Lewis Hamilton versus the young guns Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc should be a fascinating generational tussle, but paywalls are getting in the way of inspiring a new generationAs the new season draws closer, Formula One’s hip young gunslingers are ready to step up and challenge the sport’s undisputed champion. The prospect is tantalising, offering the possibility of a defining period of F1 in a spectacular generational tussle. Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc are two of the most exciting talents in the sport and six-time champion Lewis Hamilton is their target. F1 will want to make hay from a potentially gripping battle but just how they do so is a vital question as pay TV continues to dominate its dissemination.Beating...
Increasing costs mean Britain may never produce a driver from an underprivileged background such as Lewis Hamilton againTalent now, more than ever, will take you only so far in motor racing. The ability to combine split-second decision making with almost ethereal reactions and sensitivity to an enormously complex piece of machinery has long set racers apart. But where once skill would be major the differentiator within their ranks, now it is money that seems to talk the loudest.This week the former driver Derek Warwick, the vice-president of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, warned that the increasing costs of racing meant that Britain may never produce a driver from an underprivileged background such as Lewis Hamilton again. Warwick fears many exceptional...
Dutchman would have been in line to replace Hamilton at Mercedes if the champion moves to Ferrari but instead he may be the man who keeps Honda in the sportJust days into the new year, with many good intentions already falling by the wayside, Max Verstappen has displayed the boldest of resolve. The Dutchman’s decision to re-sign with Red Bull until the end of 2023 is a commitment of confidence in the future of the team that brought him into Formula One. He clearly believes they can deliver a title-challenging car and in a month marked by attempts to be abstemious, Verstappen’s signature is just the stiffener Red Bull and their engine supplier Honda required.Verstappen will enter his sixth season...
Ben Stokes produced two match-winning innings but Dina Asher-Smith made history and Lewis Hamilton got title No 6Stride by stride, second by second, Dina Asher-Smith had a 2019 for the ages. To win one world athletics medal would have been staggering enough. To become the first Briton to leave with three from the same championships was a monumental statement of intent. Best of all was her 200m gold in 21.88sec, a time so fast it smashed her national record and made her the first British woman to win a global sprint title. Further silvers in the 100m and 4x100m highlighted the potential for more glory at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. No wonder Sebastian Coe has predicted she will be the...
Raheem Sterling, Lewis Hamilton and Ben Stokes have used social media to fight back against a hostile pressLet’s begin with Bob Nudd. Now, this may seem a strange place to start an article about the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards when the show has come up with its strongest shortlist since the 2012 Olympics and, in all honesty, even Bob himself seemed a bit surprised when I called him up this past week to talk about it. “You can probably guess why I’m calling,” I started. “No,” he stopped. “Is it something to do with the election?” Not the election Bob, but the other big vote. The one you should have won, back in 1991 when Nudd, four‑times...