However, team boss James Vowles ultimately opted for Williams’ own junior rookie, Argentine Franco Colapinto. “Axing Sargeant mid-season is not a decision we’ve taken lightly. But we believe this gives Williams the best chance to compete for points over the remainder of the season. We brought a large upgrade to the car and need to maximise every points-scoring opportunity in a remarkably tight midfield battle,” explained Vowles.

AXING SARGEANT MID-SEASON

He admits it must be ‘incredibly tough’ for Sargeant, but added the team will support him to continue his racing career in the future. Williams’ Alex Albon reacted on social media saying: “I know first-hand how brutal this sport can be and it’s tough to see Logan leave the team mid-season. You gave it your all, brother, and it’s been a pleasure being teammates with you. I know whatever you do next, you’ll be awesome.”

Vowles’ former boss Toto Wolff admits another option for Williams was the Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli. But it would not have been wise to disturb his progression and put him in a Williams F1 car. It is also believed that Liam Lawson was Vowles’ next top pick after axing Sargeant. However, locked in a fierce mid-field battle with the Red Bull sister team, they chose not release the Kiwi to one its competitors.

ARGENTINA BACK ON THE GRID

Argentinean Franco Colapinto (21) will vacate the race seat after Abu Dhabi to make way for Carlos Sainz, signed for 2025. The Ferrari driver will join Williams at a notably ambitious moment for the Grove-based team. Williams unveiled its first major car upgrade of 2024 last weekend, which Sargeant summarily flung into a Zandvoort barrier during free practice.  

Worse still for the team, Albon’s upgraded car was excluded from qualifying when the new floor was found to be too wide and therefore illegal. Sainz told Spanish news at Zandvoort that this was somewhat alarming: “I will find out what happened. I will ask and I find out for sure.” – with GMM

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE AMERICAN DRIVER BEING CUT MID-SEASON?

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Colapinto, a 21-year-old Argentinian, will team up with Alex Albon for the first time at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

Terrible weekend at Zandvoort

A member of the Williams driver academy Colapinto moves up to motorsport’s fast lane after impressing in F2 this year, with a win at Imola.

His big chance came after Sargeant suffered a terrible weekend at Zandvoort, crashing his heavily upgraded car in third practice for the Dutch Grand Prix on Saturday.

Sargeant gained his sole point for Williams at the US Grand Prix last year, becoming the first American to score in F1 since Mario Andretti three decades before.

A starter of 36 races, he will remain part of the team’s set-up.

Williams boss James Vowles acknowledged it was a tough blow for Sargeant.

“To replace a driver mid-season is not a decision we have taken lightly, but we believe this gives Williams the best chance to compete for points over the remainder of the season,” he said.

“We have just brought a large upgrade to the car and need to maximise every points-scoring opportunity in a remarkably tight midfield battle.”

Logan Sargeant’s successor, the first F1 driver from Argentina in 23 years, has already had a taste of F1 life, taking part in first practice at Silverstone before the summer break.

Worthy of Williams’ confidence

Vowles commented: “Franco is getting a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate what he is capable of across the final nine rounds of the season.

“I know that Franco has great speed and huge potential, and we look forward to seeing what he can do in Formula 1.”

Colapinto is itching to show he is worthy of Williams’ confidence.

“Coming into F1 mid-season will be an enormous learning curve, but I am up for the challenge, and I’m fully focused on working as hard as I can with Alex and the team to make it a success.”

Vowles concluded: “Logan remains a talented driver and we will support him to continue his racing career for the future.”

In 2025, Albon will be racing alongside Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard who is joining the team as Lewis Hamilton takes the Spaniard’s seat at Ferrari.

By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse

As the season continues at a hundred miles per hour, the next battle will take place at the famed Autodromo Nazionale Monza circuit on Sunday, 1 September.

The lights will go out at 15:00 (SA time).

As a reminder, the 2023 Italian Grand Prix was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez.

Carlos Sainz in his Ferrari took third place.

ITALIAN GRAND PRIX TIMES

All times SA

Friday, 30 August

Practice 1: 13:30 – 14:30

Practice 2: 17:00 – 18:00

Saturday, 31 August

Practice 3: 12:30 – 13:30

Qualifying: 16:00 – 17:00

Sunday, 1 September

Main race: 15:00

Standings after the Dutch Grand Prix

Drivers

Constructors

The British driver claimed his second career chequered flag after winning in Miami in May, closing Verstappen’s lead over him in the world championship to 70 points, with the Dutchman coming second.

Despite raucous encouragement from a packed Zandvoort circuit, Verstappen could not extract enough from his Red Bull to compete with a recently upgraded McLaren that is beginning to look like the car to beat in Formula One.

Standings after the Dutch Grand Prix

Drivers

Constructors

The British driver registered the fastest lap in 1:09.673, ahead of Verstappen’s Red Bull who clocked 1:10.029 in windy and damp conditions at the Zandvoort circuit on the Dutch coast.

Major disappointment

The qualifying battle came down to the wire, as Verstappen sent his orange army of Dutch fans into raptures by claiming the fastest time with less than a minute left.

But Norris stormed back just seconds later to nick the fourth pole position of his career and break the home fans’ hearts.

Norris’s McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri will start in third place ahead of George Russell from Mercedes in fourth and Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull in fifth.

But there was major disappointment for Russell’s team-mate, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who was eliminated after the second round of qualifying, as was Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.

Hamilton’s day then went from bad to worse as he was hit with a three-place grid penalty for impeding Perez in the first qualifying session, dropping him to 14th on the grid.

And Williams endured a troubled on Saturday at the seaside too.

First Logan Sargeant smashed his car in third practice, then team-mate Alex Albon, who had secured eighth place in qualifying, had his time disqualified, relegating him to the rear of Sunday’s grid.

The London-based Thai’s Williams was found to be in breach of the technical regulations with an issue to the floor of his heavily updated car.

The lights will go out at 15:00 (SA time).

As a reminder, the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

Pierre Gasly in his Alpine took third place.

GRID FOR THE DUTCH GRAND PRIX:

Front row

Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren)

Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull)

2nd row

Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren)

George Russell (GBR/Mercedes)

3rd row

Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull)

Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari)

4th row

Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin)

Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin)

5th row

Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine)

Carlos Sainz (ESP/Ferrari)

6th row

Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/RB)

Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Haas)

7th row

Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas)

Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) *

8th row

Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/RB)

Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine)

9th row

Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Sauber)

Zhou Guanyu (CHN/Sauber)

10th row

Alex Albon (THA/Williams) **, Logan Sargeant (USA/Williams)

* Lewis Hamilton was given a three-place penalty for impeding Sergio Perez

** Alex Albon qualified in eighth but his time was disqualified due to his car being found to be in breach of the technical regulations

Standings ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix

Drivers

Constructors

It proved to be an eventful qualifying session for the race at Zandvoort

Lando Norris takes pole

McLaren driver Norris, who had been very self-critical leading into the break and spoke of the need to “reset,” produced a time of 1m 09.673s in the crucial Q3 phase to beat Red Bull opponent Max Verstappen by more than three-and-a-half tenths.

“An amazing day. It’s nice to be back and start with a pole. It was a nice lap, honestly,” said Norris.

“The qualifying was always pretty smooth and I put in some good laps, especially the one at the end, which is always the most important. A great job by the team and I’m happy with today.”

Mav Verstappen laments lack of pace

Max Verstappen dampened excpectations of a home win, as he felt his Red Bull was off the pace.

The front row placing still delighted Verstappen.

“I couldn’t quite fight for pole today against but we are doing everything we can to make the car as competitive as possible,” Verstappen said.

“I was happy to be on the front row, it is not quite as close as we would have liked but we will see what happens tomorrow.

“We are looking to optimise the balance of the car, especially as it is very windy on the track, but we will see how the car runs tomorrow and analyse the limited long runs we got yesterday. In the past we have been very strong in the race, which is a positive. It will also depend on the tyre degradation; we will need to see how much it will rain overnight and see how everything goes tomorrow. On pure pace, it will be difficult to beat the McLarens but anything can happen in Formula One so we will see. I will try my best tomorrow in front of my home crowd and we will see where we are.”

Lewis Hamilton penalised

Lewis Hamilton has been handed a three-place grid penalty for the Dutch Grand Prix after the stewards determined that he had ‘unnecessarily impeded’ Sergio Perez’s Red Bull in Q1 of Saturday’s qualifying session.

Perez was forced to lift when he approached Hamilton’s slow-moving Mercedes in the early parts of the session, eliciting a heated outburst from the Mexican over the radio. He later claimed that the event had hampered his session because he had to use an extra set of tires thereafter.

At 17:00 local time, both drivers and their respective team representatives were summoned to meet the stewards regarding the situation, and it was determined that Hamilton had violated Article 37.5 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.

As a result, Hamilton will start P15 in the following race, down from P12 for the Dutch Grand Prix.

Alex Albon disqualified for Dutch Grand Prix qualifying

Williams driver Alex Albon has been disqualified from Saturday’s qualifying session at Zandvoort for violating technical requirements.

Albon qualified seventh for the Dutch Grand Prix, but will now start from the back of the grid due to a problem with the floor of his significantly modified vehicle.

The stewards’ conclusion read: “The floor body of Car 23 was found to lie outside the regulatory volume mentioned in Article 3.5.1 a) of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations.

“The team did not dispute the calibration of the FIA measuring system and the measurement of the car, but stated that their own measurements have produced different results.

“The Stewards determine that the result of the measurement conducted with the FIA system in Parc Ferme is the relevant one and the due process prescribed by the regulations has been followed. Therefore the standard penalty for such an infringement is applied.”

Dutch Grand Prix Qualifying results

Who will win the Dutch Grand Prix?

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South Africa hasn’t hosted a Formula One grand prix since 1993, an incredible 29 years ago this season, but the Kyalami circuit in Johannesburg is seen to be a perfect fit for a long-awaited F1 return to Mzansi.

Lewis Hamilton has repeatedly endorsed such a move, just this week the seven-times world champion explained that South Africa – and interestingly also Rwanda – were very much in the picture to be added to the F1 calendar.

“The time’s 100% right. We can’t be adding races in other locations and continue to ignore Africa, which the rest of the world just takes from. No one gives anything to Africa,” said the outgoing Mercedes driver.

“I think having a Grand Prix there will really be able to highlight just how great the place is and bring in tourism and all sorts of things. Why are we not on that continent?

“There is at least one track that’s ready. In the short term, we should just get on that track and have that part of the calendar, and then work on building out something really cool.

“Rwanda is one of my favourite places I’ve been to actually. I’ve been doing a lot of work in the background on it,” he added.

“I’ve spoken to people in Rwanda, I’ve spoken to people in South Africa. That’s a longer project, Rwanda, but it’s amazing that they’re so keen to get a part of it.”

Watch below as Hamilton previously called for South Africa to be added to the F1 calendar:

History on the side of South Africa

The 1993 South African Grand Prix was held at Kyalami on 14 March 1993. It was the 33rd South African Grand Prix – and remains the most recent to have been staged on the African continent.

It was the first race of the 1993 F1 season and was contested over 72 laps.

The race was won from pole position by French legend Alain Prost driving a Williams-Renault.

Prost’s great rival, Brazilian Ayrton Senna, finished second in a McLaren-Ford, with Great Britain’s Mark Blundell in a Ligier-Renault rounding out the podium.

Incredibly, of the 26 starters, only five finished the race, although seven were classified.

Runner-up Senna was the only driver that winner Prost did not lap – surely an all-time Formula One record!

As the season continues at a hundred miles per hour, the next battle between the world’s finest drivers will take place on Sunday, 25 August.

The lights will go out at 15:00 (SA time).

As a reminder, the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

Pierre Gasly in his Alpine took third place.

DUTCH GRAND PRIX TIMES

All times SA

Friday, 23 August

Practice 1: 12:30 – 13:30

Practice 2: 16:00 – 17:00

Saturday, 24 August

Practice 3: 11:30 – 12:30

Qualifying: 15:00 – 16:00

Sunday, 25 August

Main race: 15:00

Updated standings

Drivers

Constructors

The 21-year-old has been promoted from reserve team driver and will partner Frenchman Pierre Gasly for the 2025 season.

Alpine eighth out of 10 teams in 2024

“Pierre and Jack give the team a balance of youth and experience in its driver line-up geared towards building a successful future,” said the team in a statement.

Alpine sit a lowly eight out of 10 teams in the constructors’ championship, with Gasly scoring just six points this term thanks to two ninth spots and two tenths.

Gasly’s team-mate Esteban Ocon, who will join the Haas team next year, has only scored five points in a “frustrating” season which he said had not seen “enough improvement in certain areas.”

He claimed both his and Alpine’s sole win so far at the rain-hit Hungarian Grand Prix in 2021.

Ocon, who made his F1 debut in 2016, announced he was splitting with Alpine in June, a week after a collision with Gasly in Monaco for which he was blamed.

Alpine have also had a change at the top, with 36-year-old Englishman Oliver Oakes taking over as team principal for the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday.

Oakes replaced Frenchman Bruno Famin, who was initially placed in charge on a temporary basis following the departure of previous team boss Otmar Szafnauer and lasted a year.

Gasly had tried to lure Carlos Sainz to the team after the Spaniard’s departure from Ferrari was announced earlier this season.

However, Sainz opted to join Williams instead.

‘Great kid’

Nevertheless Gasly speaking on Thursday before the appointment was officially announced, dished out praise for Jack Doohan, who will be the third Australian driver on the grid alongside Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo.

“He’s a great kid. I think he’s fast from watching what he’s been doing in Formula 2 the previous years,” Gasly told reporters.

“He knows the team and yeah he’s a great guy so I think he’s a good option,” he added.

By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse

As the season continues at a hundred miles per hour, the next battle will take place at the Zandvoort circuit on Sunday, 25 August.

The lights will go out at 15:00 (SA time).

As a reminder, the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen ahead of Fernando Alonso in an Aston Martin.

Pierre Gasly in his Alpine took third place.

DUTCH GRAND PRIX TIMES

All times SA

Friday, 23 August

Practice 1: 12:30 – 13:30

Practice 2: 16:00 – 17:00

Saturday, 24 August

Practice 3: 11:30 – 12:30

Qualifying: 15:00 – 16:00

Sunday, 25 August

Main race: 15:00

Updated standings

Drivers

Constructors

Excitement has been building among South African F1 enthusiasts, as discussions to bring the sport back to the country have seemed promising.

Recently, the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, pledged to do everything in his might to bring F1 back to South Africa. It’s been 31 years since the last race on the African continent, back in 1993 at Kyalami in Gauteng.

“I have set up meetings with relevant people already, my term will be a failure if I don’t bring one of the biggest sporting tourist events to South Africa which is F1 … our first meeting is end of August in Monaco,” McKenzie announced in a Twitter (X) post last month.

Rwanda in pole position?

However, it appears that South Africa is not the only African country in discussions with the motoring powers that be.

Recent developments suggest that F1 Chief Exec Stefano Domenicali is in advanced negotiations with Rwanda to host a race. Representatives from the Rwanda Development Board reportedly attended this year’s Monaco Grand Prix to meet with the FIA.

“[Rwanda] are serious,” Domenicali told Autosport. “They have presented a good plan and actually we have a meeting with them at the end of September. It will be on a permanent track.”

The East African country has shown an increasing interest in motorsport, and will also be hosting the 2024 FIA Annual General Assembly and Prize-Giving Ceremony in Kigali.

Formula One has successfully reached its expansion goals in the United States, securing three races in Miami, Austin, and Las Vegas.

The focus is now shifting to other regions around the globe to address disparities. Africa is still the only major continent without a race.

“We want to bring F1 back to Africa, but it’s crucial that we secure the right investment and develop a solid strategic plan,” Domenicali noted.

“We need to have the right moment, and we need to make sure that also in that country, in that region, in that continent, there is the right welcoming, because, of course, they have other priorities.”

What’s counting against SA

McKenzie may have his hands full trying to bring F1 back to South Africa, in light of reports suggesting that F1 won’t return due to the country’s close ties with Russia.

This is not a good look for SA on the global stage, while there is also the issue of funding to get Kyalami upgraded to the safety standards required to host a FIA-sanctioned F1 race.

Either way, the sport finds itself in a favourable position, with numerous countries eager to host a Formula One event.

“I don’t foresee significant changes in the short term, but in the coming months, we need to discuss what 2026, 2027, and 2028 will look like,” Domenicali added.

“We have different options, but we are in a good place.”

Who deserves it more, South Africa or Rwanda?

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Binder has a multi-year deal to ride for Red Bull KTM in the elite series.

How rich is Brad Binder?

Brad Binder has an estimated net worth of R90 million as of 2024.

He has inked sponsorship deals with Arai Helmets, Pole Position Travel, Rural Liquid Fertilisers, Ixon Leathers and Alpinestars in the past.

In 2023 he inked an extension on his Red Bull KTM contract until the end of 2026.

“A massive thank you to KTM and the management for trusting in me and for letting me be involved in this incredible program for a few more years,” Brad Binder said.

“We are coming very close to what we want to achieve on the track but I cannot say enough good things about the team and my crew. 2015 and those first KTM races feel like a long time ago! But also time passes quickly and we’ve made some special memories. I know there is a lot more to come and cannot wait to build those stories. Thanks again.”

Who is MotoGP star Brad Binder?

Brad Binder is already one of the best and most successful Grand Prix racers from South Africa. 2024 will be his thirteenth season in the world championship and his fifth in the MotoGP category.

The journey started back in 2012 and by 2016 Brad had won the Moto3 title in what was his second term with the Red Bull KTM Ajo setup.

Brad notched 7 wins and nearly 20 podiums for Aki Ajo’s team before moving to Moto2 in 2017 with the same crew where he grasped another 8 victories and 15 top three appearances and came very close to another crown.

The successful collaboration with KTM thus far means that 2024 will be his tenth year in Red Bull KTM orange colors. Binder will always hold a special place in KTM racing history thanks to his triumph at the 2020 Grand Prix of Czech Republic in his MotoGP rookie season that marked the inaugural ‘P1’ for the KTM RC16 in the premier class.

He classified 11th that year and then worked his way to 6th in 2021 (including a thrilling home success at the Red Bull Ring in Austria) and 6th again in 2022 before rising to 4th for 2023 where he lifted his MotoGP podium tally to 10 trophies and 2 wins in the new Sprint concept.

Do you watch MotoGP?

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Accordingly, a group of US congressmen and senate members said they would challenge Formula 1 and Liberty Media’s decision to lock the American racing entity out of the sport in the short-term. At this time the senators admitted their, “concerns with the apparent anti-competitive actions that could prevent two great American companies (Cadillac and Andretti F1) from producing cars and competing at the highest level of motorsport in F1.”

US GOVERNMENT PROBE OVER ANDRETTI F1 REJECTION

With Formula 1 enjoying a brief summer hiatus before next weekend’s race in The Netherlands, the US government probe over Andretti F1 appears to have gathered momentum. In an earnings call last week, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei confirmed: “That there is a Department of Justice investigation over Andretti F1 now underway.”

“We intend to fully cooperate with that investigation, including any related requests for information,” Maffei is quoted as saying by the New York Times. Maffei reaffirmed that Liberty Media still believes its decision to reject the Andretti F1-Cadillac bid did not violate any applicable US anti-trust laws. And he says he does not hold the view that more teams on the grid would necessarily be wrong for Formula 1.

“There is a methodology for expansion that requires approval of both the teams, the FIA and F1 itself. And both groups have to find that all the relevant criteria met. We’re certainly open to new entrants making applications and potentially being approved if those requirements are met,” concluded Maffei. – with GMM

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE ANOTHER AMERICAN TEAM ON THE GRID?

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The 29-year-old Spaniard will leave Ferrari at the end of the 2024 campaign after seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was announced as his replacement at the Italian giants earlier this year.

Sainz has won three F1 races so far in his career, the most recent at the Australian Grand Prix in March.

Having previously driven for Toro Rosso, Renault and McLaren, Sainz had been linked with several teams for the 2025 season including Alpine, Sauber and Mercedes.

Carlos Sainz will replace Logan Sargeant

But on Monday it was confirmed he had agreed an initial two-year deal at Williams, with an option to extend.

“I am very happy to announce that I will be joining Williams Racing from 2025 onwards,” Sainz said in a team statement.

“It is no secret that this year’s driver market has been exceptionally complex for various reasons and that it has taken me some time to announce my decision.”

He added: “However, I am fully confident that Williams is the right place for me to continue my F1 journey and I am extremely proud of joining such a historic and successful team, where many of my childhood heroes drove in the past and made their mark on our sport.

“The ultimate goal of bringing Williams back to where it belongs, at the front of the grid, is a challenge that I embrace with excitement and positivity.”

Carlos Sainz will replace Logan Sargeant at Williams, where he will partner Alex Albon.

Struggled in recent seasons

Founded in 1977 by the late Frank Williams, the team have won nine F1 Constructors’ Championships and seven drivers’ titles, with Alan Jones, Keke Rosberg, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve all crowned world champion while at Williams.

But Williams have struggled in recent seasons and last took a podium finish in 2021, while their last race victory came via Pastor Maldonado’s shock win back at the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix.

“Carlos joining Williams is a strong statement of intent from both parties,” said Williams team principal James Vowles.

“Carlos has demonstrated time and again that he is one of the most talented drivers on the grid, with race-winning pedigree, and this underlines the upwards trajectory we are on.”

By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse

The 26-year-old British driver won the race but was later disqualified after his Mercedes was found to be underweight following the conclusion of the Grand Prix. Hamilton, who finished second, was promoted to first place after his teammate was disqualified.

Russell had taken victory following a one-stop strategy, which saw him nurse his hard tyres to the chequered flag. The two-time F1 winner also had to hold off Hamilton in the dying stages to win the race however his celebration was short-lived. A Technical Delegate’s Report released after the race stated that, while the car had initially been found to be compliant with the minimum weight of 798kg, 2.8 litres of fuel were then removed.

Hamilton wins his 105 race, Russell disqualified

“The car was not fully drained according to the draining procedure submitted by the team in their legality documents as TR Article 6.5.2 is fulfilled,” the report read.

Afrer the Belgian GP, Hamilton said he was disappointed that the team lost out on a 1-2 finish.

“It is of course disappointing for the team to lose the 1-2 but there are lots of positives to take away”

 “The car was feeling good, and we had much better pace than we expected. There were several cars that seemed similar in terms of performance but once we had got ahead, we were able to maintain that position.”

Hamilton was unhappy initially after Mercedes kept Russell out for a one-stop.

“We committed to the two-stop strategy and covered those directly behind us,” he said.

“George was able to make the one-stop work and, although I got close to him in the final few laps, I was unable to get past in the dirty air.”

“I feel for George, and you don’t want to win a race through a disqualification, but we have been back in the fight for victories in the past few races.”

Russell’s punishment sees Hamilton promoted to P1, Oscar Piastri takes P2 and Charles Leclerc moves up to P3.

Leclerc will start Sunday’s race from pole position as he did in 2023 with Sergio Perez alongside him in the second Red Bull, the Mexican having ended a nightmare run of qualifying failures amid reports that his future with the team is at risk.

Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth for Mercedes and will share the second row of the grid with McLaren’s Lando Norris, who qualified fifth ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri and George Russell in the second Mercedes.

Carlos Sainz was eighth in the second Ferrari in front of compatriot and two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, Esteban Ocon of Alpine and Alex Albon of Williams – who will be 10th on the grid ahead of Verstappen.

The race will start at 15:00 (SA time).

As a reminder, the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez in second place.

Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari took third place.

GRID FOR THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX:

Front row

Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari)

Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull)

2nd row

Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes)

Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren)

3rd row

Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren)

George Russell (GBR/Mercedes)

4th row

Carlos Sainz (ESP/Ferrari)

Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin)

5th row

Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine)

Alex Albon (THA/Williams)

6th row

Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull)

Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine)

7th row

Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/RB)

Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Sauber)

8th row

Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin)

Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Haas)

9th row

Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas)

Logan Sargeant (USA/Williams)

10th row

Zhou Guanyu (CHN/Sauber)

Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/RB)

The Volkswagen-backed German automaker became a 100% owner of the Swiss Sauber team earlier this year. It has also rearranged its massive GT3 racing programme and shutdown an exciting Le Mans Prototype project in lieu of racing in F1. However, its official 2026 emergence as a works team has been struck by rumours of an internal Audi F1 power struggle.

AUDI F1 POWER STRUGGLE

Sauber Chief Executive and Chairman Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffman, respectively, have been ousted by Audi CEO Gernot Dollner. “It’s a very big deal; changing major personnel even before the start of the on-track programme is very interesting,” says Ralf Schumacher. 

Some think Audi made the decision because of in-fighting between the Seidl and Hoffman. And Sauber has languished and stagnated at the very bottom of the 2024 standings … not even a scoring a single point in 2024 so far.

BUDGET ISSUES

However, Schumacher believes the Audi F1 power struggle had Seidl operating with one hand behind his back. “The Audi project was actually on the brink of collapse because there was a small calculation error amounting to 1 billion Euros. The team had to be refinanced because no money was coming in. That’s why the decision was made to keep pay-driver Zhou Guanyu on to get money,” speculated Schumacher.

“As a result, nothing could really happen. They couldn’t hire any people and couldn’t offer any prospects. So, they just let the whole thing run as it was before. With all the sympathy I have for the team, a lot of things have to change at Sauber. And Seidl was fighting with blunt weapons,” Schumacher said.

BINOTTO HIRE

However, the good news is that the project has at least managed to gain an experienced man in former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto as a result of the in-fighting. “They just have to be aware that in Formula 1, constant personnel changes is not a good thing. It’s not a big car corporation – it’s a Formula 1 team. Binotto is certainly someone who can do a good job, but it’s also a huge task for him,” said Schumacher.

Another silver lining amid the Audi F1 power struggle is that Binotto gets along very well with the driver they’ve been trying to hire all year, Carlos Sainz Jr. But then again, so did Seidl, from his days racing with Sainz at McLaren. “Maybe the Sainz camp demanded certain personnel be hired and fired within Audi? The two know each other from Ferrari days and really enjoyed working together,” concluded Schumacher. – with GMM

DO YOU THINK AUDI F1 CAN GET IT TOGETHER IN TIME?

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As the season continues at a hundred miles per hour, the next battle will take place at the Spar-Francorchamps circuit on Sunday, 28 July.

The lights will go out at 15:00 (SA time).

As a reminder, the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez in second place.

Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari took third place.

BELGIAN GRAND PRIX TIMES

All times SA

Friday, 26 July

Practice 1: 13:30 – 14:30

Practice 2: 17:00 – 18:00

Saturday, 27 July

Practice 3: 12:30 – 13:30

Qualifying: 16:00 – 17:00

Sunday, 28 July

Main race: 15:00

Updated standings

Drivers

Constructors

The leader of the Patriotic Alliance (PA) said in a tweet that he has initiated discussions with key stakeholders, emphasising that his tenure would be a “failure” if he doesn’t succeed in bringing the sport back to Mzansi after what is already a 31-year absence.

Plenty of speculation

In response to a tweet by @martinaude, McKenzie revealed that the first meeting is scheduled for the end of August this year in Monaco.

@martinaude wrote: “@GaytonMcK as sports minister, can we try and get the the @F1 to finally come back to South Africa??”

To which Gayton McKenzie replied: “I have set up meetings with relevant people already, my term will be a failure if I don’t bring one of the biggest sporting tourist events to South Africa which is F1. Our first meeting is end of August in Monaco.”

There have been plenty of speculation in recent years regarding Formula One returning to South Africa – without anything transpiring.

South Africa is not on the 2024 Formula One calendar, nor will it feature on next season’s.

The last race at Kyalami was in March 1993

The 1993 South African Grand Prix was held at Kyalami on 14 March 1993.

It was the 33rd South African Grand Prix – and remains the most recent to have been staged on the African continent.

The race was the first of the 1993 F1 season and was contested over 72 laps and was won from pole position by French legend Alain Prost driving a Williams-Renault.

The Patriotic Alliance has stated that they are planning discussions with key stakeholders. He emphasised that his tenure as sports minister would be incomplete without bringing one of the world’s premier sporting events to South Africa.

Gayton McKenzie disclosed that the first meeting is scheduled for the end of August when Formula 1 returns after the summer break.

McKenzie to bring Formula One to South Africa in the next few years?

“I have set up meetings with relevant people already; my term will be a failure if I don’t bring one of the biggest sporting tourist events to South Africa, which is F1. Our first meeting is end of August in Monaco,” he said in a tweet.

In recent years, it was speculated that F1 might return to the Kyalami racetrack replacing Spa, Belgium. According to reports, plans to have Formula 1 back to SA were cancelled due to the South African government’s diplomatic relations with Russia.

Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton said his dream was to race in South Africa before he retires.

 “I’m working in the background to get South Africa on the race [calendar].

“That’s like such a dream for me; I’ve got to stay until they get that race,” he said.

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali told Sky Sports said there was a possibility to bring a race to Africa and not just South Africa.

“We need to make sure when we do something new, that it has to be with the right partners and be stable fundamentals to stay longer.

“The only thing that I can say that after the first contact with Kyalami is that there are other places in Africa that are interested on Formula One.

“That’s a very clear target: Africa will come back and hopefully very soon on our calendar.”

The South African Grand Prix at Kyalami was once a regular event on the Formula 1 calendar but has not hosted a race since 1993.

“This has to end. I’m sorry. He should really be put out of his misery. Red Bull has access to so many drivers. How long can they continue to subject themselves to this and lose championship points?” said former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher on Sky Germany. 

RED BULL COULD AXE PEREZ

It’s an enormous blow for the 34-year-old Mexican who already knew how important the Hungary-Belgium double-header was. The summer break is allegedly the trigger point for all the performance clauses in his contract. “He had a very strong Friday, said Red Bull’s Dr. Helmut Marko. “Unfortunately, he then had his big accident in qualifying. We stick to what we decided earlier. We will assess him here and in the race in Belgium next week. Then we will discuss together what will happen during the summer break.”

Even team boss Christian Horner, who has defiantly defended Perez, appears to have run out of patience. “I’ve shown myself to be very patient, but this was really the last thing he and the team needed. Checo was going much too fast for the conditions. As a driver, he has better information than we do about how heavy the rain is. He can see the drops on his visor. We will debrief within the team and not through the press, but it is quite obvious that we cannot run on one leg,” said Horner.

TWO-YEAR CONTRACT CAN BE BROKEN

Perez was re-signed for 2025 and 2026 recently, not only for his harmonious relationship with Max Verstappen but also with millions in Mexican sponsorship behind him. “In the end, it’s all about performance. That’s true in every sport, but especially in Formula 1. I don’t want to go into details about contracts. There will be a meeting after Spa to discuss the whole problem … because it is a problem. Luckily Max is strong enough to be able to fight alone, but in terms of strategy it would have helped to have a second car at the front,” added Marko.

Should Red Bull axe Perez in the second half of the season, the contender in pole position for the seat is reserve driver Liam Lawson. Another possible replacement is that of Daniel Ricciardo or Yuki Tsunoda, with Lawson slotting in at RB instead. When asked if RB’s driver lineup will still be the same after the summer break, team CEO Peter Bayer answered: “It’s not set in stone. We’ll sit down with Dr. Helmut Marko during the summer break and discuss everything.” – with GMM

SHOULD RED BULL AXE PEREZ?

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The drivers’ championship leader and three-time world champion crashed into Hamilton on lap 63 of the 70-lap race.

Verstappen, 26, then remonstrated on team radio and was told not to “be childish” by his race engineer.

The Dutch driver was summoned to the stewards office to explain his part in the accident, but no further action was taken by the officials.

Verstappen had ranted in a series of radio messages, many including profanities, about his car, strategy and the accident that most observers promptly said was his fault.

When Verstappen blamed Hamilton for the collision, by moving in his ‘braking zone’, his normally mild-mannered engineer Gianpiero Lambiase replied angrily.

“I am not even going to get into a radio fight with the other teams, Max,” he said.

“We’ll let the stewards do their thing. It’s childish on the radio, childish.”

Verstappen defended his behaviour.

“I don’t know why people think that you can’t be vocal on a radio,” he said.

“This is a sport and if some people don’t like that – then stay home,” he added.

‘Racing incident’

This came after a series of notable incidents involving Verstappen, all of which suggested he and Red Bull are struggling with the pressure as McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari close down their performance and points advantage.

Oscar Piastri won the race ahead of McLaren team-mate Lando Norris with Hamilton finishing third, leaving Verstappen and Red Bull without a win in three races and with three wins in their last eight.

Verstappen, who was briefly airborne after crashing into Hamilton as he attempted to launch his car down the inside at Turn One, was in defiant mood.

“I went for a move that was fully on, but when I was in the middle of the braking zone and already committed, he keeps warping right,” he said.

“If I hadn’t turned while braking straight, I would have made contact with him.”

Max Verstappen’s lead cut

Told of Verstappen’s explanation after the race, Hamilton smiled.

“Ultimately, I think he was much quicker. I moved a little to defend and I left enough space on the inside and he locked up and then obviously couldn’t turn.

“So he came under a different trajectory and he clipped my wheel.

“I saw him coming from a long way back and he was able to brake a lot later than me, but he sent it up the inside.

“I stayed still and he clipped the wheel and went over so I think a racing incident,” he added.

Verstappen’s advantage was trimmed to 76 by Norris.

His Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez finished seventh after starting from 16th on the grid 24 hours after team boss Christian Horner had lambasted him for his fourth Q1 exit in seven qualifying sessions, adding “you can’t win a race on one leg”.

By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse

Red Bull’s three-time champion Max Verstappen had to settle for third and the second row in the tense wet-dry qualifying

The 24-year-old Briton, who is 84 points behind Verstappen in this year’s title race, clocked a best lap in one minute and 15.227 seconds to outpace the Australian by 0.022 seconds.

Verstappen was three-hundredths of a second adrift in third ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who leaves the team at the end of the year, and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, who will replace him.

Charles Leclerc, in the second Ferrari was sixth ahead of two-time champion Fernando Alonso and his Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll and the RBs of Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda, who had survived a high-speed crash earlier in Q3.

The race will start at 15:00 (SA time).

As a reminder, the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen with Lando Norris in his McLaren in second place.

Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull took third place.

GRID FOR THE HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX:

Front row

Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren)

Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren)

2nd row

Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull)

Carlos Sainz (ESP/Ferrari)

3rd row

Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes)

Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari)

4th row

Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin)

Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin)

5th row

Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/RB)

Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/RB)

6th row

Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Haas)

Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Sauber)

7th row

Alex Albon (THA/Williams)

Logan Sargeant (USA/Williams)

8th row

Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas)

Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull)

9th row

George Russell (GBR/Mercedes)

Zhou Guanyu (CHN/Sauber)

10th row

Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine)

Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine)

As the season heads into its second half, the next battle will take place at the Hungaroring in Hungary on Sunday, 21 July.

The lights will go out at 15:00 (SA time).

As a reminder, the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen with Lando Norris in his McLaren in second place.

Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull took third place.

HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX TIMES

All times SA

Friday, 19 July

Practice 1: 13:30 – 14:30

Practice 2: 17:00 – 18:00

Saturday, 20 July

Practice 3: 12:30 – 13:30

Qualifying: 16:00 – 17:00

Sunday, 21 July

Main race: 15:00

Updated standings

Drivers

Constructors

“The most beautiful thing in life is when you have the right partner by your side with whom you can share everything,” he wrote below an Instagram photograph of himself and another man with their arms around each other watching a sunset over the ocean.

According to Reuters, the only other known male gay driver in the history of Formula One was the late Briton Mike Beuttler who raced from 1971 to 1973 and died in 1988.

Ralf Schumacher, 49, won six grands prix in an 11 year career that ended in 2007. He competed in 180 races and secured 27 podium finishes.

He currently spends a large part of the year living in Cape Town.

Ralf Schumacher was married for 14 years

In October 2001 he married Cora-Caroline Brinkmann, a former model, in a private ceremony at their home in Hallwang, Austria.

Later the same year the couple’s son, David, who is now a racing driver currently competing in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters with Mercedes-AMG team Winward, was born.

The couple divorced in 2015.

Commenting on his father’s Instagram post, 22-year-old David said: “I am very happy that you have finally found someone with whom you really feel that you feel very comfortable and secure, no matter if [it is] a man or a woman, I am 100% behind you dad and wish you all the best and congratulations.”

According to Sky News, Carmen Geiss, a German TV personality, businesswomen and friend of Schumacher, named his partner as Etienne and published a photograph of the couple on her own Instagram account.

“Today he confessed his homosexuality,” she said of Ralf Schumacher.

“This step was an act of liberation and self-acceptance for him. It was a courageous decision that has matured in him for a long time and one he is now full of pride and confidence.

“His outing is not only a personal triumph but a sign that he is finally able to live and love his true identity without fear or shame.”

Team Principal and CEO, Christian Horner, Group Chief Technical Officer, Adrian Newey and Red Bull Advanced Technologies Technical Director, Rob Gray launched the finished product at last.

Red Bull Hypercar and evolution for racing team

Designed by Adrian Newey and Red Bull Advanced Technologies, the RB17 builds on the 20 years of innovation in Formula One that has resulted in Oracle Red Bull Racing winning six Constructors’ titles. The RB17 features a two-seater carbon fibre monocoque chassis. It has a semi-stressed mid-mounted naturally aspirated V10 engine that is red-lined at 15,000 rpm.

A carbon fibre gearbox transfers power to the rear wheels. Weighing under 900 kg and with more than 1,200 HP, the RB17 delivers F1-equivalent lap times and top speeds in excess of 350 kph, while remaining easy to own and operate.

From developing the initial concept through to the delivery of the finished RB17 to customers, Red Bull Advanced Technologies is responsible for the entire process of designing and building the Hypercar, of which there are only 50 that will be sold.

A range of track events will give owners the opportunity to experience some of the world’s greatest circuits.

One-of-a-kind driver development and tailoring of the car to suit individual driver’s needs is part of the unique experience. Each RB17 will be bespoke, with customers able to specify everything from the exterior paint colour to interior materials and a whole host of smaller details.

What they said

Christian Horner, Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Principal and CEO said: “We are excited to reveal the RB17 at Goodwood Festival of Speed, a project that is one of the most authentic and exciting that Red Bull Advanced Technologies has embarked upon to date.

He also said: “With 20 years of legacy in the world of F1 to draw from, and as a performance centred organisation, it only made sense for us to design our own Hypercar from the ground up. Combining technical innovation, achievement and emotional appeal, the RB17 is a landmark car.

“I’m very proud of the Team and am delighted to see it make its world debut.

“We expect the RB17 to be a future classic.”

Adrian Newey, Group Chief Technical Officer also commented: “I had been mulling around the idea to take on the challenge to design our very own Hypercar, from concept to delivery, for many years and it has been a magnificent project and journey. For it to finally be the day we pull the covers off and see the birth of the RB17, is truly remarkable.

“The RB17 Hypercar embraces everything we stand for: undeniable power, speed and beauty.

“It is very adaptable in its abilities, and we made sure to design it as a two seater so that the thrill of driving at F1 speeds can be enjoyed with a friend or partner.”

Rob Gray, Red Bull Advanced Technologies Technical Director said: “The RB17 is an amazing project that we are privileged to work on, and has allowed Red Bull Advanced Technologies to showcase our engineering, design, and technical capabilities and solutions. We cannot wait to see the finished cars being enjoyed to the full on a racetrack by racing and automotive enthusaists alike.”

Are you a Red Bull fan?

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Even Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko had to admit after the chequered flag that Hamilton fully deserved to win after a three-year drought. “You could see his strength in terms of tyre management compared to Lando. And that shows how much experience and speed he still has.”

NORRIS IS NOT READY

As for third-placed Norris (24), he could not hide his disgust immediately after the Silverstone race. He pointed his finger at McLaren for “not doing quite the job we should have” with key strategic choices. But when asked if he was personally ready to consistently beat the likes of Hamilton and Verstappen, Norris admitted: “I don’t know, I’m not making the right decisions. I blame myself for not making the right decisions. I hate ending in this position and forever having excuses for not doing a good enough job,” said the Briton.

Former F1 driver Christijan Albers believes Norris is not ready to take the fight to the likes of Max and Lewis consistently. He says the decisive involvement in key strategic choices by Verstappen and Hamilton on Sunday was the ‘key difference’ in the result. “They just decide. Norris is a mega-talent that’s beyond dispute. But he just doesn’t have the same level of thinking and feeling as Lewis and Max at this stage. He’s definitely not at that level yet. He makes a lot of mistakes, and he wasn’t consistent,” concluded Albers.

IMMATURITY

Another ex-F1 driver, Ralf Schumacher, thinks McLaren’s return to top-team status after a fallow period is demonstrating its immaturity. “It’s a question of mutual assistance between driver and team. The driver and the team have to exchange information. But it didn’t happen well on Sunday. And it shows that Norris is not ready for such a fight yet,” said the ex-F1 driver. “He is also still very young. We saw how angry he was with himself, with the bad decisions he and his engineer made. And yes, those moments are part of the growth process towards being a success,” concluded Schumacher. – with GMM

IS NORRIS READY TO FIGHT FOR A TITLE?

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Hamilton was seen crying on his father’s shoulder after winning at Silverstone on Sunday afternoon. This was the 39-year-old’s first win since 2021. Although the British driver had won 103 Formula One races before Sunday’s race, he was never seen emotional after all his wins up until Sunday’s win.

Lewis Hamilton took the lead for the second time in the race in the latter stages. A slow pitstop from McLaren allowed the seven-time F1 champion to take the lead with 12 laps remaining. Anthony Hamilton, who has been his son’s manager for many years, told the media after the race that Lewis had everything under control.

“He was never going to give that up,” Anthony Hamilton told Sky Sports.

“You just had to watch the times. It was a tenth here, a tenth there… It didn’t matter what was happening. Lewis was in full control.”

Lewis Hamilton finally wins a race

“There was absolutely no way, with that current tyre and the tyres that he had underneath him, that he was going to allow that win to slip for the British public. And that’s what drove him on,” he said.

Lewis Hamilton qualified second behind his teammate George Russell but many felt he had the best chance to end his winless streak.

“At the end of the day, Lewis was second yesterday and he was disappointed in himself, he could have done better after qualifying. “He goes home, refocuses and comes back; we know that he has calculated everything.”

Hamilton holds Max Verstappen to win his first race in two years

Having won Sunday’s race, Lewis Hamilton became the first F1 driver to win a race after 300 starts.

Binder hopes KTM Red Bull can take their lessons from the race and use them going forward.

Brad Binder takes his lessons

The ninth ‘stage’ of the season saw Red Bull trying to conquer the unique layout as Brad Binder endured 30 fast laps to classify 9th while teammate Jack Miller grabbed three points for 13th position.

Chilly winds then hot summer conditions and finally overcast and cool asphalt: the Sachsenring threw plenty of challenging circumstances at Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and the rest of the MotoGP field across the three days of the ninth round of the current campaign. For the 30-lap Grand Prix on Sunday, Brad Binder and Jack Miller both tackled the 3.6km layout of never-ending corners, optimistic of preserving premium tire life and bettering their 8th and 11th scored in the sunny Saturday Sprint.

Brad Binder cannot cash in on fast start

Binder made a better start but Miller was also sharp into the tight and technical first corner. Brad found himself circulating with Pedro Acosta and made his way up to the top seven but almost fell on the last lap into Turn 11, ran off track briefly and lost two spots, coming home 9th. Jack was limited by the possibilities of his rubber and made it to the flag in 13th.

MotoGP will pause for a three weekend break and then return to speed with the British Grand Prix at Silverstone during the first weekend of August, where KTM will commemorate the championship’s 75th anniversary with a special vintage livery.

“We made some big changes for today’s race and everything was a bit easier to handle,” said Binder.

“It was better. The bike stopped a bit better but we clearly need to find more because the guys in front were in a league of their own. We got some valuable information to find a bit more speed and to keep the pace all the way through the race. On the last lap I lost the front down Turn 11 and lost two positions. Not ideal. I know what I am capable of and where we can be. We will keep fighting as hard as we can every session.”

The boss

Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “This weekend was quite unexpected. We thought we’d be in the leading group and it wasn’t to be. At least today we provided the best version of the bike to the riders that we’ve had this weekend, so perhaps we were too conservative on Friday. Today was pretty good but it was not enough. We lost too much time but looking ahead we have homework to do and we’ll be testing with Pol [Espargaro] next week. We want to be ready for Silverstone.”

The 39-year-old claimed a long-awaited – and record-breaking ninth British Grand Prix victory in a thrilling race at Silverstone. Before Sunday’s race, Hamilton’s last race win was back in Saudi Arabia back in 2021.

Having started second behind his teammate George Russell, the seven-time F1 champion made a good start by keeping Max Verstappen and Lando Norris behind. With rain dropping in the 17th lap, Lewis Hamilton made a move on his teammate to take the lead. His lead was short-lived however as Norris passed both him and Russell.

The Mercedes driver sat for most part of the race behind the McLarens but a quick thinking by Mercedes allowed Hamilton to come in for softs after the rain cleared. McLaren reacted to a call a lap too late and ultimately lost P1 to the seven-time champions.

Lewis Hamilton wins his first race in nearly three years

Hamilton managed to hold off Verstappen in the final laps to claim his record ninth British GP victory.

“This is my last race here at the British Grand Prix with this team [before moving to Ferrari], so I wanted to win this so much for them, because I love them, I appreciate them so much, all the hard work they’ve been putting in all over these years,” said the Mercedes driver

The seven-time world champion opened up further on the journey between his 103rd and 104th wins.

“It’s so tough, I think for anyone,” Lewis Hamilton commented. “I think the important thing is just how you continue to get up, and you’ve got to continue to dig deep even when you feel like you’re at the bottom of the barrel,” said Lewis Hamilton.

“There’s definitely been days between 2021 and here where I didn’t feel like I was good enough, or whether I was going to get back to where I am today, but the important thing is I had great people around me, continuing to support me.

“My team, every time I turn up and see them putting in the effort, that really encouraged me to the same thing.

“Otherwise, my fans, when I see them around the world, they have been so supportive.”

Lewis Hamilton’s win saw him become the first F1 driver to win a race after passing 300 plus race starts.

The two Britons were given a wild ovation by the crowd who saw a third Briton Lando Norris of McLaren take third to deliver the first one-two-three by British drivers at their home race.

It was the first British triple top in qualifying at any race since the 1968 South African Grand Prix.

Russell grabbed pole in one minute and 25.819 seconds to beat seven-time champion Hamilton by 0.171 seconds in the final minute as the track improved, the trio leaving series leader and three-time champion Max Verstappen to qualify fourth in his slightly damaged Red Bull.

Oscar Piastri was fifth in the second McLaren ahead of Nico Hulkenberg of Haas, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, Lance Stroll of Aston Martin, Alex Albon of Williams and two-time champion Fernando Alonso in the second Aston Martin.

The race will start at 16:00 (SA time).

GRID FOR THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX:

Front row

George Russell (GBR/Mercedes)

Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes)

2nd row

Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren)

Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull)

3rd row

Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren)

Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Haas)

4th row

Carlos Sainz  (ESP/Ferrari)

Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin)

5th row

Alex Albon (THA/Williams)

Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin)

6th row

Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari)

Logan Sargeant (USA/Williams)

7th row

Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/RB)

Zhou Guanyu (CHN/Sauber)

8th row

Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/RB)

Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Sauber)

9th row

Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas)

Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine)

10th row

Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull)

Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine)

The race, which represents the halfway mark in the season, will take place at Silverstone in England on Sunday, 7 July.

The lights will go out at 16:00 (SA time).

As a reminder, the 2023 British Grand Prix was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen with Lando Norris in his McLaren in second place.

Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes took third place.

BRITISH GRAND PRIX TIMES

All times SA

Sunday, 7 July

Main race: 16:00

Standings ahead of the race

Drivers

Constructors

The 19-year-old, who made an impressive F1 debut by finishing seventh for Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this year, has signed a “multi-year” contract.

Bearman is currently a member of the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy and a reserve driver for Ferrari while contesting the Formula 2 Championship for Prema Racing.

‘Dreamed of as a child’ – Oliver Bearman

“It’s hard to put into words just how much this means to me,” Bearman said in a statement from Haas.

“To say out loud that I will be a Formula 1 driver for… Haas F1 Team makes me so immensely proud.

“To be one of the very few people who get to do the thing what they dreamed of as a child is something truly incredible.”

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu said: “It’s an exciting thing to be able to give a young driver as talented as Oliver Bearman his first full-time seat in Formula 1.

“He’s developed into an incredibly mature driver under the guidance of the Scuderia Ferrari driver academy and the world saw that for themselves when he was called in at the last minute to compete at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.”

Fourth Briton

In the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in March, Bearman deputised for Carlos Sainz after the Spaniard was diagnosed with appendicitis.

He qualified 11th despite not driving the car until the final practice. He went on to finish seventh in the race.

Bearman will be the fourth Briton on the F1 grid next year, alongside Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Lando Norris.

By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse

Nevertheless, large sections of the media now suggest this is a clear return of the Dutchman’s ‘bad boy’ persona of the 2021 title race against Lewis Hamilton. After the race, Norris (24) exclaimed that unless Verstappen accepts total blame for the incident, his friendship with the triple world champion could be over.

POST-RACE BEHAVIOUR OF NORRIS

“Norris’s behaviour after the race was pathetic,” said Marko to the Osterreich newspaper, revealing that Norris and Verstappen did not share their usual flight after the race. “His comments that Max should apologise fully are not very helpful. But they will meet to talk things out. They usually fly together between races, but this time they were travelling separately. So, Max had a quiet return flight. Things like this happen, and I would write it off as a racing accident. Although Norris was more the one who overstepped the mark,” said Marko.

Norris’ inexperience at the front of the field was clearly a factor in the fight against Verstappen. Even though Red Bull’s outright dominance has clearly ceased in 2024, the team is confident it will hit back hard with an upgrade to Silverstone. As long as it gives Max a car capable of winning, and there is a certain harmony in the team, he will always be a force to be reckoned with out front, said the Red Bull boss. Marko also rejected speculation that Red Bull has struck trouble with its new engine project with Ford for 2026.

“We are right on schedule. There is no plan B. Our engine simply has to work. And in terms of horsepower, we will definitely be up there. It will be exciting to see who will really be up at the front under the new regulations,” concluded Marko. – GMM

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The next race – which represents the halfway mark in the season – will take place at Silverstone in England on Sunday, 7 July.

The lights will go out at 16:00 (SA time).

As a reminder, the 2023 British Grand Prix was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen with Lando Norris in his McLaren in second place.

Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes took third place.

BRITISH GRAND PRIX TIMES

All times SA

Friday, 5 July

Practice 1: 13:30 – 14:30

Practice 2: 17:00 – 18:00

Saturday, 6 July

Practice 3: 12:30 – 13:30

Qualifying: 16:00 – 17:00

Sunday, 7 July

Main race: 16:00

Updated standings

Drivers

Constructors

Data records combed by investigators included “photo files relating to the Schumacher family’s private life”, the prosecutors in the western city of Wuppertal said in a statement.

German authorities announced in June they had arrested a father and son on suspicion of trying to blackmail the Schumacher family.

The suspects contacted family representatives claiming to have access to files which the Schumachers “would not want to have published”, prosecutors said.

“To stop the files being published online, the perpetrators demanded a payment in the millions,” they said.

Michael Schumacher has not been seen in public since 2013

The suspects allegedly transferred “individual files” to the family in a bid to show they were not bluffing.

Michael Schumacher, a seven-time Formula One world champion, has not been seen in public since he suffered a serious brain injury in a 2013 skiing accident in the French Alps.

The two suspects, who were on probation in another case, were arrested by police on June 19 in a supermarket car park in Gross-Gerau, south of Frankfurt.

Prosecutors on Wednesday said “intensive investigations” were being carried out into the case but no further details could be given “for reasons of investigative tactics”.

‘Fake AI interview’

Schumacher’s family in May won a legal action against a German tabloid magazine which printed a fake AI interview with the 55-year-old German former race driver.

Magazine Die Aktuelle had in April 2023 claimed it had an interview with the motorsport legend but the article in fact contained quotes which had been computer-generated.

German tabloid Bild reported that Schumacher’s family was awarded $220 000 in compensation for the claim.

By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse

Binder secured a sixth-place finish in the race but had hoped for more to aid his push to challenge for the title.

Brad Binder laments tyre choice at Assen

“Quite a hectic race,” Binder admitted.

“I decided to go with the soft rear tire because I felt there might be more potential to go with the boys in front but the reality was that they could put down a super-fast pace with the medium and we just burnt the tire to go with them.

“It was tricky, for sure. I would have liked to have walked away with a better result but I left nothing on the table. We have some work to do. My feeling is not terrible. I understand the front limit and I didn’t crash at all this weekend. We just need to find more speed.”

In contrast to Friday and Saturday, the weather was overcast and cool as MotoGP ignited into another ‘double header’.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing assumed 9th and 14th positions on the start grid and aimed to make their usual fiery getaways.

The narrow but fast trajectory of the track demanded both stability and high agility for maximum speed and it was Binder who could find the most out of the KTM RC16 package. Choosing a soft tyre option, he throttled his way into the mid-top ten and then had to maintain his pace through a long and strategic race.

The South African secured nine points for 7th by the flag after a lonely outing and was elevated to 6th after Marc Marquez was sanctioned.

Miller, who gained some confidence through a busy scrap for top-ten consideration on Saturday, had made a decent start from the fifth row and felt content with his classification of 11th.

“Better,” Miller said.

“We made an improvement last night and was able to run a bit better pace and I had a nice fight and could gain confidence. The change we made gave me more feeling with the front end of the bike and I was happy with that.

“It’s a base level we can restart with, and fingers crossed we can still look to make some improvements.”

Work to do for Red Bull

Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “We have some homework to do. Overall, the weekend was not too bad. Brad had a direct Q2 on Friday and a decent Sprint considering the front tire pressure. Our expectation was a bit higher for today but he struggled to run the pace of the front group. We have some useful information and we have to work very hard in the next days. For Jack, despite the position, he has the feeling that he is ‘back’. We made a strong change from yesterday and he was growing with the new set-up. Another little point where we can start again. Let’s try for more in Germany next weekend.”

In the post-race-interview pen, Norris (24) said, “It all depends on what Max says. If he says he didn’t make a mistake, I will lose a lot of respect for him. If he admits that he was stupid and unfair to me, then I will continue to respect him.” The Briton accused the Red Bull driver of moving under braking repeatedly in defence.

NORRIS-VERSTAPPEN CLASH IN AUSTRIA

Meanwhile, Verstappen insisted it was ‘not the time’ to discuss the matter with Norris in the heat of the moment. However, the Dutchman categorically denied moving under braking in defence of Norris’ attacks. “I didn’t drive aggressively. In fact, it was him who perhaps lost control with his dive-bomb manoeuvres from behind,” Verstappen told Sky Italia.

Following the contentious Norris-Verstappen clash in Austria, the Dutchman actually extended his world championship lead. He bristled at a reporter from France’s Canal Plus who suggested he could have defended with less aggression because he was ‘miles ahead in the championship’.

YOU HAVE TO FIGHT MAX HARD

“Should I just stay home then? I’m here to win, not to finish second. If you’re fighting for the win, you have to fight hard,” said the triple World Champion. When asked for his take on the incident, Red Bull’s Dr. Helmut Marko suggested that both drivers were to blame. Even though Verstappen was the only one penalised for the contact.

“It was a very sporting and entertaining duel until it changed from both sides. It became about who exceeded the track limits the most, and both were naughty,” Marko told Viaplay. “We knew that Norris was under investigation because he had been off the track three times already.  We didn’t know if he would get a penalty, so we should have told Max to calm down, let him go, and that Norris would get a penalty,” suggested the Austrian – with GMM

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Verstappen looked in control for most of the race but a slow pit stop by Red Bull allowed Norris to close down the gap. With 15 laps remaining, the British driver was within DRS of the leader and made several attempts to overtake before tensions boiled over on Lap 64. The two drivers made contact on turn 3 with both picking up punctures.

Norris’ race was over while Verstappen pitted for new tyres to finish fifth. After the race, the British driver expressed his frustration.

“Clearly a little bit on the back foot in terms of overall pace comparing to Max, the first and second stint he would always just edge away that little bit. But they just seemed to make a lot more mistakes than what we did,” he said as per F1.

Norris and Verstappen crash in Austria

“They messed up their pit stop which is rare from them, but clearly a bit of pressure from their side and they started to slip up a little bit. But I felt like I drove a good race. I kept myself in the fight the whole time.

Norris and Verstappen have had a good relationship off-track for many years but tension between the two has now boiled over. When asked if the crash would affect their friendship, the McLaren driver said Max has to take the blame.

“It’s not for me to say, it’s for him to say something.“I did nothing wrong – he was the one in the wrong, so he’s the one that should say something, not me.”

McLaren boss Andreas Stella said Max Verstappen’s racing against Norris was not within the regulations.

“It’s not about racing in a driver’s way. It’s about racing within the regulations.”

“If you don’t address these things honestly, they will come back. They have come back today because they were not addressed properly in the past where there were fights with Lewis that needed to be punished in a harsher way.”

The season’s next race will take place at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg on Sunday, 30 June.

The lights will go out at 15:00 (SA time).

As a reminder, the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen with Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari in second place.

Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull car took third place.

AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX TIMES

All times SA

Friday, 28 June

Practice 1: 12:30 – 13:30

Sprint qualifying: 16:30 – 17:14

Saturday, 29 June

Sprint: 12:00 – 13:00

Qualifying: 16:00 – 17:00

Sunday, 30 June

Main race: 15:00

Updated standings

Drivers

1. Max Verstappen (NED) 219 points, 2. Lando Norris (GBR) 150, 3. Charles Leclerc (MON) 148, 4. Carlos Sainz (ESP) 116, 5. Sergio Perez (MEX) 111, 6. Oscar Piastri (AUS) 87, 7. George Russell (GBR) 81, 8. Lewis Hamilton (GBR) 70, 9. Fernando Alonso (ESP) 41, 10. Yuki Tsunoda (JPN) 19, 11. Lance Stroll (CAN) 11, 12. Oliver Bearman (GBR) 6, 13. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) 9, 14. Nico Hülkenberg (GER) 6, 15. Pierre Gasly (FRA) 5, 16. Esteban Ocon (FRA) 3, 17. Alex Albon (THA) 2, 18. Kevin Magnussen (DEN) 1, 19. Zhou Guanyu (CHN) 0, 20. Valtteri Bottas (FIN) 0, 21. Logan Sargeant (USA) 0

Constructors

1. Red Bull 330 points, 2. Ferrari 270, 3. McLaren 237, 4. Mercedes 151, 5. Aston Martin 58, 6. RB 28, 7. Alpine 8, 8. Haas 7, 9. Williams 2, 10. Sauber 0

Sunday’s race will start at 15:00 (SA time).

Lewis Hamilton will start on the second row alongside his Mercedes team-mate George Russell.

Norris produced his 1:11.383 of magic after a “stressful” day when the McLaren hospitality unit caught fire before third practice.

McLaren team boss Zak Brown told Sky Sports one staff member had to go to hospital but had been discharged, adding: “Happy to report everyone is fine”.

Max Verstappen leads the championship

Verstappen, targeting a fourth straight world title, leads the championship by 56 points from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who starts Sunday’s race in fifth, with Norris seven points back in third.

Joining Leclerc on the third row will be his Ferrari team-mate and home favourite Carlos Sainz.

Next came the Alpine of Pierre Gasly, the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez, who has a three-place grid penalty from Canada, Esteban Ocon in the other Alpine and Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren.

This is the 10th round of the 24-race season and the first of a triple header with Austria and Silverstone coming up over the next two weekends.

Grid for the Spanish Grand Prix:

Front row

Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren)

Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull)

2nd row

Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes)

George Russell (GBR/Mercedes)

3rd row

Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari)

Carlos Sainz  (ESP/Ferrari)

4th row

Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine)

Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine)

5th row

Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren)

Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin)

6th row

*Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull)

Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Sauber)

7th row

Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Haas)

Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin)

8th row

Zhou Guanyu (CHN/Sauber)

Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas)

9th row

Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/RB)

Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/RB)

10th row

Alex Albon (THA/Williams)

Logan Sargeant (USA/Williams)

* Sergio Perez qualified eighth, but has a three-place penalty carried over from the Canadian Grand Prix

Sunday’s race will start at 15:00 (SA time).

Lewis Hamilton will start on the second row alongside his Mercedes team-mate George Russell.

Verstappen looked sure to set off for Sunday’s 10th round of the season from the front of the grid.

‘Stressful day’ – Lando Norris

But in the last throw of the top-10 shoot-out Norris denied the Red Bull ace by a mere two hundredths of a second.

“Today was the perfect lap,” said Norris after only his second career pole.

“My best lap by a long way, I knew I had to do something perfect, it was probably my best lap ever.”

Norris produced his 1:11.383 of magic after a “stressful” day when the McLaren hospitality unit caught fire before third practice.

McLaren team boss Zak Brown told Sky Sports one staff member had to go to hospital but had been discharged, adding: “Happy to report everyone is fine”.

“I lost my shoes. It’s all been a bit messy,” said Norris.

“I like to listen to my music loud beforehand, but didn’t have that this time. But it’s not the end of the world. I’m not going to complain about it.”

Turning back to a vintage qualifying session, Norris, whose only other pole came in Russia in 2021, reflected: “It’s been a while since Sochi!

“Max seemed a bit stronger today, but we made some changes,” added the Briton who won his maiden Grand Prix in May in Miami.

“I’m super happy to be on pole, it’s going to be tough but we’re here to win!”

Verstappen, targeting a fourth straight world title, leads the championship by 56 points from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who starts Sunday’s race in fifth, with Norris seven points back in third.

“I think the whole of qualifying was better than practice for me,” said Verstappen, who won his maiden Grand Prix in Barcelona in 2016 and is on a hat-trick after wins in Catalonia in 2022 and 2023.

“It all clicked much better. The other teams are catching up, we need to bring more performance to the car.”

Ferrari-bound Hamilton was happy to be towards the front of the grid as he out-qualified his team-mate Russell for only the second time this year.

“It’s good to be back up here, great to see we are progressing,” he said.

“We are slowly climbing closer to the guys in front, it’s really on a knife edge.

“I’m really happy to be in P3 with that long straight to turn one.”

Joining Leclerc on the third row will be his Ferrari team-mate and home favourite Carlos Sainz.

Next came the Alpine of Pierre Gasly, the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez, who has a three-place grid penalty from Canada, Esteban Ocon in the other Alpine and Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren.

Charles Leclerc reprimand

After only a tenth of a second had covered the top four in final practice earlier the stage was set for an intriguing pole battle.

Complicating matters was a sizeable drop in temperature, with morning sunshine giving way to heavy cloud cover with the wind picking up.

The action on track though was anything but cool, as drivers scrambled to eke out every last ounce of performance for a Grand Prix won from pole in 24 of 33 races run at the circuit.

After clipping the McLaren of Lando Norris at the end of final practice Leclerc tuned up for qualifying with a trip to the FIA’s headmaster’s study as the race stewards investigated the incident.

Leclerc was arguably fortunate to escape with only a reprimand rather than a grid penalty, announced just before qualifying got under way.

Hamilton grabbed the honours in the first qualifying run, jumping from 14th to first, with Verstappen leading the Mercedes duo after the second session.

Verstappen came alive when it counted most – after a quietish time in the three practice sessions he led Q3 after the first flurry of laps.

All the drivers pitted to prepare for one last attempt at depriving the Red Bull ace from Sunday’s pole, with Norris nailing it to end a trying day on a high.

This is the 10th round of the 24-race season and the first of a triple header with Austria and Silverstone coming up over the next two weekends.

Grid for the Spanish Grand Prix grid after qualifying on Saturday:

Front row

Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren)

Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull)

2nd row

Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes)

George Russell (GBR/Mercedes)

3rd row

Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari)

Carlos Sainz  (ESP/Ferrari)

4th row

Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine)

Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine)

5th row

Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren)

Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin)

6th row

*Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull)

Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Sauber)

7th row

Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Haas)

Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin)

8th row

Zhou Guanyu (CHN/Sauber)

Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas)

9th row

Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/RB)

Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/RB)

10th row

Alex Albon (THA/Williams)

Logan Sargeant (USA/Williams)

* Sergio Perez qualified eighth but has a three-place penalty carried over from the Canadian Grand Prix)

By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse

Liberty Media’s first major motorsport acquisition, Formula 1 in 2017, has been transformative for not just the company but the sport itself. Chief among its tactics when acquiring F1 seven-years ago was to create the now hugely popular Drive to Survive show on Netflix. And to introduce shorter F1 Sprint races, as well as up the publicity element to the sport by visiting mega venues outside of Europe.

NOW FORMULA E

“The success factor in recent years is that we understand that if you present an event only as a sporting event, you lose popularity,” says F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali. The F1 supremo was talking in an appearance this week on the Italian podcast 2046. Since 2017, Liberty Media has turned F1 into more than a motorsport, and it has won fans in previously untapped markets like the United States, thanks to popular Miami and Las Vegas races.

Liberty Media’s statement said it would acquire the shares formerly held by Warner Bros. pending regulatory approval, taking its stake to a controlling 65 per cent overall. “We’re excited to take a controlling interest in Formula E, a business we first invested in nearly ten years ago,” said Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries.

“Formula E has a massive potential for further growth while integrating the most advanced sustainability standards in sports,” concluded Fries. Earlier in the year, following Liberty’s $4-billion purchase of MotoGP, the CEO nixed rumours that the two series would race together on a weekend. So, as cool as it sounds, the four-wheel race cars of Formula 1 and E will not be heading out with their two-wheeled equivalents from MotoGP on track anytime soon. – with GMM

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The opening two races of the season took place in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and were both won in dominant fashion by Red Bull’s defending world champion Max Verstappen.

The third race saw Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz come out on tops at the Australian Grand Prix.

Verstappen was back to winning ways in Japan and China, before Lando Norris claimed his maiden victory in Miami.

Verstappen returned to the top step of the podium at Imola.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc then clinch a home grand prix in yawn-fest at the Monaco Grand Prix last Sunday.

The season’s next race will take place at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Canada on Sunday, 9 June.

The lights will go out at 20:00 (SA time).

As a reminder, the 2023 race was won by Verstappen with Fernando Alonso in his Aston Martin in second place.

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton took third place.

CANADA GRAND PRIX TIMES

All times SA

Friday, 7 June

Practice 1: 19:30 – 20:30

Practice 2: 23:00 – 00:00

Saturday, 8 June

Practice 3: 18:30 – 19:30

Qualifying: 22:00 – 23:00

Sunday, 9 June

Main race: 20:00

Updated standings

Drivers

1. Max Verstappen (NED) 169 points, 2. Charles Leclerc (MON) 138, 3. Lando Norris (GBR) 113, 4. Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) 108, 5. Sergio Perez (MEX) 107, 6. Oscar Piastri (AUS) 71, 7. George Russell (GBR) 54, 8. Lewis Hamilton (GBR) 42, 9. Fernando Alonso (ESP) 33, 10. Yuki Tsunoda (JPN) 19, 11. Lance Stroll (CAN) 11, 12. Oliver Bearman (GBR) 6, 13. Nico Hülkenberg (GER) 6, 14. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) 5, 15. Alex Albon (THA) 2, 16. Esteban Ocon (FRA) 1, 17. Kevin Magnussen (DEN) 1, 18. Pierre Gasly (FRA) 1, 19. Zhou Guanyu (CHN) 0, 20. Valtteri Bottas (FIN) 0, 21. Logan Sargeant (USA) 0

Constructors

1. Red Bull 276 points, 2. Ferrari 252 3. McLaren 184, 4. Mercedes 96, 5. Aston Martin 44, 6. RB 24, 7. Haas 7, 8. Williams 2, 9. Alpine 1, 10. Sauber 0

The Briton took the prime starting spot because he set his lap time earlier in the session.

Ferrari flop

In a dramatic conclusion to a closely-contested qualifying session, Mercedes’ Russell was unable to improve on his Q2 time while Red Bull’s series leader and three-time world champion shaved more than a second off his lap.

It was enough to lift the Dutchman to the front row of the grid alongside the Briton, who secured his second career pole to give a boost to Mercedes as they emerge from a long period in the doldrums thanks to successive upgrades packages.

Lando Norris was third just 0.021 seconds off their pace ahead of McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, RB’s Daniel Ricciardo, two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the second Mercedes.

Yuki Tsunoda was eighth in the second RB ahead of Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin and Williams Alex Albon with the two Ferraris failing to make the top 10 shootout.

Charles Leclerc, an emotional home winner of the Monaco Grand Prix two weeks earlier, qualified 11th and team-mate Carlos Sainz 12th.

It was the first time since the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix that Ferrari had both cars eliminated without reaching Q3.

The race is due to start at 20:00 (SA time).

As a reminder, the 2023 race was won by Max Verstappen with Fernando Alonso in his Aston Martin in second place.

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton took third place.

GRID FOR SUNDAY‘S CANADIAN GRAND PRIX

Front row

George Russell (GBR/Mercedes)

Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull)

2nd row

Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren)

Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren)

3rd row

Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/RB)

Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin)

4th row

Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes)

Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/RB)

5th row

Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin)

Alex Albon (THA/Williams)

6th row

Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari)

Carlos Sainz (ESP/Ferrari)

7th row

Logan Sargeant (USA/Williams)

Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas)

8th row

Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine)

Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull)

9th row

Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Sauber)

Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Haas)

10th row

Zhou Guanyu (CHN/Sauber)

Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine)

“I mean, it’s only 30 kilograms, so it’s going in the right direction, but the 2026 F1 car will still be heavy,” reacted seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Furthermore, the FIA has reduced drag by more than half on the 2026 F1 car. Likewise, downforce has also dropped by some 30%. Watch the FIA’s comprehensive explainer video below …

2026 F1 CAR

“I’ve spoken to some drivers who have driven it on the simulator and they said it’s pretty slow. So, we will see whether it’s actually the right direction or not for the 2026 F1 car. But I think in terms of sustainability, particularly on the power unit, it appears to be a really bold step and it’s definitely going in the right direction,” added Hamilton.

Nico Hulkenberg, who will be racing for Audi when the 2026 F1 car debuts, said the slashed downforce will dramatically slow the cars in the high-speed corners. “It will be quite a different scenario to now. So, there is going to be a drastic change in drivability,” admitted the German.

DOUBTFUL AND SCEPTICAL

Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz Jr. admits he has some early concerns. “I hope that with this path and also the overtaking button, we don’t move away from the good sport that we have been able to show in recent years,” said the Spaniard who is still uncertain with whom he will be driving in 2026.

Triple world champion Max Verstappen thinks the moveable wings and overtaking boost is an obvious compromise due to the radical new power units. “It’s clear that active aerodynamics are required, because otherwise a driver could run out of electrical energy before the lap is over. But I understand that the FIA wanted to attract more manufacturers, and a change in regulations was essential for that,” said Verstappen.

ATTRACT NEW BRANDS

Verstappen added that he thinks the 2026 cars will be faster than now on some tracks, but slower on others due to the reduced downforce. The Red Bull driver also agrees with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso that it will be ‘impossible’ for the teams to build the 2026 F1 car 30kg-lighter than today. “Some cars at the moment are already overweight. I would have preferred 100-150 kilograms lighter. But with the hybrid engines that’s wishful thinking,” concluded the Dutchman.

As for the new overtaking and moveable wing buttons, Alonso admits the workload in the cockpit will increase. “Yes, it looks complicated, and we’ll have more work to do to press the various buttons. I think some of the innovations are designed to compensate for the overly ambitious goals the power-unit makers are trying to achieve. What we want as drivers is a tighter fight, more winners. We don’t want someone to dominate for three of four years in a row. This is what the 2026 F1 car should aim at,” said the Spaniard. – with GMM

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The Austrian says it’s not because there are efforts to sideline or oust him. Rather, his home region of Styria is presenting him with an award for his services. “It’s not because I’m going to the Opera Balln or something,” laughed Marko (81) in an interview with Kronen Zeitung this week.

RED BULL TRUCE

Far more important than the current Red Bull truce is Marko’s concern about on-track performance from the team. Having dominated the new ‘ground effect’ regulations era from 2022 to date, the team is now being seriously challenged by Ferrari and McLaren for the first time. “It’s clear we have lost the dominance of the first three races. The competition has caught up in the third year of the current regulations by copying and even improving some things we’ve done,” said the Austrian.

The 2024 car struggles to handle bumps and high kerbs. This was made painfully clear to Red Bull last time out in Monaco. “Ferrari is better in this respect, and they’re also better in terms of top speed. The fact is, we are not going to Canada as favourites,” Marko said. However, Red Bull truce or no, the team is not giving up. “We will combine all our forces. Even if we are no longer dominant, we want to get the maximum out and look towards the world championship title,” said Marko.

MANAGE THE TURMOIL

And to achieve that, Marko says it’s important that the internal leadership turmoil and scandal that marred the start of the 2024 campaign is now being managed. “We have made a truce of sorts,” confirmed Marko when asked about the ongoing conflict with team boss Christian Horner. – with GMM

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He will team up with reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia.

Marquez, who currently rides for Gresini, Ducati’s satellite team which he joined at the start of 2024 after 11 seasons at Honda, will replace Italian Enea Bastianini on a two-year contract.

Marquez has not won a race since October 2021 and lies third in the standings at the midway point of this season.

It follows team boss Bruno Famin’s fury at the first-lap crash with Esteban Ocon and teammate Pierre Gasly more than a week ago in Monaco. The avoidable crash just before the tunnel in the principality triggered speculation that Esteban Ocon may even be sidelined this weekend in Montreal, Canada.

ESTEBAN OCON TO LEAVE ALPINE

But Auto Motor and Sport correspondent Joel Lischka said it was already being rumoured prior to the Monaco incident that Alpine did not want to continue with Esteban Ocon. However, Alpine said the split was ‘agreed together’ with Ocon. The 2021 Hungarian GP winner is now linked with a move to Haas for 2025 to replace Audi-bound Nico Hulkenberg.

“It would be a good fit, as Esteban Ocon is close friends with Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu. Both have known and respected each other since the days when Ocon was still a test driver at Renault,” said Bild journalist Enrico Ahlig.

JACK DOONAN’S CHANCE

Ocon declared late on Monday: “I will announce my plans very soon, but in the meantime, my full focus is on delivering on track for this team and having a successful remainder of the season.” Current Alpine reserve and would-be F1 rookie Jack Doohan, the son of motorcycle legend Mick Doohan, is considered the frontrunner to replace Ocon.

L’Equipe believes, “Logic dictates that Alpine will do everything to keep Pierre Gasly as leader, with the hope of offering him a high-performance car for 2026. But the market remains very vague around Red Bull, Mercedes, Sauber, Williams, Racing Bulls and Haas.”

As for 21-year-old Australian Doohan, L’Equipe says, “He is a protege of Flavio Briatore, who is joining as an advisor to the team. Mick Schumacher would be another option, but he’s a Mercedes driver managed by Toto Wolff, just like Esteban Ocon.” Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, Theo Pourchaire and Yuki Tsunoda are also potential candidates for a move to Alpine in 2025. – with GMM

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The 34-year-old Mexican’s contract was up for renewal at the end of the season but the extension will keep him at the world champions into a sixth campaign.

Sergio Perez has played second fiddle to Max Verstappen

“I am really happy to commit my future to this great team,” said Perez, who has won six races in his career.

“It is a challenge like no other racing for Red Bull Racing, both on track and off track. I am delighted to be staying here to continue our journey together and contribute to this team’s great history for two more years.”

Perez has played second fiddle at Red Bull to world champion Max Verstappen and is currently fifth in the standings, 62 points behind his team-mate ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.

Verstappen has indicated he will honour a contract that runs until 2028, despite interest from Mercedes following the fallout from allegations of sexual harassment involving team principal Christian Horner earlier this year.

Internal investigation

Horner, who denies the allegations, was cleared in February of wrongdoing by an internal investigation carried out by Red Bull’s parent company.

Red Bull’s dominance has been threatened this season, with McLaren’s Lando Norris winning in Miami last month, while Charles Leclerc triumphed in Monaco.

“Now is an important time to confirm our line-up for 2025 and we are very pleased to continue working together with Checo (Perez),” said Horner.

“Continuity and stability are important for the team and both Checo and Max are a successful and robust partnership, securing our first-ever one-two finish for the team in the championship last year.”

By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse