F1's Spa weekend kicks off a new era for Red Bull
A Saturday sprint will be the first race of new boss Laurent Mekies' tenure and the change, and how it affects four-times world champion Verstappen's future, remains the big talking point of the moment. Horner has made no public comment and Red Bull's preview for the 13th round of the 24-race season made no mention of him. 'I was back at the factory last week to spend some time in the sim(ulator) with the team and I'm looking forward to working closely with Laurent,' Belgian-born Verstappen was quoted as saying.
Mekies, promoted from Racing Bulls who have handed over the reins to Alan Permane, arrives with Red Bull fourth overall and Verstappen a distant third in the drivers' standings behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. That intra-team title battle is likely to have some extra sizzle at Spa-Francorchamps as Norris seeks a third win in a row — new territory for the Briton — and the chance to take over at the top.
The sprint format offers more points than usual and Norris, whose mother is Belgian, is only eight behind the Australian going to a high-speed track that is a favorite for most drivers. Piastri, despite his generally unruffled exterior, may also be still simmering at the 10 second penalty that cost him a win in Britain and handed victory to Norris.
He will want to hit back as Formula One kicks off a Belgium/Hungary double-header — the first fast and often wet while the second is twisty and hot — before the long August break.
George Russell, his contract expiring at the end of the season and in danger of losing his Mercedes seat to Verstappen or having him as an uncomfortable teammate, is also not short of motivation. The Briton was stripped of victory last year at Spa when post-race checks found his car to be underweight, handing victory to then-teammate Lewis Hamilton in what remains the seven-times champion's most recent win in F1.
Ferrari have yet to triumph, other than a Shanghai sprint, since Hamilton moved from Mercedes to Maranello in January but they are gathering momentum. The Italian team are second overall and Charles Leclerc has secured three podiums in the last five races while Hamilton was fourth at Silverstone.
Nico Hulkenberg will also be getting back to business at Sauber after an emotional first podium at the 239th attempt at Silverstone ended his unwanted record of most races without a top three finish. Sauber, the future Audi works team, are on the move and have scored the fourth most points of any outfit on the grid over the last four races. — AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab Times
a day ago
- Arab Times
Al-Arabi falls to Hatta in friendly ahead of Asian Challenge League
ABU DHABI, Aug 2: Al-Arabi suffered a 1-2 defeat to UAE side Hatta in their opening friendly match during its training camp in Abu Dhabi. The team is currently preparing in the UAE ahead of its Asian Challenge League playoff match against Maldivian club Mazia Spor, scheduled for August 12 in the Maldives. Al-Arabi will play two more friendlies against UAE clubs Bani Yas and Al Wahda on the upcoming Wednesday and Thursday, before traveling to the Maldives on Friday. Following the loss, Portuguese coach Marco Alves reaffirmed the club's goal to qualify for the group stage of the Asian Challenge League. He stressed the importance of the friendly matches for preparation but emphasized that the main focus remains on securing a positive result against Mazia Spor. The team's training continues in Abu Dhabi with most players present, including the full roster of foreign signings: Belgian-Congolese Julian Ngoyi, French-Guinean Hassimi Fadiga, Ugandan Kenneth Semakula, and Nigerian players Ayano Ewuala and Christopher John. Coach Alves intends to rotate the squad extensively in the upcoming friendlies to evaluate player readiness, especially since the matches will take place on consecutive days. He also aims to acclimate the team to humid conditions to better prepare for the weather in the Maldives.
Kuwait Times
3 days ago
- Kuwait Times
From farm to fame, Nick Tandy recognized for 24 Hours grand slam
Only driver to win Le Mans, Nuerburgring, Spa and Daytona LONDON: Nick Tandy's thirst for speed began when he was barely a teenager, driving a combine harvester around an open field on his father's farm. The only driver to have won every 24-hour endurance race— a grand slam of Le Mans, Nuerburgring, Spa and Daytona—the Briton was honored on Tuesday with the Royal Automobile Club's Segrave Trophy for outstanding exploits on land, sea or air. Past winners include Formula One champions Lewis Hamilton, Jackie Stewart, Damon Hill and Nigel Mansell. Speaking to Reuters at the London club, and slightly stunned to be there, the Porsche factory driver accepted his path was perhaps not the typical one. Driving the combine had certainly made him want to go faster, though. 'You just wanted to get the job done so you could go out and play with your friends,' he said. Tandy still helps out when he can, going from 250kph around a racetrack to the wheel of a tractor at walking pace with a harrow on the back. 'Everyone has their own back story and I'm country folk,' he said. 'I enjoy going back to the countryside. 'I struggle going to places like Monaco but everyone's different I guess.' Tandy, now 40, took overall victory at Le Mans' Sarthe circuit a decade ago, a 2015 victory shared with Earl Bamber of New Zealand and German F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg. At the time it was a box ticked, a dream come true. 'But then of course you wake up the very next morning and think 'Right. What's next?',' he said. The answer came in 2018 when he won the Nuerburgring 24 Hours, again with Porsche. In 2020 he conquered the Spa 24 Hours with Bamber and Belgian Laurens Vanthoor. That left Daytona and Tandy had won the US race previously in the GT class. 'Somebody said to me 'you do realise nobody has ever won them all, overall, and you've won three and you've got a class win at Daytona'. And I thought 'Oof! Now there's a challenge',' he recalled. The Briton succeeded last January with Brazilian Felipe Nasr and Vanthoor. Tandy also won the 2015 Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, Georgia, and 12 Hours of Sebring in Florida last March— becoming the first driver to win endurance racing's 'Big Six'. In a world where the car is more often the star, Tandy said he had been taken aback by the amount of interest suddenly penetrating his 'little bubble'. 'I drive my little car in my little races around and around and kind of finish where we started up,' he said. 'I haven't been on water and driven a boat faster than anybody's ever done. I haven't won a world championship in a plane. I haven't circumnavigated the globe. 'It makes you realize that what you've done actually is probably bigger than I ever thought.' Comparisons have been made to double Formula One champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Jim Clark, an all-time great who came from a Scottish farming family and died in 1968. Tandy said being mentioned in the same breath as Clark was unbelievable but the background similarity was not such a surprise. 'There's so many more other good drivers that come from farming,' he said. 'There's something about having the land available and growing up and driving machines, working on machines as well, and understanding mechanics. 'I'm a professional racing driver... but when I come home, I can switch off and I go back to family life and working in my workshop, helping my dad on the farm. Just being a normal person.' — Reuters
Kuwait Times
3 days ago
- Kuwait Times
Fritz beats rain, Carballes Baena to advance in Toronto
TORONTO: Second-seeded Taylor Fritz struggled with three rain delays and a stubborn Spanish opponent on Wednesday, pulling out a tight 7-5, 7-6 (7/1) win over Roberto Carballes Baena at the ATP Toronto Masters. The second-round match was halted repeatedly by light rain, with the final 18-minute pause coming just as the second-set tiebreaker was about to start. But Fritz, winner of Stuttgart and Eastbourne titles this season, quickly sprinted to victory before heavier rains were expected to set in. The American was far from pleased with a win which was marred by 45 unforced errors and confessed that he has not yet felt on his game in Canada. 'Even in practice I'm having a hard time putting the ball into the court,' he said. 'But I'm happy to get through this one. 'Everything is not feeling great, it's tough to control the ball. 'Since I've been here it's been absolutely brutal. But I have another match to figure it out and hopefully I can play myself into the tournament.' Fritz's fourth-seeded compatriot Ben Shelton had no complaints after earning his first career win over gritty Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 6-3. Shelton had dropped two prior meetings with 37-year-old qualifier Mannarino but said he was able to vary his serve to get over the line this time. 'This win was huge for me. He's a shotmaker, he can take the racquet out of your hands,' Shelton said. 'I've played well against him in the past and come up short, he can make things really difficult.' American Frances Tiafoe squeezed out a win after more than two and a quarter hours against Japan's Yosuke Watanuki, hailing his opponent's fighting spirit after a 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/5) triumph. 'He can hit a winner on any shot,' Tiafoe said. 'I needed some luck in those last two sets to win.' Tiafoe managed just 19 winners to the 45 of his 158th-ranked foe, but now lines up against Australian Alexsandar Vukic, who defeated Briton Cam Norrie 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 6-3. Andrey Rublev, runner-up in Canada a year ago to Alexei Popyrin, won his 250th career match on hardcourt as he beat France's Hugo Gaston 6-2, 6-3. — AFP The sixth seed needed four match points to advance after 86 minutes and now plays Italian Lorenzo Sonego, a 6-1, 6-4 winner over China's Bu Yunchaokete. Wimbledon quarter-finalist Flavio Cobolli of Italy delivered four aces in the final game of a rain-interrupted match to clinch a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Canadian Alexis Galarneau. But Canadian Gabriel Diallo came out on top against his Italian opponent, beating Matteo Gigante 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) to next face Fritz. Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime suffered another early disappointment, losing his opening match in his home Masters for a third straight year as he fell to Fabian Marozsan 6-4, 6-4. Former top 10 ranking regular Stefanos Tsitsipas, now 30th in the world, continued a downward slide with a 6-4. 4-6, 6-2 loss to Australian Christopher O'Connell. Alex de Minaur, winner in Washington on Sunday, defeated Francisco Comesana 6-4, 6-2. 'It was not pretty by any means,' Australia's de Minaur said. 'The wind and rain made it quite tough. I'm happy I was engaged and focused from the first point to the last. 'Backing up a good week is the toughest ask in tennis. You don't have a lot of time to enjoy the moment after a week of emotional highs. 'You have to find a way to re-set and do it all over again.' – AFP
