List of All Articles with Tag '1'

Red Bull racing is being pressured into considering a dangerous decision for a replacement for Sergio Perez upon his contract's expiration.Red Bull Racing is on top of the Formula One world in 2023, just like they have been for the last few years. With 321 points, eight wins, and 12 podiums...

Sergio Perez was absent from media day at the Austrian Grand Prix due to illness. The Red Bull driver, who is second in the championship standings behind team-mate Max Verstappen, “became unwell” on Wednesday night. With qualifying taking place on Friday this weekend with the sprint format in place, the 32-year-old took the decision not to go to the Red Bull Ring on Thursday. “He became unwell last night and is taking the day to rest to ensure he’s in the best possible health for this weekend’s race,” Red Bull said in a statement. Perez trails Verstappen by 69 points in the world championship. Despite two wins from the opening four races, the Mexican has struggled in recent weeks and is now only nine points clear of Fernando Alonso in third. This weekend’s action in Spielberg sees the second of six sprint weekends this season. Qualifying for the grand prix now takes place on Friday, with Saturday a designated “sprint day” with “sprint shootout” quickfire qualifying in the morning followed by the sprint race in the afternoon. Read More Are Red Bull now the most successful F1 team ever – and how long can this dominance last? What is a sprint race in F1 and how does new qualifying shootout work? F1 team bid confirmed for 2026 season after major investment

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Toto Wolff believes Mercedes’ car should perform better this weekend in Austria than two weeks ago in Canada. The Silver Arrows switched their car philosophy a month ago, bringing in a host of upgrades for the Monaco Grand Prix. The true impact of the revamped car has been seen in the last two races – in Barcelona and Montreal – with improved performance, recording back-to-back podiums including a double podium in Spain. Yet both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell remain short of pace to challenge Red Bull’s Max Verstappen out in front. The Dutchman has a 69-point lead to team-mate Sergio Perez in the Driver Standings, while Red Bull are 154 points clear of Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship. "There were plenty of positives to take from the last race in Canada," Mercedes boss Wolff said, ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix. "Although we didn’t get both cars to the chequered flag, a podium was a solid result and we saw encouraging signs from our updated package. "It’s a short lap in Spielberg and looks straightforward on paper; several long straights broken up by a range of slow, medium-speed and fast corners. But it’s a challenging one to put together and get right. "We will aim to build on the momentum we have generated over the past two races and continue our positive trajectory with the car. "It’s a venue where the W14 should perform better than in Canada, but we won’t take anything for granted. As always, we will be working hard to maximise our performance and deliver strong results." This weekend’s action at the Red Bull Ring sees the second sprint race of the season, with qualifying for the grand prix taking place on Friday before ‘sprint day’ on Saturday. Read More F1 team bid confirmed for 2026 season after major investment

F1 sprint is set for its biggest ever season this year with six sprint races on the calendar for 2023 - doubling the amount from 2022 and 2021. The 100km Saturday dash, first introduced at the British Grand Prix in 2021, has proven popular with teams and fans alike and will be present at more than a quarter of Grand Prix weekends during the 23-race season. Why F1’s sprint shake-up could be the beginning of the end for Max Verstappen There was an unanimous agreement to increase the number of sprint events amongst F1 teams at a meeting of the F1 commission meeting last year, following discussions with the FIA and a vote amongst the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC). As it was last year, the F1 sprint is a 100km race with no mandatory pit stops and drivers racing flat-out to the chequered flag. As it was in the 2022 season, the top eight drivers score points, with the driver who finishes P1 receiving eight points. How does the sprint race work? The F1 Commission and the FIA have approved new sprint weekend format changes which will see an extra qualifying session added to the schedule. The new order of play sees a new ‘sprint shootout’ take place on Saturday morning instead of a second practice session, with traditional qualifying on Friday now setting the grid for Sunday’s grand prix. It means there will be just one practice session over the course of the weekend, while Saturday is designated ‘sprint day’. The result of the Saturday sprint – a 100km dash, roughly a third of the distance of the grand prix – will not impact the grid for Sunday, as opposed to the past two years. Points will be awarded to the top-eight, as was the case in 2022. But now, that Friday qualifying session will take on added weight as it will set the grid for Sunday’s grand prix, regardless of what happens in Saturday’s sprint race. On Saturday, instead of what was seen as a generally pointless second practice session on Saturday, a new ‘sprint shootout’ will take place to form the starting grid for the sprint race later in the day. It will follow the same Q1-Q2-Q3 format but the session times will be shorter than traditional qualifying: Q1 will be 12 minutes, Q2 will be 10 minutes and Q3 will be eight minutes. NEW SPRINT WEEKEND FORMAT Friday: Free Practice 1; qualifying (for Sunday’s Grand Prix) Saturday: Sprint qualifying; sprint race (Top-eight receive points, finish order will have no impact on Grand Prix grid) Sunday: Grand Prix How many points are on offer? P1 - Eight points P2 - Seven points P3 - Six points P4 - Five points P5 - four points P6 - three points P7 - two points P8 - one point Where will the sprint races take place this season? There will be six sprint races this season, including at three of the final six Grand Prix weekends. ROUND 4 - AZERBAIJAN Baku City Circuit - 28-30 April Sprint shootout pole: Charles Leclerc Sprint race winner: Sergio Perez ROUND 10 - AUSTRIA Red Bull Ring, Spielberg - 30 June-2 July ROUND 13 - BELGIUM Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps - 28-30 July ROUND 18 - QATAR Lusail International Circuit, Lusail - 6-8 October ROUND 19 - UNITED STATES Circuit of the Americas, Austin - 20-22 October ROUND 21 - BRAZIL Interlagos Circuit, Sao Paulo - 3-5 November Read More F1 race schedule: What time is the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday? Why have Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney invested in Alpine F1 team? F1’s sprint shake-up could be the beginning of the end for Max Verstappen ‘Happy’ Lewis Hamilton still hungry for record eighth world title – Damon Hill F1 2023 calendar: All 23 Grand Prix this year Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to invest in F1 team

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Damon Hill has praised Lewis Hamilton for the “admirable” way he “kept his chin up” after the controversy of Abu Dhabi – and believes the Mercedes man is “absolutely motivated” to win a record eighth world title. Eighteen months have passed since Hamilton lost out to Max Verstappen at the contentious season finale, with his Dutch rival going on to take last year’s title too. And Verstappen, 69 points clear in this season’s championship, is primed to complete his hat-trick. Hamilton, 38, has not won a race since the penultimate round of the 2021 campaign – the longest losing streak of his career – but he heads to this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix following two consecutive podium finishes in his revamped Mercedes machine. “It is admirable the way Lewis kept his chin up after what happened in Abu Dhabi,” Hill, the 1996 world champion, told the PA news agency. “He got back on with the task in hand and he is driving better again this year than he has done before. He is starting to gel with that car now and he has solved some of the problems he faced. “So I would be amazed if he doesn’t want to go out on a high by winning that eighth title, and he is absolutely motivated by that. He has got that longevity and he looks after himself. “He needs a competitive car, half-a-chance, and someone like Lewis will rise up to that challenge and find more in himself. At the moment we are seeing a happier Hamilton, and a happy Hamilton is a fast Hamilton.” The British driver’s future on the grid, however, remains a hot topic of speculation. Hamilton has entered the final six months of his current £40million-a-season contract with Mercedes. But despite a string of recent discussions with team principal Toto Wolff, a conclusion to the saga is not understood to be imminent. “The talk is that Lewis is finalising a much longer-term deal that goes beyond his racing career,” added Hill, 62. “The car company itself is involved, so there is a bit more bureaucracy in this deal.” Hamilton is already 93 points behind Verstappen in the standings after the Red Bull driver raced to his sixth victory from eight rounds to equal Ayrton Senna’s career tally of 41 wins last time out in Canada. Following Verstappen’s triumph, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said his star driver must now be considered among Formula One’s all-time greats. “Comparing different eras is quite difficult,” said Hill, who was speaking at his Halow Project charity event in Sandown following a world-first kart run on Zero synthetic fuel. “They do many more races than they used to in the sport. But, nevertheless, in every era there are one or two drivers who are the cream of the crop, and you have to say Max is one of them, along with Lewis and Fernando (Alonso). “I certainly see him having his own era called ‘the Max Verstappen era’ where he wins practically everything. “If you appreciate great drivers and the job they do then it is great to watch. But I understand people want to see a race and not a demonstration and we have to be patient and hope the others catch him up pretty quickly.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Horner details what makes ‘mega talent’ Verstappen so special Max Verstappen aims to ‘keep winning’ after matching Ayrton Senna’s 41 victories Max Verstappen claims pole position during rain-hit qualifying for Canadian GP

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British racing team Hitech Grand Prix have confirmed their bid to join the F1 grid for the 2026 season after announcing a major new investment deal. Hitech GP, who currently race in F2, F3 and F4, were reported to be one of a number of prospective new entries into Formula 1, alongside the likes of Andretti-Cadillac and Panthera Team Asia. Now, after announcing new investment with its parent company Hitech Global Holdings Limited selling a 25 per cent stake to Kazakh businessman Vladimir Kim, Hitech confirmed they have lodged a bid to the FIA to secure a spot in three years’ time. Hitech, based at Silverstone, stated in a press release that its F1 project was a “move that would complete its single-seater ladder and demonstrate that Hitech has all the right people, experience and resources to compete alongside the best teams in the world.” Kim, whose companies have previously sponsored Kazakh athletes such as champion boxer Gennadiy Golovkin, holds his main interests in the mining, banking and aviation sectors – with Hitech his first involvement in motorsport. “Motorsport has been a long-standing personal interest for me, and I am delighted to be entering into a partnership with an organisation that has enjoyed success in so many categories and has such ambitions for its future,” he said. “We have an established involvement with sport; however, this is our first global investment in motorsport. “Its dynamic appeal, growing exposure, business-to-business marketing opportunities and burgeoning fan base are aligned with my ambitions personally and commercially.” Hitech CEO Oliver Oakes added: “I am delighted to welcome Vladimir Kim to the Hitech group. “During our discussions we found many natural synergies and I know that his support will be invaluable as we seek to build on Hitech’s success and work towards achieving its broader ambitions over the years to come.” Audi are already confirmed to be joining the grid in 2026, taking over from the Sauber works team currently branded as Alfa Romeo, and announced their first test driver last week. Read More Audi name first driver to join F1 team ahead of 2026 season entry Inspired by Schumacher, meet the Hong Kong billionaire targeting a new Formula 1 team Why have Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney invested in an F1 team? Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to invest in F1 team ‘There will be crashes’: George Russell sends stark warning to F1 bosses

Wrexham owners and Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are part of an investor group that has bought a 24 per cent in F1 team Alpine. Renault, the Formula One team’s parent company, confirmed that Reynolds and McElhenney had joined RedBird Capital Partners, the US investment firm who own Italian football club AC Milan and also have stakes in Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group, in the deal. The 24 per cent equity purchase of £171m values Alpine at around £706m and the team said they will hope to compete for the F1 championship following the increased investment. Alpine, who are based in Britain and were born after Renault rebranded its F1 outfit two years ago, finished fourth in the constructors championship behind Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes last season. Reynolds and McElhenney made their first steps into sports ownership when they announced a shock takeover of non-league side Wrexham in 2020. Under their ownership and alongside the popular documentary show Welcome to Wrexham, the Welsh side returned to the Football League with promotion last season following a memorable campaign. Hollywood actor and Creed star Michael B Jordan, who has a minority stake in Premier League team Bournemouth, and US-based Otro Capital are also among the new group of investors in Alpine, the team confirmed. Alpine chief executive Laurent Rossi said: "This association is an important step to enhance our performance at all levels." Read More Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney insist they will not get bored at Wrexham Why Wrexham? How Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney came to buy a club they’d never heard of

The M&A wave has rippled through to the automotive industry, with luxury carmaker Aston Martin striking an EV