List of All Articles with Tag 'f1'

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff admits the team will soon have no choice but to give up on the development of this season’s car and focus on next year. Lewis Hamilton claimed a third-placed finish at the British Grand Prix, but was beaten to second by Lando Norris and was well adrift of challenging Max Verstappen – who extended his title lead to 99 points in pursuit of a hat-trick of world championships. Hamilton was unable to pass McLaren’s Norris following the safety car restart despite being on theoretically faster tyres in the closing stages and the seven-time world champion remains fourth in the drivers’ standings – a whopping 124 points behind Verstappen. Wolff knows they can not do anything to stop Verstappen and his dominant Red Bull and therefore says the time will soon come to switch focus to next season. “I think pretty soon,” Wolff said when asked when that time would come. “We have no choice. P2, P3 fundamentally doesn’t impact me and the team. “It is about coming back to being able to win a world championship. “That’s not going to happen this year so we need to set our eyes on next year and we will see with all the races to come how we can learn and develop and make sure that we can carry that forward into next year. “Having said that, the regulations are the same so we are not learning nothing by continuing with this car. So there is a balance to strike.” The safety car, which was deployed on lap 33, massively benefitted Hamilton, who was able to get a free pit-stop and retain third place after a raft of drivers had already pitted. With Hamilton, who started seventh, on soft tyres and Norris on hard tyres, it was expected the McLaren man would be a sitting duck but he was able to resist the advances of the Mercedes to clinch a brilliant second place. It was the same story behind, where Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri comfortably held George Russell at bay to clinch fourth. Wolff chose to view McLaren’s enormous progress in the last two races as a positive that they can achieve similar, but expected his drivers to be able to secure a double-podium finish. “To be honest, when the safety car was deployed, I was pretty sure, if not convinced, that we would be eating up the McLarens and finish with a P2 and P3 and maybe even challenge at the front,” Wolff added. “You see just how strong their car was. They both raced very strong. Their top speed through the corners and the straights, there was no way of passing them. That came as a surprise. “McLaren were not competitive at the beginning of the season and it is good to see because it shows if you make the right decisions, the car can jump up by a huge amount. “Do I believe we have upgrades which will fundamentally change the car? I don’t believe so but we have a few small steps to come and we can see if you find a tenth or two or three you can move up the grid. “Fundamentally I don’t care whether we finish second or third. It is about finding our way back to fighting for victories and the world championship. “To see that the car has potential fundamentally, all eyes are on the big prize. It is exciting to see that the McLaren was able to find a second in performance.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lando Norris calls finishing runner-up at British Grand Prix ‘pretty insane’ Max Verstappen snatching pole ‘ruins everything’ for Lando Norris at Silverstone Max Verstappen pips Lando Norris to pole position at British Grand Prix

Red Bull is still dominating, but the team they need to keep an eye on is suddenly not the teams that have been directly behind them.Red Bull sits atop the constructor's table in Formula One after this weekend, a massive 200-plus points above the next highest team, Mercedes. All of a sudden...

Max Verstappen extended his championship lead with a convincing victory – and sixth win on the spin – at the British Grand Prix on a day of triumph for McLaren too. Verstappen, starting on pole, lost the lead to driver of the day Lando Norris at the start but soon took back first place on lap five – and maintained position despite a safety car just over halfway through the race. McLaren star Norris finished second for his joint-best result in Formula 1 with eight-time winner at Silverstone Lewis Hamilton completing the podium in third. George Russell finished fifth with Norris’ McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri unluckily missing out on a first podium in F1 with a nonetheless highly-respectable fourth place. “We had a good race. Last stint was difficult with these tyres but overall pace was good,” said Verstappen after picking up Red Bull’s 11th victory in a row. More to follow... Read More Kevin Magnussen’s car catches fire in scary flashpoint at British Grand Prix Hamilton demands ‘so slow’ Mercedes take British GP qualifying as a ‘wake-up call’ F1 British Grand Prix LIVE: Race updates and times at Silverstone

Kevin Magnussen’s car caught fire in a flashpoint during the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The Dane, driving for American-owned team Haas, came to a halt on the Wellington Straight while under pressure from the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll. Magnussen weaved to the left of the straight before the engine of his car blew up, with a huge fireball forming at the rear. Fortunately, Magnussen rapidly disembarked the car, with the incident resulting in a safety car in which the majority of the field pitted. Max Verstappen currently leads the race with British driver Lando Norris in second and Lewis Hamilton in third. More to follow… Read More F1 British Grand Prix LIVE: Race updates as Lando Norris falls behind Max Verstappen at Silverstone

Max Verstappen dented Lando Norris’ dream of a shock pole position at the British Grand Prix by taking top spot in the closing seconds of a dramatic qualifying session. Norris surged to the summit of the order to the delight of the Silverstone crowd, only to see Verstappen snatch pole by 0.241 seconds as the last driver over the line. F1 grid: Starting positions for the British Grand Prix Norris starts alongside Verstappen, who took his fifth consecutive pole, with Oscar Piastri third on an excellent day for McLaren at the British team’s home race. Lewis Hamilton could manage only seventh, one place behind George Russell in the other Mercedes. Read More Max Verstappen pips Lando Norris to pole position at British Grand Prix F1 grid: Starting positions for British Grand Prix Jackie Stewart suffers stroke and falls ‘unconscious’ in frightening health scare

Formula 1 heads back to one of its most famous sites as Silverstone hosts the 2023 British Grand Prix this weekend. Last time out in Austria, Max Verstappen continued his dominant form with a fifth straight win this season, extending his lead in the world championship to 81 points, with team-mate Sergio Perez in second. EXCLUSIVE: 20 years since Irish ‘lunatic’ invaded the track at Silverstone Lewis Hamilton endured a mixed weekend in Spielberg, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished on the podium. Hamilton, George Russell and Lando Norris will be eyeing strong results this weekend at their home race, with recent upgrades for both Mercedes and McLaren renewing optimism in both camps. On Friday at a bright and sunny Silverstone, Max Verstappen was quickest in first and second practice. Carlos Sainz won last year’s action-packed race for Ferrari, his first and only win in F1. Follow British Grand Prix live updates with The Independent this weekend - qualifying started at 3pm (BST). Read More Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes struggle as British Grand Prix gets Hollywood sprinkling Why is Brad Pitt filming at Silverstone during the British Grand Prix? Jackie Stewart suffers stroke and falls ‘unconscious’ in frightening health scare

Formula One is in Great Britain for the weekend. Here's the F1 starting grid for tomorrow as a result of Saturday's qualifying.Formula One makes its stop in Great Britain this weekend, with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez leading the way in the driver's standings and Red Bull runn...

Charles Leclerc finished fastest in a rain-hit final practice session for the British Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver set the pace in the dry running before heavy rain arrived at Silverstone. Williams’ Alex Albon took second place, one spot ahead of Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso, with Pierre Gasly fourth for Alpine and Lewis Hamilton fifth. World champion Max Verstappen, quickest in both sessions at the Northamptonshire venue on Friday, was eighth. Although the concluding one-hour running before qualifying started in the dry, it was not long before the forecast rain arrived. In the initial slick conditions, Leclerc was the fastest out of the traps, seeing off Albon by a tenth. Hamilton finished only 15th on Friday and said there was something wrong with his Mercedes. But the seven-time world champion moved closer to the front on Saturday morning, finishing half-a-second off the pace. Heavy showers could continue throughout the day with qualifying due to get under way at 3pm. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Formula 1 heads back to one of its most famous sites as Silverstone hosts the 2023 British Grand Prix this weekend. Last time out in Austria, Max Verstappen continued his dominant form with a fifth straight win this season, extending his lead in the world championship to 81 points, with team-mate Sergio Perez in second. EXCLUSIVE: 20 years since Irish ‘lunatic’ invaded the track at Silverstone Lewis Hamilton endured a mixed weekend in Spielberg, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished on the podium. Hamilton, George Russell and Lando Norris will be eyeing strong results this weekend at their home race, with recent upgrades for both Mercedes and McLaren renewing optimism in both camps. On Friday at a bright and sunny Silverstone, Max Verstappen was quickest in first and second practice. Carlos Sainz won last year’s action-packed race for Ferrari, his first and only win in F1. Follow British Grand Prix live updates with The Independent this weekend Read More Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes struggle as British Grand Prix gets Hollywood sprinkling Why is Brad Pitt filming at Silverstone during the British Grand Prix? Jackie Stewart suffers stroke and falls ‘unconscious’ in frightening health scare

On a Silverstone weekend where the presence of Brad Pitt and the Apple Studios crew is the talk of the town, the as of yet untitled Formula 1 film’s executive producer – the sport’s very own A-lister – struggled at his spiritual home on Friday. Lewis Hamilton remains without a win in 19 months since Saudi Arabia in the penultimate round of the 2021 season. Last year, a thrilling British Grand Prix won by Carlos Sainz saw the eight-time winner come close, but the 38-year-old remains on an unprecedented winless streak. This weekend, despite Mercedes bringing an upgraded front-wing, the practice pace simply wasn’t there for Hamilton or his team-mate George Russell. In both sessions, both drivers finished outside the top-10. “It’s a tough car to drive,” stated a brutally honest and demoralised Hamilton. “On a single lap, I didn’t feel any improvement between tyres which shows something is wrong. So we’re missing something. It didn’t feel particularly great. “Me and George were just talking and we’re at different sides with the setup – we’ll try and do something tonight and hopefully we’ll come up with something for tomorrow.” As for the man on top, no surprises here. Max Verstappen was quickest in both practice sessions under the sprinkling Silverstone sun and will be eager to correct a British Grand Prix hoodoo: in eight races, the Dutchman is yet to stand on the top of the podium. He did, however, win the one-off 70th anniversary grand prix at Silverstone during the covid-impacted 2020 season. “Overall, it’s been a strong day again,” Verstappen said, not for the first or last time in 2023. “The car has been performing really well, pretty positive.” Instead of the regularity of Red Bull’s dominance, the main feel-good story on Friday was Williams’ surprise pace, predominantly from the rejuvenated Alex Albon. Slowly but surely creeping up the leaderboard under the leadership of former Mercedes strategist James Vowles, Williams had a day to remember while sporting a special livery to celebrate their upcoming 800th grand prix. Albon was third-fastest in both practice sessions, with American rookie team-mate Logan Sargeant joining him in the top-five in the afternoon. There is forecasted to be rain in the air in and around qualifying on Saturday, which could provide a smidgeon of unpredictability in what has been a predictable order of events in the past few months, with Red Bull’s and in particular Verstappen’s all-out domination. Instead, a record 480,00 crowd at Silverstone this weekend – up by 79,000 from 2022 – will find intrigue in the early production scenes of the highly-anticipated feature film, with Pitt the star attraction. The fictional ‘Apex’ team are filming scenes in and around the paddock and using impressively modified F2 cars on track with stunt drivers. There are even plans for scenes to be rapidly shot on the grid ahead of Sunday’s grand prix. Such is Verstappen’s supremacy, the pre-race shenanigans could represent the most entertainment on Sunday ahead of a British Grand Prix whose victor has never felt quite so inevitable. There is also, understandably, wariness of another Just Stop Oil protest this weekend, after their actions at Wimbledon this week and at various sporting events this summer, with F1 and Northamptonshire Police on high alert and making extra provisions to ensure all the action goes ahead without interruption. Read More Alex Albon provides closest threat to Red Bull in British Grand Prix practice What time is F1 qualifying tomorrow at the British Grand Prix? Formula One welcomes Brad Pitt but is wary of protesters at British Grand Prix What time is qualifying at the British Grand Prix on Saturday? Jackie Stewart suffers stroke and falls ‘unconscious’ in frightening health scare F1 British Grand Prix LIVE: Practice updates and lap times from Silverstone

Lewis Hamilton finished only 15th in practice on a troubling day for the home favourite at the British Grand Prix. As a dominant Max Verstappen carried over his crushing form to a sizzling Silverstone by completing an ominous practice double, Hamilton’s Mercedes team laboured in the heat. Hamilton finished 12th in the opening running, and then ended the day three places further back, 1.2 seconds adrift of Verstappen. Fellow Briton George Russell was a few places better off in 12th in the other Mercedes. Carlos Sainz took second for Ferrari, 0.022 sec behind Verstappen, with Alex Albon an impressive third in his Williams. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez finished fourth, with Albon’s Williams team-mate Logan Sargeant fifth. Verstappen, a winner at seven of the opening nine rounds of a one-sided campaign, has already established a commanding 81-point lead in his pursuit of a hat-trick of world championships. The Dutch driver cruised to the chequered flag a week ago at Red Bull’s home race in Austria, and he will head into the remainder of the weekend as the driver to beat following an emphatic start at Silverstone. Hamilton has won seven of the last 10 races staged here, but the Mercedes man will have to upset the odds to add to his tally on Sunday. Hamilton has a new front wing as Mercedes hope to claw back the deficit to their rivals. But their star driver was on the radio complaining about the bouncing his machine was suffering from, while Russell was also on the intercom to bemoan his unruly Mercedes. “I have no grip,” reported Russell. “The car is sliding all over the place.” Hamilton is in the midst of another up-and-down campaign. He arrived at the last round in Spielberg following consecutive podium finishes, but Mercedes struggled at the Red Bull Ring. Hamilton crossed the line in seventh and was demoted to eighth following a second timed penalty, and on the evidence of practice, he may be braced for another underwhelming weekend. Despite the threat of action from Just Stop Oil protesters, both practice sessions passed off without incident. However, F1 bosses, Silverstone and Northamptonshire Police remain on high alert that a protest could yet disrupt qualifying on Saturday and Sunday’s 52-lap race where 150,000 spectators are expected to attend. Elsewhere, Lando Norris was only 14th for McLaren, while Charles Leclerc finished rooted to the bottom of the order. The Monegasque was ruled out of the second running with an electrical failure on his Ferrari. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lewis Hamilton promises to keep his cool on team radio after Austrian flashpoint Lewis Hamilton defends casting ‘iconic’ Brad Pitt as F1 driver in new film Max Verstappen hints he may retire from Formula One unless calendar reduced

Apple Original Films has unveiled details of Oscar winner Brad Pitt's eagerly awaited Formula 1 feature film, as crews begin filming scenes with the actor at Silverstone, where Sunday's British Grand Prix is being staged.