Max Verstappen was “not happy” when the Safety Car was deployed in the closing stages of the Canadian Grand Prix because he expected it would leave him vulnerable to Carlos Sainz Jnr. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The Red Bull driver was chasing down the race-leading Ferrari when the Safety Car was deployed with 21 laps to go. Verstappen had given up the lead to get onto fresher rubber, and knew the Safety Car would allow Sainz to do the same and restart immediately behind him. “We did our strategy and I think for us it worked,” said Verstappen. “At that second stop, of course, I had the fresher tyres, I was closing in on Carlos, but I was not sure if I actually would fully close that gap to the end of the race.” Sainz had slightly quicker pace in the opening stages of the race and Verstappen was concerned it would be difficult to contain the Ferrari driver once the Safety Car was deployed. “The Safety Car came out and I was not very happy with that … [Read more...] about Verstappen expected Safety Car would play in Sainz’s favour
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2022 F1 driver rankings #5: George Russell
From the moment George Russell stepped into Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes for the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix and almost drove it to victory, his Mercedes future became inevitable. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Finally, in 2022, Russell received his highly-anticipated promotion into the factory Mercedes seat alongside one of the greatest drivers of all time. Now he could finally fight at the front and be in contention for poles, wins and possibly even a championship title. At least, that was how it was supposed to be. Even Russell had to admit that he expected to have more success than he and Mercedes were able to achieve over the start of the 2022 season. The team’s W13 was radical, rigid but not rapid. And as Russell prepared for his first weekend as a full-time Mercedes driver, he and the team knew they would likely not be fighting for the win, for the first time in almost a decade. Valtteri Bottas qualifying ninth in a Mercedes at Imola in 2021 after … [Read more...] about 2022 F1 driver rankings #5: George Russell
Hamilton says FIA will introduce new rules in response to Breonna Taylor T-shirt controversy
Lewis Hamilton expects new rules will be introduced by the FIA this weekend in response to the T-shirt he wore on the podium at Mugello. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Following his victory in the Tuscan Grand Prix, Hamilton wore a T-shirt bearing the messages “arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor” and “say her name”. He also wore the shirt during the pre-race end racism observance and his post-race interview. The FIA is sensitive to grands prix being used for political gestures. In 2006 the Turkish Grand Prix promoter was fined $5 million – a record at the time – when their podium presentation was deemed to have violated the sport’s political neutrality. While Hamilton said he has not spoken to the FIA about the T-shirt, or whether its message was considered a political statement, he expects the rules will be changed this weekend to prevent anyone from doing the same. “I haven’t spoken to them but I heard that tomorrow they’re coming out with a … [Read more...] about Hamilton says FIA will introduce new rules in response to Breonna Taylor T-shirt controversy
Two races, no points: How 2023 compares to McLaren’s worst starts to a season
McLaren have started a Formula 1 season with victory on 13 occasions, and in a further seven seasons they managed to win by the second race. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free But after two grands prix in 2023, the team have finished no higher than 15th and sit last in the constructors’ standings. Have they ever started a season this badly before? 1966 Monaco GP: DNF, Belgian GP: DNS In McLaren’s first year as a manufacturer team in F1, founder Bruce McLaren raced a single M2B and did not even enter all of that season’s races. The team’s debut came in Monaco, where McLaren put his car tenth on the grid. He only went nine laps before an oil leak ended his day, but did briefly make it up to sixth place after some thrilling wheel-to-wheel action. His short time in the race was also recorded for the ‘Grand Prix’ film that was released in cinemas later that year. Later, points finishes at the British and United States grands prix meant McLaren finished … [Read more...] about Two races, no points: How 2023 compares to McLaren’s worst starts to a season
FIA bans drivers from making ‘political statements’ without permission
Formula 1 drivers and other participants in FIA events have been banned from making “political statements” without the permission of the governing body. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The clampdown has been defined in an update to the International Sporting Code, the rules which govern all series run by the FIA. The FIA has banned “the general making and display of political, religious and personal statements or comments notably in violation of the general principle of neutrality promoted by the FIA under its Statutes, unless previously approved in writing by the FIA for International Competitions, or by the relevant ASN for National Competitions within their jurisdiction.” Competitors are also advised that “failure to comply with the instructions of the FIA regarding the appointment and participation of persons during official ceremonies at any Competition counting towards a FIA Championship” will now be considered a breach of the regulations. Lewis … [Read more...] about FIA bans drivers from making ‘political statements’ without permission
Hamilton urges more action on human rights after letter from death row inmate
Lewis Hamilton has called on those in positions of power to do more to improve human rights in countries such as Saudi Arabia, where Formula 1 is racing this weekend. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Following reports 81 men were executed in Saudi Arabia on a single day earlier this month, Hamilton revealed he had been contacted by Abdullah al-Howaiti, who is on death row in Saudi Arabia. Howaiti was sentenced to death in 2019 over a robbery which occured three years earlier, when he was 14, which his family insist he was not involved in . “It’s obviously mind-blowing to hear the stories,” said Hamilton during Friday morning’s FIA press conference. “I’ve heard that there’s a letter sent to me, for example, from a 14-year-old that’s on death row. At 14 you don’t know what the hell you’re doing in life.” Last year Hamilton described Saudi Arabia’s legislation against its LGBTQ+ community as “terrifying.” Yesterday he said: “My position’s still the … [Read more...] about Hamilton urges more action on human rights after letter from death row inmate
Helmet rows, hot mics and more forgotten motorsport stories from 2022
The 2022 Formula 1 season was full of drama on track and in the paddock, some of it leftover from the previous year’s controversies. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free With all that going on, it was easy to overlook some of the strange and surprising stories of the last 12 months. Red Bull ‘launched’ a show car Formula 1 car launches always attract huge interest as they can give the first indication of how the teams will compare against each other for the season ahead with any innovative designs. That was especially the case this year as teams produced their first designs for radically new regulations. Preferring not to give the opposition an early peek at their real RB18, Red Bull instead presented a repainted show car at their launch on February 9th. The real thing, which appeared in testing two weeks later, looked very different. Red Bull presents first images of new car for 2022 F1 season Magnussen’s F1 return has big repercussions After … [Read more...] about Helmet rows, hot mics and more forgotten motorsport stories from 2022
Leclerc frustrated by “DRS trains” and slow pit stop in climb from back row to fifth
Charles Leclerc said his efforts to make progress in the Canadian Grand Prix were frustrated by a series of “DRS trains” and a slow pit stop. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free He started the race on the back row of the grid after collecting a series of penalties for power unit parts changes. He finished in fifth, having predicted fourth was the best he could expect heading into the race. Having spent many laps stuck behind other drivers, a slow tyre change cost him an opportunity to run in clear air. “Unfortunately with the pit stop this put us a bit in a bad situation because we had cleared the DRS train and we got another DRS train after the slow pit stop,” he explained. “I had to push on the tyres and that cost me a little bit at the end. But overall it was just a race where I had to be patient. “At the beginning I was stuck behind a DRS train. In the middle part of the race I was stuck behind Esteban [Ocon], who had much newer tyres and was very … [Read more...] about Leclerc frustrated by “DRS trains” and slow pit stop in climb from back row to fifth
F1 drivers banned from wearing T-shirts on podium after Hamilton’s Breonna Taylor protest
The FIA has announced changed to its post-race procedure after Lewis Hamilton wore a T-shirt drawing attention to the Breonna Taylor case at the last race. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Revised guidance issued to drivers by the sport’s governing body states the top three finishers in the race “must remain attired only in their driving suits, ‘done up’ to the neck, not opened to the waist” throughout the podium ceremony and post-race interview procedure. At the previous round in Mugello, Hamilton wore a T-shirt bearing the message “Arrest the cops that killed Breonna Taylor” while he was interviewed after the race and during his appearance on the podium. Taylor was shot multiple times and killed by police officers who entered her home in Kentucky in March. The case has been highlighted by worldwide anti-racism protests and the Black Lives Matter movement, which Hamilton is a vocal supporter of. Hamilton said on Thursday he was expecting “a new … [Read more...] about F1 drivers banned from wearing T-shirts on podium after Hamilton’s Breonna Taylor protest