Kickboxing world champion

For the 30th time in 71 seasons of the Formula 1 world championship, the drivers’ title was decided in the very final race of the season. But what was F1’s best ever final showdown? Recap all thirty of the final race title deciders below and then let us know which one you feel was the best climax seen in a Formula 1 season. 1950: Fangio vs Fagioli vs Farina The first world championship produces the first title showdown at Monza. Fangio needs a win or second place to become the inaugural world champion, but Fangio retires twice in two separate cars, opening the door for Farina who takes the win and the first ever world title. 1951: Fangio vs Ascari vs Gonzalez The next year, another threeway showdown for the title at the season-ending Spanish Grand Prix around the streets of Barcelona. Going into the final round with the lead, Fangio holds off Ferrari’s Jose Froilan Gonzalez to take the chequered flag and secure his first of five titles. 1956: Fangio vs Collins Peter … [Read more...] about Which was F1’s best down-to-the-wire title fight?

The FIA has formally confirmed it has approved a bid from Andretti Formula Racing to enter a team in the Formula 1 world championship. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free In order to secure its place in the series, Andretti must now convinced Formula 1 Management to agree to expand the grid from 10 teams to 11. FOM swiftly issued a brief statement in response to the FIA’s announcement of Andretti’s approval. “We note the FIA’s conclusions in relation to the first and second phases of their process and will now conduct our own assessment of the merits of the remaining application,” it said. The FIA’s announcement concludes the application process it began in February . It said “numerous enquiries” were made in response to its initial call for expressions of interest, following which four progressed to the second phase of examination. Andretti’s rivals included Formula Equal , backed by former F1 team principal Craig Pollock, Formula 2 team Hitech GP, … [Read more...] about FIA approves Andretti’s bid to enter team, F1 will “conduct our own assessment”

The MotoGP title battle has intensified after Jorge Martin romped to a double victory at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix. Having already dealt significant damage to Francesco Bagnaia 's championship lead in India after the factory Ducati rider crashed out of the grand prix, Martin twisted the knife in Japan. Storming (quite literally on Sunday) to his second brace of wins in three rounds, Martin is now just three points behind Bagnaia in the title chase. But it was not all lost for Bagnaia, as he cured the braking problems that had been plaguing him in recent rounds. Behind them on Sunday, Marc Marquez scored his first grand prix podium since last year's Australian round. Whether it's enough to keep him in place at Honda, he says it won't make a difference to his decision. Of that, he is "quite sure", even if no announcement arrived in Japan. Elsewhere, KTM made gains with its new carbon fibre chassis, while Cal Crutchlow 's one-off return as a wildcard offered some … [Read more...] about 10 things we learned from the 2023 MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he does not plan on making a driving comeback when he eventually retires from F1, and will not know if an eighth title will represent a natural end point for his career until it happens, should he achieve it. Hamilton recently signed a new two-year deal with Mercedes that will keep him with the Silver Arrows until the end of 2025, along with team-mate George Russell. This new deal will see Hamilton in the sport beyond his 40th birthday, but he has revealed that when he does walk away from driving, he has no intention on returning. Lewis Hamilton: ‘When the chapter is over, that’s when it’s over’ Having joked with Sebastian Vettel when he retired last year that successful drivers who leave Formula 1 “always come back”, four-time World Champion Vettel has since not been able to rule out the possibility of trying to get back on the grid one day. But as for Hamilton, his mind is seemingly set on the fact that, once he does choose to cut the cord … [Read more...] about Lewis Hamilton reveals insight into eventual F1 retirement plans

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

Former F1 driver Christijan Albers is shocked that Sergio Perez has avoided the same Red Bull treatment as Nyck de Vries, but feels the end must be coming. Just when it seemed as though Perez had overcome his mid-season slump at Red Bull, the Mexican racer is back under the spotlight after a pair of difficult outings in Singapore and Japan, the latter particularly concerning. While Red Bull’s rare off day in Singapore contributed to Perez’s troubles, he earned few plaudits for his collision with Alex Albon, resulting in a five-second penalty, while he picked up two further five-second penalties in Japan, the second of those for steaming into Haas’ Kevin Magnussen at the hairpin. Christijan Albers warns Sergio Perez this has to “end somewhere” Red Bull has maintained that Perez will remain in the cockpit for F1 2024, the final year of his contract, but Albers is surprised that Perez is being given the chance to remain in his seat, considering how De Vries was not so fortunate. … [Read more...] about Pundit ‘amazed’ Red Bull keep Sergio Perez after ‘destructive’ Nyck de Vries approach

Driver penalties became a major talking point in 2016 as teams urged stewards to ease up on the number of sanctions being handed down . 2011-16 penalties data 2011 penalties index 2012 penalties index 2013 penalties index 2014 penalties index 2015 penalties index 2016 penalties index Just last week Derek Warwick , one of several ex-F1 drivers now involved in F1 officiating, urged the FIA to “take away all these penalties” and “get back to harder, harsher racing” . However following a record-breaking 2015 during which over 100 penalties were issued the total number of sanctions fell slightly in 2016. As the calendar had grown from 19 races to 21, that meant the average number of penalties per race fell by 15%, from 5.3 to 4.5. The number of investigations dropped by almost 20%, from 8.6 to 6.9. This graph shows the total penalties handed down over the last six seasons, whether they were incurred by a driver or team, and how many … [Read more...] about Has F1 hit ‘peak penalties’? Fewer sanctions in 2016

The 73rd season in the Formula 1 world championship was a record-setting one in a variety of ways with new all-time benchmarks set and some long-running sequences coming to an end. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free A 15-year continuous run ended for Lewis Hamilton , as did a peculiar record held by Daniel Ricciardo. And something happened in 2022 that has not occurred in Formula 1 since the 1979 season. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but these are some of the most outstanding records that were either set, broken or ended in the 2022 season… Record breakers Max Verstappen soared to unparalleled heights in 2022. As well as successfully defending his world championship title from 2021, he set a new all-time record for most wins in a single season with 15, breaking clear of Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher’s previous record of 13. Despite the incredible achievement, Verstappen’s season win percentage (68.18%) was actually lower than both … [Read more...] about Records smashed and winning runs wrecked: The 2022 F1 season in stats

It is Qatar race week everyone! And we kick things off with another busy day full of talking points from the world of Formula 1. Lewis Hamilton admitted that his relationship with Formula 1 is “love-hate” these days, though battling team-mate George Russell plays a positive role, while Hamilton also offered insight as to why “casual” Ferrari talks have never resulted in a signed deal. All this and much more, so let us dive into the action… Andretti F1 application approved by the FIA The biggest news of the day came as Andretti Formula Racing saw their application to join the F1 grid accepted by the FIA, but that does not mean they are becoming the 11th team just yet. Andretti, who have secured an engine partnership with General Motors through Cadillac, now face another arguably even bigger hurdle to overcome, as they enter commercial talks with FOM and try to convince Formula 1 officials that they deserve to expand the grid. The FIA said Andretti’s was the only application … [Read more...] about Andretti application approved as Lewis Hamilton talks F1 ‘love-hate story’ – F1 news round-up