List of All Articles with Tag 'f1'

Johnny Hebert believes Sergio Perez’s seat at Red Bull could be ‘under threat’ after a couple of poor performances – and has backed Lando Norris to replace him. After winning two of the opening four races, in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, Perez has struggled in comparison to runaway team-mate Max Verstappen. In Miami, he failed to hold on to first place with Verstappen hauling him in, while the Mexican had weekends to forget in Monaco and Spain where he finished 16th and fourth respectively. It means Perez now trails Verstappen by 59 points in the championship. “In real terms, I would say he is under threat,” ex-F1 driver and former Sky Sports pundit Herbert said, in an interview with OLBG. “As much as Sergio showed in the early part of the season that he was more than capable of mixing it with Max, there was then a point that he wasn’t. “But he is a very good number two. When he is on his game he can win. Even then he would be second of third and that will still enable Red Bull to win the constructors’ championship which is obviously very important.” Herbert then singled out four drivers capable of being a bigger challenge to Verstappen, singling out Norris in particular. “If you want more competitiveness to Verstappen, you either need Russell or Hamilton or Charles Leclerc – or maybe Lando Norris. “Lando Norris has a long-term contract with McLaren and I don’t know if he has a performance clause in it to move from McLaren. “I think it would be a good move for Red Bull. It would add positivity to the team and I think he is more than capable of being able to deal with that position.” Verstappen is going for his fourth win in a row at the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend while Perez is looking to cut the deficit to the irrepressible Dutchman. Read More Ferrari’s F1 flaws all the more baffling after shock success at Le Mans Mercedes chief predicts performance level at Canadian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton contract update provided by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff F1 2023 calendar: Every race this season Max Verstappen maintains dominance but Mercedes show their teeth at Spanish GP F1 LIVE RESULT: Race standings and latest updates at Spanish GP

Seven races into the Formula 1 season and the moment has finally arrived. You can only bypass the trials and tribulations for so long before the tomfoolery of the sport’s most prestigious team must be dissected, head on. It’s time to talk about Ferrari. To say the 2023 campaign thus far has been underwhelming for the Scuderia would be in itself an understatement. Zero wins. Only one podium – in Baku – and even that was from a pole position start. Last time out in Barcelona, Charles Leclerc qualified a dismal 19th, failing to recover to a points-finish on Sunday. Carlos Sainz qualified second but could only manage fourth on raceday. Yet what makes Ferrari’s current infamy in motorsport’s most famous competition more baffling is their display in motorsport’s most famous endurance race. Because, returning to the 24 Hours of Le Mans last weekend for the first time in 50 years, Ferrari turned all predictions upside-down with a shock victory. Spearheaded by British driver James Calado, alongside former F1 star Antonio Giovvinazzi and Italian Alessandro Pier Guidi, Ferrari took their 10th Le Mans win and first in 58 years. It was a thrillingly impressive performance, beating favourites Toyota, in front of a sold-out 300,000 crowd at the centenary event. And what was it based on? Top-notch reliability, a clear-cut strategy throughout and straight-line speed which made the difference over the course of 342 laps. Can Ferrari’s F1 team take note? All the more, Leclerc was present in the garage in Le Mans, alongside F1 boss Fred Vasseur. How they must have both felt, seeing Ferrari’s best moment of 2023 so far play out in an endurance car as opposed to an F1 car. “It feels absolutely amazing, especially having a Ferrari winning,” Leclerc said afterwards. “I was here to support and I’m really happy that Ferrari won. It was an incredible experience.” Rewind a week and Leclerc was not so chirpy. “I don’t have the answer,” he exclaimed after his Q1 exit in Spain. What’s more, after the car returned to the factory in Maranello, a further sense of disconcertment. No obvious problem was identified. For a car which has thrived on Saturdays and struggled on Sundays, this was a discernible step backwards: a sense of direction which has been in motion for 12 months now. Ferrari’s last win in Formula 1 was in Austria, last July. 18 races have come and gone since then, with all but one won by Red Bull. This season, they trail Christian Horner’s team by 187 points already, languishing in fourth place. The point in time when Leclerc was a championship challenger seems a distant memory now. It’s hard to believe how far the Prancing Horse has fallen since his two wins from three to open up the 2022 season. The hope and realisation that the sport’s most famous team – who have not won a drivers’ title in 16 years, their longest-ever drought – were very much back in the top-end running was palpable. However, such potential has fallen off a cliff. No changing of the team principal, with Vasseur replacing the harshly axed Mattia Binotto in the off-season, has altered the stagnation. The Frenchman, too, is at a loss to explain the lack of consistency and progression. “We have 1,000 people [working] on this now and it is very difficult to understand and to fix it because it’s not always the same problem,” Vasseur said in Spain. When the boss is struggling to understand the issues at hand, there is a very tangible problem. Longer-term, you do wonder how long Leclerc’s patience in particular will last. The 25-year-old was linked with Mercedes last month, in a swap deal for Lewis Hamilton which seemed as fanciful then as it does now, with the Brit on the verge of signing a new deal. Leclerc’s anger in 2022 of the situation with his beloved team has now turned almost to an acceptance: an acceptance that ‘something has gone wrong… again… and we don’t how to fix it.’ And ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend, who knows what Ferrari will turn up in Montreal? The media don’t. The tifosi fans don’t. But most concerningly of all, the team don’t either. Read More Ferrari boss unhappy with ‘light’ Red Bull penalty for cost cap breach Ferrari chief orders ‘full investigation’ into Charles Leclerc’s retirement at Bahrain Grand Prix F1 2023 calendar: Every race this season Christian Horner reveals how close Fernando Alonso was to joining Red Bull Christian Horner reveals how close Fernando Alonso was to joining Red Bull

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The F1 23 driver ratings crown Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso as the top two drivers on the grid, and deliver surprise placings to Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez.

Mercedes chief Andrew Shovlin admits the team won’t be “nipping at the heels” of Red Bull at the Canadian Grand Prix - with the Montreal circuit offering a “bigger challenge” than last time out in Spain. The Silver Arrows brought highly-anticipated upgrades to the Monaco Grand Prix last month, with their full impact seen at the traditional testing circuit in Barcelona last time out. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished second and third respectively, securing Mercedes’ first double podium of the season. Yet Toto Wolff has moved to downplay suggestions Mercedes can compete with runaway leaders Red Bull and trackside engineering director Shovlin echoed those thoughts when speaking in the team’s debrief video. “The fact is that the update kit works very well around circuits like Barcelona with a lot of high-speed performance,” Shovlin said. “The car itself would have still been okay there because we’ve been better at the fast circuits and the front-limited tracks. We ended up with a really good balance and really good race pace. “Now, where we are going to go next, Montreal, it’s a very different circuit. There are more low-speed corners, quite a lot of straight-line full throttle and we would expect more of a challenge there. “We are not thinking that we are going in nipping at the heels of Red Bull. We are going in there prepared for a battle with Ferrari, Aston Martin, and maybe even Alpine.” Hamilton finished on the podium last year in Canada, behind Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz, and Shovlin added that behind Red Bull the performance gap is close with other teams this season. “It will be good fun and we are certainly going to be fighting to find every little bit of performance we can,” he added. “Because the way the grid stacks up now you can be P2 or you can be P10, and there are only a few tenths in it,” he added. “We are looking forward to more exciting racing but certainly we are aware that Canada is likely to be a bigger challenge than the Sunday we just had in Barcelona.” Verstappen currently has a 59-point lead in the championship from Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez and has won the last three races in Miami, Monaco and Barcelona. Read More Lewis Hamilton contract update provided by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff Christian Horner reveals how close Fernando Alonso was to joining Red Bull Lewis Hamilton, an 18-month drought and an eighth world title further away than ever

Lewis Hamilton’s Formula One future could be resolved as early as before this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix. Hamilton has six months to run on his £40million-a-season deal with Mercedes, but team principal Toto Wolff said his superstar driver is on the brink of agreeing new terms. “It is going to happen soon, and we are talking more days than weeks,” Wolff told CNBC’s Squawk on the Street programme in New York when asked about Hamilton’s contract negotiations. “We are trying hard [to get it done before the Canadian Grand Prix]. I will see him today and maybe we will talk about it. “We have such a good relationship that we dread the moment that we need to talk about money.” Hamilton, 38, met with Wolff the day after the last round in Spain in the hope of rubber-stamping a fresh contract with the Silver Arrows. It is anticipated that the British driver’s extension will be a multi-year deal, extending his stay in F1 beyond his 40th birthday. “Lewis is the most important personality in the sport,” added Wolff. Lewis is the most important personality in the sport Toto Wolff “He is so multi-faceted, not only with the racing, but also off track, so we need to keep him in the sport for as long as possible. “From a team’s perspective, Lewis and Mercedes have gone back a long time. He has never raced for any other brand than Mercedes. “We both joined the team in 2013 together, and from a professional relationship, we now have a friendship. It has been a wonderful time.” Hamilton, who has not won a race since his contentious championship defeat to Max Verstappen at the 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi, is already 83 points off the title pace this year. But Mercedes’ recent upturn in form has provided Hamilton, who finished runner-up to Red Bull’s Verstappen at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, with renewed hope that his dream of a record eighth world title is not over. However, Wolff warned: “The result in Spain was a well-deserved reward for everyone’s efforts at Brackley and Brixworth to bring our update package to the track. “We were pleased with how it performed, and it will provide a new baseline for us to build from. “But we must also manage our expectations. It was a circuit that suited our car, and we should expect our direct competitors to be stronger in the next races. “The gap to Red Bull is large and it will take lots of hard work to close that down. Nevertheless, we’re up for the challenge.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live On this day in 2007: Lewis Hamilton claims first Formula One victory Susie Wolff urges F1 teams to back initiatives to help develop female drivers Max Verstappen tops rain-hit final practice for Spanish Grand Prix

When is the Canadian Grand Prix in 2023? The F1 schedule heads to Montreal this week with Red Bull's Max Verstappen looking to defend his title.Formula 1 is back in North America with the Canadian Grand Prix next on tap!Max Verstappen ha dominated for Red Bull over the last three races ...

F1 23 early access begins on June 13 for all players who purchase the Champions Edition or have an EA Play membership.

Christian Horner has revealed that Fernando Alonso “missed his chance” to move to Red Bull 15 years ago after turning down a two-year contract offer. Alonso, a two-time world champion with Renault in 2005 and 2006, was back at Renault in 2008 after a year to forget at McLaren in 2007, when he was involved in a high-profile squabble with rookie Lewis Hamilton. Aspiring to be in a competitive car once more, Alonso was in talks with Red Bull at the end of 2008, Horner says, but instead stayed at Renault before joining Ferrari in 2010. “We got very close to signing Alonso,” Horner told Motor Sport magazine. “Helmut [Marko] and I went to see his management at the end of 2008 for the ’09 and ’10 season and we offered him a two-year contract. “He would only sign up for one year and we said Red Bull’s position was a two-year deal or nothing and he wouldn’t commit to that. We thought he’d had a Ferrari contract very clearly for ’09. “What was weird about that was that Flavio [Briatore] was involved as well, but he was trying to get him for Renault which he was managing at the time and in the end he drove for Renault.” While Alonso failed to win another title, Sebastian Vettel won four championships in a row with Red Bull from 2010-2013, with Alonso finishing runner-up in three of those four years. Horner added that Alonso’s management returned in 2009 to ask if the Spaniard could join Red Bull despite previously turning the team down. “Halfway through ’09, I had an approach to say ‘could he join mid-season?’ because they thought he could win the championship in the car,” he said. “Then we had another conversation in the back of an Alfa Romeo at Spa airport several years later in ’11 or ’12. Again, it never really… the most serious discussion was the first one and then it missed its chance.” Alonso, at 41 years of age, is now at Aston Martin and is still chasing down Red Bull, with Max Verstappen leading the 2023 championship by 59 points to team-mate Sergio Perez. Alonso is third in the standings, 71 points behind Verstappen, ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix. Read More Sky suspend F1 pundits after sexist comments live on air F1 gives Canadian Grand Prix update after wildfires cause smoke to descend on Montreal On this day in 2007: Lewis Hamilton claims first Formula One victory F1 Canadian Grand Prix: When is practice on Friday in Montreal?

Lewis Hamilton won his first Formula One race at the Canadian Grand Prix, on this day in 2007. The then 22-year-old took first place in only his sixth grand prix after a series of podium finishes in his debut season for McLaren. Hamilton took pole position over team-mate Fernando Alonso, who qualified second on the grid, and the Briton controlled the race from the moment the lights went out, keeping in front of the Spaniard at Turn One and again on the inside line for Turn Two. Alonso was hunting down his third world title and may have expected Hamilton to make way but the pair battled again before Alonso ran into the grass and dropped back in among the rest of the field. Two safety cars were called when Robert Kubica ran his BMW into a concrete barrier after Adrian Sutil crashed his Force India, but Hamilton defended well in both situations to retain the lead and take home his first race victory. After the race in Montreal, Hamilton said: “I’ve been ready for this for quite some time, ready for the win – it was just a matter of where and when. “I have to dedicate this win to my dad – without him this wouldn’t have been possible. “The last few laps were just a case of counting them down and it really was just about enjoying it.” Hamilton took the chequered flag 4.343seconds ahead of Nick Heidfeld in the BMW, while Williams’ Alexander Wurz crossed the line in third. Hamilton has since become a record-equalling seven-time world champion and has won the Canadian Grand Prix a further six times during his career to date.