Lewis Hamilton has welcomed FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem walking back his comments stating that drivers shouldn’t be using their F1 platform to advocate social and environmental causes.
Ben Sulayem singled out Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Lando Norris for using Formula 1 to “impose [their] beliefs” on the audience in an interview published last week, but in a tweet on Thursday he clarified that he believed the sport could be a force for positive change.
“As a driver, I have always believed in sport as a catalyst of progress in society,” he wrote. “That is why promoting sustainability, diversity and inclusion is a key priority of my mandate. In the same way, I value the commitment of all drivers and champions for a better future.”
Continue reading on RACERDaniel Ricciardo has rejected rumors that he could lose his McLaren race seat, reiterating his commitment to the team through to the end of next season.
Ricciardo’s tenure at McLaren has been the subject of intense speculation since the last two rounds in Spain and Monaco, where he was comprehensively beaten by teammate Lando Norris despite the latter’s struggle with tonsillitis and failed to score points, extending his run of dry races to six from seven grands prix.
Pressure was ratcheted up by team CEO Zak Brown declaring publicly that the Australian wasn’t meeting expectations and then openly discussing exit clauses in his contract. But speaking ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Ricciardo said he retained the confidence of Brown and the team and was committed for the long haul.
Continue reading on RACERWorld champion Max Verstappen has hit out against the idea of a cap on Formula 1 driver salaries, arguing it would limit their ability to capitalize on the sport’s growing popularity and booming income.
F1 introduced a general cost cap last season for the first time in its history, but it excludes the three highest paid members of staff — typically the drivers and team principal.
Expanding expenditure controls to the drivers has long been mooted, with $30 million to cover a roster of two drivers informally proposed in 2020. The sport has yet to pursue it vigorously, with the question of how to deal with drivers already signed up on hefty salaries proving a tricky one to tackle, but the dramatic rise in inflation and ensuing spending squeeze has resharpened focus on its introduction in recent weeks.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen dominated final practice at the British Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio Perez.
Verstappen had only two stints on track on the soft tire but blitzed the field easily with his second set of the red-walled rubber to set a time of 1m27.901s, which was 0.41s quicker than Perez in a strong rebound for Red Bull Racing after a difficult Friday setting up its upgraded car.
Ferrari was the next-best team, but Charles Leclerc was 0.447s off the pace, almost all of which was lost along the straights, with the red car otherwise a match through the corners.
Continue reading on RACERSergio Perez won a chaotic Monaco Grand Prix in mixed-conditions after polesitter Charles Leclerc conceded the lead in a series of strategic bungles.
The race started 65 minutes late thanks to a burst of heavy rain during the start procedure, and race control got action underway with a rolling start behind the safety car to keep the field on the full wet tire.
Leclerc led Carlos Sainz, Perez, and Max Verstappen easily at the start, but the track was drying quickly, and the timing of the switch to intermediates was looming as the major flashpoint of the race.
Continue reading on RACERSergio Perez blocked Charles Leclerc from whitewashing practice at the Monaco Grand Prixby setting the fastest time in FP3.
The Mexican went to the top of the time sheets by just 0.041s with a lap right at the death of the hour-long session to fire a warning shot across Ferrari’s bows ahead of qualifying.
Perez and Leclerc traded quickest times for the final 10 minutes of the session as they squeezed the final drops of performance from the soft Pirelli rubber.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc swept Friday practice by leading a Ferrari one-two in second practice at the Monaco Grand Prix.
The home favorite set a time of 1m12.656s to edge teammate Carlos Sainz by just 0.44s. His best effort was also less than a second slower than last year’s FP2-topping time, suggesting this year’s new-generation car isn’t as maladapted as feared.
The two Ferrari drivers were in a class of their own on single-lap pace, with Sergio Perez 0.379s off the pace as the next quickest driver. The Mexican bested Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen by just 0.68s.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc narrowly beat Sergio Perez to the top spot in opening practice for the Monaco Grand Prix. The Monegasque’s best lap of 1m14.531s was just 0.039s quicker than the Mexican, with both setting their times on the medium compound in the final 10 minutes of the session.
Carlos Sainz completed a tightly knit top three, just 0.07s behind his Ferrari teammate, but the Spaniard left time on the table. He was set for the fastest lap, complete with purple sectors at the first two splits, when he encountered traffic exiting Swimming Pool and had to abandon the effort, leaving him fractionally adrift.
Both Ferrari drivers complained of bouncing early in the session, but some setup changes halfway through seemed to improve matters, with Leclerc’s floor coming off the car for a time for further configuration work.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen has taken the lead of the Formula 1 world championship by six points with victory at the Spanish Grand Prix after Charles Leclerc retired with a power unit problem.
Polesitter Leclerc was cruising with a comfortable 13-second lead when an “unidentified PU issue” forced him to limp back to the pits for his first DNF since last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
But it was George Russell, not Verstappen, who inherited the lead when Leclerc abandoned the field.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc swept the first two practice sessions at the Spanish Grand Prix ahead of George Russell on another potentially promising practice day for Mercedes.
Leclerc’s soft-tire run came in at 1m19.670s, which was just 0.117s quicker than Russell’s best effort and 0.2s quicker than Lewis Hamilton. It’s the second consecutive round Mercedes has looked competitive during Friday practice, after Russell topped FP2 in Miami two weeks ago, albeit before the car mysteriously fell away from Saturday onwards.
More promising this weekend at least is that the W13 was fastest in the speed trap, the team having struggled with straight-line performance for much of the year to date. Russell also said the car felt improved compared to Miami, another sign of potential light at the end of the tunnel.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc led Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz to the top of the time sheet in first practice at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Title leader Leclerc’s best time of 1m19.828s was 0.079s quicker than his teammate’s fastest attempt despite the Monegasque complaining of light traffic on his flying lap on softs.
Both Ferrari cars are running in heavily upgraded configuration for the first time this season, with the floor being the principal area of focus as the team seeks to close its estimated 0.2s gap to Red Bull Racing.
Continue reading on RACERThe pressure is building on Ferrari ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.
They say the Spanish Grand Prix is where a Formula 1 season really starts, and with Ferrari in the lead but Red Bull Racing closing fast, both teams will hope to leave Barcelona with the campaign reset in their favour.
Max Verstappen won the inaugural Miami Grand Prix after surviving a late-race battle with Charles Leclerc to slash his championship deficit again.
Leclerc started from pole and held first off the line but Verstappen launched to second around the outside of Carlos Sainz, boxing in the Spaniard behind the lead Ferrari, forcing him to concede and instead focus on holding back Sergio Perez from fourth.
The Red Bull Racing car’s straight-line speed then became decisive. Verstappen latched onto the back of Leclerc on lap eight and dragged him through the final sector. The benefit of DRS made for an easy move into Turn 1 at the start of the following lap.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc will lead Ferrari’s first front-row lockout in more than two years, beating teammate Carlos Sainz to pole position for the Miami Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen had taken provisional pole with his first lap of Q3 but the Dutchman left the door open with a mistake at Turn 5, his car snapping from underneath him and sending him wide across Turn 6.
The Ferrari drivers didn’t need the invitation. Sainz had just set a purple first sector and Leclerc took the second split to put the pair about level at the final split.
Continue reading on RACERRed Bull’s Sergio Perez beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to the top spot in a sweltering final practice ahead of qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix.
The Mexican set his fastest lap with less than five minutes on the clock, with a rapid final sector in particular taking him to a best time of 1m30.304s, bettering Leclerc’s best by just 0.194s.
Leclerc struggled with his first flying lap on softs when the track was at its hottest, the soft Pirelli rubber squirming as the asphalt topped out at around 130 degrees F, but a late flier as conditions cooled by almost 15 degrees F unlocked more time, popping him into second.
Continue reading on RACERWe’re about to go five rounds deep into the 2022 Formula 1 season, and the championship is starting to take shape — just.
George Russell has taken top spot from Charles Leclerc in a reversal of form in Friday’s second practice for the Miami Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver put his updated car to good advantage to pip the Ferrari by 0.106s and flip the order from first practice.
The W13 looks improved compared to the difficult machine of the first four rounds, and though the bouncing was sometimes still evident at the end of the Miami International Autodrome’s long straights, it seemed less frequent than in previous races.
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