F1

Formula 1 has condemned three-time world champion Nelson Piquet for using racially abusive language about Lewis Hamilton. The 69-year-old Brazilian, who won the world title in 1981, 1983 and 1987, used a racially offensive term in referring to Hamilton on a podcast. An F1 statement said: "Discriminatory or racist language is unacceptable in any form and has no part in society. "Lewis is an incredible ambassador for our sport and deserves respect." It added: "His tireless efforts to increase diversity and inclusion are

Red Bull's Max Verstappen held off Carlos Sainz's charging Ferrari to win the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday and surge 46 points clear in the Formula One world championship after his 150th race. The 24-year-old Dutch driver took his 26th career win 0.9 of a second ahead of Spaniard Sainz,who closed the gap and set up a thrilling final chase thanks to a safety car deployment. Seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton completed the podium for Mercedes in a remarkable turnaround for the

Team by team analysis of Sunday's inaugural Saudi Arabian Formula One Grand Prix in Jeddah (in current championship order): MERCEDES (Lewis Hamilton 1, Valtteri Bottas 3) Hamilton started on pole initially and took the 103rd win of his career, third in a row and eighth of the season to level on points with Verstappen, who still leads on race wins. He also set the fastest lap. Bottas, in his 100th race for Mercedes, took third from Ocon by 30 metres in a dash

Lewis Hamilton stayed onside with his Brazilian fans on Wednesday by calling up soccer star Neymar ahead of a big weekend for the Briton's bid for a record eighth Formula One championship. The Mercedes driver told reporters he hoped to watch his friend in a World Cup qualifier between five times champions Brazil and Colombia at the home of Sao Paulo's Corinthians on Thursday night. "I'm very much in contact with Neymar, quite often, we were just talking actually earlier today," explained the

Leading Formula One drivers defended the popular Netflix (NFLX.O) "Drive to Survive" fly-on-the-wall series on Thursday after Red Bull's championship leader Max Verstappen said he was snubbing it because he felt some of the rivalries were "faked". The docu-series, now filming its fourth season, has been credited as a big factor in fuelling the sport's growth in the United States. Dutch 24-year-old Verstappen earlier told the Associated Press that he recognised the importance of the series but did not like being a part

Lewis Hamilton took a new element in his engine and dropped 10 places on the grid at the Turkish GP, Mercedes won't rule out a fifth Power Unit depending on points battle against Max Verstappen; six races to go in 2021, starting with United States GP Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has explained the reliability concerns that led to Lewis Hamilton taking a new engine at the Turkish GP, and is not ruling out another switch and grid penalty before the end of the

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc will start this weekend's Russian Grand Prix from the back of the grid as a result of using a new, upgraded engine. The new power-unit features a revised hybrid system that provides a significant performance upgrade. Leclerc has already used his permitted number of engines this season so a new one means an automatic grid penalty. His Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz will continue with the old-specification hybrid system. The Spaniard will receive the upgraded engine at an unspecified point later

LONDON: Local hero Charles Leclerc went from last to first on home town streets to lead a stunning Ferrari one-two in a red-flagged second Monaco Grand Prix practice on Thursday. The 23-year-old Monegasque, born and bred in the Mediterranean principality, lapped the metal-fenced layout with a best time of one minute 11.684 seconds in the afternoon session. Leclerc, who has yet to score a point on home territory, had managed only four laps in the morning sunshine before being sidelined by a gearbox

Christian Horner has told that he was "delighted" to lure Ben Hodgkinson away from rivals Mercedes, but says Andy Cowell - who left the F1 world champions earlier this year - is unlikely to be joining Red Bull's "tremendously exciting" engine project. Red Bull made a big statement last Friday when they announced the hiring of Hodgkinson as technical director for their new engine programme, given his two-decades worth of experience for Mercedes' Powertrains division. In an interview with Sky Sports News' Craig

Sebastian Vettel revealed on Thursday he had named his new Aston Martin AMR21 Formula One car ‘Honey Ryder’ after the character played by Ursula Andress in the 1962 James Bond movie ‘Dr No’. The film was the first of a long-running film franchise featuring the fictional British secret agent famed for his love of gadget-filled Aston Martins, and Honey Ryder was the first ‘Bond Girl’. Ironically, Bond’s first car in ‘Dr No’ was a Sunbeam Alpine Series II, with the Aston Martin DB5

LONDON: Lewis Hamilton will be fired up for a fight with Max Verstappen this season, but Formula 1's most successful driver may be in no rush to commit to 2022, according to 1996 world champion Damon Hill. Mercedes driver Hamilton can win a record eighth world championship having equalled Ferrari great Michael Schumacher's seven. The 36-year-old Briton is also set to become the first driver to win 100 grands prix, his tally now on 95, but his latest contract runs only to the

First day of pre-season testing delivers surprise as world champions Mercedes endure difficult start with new W12 car; Max Verstappen two tenths ahead of Lando Norris at head of timesheet in the new Red Bull; Ferrari also hit early reliability trouble Red Bull's Max Verstappen led McLaren's Lando Norris on the opening day of 2021 testing in Bahrain as world champions Mercedes endured an uncharacteristically difficult start to pre-season with their new car. At the start of F1's shortened three-day track build-up to

Changes to the F1 schedule confirmed for the 2021 season with races to again start at the top of the hour and Friday's two practice sessions reduced from 90 to 60 minutes apiece; first race in Bahrain on March 28 will start at 4pm in UK Formula 1 races will revert to starting at the top of the hour in the 2021 season, the sport has formally confirmed, while Friday practice track time has been cut by an hour. Grands Prix had started