Latest news with #FormulaFour
Courier-Mail
08-08-2025
- Automotive
- Courier-Mail
Beat the Blue: F1 hopeful Imogen Radburn to race police at Sydney event
Don't miss out on the headlines from Motoring News. Followed categories will be added to My News. Racing head-to-head with police in front of thousands of people could give a young driver the edge on the road to Formula 1. Imogen Radburn, a racing driver looking to make her mark on the global stage, will join 99 car enthusiasts set to race police at Beat the Blue in Sydney on Saturday. MORE: Cops to race car lovers at Beat the Blue Imogen Radburn races in Formula Four. Photo: Supplied It's part of the 19-year-old's preparation ahead of a driver selection shootout in Europe for the F1 Academy, an international racing series aiming to find women to drive in Formula 1. The pressure of performing in front of a packed crowd at Sydney Motorsport Park could help give her the edge over rival racers in Spain next month. Police to race car lovers NSW Highway Patrol will take on driving enthusiasts at Beat the Blue on Saturday August 9 at Sydney Motorsport Park. Video Player is loading. Play Video This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. X Learn More Loaded : 20.10% 0:00 00:00 / 00:00 Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. 00:49 SUBSCRIBER ONLY Police to race car lovers driving...... more more enthusiasts at Beat the Blue on Saturday August 9 at Sydney Motorsport Park. NSW Highway Patrol will take on ... more 'If you ask me four years ago, 'would I be racing an electric car against the police?' I've never thought that would be a thing,' Radburn says. 'It will be really cool. 'Last year they had over 35,000 people show up … I know I've never raced in front of that many people. I think it will really give me an opportunity to see what it looks like to perform in front of a bigger crowd that I'm used to.' MORE: Aussies 'shafted' in AI move Beat the Blue attracts a strong crowd. Photo: David McCowen Beat the Blue pits car enthusiasts into short races with police on a wet skid pan at Sydney Motorsport Park designed to simulate slippery and dangerous conditions on the road. Free to spectators, the event draws a significant crowd each year. After racing police, car lovers then race each other to determine who is the fastest community driver on the night. MORE: Why cops invited car lovers to race Two-time Beat the Blue winner Reece McIntosh. Photo: Chequered Flag Photography One of those drivers, Reece McIntosh, went on to represent Australia at the 2024 FIA Motorsport Games overseas. Radburn says Beat the Blue, an event organised by NSW Highway Patrol officer Sergeant Steven Planinic and hosted by James Stewart of motoring events company Driving Solutions, is a great way for young drivers to gain exposure. 'What James and Steve has organised with Beat the Blue is a perfect opportunity for us ones that are moving forward in our own careers to really be put in the spotlight and do things that we wouldn't normally do,' she says. MORE: Behind the wheel of Ford's Mustang Mach-E GT Radburn will race in Ford's Mustang Mach-E GT. Radburn will be driving an electric Ford Mustang Mach-E GT in the event. Fellow racer Summer Rintoule will suit up in Ford's Mustang Cup race car, while TV presenter Hamish Blake will take on the cops in a V8-powered Mustang road car. The free event starts at 7pm on Saturday August 9 at Sydney Motorsport Park in Eastern Creek. Mastering the basics with Driving Solutions Brushing up on essential driving skills with Driving Solutions, Danielle Collis shares what she learned. Video Player is loading. Play Video This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. X Learn More Loaded : 17.02% 0:00 00:00 / 00:00 Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. 00:58 SUBSCRIBER ONLY Mastering the basics with Driving Solutions more more with Driving Solutions, from emergency braking to off-road challenges, because having fun in cars is only fun if you don't crash them! Reporter Danielle Collis shares what she learned. Brushing up on essential driving skills...... ... more It includes a drone display, car show, motorcycle skills showcase and kids' activities including electric go karts. While Beat the Blue is a fun night out for Sydney families, racers like Radburn take the opportunity seriously. David McCowen in action with the Toyota Yaris at Beat the Blue. Photo: Celebrate Photography. The high-stakes knockout competition is not a world away from the F1 Academy shootout that could deliver her dream drive on the Formula 1 calendar with Rodin Motorsport next year. 'I think every girl in the world has seen this massive opportunity and was like 'I need to do this', and it's awesome that they are, but it's getting harder and harder to get in,' she says. The F1 Academy races on the same circuits as Formula 1. Photo:'I've made it to the final shootout. 'They've never had this sort of shootout process before so I'm not really sure how it will go, but I just know that I'm 110 per cent ready. 'I've gotta put my best performance forward.' Originally published as Imogen Radburn racing cops on the road to F1
New York Times
26-03-2025
- Automotive
- New York Times
Talks progressing for Yuki Tsunoda to replace Liam Lawson at Red Bull after just two races
Yuki Tsunoda looks set to replace the struggling Liam Lawson at Red Bull just two races into the new Formula One season amid ongoing talks at the team. Talks are progressing for Tsunoda, 24, to make his Red Bull debut at the Japanese Grand Prix next weekend — also his home race — alongside Max Verstappen, and for Lawson to return to Racing Bulls. Advertisement Although the plans are still to be finalized, any move for Tsunoda to make the jump up to the Red Bull car would also be supported by Honda, his long-term backer and Red Bull's engine supplier. It emerged over the Chinese Grand Prix weekend that senior Red Bull management were already mulling a swap between Tsunoda, who races for Red Bull's sister team, Racing Bulls, and Lawson after the New Zealander's rough start to life with the team. Honda first gave support to Tsunoda when he was racing in Formula Four, the lowest level of single-seater car racing, through to him becoming Japan's first full-time F1 driver in seven years when he debuted in 2021. Honda also owns the Suzuka circuit where the Japanese Grand Prix is held. This will be the final Japanese Grand Prix where Honda is a Red Bull partner ahead of its switch to become Aston Martin's engine supplier from next year. Red Bull already had a public show run event planned in Tokyo for next week ahead of the race weekend, which would now likely mark Tsunoda's first public outing in Red Bull Racing colors if terms can be nailed down in the coming days. Red Bull has always operated with contracts that allow it to swap drivers between its two teams. In 2016, it dropped Daniil Kvyat back to Toro Rosso (now known as Racing Bulls) after just four races so it could promote Verstappen to its senior team. Verstappen won on debut for Red Bull in Spain. The team made a similar move in 2019 by swapping Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon after 12 races due to Gasly's poor form. Albon would retain the seat for a year and a half before being dropped in favor of Sergio Perez. Lawson was named as Perez's replacement at the end of last year after Red Bull reached an agreement to terminate the Mexican driver's contract for 2025 due to his dwindling form. The decision to overlook Tsunoda for the seat was put down to the belief that Lawson had greater potential. Advertisement But Lawson, who had just 11 race starts to his name compared to Tsunoda's five seasons of experience on the F1 grid, has struggled to get to grips with the notoriously difficult Red Bull car. He qualified 18th in Australia before finishing last in qualifying for both the sprint and main race in China. On average, he has lapped 0.880 seconds slower than Verstappen in the three qualifying sessions. Speaking on Sunday after the race in China, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said it was the team's 'duty' to support Lawson and help rebuild his confidence. But he failed to confirm that Lawson would be in the car for Suzuka, instead saying the team would go away and review all of the available data about his performance. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)
