Latest news with #TurnOne
Daily Mirror
21-04-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
George Russell goes red with embarrassment after awkward comment to female journalist
George Russell was in a playful mood after securing P3 in qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix but was told to 'have some decorum' by Natalie Pinkham after an awkward interview Mercedes star George Russell couldn't help but chuckle during his Sky Sports post-qualifying chat at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, thanks to a humorous slip of the tongue discussing tyre strategy. The 27-year-old driver had just scored a P3 start on the grid at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, coming in right behind the pole position nabbed by Max Verstappen and eventual winner Oscar Piastri in P2. Piastri was a hair's breadth away from the top spot, missing it by only a tenth of a second. Meanwhile, Lando Norris took P10 after a crash curtailed his first Q3 attempt. As Russell touched on the potential tyre choices for the opposition, he amusingly said Norris would "put the hard on" straight out of the gates, reports the Express. The Brit quickly clocked the double entendre, pausing with an amused grin before playfully calling out a crew member off-camera for smiling and unwittingly disrupting his flow. Handing back to Natalie Pinkham, the Sky Sports F1 presenter couldn't resist teasing Russell, advising him light-heartedly to "have some decorum." Overall, Russell was uncertain about his P3 starting grid position, shining some light on how small the margins for error are during qualifying sessions. "I'm a little bit mixed feelings, to be honest, because I went quite conservative on my out-lap with my tyres," explained Mercedes lead Russell. "Because it was my one and only lap and I had no banker on the board, I just felt that if I made a small mistake at Turn One or a lock-up, I'd have been down in P10. "And usually, your last lap in Q3, you're fully, fully sending it. I thought I needed to go a bit hotter with my tyres, just to ensure there's no mistakes at Turn One, and it cost me in the last sector. "I lost a tenth and a half from myself on the last sector. The lap otherwise was great. It's thrilling around here, and you're so close to a mistake at any point. But P3 is probably more than we could have hoped for." McLaren's Piastri continued his dominant start to the Formula 1 season with another win at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, with pole-sitter Verstappen having to settle for P2 on the back of a key penalty. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc completed the podium in third, whilst Norris lost ground at the Drivers' Championship table's summit as he could only muster P4 - a valiant effort from a P10 start. Russell, on the other hand, surrendered his second-row beginnings to only land in P5, with young team-mate Kimi Antonelli coming in just behind him, but ahead of ex-Mercedes man and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in P7.
Gulf Today
21-04-2025
- Automotive
- Gulf Today
Piastri triumphs at Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to take lead in F1 title race
Oscar Piastri won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday to seize the lead in the Formula One world championship from McLaren team-mate Lando Norris with his third win in five races. Red Bull's four-times champion Max Verstappen was runner-up, 2.843 seconds behind the Australian, after starting from pole at Jeddah's Corniche circuit but collecting a five-second penalty for a first corner clash with Piastri. Charles Leclerc was third for Ferrari's first podium of the campaign and Norris clawed his way from 10th on the grid to fourth. Victory made Piastri, triumphant in Bahrain last weekend and China last month, the first Australian to lead the championship since his manager Mark Webber in 2010 and also the first back-to-back winner this season. Oscar Piastri celebrates after winning. AP He now leads Norris, whose race was heavily compromised by a crash in qualifying, by 10 points after starting the night three behind. Piastri has 99 points to Norris's 89 and Verstappen's 87. Champions McLaren stretched their lead over Mercedes in the constructors' standings to 77 points. "It was a pretty tough race. I'm very, very happy to have won. Made the difference at the start. Made my case into Turn One, and that was enough," said the happy winner. "Definitely one of the toughest races I've had in my career," he added after 50 laps in 30 degree temperatures around a super-fast track. George Russell was fifth for Mercedes with Italian teammate Kimi Antonelli sixth and seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton seventh for Ferrari. Williams had Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon eighth and ninth with Racing Bulls' French rookie Isack Hadjar the final points scorer in 10th. There was immediate controversy at the start as Verstappen and Piastri went side-by-side into the first corner, with the Red Bull emerging ahead after cutting across the runoff. Oscar Piastri celebrates on the podium. AFP "He needs to give that back, I was ahead," Piastri told McLaren over the team radio. "He was never going to make that corner regardless of whether he was there or not." Verstappen gave his version in similar fashion to Red Bull: "He just forced me off, there was no intention of him to make that corner." Stewards decided the champion was at fault and handed him the penalty, with Verstappen reacting by saying sarcastically "Oh, that is lovely'. Red Bull boss Christian Horner did not let it lie after the chequered flag either, complimenting Verstappen and adding: "That first corner we've all got our opinions on". The safety car continued a sequence of appearing at all five races in Saudi Arabia so far with an appearance at the end of the opening lap after Verstappen's teammate Yuki Tsunoda and Alpine's Pierre Gasly collided and crashed. Both drivers retired, Tsunoda after getting his car back to the pits. The former champions, who last won a title in 1997, have made a strong start to the campaign and are sixth overall, one point behind Haas after four of 24 races. Spaniard Sainz has joined from Ferrari alongside Thai teammate Alex Albon and Williams have scored more points already this season than in all of 2024, but wind tunnel work is now all about next year. Vowles told reporters at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that the strategy was fully backed by the team's owners, even if it cost championship points and affected prize money payouts in the short term. "If you want to win there is only one way to win, and you can't get caught in the now," he said. "We were in a mess because we were short-termist all the way through the last 20 years. Some of it financially driven, some of it driven by other elements. "It's hard for fans to understand why we're doing this but our targets are actually around introduction of infrastructure, technology systems ... how long it takes to build a front wing, how expensive it is. Agencies
Dubai Eye
21-04-2025
- Automotive
- Dubai Eye
Verstappen bites his tongue after Jeddah penalty
Max Verstappen bit his tongue to stay out of trouble after clearly disagreeing with Formula One stewards over a costly Saudi Arabian Grand Prix penalty on Sunday. Red Bull's four times world champion started on pole and finished second, 2.8 seconds behind McLaren's winner Oscar Piastri, after getting a five second penalty for a first corner incident. He and Piastri raced into the corner, with Verstappen running wide and staying ahead before being penalised for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Team principal Christian Horner said the penalty was very harsh, producing a photograph for reporters to back up his argument. "I don't know where Max was supposed to go at that first corner. We've lost the race by 2.8 seconds, so it's tough," he said. Verstappen was reluctant to talk about it. "Start happened, Turn One happened, and suddenly it was lap 50. It just all went super-fast," he said when asked for his take on the start. "The problem is that I cannot share my opinion about it because I might get penalised also, so it's better not to speak about it." Asked later whether he felt frustrated at not feeling able to speak out, he said: "It's just the world we live in. You can't share your opinion because it's not appreciated apparently, or people can't handle the full truth. "Honestly, it's better if I don't say too much. It also saves my time because we already have to do so much. It's honestly just how everything is becoming. "Everyone is super sensitive about everything. And what we have currently, we cannot be critical anyway. So less talking, even better for me." Verstappen was ordered to do "work of public interest" after swearing during a Singapore Grand Prix press conference in September. The Dutch driver served it in Rwanda before the governing FIA's prize-giving gala in Kigali. The FIA published amendments to the sporting code in January to set out stiff sanctions for drivers who break the rules concerning conduct.
Dubai Eye
21-04-2025
- Automotive
- Dubai Eye
Piastri takes Formula One title lead from Norris
Oscar Piastri won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday and seized the Formula One championship lead from McLaren teammate Lando Norris with his third win in five races. Red Bull's four-times champion Max Verstappen was runner-up, 2.843 seconds behind the Australian, after starting from pole at Jeddah's Corniche circuit, with Charles Leclerc taking Ferrari's first podium of 2025 in third. Norris finished fourth, after racing back from 10th. Verstappen's plan unravelled within seconds of the start when he and Piastri went wheel-to-wheel into the first corner, with the champion running wide to stay ahead and collecting a five second penalty that he served in the pits. "It was a pretty tough race. I'm very, very happy to have won. Made the difference at the start. Made my case into Turn One, and that was enough," said Piastri after 50 laps in 30 degree heat. "Definitely one of the toughest races I've had in my career." Victory made Piastri, triumphant in Bahrain last weekend and China last month, the first Australian to lead the championship since his manager Mark Webber in 2010 and also the first back-to-back winner this season. He now leads Norris, whose race was heavily compromised by a crash in qualifying,by 10 points after starting the night three behind. Piastri has 99 points to Norris's 89 and Verstappen's 87. Champions McLaren stretched their lead over Mercedes in the constructors' standings to 77 points. "I'm not bothered that I am leading the world championship but I am proud of the hard work we have done to get here. I want to be leading the championship after round 24, not round five," said the Australian. George Russell was fifth for Mercedes with Italian teammate Kimi Antonelli sixth and seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton seventh for Ferrari. Williams had Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon eighth and ninth with Racing Bulls' French rookie Isack Hadjar the final points scorer in 10th.
TimesLIVE
21-04-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Verstappen bites his tongue after costly Jeddah time penalty
Max Verstappen bit his tongue to stay out of trouble after clearly disagreeing with Formula One stewards over a costly Saudi Arabian Grand Prix penalty on Sunday. Red Bull's four-time world champion started on pole and finished second, 2.8 seconds behind McLaren's winner Oscar Piastri, after getting a five-second penalty for a first corner incident. He and Piastri raced into the corner, with Verstappen running wide and staying ahead before being penalised for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Team principal Christian Horner said the penalty was very harsh, producing a photograph for reporters to back up his argument. 'I don't know where Max was supposed to go at that first corner. We've lost the race by 2.8 seconds, so it's tough,' he said. Verstappen was reluctant to talk about it. 'Start happened, Turn One happened, and suddenly it was lap 50. It just all went superfast,' he said when asked for his take on the start. 'The problem is that I cannot share my opinion about it because I might get penalised also, so it's better not to speak about it.' Asked later whether he felt frustrated at not feeling able to speak out, he said: 'It's just the world we live in. You can't share your opinion because it's not appreciated apparently, or people can't handle the full truth. 'Honestly, it's better if I don't say too much. It also saves my time because we already have to do so much. It's honestly just how everything is becoming. 'Everyone is super sensitive about everything. And what we have currently, we cannot be critical anyway. So less talking, even better for me.' Verstappen was ordered to do 'work of public interest' after swearing during a Singapore Grand Prix press conference in September. The Dutch driver served it in Rwanda before the governing FIA's prize-giving gala in Kigali. The FIA published amendments to the sporting code in January to set out stiff sanctions for drivers who break the rules concerning conduct.
