Badminton world champion

Lewis Hamilton is concerned Mercedes are still so far behind Red Bull in the second year of Formula 1’s current technical regulations. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The seven-times world champion said his team must focus on closing the gap to their rivals after he qualified over a second off Max Verstappen’s pace at Suzuka last weekend. Red Bull have won all bar one of the 16 races so far this year. They clinched the constructors title in Japan and Verstappen is likely to claim the drivers’ championship for the third year in a row in the Sprint race ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix next week. Hamilton said in Suzuka that Mercedes need to “realise that a second gap is huge and it’s real.” “To be two years in and still be a second down compared to the Red Bulls, it’s showing that we need to make sure that we really do a good job over the winter to get back at least half that gap before next year,” he added. Red Bull’s return to winning ways in Japan … [Read more...] about Mercedes must halve deficit to Red Bull before 2024 season starts – Hamilton

Nyck de Vries’ exit from Formula 1 was watched by those around him with anguish. His childhood dream, which he spent his career working towards, ended far more quickly than he must have expected after starting what was supposed to be his first full season. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Red Bull made the tough decision to replace him after less than half a season, placing Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri before the Hungarian Grand Prix. On paper it made sense: Despite his team mate Yuki Tsunoda having just two points on the board at the time, De Vries was yet to get off the mark and had made some costly errors on-track. The axe fell after three tough races finishing near the back in Canada, Austria and Great Britain. Losing his seat before the halfway mark in the championship, shortly before his home race, seemed particularly tough even for the cutthroat world of Formula 1. Lewis Hamilton , Charles Leclerc, Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon all spoke out … [Read more...] about De Vries ready to fight for Formula E titles again after “hurt” of losing F1 drive

Sergio Perez has admitted he is going through a “rough patch” on track after he lost “trust” in his car after his Monaco qualifying shunt. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The Red Bull driver continues to hold second place in the drivers’ championship, but is 99 points behind his team mate Max Verstappen . Perez has failed to reach Q3 in grand prix qualifying for the last five consecutive race weekends, a run which started when he crashed out of Q1 during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend. However speaking to media ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, Perez said his poor run of qualifying results are “not a concern” for him. “I think when you look at those bad qualifyings, there’s always been different situations that we haven’t dealt with as good as we should have dealt with them,” Perez said in response to a question from RaceFans. “But there has always been some external factors. It hasn’t been pure pace, let’s put it that way. “Certainly when … [Read more...] about Perez says “rough patch” began when he “lost trust” in car after Monaco crash

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner says Nico Hulkenberg is “absolutely” the best qualifying driver he has had driving for his team. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Hulkenberg joined the Haas team at the start of this season in place of Mick Schumacher . It is Hulkenberg’s first full campaign in Formula 1 since 2019, when he raced for Renault. Over the first ten rounds of the year, Hulkenberg has started inside the top 10 more than half the time, reaching Q3 on five occasions – once more than Red Bull driver Sergio Perez . He has also out-qualified team mate Kevin Magnussen by a ratio of 8-2. Alfa Romeo sporting director Beat Zehnder recently named Hulkenberg as the best qualifying driver he has ever worked with , as the driver raced for the team in 2013 when it was known as Sauber. Speaking to media in Hungary yesterday, Steiner agreed with with Zehnder’s statement. “I would say so, absolutely,” Steiner said. “He can put a lap together that … [Read more...] about Hulkenberg is the best qualifier I’ve worked with – Steiner

The world of Gran Turismo 7 is about to get even more exciting as update 1.38 brings three cool Japanese cars and a few other improvements. This month’s update is now available for download and it includes an old-school JDM Honda Civic. This particular car earned the prestigious Gran Turismo Award in 2017, a recognition reserved for the finest custom cars showcased at SEMA. At first glance, the most striking feature of the hatch is its wide body kit, courtesy of the Japanese tuning firm Pandem. This kit, along with a front splitter and a rear wing, not only enhances the car's aesthetics but also improves its aerodynamic performance. The carbon fiber hood, which boasts a bold design adds to the car's aggressive and distinctive appearance. Gallery: Gran Turismo 7 Update 1.38 10 Photos Under the hood, the original engine has undergone a substantial transformation. … [Read more...] about Gran Turismo 7 Update 1.38 Brings JDM Style Civic, Diesel Mazda Race Car

After it made its race debut at the San Marino GP with wildcard Dani Pedrosa, KTM has brought its new carbon fibre chassis to Japan for factory riders Binder and Jack Miller. With the new chassis offering better rear grip on the RC16, Binder used this to maximum effect on the soft rear tyre at the end the second practice to go fastest of all with a 1m43.489s, beating the eight-year-old lap record set by Jorge Lorenzo. Binder headed championship leader Francesco Bagnaia by 0.029 seconds, while Aleix Espargaro completed the top three for Aprilia, the top three all surpassing Lorenzo's 2015 benchmark. The Q1 session in qualifying will feature all three previous champions prior to Bagnaia in 2022, as crashes for Yamaha’s Quartararo and Honda’s Marquez left both outside of the top 10. Joan Mir will also join that trio having been unable to replicate his top five form from FP1 in the afternoon. The early pace was set by the sister factory Aprilia of Maverick Vinales, who got … [Read more...] about MotoGP Japanese GP: Binder tops FP2, Marquez and Quartararo crash

Honda rider Marquez had set a lap good enough to make the top 10 in Friday afternoon’s second practice session and thus secure a guaranteed spot in the second part of qualifying, but this was scrubbed for a yellow flag violation. The lap would have been good enough to get him into Q2, but the six-time MotoGP champion pushed for a further improvement and instead ended up in the gravel at Turn 1. With his best lap taken away, Marquez was left 14th-fastest, two spots behind team-mate Joan Mir , and facing the prospect of fighting his way out of the first part of qualifying on Saturday. But the six-time champion admits that he didn't realise that in reality he didn't need to push any harder to get through to Q2. “It was a good day, but unlucky,” summarised Marquez. “Some days I go into Q2 without [having] the speed, but today I had the speed and I was not able to be in Q2. “With the first tyre, I did a mistake on the first corner and I missed the lap. I touched the green … [Read more...] about Marquez feels “unlucky” to miss Motegi MotoGP Q2 after yellow flag confusion

Kokubu has been a mainstay at the Japanese manufacturer for over three decades, having joined Honda in 1986, working on its MotoGP project and even briefly in Formula 1. He did not travel to India last week and is also not present at Motegi for the Japanese Grand Prix, and will most likely be followed in a few months by Tetsuhiro Kuwata, who has a more administrative than technical role. Kokubu's time with Honda in MotoGP is especially significant, having been responsible for the chassis of the RC211V raced by the marque in 2003 right at the beginning of the four-stroke era of the premier class. With that chassis, Honda won two world championships with Valentino Rossi and a third with Nicky Hayden before the RC212V was introduced for 2007 at the start of the 800cc era. In 2008, Kokubu was appointed as project leader of the RC212V and became technical director in 2012, before taking on the role as general manager of Honda's technical and development division in 2016. … [Read more...] about Honda makes significant technical reshuffle amid Marquez MotoGP future uncertainty

The team made a bigger loss despite upping its turnover from sponsorship and prize money by over £ 32m, with the numbers reflecting an overall increase in costs in the first year of the new regulations. Following a reorganisation, the team now operates under the banner of AMR GP Limited, which is a subsidiary of AMR GP Holdings Limited, although the headline numbers across the two entities are in effect the same. Figures released to the public domain this week show that AMR GP generated turnover in 2022 of £ 188,728,000, up from £ 150,438,000 in 2021. The overall cost of sales, a measure of what the team actually spent to go racing, rose to £ 152,046,00 from £ 107,735,000. With administrative expenses and other income such as government grants taken into account, that resulted in a loss for 2022 of £ 52,915,000, compared with £ 43,332,000 in 2021. Overall staff costs for the group were listed as £ 54,983,000, an increase of around 10% on the previous year. … [Read more...] about Aston Martin posts £53m loss for 2022 F1 season