Zelensky risks putins wrath with swoop against ukraine oligarch

After five red flags in just 75 minutes of running, Formula 2 drivers say stoppages are inevitable at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit . Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The red flags flew twice during the 45-minute free practice session, after Cem Bolukbasi and Theo Pourchaire crashed heavily . The session was abandoned with 8 minutes remaining. The 30-minute qualifying session was stopped three times. Pourchaire was in trouble again, his car catching fire. Then Logan Sargeant crashed and finally a third red flag was shown in error following a GPS failure on Frederik Vesti’s car. The interruptions posed an added challenge for teams as Formula 2 has changed its regulations on refuelling this year. Teams are no longer allowed to refuel their cars during sessions, meaning some drivers began to run low after too many aborted attempts. Teams needed to weigh that risk as part of their strategies, said Richard Verschoor. “Of course you want to have the best … [Read more...] about Red flags are a natural part of Jeddah say F2 drivers after five in two sessions

“A shitshow… You guys deserved this.” Those were Daniel Ricciardo’s thoughts on his collision with Max Verstappen during the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the year he quit Red Bull. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The Australian admitted the team’s handling of that notorious clash had contributed to his decision to leave. The pair had twice banged wheels throughout the race, before inevitably colliding for a third time on lap 40, wiping out both drivers as Verstappen attempted to pass his team mate into turn one. The team reprimanded both drivers, but Ricciardo was left with a bitter taste in his mouth which seemingly no amount of energy drink could wash down. Ricciardo had led his new team mate during their first season together at Red Bull in 2016, but it was no secret Verstappen was on an upward trend. The gap narrowed in 2017. By 2018 it seemed Verstappen was increasingly making the team his own as he pursued his dream to become a world champion. … [Read more...] about Does Ricciardo’s return to Red Bull prove Horner was right about him leaving?

Sebastian Vettel did not wear his helmet drawing attention to “Canada’s climate crime” during yesterday’s Canadian Grand Prix. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free However his Aston Martin team insisted they did not require him to stop wearing the helmet, which he sported on Friday and Saturday at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve . Vettel’s helmet and accompanying T-shirt bearing the slogans “Stop mining tar sands” and “Canada’s climate crime” made him a focus of attention after a local political accused him of “hypocrisy” . Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack denied the team had told him to stop wearing the design. “No, no,” he said when asked. “I mean, he wanted to create awareness with the T-shirt and the helmet. And then at one point, he decided the awareness is created, let’s say, and that was it, and took it off. And he cannot wear the same T-shirt every day!” Vettel reverted to the ‘No War’ helmet design which he has worn since the start of the … [Read more...] about Vettel removed controversial ‘climate crime’ helmet for Canadian Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel has removed the image of a disputed flag from the special helmet he is wearing at testing in Bahrain after a complaint was made to the FIA. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The Aston Martin driver drew the ire of the Cyprus Automobile Association after featuring the flag of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on his helmet. The territory, formed after the annexation of part of northern Cyprus, adopted the flag after declaring its independence in 1983. However its identity is only recognised by Turkey. Vettel revealed a special helmet design at the start of testing in Bahrain yesterday. It features the message “No War” and draws attention to the conflict in Ukraine using the country’s blue and yellow colours. The base of the helmet also features representations of many different flags. Among them is the flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Its white background and red details resembles a Turkish flag with … [Read more...] about Vettel removes image of disputed flag from “No War” helmet after complaint to FIA

Mick Schumacher does not consider his 2022 Formula 1 campaign as a “real second year” because the new generation of cars are so different to what he drove before. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free He hade his debut last year but scored no points after the team abandoned development of their 2021 car to prioritise their all-new design for this season. However, Schumacher remains yet to score the first point of his career after the first seven races. He suffered heavy crashes in qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, tangled with Sebastian Vettel in Miami and crashed by himself again in Monaco last time out. Schumacher lost control of his VF-22 at the Swimming Pool section on dry tyres on a still-damp circuit, crashing into the barriers and splitting his car in two. He said it happened despite the fact he was ‘taking it easy’ at the time. “The whole track was quite damp at parts and some others were quite dry,” Schumacher explained. “We came a bit … [Read more...] about Schumacher: New cars make 2022 not a “real second year” for me

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 Silverstone-based outfit began 2023 as Red Bull’s main challenger, with Fernando Alonso rolling off five podium finishes from the first six races. He also had a shot at winning the Monaco Grand Prix. But since the midpoint of the season, Aston Martin’s form has fallen back, and Alonso has had just one podium – second place in the Dutch GP – in the last eight races. It has also slipped back to fourth in the constructors’ championship and now runs the risk of falling to fifth, behind the resurgent McLaren squad, if it does not lift its performance over the rest of the year. Team principal Mike Krack is aware of the need for things to improve, as he acknowledged it would be bad for morale if the team ended the year on the back foot. Asked if it was critical Aston Martin did not see out 2023 drifting backwards, Krack said: “Yeah, I 100% agree. This is very important. It's a bit of the opposite of last year. “If you have a good start, and then others are overtaking … [Read more...] about Aston Martin admits it must turn around trend of F1 season

In the early phase of the season, the Mercedes would have the edge in races because its W14 car was much less harsh on its tyres than the Ferrari SF-23. However, as Ferrari has made gains in understanding why its 2023 challenger was so hard on its rubber early on, its race pace has improved dramatically. And with the two teams now locked in a fight for runners-up in the constructors' championship, the switch in car characteristic could prove critical as their fight plays out over the remaining six races of the campaign. At the recent Japanese Grand Prix, where tyre degradation was a critical factor in deciding the pace on Sunday, Ferrari showed how on top of things it was as Charles Leclerc finished ahead of the Mercedes lead car of Lewis Hamilton . This was a result that Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin believed proved that Ferrari was no longer behind with its management of tyre degradation. Shovlin reckoned that Mercedes' lack of … [Read more...] about Mercedes fears it has lost race-day F1 tyre edge over Ferrari