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Daily Mirror
01-08-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Who is Felipe Drugovich? Fernando Alonso replacement at F1 Hungarian Grand Prix
Felipe Drugovich walked into the Hungarian Grand Prix paddock with girlfriend Carla Sirotti on Friday morning perhaps not knowing he would be called up by Aston Martin After almost three years of waiting, this could be the weekend that Felipe Drugovich finally lives his childhood dream. He is in line to potentially make his competitive debut at the Hungarian Grand Prix in the place of the injured Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard made the journey to Budapest and completed his media day duties as normal on Thursday. But, on Friday morning, Aston Martin confirmed their veteran driver, who turned 44 earlier this week, would not take part in the first practice session of the weekend. "In the days following the Belgian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso has been managing a muscular injury in his back," a team statement read. "As he continues with treatment this morning, he has chosen to sit out of FP1. Felipe Drugovich will drive in FP1 alongside Lance Stroll." It has not yet been decided whether Alonso will get back in the car at any point this weekend. As is often the case when a drivers' participation is in doubt, the team will wait for as long as possible before making any final decision. But if Alonso's condition does not improve, then Drugovich is set to make his long-awaited bow in Formula 1 racing. It is the opportunity the Brazilian driver, 25, has been waiting for ever since winning the Formula 2 title back in 2022, only to fail to make the leap into the top category. He signed with Aston Martin as the first member of their newly-formed driver academy in the days after his F2 success was confirmed. He immediately became a reserve driver for their F1 team and has made several practice and testing outings in that role, but has been stuck frustratingly on the sidelines in terms of racing. Drugovich spent the entirety of 2023 on the sidelines but the following year chose to pair his reserve driver responsibilities with a switch to endurance racing. He finished 15th in his one and only season in the European Le Mans Series, having scored one podium at the Four Hours of Imola. He also made his debut in the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race that year, finishing 15th in the Hypercar class with Whelen Cadillac Racing. He again represented the team in the 2025 edition of the race, sharing a car with Brit Jack Aitken and Mercedes F1 reserve Frederik Vesti, but retired after 247 laps because of an engine issue. Drugovich has also tested in IndyCar and the all-electric Formula E series as he keeps his single-seater racing options open. He raced in FE at the Berlin ePrix last month, called up by Mahindra Racing to fill in for the absent Nyck de Vries and finished his first race way down in 17th place after picking up a drive-through penalty. But things improved in the second event of the double-header as he climbed 12 places to finish seventh and score points. He was born in Brazil and races under the flag of his homeland, but also holds Italian citizenship. He shares little about his personal life in public, but is regularly tagged in posts on Instagram by his girlfriend Carla Sirotti, who is in Hungary with him this weekend and could get to witness his F1 racing debut in person if Alonso fails to recover.
The Irish Sun
04-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘You don't have too many positive things to say' – Lewis Hamilton in tense exchange with Martin Brundle over F1 photo
LEWIS HAMILTON was involved in an awkward exchange with Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle ahead of the Silverstone Grand Prix. Hamilton is looking to continue a run of scoring a podium at Silverstone in every race since 2014, including eight wins, one P2 and two P3 finishes. 4 Lewis Hamilton shared an awkward exchange with Martin Brundle on track at Silverstone 4 Hamilton joked the Sky Sports F1 pundit didn't have 'too many positive things to say' Credit: Splash 4 Hamilton later topped FP1 on Friday Credit: Getty But he might have his work cut out for him after failing to land a podium all year since joining Ferrari, with his best feature race result being P4 twice. One of the most recognised voices among an ocean of opinions about the seven-time Formula One world champion is former racer While Brundle started the season backing Hamilton to win a record eighth world title, he later admitted it was "very hard" to watch post-race interviews considering his pace struggles. And Hamilton, 40, took the chance to cheekily call out some of Brundle's past comments, ironically as he was lavishing praise on the Brit's move to Ferrari. READ MORE IN F1 Brundle, 66, was chatting to Hamilton on the track at Silverstone about his 'One of the most iconic photographs ever in F1 and what a shot that was." Hamilton then interrupted Brundle, commenting: "Thanks man, that means a lot coming from you, you don't have too many positive things to say always." Taken aback, Brundle replied: "Well that's not true…" Most read in Motorsport BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK The interaction went viral on social media, with one fan writing: "The way i laughed when Lewis said that." A second said: "He stood on business." Lewis Hamilton gives lucky F1 rival a lift home on his private jet A third added: "That took me out!" Another said: "Lewis cooked!!!" On Friday Hamilton gave Brundle even more reason to praise him after topping Free Practice One before also lapping P3 in Free Practice Two later on. Lewis Hamilton's Silverstone record Lewis Hamilton holds the F1 record for the most top three finishes at a single circuit at Silverstone, with 15 podiums to his name including eight wins after his 2024 victory. Here's a look at his year-by-year run: McLaren, 2007 - P3 McLaren, 2008 - P1 McLaren, 2009 - P16 McLaren, 2010 - P2 McLaren, 2011 - P4 McLaren, 2012 - P8 Mercedes, 2013 - P4 Mercedes, 2014 - P1 Mercedes, 2015 - P1 Mercedes, 2016 - P1 Mercedes, 2017 - P1 Mercedes, 2018 - P2 Mercedes, 2019 - P1 Mercedes, 2020 - P1 Mercedes, 2021 - P1 Mercedes, 2022 - P3 Mercedes, 2023 - P3 Mercedes, 2024 - P1 Ferrari, 2025 - P? McLaren's Despite Hamilton's cheeky dig, the pair do seem to be on good terms after commentator David Croft revealed Hamilton advised the producers of F1: The Movie to add he and Brundle into the film for authenticity. Croft said: "He [Hamilton] said, 'If you want to make it authentic commentary, you need Martin and Crofty'. "I really appreciated that." The British Grand Prix starts at 3pm on Sunday, while qualifying for the race commences at 2pm on Saturday. 4
Telegraph
04-07-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Live F1 British Grand Prix practice: latest FP1 updates
FP1 for 2025 British Grand Prix starts at 12.30pm BST Latest updates Luke Slater live updates. Tom Cary Senior Sports Correspondent, at Silverstone 04 July 2025 1:18pm 1:18PM FP1 - James Vowles on Albon's latest lap 'Not a bad place to be... he lost it a little towards the end of the lap,' he says. 'Through turn one we're pretty quick.' 12 minutes remain. 1:16PM FP1 - Albon moves seventh Just over four tenths off the ultimate pace of Lewis Hamilton. Let's see what Carlos Sainz can do. 1:15PM FP1 - Red/Racing Bull/Bulls update The two fastest cars in the Red Bull stable are the Racing Bulls of Hadjar and Lawson in sixth and seventh... Max Verstappen is ninth and Arvid Lindblad is 18th. Albon becomes the first Williams to leave the garage on something other than hard tyres. He is out on the softs and goes fastest of anyone in sector one... 1:13PM FP1 - Hamilton hooks up a lap And it's good enough to put him fastest of all! Not by a great deal, just 0.023sec, but he leads the two McLarens and then his team-mate. Tidy stuff. The Ferrari was improved in Austria (but still miles behind McLaren). 1:09PM FP1 - 🟨 Yellow flags🟨 Bortoleto spins at Copse! He goes round... and round again... and round again, but stays just on the track and avoids the barriers. That will be a relief. He lost the rear end as he went over the exit kerb. 1:07PM FP1 - Hamilton appears to abandon his lap He had done the fastest first sector but then aborted the lap in the middle sector for some reason. We have yet to see what that is. Russell has popped up into second, within a tenth of Leclerc. 1:06PM FP1 - Leclerc moves fastest He has to negotiate some traffic towards the end of the lap but still finishes 0.183sec faster than Piastri (below), who had marginally improved on Norris's previous best time. 1:03PM FP1 - Not a tremendous improvement from Norris on the softs He goes fastest but only by 0.148sec over Hadjar's previous best. A few other soft runners not exactly setting the world alight but let's see what the Ferraris and Piastri can do. Looks promising so far. 1:02PM FP1 - There is another junior driver in this session Nico Hulkenberg has given up his Sauber to Estonian Paul Aron who is in fact an Alpine junior driver. Make of that what you will. He is currently 15th, 1.334sec off the pace. Soft tyre runs have now begun, so times should improve.
Irish Daily Mirror
27-06-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Daily Mirror
Irish prodigy Alex Dunne gushes with emotion when he sees Dad after F1 debut
Irish racing prodigy Alex Dunne gushed with emotion as he met a proud father following his Formula 1 racing debut on Friday. Dunne was let drive for Team McLaren in place of Lando Norris for this afternoon's FP1 session and exceeded the lofty expectations thrown his way as he clocked the fourth fastest time, behind only George Russell, Max Verstappen, and Oscar Piastri. And the 19-year-old was emotional throughout the day as he embraced his father, Noel. "I don't even know where to start. Super, super happy. It's safe to say it went pretty well," Dunne told McLaren's social media team after the session. "We knew going through the session that the goal wasn't necessarily for performance, it was more to help out with the car, help Lando, and help the team improve as much as they can for FP2, FP3, and then onwards into the weekend. To have the pace that I had and show was I am capable on the F1 stage is something pretty special." On concluding the session, a delighted Dunne said: "I want to thank everyone. A little boy's dream came true; that was definitely the best day of my life. Thanks, everyone, [it] means a lot." By competing on Friday, Dunne is the first Irish racing driver to feature on the stage since Ralph Firman in 2003, and there will be justifiable hype surrounding the Offaly teen. Dunne currently sits top of the Formula Two standings, and a strong finish to the season, accompanied by some more opportunities, could mean he could make a real name for himself in the sport. McLaren team boss Andrea Stella took time to speak to Sky Sports after the race, where he branded Dunne 'diligent' and 'impressive' while also tempering expectations, saying his fast lap times came later when his fuel was down.
Irish Daily Mirror
23-06-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Daily Mirror
Irish driver Dunne breaks new ground as he gets Formula 1 opportunity
Racing prodigy Alex Dunne is set to become the first Irish driver to take part in a Formula 1 weekend for 22 years. The Offaly teenager is taking the place of McLaren's Lando Norris for Friday's practice session at the Austrian Grand Prix. In doing so, the 19-year-old is the first Irish driver since Ralph Firman in 2003, who raced under an Irish licence for Jaguar, to take part in a Formula 1 event. F1 teams are now obliged to allow a rookie driver behind the wheel twice in each of their cars, giving inexperienced drivers the potential chance to ride the megacars four times in public. And now Dunne, who is currently leading the race to be the F2 champion, is getting the keys to the MCL39 during a grand prix weekend. "It's an amazing opportunity to be able to drive during FP1 in Austria. I'm really looking forward to getting laps in behind the wheel of the MCL39 and supporting the team with the setup for the race weekend ahead," Dunne said. "I've been preparing well for the sessions, taking part in Testing of Previous Cars tests in the MCL60 and spending time on the simulator, which has been a fantastic learning experience. "Thank you to Zak, Andrea and Alessandro for their faith in me. It's a great step within my development with the McLaren Driver Development Programme, and I'm really excited to join the team trackside." F1 team principal Andrea Stella said: 'It's great to be able to give Alex the opportunity to run in free practice one, and for him to get valuable time behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car as part of his development. 'The team are pleased to be working with him more closely, and for his support across the weekend, where he will be providing useful feedback to help with the car's set-up. 'The rookie sessions are fantastic for seeing the talent of tomorrow and enabling that rare chance to get time in a current car, so we look forward to seeing him on track.'
