Make positive changes

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

In the round-up: Haas team principal Guenther Steiner says that concerns over the reliability of the Ferrari power unit grew after the Monaco Grand Prix In brief Ferrari PU reliability concerns “a little bit bigger” after Monaco – Steiner Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Haas team principal Guenther Steiner says that concerns over the reliability of the Ferrari power unit grew after the Monaco Grand Prix. The team had to retire driver Kevin Magnussen’s car during the race due to a water leak with his car’s ERS. Two days earlier, Valtteri Bottas had missed almost the entire first practice session due to a Ferrari power unit problem in his Alfa Romeo. Steiner says that following the multiple problems in Monaco, concerns about the reliability of the Ferrari power units has grown. “Obviously we had some issues, mainly in Monte Carlo – before we didn’t have any big issue with it – but Monte Carlo, there were issues for us and Alfa [Romeo], so … [Read more...] about Ferrari power unit reliability concerns “a little bit bigger” after Monaco – Steiner

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

The curse of sport is that unless you are number one, you are condemned to live under a cloud of failure. For no matter how many races you win, poles you take or points you score, there can only be one champion. The rest all fall short. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Red Bull know this only too well. After being deposed from F1’s Mount Olympus with the onset of the V6 turbo hybrids, their journey back to the top was as frustrating as it was humbling. But that decade of discontent reached its end over the past two seasons, and Red Bull head into a new year as undisputedly and unequivocally the best team in their sport. Emerging bruised, bloodied but victorious from their brutal year-long battle against Mercedes in 2021, Red Bull knew they were vulnerable going into Max Verstappen’s first year sporting the coveted number one on his car. But when Mercedes faltered, Ferrari faced up to Red Bull in their place. However, Ferrari’s implosion as the season … [Read more...] about Will Red Bull dominate again as their development handicap bites in 2023?

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