Paddy Driver

The inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will take place in Jeddah later this year as part of a 10-year deal for the nation to stage an F1 race, with a view to moving to the new entertainment city of Qiddiya in the future.<br>But the decision to hold a race in Saudi Arabia has led to criticism from bodies such as Amnesty International, which said the event would “be part of ongoing efforts to ...

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Russell was given a three-place grid drop for the British GP after tangling with Carlos Sainz on the first lap of the Saturday sprint event.<br>Although the FIA stewards have often taken a “let them race approach” to first-lap incidents, both the Russell/Sainz tangle and the following day’s lap one clash between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton led to penalties.<br>Russell said that the ...

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Amid speculation that George Russell will graduate from Williams to partner Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes next season, with current incumbent Valtteri Bottas linked to Alfa Romeo, 2019 FIA Formula 2 champion de Vries has been tipped as a potential replacement for Russell.<br>Fellow Mercedes F1 reserve driver Vandoorne has also entered the frame for the seat in a move that would see him reunite with ...

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In recent seasons there has been a relatively lenient approach to first-lap incidents, with drivers sometimes given the benefit of the doubt on the basis of the "let them race" philosophy.<br>However, Lewis Hamilton was given a 10-second penalty after his first lap clash with Max Verstappen in the British GP, while George Russell received a three-place grid penalty for the main event following his ...

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Hamilton's collision with Max Verstappen at Silverstone on Sunday prompted huge controversy and left the Red Bull team furious.<br>Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko said Hamilton should face a race ban for driving that he considered was 'negligent to dangerous behaviour.'<br>But Wolff has brushed off Red Bull's criticisms of Hamilton's driving and said he saw no problem with what his driver ...

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In contrast to a normal race weekend, when the top 10 drivers start the race on the tyres they progressed through from Q2 on while the rest of the grid has a free choice on which tyres to start on, none of the drivers are obliged to start the sprint on the tyres with which they qualified.<br>The consensus in the paddock in recent weeks has been that the medium compound would be the default choice ...

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All 20 drivers were recruited for a photoshoot with the new car, and it gave them a proper opportunity to walk around it and do a bit of proverbial tyre kicking.<br>While they had seen drawings and in some cases wind tunnel models, the full scale mock-up gave them a real idea of what next year's cars will look like. The glitzy paint job was possibly a bit distracting, but what really mattered was ...

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Since Sauber’s Alfa Romeo deal began in 2018, one seat in the team has been reserved for a driver nominated by engine partner Ferrari from its pool of young talent.<br>Charles Leclerc occupied it in 2018, before current incumbent Antonio Giovinazzi took over the following year.<br>On Tuesday, Sauber announced that it has extended its partnership with Alfa in a multi-year deal that is believed to ...

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It's understood amongst the drivers that they retain their places to make life easier as they each back off and try to make a gap before starting their qualifying laps. However, this season there have been repeated instances of drivers passing rivals and in effect jumping the queue.<br>It became a particular issue at the Austrian GP when, after drivers were seen queuing at the last corner in ...

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This weekend’s British Grand Prix will witness the first sprint experiment, with a 100-kilometre qualifying race on Saturday deciding the final grid for Sunday’s main event.<br>There is uncertainty about what type of spectacle the sprint will produce – and especially whether drivers will take it conservatively and deliver a procession or be aggressive and produce some great action.<br>World ...

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For Jessica Hawkins, who races in W Series and is an Ambassador for the Aston Martin F1 team, has managed to use her skills behind the wheel to earn her place in pulling off some of Hollywood’s biggest stunts.<br>And is she proud of it? Absolutely.<br>“Who doesn't want to have worked on a Bond move?” she smiles. “It was an incredible experience. One that I'll hold with ...

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The spotlight on qualifying etiquette, where drivers are supposed to stay in track order in the final corners before flying laps, was thrust back into the spotlight in Austria last weekend after a messy Q2 session.<br>A number of drivers backed off to try to create a gap ahead of them, but other drivers were not so patient and jumped the queue – causing further hold ups.<br>It was such ...

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Hamilton and Norris fought over second place during the opening stint of last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, following the McLaren driver’s controversial clash with Sergio Perez, which left the Red Bull driver in the gravel and Norris handed a penalty.<br>After Norris had defied Hamilton for 15 laps, the younger Briton defending harder and longer than he had against ...

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Lando Norris was hit with a five-second time penalty after he was deemed to have forced Sergio Perez off-track when fighting for position shortly after the safety car restart at the Red Bull Ring.<br>Perez tried passing Norris around the outside at Turn 4, only for Norris to squeeze the Red Bull driver out. It caused Perez to touch the gravel and drop from third to 10th.<br>The penalty was ...

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Raikkonen and Vettel crashed at Turn 5 while battling for 12th place on the final lap, causing Vettel's Aston Martin car to spear into the wall on the left-hand side of the track.<br>The incident led to double-waved yellow flags being shown in the crash site on the final lap that many drivers had to pass through en route to the chequered flag.<br>Following a busy afternoon for the stewards, a ...

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On occasion groups of cars were almost at a stop at the last two corners to try and find a gap, while other drivers were passing them on flying laps.<br>Matters were further complicated by the adjacent pit entry, with drivers potentially having to thread their way through slow moving traffic in order to get into the pit lane.<br>The subject was discussed in Friday evening’s drivers’ briefing ...

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The Italian is continuing to undergo treatment for the serious head and facial injuries he suffered after colliding with a truck last June.<br>Daniela Zanardi, in an interview for BMW, said that her husband was undergoing a rehabilitation programme which included multimodal and pharmacological stimulations.<br>“I would like to tell all those people who are thinking of and praying for Alex that ...

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That was exactly the reaction that a new AWS 'Driver Performance' graphic got when it first appeared on screen at last weekend's French Grand Prix.<br>The data, suggesting things like Max Verstappen's driver performance was 98.7% of the car limit in corners, whereas Lewis Hamilton was only 97.1%, drew short shrift from some commentators, including Sky's Martin Brundle.<br>Reacting to some chatter ...

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Wolff had said in an interview provided to media by the FIA that it was possible for the world champion team to delay making a final call on whether or not to retain Valtteri Bottas.<br>Asked about the timing of a second driver decision if Lewis Hamilton was definitely staying, Wolff had indicated that the team was in no rush.<br>After giving a cheeky first response about waiting until ...

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Tyre failures or punctures have been part of the scene since the dawn of motor racing. Sadly, over the decades many drivers have lost their lives as a result of tyre issues, or presumed tyre issues.<br>It used to be that suspension or wing breakages were just as much of a concern, but they are rare at F1 level in the modern era, such is the technical competence of the teams.<br>When they get into ...

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Correa first linked up with Sauber’s junior programme at the start of 2019, serving as the Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team’s development driver alongside his Formula 2 racing duties.<br>But Correa’s career was put on hold after sustaining severe injuries in the second-lap accident at Spa that claimed the life of Anthoine Hubert.<br>After completing extensive rehabilitation, Correa made his racing ...

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O’Ward moved into the lead of the IndyCar drivers’ championship with victory from 16th on the grid in last Sunday’s second Detroit race, having taken pole and finished third one day earlier.<br>The charge to victory led to praise being heaped upon the Arrow McLaren SP driver, who is set to make his Formula 1 test debut with McLaren later this year as a reward for his maiden IndyCar win ...

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Gasly finished third in the Azerbaijan GP, recording the third podium finish of his career after his win in Italy last year and his second place in Brazil in 2019.<br>The Frenchman has qualified in the top six in four of the six grands prix held so far this season, and has scored points in every race except Bahrain, where he damaged his front wing on the first lap.<br>"The third place was ...

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F1 drivers have an informal agreement not to jump the queue of cars when coming to start a flying lap in qualifying, only for there to be multiple related incidents so far this year.<br>A number of drivers made overtakes on their outlaps during the final stage of qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as well as slowing to try and get the right track position to pick up a ...

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Race leader Max Verstappen suffered a tyre failure at high-speed with four laps remaining, with the subsequent crash leaving debris strewn across the track that resulted in a red flag.<br>While the track was cleared, race director Michael Masi announced the race would be completed, setting up a two-lap sprint from a standing restart.<br>It marked the latest point in a race that F1 has used its new ...

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