Latest news with #F1CanadianGrandPrix
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18 hours ago
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F1 champion Max Verstappen defiant despite looming suspension threat at Canadian Grand Prix
Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen, left, of the Netherlands, walks through the paddocks at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP) Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen, of the Netherlands, walks through the paddocks at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP) Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen, of the Netherlands, walks through the paddocks at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP) Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen, left, of the Netherlands, walks through the paddocks at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP) Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen, of the Netherlands, walks through the paddocks at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP) Max Verstappen arrived at the Canadian Grand Prix a single point away from a one-race suspension following his collision with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix. The four-time reigning Formula 1 champion is adamant he will not change his driving style despite the warning hanging over him to be on his best behavior. His collision earned him three penalty points. Advertisement 'I will always race hard," the Dutchman said in Montreal. Verstappen has a total of 11 penalty points over a rolling 12-month period, which puts him one point shy of the one-race ban. He will be in the clear after the Austrian Grand Prix at the end of the month when two points will drop off. Until then, he races in danger of suspension. Since the penalty system was introduced in 2014, only one driver has been suspended for reaching the 12-point limit — Kevin Magnussen, who missed last year's Azerbaijan Grand Prix. In 2012, Romain Grosjean was suspended one race for causing a multi-car pile-up at the start of the Belgian GP. At the time, he was the first driver banned for a race since Michael Schumacher in 1994. Advertisement Verstappen is not concerned about becoming the third driver suspended and remained defiant he won't change his approach. 'I cannot just back out of everything,' Verstappen said. 'I'm just going to race like I always do. I trust myself.' His approach has drawn criticism throughout his career as Verstappen has gone wheel-to-wheel with multiple drivers, including a tense 2021 in which he seemed to constantly be sparring with both Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris. "What is not fair? I don't worry about it. I just come here to race, and I will always race hard, race how I think I should always race, and then we go on to the next race,' he said while acknowledging a suspension would be 'not ideal' for his struggling Red Bull team. Advertisement He said in Canada he was 'not here to try and get a ban' and his racing style and penalty points is not that big of a deal to him and "maybe for you (the media), not for me. I don't think about it.' Verstappen did take some accountability for his incident with Russell in Spain. He wrote on social media the incident was 'not right' and 'shouldn't have happened.' Russell, of Mercedes, was taken aback by Verstappen's admission because it's uncharacteristic of the single-minded driver. 'I was a bit surprised to see him taking responsibility, because it's quite unlike him,' Russell said. "I want to believe that he didn't intentionally try and crash into me, because that would be pretty bonkers. Advertisement "I think he just tried to show who was boss and put his elbows out, and got it wrong.' The two saw each other earlier this week in an airport, Russell said, but did not discuss the incident. The crash allowed Russell to move up in the finishing order to fourth in Spain. 'There's nothing from my side we need to talk about,' Russell said. 'Had I been taken out of the race, I'd be feeling very differently, for sure. But ultimately his actions benefited me and cost him. I should say 'thanks.'' His rivals were suspect of what Verstappen might do on the track considering how he's raced many of them over the years. Advertisement 'I don't think anything really changes, because you don't know what he's going to do,' Norris said. 'There's no point trying to think of what to do differently. It's the same as normal. I think he's still going to fight. He's further behind in the points. If anything, he's going to fight more. 'There's no point trying to assume things or to just guess. When you're in a position of fighting him on the track, you can't just think, 'Ah, he's going to give me more space,' and (then) he doesn't, and then something happens.' Verstappen has seemed to concede any chance of Red Bull reclaiming the constructors' championship from McLaren, which unseated Red Bulk last year. And, he seems to be giving up on a fifth driver championship as he trails both McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Norris. Verstappen is 49 points behind leader Piastri and 39 points behind Norris. Advertisement Piastri is not concerned with Verstappen on the track. 'I'll just try and race how I always do. I think I normally try to race quite smart and keep myself out of trouble,' he said. "A good saying is that it's often better to still be in the race than to prove that you were right in the situation. So I'll try and keep that.' Verstappen, for his part, isn't worried about his competitors goading him into a potential penalty. 'I'll race how I want to race,' Verstappen said. 'It's not going to change anything.' Verstappen is the three-time defending Canadian GP winner. ___ AP auto racing:
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2 days ago
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Lewis Hamilton defends Fred Vasseur amid Ferrari exit rumors ahead of Canadian GP
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, left, of Monaco, speaks with Lewis Hamilton, of Britain, at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race, Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Montreal. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP) Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, left, of Monaco, speaks with Lewis Hamilton, of Britain, at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race, Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Montreal. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP) Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, left, of Monaco, speaks with Lewis Hamilton, of Britain, at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race, Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Montreal. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP) Lewis Hamilton defended Fred Vasseur on Friday amid reports the Ferrari team principal will be ousted before the end of the Formula 1 season. Reports have swirled for a bit as Hamilton, in his first season with Ferrari, and Charles Leclerc have yet to contend for victories. The speculation hit a new level ahead of this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix as multiple reports indicated Vasseur's time is close to coming to an end. Advertisement Ferrari is almost 200 points behind McLaren in the constructors' standings and hasn't won a race since Mexico last season. Leclerc has scored a podium only three times in nine races, while Hamilton's best finish this season is fourth. Leclerc and Hamilton head into Sunday's race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve ranked fifth and sixth in the driver standings and Hamilton appeared near tears following his sixth-place finish at the Spanish GP in F1's last outing. The reports about Vasseur have hinted that Red Bull team principal Christian Horner could replace him at Ferrari. Hamilton was disappointed by the speculation. 'He has a my full support. It's definitely not nice to hear that there are stories out there,' Hamilton said Thursday in Montreal. "I love working with Fred. Fred's the main reason I'm in this team and got the opportunity to be here and we're in this together. We're working hard in the background. Advertisement 'Things aren't perfect, but for me, as I said, I'm here to work with the team but also with Fred. I want Fred here. I do believe Fred is the person to be at the top. Ultimately, (the reports) are nonsense." Vasseur also received support from Carlos Sainz Jr., who spent two seasons driving for him at Ferrari before Vasseur replaced him ahead of this year with seven-time world champion Hamilton. Sainz, who now drives for Williams, took issues with 'finger-pointing' among the media covering F1. 'Same story as always, the moment that the results don't click in Ferrari, there's always finger-pointing by the media, and all this chaos happening,' Sainz said. "Fred and I have a great relationship. In the past, obviously, we went through a tough month where he didn't want me and signed Lewis, but apart from that, we made peace about it, and I get on well, and I always rated him as a team principal and as a person.' Advertisement Ferrari a year ago finished second to McLaren in the constructors' championship, and based on the addition of Hamilton, many predicted Ferrari would challenge for that title this season. Instead, Ferrari is far off the pace of McLaren as driver championship leader Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have combined to win seven of nine races. Max Verstappen, Red Bull's reigning three-time world champion, has won twice. 'I thought, honestly, Ferrari could be in the fight for the championship this year. That's what I communicated to Charles, and to the team. For me, everything was coming into place," Sainz said. "I had zero involvement in the development of the '25 cars, so I don't know where they went with the balance, with the setup, and why they are struggling to get a result this year out of it. 'At the same time, probably, McLaren is just doing an excellent job. If McLaren is doing such a good job, then it doesn't matter how good you do, there's just someone performing at a very high level with two super strong drivers and doing very, very good in F1 right now, and that is McLaren.' Advertisement Hamilton also explained his tearful frustration in Spain, an emotion that replaced his initial angry outburst at the end of the race. He said both he and Leclerc had issues with their Ferrari's that made them incapable of competing from the midway point of the race. 'I said on the radio that was the worst feeling car that I'd ever had and it truly was,' Hamilton said. 'At the end of the race I was like, 'Geez, I've never experienced something this bad for such a prolonged time through a race.'' It wasn't until hours later when Hamilton met with engineers and learned there was an undisclosed issue hampering the Ferraris. 'There was a bit of a relief to hear that," Hamilton said, "because I definitely didn't feel so terrible afterward.' ___ AP auto racing:
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2 days ago
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Lance Stroll refuses to discuss wrist injury specifics ahead of home Canadian Grand Prix
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton, of Britain, and Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll, of Canada, take part in a press conference at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP) Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll, of Canada, takes part in a news conference at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP) Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll, of Canada, takes part in a news conference at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP) Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton, of Britain, and Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll, of Canada, take part in a press conference at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP) Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll, of Canada, takes part in a news conference at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP) Lance Stroll cited 'medical privacy' Thursday in refusing to discuss the specifics of the wrist injury or medical procedure that kept the Formula 1 driver from participating in the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago. The Aston Martin driver has been cleared to compete this weekend at his home Canadian Grand Prix, but he was short on details about his injury. Aston Martin has said only that Stroll, the son of the team owner, underwent a 'successful medical procedure to resolve the symptoms' and that he completed test laps in France to earn clearance for Sunday's race in Canada. Advertisement The 26-year-old Stroll did not elaborate further. The team previously said Stroll had been experiencing pain for six weeks and doctors believed the problem was related to a medical procedure he underwent in 2023 following a cycling accident to treat fractures to both wrists and a broken toe. "Pretty confident. Should be good," Stroll initially offered Thursday in Montreal. He only revealed a bit more after persistent questioning. "It was bothering me for a few weeks over Imola, Monaco and then Barcelona was just really brutal throughout the weekend," Stroll said. 'I got a procedure done and drove this week and I was feeling pretty good, so I'm confident it's just the old injury that I had with it a couple of years ago. It just started to bug me again and yeah, just got it sorted.' Advertisement When asked which wrist was treated, Stroll said: "That's my right one,″ in reference to the hand he refused to remove from his pocket during Thursday's news conference in Montreal. Stroll has scored only 14 points this season while teammate Fernando Alonso has struggled to just two points as Aston Martin has endured a tremendous drop-off in performance. Stroll also downplayed reports he had a meltdown in the Aston Martin garage following a poor showing in qualifying at the Spanish GP. 'I was frustrated, for sure, frustrated about my wrists and last three races from Imola — it was inhibiting my driving,' Stroll said. 'I knew that Sunday was going to be tricky, probably impossible and at that point I was pretty frustrated about it.' Advertisement Prior to that, Stroll said he'd been trying to drive through the pain. 'As an athlete, in any sport, you're always trying to push through the pain, discomfort, as much as you can and try to get a good result,' Stroll said. "In that situation, I was struggling and I was trying to push through it and it just didn't feel sensible to push anymore. Felt like the damage was getting worse and I needed to do something more serious about it. 'I don't want to really get into detail about what I had to do and how I had to do it because it's just my medical privacy and I like to keep that confidential.' ___ AP auto racing:
