Latest news with #RacingBulls
Pink Villa
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull exit era comes with a love story: Meet his girlfriend Heidi Berger
Daniel Ricciardo's post-Red Bull chapter has not gone the way fans hoped. After struggling through a tough stint at McLaren, a brief return to the grid, and then being dropped by the Racing Bulls in late 2024, Ricciardo's F1 career appears to have run its course. Off-track, however, the Australian driver has found something far more stable—a long-running relationship with Austrian-Portuguese actress Heidi Berger, who has quietly built a name for herself in entertainment while staying connected to the world of racing. Born into racing, built for something else Heidi Berger is no stranger to fast cars or world-famous circuits. She's the daughter of Austrian F1 veteran Gerhard Berger, who competed in over 200 Grand Prix races across 14 seasons. Her mother, Ana Corvo, was a model in Portugal, which partly explains Heidi's blend of camera comfort and international flair. Despite her racing lineage, Heidi did not take to the track herself. Instead, she pursued acting, appearing in several Portuguese-language television series in her early 20s. Born on April 4, 1997, in Monte Carlo, Monaco, the 28-year-old is still working in the industry, although she has taken a step back from constant screen work in recent years. Besides the silver screen, Berger's Instagram feed tells the story of a woman who loves to travel. From surfing in Hawaii and exploring the beaches of Spain to hiking in the Alps and dates with Ricciardo on Venetian waters, the Ludwig actress has been all over the world. Private, but not invisible Ricciardo first hinted at their relationship on Instagram in 2022. A photo carousel simply titled 'Us' kicked off the speculation. By 2023, the couple went official: showing up at weddings, appearing at select F1 races, and sharing vacation snapshots from Japan and Europe. While Daniel's public life has always revolved around engines and podiums, Heidi stays relatively low-profile. Still, Ricciardo once told Fizy & Wippa, 'I got a good thing going.' That was all fans needed to hear about their relationship. So, who is Heidi Berger? An actress, a traveler, and a daughter of F1 royalty. She's someone who is not defined by who she's dating, even if it's Daniel Ricciardo.
BBC News
a day ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Could Horner end up at another F1 team?
The big news in Formula 1 last week was Christian Horner being sacked as team principal by Red had been in charge of the Red Bull team since their inception in 2005, leading them to eight drivers' titles and six constructors' championships.A statement released on 9 July said: "Red Bull has released Christian Horner from his operational duties with effect from today."He has been replaced as team principal and chief executive of Red Bull Racing by Laurent Mekies, who has been promoted from second team Racing Sport F1 correspondent Andrew Benson answers your latest questions. What role will Christian Horner play at Red Bull in the future? The Red Bull statement says he has been removed from his operational duties (but not released totally)? - MikeFirst, let's clear up what Red Bull has and has not Bull said that it had "released Christian Horner from his operational duties".It made no other statement about Horner's employment situation. Horner did that himself, by saying in his farewell speech to Red Bull staff: "I will still remain employed by the company, but, operationally, the baton will be handed over."This does not mean Horner will still have a role to play at Red Bull in the future. He won't. His involvement with Red Bull is has been fired as team principal and chief executive officer of the F1 team, and as soon as a severance deal is negotiated he will no longer even be technically may take some time to finalise. But any links or influence Horner has with or over Red Bull are finished. There's a lot of talk about the influence that the Verstappen camp have at Red Bull. How has Jos Verstappen, a racing driver's father who isn't on the company pay roll, been able to become so influential in its running? - NeilJos Verstappen's involvement with Red Bull begins and ends with the fact that he is Max Verstappen's father and part of the three-person group that makes decisions on the four-time world champion's career - that's Max himself, Jos and Raymond Vermeulen, their that does not mean Jos Verstappen had any involvement in Red Bull's decision to fire Horner as their F1 team decision was made by Oliver Mintzlaff, Red Bull's chief executive officer of corporate projects and investments, with support from the Thai main shareholder Chalerm Yoovidhya. Mark Mateschitz - son of the late co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz, who took over his father's 49% shareholding - will also have had a was Yoovidhya who saved Horner in February last year, in the wake of a female employee making allegations of sexual harassment and coercive, controlling behaviour against him. Red Bull held two internal investigations, both of which rejected the and Mintzlaff have known for at least a year and a half that Jos Verstappen disliked Horner and that he believed the team would continue to be damaged if Horner remained in not why Horner was fired. He was fired because, in addition to Mintzlaff and Mateschitz being cool on him for a fair while, he lost the support of Chalerm. This seems to have come about following a meeting of Red Bull hierarchy in Dubai about five or six weeks details of what happened and why are still murky, but a number of factors seem to have been was pushing back against the views of Red Bull bosses, as would be expected of someone who had a desire for ultimate team's performance had declined and there were no signs that Horner knew how to fix it. A series of senior personnel had left. And the sexual harassment allegations remain the elephant in the room - it is not clear how they will ultimately resolve all that up, and it seems Mintzlaff decided enough was enough, and Chalerm was not minded to protect Horner any longer. Do you think Christian Horner will join Alpine as team principal? He's apparently a great friend of [executive adviser] Flavio Briatore. - CarolSince Horner was removed from his position at Red Bull, there have been suggestions in some quarters that he would be very attractive to a number of other teams in is one idea that is doing the rounds, although they have just signed Steve Nielsen as managing director - ie, de facto team principal - to start work in has come up again. And there is the question of whether he could return as a co-owner somewhere - Alpine, for example, is said to have about a 20% shareholding up for is Horner as attractive an option as some have suggested?He has been a very successful team principal at Red Bull - the team have won eight drivers' titles, six constructors' titles and 124 grands prix under his there is no question that Red Bull under Horner had a fleetness of foot and improvisational aggression that quite often left their rivals any team wanting to employ him will have to weigh that against potential downsides, many of which were involved in the reasons for Red Bull removing Horner typically wants total control. But you can't have total control as a team principal if the team you are running is part of a wider at Alpine, for example, he would ultimately be answerable to Renault's board. At Ferrari, to chairman John Elkann and CEO Benedetto Vigna. Ultimately, the power would rest with them, not Horner. Could he stomach that?Then there is the question as to whether a single leader is still as impactful in F1 these at McLaren, for example, and the success they have had with chief executive officer Zak Brown in charge, but focusing mainly on the commercial side, and Andrea Stella as team principal with responsibility for running the team wanted to do all that - and more - there is the fact that Red Bull were clearly in decline under Horner.A Horner-led Red Bull without design chief Adrian Newey has not looked anywhere near the force it used to then there are the allegations still hanging over Bull might have cleared him in two separate internal investigations. But outside Red Bull there has been no conclusion to that episode. Until the outcome of that is known, any company that employs Horner is taking a significant reputational risk. As a Sauber fan since my first trip to Silverstone in 1993, what's been the reasons behind the recent uptick in form and the unforgettable moment of Nico Hulkenberg finally getting his podium? - AndrewThere are two parts to this answer. One is Sauber's improved competitiveness, and the other is Hulkenberg the car. Sauber have introduced upgrades at the Spanish, Austrian and British Grands key one was a new floor for Spain, aimed at producing downforce across a wider range of conditions. There were tweaks to this floor in Austria, and again in Silverstone, along with various wing changes front and Hulkenberg drove well to what would have been ninth in Spain before benefiting from new softs after the late safety car to vault to an excellent of course there was his superb third in Silverstone - his first podium - founded on making the right tyre choices at exactly the right time in the changing Spain, Sauber have been the fourth highest scoring team, and Hulkenberg the sixth best scoring driver, and Sauber have vaulted up to sixth in the constructors' there are the improvements in race operations - such as much better pit stops - since Jonathan Wheatley arrived from Red Bull as team the first time since Audi announced it was buying Sauber as the foundation for its factory entry to F1 in 2026, the team has begun to show real promise. The rain at Silverstone was bad enough to trigger a safety car, but still nobody chose to use the wet tyre. What exactly is wrong with it, and what will Pirelli do about it? - TimFor years, the extreme wet supplied by Pirelli was derided as a 'safety-car tyre' - good only for use behind the safety was because it was not a particularly good tyre, while the intermediate was. So drivers wanted to be on the intermediate as soon as possible, simply because it was faster in nearly all Pirelli has revised the extreme for this year and it is a much better tyre than said that, the inter will always be preferred simply because it is much more flexible - it can be used in quite heavy rain right up to when it's almost wet may provide more grip when it's very wet, but the extra flexibility of the inter will always win out if the conditions are variable, as they were at Silverstone.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Automotive
- RNZ News
F1: Liam Lawson gets backing from former team-mate
New Zealand driver Nick Cassidy celebrates at a Formula E race. Photo: Joao Filipe / PHOTOSPORT New Zealand F1 driver Liam Lawson has the backing of a former team-mate. Lawson is currently enjoying a mid championship break following a challenging first half of the season. After being dumped by Red Bull after just two races of the 2025 season, the 23-year-old Kiwi is starting to show some consistency with junior team Racing Bulls. Lawson's former team-mate in the German Touring Car Championship, fellow New Zealander Nick Cassidy, is backing him and believes he is making progress. "People in motorsport have short memories," Cassidy told RacingNews365. Lawson had his best result of the season, a sixth place finish at the Austrian Grand Prix last month, but failed to finish last week's British Grand Prix when he was hit on the first lap. Cassidy, who competes in Formula E for Jaguar, said he is pleased to see improvement in Lawson. "I think it took probably some adjustment for him going to the Red Bull car and then back to Racing Bulls as well. New Zealand Racing Bulls F1 driver Liam Lawson, 2025. Photo: ANTONIN VINCENT / AFP "I caught up with him recently, and I think he's quite happy with some of the changes they've been making on setup and development to suit him, and it's been a little bit obvious in the last two weekends, the lift in form. "And so I really hope he can keep that going. And you know, the Formula 1 calendar, it is long and people in motorsport have short memories. "I'm sure he has the opportunity to really turn it around, and the talent to turn it around. So all the best to him for that," Cassidy told RacingNews365. Cassidy and Lawson both drove for Ferrari during the 2021 DTM (German Touring Car Championship). Cassidy won a Formula E race in Berlin at the weekend and is fifth in the standings with one round remaining. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- Automotive
- NZ Herald
Liam Lawson's Red Bull future about more than just results
While it would have been hoped that 2025 would be Lawson's year – having held off both Yuki Tsunoda and Sergio Perez to be named a Red Bull driver – it's been anything but. Struggles in Melbourne and Shanghai instead convinced Red Bull that they'd been too hasty in promoting the 23-year-old, moving him back to Racing Bulls, their junior side. Liam Lawson has been tipped to be in line for a contract extension. Photo / Red Bull Since then, he's had to rebuild – and at the halfway point of the season, he's doing just that. From 12 races, 10 of them with Racing Bulls, Lawson sits 16th in the drivers championship after points finishes in Monaco and Austria. In comparison, teammate Isack Hadjar is 11th in his rookie season, nine points clear of Lawson. It's for that reason, though, that Hadjar appears the front-runner for promotion to Red Bull ahead of the Kiwi, at a time when the team are seeking certainty from soon-to-be-former world champion Max Verstappen. On the surface, Lawson has been outperformed by Hadjar at every turn. While Lawson has two points finishes, the 20-year-old rookie has five, even if he's not scored since crossing the line seventh in Spain. But what Lawson adds away from the track is where his value truly lies. Since signing with Red Bull as a 17-year-old, Lawson has consistently proven to be a world-class hand in aiding in car development. As both a test and reserve driver, Red Bull are understood to have been impressed with how Lawson is able to understand a car's strengths and weaknesses, and where improvements can be made. Yuki Tsunoda (left) and Liam Lawson were teammates in 2024. Photo / Red Bull It's part of the reason why he was promoted to Red Bull – perhaps prematurely – ahead of Tsunoda at the end of 2024, after the call was made to drop Perez. However, it's what Lawson has added to Racing Bulls this year that's seen his true value come to the fore. Since moving back, Lawson has acted as a mentor for Hadjar, as the team's senior figure, and taken on a leadership role within the environment. That leadership has increased Lawson's value within both Red Bull and Racing Bulls, and will come to the fore in the future, as teenage sensation Arvid Lindblad is lined up to step up from Formula Two in 2026. It does, though, lead to questions about Lawson's long-term future with Red Bull. Pierre Gasly was used in a similar role after his demotion from Red Bull to then-Toro Rosso in 2019. There, he mentored Tsunoda from 2021, until he departed for Alpine at the end of 2023. Pierre Gasly's (left) fate could hold lessons for Liam Lawson. Photo / Don Kennedy Having Gasly as a senior figure helped Tsunoda adjust to the rigours of Formula One, before his eventual promotion to Red Bull at Lawson's expense earlier this year. But if Lawson's role is now to simply be a pillar of support to Red Bull's up-and-coming talent – a tag he himself used to hold – how long will he give himself before looking elsewhere? Lawson has always been adamant he wants to be a world champion – and that he wants to do it with Red Bull. However, if – like Gasly – he's deemed more of an asset in the junior team, only Lawson himself can decide if the juice is worth the squeeze. Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Christian Horner locked in £50m Red Bull settlement talks
Christian Horner could be in line for a pay-off worth in excess of £50 million from Red Bull following his shock dismissal on Wednesday. The 51-year-old was ' released from his operational duties ' after 20 years at the helm of the Milton Keynes-based team, although he remains an employee for the time being while lawyers thrash out the terms of his settlement. Horner's contract is believed to run for another five-and-a-half years, until the end of 2030. The latest accounts for Red Bull Technology Ltd show the remuneration for its highest-paid director, understood to be Horner, rose from £8.04 million in 2022 to £8.92 million in 2023. That was an 11 per cent rise and cemented his status as the highest-paid team principal on the grid. But it is a salary that is almost certain to have risen again since then, with the team having won the drivers' title in 2024. During Horner's time in charge, Red Bull have won eight drivers' world championships, six constructors' titles and 124 races, and in 2023 the team came within one race of winning every grand prix in a single season. If his lawyers push for his contract to be paid up in full, they could be looking at anywhere up to £60 million. And there may be other income streams or bonuses which would have been paid had Horner remained in position. Horner was responsible for bringing in many of the team's partnerships across both Red Bull and sister team Racing Bulls. Red Bull's lawyers will push back, arguing he is likely to find work in the interim. Horner will almost certainly be in demand from teams given his track record. Although he was damaged by the 'sexting' scandal that erupted last year, he has been cleared by two investigations after he was accused by a female employee of coercive behaviour, which he has always denied. Where could Horner return? You could make a case for any number of teams to approach him. From Alpine, who are run by Flavio Briatore, with whom Horner enjoys a good relationship, to Aston Martin, whose owner Lawrence Stroll is fiercely ambitious and desperate to put his team at the front of the grid, to Ferrari, who have been linked with Horner in the past and whose current team principal Fred Vasseur is the subject of fierce scrutiny in Italy. He is unlikely to be able to speak to any of them for a long while, pending the terms of his settlement, the value of which is yet to be determined. No reason was given by Red Bull for his sacking on Wednesday, but it appears Horner lost out in a power struggle with Red Bull's parent company in Austria, who want more control of the team, as well as with Jos Verstappen, the father of his star driver, the four-time world champion Max. Faced with the prospect of losing Verstappen to a rival, and with the team currently enduring a leaner spell on track and a poisonous atmosphere off it, Red Bull's overlords acted. Despite last year's two investigations, there is no suggestion that Horner lost his job on misconduct grounds, which could affect any settlement figure. The team have been fulsome in their praise of Horner on social media, while Oliver Mintzlaff, a CEO at Red Bull GmbH, also released a glowing statement in the wake of Wednesday's bombshell. 'We would like to thank Christian Horner for his exceptional work over the last 20 years,' Mintzlaff said. 'With his tireless commitment, experience, expertise and innovative thinking, he has been instrumental in establishing Red Bull Racing as one of the most successful and attractive teams in Formula One. Thank you for everything, Christian, and you will forever remain an important part of our team history.' On Thursday, Dr Helmut Marko, Red Bull's motorsport advisor, and another man with whom Horner has had a strained relationship over the last 18 months, released his own statement. 'Christian and I have worked together very successfully for over 20 years – both in Formula One and in Formula 3000,' Marko said. 'I would like to sincerely thank Christian for that. During this time, we were able to celebrate an incredible number of outstanding achievements. We helped develop two world drivers' champions and several grand prix winners. That has always been – and still is – the Red Bull way. 'As for the current sporting situation: there are still 12 races to go, and we will continue to fight for the drivers' championship as long as it's mathematically possible.' Horner's replacement, Laurent Mekies, met with Red Bull mechanics on Thursday during a filming day at Silverstone that the team had already scheduled before the sudden exit of their former team principal. Mekies, who has assumed the role of CEO and team principal of Red Bull Racing, hailed the success of the team and stressed that they would all have a role to play in getting back to the front of the grid. It followed an address from Mintzlaff who was also at Silverstone. 'I look at this team as most outside look at them, we see the very best people in the world at what they do,' Mekies said. 'That's what this team is, even from being a competitor previously you look at Red Bull Racing as being the sharpest team, having managed to accumulate the best talent to work together. 'It is a privilege to join the team and the focus will be on making sure all the talented people here have what they need to perform at their best, because they are already the very best. We will be focusing on that and making sure the Red Bull energy is flowing through the team. We are not underestimating the challenge ahead, we will need everybody and we will go about it together and I am sure with everyone's contributions we will tackle this challenge.'
