Latest news with #Formula2
Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Fernando Alonso suffers injury and could miss Hungarian GP as replacement named
Fernando Alonso's participation at the Hungarian Grand Prix is in doubt after suffering a muscular injury to his back. His Aston Martin team has confirmed that the Spaniard will not take part in first practice in Budapest, with reserve driver Felipe Drugovich filling in. It has not yet been decided whether Alonso will be able to race this weekend. If not, then Drugovich will continue to drive for the team and will be in line to make his long-awaited competitive Formula 1 debut, alongside their other driver Lance Stroll. A statement from the team read: "In the days following the Belgian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso has been managing a muscular injury in his back. As he continues with treatment this morning, he has chosen to sit out of FP1. "Felipe Drugovich will drive in FP1 alongside Lance Stroll. A decision will then be made on Fernando's participation in FP2 and the remainder of the weekend in due course." Alonso is the oldest current driver on the F1 grid, having turned 44 on Tuesday this week. He has been experiencing pain in his back since last weekend's race at Spa-Francorchamps, where he finished 17th and a long way off the points as Aston Martin suffered a dismal weekend in the Ardennes Forest. Drugovich has taken part in several free practice sessions for Aston Martin and so is an experienced operator in that regard. But he has yet to race in F1, having been stuck on the sidelines as the team's reserve driver since winning the Formula 2 title in 2022. --- There will be more to follow on this breaking news story and Mirror Sport will bring you the very latest updates, pictures and video as soon as possible.
Daily Mirror
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Max Verstappen moan is unfair after F1 race director did what drivers have begged for
The Belgian Grand Prix got off to a frustrating start when it was stopped for more than an hour due to heavy rain, sparking a debate over the future of wet-weather racing in Formula 1 The FIA does not get everything right. It is not unfair to suggest that there have been so many blunders in recent years that it can be surprising when the Formula 1 governing body does nail its approach to certain situations. But that is exactly what it did at the Belgian Grand Prix. The delay of almost 90 minutes before the start of Sunday's race, for nothing more than rain, was maddening and it is completely understandable that thousands of people all around the world would have been shouting: "Just get on with it," at their televisions. After all, wet races are invariably some of the most exciting to watch. It creates extra danger, makes tyre strategy even more decisive and often acts as a performance equaliser, presenting some of the smaller teams who rarely get a chance to challenge at the front with an opportunity to do something special, like Nico Hulkenberg did in his Sauber at Silverstone just a few of weeks ago. It is also a chance for the bigger teams and drivers to make a comeback if qualifying didn't quite go their way. Perhaps that was why Max Verstappen, who started fourth on the grid but felt he could have done more, was so frustrated about the decision to abort the race start on the formation lap when visibility because of water spray was deemed to be too poor. "We should have started miles earlier, an hour earlier," the Red Bull racer fumed after the Grand Prix, with the hindsight of knowing that there were no dangerous crashes on the drier track. "A bit of a shame. They took a very cautious approach which we spoke about after Silverstone, to be a little bit more cautious. But, for me, this was then the other extreme. It just ruined a nice, classic wet race." He is right to suggest that it would probably have been an action-packed and entertaining race if they had started on time. More heavy rain fell not long after the planned start time which would surely have forced all cars onto extreme wet tyres and probably would have led to some carnage. But can entertainment really be used as an excuse for accepting extra risk? That is a debatable point because, as many people will point out, all F1 drivers accept that what they do is dangerous and that, every time they put on their helmet and get strapped into their racing machine, they are putting their lives at risk. If there is one place where fate should not be tempted, though, it is Spa-Francorchamps. Motorsport has a much better safety record these days compared to decades gone by, but that circuit in the Ardennes Forest remains treacherous. Anthoine Hubert was killed in a Formula 2 crash in 2019 and, just two years ago, 18-year-old Dilano van 't Hoff died in a Formula Regional race there. Many people will have made the point that, on Sunday, all cars on the F1 formation lap were on intermediate tyres and so they could have gone onto the extreme wets for more grip, but traction was never the issue. It was all about visibility and even Lando Norris, at the front of the pack and behind only the safety car, was having trouble seeing anything through the spray. He and several other drivers reported that over the radio, which was heard not only by their teams but also race control. Rui Marques, the F1 race director appointed by the FIA, then decided to abort the starting procedure and red-flag the track, commanding all cars to return to the pit lane. Was he being overly cautious? Perhaps, but it would be impossible to reasonably blame him. He has been in that role for less than a year, and would have been held ultimately responsible for sending 20 drivers out onto the track with zero visibility, if the worst should have happened. Plus, as mentioned, most of the drivers out there on track had been voicing their concern about the lack of visibility. F1 stars have been begging for some time for the FIA to consult them more when making decisions, which is exactly what Marques did in this case. His decision to wait out the worst of the rain led to a lot of standing around and waiting, and zero racing action for well over an hour. As disappointing as that was, it sure beats the prospect of a life-threatening crash at a circuit which has far too much recent history on that front. So maybe, Max, it's worth cutting race control a bit more slack next time. Because that "very cautious" approach might have saved lives.
Daily Mirror
20 hours ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Cadillac negotiate with American driver in twist after deciding preferred F1 2026 lineup
Reports suggested Cadillac had landed on the two drivers they wanted to race for them in Formula 1 in their 2026 debut season, but it seems they remain in talks with other options Cadillac have not given up on the idea of signing an American driver to race for them when they make their grand Formula 1 entrance. The US-based outfit is forming what will become the sport's 11th team when it begins racing for the first time next year. Having only been confirmed as a new entrant in March this year, Cadillac continue to work flat-out to get everything in place. That has meant that, up until recently decisions over their drivers have been on the back-burner – but it seems they have been making significant progress on that front in recent weeks. Team principal Graeme Lowdon recently named seven drivers under consideration as he discussed his plans during a podcast appearance. Soon after, it emerged that two of them had been selected internally as the preferred choices for the team's debut season. Experience is clearly the preferred trait as the two in question are bona fide F1 veterans. Valtteri Bottas, a 10-time race winner with Mercedes, is understood to be in advanced talks, while Sergio Perez is the other preferred option having won races with Red Bull up until the termination of his contract at the end of last season. But neither of them have put pen to paper yet and, while that remains the case, it would be foolish of Cadillac to rule out all other options. And it seems they are keeping them open for now, especially amid their original desire to field an American driver if at all possible. Originally, the front-runner in that regard had been IndyCar driver Colton Herta. However, the 25-year-old does not currently qualify for an FIA superlicence which would need to change before he would be eligible to race an F1 car. But another American option has emerged in recent weeks as the Formula 2 title race has taken shape. Sitting third in the championship ahead of this weekend's action at the Hungarian Grand Prix is Jak Crawford, from Charlotte, North Carolina. Previously part of the Red Bull academy set-up, the 20-year-old has been an Aston Martin junior driver since early 2024. But there is no prospect of him being elevated into one of their F1 race seats for 2026, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll already contracted. Speaking to Crawford admitted that he has held talks with Cadillac about a potential switch if he continues his fine progress in F2. "We're trying to find any space on the grid, whether it's with Cadillac or Aston Martin or some other teams," he said. "There have been talks, I've been talking, but it's very slow at the moment. From my side, I just need to do a good job in Formula 2. There's nothing I can do to compete [with the experience of Bottas and Perez]. Actually, the only thing I can do is do well in F2. Other than that, I can't really do anything else."
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton frustrated by ‘extreme' Spa rain call
On Thursday evening in the Ardennes hundreds of team members from various series, drivers, journalists and assorted others gathered on the track at Spa-Francorchamps to 'Run for Anthoine'. The annual event is organised by the Alpine driver Pierre Gasly in memory of his close friend Anthoine Hubert, who died in 2019, at the age of just 22, after a multi-car collision in a wet feature Formula 2 race at Spa. Hubert is far from the only driver to lose his life at the notoriously fast circuit, which is frequently subject to torrential rain. Just four years after his death, Dutch teenager Dilano van 't Hoff was also killed in similar wet conditions. In total there have been 53 fatalities, including the deaths of four marshals, since Spa's opening in 1924. All of which goes a long way to explaining why race control erred on the side of caution when weighing up when to pull the trigger on Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix, which was immediately preceded by torrential rain. To call that caution excessive, however, would be an understatement. For the thousands of bedraggled fans watching from the grandstands, most of whom camp close by in the days leading up to the race, the delay was hugely frustrating. Earlier, they had watched a very entertaining F2 race in similarly damp conditions. Everyone was excited by the prospect of witnessing the world's best drivers try to negotiate the treacherous Spa circuit in the wet. Millions more watching on television probably gave up and went and did something else. The Fagnes chicane proved to be a challenge in our Feature Race at Spa! 👀 #F2 #BelgianGP — Formula 2 (@Formula2) July 27, 2025 It was not a bad call. In the end, what we got was a pretty dull affair. By the time the race finally got under way, behind a safety car, 1hr 20min after the official start time, the track was rapidly drying. Race control still left the safety car out for four laps to clear more of the standing water, with the result that there was a dry line already visible. Race-winner Oscar Piastri needed just four race laps to consider switching to dry tyres and within eight laps of actual racing all the drivers were on slicks, and from then on it was processional. What did the drivers think? Both Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, who have 11 F1 world titles between them, were firmly of the opinion that the race could have started on time at 3pm. 'It was not even raining by then,' Verstappen pointed out. 'OK there was quite a bit of [standing] water between Turns 1 and 5, but two laps behind the safety car then it would have been a lot more clear. So it's a bit of a shame. 'We [Red Bull] made a choice with the set-up for wet weather and then they only allowed us to drive in almost slick conditions! We spoke after [the recent wet-weather race at] Silverstone to be a little bit cautious with the decisions but this was at the other extreme for me.' Hamilton agreed the race could have started on time, although he did say the drivers had to take some of the responsibility following those post-Silverstone chats. Race control was listening to the drivers' feedback as they lapped behind the safety car and nearly all of them, especially those at the back, were complaining it was unsafe. 'Lots of drivers in the last race said we shouldn't have restarted, because of a lack of visibility. So as soon as someone said 'visibility is pretty bad'...it wasn't great but it wasn't as bad as the last race… I think they just waited. 'They still did a good job. Of course we did miss some of the extreme wet-weather racing, which would have been nice.' Fans short-changed No one is saying it is an easy call. Spa is a notoriously dangerous circuit, with an extremely dangerous section between T1 (La Source) and T7 (Les Combes). The drivers go through a compression at Eau Rouge and then up a steep incline on the other side, exiting onto a blind crest onto the Kemmel Straight. Although changes were made following Hubert's death, and there is now more run-off on the left-hand side of Eau Rouge and Raidillon in particular, with the barriers moved back quite significantly, it is still possible for cars to go off, hit the barrier and bounce back onto the racing line. George Russell was probably in the majority of drivers who felt race control got it right. The Mercedes driver, who is a director of the Grand Prix Drivers Association, said it would have been 'stupidity' to begin the race any earlier. 'As a racer, you always want to get going, you love driving in the rain, but the fact is, when you're doing over 200 miles an hour out of Eau Rouge, you literally can't see anything,' Russell said. 'You may as well have a blindfold on. It isn't racing, it's just stupidity. 'So I think, considering it was clearly going to be dry from four o'clock onwards, I think they made the right call.' But an element of danger and risk is also part and parcel of Formula One. Fans were denied what could have been an exciting race on Sunday. If the Spa circuit needs further modifications to make it safer, fine, but they surely ought to be able to race in the wet. Ex-driver Karun Chandhok spoke for millions when he posted on social media a few minutes before the restart: 'Have we just given up on having wet races anymore? They're going to be on slicks in a few minutes!' He was absolutely right.
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Ireland's Alex Dunne sees Belgian victory wiped out by race stewards
Ireland's Alex Dunne had his victory in the Formula 2 race at Spa Francorchamps wiped out after race stewards deemed he had contravened the starting procedure in Sunday's race. The 19-year-old Rodin Motorsport driver started from pole position and held off challenges from Ritomo Miyata and Roman Stanek to win the race on the track. He was later invited into the stewards' room to review his start-up procedure and was handed a 10-second time penalty, dropping him down to ninth in the race standings and seeing him drop from first in the overall driver's standings to fourth. [ Fast and furious rise of Alex Dunne: 'I always wanted to be an F1 driver. I'm not that far away' Opens in new window ] Explaining their actions, the race stewards said: 'After the race, Car 17 was referred to the Stewards by the Technical Delegate for an alleged breach of Article 1.6.1 FIA Formula 2 Technical Regulations, after failing to engage the start-up procedure. READ MORE 'A defined set-up procedure activation must be used during all formation starts and race starts and Car 17's data shows that the driver did not engage the starting procedure. 'The Stewards then spoke to a team representative and the driver and having considered the matter extensively elected to give Dunne a 10-second time penalty in accordance with the FIA F2 penalty guideline. This means he loses the Spa Francorchamps Feature Race victory.' The race win went to Stanek, who finished third on the track, after second-place finisher Arvid Lindblad was later disqualified for a technical infringement.
