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Associated Press
18-04-2025
- Automotive
- Associated Press
The F1 title fight is increasingly focused on McLaren. Verstappen says he's still hopeful
Ahead of Sunday's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this Formula 1 season is looking like McLaren vs. McLaren. Still, defending champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull says he hasn't lost hope. McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are the only one to consistently have the pace through the first four rounds of the championship. Norris has a three-point lead but admits he isn't at his best, while Piastri is the driver with momentum after winning in Bahrain last week. Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes have all their had their moments, but none has been a consistent challenger, as McLaren's 58-point constructors' championship lead shows. Verstappen is the only non-McLaren driver to win a Grand Prix this season but in Bahrain he was struggling so much that Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko said he was concerned Verstappen might consider his future. Verstappen said this week he wasn't considering the championship picture this early in the season. 'I'm not thinking about that. I just go race by race,' Verstappen said. 'I think at the moment, of course, we are not the quickest. So then naturally, it's very tough to to fight for a championship, but it's still a very long road... I'm hopeful that we can still improve things and we'll see what we get.' Two-time champion Fernando Alonso dampened speculation Verstappen could seek to join his team, Aston Martin, after Red Bull car designer Adrian Newey made that move last year. Asked if he'd welcome being Verstappen's teammate, Alonso said Thursday: 'Yes, but it's unlikely to happen. Very unlikely.' Alonso's current teammate is Lance Stroll, son of team owner Lawrence Stroll. Busy schedule Jeddah hosts the fifth race in six weeks in a hectic start to the season, which stays at a record 24 races. There's a little respite after Saudi Arabia, with two weeks till the next race in Miami. 'I think it's on the upper end of the limit. It feels like race 10 already,' said Williams driver Alex Albon, adding it's especially tough on mechanics and other crew members. 'As drivers, we travel better than everyone else in the paddock. We stay in better hotels than everyone else in the paddock — it's just a function of being in a privileged position. With mechanics... these are people with families. These are the people that really struggle.' The rookies are still enjoying their first taste of F1, though. 'It's just the beginning of my career, so I just want to keep racing and keep driving,' said Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto. 'I'm learning new things every single weekend, so for me, if I could have another race next weekend, I would be very happy as well.' ___ AP Formula 1:
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Lewis Hamilton tempers expectations as he settles in with Ferrari
SUZUKA, Japan (AP) — Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton is not used to aiming lower. But he may need to as he adjusts to his first season with Ferrari. He's won a record of 105 F1 races, but it's anyone's guess when he'll make it 106. He's won only twice in the last three seasons and is winless in the first two races in the main event in 2025 going into Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix. 'There was obviously a huge amount of hype at the beginning of the year," he said ahead of Sunday's race. 'I don't know if everyone was expecting us to be winning from race one and winning the championship in our first year. 'That wasn't my expectation," he added. "I know that I'm coming into a new culture, a new team and it's going to take time.' Hamilton was among the quickest drivers on Saturday in the third practice session ahead of qualifying. Lando Norris of McLaren led with a time of 1 minute, 27.965 seconds and teammate Oscar Piastri was only 0.026 behind. Hamilton was in sixth, 0.559 behind Norris. Max Verstappen won the pole for Red Bull on Saturday, posting a track-record time on his final lap. Hamilton was eighth in qualifying, about the expected order as the top four teams — McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari — battle it out. Norris and Piastri have won the first two races this season in Australia and China, respectively, and McLaren was also expected to dominate in Japan. Hamilton's start to the season has been well documented. He was 10th in the season's first race in Australia, won the sprint in China two weeks ago, but was disqualified for technical infringements along with teammate Charles Leclerc in the main race on Sunday. This was a major embarrassment for the best-financed team in F1. 'I saw someone said something about whether I'm losing faith in the team, which is complete rubbish,' Hamilton said. 'I have absolute 100% faith in this team.' Hamilton has won five times in Japan, but not since 2018. Hamilton, like many drivers, loves the Suzuka layout. 'This track is awesome,' he said. "It never ceases to amaze you when you get on this circuit. 'We've got some performance to pick up. We're not the quickest at the moment. But I think there's a good baseline.' ___ AP Formula 1: Stephen Wade, The Associated Press
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Lando Norris: McLaren is ready for title fight between its drivers
SHANGHAI (AP) — Lando Norris says his McLaren team is ready for a no-holds barred title fight between him and teammate Oscar Piastri, should they continue to dominate. Ten points separate the pair heading to Japan, with Norris on top of the standings, Piastri fourth and each claiming a win – the first time that McLaren has won the opening two races since 2003. Teammate relationships can quickly fall apart when the same team's drivers are the only ones fighting for wins and the title — a situation F1 last saw at Mercedes in 2016 when Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg battled, with the German coming out on top and then famously quitting the sport just days after the final round in Abu Dhabi. Norris, though, says the team is approaching the competition with open eyes. 'We were free to race today,' Norris said. 'I didn't really have the pace to really get up to Oscar and he drove very well, so he deserved it. I'm sure we're going to have some closer racing at some point I think we're both excited, probably nervous and excited at the same time as I'm sure the team will be, but we're ready (for it). 'We know that, as much as we work together, have a good time and enjoy ourselves, we both know we want to try and beat each other and show our best, and that's inevitable. There's no point trying to hide away from that fact, or make something of it, we're two competitors who both want to win.' McLaren's most intense — and infamous — teammate battle to date was between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in 1988 and 1989. The pair took the gloves off with their Honda-powered MP4/4 and MP4/5 cars the class of the field, with each claiming a crown before Prost left for Ferrari. ___ AP Formula 1:
Washington Post
22-03-2025
- Automotive
- Washington Post
Williams team fined 50,000 euros for not recording onboard video
SHANGHAI — Williams has been fined 50,000 euros ($54,000) by the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix stewards on Saturday due to a communication error. The penalty relates to the Williams team's failure to capture onboard video during Friday's practice as it believed the cameras would come pre-loaded with memory SD cards. The majority of the fine — 40,000 euros ($43,000) — was suspended. The FIA fitted all the cars with wireless forward and rearward facing cameras in China, with the governing body cracking down on rear wing flexing following the season-opener in Australia with a tougher static load test. Williams was meant to provide video files from the new camera within an hour of practice finishing, but no data was captured due to the empty SD slots. 'They (Williams) noticed during the middle of the session that there was a red flashing light in the cameras and reported that to the Technical Delegate,' the stewards statement said. 'However, they did not know what the flashing light meant and, in any event, it was too late to fit the SD card(s) by then.' 'There was no suggestion that the wings were not in compliance with the bodywork flexibility requirements under the Technical Regulations'. Williams said its internal procedures will be addressed and that all future recordings will be provided without issue. 'We understand that to ensure fair policing of technical regulations the FIA issued the resulting fine and we thank them for the constructive conversations and measured handling of this matter,' said a statement from Williams. ___ AP Formula 1:
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Williams team fined 50,000 euros for not recording onboard video
SHANGHAI (AP) — Williams has been fined 50,000 euros ($54,000) by the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix stewards on Saturday due to a communication error. The penalty relates to the Williams team's failure to capture onboard video during Friday's practice as it believed the cameras would come pre-loaded with memory SD cards. The majority of the fine — 40,000 euros ($43,000) — was suspended. The FIA fitted all the cars with wireless forward and rearward facing cameras in China, with the governing body cracking down on rear wing flexing following the season-opener in Australia with a tougher static load test. Williams was meant to provide video files from the new camera within an hour of practice finishing, but no data was captured due to the empty SD slots. 'They (Williams) noticed during the middle of the session that there was a red flashing light in the cameras and reported that to the Technical Delegate," the stewards statement said. 'However, they did not know what the flashing light meant and, in any event, it was too late to fit the SD card(s) by then.' "There was no suggestion that the wings were not in compliance with the bodywork flexibility requirements under the Technical Regulations'. Williams said its internal procedures will be addressed and that all future recordings will be provided without issue. 'We understand that to ensure fair policing of technical regulations the FIA issued the resulting fine and we thank them for the constructive conversations and measured handling of this matter,' said a statement from Williams. ___ AP Formula 1:
