Verstappen's serene march to a second title continued with a comfortable victory in an eventful Dutch Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver had to pass Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes after a late safety-car period to take his 10th win in 15 races this year to extend his lead to 109 points.

Hamilton was left fuming after Mercedes failed to change his tyres during the caution period.

That left him vulnerable and allowed team-mate George Russell and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to pass him after the restart to take the other podium places.

Hamilton, who briefly had slim hopes of a victory with about 20 laps to go, saw them evaporate in a situation remarkably similar to the way in which he lost his eighth world title in Abu Dhabi last year.

He managed to hang on to fourth ahead of Red Bull's Sergio Perez, Fernando Alonso's Alpine and Lando Norris' McLaren. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz finished fifth on the road but was demoted to eighth after a five-second penalty for an unsafe pit stop release.

[Jimbuna]

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[Buddahaid]

I expect there will be death threats for track officials. Why did it take so many laps to get a crane out to Ricardo's car when the fence gap was 100 meters away? Possible last lap, or two, duel between the leader Verstappen and P2 LeClerc bungled.:wah:

[Jimbuna]

This Formula 1 season has distilled into a sort of 'Challenge Max Verstappen' show - pick a grid position for the Red Bull driver and see if he can win. The answer has become, invariably, yes.

In Hungary, at the beginning of August, Verstappen started 10th, and won. In Belgium, after the summer break, he was 15th on the grid, and won. At the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Sunday, he started seventh.

It is a measure of Verstappen and Red Bull's superiority that pretty much everyone thought he was going to win from there, even with Charles Leclerc on pole for Ferrari at their home race. Mercedes driver George Russell, starting second behind Leclerc, said: "You'd have to be pretty stupid to bet against it."

Verstappen was up to third a matter of metres after crossing the line to start lap three, and second two laps later. As he sat there over the next few laps, edging ever closer to Leclerc, it was simply a matter of time before the Dutchman was in front.

Ferrari gambled on strategy, but the reality was it made no difference.

"I don't think strategically they made a bad call," Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said. "We just had a quicker package and we would have won the race irrelevant of that."

Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto agreed.

"It's not difficult to beat a faster car," Binotto said. "It is impossible. He was faster. Whatever was the strategy, he would have won."

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Red Bull's Sergio Perez held off Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to win an incident-packed Singapore Grand Prix run in treacherous wet-dry conditions.

Title leader Max Verstappen finished seventh after a frustrating race that included a major error from the Red Bull driver.

Verstappen can win the title in Japan next Sunday, but would need the results of Perez and Leclerc to go his way.

However, Perez is under investigation for a safety car infringement.

Race stewards are due to rule on any penalty after the race. If given a time penalty, he could forfeit the win.

[Jimbuna]

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https://i.postimg.cc/MH9BbVLM/333.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[Jimbuna]

Formula 1's governing body has delayed the publication of its inquiries into whether any team breached the sport's budget cap last year.

The FIA told F1 teams last week that it planned to issue certificates of compliance or otherwise on 5 October.

But the FIA said in a statement on Wednesday that it was "a long and complex process that is ongoing".

It would be "concluded to enable the release of the certificates on Monday, 10 October," the statement said.

The delay is likely to infuriate the teams, who are all in Japan ahead of this weekend's Grand Prix at Suzuka.

[Buddahaid]

Yes, and all in the drive to add controversy for higher ratings. Someone will always be upset and that's how modern sports, and just about evrything, rolls today.

Looking forward to Susuka and more conroversy. Who will be bent out of shape? Will Max get cheated again? Will Lewis make a comeback almost again? Will Ferrari screw up and lose another race? Stay tuned.....

I did enjoy the Singapore race and was happy to see it back. I do like the venue.

EDIT: I forgot, will Alonso play the joker in the pack again?

[LCDR Phoebus]

I'm an amateur
https://www.daysoftheyear.com/cdn-cgi/image/dpr=1%2Cf=auto%2Cfit=cover%2Cheight=465%2Cmetadata =none%2Conerror=redirect%2Cq=70%2Csharpen=1%2Cwidt h=1000/wp-content/uploads/waiters-day.jpg

I wait for silent hunter comeback, i wait for mclaren comeback.
this is my hard life:Kaleun_Salute::arrgh!:

[Jimbuna]

The FIA will reveal on Monday which teams exceeded it last season, after delaying the publication and it is widely expected within the sport that Red Bull and Aston Martin will be found not to have been in compliance in 2021 when the results are published.

[Jimbuna]

Max Verstappen clinched a second title in extraordinary circumstances after dominating a Japanese Grand Prix truncated by heavy rain.

Verstappen headed Sergio Perez in a Red Bull one-two after Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who crossed the line second, was penalised for cutting the track and gaining an advantage on the last lap.

There was confusion after the race as to whether Verstappen had done enough to tie up the championship, because it was not immediately clear whether full points would be awarded for a race that ran just over half distance.

But governing body the FIA said that reduced points only applied if a suspended race could not be resumed.

Awarding full points or three-quarter points - as all the teams expected would be the case - was the difference between Verstappen leaving Japan as a double world champion, or having to go to the next race in the USA needing to gain one point on Leclerc and Perez to seal it.

Even Verstappen asked: "Are you sure?" when he was told he was champion, reflecting the historical precedent that reduced points are awarded in such circumstances.

But it seems that this protocol was inadvertently left out of the rules when they were rewritten over last winter following the controversial Belgian Grand Prix, when a result was declared despite no racing taking place.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said this was "a mistake" and he was "certain" the rules would be revised over the winter.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

What to focus on after a United States Grand Prix that produced probably the best race of the season, with three outstanding story lines?

Max Verstappen fought back from an 11-second pit stop to pass his two biggest rivals and clinch a first constructors' title in nine years for a team that had lost its leader and creator less than 24 hours before.

Lewis Hamilton came as close as he has so far this year to a win, only to succumb to the inevitable and lose out to the Verstappen steamroller in the end.

And Fernando Alonso produced one of the drives of the season - one of the races of his long and illustrious career - to finish seventh in a car damaged in a 180mph crash in which it did a wheelie, smashed back into the ground and then a wall, and he dropped to the back of the field.

The Dutchman clinched his second world title at the last race in Japan, but since then Red Bull's world has been engulfed by the controversy of being found guilty of breaching the budget cap last season.

That subject dominated the weekend in Austin until an hour before qualifying, when the news broke of the death of Red Bull co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz at the age of 78 after a long illness.

After qualifying third, Verstappen spoke movingly in tribute to Mateschitz, and he woke up on race morning determined to honour his memory with a win.

It looked like being easy until a pit-stop problem dropped him to third, behind Hamilton and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. But such is the pace of the Red Bull that he fought back past both with relative ease to achieve the result he so wanted.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Red Bull's Max Verstappen broke the record for wins in a season with a comfortable and controlled victory in the Mexico City Grand Prix.

The world champion held off a challenge from Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes in the first part of the race before pulling away to take his 14th win of the year.

It moves the Dutchman clear of Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, who won 13 races in 2004 and 2013.

Red Bull's Sergio Perez took third ahead of Mercedes' George Russell.

Mercedes had hopes of winning the race after qualifying close behind Verstappen in second and third places.

But, on divergent tyre strategies, early promise faded after the pit stops and Verstappen moved into a race of his own, leaving Hamilton to fend off Perez for runners-up spot.

[Jimbuna]

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[Buddahaid]

Ticket sales for Las Vegas 2023 are open. $500.00 for standing and $2500.00 for grandstand seating. Forget it.

[Jimbuna]

Get me a couple for the grandstand seating :)

[Jimbuna]

George Russell took a maiden grand prix victory - and a first for Mercedes in 2022 - as Max Verstappen was penalised for a collision with Lewis Hamilton in Sao Paulo.

Russell was in control of the race throughout after Verstappen and Hamilton came together as they disputed second place in the early stages at a safety car restart.

Hamilton dropped to ninth place after the collision with his 2021 title rival but came back to secure a Mercedes one-two and seal the team's recovery after a difficult season that the eight-time champions started with an uncompetitive car.

Russell's accomplished drive included him surviving a late safety car that bunched up the field and put Hamilton right behind him heading into the final 10 laps.

The Mercedes drivers were told that they were allowed to race but Russell held the lead at the restart and kept Hamilton at bay until the end.

Behind them, the final 10 laps were a frantic fight as a number of drivers who had had difficult races revived their afternoons.

Among them were Ferrari's Charles Leclerc - who had been barged off the track by McLaren's Lando Norris at Turn Five shortly after the Verstappen-Hamilton incident and dropped to the back - and Verstappen himself.

Leclerc was sixth at the restart but moved up to finish fourth behind his Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz, as both passed the fading Red Bull of Sergio Perez.

Alpine's Fernando Alonso also overtook the Mexican to take a strong fifth place after starting 18th.

The late caution period also helped Verstappen move up from the bottom of the top 10 to sixth place, just failing to pass Alonso on a race to the line.

Verstappen had been allowed to pass Perez a few laps earlier to chase Alonso, but was told heading into the final lap that he should let his team-mate back ahead if he did not pass Alonso by the final corner. But he did not comply.

Asked what happened, Verstappen said: "I told you already last time, you guys don't ask that again to me, OK? Are we clear about that? I gave my reasons and I stand by it."

Perez said over his radio: "It shows who he really is."

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi as Ferrari's Charles Leclerc beat the Dutchman's team-mate Sergio Perez to secure second in the championship.

Leclerc, who was Verstappen's title rival earlier this year before Ferrari's season imploded in a flood of errors and reliability failures, held off Perez on divergent strategies to take second place.

Sebastian Vettel's final race ended in disappointment, the four-time champion bemoaning what he felt was a poor strategy from Aston Martin.

Vettel took the final point for 10th place after Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes retired from fourth place with three laps to go.

Hamilton's result means he has finished a season without a win for the first time in his career - ending a record only he held.

Verstappen's win was his 15th of 2022, extending the new record he has set this year for wins in a single season.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Red Bull's Max Verstappen started the new season as he ended the last, with a dominant victory in the Middle East.

The two-time champion led the Bahrain Grand Prix almost from start to finish, initially lapping at a pace beyond his rivals and then controlling the race.

The drive, Verstappen's 36th victory, underlined his status as favourite for a third consecutive world title.

Sergio Perez made it a Red Bull one-two ahead of an inspired drive by Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso in third.

"It was very, very good first stint where I made my gap," said Verstappen. "From there, it was all about looking after tyres. You never know what's going to happen later on the race. We just wanted to make sure we have the right tyres and in good condition as well.

"We have a good race package. We can definitely fight with this car and also big thank you to the team, over the winter, to get us a quick race car again."

Perez had won a fight with Charles Leclerc over second place before the Ferrari driver retired from third with 16 laps to go when he lost drive.

But the big excitement in the race was created by Alonso, who dropped from fifth on the grid to seventh behind the two Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell on the opening lap, but fought back to take the final podium place.

Alonso passed Russell before the first pit stops, then caught and passed Hamilton after their second stops, before closing on Sainz.

The moves on Hamilton and Sainz were of the highest quality.

Alonso and Hamilton battled for a couple of laps, with the Spaniard passing the Briton into Turn Four before a snap from the rear allowed the Mercedes back past.

Then Alonso came back at Hamilton and overtook down the inside of Turn 10, an extremely rare place for a move.

With Sainz, the two touched as Alonso tried to pass out of Turn Four. Sainz was then wise to the same move at Turn 10, but Alonso got better drive down the following straight and passed into the fast Turn 11.

"To finish on the podium first race of the year is just amazing," said Alonso. "What Aston Martin did over the winter, to have the second best car on race one, is just unreal.

"We had not the best start and had to pass on track - it made it more exciting but we enjoyed it."

Alonso's pass left Sainz holding off Hamilton for fourth. The seven-time champion initially looked as if he might also pass the Ferrari, but he was unable to close in, as both suffered with tyres and had to settle for fifth.

The second Aston Martin of Lance Stroll took sixth place, despite hitting Alonso at Turn Four on the first lap, costing the Spaniard a place to Russell, who finished seventh.

[Jimbuna]

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[mapuc]

So I got this new tv-provide(Satellite) and Yesterday I had 5 channels to chose from. I could choose the drivers seat throughout the drive. or watching the pit. or follow the ordinary tv channel.

Markus

[Jimbuna]

I use IPTV

[Jimbuna]

Mercedes 'hold emergency meeting' after Lewis Hamilton criticism as 'ultimatum' given

Toto Wolff insists there is no rift between Lewis Hamilton and senior Mercedes staff despite the seven-time world champion's public criticism in the wake of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Mercedes were desperate to provide their drivers with a more competitive car this year after a challenging 2022 season for the team. But Hamilton and George Russell again have a machine which looks unlikely to be challenging for the title and an 'emergency meeting' was reportedly held at the team's factory.

After managing only fifth place in Bahrain, Hamilton spoke to the BBC and was critical of the team. He said: "Last year, I told them the issues that are with the car. I've driven so many cars in my life, so I know what a car needs, I know what a car doesn't need.

"And I think it's really about accountability, it's about owning up and saying 'yeah, you know what, we didn't listen to you, it's not where it needs to be and we've got to work'."

In the wake of those words, it was reported by Italian publication Formu1a.uno that a meeting took place "late at night" at the team's factory. Technical director Mike Elliott was supposedly given an "ultimatum" placing extra pressure upon him to get the W14 into a place where it is more competitive on track.

This latest reported development will do nothing to quell concerns that there may be a rift among the big players at the Silver Arrows. But team principal Wolff's initial response to the result in Bahrain was to reassure fans that everyone is pulling in the same direction.

He said: "The Lewis situation is you heard him on the radio. He is an integral part of the team, picking the team up and we are all sticking together and I don't think that is going to change just because we had a start that was really bad.

"We have won eight constructors' championships and six drivers' championships with him and that relationship holds. As much as being transparent as to how we need to turn the car around, it is not the point to talk about the driver situation in 2024.

"It is far too early, we need to all push in then same direction, the drivers, the engineers, all the management rather than throwing in the towel. We have never done that and we will not do it. We just need to really dig deep and deeper than we have every done and provide both drivers with a car they are able to fight with."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/other/mercedes-hold-emergency-meeting-after-lewis-hamilton-criticism-as-ultimatum-given/ar-AA18pMqo?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=9340a8105fe6484985055c8e38483b36&ei=8

[Buddahaid]

Makes for an interesting season but Lewis can whine all he wants to, and I don't care. Mercedes enjoyed domination from the 2014 major rules change and he rocked it, but now he isn't in the best car and cries like a baby. Let him go and see if he can do better somewhere else.

[Jimbuna]

Only team for an improvement would be Red Bull then :)

[Buddahaid]

Only team for an improvement would be Red Bull then :)

That would be something to see. Max and Lewis as teammates! What could go wrong?

[Jimbuna]

That would be something to see. Max and Lewis as teammates! What could go wrong?

ABSLUTELY EVERYTHING! :)

[Jimbuna]

Sergio Perez managed to deny Max Verstappen a remarkable victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix by taking the chequered flag for himself at the end of an intriguing 50-lap contest on Sunday. The Mexican driver started from pole position and saw his lead stolen by Fernando Alonso on the very first lap but was eventually able to recover and went on to claim the spoils despite a spirited fightback from Verstappen, who climbed 14 positions to cross the line in second place.

It did not take long for Verstappen to make up some early ground as he sliced through the field like a knife through butter, with the safety car period following Lance Stroll's breakdown allowing the Dutchman to climb into fourth place. He made light work of George Russell and Alonso at the restart but was unable to chase down Perez, although he did manage to claim an extra championship point by setting the fastest lap of the race late on.

Meanwhile, it was another difficult race for Lewis Hamilton, who made up two positions to come home in fifth but was never in contention for a podium finish at any point. He was also held up by Mercedes team-mate George Russell for a large chunk of his final stint, with the King's Lynn native refusing to let Hamilton past despite being asked to by his race engineer.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Max Verstappen won a chaotic and controversial Australian Grand Prix that finished under a safety car after a controversial crash-affected restart.

The Red Bull driver led Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso home to set the podium.

That was despite Alonso being tagged into a spin at a restart with two laps to go and dropped to the back.

Governing body the FIA said the order had to be declared as at the restart for one final lap behind a safety car.

To add to the controversy, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was given a five-second penalty for causing the decisive crash at the first corner by tagging Alonso's car, dropping him from fourth to 12th and out of the points.

[Jimbuna]

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[Buddahaid]

Three red flags with no good reason to have a race start after the second one with two laps to go. Bad choice which set up the mayhem for the third red flag.

[Jimbuna]

Some might say yet more interference from an Australian source.

[ET2SN]

Or an American. :O:
Three red flags has NASCAR written all over it. :nope:

[Jimbuna]

Sergio Perez's accomplished victory in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix has confirmed - in his mind at least - that he is a genuine rival to his Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen for the world championship this year.

Not everyone is as convinced as the Mexican - not even his team principal, judging by Christian Horner's comments afterwards - but Perez certainly laid down a marker around the streets of Baku.

"It's a long year ahead," Perez said after shrugging off everything the two-time champion could throw at him and controlling the race around the streets of this city on the shores of the Caspian Sea. "We are in the fight."

It was a highly accomplished performance from Perez. Arguably - even if he was reluctant to say so himself - the best of his six Formula 1 victories.

Perez did, as Horner said, "get a little bit lucky with the safety car" but, once in the lead, he controlled the race. Throughout a tense grand prix, with both drivers pushing to the limit throughout, Verstappen had no answer for him.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Red Bull's Max Verstappen was in a class of his own as he carved through the field to win the Miami Grand Prix from ninth place on the grid.

It was a masterful performance from the world champion, using an off-set tyre strategy to beat team-mate Sergio Perez, who started from pole position.

Verstappen ran a long first stint on hard tyres, pitting 25 laps later than Perez, rejoining a second behind and passing for the lead a lap later.

It was a humiliating defeat for Perez and raised serious questions about his claims to be able to challenge Verstappen for the title this year.

"I just had a clean race and picked the cars off one by one," said Verstappen. "I stayed out really long on the hard tyres and I think that's what made the difference and then a good little battle with Checo at the end.

"Yesterday was of course a bit of a setback but today we kept it calm, kept it clean and for sure winning a race from P9 is very satisfying."

Perez added: "I tried. I gave it my all. We had graining and initial pace wasn't good.

"The medium [tyre] we had initially was poor, more than expected. It really compromised our pace and Max had tremendous pace on the hard and we will analyse what went wrong today because we simply didn't have the pace."

Fernando Alonso continued his superb season for Aston Martin to take his fourth podium finish in five races with an outstanding performance of his own.

George Russell was a strong fourth for Mercedes while Ferrari had a dispiriting afternoon.

Carlos Sainz challenged Alonso in the first stint but earned a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane at his pit stop and then dropped away in the second stint to finish fifth.

Team-mate Charles Leclerc had a race to forget after crashing in qualifying and starting seventh.

He fought a long battle with Haas driver Kevin Magnussen, who drove an outstanding race, before finally getting past with 20 laps to go and taking seventh place behind Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes, which was on the same off-set strategy as Verstappen and passed Leclerc in the closing stages.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Red Bull's Max Verstappen survived a mid-race downpour to win the Monaco Grand Prix from Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso.

Verstappen appeared to be cruising at the front but his race was given added jeopardy by his team delaying his pit stop in an attempt to coincide it with the rain.

And Aston Martin appeared to miss a chance to beat Verstappen by pitting Alonso for a set of dry tyres as the rain was intensifying.

Had Alonso been given treaded tyres, his stop - while Verstappen was still on untreaded slicks - looked as if it might have led to the Spaniard taking the lead.

But Alonso had to stop again for intermediate tyres on the following lap, when Verstappen did the same, and any victory chances were gone.

Verstappen's win, his fourth in six races this year, moves him 39 points clear of team-mate Sergio Perez in the championship.

The Mexican had a nightmare race after starting from the back following his crash in qualifying and finished down in 17th place.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Red Bull's Max Verstappen equalled Ayrton Senna's career total of 41 victories with a dominant win at the Canadian Grand Prix.

The Dutchman's sixth triumph in eight races this season gave him a 69-point lead in the championship and was the 100th victory for his Red Bull team.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso passed Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes on track to win a battle for second place.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc recovered from qualifying 11th to take fourth.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Red Bull's Max Verstappen continued his imperious march towards a third world title with a dominant victory at the Austrian Grand Prix.

The Dutchman's fifth win in a row moves him 81 points clear of team-mate Sergio Perez in the championship.

Behind him, excitement was provided by a battle for the podium positions between Perez and the Ferraris.

Leclerc won it, thanks partly to stalwart defence from team-mate Carlos Sainz before Perez took third.

Sainz held back Perez, charging back through the field from 15th on the grid for four crucial laps, which gave Leclerc the breathing space he needed to hold on ahead of the Red Bull to the end of the race.

The two battled frantically through Turns Three and Four for several laps, with Sainz once brilliantly repassing the Red Bull around the outside of Turn Four after Perez appeared to have taken the place, before the Mexican ultimately prevailed.

Sainz's defence meant Leclerc was 12.9 seconds ahead of Perez with nine laps to go and the Red Bull made no inroads into that gap before the chequered flag.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Max Verstappen cruised to victory in the British Grand Prix for his sixth win in a row and a record-equalling 11th consecutive triumph for Red Bull.

McLaren's Lando Norris fought off an attack from Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes after a late safety car to finish second to give the 160,000 fans a double home podium to cheer.

Verstappen's eighth win in 10 races this year brought Red Bull level with the record McLaren established in their historic 1988 season with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.

Oscar Piastri made it a great day for McLaren with fourth ahead of George Russell's Mercedes.

[Jimbuna]

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[Buddahaid]

What a crazy season. Who lit a fire under Williams?

[Jimbuna]

What a crazy season. Who lit a fire under Williams?

Been thinking along those lines as well :yep:

[Jimbuna]

Max Verstappen's dominant victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix set a wins record for his Red Bull team.

The Dutchman's seventh victory in a row and ninth of the season was Red Bull's 12th consecutive win, dating back to the final race of 2022 in Abu Dhabi.

The achievement broke the record of 11 straight wins set by McLaren with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in 1988.

McLaren's Lando Norris fended off a threat from Red Bull's Sergio Perez to take second place.

Lewis Hamilton, who had started from pole position, closed on Perez in the final laps but was not able to attempt an overtake and had to settle for fourth.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Max Verstappen was in imperious form as he came from sixth on the grid to win the Belgian Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver's eighth consecutive victory in the final race before the summer break extended his championship lead to 125 points.

Verstappen led Sergio Perez home to a Red Bull one-two but was in another league from his team-mate.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc took third ahead of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Red Bull's Max Verstappen survived losing the lead in early rain and a red flag for a late torrential downpour to win a chaotic Dutch Grand Prix.

Verstappen equalled the all-time record of nine victories in a row and took his 11th win of the season to extend his championship lead to 138 points.

A shower just as the race started dropped Verstappen to second behind team-mate Sergio Perez before he repassed on lap 13, while heavy rain with eight laps to go forced a red flag and a 45-minute delay.

But through it all Verstappen was always in control, as he has been for the entire season, and never really looked like losing the race.

Fernando Alonso starred in the Aston Martin to finish second after a typically combative race, while Alpine's Pierre Gasly took the final podium position after Sergio Perez, who finished third on the track, was penalised for speeding in the pit lane.

Perez had been running second behind Verstappen but lost the place to Alonso when he went off at Turn One after changing to intermediate tyres when the rain came down just before the race was stopped.

In the final seven racing laps, Perez did enough to prevent dropping behind Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, who fended off an attack from Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Red Bull's Max Verstappen broke a Formula 1 record with his 10th consecutive win as he overcame Ferrari's valiant challenge at the Italian Grand Prix.

The Dutchman was held back by pole-winner Carlos Sainz's Ferrari for 14 laps but his pressure paid off when an error from the Spaniard gave him his chance.

Sainz locked his brakes into the first chicane and that allowed Verstappen to pass the Ferrari into the second chicane at Monza.

Sainz, after forcefully holding on to second place from team-mate Charles Leclerc, was left to fend off Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez for second place.

After many laps of defence, Sainz finally lost the position with nine laps to go and then set about fighting hard again to keep Leclerc behind for the final podium place.

It was frantic at times as Sainz hung on with worn tyres, and eventually the Spaniard pleaded to his team to let him "bring it home". Leclerc was told: "Race until the end, no risk."

Sainz clung on with some desperate late braking moves into the first chicane, and eventually the fight was settled at the start of the final lap.

Leclerc sold the dummy to Sainz at the first chicane but the Spaniard moved to defend and Leclerc had to lock all his brakes and cut the chicane to avoid his partner. Leclerc crossed the line just 0.1secs behind.

Mercedes' George Russell drove a steady race to take fifth, overcoming a five-second penalty for leaving the track when passing Esteban Ocon after leaving the pits.

Lewis Hamilton impressed on an inverted strategy, starting on the hard tyre and switching to the medium, to pass the McLarens and Alex Albon's Williams to take sixth.

Hamilton also earned a five-second penalty for colliding with McLaren's Oscar Piastri when passing him at the second chicane but had enough of a margin to keep the place.

[Jimbuna]

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[HW3]

Thank you for these F1 reports Jim, I appreciate reading them. :Kaleun_Thumbs_Up:

[Jimbuna]

Your most welcome my friend :salute:

[Jimbuna]

Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from second place in the US Grand Prix after running Max Verstappen's Red Bull close for victory.

Hamilton was just two seconds behind Verstappen at the flag but his car was later declared illegal for excessive wear on the underfloor skid blocks.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc suffered the same fate after finishing sixth.

Hamilton's disqualification promoted McLaren's Lando Norris to second and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz to third.

Verstappen was measured, slowly picking off the cars in front of him and then holding on for his 50th career win.

Hamilton passed Norris for second in the final laps but ran out of time to catch Verstappen for the lead.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Red Bull's Max Verstappen took a dominant victory in the Mexico City Grand Prix to break his own record for wins in a single Formula 1 season.

Set up by passing the front-row Ferraris at the start, Verstappen's victory was his 16th in 2023 in what is becoming one of the most dominant seasons in history.

Verstappen had to negotiate a safety car and a red flag but was untroubled once into the lead at Turn One.

Lewis Hamilton moved up from sixth on the grid in his Mercedes to beat Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in a battle for the remaining podium positions.

Behind them, Carlos Sainz fended off George Russell to win another Ferrari-Mercedes battle over fourth place, before Lando Norris passed his fellow Briton for fifth with four laps to go.

It was a lovely move, set up by a cut back through Turns Four and Five, and befitting the climax to a starring drive. Norris had started from 19th on the grid, and also dropped back to 14th following a restart after a red flag at half distance.

Seventh place for Daniel Ricciardo, not quite able to pass the fading Russell on the last lap, was a drop from his remarkable fourth place on the grid but still a strong result for the Alpha Tauri driver in only his second race since returning from an absence caused by a broken hand.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Red Bull's Max Verstappen took a controlled victory in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix to extend his all-time record for wins in a season to 17.

Verstappen fended off a brief challenge from McLaren's Lando Norris early on before easing away to control the race.

Fernando Alonso took the final podium position after a stunning drive in the Aston Martin, re-passing Sergio Perez's Red Bull on the last lap after losing the place a lap before.

Mercedes had their worst race of 2023, Lewis Hamilton finishing eighth and George Russell retiring when running 11th.

It was an unwelcome surprise for the former champions after the team felt they had been making progress in recent races with an upgraded floor.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Max Verstappen fought back from a five-second penalty with a damaged car to win a gripping Las Vegas Grand Prix.

He complained on Wednesday it was "99% show" but the show was all on track in one of the best races of the season.

Verstappen, his team-mate Sergio Perez and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc swapped and re-swapped places throughout as they fought for the podium positions.

Verstappen moved into the lead with 16 laps to go but Leclerc passed Perez back on the final lap to secure second.

Verstappen was penalised five seconds for forcing Leclerc off track at the first corner, suffered a damaged front wing in a collision with Mercedes' George Russell and made an extra pit stop than Leclerc under a mid-race safety car - the second in an action-packed race.

But the pace of the man who has utterly dominated the season inevitably prevailed and he climbed back up to pass Leclerc for the lead with 13 laps to go for his 18th win of his record-breaking season.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Lewis Hamilton will leave Mercedes at the end of the 2024 season and join Formula One rivals Ferrari on a multi-year deal in 2025.

The 39-year-old only signed a new two-year deal with Mercedes last summer.

However, it is understood his contract contained a break clause after one year, which the Briton has chosen to activate.

Hamilton said he was "so proud" of the success he had achieved in 11 years with Mercedes.

[Jimbuna]

Red Bull's Max Verstappen sent out a chilling message to his Formula 1 rivals with a crushing victory in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

He brushed off controversy surrounding his team principal Christian Horner to dominate after a brief challenge at the start from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

Verstappen led team-mate Sergio Perez home ahead of Ferrari's Carlos Sainz.

Leclerc recovered from dropping to fifth early on to pass Mercedes' George Russell for fourth in the closing laps.

Perez closed on Russell but had to wait until after their first pit stops to take second place behind Verstappen on lap 14, Sainz following him through four laps later.

Sainz kept Perez honest, but the Mexican was able to fend off the Spaniard to secure second place and a perfect start to the the season for the world champions.

After the first pit stops, Leclerc's struggles reduced. He recovered some pace through the second stint, and after his final stop he closed in on Russell to challenge to Mercedes for fourth place.

Leclerc took the position after Russell locked his front brakes into Turn 10 on lap 46, as the Ferrari driver had done regularly when he was struggling in the first stint, and Leclerc was able to slip by along the straight to Turn 11.

McLaren's Lando Norris was sixth ahead Lewis Hamilton in the second Mercedes.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri took eighth, with the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll completing the points finishers in ninth and 10th.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Teenager to become youngest ever British F1 driver

Ferrari Formula One driver Carlos Sainz will be replaced by British teenager Oliver Bearman at this weekend's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the team has confirmed.

Sainz, 29, has been diagnosed with appendicitis and will "require surgery", Ferrari said in a statement on Friday.

He missed media rounds in Jeddah on Thursday but participated in two practice sessions later in the day.

Confirming he was out for the rest of the weekend, Ferrari said: "As from FP3 and for the rest of this weekend, he will be replaced by reserve driver Oliver Bearman. Oliver will therefore take no further part in this round of the Formula 2 Championship.

"The Ferrari family wishes Carlos a speedy recovery."

Bearman, 18, from Chelmsford, Essex, has been part of the Ferrari Driver Academy since 2021.
Before the decision was made for Bearman to replace Sainz, he secured pole position in F2 qualifying in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

Previously he drove for Haas during practice sessions in Mexico and Abu Dhabi last season.

But this is the first time he will race in F1 competitively.

The teenager finished sixth in his debut F2 campaign last year, winning three feature races and one sprint race.

He will become the 12th British F1 driver to race for Ferrari and the first since Eddie Irvine left the team in 2000.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/motorsports/teenager-to-become-youngest-ever-british-f1-driver/ar-BB1jyDIT?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=94629cc14e4d4cd496a4b6f5eccc0d19&ei=103

[Buddahaid]

And Oliver Bearman finishes 7th making 6 F1 points on his debut drive. Wow!

[Jimbuna]

Red Bull's Max Verstappen took a comfortable victory in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, as Briton Oliver Bearman scored points on his debut in seventh for Ferrari.

Verstappen's win was his second in two races in 2024 and his ninth consecutive victory dating back to September.

Leading team-mate Sergio Perez to a Red Bull one-two, it continued the crushing superiority Verstappen has had over the Formula 1 field for nearly two years.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc came third.

Bearman, standing in for Carlos Sainz after the Spaniard underwent an appendectomy, became at 18 years old the youngest British driver in F1 history, and the third youngest ever.

He drove with maturity to fend off a potential challenge from McLaren's Lando Norris and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton as they fought back after late pit stops for fresh tyres on inverted strategies.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Carlos Sainz led Charles Leclerc to a Ferrari one-two in the Australian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen's domination of Formula 1 stalled.

Sainz swept by the world champion's Red Bull into the lead on the second lap before the Dutchman retired with a brake failure after just four laps.

The Spaniard then controlled the race as Leclerc passed McLaren's Lando Norris in the first pit-stop period.

The race ended under a virtual safety car after a crash for George Russell.

Chasing Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin for sixth place, the Mercedes driver lost control at Turn Six on the final lap and suffered a crash, the car coming to rest on its side, held up in the air by landing on its left-front wheel. Russell was unhurt.

Alonso and Russell were called to the stewards, who penalised the Spaniard 20 seconds, dropping him to eighth place, and gave him three penalty points on his licence for what stewards said driving "in a manner that was at very least 'potentially dangerous' given the very high speed nature of that point of the track".

Alonso admitted slowing too early and then accelerating again before braking, but said he got the manoeuvre "slightly wrong".

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Max Verstappen cruised to a comfortable victory in the Japanese Grand Prix, leading team-mate Sergio Perez to a Red Bull one-two.

Verstappen took an early race stoppage at Suzuka in his stride as he secured his third victory in four races this season.

Red Bull were in a league of their own in a race dominated by tyre strategy.

Carlos Sainz passed team-mate Charles Leclerc late on to secure third as Ferrari used differing strategies.

The race was red flagged on the first lap when RB's Daniel Ricciardo moved over on Alex Albon's Williams on the run between Turns Two and Three and the two touched and crashed at high speed.

Both were unhurt but the barriers needed repairing and the race was stopped for 20 minutes.

Verstappen had converted pole position into the lead at the first start and he did so again on the second, and took immediate control of the race on his way to his 57th career victory and a 13-point championship lead despite retiring from the last race in Australia.

Perez was less serene but still comfortable compared to the rest of the field as Red Bull underlined their overwhelming superiority.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Hamilton wins British GP for ninth time

Lewis Hamilton won a race-long fight with Max Verstappen and Lando Norris at a gripping, wet-dry British Grand Prix to take his first victory since December 2021.

Hamilton had just enough to hold off a late charge from Verstappen’s Red Bull to take his 104th career win, and his ninth at home to become the record-holder for victories at a single circuit.

Verstappen, who had struggled for pace through much of a race that was hit by two separate periods of rain, came alive in the closing laps to take second place from Norris, who grabbed the final position on the podium.

Hamilton appeared to be in tears in the car as he told his team: "This means so much to me," as they congratulated him over the radio.

“This one means a lot to us all,” his engineer Peter Bonnington said. “I love you, Bono,” Hamilton replied.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff described the win as “a fairytale” for them and Hamilton.

Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri, who was also in the lead fight for the first half of the race, took fourth place ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Piastri wins in Hungary after Norris team orders row

Oscar Piastri took his maiden grand prix victory in a McLaren one-two ahead of Lando Norris in a dramatic race in Hungary, amid a heated row over team orders.

Behind them, in a race full of see-sawing action, old rivals Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen collided as they disputed third place.

Both continued but Hamilton held on to third and the Red Bull driver, his race full of radio messages peppered with swearing, dropped back to finish fifth behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

McLaren’s team orders controversy unfolded as they tried to manage their way to a one-two, their first since the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.

Piastri led Norris for most of the race after taking the lead in a three-car fight between them and Verstappen around the first corner.

But an earlier final pit stop for Norris - made by McLaren to protect him against Hamilton’s Mercedes, which had stopped earlier - put him ahead of Piastri.

Norris was repeatedly asked to slow and let Piastri back past, and reminded of his responsibility to the team, but he refused to do so until just two laps from the end.

His engineer Will Joseph reminded him to “remember every Sunday morning meeting” and “I tried to protect you”.

He also told him that “the way to win a championship is with the team - you’re gonna need Oscar and you’re going to need the team”.

Norris argued that Piastri would have to catch him before he would let him by but all the time he was extending his lead.

For a long time, it appeared as if Norris would refuse to carry out the order, but in the end he acquiesced.

Hamilton and Verstappen collide on track

Hamilton and Verstappen’s incident happened on lap 63 as the Red Bull driver dived for the inside at Turn One.

The Dutchman overshot the corner and Hamilton’s front left wheel caught the right rear of Verstappen’s as the Red Bull speared past and into the run-off area.

It was the climax of a bad-tempered race for Verstappen as he railed against Red Bull’s strategy choices, that first put him behind Hamilton and then at the second pit stop also behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Verstappen caught and re-passed Leclerc but his anger seemed to spill over into his driving as he tried to pass Hamilton.

It was their second battle of the race - Verstappen had been stuck behind Hamilton in the second stint after making a later first pit stop than the Mercedes driver and failed to get by after a number of attempts.

Verstappen complained about his car’s performance, lack of grip and the team’s pit-stop choices, and when he was chastised by race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase for going too hard too soon on his tyres after his final stop, he again swore.

“Don’t give me that now,” he said. “You guys gave me this strategy. I’m trying to rescue my race.”

But he did the opposite and, after the collision, dropped behind Leclerc and was unable to catch the Ferrari.

McLaren one-two overshadowed any team row

Piastri took the lead at the start as he launched off the line better than Norris and got down the inside at Turn One.

They went three-wide around the corner with Verstappen on the outside, and the Dutchman then swept into the run-off area, responding to Piastri jinking slightly left and Norris doing the same, and used a slingshot to pass Norris as he returned to the track.

Norris complained that Verstappen had broken the rules and had to give the place back. Verstappen disagreed but after the stewards said the incident was under investigation, Red Bull advised their driver to cede the place.

Verstappen did so, but responded with the first of a long series of angry messages.

At the front, Piastri seemed in control of the race, extending a lead of more than three seconds before his first stop and then building it to nearly five by lap 32, shortly before half-distance.

But then he ran wide at the fast Turn 11, the lead immediately came down to 2.1 seconds, and Norris began to close in.

Norris held the gap at less than two seconds for 10 laps, until McLaren decided to pit the Briton to ensure he was not ‘undercut’ by Hamilton, who had made his final stop on lap 40.

The risk for McLaren was that Hamilton would close in enough on fresh tyres that Norris would come out behind him when he made his own stop.

So McLaren pitted Norris to protect against this, and then stopped Piastri two laps later.

But this meant that Norris had gained time on his fresh tyres and when Piastri rejoined, he was three seconds behind his team-mate.

The bargaining over who would win the race continued for the next 20 laps until Norris eventually decided his best long-term interests were in doing what he was told.

Behind Verstappen, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took sixth, while the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez and Mercedes’ George Russell recovered from their starting positions close to the back to take seventh and eighth.

RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll completed the points positions in ninth and 10th.

[Jimbuna]

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[Buddahaid]

I think I just saw the payback for Max taking Lewis out at Silverstone a few years back and it was nice to see Max rattled as he raced outside his comfort zone.

[Cyborg322]

Congratulations to the Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company for winning the Hungarian GP and also for second place

[Jimbuna]

Mercedes explain Russell's Belgium GP disqualification

Mercedes say George Russell was disqualified from the Belgian Grand Prix because his car lost more weight than they expected in a number of areas.

Russell lost the win because his car was found to be 1.5kg underweight after the race, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton elevated to first in his place.

Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin said the car's tyres, underfloor 'plank' and Russell himself all affected the car's final weight.

Shovlin said: "The car can lose quite a lot of weight during the race. You get tyre wear, plank wear, brake wear, oil consumption.

"The driver themselves can lose a lot, and in this particular race George lost quite a bit of weight.

"George's car was the only one that had the problem, and it is because things like the tyre wear was much higher. It looks like we lost more material on the plank.

"We will collect all that data though, look at how we can refine our processes because, clearly, we do not want that to happen in the future."

All Formula 1 drivers lose weight during a race - sometimes as much as 3kg - because of fluid loss from sweating. In Belgium, Russell lost more than he expected to.

In addition, the decision by team and driver to switch to a one-stop strategy, when they had been planning to do two, meant his tyres had done around double the amount of laps expected, so had lost more rubber.

The underbody 'plank' is a device aimed at stopping the cars running too low, and they are measured by officials to ensure they do not wear too much.

Russell's still complied with the rules but it had eroded more than expected.

Russell pulled off an unlikely victory on the road having decided mid-race to stick with the tyres he fitted on lap 10, rather than stop again.

The decision leapt him up from fifth to the lead, from where he defended his position against Hamilton's attacks in the closing laps.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri also finished right on the Mercedes' tails in third place.

Sholvin admitted the lower weight would have given Russell a performance advantage.

"In terms of pace at the start of the race, it is nil because George's car and Lewis' car start the race at the same weight," he said.

"Obviously, as George's car was losing weight faster than Lewis' throughout the race, there is an associated gain with that.

"But you are into the hundredths of a second per lap. It will be very small because when you are talking about amounts like one or two kilos, they do not amount to a lot of lap time."

Shovlin said the outcome of the race was "bittersweet" for Mercedes because Hamilton had still managed to win after the team had looked uncompetitive in Friday practice.

Mercedes tried a new floor design on Friday at Spa but took it off both cars for qualifying and the race after their difficult day’s running.

But Shovlin said it was likely the new floor would be used again at the next race - the Dutch Grand Prix on 23-25 August.

"We are planning to do that," he said. "The reason we reverted the car to the Silverstone spec on Friday night was because we had a good race in Silverstone.

"Spa and Silverstone are not dramatically different circuits in terms of the corner speed range that you are dealing with.

"We had clearly introduced some problems somewhere. We think that was largely due to how we were running the car in Spa, not induced by the updates themselves.

"That was giving us a bit of bouncing in the high-speed corners, as well as a few issues with the balance.

"Going to that Silverstone car got it all back to normal. We have since had time to look at the data to understand what it was that we did, and we are pretty confident that we will be going for a reintroduction in Zandvoort."

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[Jimbuna]

McLaren's Lando Norris fought back to take a dominant victory in the Dutch Grand Prix despite losing the lead to Max Verstappen's Red Bull at the start.

Norris, for whom starts and first laps have been a weakness in recent races, was passed almost immediately when he had too much wheel spin off the line.

But such was the pace in his McLaren that he re-passed Verstappen on lap 18, before the pit stops, and romped away into the distance.

Charles Leclerc took the final podium position, belying his pre-race pessimism, fending off the McLaren of Oscar Piastri for the final 27 laps.

Verstappen appeared to sense the way the race was going even while he was still leading.

The Dutchman, who has monopolised this event since it returned to the calendar in 2021, was complaining about a lack of grip from very early in the race.

His defence of the lead when Norris caught him was half-hearted, especially in the context of his normally ultra-robust defensive tactics, and the McLaren swept into the lead down the inside line at the first corner, Tarzan.

Once in front, Norris pulled away at about half a second a lap and there was nothing Verstappen could do to prevent losing his home race for the first time since its return after a 36-year absence.

[Jimbuna]

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[Buddahaid]

Notable in this race was how clean the whole thing was. Nobody retired, no safety cars, and no red flags. Only one in race penalty going to Stroll for speeding in the pit lane but an unsafe release was also noted for Gasly.

That said, the Porche Supercup race also ran at Zandvoort today was full of elbows out bumping action.

45,000 fans biked to the track!

[Jimbuna]

45,000 fans biked to the track!

Brings back memories of when I was living in Holland...more bikes than cars :)

[Jimbuna]

Charles Leclerc pulled off an extraordinary home win for Ferrari at the Italian Grand Prix, ahead of the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Ferrari chose a daring one-stop strategy for Leclerc, improvising mid-race, to vault him in front of the McLarens - who chose the conventional two-stop approach.

That left Leclerc hanging on in the closing laps from the rapidly closing McLarens and he just managed to resist them, winning by 2.6 seconds to send the tifosi in the grandstands wild.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen could finish only sixth, and Norris cut his championship lead by eight points to 62 with eight races to go, thanks to Norris grabbing the fastest lap before the chequered flag.

McLaren are now just eight points behind Red Bull in the constructors' championship.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Lando Norris drove an extraordinary race to catch and pass title rival Max Verstappen as his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri won an engrossing Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The race ended under a virtual safety car after a crash between Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who collided while disputing third place with two laps to go.

Piastri pulled off an audacious pass on Charles Leclerc, who had led from pole position, to take the lead shortly after both had made their only pit stop for fresh tyres and held on for the rest of the race under immense pressure from the Ferrari.

And Norris fought back after his late pit stop, having started from 15th place on the hard tyre while the leaders chose mediums, to pass Verstappen with three laps to go.

He took fourth place, promoted from sixth by the Perez-Sainz crash, one ahead of Verstappen, who had started nine places ahead of the McLaren driver.

The result means Norris, who also scored the point for fastest lap, reduced Verstappen’s championship lead by three points on a day he would have started expecting to lose ground.

Norris is 59 points behind Verstappen with seven races to go and a maximum of 206 still available.

And McLaren have taken the lead in the constructors’ championship from Red Bull, taking a 20-point lead.

[Jimbuna]

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[Buddahaid]

Norris wins in Singapore and is now only 52 points behind Verstappen. It's possible this year could be the biggest come from behind ever and remarkable there were no yellow flags during this street track race which may be the first time in the fifteen-race history.

[Jimbuna]

Sadly my money would still be on Verstappen.

[Buddahaid]

Ferrari dominate the US Grand Prix in Austin with a 1-2 finish with Verstappen taking third after the FIA give Norris a penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage challenging Verstappen near the end. I absolutely disagree about that penalty! Max dives inside carrying too much speed to stay inbounds forcing Norris off the track to avoid a collision and Norris gets the penalty while Max gets awarded for dirty driving. I hope this gets protested and reversed.

[Jimbuna]

Lando Norris given five-second penalty for pass on Verstappen

Dutchman takes third with Norris fourth

Charles Leclerc wins with Sainz second in Ferrari one-two

Hamilton goes off and out of race on lap two

Verstappen extends lead over Norris to 57 points in drivers' championship

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Lando Norris likes Max Verstappen as a person, and the McLaren driver respects his title rival’s ability on track. So Norris was trying not to criticise the Dutchman too much after the Mexico City Grand Prix. But in the end he felt he had no choice.

“It was not fair, clean racing,” Norris said of Verstappen’s driving, which earned the three-time world champion two 10-second penalties for two separate incidents within four corners of each other early in the race. “And therefore I think he got what he had coming to him.

“I felt like I just had to avoid collisions, and that's not what you feel like you want to do in a race. He's in a very powerful position in the championship. He's a long way ahead. He has nothing to lose.

“It's not my job to control him. He knows how to drive. And I'm sure he knows that today was probably a bit over the limit."

Verstappen, for his part, was not interested in getting into a public debate.

“Twenty seconds is a lot,” he said. “But I am not going to cry about it and I am also not going to share my opinion. The biggest problem I had is that it was a bad day in terms of race pace.”

Verstappen still managed to finish sixth despite the penalties and an uncompetitive car. Norris took second, behind a dominant Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari, which might not have been so dominant had Norris not been delayed behind Verstappen for much of the first stint.

That means Verstappen’s championship lead is down to 47 points with 120 still available over the remaining four races. Norris still needs to close in by nearly 12 points a race to become the world champion.

“It doesn't feel like I'm much closer than what I was,” Norris said. “But every point helps.”

[Jimbuna]

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[Buddahaid]

Max goes too far (again as far as I'm concerned) and gets two well deserved ten second penalties. I was glad Norris was saved from needing to try another pass as I was sure Max would have taken them both out like he did with Lewis at Monza a few years back.

[Jimbuna]

Agreed :yep:

[Jimbuna]

Max Verstappen climbed up from 17th on the grid to win the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, one of his greatest victories taking him to the brink of a fourth world title.

Rival Lando Norris of McLaren had a difficult race, finishing sixth after a couple of key errors, to fall 62 points adrift of Verstappen with 86 still available in the final three races.

Verstappen will become world champion if he leaves the next race at Las Vegas on 23 November with a lead of at least 60 points.

Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly took the final two podium places to transform Alpine's season and move the team up from ninth in the constructors' championship to sixth.

A chaotic, incident-strewn, wet race that involved a red flag, two safety car periods and a series of crashes and incidents will be remembered for a victory that was not only Verstappen’s 62nd, but one of the greatest wet-weather victories of all time.

Just as remarkably, it was his first win since the Spanish Grand Prix in June, and it owed everything to a driver at the top of his game, and a team making the right strategic decision at the right time.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won his fourth consecutive World Drivers’ Championship with fifth place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The race was won by Mercedes' George Russell, who held off a charge by team-mate Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time champion taking second place from 10th on the grid.

Verstappen’s position behind the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc was more than enough for the Dutchman.

His title rival Lando Norris could manage only sixth for McLaren, his deficit to the Dutchman now 63 points with a maximum of 60 available.

Verstappen joins Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel as a four-time champion, with only Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio ahead of him in that list.

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[Jimbuna]

Verstappen wins in Qatar after Norris penalty

Red Bull's Max Verstappen won a dramatic Qatar Grand Prix that was brought to life by two mid-race safety cars and a penalty for McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Verstappen was in a tight fight with Norris throughout the race until the Briton was given a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for failing to slow for yellow flags.

The Dutchman was instrumental in getting Norris the penalty after pointing the incident out to his team.

Meanwhile, there will be questions about the management of the race by governing body the FIA, after Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz both suffered punctures.

It is unclear whether the punctures were caused by worn tyres or debris from a wing mirror that had been lying on the pit straight for about three laps before it was smashed by Valtteri Bottas' Sauber. The FIA has not responded to questions as to why the mirror was not cleared up earlier.

The punctures happened shortly after the mirror was hit, and the safety car was called to allow marshals to clear the shattered carbon-fibre and glass.

At the restart, Norris challenged Verstappen, who defended his position robustly, but their tussle was academic, because of the penalty.

The punishment also ended McLaren’s hopes of tying up the constructors' championship in this race.

They now go to the final race in Abu Dhabi next weekend with a 21-point lead over Ferrari and a maximum of 44 points available to score.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Lando Norris secured McLaren's first Formula 1 constructors' championship for 26 years with victory in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Norris led from start to finish and his fourth win of the season was enough to seal the championship by 14 points, despite Ferrari finishing second and third with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc's brilliant drive after starting 19th on the grid kept the tension high - had anything happened to Norris' car, Ferrari would have clinched the title.

Lewis Hamilton took fourth place in his final race for Mercedes, passing team-mate George Russell around the outside of Turn Nine with six corners of the race to go.

Hamilton did doughnuts on the pit straight after crossing the line and then took a few moments with his car, collecting his thoughts, before congratulating Norris and McLaren F1 boss Zak Brown and consoling Sainz and Leclerc.

[Jimbuna]

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[Exocet25fr]

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[Jimbuna]

Lando Norris and McLaren delivered on their potential with a copybook victory in a demanding Australian Grand Prix in the most difficult of conditions to put their stamp on the start of the new season.

Briton Norris described his win as "stressful but rewarding".

The first adjective was justified by the conditions in a madcap, crash-strewn, incident-packed race where one small error can spell disaster - as it very nearly did for Norris himself at one point.

The second adjective was a recognition of the fact that this was exactly the kind of race in which, last year, McLaren had proved less than perfect, and thrown away at least one potential victory, and perhaps another, too.

But in Melbourne they were as perfect as it is possible to be in conditions such as these - even the renowned rain-master Max Verstappen slipped up at one point. And Norris and McLaren came through the chaos unscathed.

The fine line between victory and defeat was underlined by an incident with 13 laps to go that defined the race.

Norris was leading from team-mate Oscar Piastri and Verstappen as a heavy shower of rain approached the track.

It hit as the leaders were negotiating the final corners on lap 44, with 13 to go.

Both McLarens ran wide on to the gravel at the exit of Turn 12, and Australian Piastri then spun through Turn 13.

Norris was able to continue without losing too much time, but Piastri ended up on the grass on the outside of Turn 12, where he sat with his wheels spinning helplessly for what seemed like an age as his hopes of victory at home evaporated before finally rejoining. He fought back to ninth by the end.

Norris immediately pitted for treaded tyres. That decision won him the race, and demonstrated how far he and the team had come since last year - they had planned that they would pit as soon as it rained, and acted decisively on the plan.

Verstappen stayed out and took the lead, but as the rain intensified he lost more time, and Norris resumed the lead when the Dutchman pitted himself two laps later.

Norris said: "It's so easy to make a mistake, so easy to ruin everything. So quickly it can all have gone wrong within a second.

"Any second of the race, you lock up, you hit the white line wrong, you have a big snap. It was just very, very difficult at times to just not go into a hole or a tyre barrier somewhere.

"That's a big enough challenge, but then when you've got the weather changing and the track conditions changing, knowing when to make the correct decision to change on to a slick tyre and stay out on the inter-tyre, and then even more when I've got Max behind me and Oscar behind me, it's stressful.

"But that's what makes it rewarding.

"We worked a lot over the winter to prepare for a race like this, because it's where we threw away a lot of opportunities last season - Canada, Silverstone, where we were not the best at preparing and knowing how decisive we've got to be.

"Today we were very, very decisive, calling to box five metres before I boxed. But it was the right call in the end, and that won us the race."

The race was not over, though.

In the final five laps after the final restart, Norris had Verstappen right behind him. The McLaren was hampered by significant floor damage - incurred either in the previously mentioned off, or in another in those final laps at Turn Six - but he hung on, despite Verstappen being less than a second behind, and having use of the DRS overtaking aid.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Former F1 boss and TV pundit Jordan dies aged 76

Eddie Jordan, the flamboyant former Formula 1 team owner and television pundit, has died aged 76.

The Irishman, who had aggressive prostate cancer, died in the early hours of Thursday morning.

A statement from his family said: "It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Eddie Jordan OBE, the ex-Formula 1 team owner, TV pundit and entrepreneur.

"He passed away peacefully with family by his side in Cape Town in the early hours of 20 March 2025."

Jordan, who was known across the world for his outspoken, mischievous character, achieved rare success as an independent team owner.

His team, which made its debut in 1991, won four grands prix in its 15 years in the sport and challenged briefly for the drivers' championship in 1999, before suffering declining fortunes and being sold in 2005.

Jordan later became a television pundit, first for BBC Sport and then for Channel 4, where his outspoken views were paired with an ability to break major news stories.

Damon Hill, the 1996 world champion who won Jordan's first grand prix in 1998, told BBC Sport: "Eddie was a huge influence on me and many people in motorsport and around the world. There will never be another like him."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/articles/cq8y1335qlwo

[Jimbuna]

Oscar Piastri led Lando Norris to a dominant McLaren one-two in the Chinese Grand Prix ahead of George Russell's Mercedes.

Piastri's calm, controlled victory made it two wins from two for McLaren at the start of the season following Norris' outstanding drive in the wet in Melbourne last weekend.

The Australian led from pole and lost first place only briefly in the period around the leaders' only pit stops. Piastri was rarely more than four seconds ahead of Norris but always in control.

Norris was struggling with fading brakes in the closing laps but had enough of an advantage to hold Russell at bay.

Charles Leclerc drove an outstanding race in a Ferrari with a damaged front wing, faster than team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who moved out of his way.

But the pair were disqualified after the race - for separate technical infringements - along with Alpine's Pierre Gasly.

During the race, Leclerc lost fourth place to Red Bull's Max Verstappen with four laps to go as the world champion's car found some pace in the second half of the race.

Hamilton, who took an outstanding victory in the shorter sprint race on Saturday, had resisted the team orders call for a couple of laps before letting Leclerc by and then dropped back.

The seven-time champion made a second pit stop, while the other leaders all stayed out on their single set of hard tyres, fitted at their only pit stops.

The result leaves Norris leading the championship by eight points from Verstappen, with Russell a further point adrift, and Piastri one behind Russell.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

Red Bull's Max Verstappen fended off a race-long challenge from the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to win the Japanese Grand Prix.

The Dutchman's fourth consecutive victory at Suzuka was his first of the year and moves him to within one point of Norris at the head of the drivers' championship.

Verstappen's drive was cool under intense pressure, with rarely more than two seconds between him and Norris, and founded on a quite brilliant pole position lap on Saturday.

McLaren had feared that the Red Bull would be difficult to pass if Verstappen held the lead at the start, and so it proved.

Rain overnight and on the morning of the race helped ensure there was no repeat of the grass fires that affected practice and qualifying on Friday and Saturday.

Verstappen led the two McLarens for the entire first stint, the three lapping closely together.

There were questions as to why McLaren pitted Piastri first, when it might have made sense to attack Verstappen with Norris making an earlier pit stop, potentially giving the Briton the opportunity to get ahead.

McLaren had already radioed Norris for a 'dummy' stop two laps earlier and Norris was within 1.5 seconds of Verstappen - theoretically just about within range of an undercut - on the lap Piastri stopped.

McLaren said they had to pit Piastri because he was at risk of being undercut by Mercedes' George Russell, who stopped on lap 19 and was quick on his hard tyres.

Verstappen and Norris stopped on the same lap, one later than Piastri, and there was an immediate flashpoint.

As Verstappen and Norris pitted, they were separated by just 1.5 seconds. McLaren's stop was faster by a second, and as they left the pits the McLaren was halfway alongside the Red Bull.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

McLaren's Oscar Piastri took a controlled, dominant victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix to close on team-mate Lando Norris in the world championship.

The Australian was serene in the lead, calmly keeping himself out of reach of his rivals, as Mercedes' George Russell held off an assault from the second McLaren of Lando Norris for second.

Norris, fighting back from sixth on the grid and a five-second penalty for a false start, had a chance to pass Russell going into the final lap, but could not make it work.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fourth, passed by Norris with eight laps to go, ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton in a lonely fifth.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen could only take sixth place from Alpine's Pierre Gasly on the final lap, a week after his brilliant victory in Japan.

The result, the first time McLaren have won the home race of their Bahraini main shareholders, leaves Norris three points ahead of Piastri at the head of the championship.

Verstappen, anonymous and uncompetitive, is eight points off the lead in third.

[Jimbuna]

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[Jimbuna]

McLaren's Oscar Piastri took his third win of the year and with it the world championship lead at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Piastri benefited from a penalty for Red Bull's Max Verstappen to take control of the race and score his second win in a week.

Verstappen was given a five-second penalty for illegally keeping the lead from Piastri by going off the track at the first corner but had more than enough pace to keep second place.

McLaren's Lando Norris recovered from 10th place on the grid after his crash in qualifying to finish fourth behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

Norris, on an off-set tyre strategy, was closing in on Leclerc as the race reached its closing stages but his medium tyres lost their edge of pace and the Ferrari driver was able to hold him back.

Piastri's third win in five races so far this season puts the Australian 10 points clear of Norris in the championship, with Verstappen just two points further adrift.

[Jimbuna]

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