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Tag: Formula One

  • Hamilton accepts Mercedes challenge to compete in F1

    Hamilton accepts Mercedes challenge to compete in F1

    Despite Mercedes‘ challenges to contend for race wins in Formula One this season, Lewis Hamilton is rising to the occasion.

    In a season that already appears to be challenging for the squad, Hamilton’s second-place finish in Australia represented his strongest performance of the year.

    Last year, Mercedes lost the Constructors’ Championship to rival Red Bull, and Hamilton concluded the season without a race victory for the first time in his career. He will likely finish far behind the pack in 2023.

    Given that he has a contract that expires at the end of the year, Hamilton’s problems have raised worries about his future once again, but he has reiterated his devotion to the squad.

    Tied with Michael Schumacher for the most F1 title wins of all time, an eighth crown would hand Hamilton the record outright, and he is ready to clinch that honour.

    However, for the time being, he is focused on pushing himself to achieve the best possible result despite Mercedes’ issues.

    “I don’t like driving not great cars. I don’t like driving a car that’s not the car that we weren’t meant to have, but I love that challenge of ‘OK, what can I do with it?’,” he told Fox Sports.

    “Wins are not possible right, so what is the maximum we can get? Can we be a little cheeky and if fifth is the best we can get, can we get a fourth or a third?

    “Just make sure we are consistent and fit and ready so when the car does all of a sudden switch on, and it is the car you dreamed of having, you’re ready.

    “I am ready to win a world championship. I have prepared the best way I can this year – the best I have ever prepared – and if the car comes correct tomorrow I will be ready to fight for the world championship, but unfortunately that’s not the case.

    “I am working with everyone here and back at the factory to get there.”

  • Verstappen hints he could retire from F1 in 2028

    Max Verstappen has hinted he could retire from Formula One when his contract with Red Bull expires in 2028, saying: “I want to do other stuff”.

    Verstappen retained the drivers’ championship in dominant fashion this campaign, posting 15 victories in 22 races – a new single-season record.

    However, speaking before he claimed a record third straight victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, Verstappen highlighted F1’s impact on his family life and cast doubt upon his long-term future in the sport.

    Asked whether he would continue in F1 when his current deal expires in six years, he told Sky Sports: “I don’t know after that, but it also probably depends how competitive we are in ’28.

    “I’ve still got time. I don’t want to make drastic decisions now.

    “I want to do other stuff. F1 is amazing and I’ve achieved a lot, and I’m very happy and proud about it, but it’s a lot of travelling and it’s a lot of races.

    “At one point, what is more important? Is family more important, or is F1 more important? That’s when you need to make your mind up.”

    Verstappen finished the season 146 points clear of second-placed Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ championship standings, having wrapped up his second world title with four races to spare.

    Source: Livescore

  • Sargeant feels ‘no extra pressure’ despite ending America’s 16-year F1 wait

    Logan Sargeant insists he does not feel any extra pressure despite becoming the first full-time American Formula One driver in 16 years.

    A fourth-placed finish in the Formula 2 championship, confirmed in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, saw the 21-year-old move above the threshold for the required points to earn a super licence, securing him a seat at Williams.

    Sargeant will partner Alex Albon in 2023, with Nicolas Latifi losing his spot, and will be the first American driver since Scott Speed in 2007.

    A move to F1 always comes with pressure – though that could be significantly more given the support from his homeland – but Sargeant does not believe that is the case.

    “I have prepared the best I can to be the best driver I can possibly be,” he said. “Hopefully, I can represent them well and make them proud, but I don’t feel it’s any extra pressure.”

    American drivers do not have an established recent history in Formula One, with the last driver prior to Speed being Michael Andretti, who was dropped three races before the conclusion of the 1993 season.

    F1 is keen to continue to grow stateside, with Las Vegas joining Miami and Austin on the calendar next season, but Sargeant does not feel his nationality was a factor in gaining a seat on the grid.

    “I like to think it is a happy coincidence,” he added. “I put in the hard work over the past however many years, made the commitment to move to Europe when I was young to make this dream a reality.

    “I feel like I’ve had a very good junior formula career. And [I am] just looking forward to closing that chapter and move on to what’s next.”

    Source: Livescore

  • Aston Martin accept €450,000 fine after breaching F1 cost cap rules

    Aston Martin have been fined €450,000 (£388,830) after being found in breach of Formula One financial regulations for the 2021 season.

    Motorsport’s world governing body the FIA announced earlier this month that an audit determined Aston Martin and Red Bull – who were hit with a €7million (£6.1m) fine on Friday – broke the rules during the 2021 reporting period.

    Aston Martin’s financial documentation claimed their costs were under the budget cap, but the team was found to have misrepresented their outgoings.

    In a statement, the FIA revealed Aston Martin “incorrectly excluded and/or adjusted costs” relating to the construction of their “new headquarters, new F1 simulator, wind tunnel fees, R&D tax credit, a signing bonus cost, use of transferable components, used inventories, service desk costs, cost of catering services at their headquarters, costs of desks and chairs, sponsor services and outsourced personnel services”.

    Aston Martin subsequently entered into an Accepted Breach Agreement (ABA) with the FIA, meaning they must pay a fine within 30 days and reimburse costs incurred by the administrators who conducted the financial review.

    Announcing the ABA, the FIA said: “The Cost Cap Administration recognised that AMR [Aston Martin] has acted cooperatively and in good faith throughout the review process and has sought to provide additional information and evidence when requested in a timely manner, that this is the first year of the full application of the Financial Regulations and that there is no accusation or evidence that AMR has sought or obtained any undue advantage as a result of the breach.”

    With Aston Martin entering an ABA, there is no possibility for the team to appeal their fine and the matter is now closed.

    Source: Livescore

  • F1 to double number of sprint races to six in 2023

    Formula One will increase the number of sprint qualifying races from three to six for the 2023 season.

    The shortened format, introduced to F1 in 2021, sees teams and drivers take part in traditional qualification sessions on Friday, before an additional 100km race on Saturday sets the grid for Sunday’s grand prix.

    This year’s calendar saw sprints at Imola and the Red Bull Ring, with the final event to take place at Interlagos.

    From next year however, half-a-dozen race weekends will pull double duty following a rubber-stamped proposal.

    “I am pleased that we can confirm six sprints from 2023 onwards,” F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali said in a statement.

    “The feedback from the fans, teams, promoters and partners has been very positive, and we all want to ensure its success in the future.”

    World champion Max Verstappen qualified top and won both sprint races earlier this season, though he only converted the feat at Imola into a race win, with Charles Leclerc victorious in Austria.

    The F1 season continues this weekend in Singapore.

    Source: Livescore

     

  • Verstappen’s title coronation set to begin as F1 heads to Singapore

    Max Verstappen’s coronation as Formula One world champion is imminent and could be marked as early as Singapore.

    On the back of five victories in a row, Verstappen has opened a whopping 116-point gap at the top of the standings with six races remaining in 2022.

    Verstappen will be crowned as champion if he wins under the lights in Singapore alongside clinching the fastest lap but would need Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to finish eighth or lower and team-mate Sergio Perez to finish fourth or lower.

    Given the sequence of requirements for Verstappen to win on Sunday, the following week’s race in Japan stands as the most likely to see the Red Bull ace secure his title, but individual records are also up for grabs.

    A victory would also mark Verstappen’s 12th of the season, putting him behind only Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel (both 13) for the most wins in a single season.

    Qualifying will likely be vital to any hopes of another Verstappen win, with 66.7 per cent of race winners in Singapore starting from pole – Vettel being the last to win in 2019 when not starting from the front.

    Mathematically, three drivers are still able to usurp Verstappen from his throne, George Russell also within distance alongside Leclerc and Perez, but the dominance of Red Bull this season makes any late turnover nigh-on impossible.

    Hamilton’s history

    With six races remaining in 2022, Lewis Hamilton is without a victory this season and it could see the British driver fail to win a race in a campaign for the first time.

    Mercedes have strong history in Singapore, however, securing more wins at the circuit than any other team (four), though Red Bull and Ferrari (both three) could equal that tally this weekend.

    Spare seats

    Alfa Romeo’s new deal for Zhou Guanyu leaves three remaining seats on the grid for 2023, with Williams, Haas and Alpine yet to fill their quota for next year.

    Pierre Gasly and Daniel Ricciardo are the two on the grid that could be on the move, with Ricciardo set to leave McLaren and Gasly heavily linked with Alpine, which would result in a seat up for grabs at AlphaTauri.

    Source: Livescore

     

  • Formula One: Williams and Latifi to part company at end of 2022 season

    Williams have confirmed they will part ways with Nicholas Latifi at the end of the 2022 Formula One campaign.

    Latifi was widely expected to leave Williams upon the expiration of his contract this year, with the team reportedly considering a full-time seat for Nyck de Vries, who recently deputised for them at Monza.

    The Canadian failed to pick up any points during his first campaign with Williams in 2020, first doing so with a seventh-placed finish at last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

    Lafiti, whose crash at last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix led to a highly contentious finish to Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s title fight, has failed to finish higher than 12th in any race this term.

    Williams chief executive and team principal Jost Capito said: “On behalf of the whole team, I would like to say an enormous thank you to Nicholas for his three years of hard work with Williams.

    “He is a great team player who has a great attitude towards his colleagues and work and is well liked and respected throughout the business.

    “Our time together is now coming to an end, but I know he will put full effort in to maximise what we can do together for the remainder of this season. We wish him all the very best of luck for his future, both in and out of the cockpit.”

    Source: Live score