Formula One

Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen said he lost all respect for Mercedes driver George Russell after an incident between them in qualifying cost him pole position on the grid for the Qatar Grand Prix. Verstappen was .055 of a second faster than Russell in Saturday's qualifying but a stewards' inquiry gave him a one-place penalty for driving unnecessarily slowly in an incident with Russell, who moved up to first on the grid. Russell complained over the radio that it was super dangerous that he'd had to avoid Verstappen ahead of him. Both were summoned to a stewards' inquiry and Verstappen was sharply critical Sunday of Russell's approach to the incident. Honestly, very disappointing because I think we're all here, we respect each other a lot and, of course, I've been in that (race stewards') meeting room many times in my life, in my career, with people that have raced and I've never seen someone trying to screw someone over that hard, Verstappen said after Sunday's race. For me, I lo

Max Verstappen's come-from-behind win in the pouring rain at the Brazilian Grand Prix didn't just put him a lot closer to a fourth straight Formula One title. After 10 races without a win, it also reminded everyone of why the Dutch driver is a three-time champion in the first place. Verstappen delivered one of the best performance of his career to move up from 17th at the start and clinch a victory that increased his lead over McLaren's Lando Norris from 44 to 62 points with just three grand prix races and a sprint race remaining. Simply lovely, Verstappen summed it up on the team radio. His fellow drivers were more effusive. Amazing, said seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes. Incredible, gushed Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Fantastic, added Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, a two-time F1 champion. The only dissenting voice was Norris, who started on pole but finished sixth and later argued that the race was decided by luck as his team made a pit stop just before a red fla

Time is running out on Lando Norris' Formula 1 title chase of Max Verstappen. Norris and McLaren leave Texas for the Mexico City Grand Prix further adrift from Verstappen after a disappointing United States Grand Prix weekend. The Red Bull driver won the sprint race, then took the final podium spot in the Sunday main event when Norris was penalized for leaving the track to pass him in the final laps. The penalty will be debated in the garages and paddock until next season. That won't help Norris in the standings now. Verstappen is chasing a fourth consecutive season championship. Norris is trying to win his first, and Texas gave him another taste of just how hard, if not impossible, it can be to take the title from the Dutch driver. Norris had the faster car in the late stages Sunday. He got stuck behind a stubborn Verstappen who refused to yield the place as the drivers battled over every inch of the track. When Norris finally made his move to third with about four laps to go, ra

Max Verstappen and Red Bull are in retreat as the Formula 1 season resumes in Texas. The series returns from a month-long autumn break at the United States Grand Prix with the Dutch driver still leading the championship, but his car has gone backward in terms of performance and results while McLaren's Lando Norris pulls ever closer in the title chase. The last time on the track, Verstappen finished second in Singapore, only to watch Norris drive off in the distance and win by a whopping 21 seconds. It was the kind of gap Verstappen crushed the field with all last season. After Singapore I just wanted to keep going. We were in a good rhythm. I think we still are in a good rhythm and have been for quite a while," Norris said. Verstappen still has a 52-point lead as he chases his fourth consecutive championship with six races left. That race gap to Norris in Singapore was worrisome, and raised more pressure on Red Bull to reverse its slide, or at least find something that can keep Nor

Toyota is returning to Formula 1 after 15 years as the Japanese automaker becomes a technical partner of American racing team Haas. There will be Toyota branding on the Haas cars starting from next week's United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, and the auto giant's racing division will provide design, technical and manufacturing services to the North Carolina-based team. This doesn't mean a return of the Toyota works team which raced in F1 for eight seasons until 2009, however. Haas will still race under its own name and Toyota isn't going to be supplying engines like it did for other teams in the 2000s. Haas already has an agreement to use Ferrari engines through 2028 as part of an existing partnership which dates to Haas' first F1 season in 2016. Haas previously extended its Ferrari deal in July to cover the new F1 regulations coming in 2026. The announcement of the multi-year agreement seemed to suggest Toyota could seek to place a driver with Haas, which doesn't have a spar

Daniel Ricciardo's career in Formula 1 might be over, but he has an open invitation from the Australian Supercars chief if he wants to race on the touring car circuit. Eight-time F1 race winner Ricciardo was released by Red Bull Racing in late September following a disappointing 2024 campaign, ending a 14-year F1 career. The 35-year-old Ricciardo made a lasting impact on F1 as one of the faces of the sport's boom in the United States driven by Netflix's Drive To Survive series. But he has shown no interest in moving to American motorsports such as IndyCar or NASCAR. Supercars chief Shane Howard on Thursday said the Australian would be welcome to drive on his home country's biggest racing series. Howard made the comments ahead of Sunday's showpiece Bathurst 1000 race in central New South Wales state, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) west of Sydney. Ricciardo has spoken previously about wanting an opportunity to compete for the title of King of the Mountain at the iconic Mount Pano

Business tycoon Ong Beng Seng, widely recognised as the figure responsible for bringing Formula 1 to Singapore, was charged with offences in a high-profile corruption case involving S Iswaran

McLaren is ahead of Red Bull in the Formula 1 constructors' race. Now for Lando Norris to put pressure on Max Verstappen for the drivers' title. Oscar Piastri's win last week at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix put McLaren top in the teams' standings the key to F1's lavish prize money but teammate Norris only took a small bite out of Verstappen's lead. After starting 15th, Norris passed Verstappen late in the race to finish fourth, but the Dutch driver still leads by 59 points heading into the Singapore Grand Prix. The talk in F1 this week has focused on McLaren's seemingly flexible rear wing, which might help at high speed. Piastri said Thursday it's legal and isn't a magic bullet for their recent success. F1 looks wide open right now with Ferrari and Mercedes both fighting for wins. McLaren will still have to battle hard even if Red Bull isn't on the pace at a track where Verstappen has never won. Piastri is the on-form driver in recent races, but in only his second season, he's head

After a thrilling Azerbaijan Grand Prix, it seems like nearly half the field is capable of winning races in Formula 1. McLaren chief executive Zak Brown, whose driver Lando Norris is Max Verstappen's closest title challenger, says he's enjoying the best show he's seen in his eight years in F1. There have been six different winners in the last eight races, representing four different teams. Verstappen, whose dominance in 2022 and 2023 broke records, still leads the standings but his last win was in June. I think this is the best season I can think of ever in Formula 1 since I've been here," Brown told The Associated Press from the IndyCar season finale at Nashville Superspeedway in Tennessee. Could it even be better than the 2021 fight between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, which was decided on the final lap of the year and helped fuel F1's Netflix boom? Brown thinks it might be. That was mega exciting, but it's just two guys, two good guys. Now you've got four good teams in today'

Teenager Kimi Antonelli has been named as Lewis Hamilton's replacement next year at Mercedes, a day after his Formula One debut ended in the 18-year-old Italian driver hitting the wall. Antonelli took over for George Russell in the opening practice session for Sunday's Italian Grand Prix at Monza. But his much-anticipated first appearance lasted fewer than two laps, and only 10 minutes, after he lost control of his Mercedes at the Parabolica, sliding backward through the gravel and into the tire barrier. Team principal Toto Wolff said Saturday the crash would have no impact on Antonelli's F1 chances, and confirmation of his elevation as a junior driver with the team was confirmed ahead of final practice at his home event. It is an amazing feeling to be announced as a Mercedes works driver alongside George for 2025, Antonelli said in Saturday's announcement. Reaching F1 is a dream I've had since I was a small boy." Antonelli has been with Mercedes since he joined its junior program

Ferrari had an unexpected boost at the Dutch Grand Prix as Charles Leclerc's hard-earned podium finish cheered the out-of-form Italian team ahead of its home race in Formula 1. Leclerc was sixth on the grid Sunday but overtook Red Bull's Sergio Perez at the start before also getting ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and the on-form McLaren of Oscar Piastri. Leclerc kept Piastri behind him to hold on for third, while his teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. surged from 10th on the grid to finish fifth. Not bad for a team which Leclerc said was targeting sixth place in a damage limitation exercise before planned car upgrades at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza next week. It's a well-timed morale boost for a team which started 2024 fighting for wins but had dropped out of contention. Very, very surprised. I'm not very often happy with a P3 but I think with today's race we can be extremely happy with the job we've done on a difficult weekend for the team," Leclerc said. "We'd been struggling from

The teaser of Brad Pitt's F1 has been released. It is directed by 'Top Gun: Maverick' director Joseph Kosinski and is expected to hit theatres in June next year

Vying against other sports, streaming shows, TikTok and video games, the battle for attention has never been so intense

Max Verstappen won the Canadian Grand Prix for the third straight year for the Red Bull star's 60th Formula 1 victory and sixth in nine races this season. Verstappen started second in the rain alongside pole-sitter George Russell and dominated late again at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Ile Notre-Dame on Sunday. The 26-year-old Dutchman has a staggering 50 victories in the last 75 F1 races. Verstappen finished 3.879 seconds ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris in the 70-lap race on the 2.71-mile (4.36-kilometer) road course. Last year, Verstappen started from the pole and led every lap. The race Sunday started with a soaking wet track before the sun emerged 10 minutes in, but rain showers returned periodically throughout the afternoon. "It's a lot of fun to drive these kinds of races now and then," Verstappen said. "You don't want it all the time because that's too stressful. But I had a lot of fun out there today." Norris lost a 10-second lead when Logan Sargeant brought put the safet

Indian sports fans are flying across the world in huge numbers for T20 World Cup 2024 as well as Wimbledon in London, and Formula One races in Abu Dhabi, Singapore and Bahrain

Max Verstappen said he found Japan's Suzuka circuit "intimidating the first time he navigated a Formula 1 car around the figure-eight layout with its high-speed corners and narrow confines. No longer daunted by Suzuka, the track looks like is an ideal bounce-back destination for Verstappen. In the last F1 race two weeks ago in Australia, a fire on his right-rear brakes forced him out on the fourth lap ending a nine-race victory string. I think if you look at Melbourne performance-wise, I think we were quick, but we didn't finish the race," Verstappen said. "So that's not ideal, but our car normally likes the higher-speed corners, so hopefully we can show that again this weekend. That's what's expected Sunday from the three-time defending F1 champion. He was the quickest in Friday's first practice session. The second session was dampened by a light rain with most teams deciding not to run in the damp to save tire wear. Verstappen was among those sitting out. Verstappen clocked 1 .

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Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) - the nation's top oil firm - will in three months start manufacturing fuel used in adrenaline-pumping Formula One or F1, motor racing as it looks to expand its basket of niche fuels. IOC, which already has three branded fuels, including high-selling XtraGreen diesel, on Wednesday unveiled 'Storm' petrol that it will supply for the Asian region motorcycle road racing championship. "Today, we are partnering with FIM Asia Road Racing Championship for the supply of 'Storm'. We are the first company in India to manufacture fuel of specifications used in road racing," IOC Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya said. IOC will supply fuel for all the motorcyclists from 15 countries that will participate in the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. "Our R&D (research and development) in two months will be able to produce Category-1 fuel and in three months Formula 1 fuel," he said. "Unless we go to F1, the journey is not complete." 'Storm - Ultimate Racing Fuel' is

Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen eased to victory in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday despite the turmoil surrounding his Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. Verstappen started on pole position and was never seriously challenged on his way to a commanding one-two win for Red Bull ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez. Carlos Sainz Jr. was third for Ferrari after fighting hard with teammate Charles Leclerc. At the start of the longest-ever F1 season at 24 races, Verstappen already shows signs of repeating his near-perfect record from 2023, when the Dutch driver won 19 of 22 races on his way to a third straight title. Saturday was the eighth win in a row for Verstappen going back to September last year. He set an F1 record of 10 consecutive wins last season.

Formula 1 great Lewis Hamilton kept his Ferrari move so closely guarded that he didn't even tell his parents until the day it was announced. The British driver rocked the F1 world when it was announced on Feb. 1 he was joining the Italian manufacturer next year, despite signing a new contract with Mercedes last summer. I didn't speak to anybody. I didn't tell my parents till the day of it being announced. So, no one knew," Hamilton told a BBC podcast. I really wanted to do it for myself. Ultimately, I had to find out what would be the best for me. It then emerged that the two-year deal penned with Mercedes and announced last August was actually for one year with an option for a second year, which Hamilton did not take. Hamilton informed Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff of his decision to leave only the day before over breakfast at Wolff's home. They have become close friends over the years after Hamilton joined Mercedes from McLaren in 2013. The 39-year-old Hamilton and Michael