Lewis Hamilton is aiming for an eighth title but faces a tough challenge from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Sergio PérezCar W12 Engine Mercedes Principal Toto Wolff Debut France 1954 GPs 227 Titles 7 Last season champions Continue reading...
Athletes don’t want to be accused of hypocrisy but the changing environment is already having an impact on many sportsFor a sector of society so adept at harnessing communities, cities, even entire countries, sport is strangely weak at empowering action on the issue which matters most. Perhaps the pace of sport, the relentless rotation of preparing, travelling and performing, restrains us from stopping, breathing and thinking about the existence of sport as we know it. Having globe-hopped for 25 years, reporting on Olympics, Paralympics, World Cups and tennis grand slams, I know I’ve taken sport for granted. When it stops – rain delay, postponement, pandemic – we notice. At other times, it’s just there. Silly games, essentially, for escapism and...
From his 2008 heroics in the Silverstone rain to winning from 14th on the grid at Hockenheim a decade later, Hamilton has delivered some unforgettable moments over the yearsHamilton’s greatest recovery drive may still be his fightback from 18th to second in Turkey at a GP2 race but then there was this outstanding win, his only victory from below 10th on the grid. He suffered a hydraulic problem in qualifying and started from 14th at Hockenheim with Sebastian Vettel – in a quicker Ferrari at that point in the season – on pole. Hamilton immediately hared off through the midfield and swiftly made it to fourth when the rain descended. Always supreme in the wet he was quickest on track,...
The Williams driver celebrates the return of F1 despite enormous changes because of Covid-19 and relishes the excitement in Austria after the heartbreak of MelbourneFormula One’s new reality has taken some getting used to but the sport should be proud of what it has achieved in putting on the two opening grands prix in Austria. Everyone has been learning and since this journey began over a week ago we have all endured ups and downs. Some painful, some personal, but what has been unmistakable is the sheer excitement and enthusiasm with which the sport has embraced going racing again.Several months ago, after the cancellation of the Australian Grand Prix, I believed there was a big possibility we would not go...
Valtteri Bottas’s win suggests the champion constructors will be ominously strong again this season and F1 deserves credit for the biosphere system which saw a Covid clear raceValtteri Bottas’s win in Austria might have been nail-biting for the team, given they feared his car was very close to a shutdown because of a gearbox sensor problem, but from the weekend as a whole Mercedes emerged ominously strong. Their car is comfortably once more at the front of the field, with their form bearing the hallmarks of one of those relentless Metallica riffs that churns on and on and on. Half a second up in qualifying, nearest competitor Red Bull had to opt for an alternate tyre strategy just to give...