Tag: Drivers

Fernando Alonso says he does not expect his performance to drop off any time soon after completing his “best season” in Formula 1 at the age of 42.

In his first season with Aston Martin after joining from Alpine, Alonso finished fourth in the drivers’ standings to claim his highest finish since 2013.

Aston Martin got off to an electric start with podium finishes in six out of the first 10 races, unexpectedly competing with Ferrari and Mercedes, as well as being Red Bull’s closest competitors in the early stages of the season.

While his contract with the team currently only has one season to run, Alonso appears confident of continuing for several years yet.

“I’ve said many times, even before 2018, the day I stop racing is not because I feel not motivated for driving or I feel slow,” the two-time world champion said at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

“If I feel slow one day, I think it will be noticeable and I will not be happy with my performance and I will be the first to raise my hand and say it’s time.

“But I don’t think that time will arrive honestly in terms of feeling slow, I have extreme self-confidence in my performance.”

While falling short of an elusive 33rd career race win, Alonso clinched all eight of Aston Martin’s podium finishes, including second-place finishes in Monaco, Canada and the Netherlands.

“I’m happy with the personal performance, I think together with 2012, it’s the best season for me,” Alonso said.

“Personally, I rate the best season in my driving. I was happy with everything, I was motivated, I was fit, I was performing as you said in difficult conditions sometimes, Bahrain, Monaco, Canada, Monza and Brazil will be my top four/five of the year.

“I put Monza on purpose because it was a ninth place, it was not a podium, it was nothing that people will remember. But probably we had the slowest car in Monza or the second slowest and to be in the points it was one of those weekends everything was very good.”

‘Demanding schedule’ could stop Alonso driving

Cancelled races this year in China and Italy saw F1’s record 24-race schedule reduced to 22, but with a full season set for 2024, Alonso feels the sport’s calendar is the only thing that could wear him down.

“But it could be with the calendar and the demanding schedule and things like this one day, I will feel it this time because you know there are other things in life,” Alonso said.

“It’s been a very demanding season only with 22 races, with two cancellations. Next year with 24, the proper calendar, we will have to see how it feels. Even Las Vegas, I saw today it’s a triple header, I don’t know why, I thought Vegas was alone next year and then Qatar and Abu Dhabi together.

“I just found out now, like 10 minutes ago, that it was three races together, these kinds of things will drain my battery, not my driving.”

While Aston Martin surpassed expectations at the start, they struggled in the middle stage of the season, with more disappointing performances in the British and Hungarian Grands Prix, but Alonso accepts the process is part of a learning curve for the team.

“I see only positives as well; those struggles are part of the job and part of the journey of this team,” he said. “I think we started really strong with a car that was surprisingly competitive even to us the step from last year to this year.

“Then we found ourselves maybe in a position that we were not ready for it, fighting with Mercedes, Ferrari, top teams. They are used to fighting at the level.

“I think we need to find some consistency, maybe some of the weak points is the car has to operate in a very narrow window, it’s the same with everybody but it seems we are struggling a little bit.

“It would be nice if we can perform always at a stable level and next year see if we can improve the straight line speed.

“I think that was the [under] performance in numbers, our weak point always (was we were) a little bit too slow on the straights and if we want to be as fast as the others, we need to drop too much the rear wing and we ended up slow on the corners as well, so that was probably the loop we could not go out this season.”

‘Stroll commitment was a surprise to me’

Alonso says the level of commitment shown by his Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll, particularly after a poor run of form for the Canadian, came as a pleasant surprise.

Stroll, who is the son of team owner Lawrence, raced in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix just 12 days after suffering fractures to his hands, wrists and foot in a cycling accident.

Alonso was heard on team radio throughout the season attempting to aid his team-mate in any way possible, and once more spoke of a strong bond between the pair.

“We talk a lot, we are in contact every week on the telephone, in the factory, in the races and we try to make sure we are all in the same direction and we share many things,” Alonso said.

“He’s been through some difficulties this year; the car was just changing its behaviour a little bit and he was just struggling a little bit more than me and now we fix a few things in the car and now he’s back in top form.

“It was impressive to see his dedication, his motivation, in the highs and in the lows. At the beginning of the year with the broken hand, as I said, midway through the season with some difficulties. He was so determined to put things back in place again.

“Eventually he did after I think Mexico and the race in Brazil, the race in Vegas, this was the surprise to me, the level of commitment, the level of motivation he has, this is only good news and good things for the team.”

24 races in 2024! Watch every round of next season live on Sky Sports F1, starting with the Bahrain Grand Prix from February 29-March 2. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

Driver of the year: Max Verstappen. Not much else to say, is there? An extraordinary campaign from him and Red Bull.

Chaos of the year: There are two parts to this award which goes to the Dutch Grand Prix. The opening laps when rain came down and some drivers pitted for intermediates and got a massive undercut. Or, the sudden downpour with 10 laps to go as Zhou Guanyu speared into the barriers and the race was forced to be red flagged. It doesn’t sound that crazy from the description we’ve just given, but trust us, it was chaotic! Just try blogging it.

Weather of the year: It’s not often you look out of a media centre window and can’t see the track anymore. A storm in Sao Paulo during the end of Friday Qualifying caused the session to come to a halt and Fernando Alonso exclaimed “it’s night time!”

Race of the year: The Singapore Grand Prix. We are not saying this because it’s the only one Red Bull didn’t win, it was genuinely a thriller to the end as Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton had a big four-way scrap for the lead in the closing stages. Russell pushed a bit too hard though and crashed on the final lap.

Grid walk moment of the year: Air guitar anyone? Machine Gun Kelly was keen to see Martin’s collaborate with him on the grid in Sao Paulo. Understandably, for the treasure that is Martin, he declined and Machine Gun Kelly gave the camera a thumbs down.

Dramatic finish of the year: 42 years old? Age doesn’t matter if you’re Fernando Alonso and he brilliantly took third place at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after re-passing Sergio Perez on the final lap before holding him off at the line by 0.053s.

Achievement of the year: Ten wins on the spin is some going. Verstappen was unbeatable from May’s Miami Grand Prix to the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in September.

It’s really not AI image of the year: Toto and Christian. Honest, it’s real!

Calendar of the year: Valtteri Bottas’. Enough said. Sales of the cheeky 2024 offering raised a very impressive £119,000 for Movember too.

Yodeling of the year: Only one winner here and that’s our very own Craig Slater. Yodeling is a big tradition in Austria and it was only right that Craig had a go himself, or maybe not…

Toughest race of the year: A flat-out race in Qatar, due to limits on tyre stints, and the high-speed track led to a massive challenge for the drivers. Esteban Ocon threw up in his helmet and Logan Sargeant couldn’t finish the race. Luckily, Qatar will take place in December next year, so it should be slightly cooler.

Fashion of the year: We’re not talking about Ted Kravitz’s shorts and sandals, but we’re on about an unbuttoned orange shirt and leather trousers when he met Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu in London.

Rookie of the year: You could argue Liam Lawson for this but Oscar Piastri was pretty good as well, particularly as McLaren team-mate Norris has become one of the most highly rated F1 drivers on the grid. A Sprint win in Qatar was the highlight for Piastri and it will be fascinating to see how he gets on in 2024.

Rumour of the year: No, not whether or not Lewis Hamilton was going to Ferrari, but whether Fernando Alonso was dating Taylor Swift. Never has a back catalogue of songs been quoted so frequently in the space of four days as was the case in Baku.

Qualifying of the year: Monaco quite literally was qualifying of the year – although we’ve had some great ones in 2023 – but the drama of Verstappen brushing the barriers in the final sector to steal pole from Alonso was breathtaking.

Surprise of the year: Hamilton pipped Verstappen to pole position by 0.003s at the Hungaroring to end his pole-less run. It was a brilliant lap from Hamilton, even with a little wide moment at the final corner.

Opener of the year: How can you not love a bit of Richard Ashcroft and his iconic ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ ahead of the British Grand Prix. Norris and Hamilton were on the podium too at Silverstone which was a brilliant moment.

Photographer of the year: Another Martin moment for you. This time at the Monaco Grand Prix when MB went up to interview an 89-year-old photographer, who enjoyed the conversation so much that she asked for his card!

Big number of the year: That would be the 1,200+ incidents of track limit breaches reviewed by stewards in the 71-lap Austrian GP. That worked out at 17 a lap!

Not taking no for an answer of the year: Stewart, Federer, security, and Martin’s Miami GP Grid Walk.

Overtake of the year: Leclerc threw everything at the Red Bulls in Vegas and caught Perez by surprise on the last lap into the final braking zone. From some distance back, boom, Leclerc chucked his Ferrari in there and beautifully got the car stopped to take second place.

Saga of the year: Andretti’s bid to enter F1. The outcome of which is still to be resolved.

Trophy smash of the year: Norris’ trademark celebration of slamming the champagne on the ground in Hungary didn’t quite go right as he knocked over Verstappen’s winning trophy. The $45,000 trophy was replaced thankfully and it’s fair to say Norris was more careful in future podiums during the season.

Verstappen and GP moment of the year: We enjoyed this almost married couple relationship throughout the season and the best of it probably came in Belgium qualifying when Verstappen scraped into Q3. Verstappen wasn’t happy about his preparation laps – s*** execution” was how he bluntly described them – and Gianpiero Lambiase, his race engineer, fired back. Verstappen apologised as he inevitably then topped the final stage.

National anthem of the year: Antoine Delie’s alternative Belgium national anthem performance was quite something. However, it did look like Alonso and Russell were trying not to laugh!

Podium of the year: Canada, where multiple champions Verstappen, Alonso and Hamilton were joined by multiple-title-winning designer Adrian Newey. You needed a calculator to work out the combined number of world titles.

Mistaken weather forecast of the year: Only George Russell thought it was raining at the Spanish Grand Prix. It turned out just to be sweat on the inside of his visor instead.

Announcement of the year: Now we’re not talking about a piece of news here but an actual announcement. Famous sports announcer Bruce Buffer shouted “Sergio Checo Perez” right in the driver’s face ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. To make it worse, Perez appeared to think he was going to be interviewed, so stood next to Buffer for 20 awkward seconds.

Shock exits of the year: Nothing quite compares to the triple departures announced by Alpine on the Friday of the Belgian GP. Team boss Otmar Szafnauer and long-serving sporting director Alan Permane were out at the end of that very weekend, while Pat Fry was headed to Williams.

24 races in 2024! Watch every round of next season live on Sky Sports F1, starting with the Bahrain Grand Prix from February 29-March 2. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and his Ferrari counterpart Frederic Vasseur lost their cool during a press conference in Las Vegas; watch every session from the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP live on Sky Sports from this Friday at 9.30am, with lights out on Sunday at 1pm

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and his Ferrari counterpart Frederic Vasseur have been given formal warnings by Formula 1 stewards for using foul language during a press conference at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The bad-tempered exchanges occurred in the same press conference, shortly after the opening practice section in Las Vegas had been cancelled due to a faulty water valve cover coming out of the ground and causing damage to Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari.

Vasseur was furious at the damage to Sainz’s car, which would ultimately lead to a 10-place grid penalty for the Spaniard for exceeding his allowance of engine parts, and the Ferrari boss reacted angrily when the interviewer attempted to move onto a more generic topic.

Wolff, meanwhile, was responding to being asked whether the incident had been “a black eye” for F1, when an interjection from another journalist provoked an angry response.

With F1 having now moved onto Abu Dhabi for the season finale, the duo were summoned to the stewards at the event on Thursday to explain their actions.

Both were found to have used “unacceptable” language that “is not consistent with the values defended by the FIA”, but avoided more severe punishment due to extenuating circumstances.

In Vasseur’s case, the stewards said: “The Team Principal was extremely upset and frustrated by the incident that had occurred in FP1 and that language such as this, by him, was not usual.”

While in Wolff’s case, the stewards said: “Based on the submission from the Team Principal, the use of the language concerned was in this case unusual and was provoked by an abrupt interjection during the Press Conference and therefore cannot be regarded as typical from this Team Principal.”

What did Wolff and Vasseur say in rants?

After explaining the damage that had been done to Sainz’s car, Vasseur lost his cool when being asked a general question about the success of the event as a whole.

“What Carlos said was he hit something on track and didn’t know exactly what it was. We completely damaged the monocoque, engine and battery. It’s just unacceptable,” said Vasseur.

“We f***** up the session for Carlos and he won’t be part of FP2, that’s for sure, because we have to change the chassis and set up the car. The show is the show and everything is going well but it’s unacceptable for F1 today.”

Wolff began answering a question from a journalist regarding the damage that the incident could do to F1’s image, when another journalist interjected questioning his defence of the event.

“It’s completely ridiculous, completely ridiculous,” Wolff said. “FP1 – how can you even dare trying to talk bad about the event that sets the new standards, new standards to everything.

“And then you’re speaking about a drain ****ing cover that’s been undone. That has happened before, that’s nothing. It’s FP1. Give credit to the people that have set up this Grand Prix, that have made this sport much bigger than it ever was.

“Have you ever spoken good about someone and written a good word? You should about all these people that have been out here. Liberty has done an awesome job and just because in FP1 a drain cover has become undone, we shouldn’t be moaning.

“The car is broken. That’s really a shame for Carlos. It could have been dangerous. So between the FIA and the track, everybody needs to analyse how we can make sure that this is not happening again.

“But talking here about the black eye for the sport on a Thursday evening, nobody watches that in European time anyway.”

Sky Sports F1’s live Abu Dhabi GP schedule

Friday November 24

• 7am: F2 Practice
• 9am: Abu Dhabi GP Practice One (session starts at 9.30am)
• 10.55pm: F2 Qualifying
• 12.45pm: Abu Dhabi GP Practice Two (session starts at 1pm)
• 2.15pm: The F1 Show

Saturday November 25

• 10.15am: Abu Dhabi GP Practice Three (session starts at 10.30am)
• 12.15pm: F2 Sprint
• 1.15pm: Abu Dhabi GP Qualifying build-up
• 2pm: Abu Dhabi GP Qualifying
• 4pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook

Sunday November 26

• 9.10am: F2 Feature Race
• 11.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday Abu Dhabi GP build-up
• 1pm: The ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX
• 3pm: Chequered Flag: Abu Dhabi GP reaction
• 4pm: Ted’s Notebook

After the thrills of Las Vegas, Formula 1 heads to Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit for the 2023 season finale and another stunning spectacle under the lights. Watch the Abu Dhabi weekend live on Sky Sports F1, with lights out on Sunday at 1pm. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

Max Verstappen: ‘In this political environment we are in every team thinks about themselves and they are going to say ‘no, he has to take the penalty’; watch Sunday’s Las Vegas GP live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Showcase. Race starts at 6am with build-up from 4.30am

Max Verstappen has called for an F1 rule change after labelling the grid penalty given to Carlos Sainz for Sunday’s Las Vegas GP “very harsh”, in the wake of the major damage caused to the Ferrari by a loose circuit drain cover.

And following suggestions that other teams may have challenged the matter had stewards not followed the regulations in the matter, the world champion also said rivals should be excluded from having any say as “in this political environment we are in of course every team thinks about themselves”.

Sainz said on Friday night he had been left in “disbelief” that Ferrari’s request for special dispensation to avoid a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding permitted power unit part changes had been rejected, given the freak circumstances of what happened when the water valve cover failed as he drove over it at high-speed during opening practice.

Stewards said that while they would have liked to grant the team dispensation, they were hamstrung by the sport’s regulations and so had no choice but to impose a mandatory grid drop on Sainz.

As a result, Sainz’s second-place result in Saturday’s qualifying session turns into a 12th-place starting position on Sunday’s race grid.

Although Verstappen may be the first driver to directly benefit from his Ferrari rival’s demotion, given he qualified third, the Dutchman expressed his disapproval about what happened to Sainz.

“The rules have to change for that,” said Verstappen, sitting alongside the Ferrari drivers in the post-qualifying press conference.

“It’s the same if you get taken out and have a big accident. You can lose parts of engine, energy store, all these kind of things.

“So, first of all, that needs to change and these things can be taken into consideration that you can take a free penalty or not, it will not be counted.

“Besides, I think teams should not be allowed to have a say in these kind of things because for sure they are going to vote against that. I do think it’s very harsh on Carlos but in this political environment we are in of course every team thinks about themselves and they are going to say ‘no, he has to take the penalty’.

More to follow…

When to watch Sunday’s Las Vegas GP live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Showcase

Sunday November 19

• 4:30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Las Vegas GP build-up (also on Sky Showcase)
• 6am: THE LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX (also on Sky Showcase)
• 8am: Chequered Flag: Las Vegas GP reaction (also on Sky Showcase)
• 9am: Ted’s Notebook (also on Sky Showcase)

Watch the whole Las Vegas GP weekend live on Sky Sports F1 with lights out on Sunday at 6am. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

Austin stewards ruled after video hearing that the evidence Haaa presented to them over alleged track limits from the October 22 race did not constitute a “significant and relevant new element that was unavailable” at the time of the original decision

Haas’ attempt to get United States GP stewards to re-investigate incidents of additional alleged track limits offences in the October 22 race has been rejected.

After a video hearing which started on Wednesday and was adjourned until Thursday for further discussion, stewards decided Haas’ submissions in the case did not meet the required criteria for a full right of review investigation.

A stewards’ statement read: “The Petition for the Right of Review is rejected because there is no significant and relevant new element that was unavailable to Haas at the time of the decision”.

More to follow…

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Fernando Alonso has admitted he thought a Sao Paulo Grand Prix podium “was gone” before reclaiming third place from Sergio Perez on the final lap of the race to conclude a thrilling battle between the pair.

Having spent the majority of the race chasing Alonso, Perez finally passed the Aston Martin on the penultimate lap of the race with a move into the first corner that appeared to have sealed a double podium for Red Bull, with world champion Max Verstappen easing to victory.

However, a small error from Perez gave Alonso the opportunity to retake the final podium spot in the second DRS zone on the run to Turn Four on their final tour, before the Spaniard held on to the position by just 0.053s on a charge to the finish line.

Alonso explained to Sky Sports F1 that he thought he had blown his chance of responding by running off line on the penultimate lap as he attempted to hit back having been passed.

“Honestly, I thought that maybe my chances were gone in Turn Six,” he said.

“I went on the outside to change line but then I picked up a lot of marbles and the tyres were dirty, they were vibrating as well and I thought, ‘ok, this is gone’.

“But then I wanted to have one more chance into Turn One or Turn Four with the DRS, maybe braking very aggressive, very late.

“I think he understood that as well, so he broke late into Turn One, missed the apex by one metre and that gave me the run into Turn Four.

“Unexpected, to be honest, when I lost the place I thought it was gone.”

Perez: Other drivers can learn from our battle

Perez, who crashed out of last weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix and last month’s Qatar Grand Prix Sprint following collisions, said that other drivers could learn from the way he and Alonso had fought for position.

“It was quite an intense battle,” Perez told Sky Sports F1. “We tried everything.

“Unfortunately we didn’t succeed on that, but it was well deserved for Fernando.

“I think we had a great fight, very fair and to the limit. I think this is something that a lot of drivers can learn from because what we did, the way we fought today, it’s how it should be done.

“I’m in the wrong side, I end up losing but it’s fine because it was a great fight.”

Alonso agreed that it had been a “clean” contest, and admitted he was surprised to find Perez had matched his tyre-saving ability going into the final stages.

“It was nice, it was a clean battle,” Alonso said. “A very aggressive, but clean battle. Always with Checo I think he has a very good record on finishing the races and always battling hard but keeping both cars on track.

“I knew that he was coming, I knew that he was a threat, and at the end it was maybe more difficult than I thought, to be honest.

“Five laps to the end, I thought that I had things under control, so I start pushing and then I look in the mirror and Checo was there, and I said ‘uh oh, I think he was saving tyres as well’.”

Perez: Matter of time before podium | Alonso happy for ‘united’ Aston Martin

Perez came into the weekend under major pressure amid continued speculation that Red Bull could look to replace him next season, despite a year still remaining on his contract.

While his run of races without a podium extends to six, a solid display in coming from a starting position of ninth to finish fourth was an improvement on many of his recent efforts.

“We’ve seen in the last couple of races that the pace has been there, that we’ve been really strong,” he added.

“For some reason or another we haven’t been able to get the final end result, but I just know that it’s a matter of time.”

Alonso’s podium puts an end to a dismal run of form from Aston Martin, with the Spaniard having retired from the previous two races after qualifying outside the top 10 on both occasions.

After a stunning start to the season which saw them surprisingly emerge as Red Bull’s closest challengers, the Silverstone-based team have failed to keep up with the development of the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren.

However, after choosing not to go with some of the upgraded parts that have failed to provide improvement, they returned to prominence in Brazil, with Alonso’s team-mate Lance Stroll finishing fifth.

“In the end I’m happy that we did it for the team,” Alonso said.

“We’re struggling a lot in the last two races but we never lost focus on what were the targets, we went deep in the analysis, we stayed united, we stayed together and this was a very nice thing to witness in the last two events.”

Get ready for the big one: Formula 1 in Las Vegas! See drivers race down the Strip, and past landmarks like Caesars Palace and the Bellagio, on F1’s newest street track. Watch the whole Las Vegas GP weekend live on Sky Sports F1 on November 17-19. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

Formula 1 returns to the legendary Interlagos Circuit on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil, in part three of the triple header across the Americas, and even if they are tired, the teams and drivers will be arriving with a bounce in their step and smile on their face.

Why the optimism, we hear you ask?

Sao Paulo has a knack for delivering surprises, shocks and a sprinkle of that Senna magic.

We looked back at seven of our favourite moments from one of F1’s best Grand Prix.

1991: There was only one Senna

Sport is an integral part of Brazil’s culture, and while football and Pele are No. 1, F1 and Ayton Senna are a close second in terms of legacy.

To say that Senna was special would be an understatement – a hero on and off the track, he was more than capable of winning more than the three world drivers championships were it not for his tragic death at Imola in 1994.

Despite being the home favourite, even Senna struggled to tame the beast that is Interlagos, where anything can happen, and it usually does.

By 1991, Senna was in his eighth season, looking for his first victory at home despite already being a two-time F1 champion.

He qualified on pole position, and it looked like he’d finally do it the easy way as he pulled out a lead.

But Senna – as you sense with Lewis Hamilton in this era of F1 – never did things the easy way.

His McLaren’s gearbox had jammed, and he was stuck in sixth gear, taking the Brazilian to a new level of difficulty in an era with no power steering, which massively increases the exertion on the driver’s upper body.

In 2023, a driver would usually have retired the car, and it was the same situation on this day.

But Senna is not usual – while he wanted to stop, his desire to win the race and raise the flag for his people gave him a hero-like inner strength to take him to the chequered flag.

When he got the job done, the relief and emotion came flooding through on the radio in the form of screams, audible sobbing and the words “I can’t believe it”.

Before he could return to the pit lane to celebrate, Senna passed out at the wheel due to the immense muscle spasms.

While he could not find the strength to eventually lift the trophy, he could raise the Brazilian flag to the delight of his fans – “there could only be one result”, said Senna following the race.

2008: Magnanimous Massa loses out to last-gasp Lewis

Brazil’s hopes of championship success returned when Felipe Massa headed into the 2008 finale needing to win the race with his rival Lewis Hamilton in sixth position or lower – a challenging task – but the home crowd believed.

They especially believed having seen Ferrari’s other driver Kimi Raikkonen beat title rival Hamilton a year earlier.

On the day, Massa did everything he needed to do, winning the Grand Prix in perhaps his most dominant performance – but sometimes even a heroic drive is not enough in F1.

The Interlagos Circuit has a microclimate, allowing rain showers to arrive unexpectedly.
On this day in 2008, a downpour of rain came with just a handful of laps to go.

A young Sebastian Vettel overtook Hamilton for fifth place, putting Massa on course to be champion.

The home crowd erupted.

They thought their driver had done it.

However, another young German called Timo Glock had elected to continue on his dry tyres on the wet track while others had pitted – a risk that nearly paid off.

In a frantic finish matched only by Abu Dhabi 2021, in the final corner of the last lap of the final race, Hamilton took the position he needed to become champion.

Massa, Ferrari and the Brazilian fans thought they had won, but they were wrong.

The news filtered through, and despite losing out, a hurting Massa put on a brave front, sharing love with his people, beating his heart and pointing to the fans.

A genuinely gracious gentleman had become an eternal hero in his city despite losing on the day.

The McLaren garage, on the other hand, were breathless, bouncing around as they had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat at a track where they had lost out in gut-wrenching fashion just a year earlier.

Hamilton and team Woking were the away team, and looked to have lost out, but in the against-all-odds fashion that we have become used to in Hamilton’s career, he had become the youngest-ever world champion (at the time).

The first of many titles for the now honourary Brazilian.

2012: Vettel matches Senna – the hard way

While 2008 was a fight for two drivers’ first, 2012 saw the titans of Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel take one another on to become a triple world champion.

Becoming a triple world champion in Brazil is extra special – this is the number of titles Ayrton Senna managed.

And irony would strike when Vettel was tagged by Senna’s nephew, Bruno, on the first corner, leaving the German, who was leading the championship by 13 points, facing the wrong way and last.

Things got even better for Alonso when he slipped past team-mate Felipe Massa and Vettel’s team-mate Mark Webber to take third position – the Spaniard was in place to win the championship.

Vettel, though, was not in the mood to give up, and despite the damage he had sustained, somehow had made his way to eighth position by lap eight.

Things were thrown up in the air again when leaders Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton collided on the ever-slippery surface, moving Alonso into second position.

But it wasn’t enough to beat the might of Vettel, who passed his hero Michael Schumacher on his way to emulating Senna, crossing the line in tears to secure the title.

While Vettel was the winner, like 2008, it was the runner-up and his thousand-mile stare that will live on as some of F1’s most iconic content.

2016: Senna-esque through the ‘Senna S’

Max Verstappen returns to Sao Paulo this weekend for the first time since matching perhaps one of F1’s most famous triple world champions in Senna, and the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2016 rubber-stamped just how special a talent the young Dutchman was.

This race came towards the end of the third and final episode of the Silver Arrows’ internal tussle between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

The race began beneath the safety car due to some of Sao Paulo’s spectacular rain – but six laps later, conditions were deemed safe enough to get under way.

Hamilton led away from lights to flag, keeping his title chances alive. While this was an impressive drive, Verstappen had all of the attention.

First, the 19-year-old pulled off a daring move up the inside of Kimi Raikkonen into the first corner, finding grip that other great drivers, including Raikkonen and Vettel, could not.

This was exemplified again as Verstappen moved into second position with a jaw-dropping move around the outside of the eventual 2016 champion Rosberg.

The youngster showed his inexperience and raw talent in a flash when it came to lap 38 – his car looked as though it was destined for the barriers, but Verstappen’s supreme car control allowed him to do what the experienced, local Massa could not.

Massa crashed out of what he thought would be his final Grand Prix, leading to an emotional walk back to the pit lane, greeted with applause from the Mercedes and Ferrari garages before reaching the arms of his wife in the paddock – while it had been raining hard, this was a moment which ensured no dry eye.

Back on track, Verstappen pitted for fresh tyres, dropping to the lower reaches of the points.

That gave us the gift of watching him fight back, including an uncompromising move on Vettel, which we have become accustomed to.

Hamilton had finally won in Brazil – an emotional moment for him as a fan of Senna – but Verstappen’s drive had captured F1’s attention, and he has only improved since.

2021: The villain becomes the hero

Formula 1 arrived at Sao Paulo with Lewis Hamilton needing some magic – Verstappen had reached the moment in the battle where another win would seriously dent Hamilton’s title defence.

In short, Hamilton needed to win, but this was at a circuit where the fans had good reason to think of him as the pantomime villain.

This was the season that had everything, including, for the first time, Sprint weekends, and in the other two weekends, Hamilton and Verstappen had come together in major flashpoints.

But this was something the Mercedes driver could not afford.

Things looked to be going swimmingly as Hamilton dominated Friday’s only practice session before qualifying comfortably on pole position by almost half a second for Saturday’s Sprint.

But this is F1, so things could hardly go the easy way – the sport’s governing body, the FIA, discovered that Hamilton’s rear wing had broken and his DRS (drag reduction system) had opened 0.2mm wider than was legal, so he was disqualified and sent to the back of the grid.

Anything can happen in Brazil, but nobody would have predicted the sort of comeback Hamilton would need to produce – this would need to be Senna-like if he wanted to keep his championship alive.

The seven-time champion wasted no time in Saturday’s Sprint, slicing through the field to take fifth position, meaning he could start 10th in Sunday’s Grand Prix after his already-scheduled five-place grid penalty.

Again, Hamilton made light work of the majority of the field, but his final target was his rival, the leader, Max Verstappen.

Verstappen made his car as wide as possible – at times, taking Hamilton off the track in what Sky Sports‘ Martin Brundle described as a ‘professional crowd’.

But like Senna, Hamilton thrives when his back is against the wall.

The Briton found a way through, boosting his championship hopes, and celebrated with the fans with parallels to Senna in 1991, with the Brazilian flag raised.

While Hamilton was dominant in 2016, 2021 was the year in which Hamilton became a legend in the Brazilian hearts – and eventually, an honorary citizen.

Another race like no other in this place like no other.

2022: A weekend of firsts

If you want proof that anything can happen in Sao Paulo, 2022 brought you a Haas pole position.

Like in 2021, qualifying for Friday set the grid for Saturday’s Sprint, which, in turn, set the starting order for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Friday night saw a dose of challenging rain – the final session saw the top 10 drivers rushing out as the rain intensity increased, and it was Kevin Magnussen first across the line with the fastest time.

Max Verstappen was in second position on the timing screens, followed by the Mercedes’ of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton – but nobody could set a quicker time because Russell went straight on at turn four, getting stuck in the gravel.

This brought out the red flag, and when Magnusen was told of his position, the response was, “you’re kidding”, along with several expletives – similar to the reaction you would imagine from Gunther Steiner.

The Dane was on pole, and the scenes in the garage from Magnussen, who thought he was out of F1 in 2021, were something to behold.

In the Saturday Sprint, the Haas fairytale faded, but the magic of the Brazilian weekend had not ended.

This season, we have been used to the sight of Verstappen taking the lead by lap four, but when that happened in the Saturday Sprint in 2022, it was the Dutchman who then struggled.

Russell passed the Haas of Magnussen and swarmed around the back of Verstappen’s Red Bull like an angry wasp.

He was determined too – Verstappen put up a fight almost as firm as the one he had had with Hamilton a year previously – but Russell slipped through, crossing the line fine to start the Grand Prix from the front.

The Mercedes both looked quick, but it was Russell who snatched the Silver Arrows’ only opportunity to taste victory in 2022.

It was a mature drive, too – it would have been easy for the younger Brit to make a mistake with Hamilton breathing down his neck with just a handful of laps to go at a Grand Prix, which feels like and is technically Hamilton’s second home race.

It has been a year since Mercedes’ last win in F1.

It now appears to be Russell on the backfoot compared to Hamilton.

Mercedes and Russell hope they can use the positivity of last year to do their talking on the track to answer what will be many questions regarding the departure of Mike Elliott as chief technical officer.

Hamilton will also enter the weekend with victory the target – he is returning home following an excellent performance in Mexico, which his engineer Peter Bonnington referred to as feeling “like the old days”.

The immense support and the Sao Paulo magic will also help him and his team dream.

Find out what surprises are in store at this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, live on Sky Sports F1.

Lewis Hamilton produced a brilliant drive to finish second to Max Verstappen in Mexico City; George Russell was hampered by a brake issue as he came sixth; watch every session from the final Sprint event this year in Sao Paulo -starting this Friday live on Sky Sports F1,

Lewis Hamilton hailed taking an “amazing” second place in the Mexico City Grand Prix after coming from sixth on the grid to finish behind Max Verstappen.

Hamilton was left disappointed on Saturday as Mercedes struggled to get their tyres into the optimal working window in qualifying, but found a more satisfactory balance in the W14 in the race.

The result reignited Hamilton’s hopes of denying Red Bull a first ever one-two in the drivers’ championship, with his deficit to second placed Sergio Perez reduced to 20 points after the Mexican retired from his home race.

“Honestly, I just wasn’t expecting that. It’s just always a great feeling when you are just putting one foot in front of the other and progressing,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.

“The weekend had been really difficult compared to the last race where we had just hit the ground running. This weekend I was really digging deep to try and get the set-up right and I think we did a great job.

“Qualifying was a bit tricky and to be far behind the Ferraris, we need to finish ahead of them to keep the constructors’ [position] so that’s what I was pushing for today.

“To have progressed so well through the early phase of the race and be challenging for a podium and then a second place is amazing. I am really happy with the race.”

Hamilton gained a spot at the start when Perez was forced to retire after colliding with Charles Leclerc.

He overtook Daniel Ricciardo for fourth after 10 laps but got stuck behind Carlos Sainz, who had just enough pace to keep the Mercedes driver at bay.

Hamilton undercut Sainz, so was in third place when the race was stopped by a red flag after Kevin Magnussen’s big crash at Turn 8 at the halfway point of the Grand Prix.

Mercedes bravely put Hamilton on medium tyres for the restart, whereas the other leading runners were on hards. It paid off though as the seven-time world champion made a daring move on the inside of Leclerc, briefly putting two wheels off the track to get past the Ferrari driver and take second place.

Expanding on where the W14 had improved from Saturday, Hamilton added: “I think the car is just quite peaky in qualifying on light fuel, but when you put a load of fuel in the car, it just feels nicer to drive and I think we struck a really nice set-up this weekend and particularly today for the race.

“Other than that, just really good tyre management. I generally enjoyed it. It’s not the most physical of races, being that you can’t push all the way, you’re saving, you’re doing 200 or 300 metres of lifting and coast to keep the car cool and stop it from failing.”

Wolff: Brilliant drive from Hamilton

It was the second successive event where Hamilton has shown strong pace, after he pushed Verstappen close for the win in Austin, only to be disqualified for excessive plank wear.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was impressed by Hamilton’s performance, especially on the medium tyres in the second half of the race as the 38-year-old set the fastest lap of the race on his final circuit.

“The smile on our face is because the car was strong. Once Lewis was in free air, we had so much margin in the medium. The lap times were good and fastest lap at the end,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1.

“It’s been a few weekends now where we say we ‘could have’ but didn’t. I think we need to qualify better. Probably with the straight line speed we wouldn’t have been so competitive against Max, but who knows, the pace is there.

“It was a brilliant, brilliant drive from Lewis. We have these oscillations in performance and we don’t really know sometimes if the tyres stick. Just a few degrees of track temperature and you are out of the window.”

Russell explains ‘terrible’ end to race

George Russell, in the other Mercedes, had a frustrating race as he found himself on the back foot when stuck behind Oscar Piastri in the opening stages stint.

Russell wasn’t happy about the timing of his first pit stop as he came out in traffic and was seventh when the race resumed following the red flag.

He overtook Piastri and Ricciardo but couldn’t find a way past Sainz, who defended well to hold onto fourth place.

During this battle, Russell overheated his brakes and lost a position to a charging Lando Norris and only finished half a second ahead of Ricciardo at the chequered flag to take sixth.

“The last 20 laps were terrible,” Russell said.

“The pace was really strong after the red flag. I felt really good in the car, I was right behind Carlos and just couldn’t quite make the overtake, then my brakes overheated and we were concerned we wouldn’t make it at the end and I had to back of.

“As soon as I did that, I lost all the temperature in my tyres and I could never recover it and it was like driving on ice.

“I was lucky to finish in P6. Story of the weekend – another difficult one and it’s a shame because the car was performing well.”

F1 heads straight to Brazil for the final leg of the Americas triple header and the last Sprint weekend of the 2023 season. Watch every session from the Sao Paulo Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday, with Sunday’s race at 5pm. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

Very few people expected Ferrari to lock out the front row for the Mexico City Grand Prix but Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz performed when it mattered most at the business end of qualifying.

The Ferrari duo got their tyres into the optimal working range as Max Verstappen admitted his Red Bull car got away from him as he pushed a little too hard.

But, given Red Bull have only been beaten once on a Sunday all season, world champion Verstappen inevitably remains favourite for the 71-lap race – which starts at 8pm live on Sky Sports F1 – when he will aim to beat his own record of 15 wins in a single campaign

Much of Ferrari’s hopes will likely rest on the race’s opening seconds and holding one-two formation on the long run down to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez’s first corner.

In 2019, Leclerc started from pole alongside then-Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel and they kept the field at bay after the 811m charge to the opening right-hander. But, it can get very feisty there as Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen showed in that same race when they made contact just behind the leaders.

In 2021, Verstappen made a stunning move late on the brakes to overtake the Mercedes of Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, so don’t be surprised if we see a three-wide moment going into the first corner.

“It’s a very difficult race. Everything can happen, especially with the cooling. Whichever car is behind can do a bit more management, so it can play in our favour but for that we need a good start,” said Leclerc.

“Starting first here is always tricky to keep that position into the first corner but we have had pretty good starts here, so I’m confident we can keep that place.

“This year Max has been extremely strong on the race pace so at the moment we still have a lot of work to do to match them with our race pace.

“It’s a very special track for strategy, especially with high altitude, tyre management will be a huge thing. We will have to be on top of this. For the strategy, we will adapt on the go to try and keep that first place.”

How might Ferrari play the start to keep Verstappen behind?

If all goes to plan for Ferrari, Leclerc should immediately move over to the right hand side from pole to tow team-mate Sainz down to Turn One and leave Verstappen with no slipstream, potentially leaving the Dutchman vulnerable to Daniel Ricciardo – who qualified a superb fourth for AlphaTauri – or the Mercedes’ of Hamilton, sixth, and George Russell, eighth.

Then, Sainz should go to the outside of Leclerc in the braking zone and not race his team-mate too hard so the Ferrari pair can retain their one-two positions.

Asked by Sky Sports F1 if the team-mates can work together at the start, Sainz said: “If we can of course. But it’s impossible to predict whether we will be able to do so. A few metres better start than Max or Charles and suddenly we cannot play with slipstreams anymore.

“I will just try and do the best possible start because I am starting on the dirty side so my start will be weaker than Max and Charles, then we can see where we are at.”

Will Ferrari be able to manage their tyres?

On paper, strategy shouldn’t be too difficult for the Mexico City Grand Prix because it’s a low degradation track, so a one-stopper should be the way forward.

The only big threat Ferrari will face if they are one-two is from an undercut or overcut. It’s likely that Verstappen will have to overtake one, or both, of Leclerc and Sainz on the track – perhaps in a similar fashion to Monza back in September when he overcame both to win.

It’s tyre management where Ferrari could be vulnerable compared to the usually exceptional wear Red Bull have had this year. Keeping the tyres in the right window will be just as important as the wear though given the altitude of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, which is 2.2km above sea level.

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur suggested that there could be other factors that come to play due to the nature of the track.

“On the long stints we mainly focused on cooling (on Friday), like Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull. Everyone will be more focused on the brakes and engine,” said Vasseur.

As for Sainz, he may have to play rear-gunner behind Leclerc in order to keep Verstappen behind and he is not too optimistic about his chances.

“It will be very difficult because of the race pace they have. Normally one way or the other, or by simply offsetting their pace with a tyre advantage, they can finish ahead,” admitted the Spaniard.

“Given their race pace, at one point or another he will have a chance to overtake us and it will be up to us to manage the strategy and situation to keep him behind.”

As for Verstappen, he didn’t have much to say post-qualifying and appeared to be quietly confident about his chances of winning as long as he can get through the opening corners unscathed.

“I always learned that you can never repeat the same start,” said Verstappen in response to a question about whether he could repeat that surging Mercedes-beating getaway from the same position on the grid two years ago.

“Of course you can look at it. Depend on how good your start is, the line into the first corner, track conditions.

“It’s more just an instinct and once you do your start you make your mind up on what you want to do. It’s a long race. It’s not won or last at the first corner.”

Asked about his confidence of winning he said: “Good. Yep. I also have two hard tyres. Nobody else has them around me, so that could be an advantage.”

Ferrari certainly caused a surprise on Saturday and victory for them on Sunday would be a shock going by Verstappen’s calm manner.

When to watch the Mexico City GP live only on Sky Sports F1

Sunday
6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday Mexico City GP build-up (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
8pm: The MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
10pm: Chequered Flag: Mexico City GP

F1 is in Mexico for the middle leg of the Americas triple header. Watch the Mexico City Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1, with Sunday’s race at 8pm. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

Max Verstappen topped both practice sessions for Red Bull on Friday; Lando Norris second as Lewis Hamilton off the pace in seventh; watch Practice Three live on Sky Sports F1 at 6.30pm on Saturday, followed by qualifying at 10pm

Max Verstappen completed a Friday practice double at the Mexico City Grand Prix as Lando Norris emerged as the world champion’s most likely pole challenger.

Verstappen, who is seeking a record 16th victory of the season, gave Red Bull a perfect start to the weekend by setting a 1:18.686 to top McLaren’s Lando Norris by just over a tenth of a second.

Charles Leclerc took third for Ferrari, while Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, urged on by the hugely supportive crowd at his home race, was fourth.

Either side of him there were surprise successes, with Valtteri Bottas fourth for Alfa Romeo and Daniel Ricciardo sixth for AlphaTauri.

Having finished 11th in first practice, Lewis Hamilton was once more unable to fulfil his hope of being able to challenge Red Bull as the seven-time world champion was seventh.

His Mercedes team-mate George Russell was only 10th, having earlier been one of five drivers to sit out first practice as teams took the opportunity to fulfil their obligated young driver sessions.

While Mercedes may be disappointed not to have shown more speed following their upgrades last weekend in Austin, the uniquely high altitude of Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez means there are likely to be significant overnight adjustments which could alter the pecking order.

Also out of position was Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who was only 11th having also missed the opening session.

Further back, Aston Martin endured a torrid day as Lance Stroll finished 18th and Fernando Alonso 20th, with the Spaniard spinning off as he struggled in a car that has regressed since appearing to be Red Bull’s biggest rival during the first half of the season.

More to follow…

When to watch the Mexico City GP live only on Sky Sports F1

Friday
8:45pm: The F1 Show
10:45pm: Mexico City GP Practice Two (also on Sky Sports Main Event)

Saturday
6.15pm: Mexico City GP Practice Three
9pm: Mexico City GP Qualifying build-up (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
10pm: Mexico City GP Qualifying (also on Sky Sports Main Event)

Sunday
6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday Mexico City GP build-up (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
8pm: The MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
10pm: Chequered Flag: Mexico City GP

F1 is in Mexico for the middle leg of the Americas triple header. Watch the whole Mexico City Grand Prix weekend live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday, with Sunday’s race at 8pm. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

Max Verstappen and Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez say there is no “rivalry” between them; watch the Mexico City GP live this weekend on Sky Sports F1, with practice up first from 7.30pm on Friday. Sunday’s race is at 8pm

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez have dismissed suggestions of a rivalry between them as false, amid concerns over the world champion facing a hostile atmosphere at his Red Bull team-mate’s home race in Mexico this weekend.

Verstappen faced some booing after winning last year’s race in Mexico and was once more on the end of apparent hostility after triumphing in last weekend’s United States Grand Prix, with some suggesting Perez fans were responsible.

The organisers of the Mexico City Grand Prix earlier in October launched a ‘Racepect’ campaign promoting tolerance and respect for all drivers, which was accompanied by a statement saying that “insults and unpleasant behaviour cannot go unnoticed, nor be allowed to continue”.

Asked by Sky Sports F1 whether he feared unsavoury scenes this weekend, Perez said: “Not at all and I think it’s important that we give this message [of respect] because media likes to create these sort of rivalries outside the track.

“We are a great sport and we are a great example of a lot of young generations and we should just be focused on the sports side.

“Whatever happens on track should always stay there and that’s the best message we as a country want to give to the rest of the world.

“There is nothing else going on, the most important (thing) is everything stays on track.”

The relationship between the team-mates came under major scrutiny at last November’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix when furious messages were exchanged over radio after Verstappen refused an instruction to allow Perez past him on the final lap.

Since that flashpoint there has been little public friction between the pair, with Verstappen’s dominance while cruising to his third successive drivers’ title diffusing any potential tension.

Asked about a rivalry between the pair, Verstappen said: “That’s made up.

“Checo and I, we get on really well. For us, I don’t think there is any rivalry.

“Of course, as a driver on track you always try to be first or faster, but we have a lot of respect for each other and we appreciate each other’s performances.”

When to watch the Mexico City GP live only on Sky Sports F1

Friday 27 October
7pm: Mexico City GP Practice One
8:45pm: The F1 Show
10:45pm: Mexico City GP Practice Two (also on Sky Sports Main Event)

Saturday 28 October
6.15pm: Mexico City GP Practice Three
9pm: Mexico City GP Qualifying build-up (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
10pm: Mexico City GP Qualifying (also on Sky Sports Main Event)

Sunday 29 October
6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday Mexico City GP build-up (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
8pm: The MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
10pm: Chequered Flag: Mexico City GP

F1 is in Mexico for the middle leg of the Americas triple header. Watch the whole Mexico City Grand Prix weekend live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday, with Sunday’s race at 8pm. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

Mercedes technical director James Allison says the team were left “embarrassed” by Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification from the United States Grand Prix for a breach of technical regulations.

Hamilton and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc were excluded from second and sixth places respectively four hours after the end of Sunday’s dramatic race after wear levels on the planks underneath their cars were found to have exceeded limits set out in F1’s regulations.

The seven-time world champion’s disqualification means that instead of closing to within 19 points of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez for second in the drivers’ standings, his deficit grew to 39 points with just four rounds of the season remaining.

Speaking in Mercedes’ post-race debrief, Allison said: “Of course the disqualification is a significant blow. It’s a miserable feeling. It hurts and, everybody here feels it.

“Everybody is upset, embarrassed to a degree as well because we absolutely don’t like being on the wrong side of the rules, and just lamenting the lost points.”

After Mercedes brought a final significant upgrade of the season to the W14, Hamilton produced a hugely impressive weekend which saw him narrowly lose out to the other Red Bull of world champion Max Verstappen for victory.

Allison said that the progress made in terms of performance will help the team get over the disappointment of the disqualification.

He added: “Give it a day or two and that will start to wane and be replaced by the much happier feeling, which is we moved our car forward this weekend and that it’s hard to do that.

“But we did it and we did it by a decent amount. And with four races left in the championship, four races where I am pretty sure we will stay on the right side of the skid block rules.

“The initial feeling of hurt, and disappointment and frustration of ourselves will pass to be replaced by the sunny optimism of knowing that the car looked bright on this upgrade package and we’ve got four more races to show what we can do with it.”

‘We made a mistake’

Allison also gave a detailed explanation of how Mercedes fell foul of the regulations, accepting that the team had made “a mistake” by failing to leave enough margin.

“The disqualification had everything to do with the setup and the bumpiness of the track, amplified by the fact that it was a Sprint weekend,” he said.

“At a sprint weekend, you are under much more pressure, you have just a solitary hour at the very front of the weekend.

“After that one hour basically, you have cast your die, you have chosen your setup and you have then got to run the rest of the weekend with the bets you placed in that one hour of running. That means much, much less time to assess things than normal and much less time to make corrective action ahead of the remaining sessions later in the weekend.

“Austin is a track which has a very bumpy surface and therefore you are a bit more vulnerable to bumping the car on the ground. We just simply didn’t take enough margin at the end of Free Practice 1.

“When we had done our setup we checked the plank and everything, all looked fine, really untouched after the FP1 running. But the results of the race speak for themselves. We were illegal at the end of the race so clearly, we should have had our car set a little bit higher up to give ourselves a little bit more margin.

“It’s of course a mistake, it’s an understandable sort of mistake in a sprint weekend where it’s so much harder to get that stuff right, especially on a bumpy track. But a lesson for us in the future to make sure that we take more margin, especially at a track like that with all its bumps.”

How Hamilton strategy gamble fell ‘crushingly’ short

The pain of disqualification could have been even more extreme for Mercedes had Hamilton ended a near two-year wait for his 104th F1 victory, which very nearly happened.

The Brit was closing on Verstappen rapidly in the final laps of the race but could have already been in front of the Red Bull if it weren’t for a poor strategic call from Mercedes.

With Hamilton running second behind Lando Norris and in front of Verstappen, Mercedes chose not to react to Red Bull bringing the Dutchman in, opting to attempt to implement a one-stop strategy as opposed to the two-stopper the other contenders had committed to.

Hamilton’s tyres fell away a couple of laps later, by which point he had lost track position to Verstappen and then had to fall back onto a less optimum version of the two-stop strategy.

Their respective pace for the remainder of the race, with both comfortably faster than Norris’ McLaren, suggested that Hamilton would have had an excellent chance of victory had Mercedes reacted immediately to Red Bull’s stops.

Allison explained that Verstappen’s dominant performance in Saturday’s Sprint had left Mercedes convinced that Hamilton would not have the pace to beat him on the same strategy.

“We should have pitted Lewis, we should have kept ahead and we would have given ourselves a better chance of the win had we done so,” Allison said. “But it’s good to understand where we were coming from, and also understand a bit more of the strategists’ dilemma.

“We knew that we had been pretty pacy during the Sprint race the day before, but we also knew that Max just had the edge on us.

“Austin being the sort of track where generally speaking the track sort of tends to deal out the cars in pace order by the time the chequered flag falls at the end of Sunday, so we didn’t actually think we were in exactly the same race as Max.”

Given that belief, Mercedes believed their best chance of victory was by running an alternative strategy, and they thought a one-stop was possible as Hamilton maintained strong pace late into his first stint.

“We left Lewis out there and waited to see what would happen, hoping that the flat lap time progression would continue,” Allison said. “A lap went by and we’d effectively been undercut and then we were just crossing our fingers to see whether the pace evolved as we hoped.

“But, rather crushingly, within a very short period of time after we had lost the ability to protect against Max, after a long period of flat lap times with Lewis, his lap times turned south on us, and we experienced the same degradation as everybody else, turning us into a two-stop car along with everybody else, but having surrendered the position to Max in the first instance as a result of that false optimism that we could make this one-stop work.

“Whereas we definitely would have been better to cover him off because actually the raw pace of the car was good enough to compete on equal terms with him and if we had just done a two-stopper against his two-stopper, it could have been a different race.”

When to watch the Mexico City GP live only on Sky Sports F1

Thursday 26 October
9pm: Drivers’ Press Conference

Friday 27 October
7pm: Mexico City GP Practice One
8:45pm: The F1 Show
10:45pm: Mexico City GP Practice Two (also on Sky Sports Main Event)

Saturday 28 October
6.15pm: Mexico City GP Practice Three
9pm: Mexico City GP Qualifying build-up (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
10pm: Mexico City GP Qualifying (also on Sky Sports Main Event)

Sunday 29 October
6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday Mexico City GP build-up (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
8pm: The MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
10pm: Chequered Flag: Mexico City GP

F1 heads straight to Mexico for the middle leg of the Americas triple header. Watch the whole Mexico City Grand Prix weekend live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday, with Sunday’s race at 8pm. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

Max Verstappen picked up a hard-fought 50th win of his F1 career but didn’t get a friendly reception on the podium at the United States GP; watch every session from the Mexico City GP this weekend live on Sky Sports F1, beginning on Friday

Christian Horner has described any booing for Max Verstappen as “water off a duck’s back” after he was jeered by fans at the United States Grand Prix on Sunday.

Verstappen took his 50th F1 win to go one behind Alain Prost, who is fourth on the all-time winners rankings, and his third consecutive victory at the Circuit of The Americas.

However, he was booed as he lifted his trophy up by some of the spectators in Austin, a venue where Mexico’s Sergio Perez, Verstappen’s team-mate, has traditionally had strong support.

Asked about the booing ahead of this week’s Mexico City GP, Horner said: “I don’t think Max is going to get the warmest reception in Mexico! But that’s water off a duck’s back. One year you are the villain, the next year you are the hero.”

It was far from an easy race for Verstappen as he nursed a brake issue from the opening lap and crossed the line only 2.2 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen was still able to make big moves on Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris though on his way to a record-equalling victory number 15 of 2023.

“We changed the brakes after yesterday and it was not good. I had no good feeling under braking and I couldn’t really get on top of it for the whole race, so this is something we need to understand,” he told Sky Sports F1.

“Of course, around here when you are not very confident under braking, you just don’t have the nice feeling under braking when you come off it. It can cost you quite a bit of lap time and it was a bit more difficult than I expected it to be. I normally never really struggle with braking so far in my F1 career, but it was definitely a bit of a problem.”

Verstappen comfortably undercut Hamilton at the first round of pit stops as Mercedes, perhaps wrongly, went long with their driver.

He chased down Norris on the mediums in the second stint and overtook him at the halfway point of the race. The Dutchman says his pace was a lot closer to the others compared to other races and he was not as confident compared to normal.

“Once I was in the lead, I think the gap was OK. But with a few laps ago there was some backmarkers and my tyres were not feeling that great,” said Verstappen.

“The hard tyre was not very good today. But I think the gap was just big enough and not too many laps left.”

Horner: Verstappen and Lambiase’s ‘marital bliss’ continues

Verstappen also had some fiery team radio exchanges with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, known as GP, during the race in Austin.

The 26-year-old, who has a very straight-talking relationship with Lambiase, repeatedly told him to not speak in the braking zones.

Lambiase said on the radio that he would see Verstappen on Friday – when practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix begins live on Sky Sports F1 – which Horner explained.

“There marital bliss continues! Max is complaining about his brakes and GP is asking about his front wing offset,” said Horner.

“GP was always scheduled to go back to the UK after this race, so that’s why he had a plane to catch, which is why he said ‘see you on Friday’.”

Verstappen added: “We still won the race and that’s the most important thing. When you are struggling under braking and not that confident, I politely asked to not be spoken to. I said please when I asked!”

F1 heads straight to Mexico for the middle leg of the Americas triple header. Watch the whole Mexico City Grand Prix weekend live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday, with Sunday’s race at 8pm. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

Reports claimed that Red Bull driver Sergio Perez could announce his retirement at the Mexican GP; watch the full United States GP weekend live on Sky Sports F1, with qualifying on Friday at 10pm , the Sprint on Saturday at 11pm, and then the Grand Prix at 8pm on Sunday

Sergio Perez says he has been “laughing” at rumours suggesting he could announce his retirement from Formula 1 at next weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix, and insists he is “100 per cent” sure of remaining with Red Bull next season.

Following the latest disappointing performance – at the Qatar Grand Prix – of what has been a hugely disappointing campaign for Perez, a report claimed the 33-year-old could announce the end of his career at his home race.

Perez is contracted to Red Bull until the end of the 2024 season, but his world champion team-mate Max Verstappen’s total domination over him has resulted in speculation over whether the team could opt to replace him at an earlier date.

“I also read that,” Perez said of the report, ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.

“I’m just laughing at it. There’s nothing I can do. I’m fully focused on the job.

“That really sums up my season. A guy says something about me, then all of a sudden it becomes true.

“But I have a contract for next year, and no reason to not complete that contract. I’m going to give my very best to it, I’ve done a commitment.”

Asked about his level of certainty at remaining with the team next season, Perez said he was “100 per cent” confident of being retained, citing conversations with team principal Christian Horner and Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko.

“I have a contract, and the conversations with the team as well,” he added. “There is no reason for me not to fulfil that contract.”

‘Red Bull contract not my last in F1’

After making a strong start to the season in which he shared two wins apiece with Verstappen in the opening four races, Perez has fallen 209 points back from his team-mate, a margin which means the Dutchman has sealed his third successive drivers’ title with five rounds to spare.

Perez admits his deficit to his team-mate has been challenging to deal with but insists he has not even considered retiring.

“It is difficult, of course. It’s not ideal when you go through a difficult patch in your career,” Perez said.

“But I just love the challenge of getting back at it.

“The easiest thing would be to just walk out of it, but that’s not me, that’s not who I am, and I will not give up.

“I have zero doubts that I will be back to my best level, and that is my only target I have in mind.

“I do not even think about retirement or anything like that, because that’s just the easy route.”

Perez also said that his current contract with Red Bull would not be his last in F1, but refused to confirm his openness to driving for another team.

“I’m not thinking on that (driving for another team), but I’m just enjoying it at the moment,” he said.

“I’m loving the challenge of getting back out of it. I’m 33, I think I’ve got some good years ahead of me, so I think as an athlete you want to maximise your career. That to me is important, and that’s my focus.

“I’m with Red Bull and I want to stay with Red Bull, but obviously it has to work out for both sides.”

When to watch the US GP and F1 Academy finale live only on Sky Sports F1

Friday October 20

• 2.15pm: F1 Academy Practice One
• 6pm: US GP Practice One (Session starts 6.30pm)
• 7.55pm: F1 Academy Practice Two
• 9pm: US GP Qualifying build-up
• 10pm: US GP Qualifying (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
• 11.30pm: F1 Academy Qualifying
• (Saturday) 12.30am: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook

Saturday October 21

• 3.30pm: F1 Academy Race One
• 6pm: US GP Sprint Shootout build-up
• 6:30pm: US GP Sprint Shootout
• 9.15pm: F1 Academy Race Two
• 10pm: US GP Sprint build-up
• 11pm: US GP SPRINT (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
• (Sunday) 12.30am: Ted’s Sprint Notebook

Sunday October 22

• 3.30pm: F1 Academy Race Three
• 6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: US GP build-up
• 8pm: THE UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
• 10pm: Chequered Flag: US GP reaction
• 11pm: Ted’s Notebook

Watch Formula 1 return to Texas for the United States Grand Prix and another Sprint weekend live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

As Lando Norris and George Russell head to their 100th Grand Prix weekend, Sky Sports F1 look back at what has been a hugely entertaining start to the careers of the young Brits.

The pair came onto the grid as the next generation of British talent for when the great Lewis Hamilton retires, but now all three are competing at the front.

While they have been on their own journeys, following in the steps of and filling Hamilton’s boots are a recurring theme in both of their careers.

Norris the shining light McLaren needed

Norris arrived at McLaren to help turn the ‘GP2 engine’ frowns into papaya-soaked serotonin hits, and his injection of youth, speed and star power was precisely what McLaren needed to lead their climb towards the front of the F1 pack, where they belong.

McLaren were in a dark place in the late 2010s as they publicly fell out with their engine supplier Honda, with world champions Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso losing patience and leaving the sport entirely.

While they were not struggling quite so much when it came to car competitiveness, a fresh-faced Lewis Hamilton walked into a political storm as McLaren imploded with Alonso and then team boss Ron Dennis grating and ‘spy gate’ scandals – like Norris, Hamilton was the young shining light that gave the team and the fans a reason to cheer and believe.

This experience for both Hamilton and Norris forced them to mature quickly – they have been the team leader despite the arrival of more experienced big names such as Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo, and they are better drivers for it.

The other similarity to Hamilton that Norris has is his natural, quirky but genuine persona, engaging a global audience – he is a superstar by being himself.

Hamilton was a superstar in the early stages of his career because of the barriers he broke and the people he spent time with, however, he didn’t have the surroundings and confidence to be himself until he moved to Mercedes.

Norris, meanwhile, has entered F1 at a time where expressing your individuality is celebrated – thanks in a large part to Hamilton – which means that he can be his unreserved self, making him so appealing.

While the car helped, Hamilton’s ability to express himself arguably allowed him to unlock a new level of performance.

The fact that Norris has done this earlier in his career than Hamilton may allow him to grow more quickly as an individual and as a racing driver in the next 100 races.

Russell waiting in the wings for ‘too long’

Russell is impatient, he says he wants things “yesterday”, and that is because he knows he has the ability to mix it with the very best and he has had to be patient for most of his career.

Like Norris, he was quickly forced into a leadership position as the then Formula 2 champion joined struggling Williams alongside drivers that could not match his level – as much as he appreciated Williams, Russell quickly outgrew the team.

Russell maintains that he drove for Williams for “too long” – an assessment that Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has since admitted.

The reality is that Russell would normally have been in the car after one season, like Max Verstappen at Red Bull and Charles Leclerc at Ferrari – but Mercedes were going through a far from average period.

As the Silver Arrows and Lewis Hamilton dominated F1, one of the winning formulas was the partnership between Hamilton and the reliable, diplomatic and likeable Valtteri Bottas.

Hamilton has continued to maintain that Bottas was his favourite team-mate. So, as long as the championships came, the champion’s calls to keep Bottas were heeded.

In 2021, though, Russell’s talent was too glaring to ignore for Wolff, welcoming the King’s Lynn man to Brackley for 2022.

Russell will have understandably expected to at least have been picking up wins as he supported Hamilton in the fight for the eighth title, but things didn’t exactly go to plan.

Team-mate tensions on the horizon for both Brits?

Instead, Mercedes have had two years trying to find their way, taking away winning opportunities but allowing Russell to grow in experience and confidence – he is just as ready to fight for titles as Hamilton.

Arguably, Russell had his greatest season in 2022, outscoring Hamilton and winning whilst the seven-time world champion failed to do so for the first time in his career.

Only one team-mate can win the driver’s title, and that’s why Christian Horner says he wants to avoid having two alpha drivers – they take points away from one another.

If they can get into the position to fight for race wins, Mercedes need a clear driver to back, as shown in Qatar.

McLaren have a similar issue in the form of the superstar Norris and the raw but exciting Oscar Piastri.

Does Zak Brown back Norris, with whom he seems to have a very special relationship, or Piastri, for whom he fought so hard to sign?

Piastri and Russell will only get better as they look to assert themselves on their team-mates.

Norris obviously has youth on his side and will continue to blossom himself, but how he reacts to being challenged by his team-mate, something he hasn’t had since Carlos Sainz in 2020, will be fascinating to see, especially as McLaren appear to be the team closest to the almighty Red Bull machine.

Russell will be disappointed with this season’s results after such a positive 2022 in Mercedes.

However, on qualifying pace, he is matching Hamilton and heads into Austin 9-8 up – Russell also arguably came the closest to winning in Singapore.

The youngster is taking risks while he has nothing to lose, learning his limits for when a title is on the line – that is a dangerous challenge for Hamilton who is undoubtedly in the latter stages of his career.

There have been a few moments this season when the Mercedes pair clashed, but Qatar’s first corner shenanigans were by far the most explosive.

Mercedes will hope to keep a lid on it and McLaren will hope their drivers don’t get any ideas.

Both Norris and Russell have made impressive starts, but they have challenges to overcome if they want to become champion in their next hundred races – not least, on the other side of the garage.

How do Norris and Russell match up?

Let’s be clear – Russell’s three years in a Williams which rarely scored points will impact the head-to-head data.

Nevertheless, the numbers do point to the respective strengths of the drivers.

Norris nor Russell have had as much success in F1 as they would have liked, with Russell the only one to have tasted victory after his win in Brazil and those painful final laps for Norris in Sochi.

But sometimes winning is not everything, and this is very much the case in an era of F1 that has been dominated by Hamilton and now three-time world champion Max Verstappen.

The data points to Norris’ consistency being his greatest strength.

Norris has only failed to finish a race 10 times in 99 Grand Prix, scoring points an impressive 74 times.

For context, Russell has retired 16 times, Hamilton, one of the most consistent finishers in F1 history, retired 12 times in his first 99 races and Verstappen more than double with 21 times.

Of course, mechanical failures are not in the driver’s control, but Norris is rarely caught up in a crash, keeps his nose clean and generally delivers the best result possible in the car – that is invaluable for a team.

He also has one more podium than Russell, with 11 – five P2s and six P3s compared to Russell’s one win, two P2s and seven P3s.

Norris has yet to get his first win, but if he continues to maximise results, he will take the top step when the opportunity arises.

While Russell can be slightly less consistent, his ability to grab an opportunity shines through.

Whenever things are up in the air, who is the driver first to risk it on slicks on a drying track or call on his team to try an aggressive strategy?

Russell loves to go for it, and that has been the nature of his career in the uncompetitive Williams or Mercedes, desperate to overcome the might of Red Bull.

No wonder Russell snatched the opportunity to secure pole position and win in Brazil last year. Were it not for a puncture, he would have also clinched victory when parachuted into a Mercedes in Sakhir 2020.

This ability to snatch a chance with both hands is why Russell is beating Norris in the critical statistics of Grand Prix wins, pole positions.

Norris and Russell head into their hundredth race in Austin, having established themselves as two of the best on the F1 grid.

They are ready to take the baton from Hamilton as the top British driver, but they may have to wrestle it from the seven-time champion for longer than expected.

Watch Formula 1 return to Texas for the United States Grand Prix and another Sprint weekend live on Sky Sports F1 from October 20-22. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

The 2023 Formula 1 season enters its final stage with a triple-header coming up; watch all sessions from another Sprint weekend at the US GP live on Sky Sports – Qualifying is at 10pm on Friday, Sprint at 11pm on Saturday and lights out for the Grand Prix at 8pm on Sunday

There might be no titles left to be won in Formula 1 2023 but there are still five race wins up for grabs, beginning with the United States Grand Prix this weekend.

Max Verstappen sealed the title last time out in Qatar, so attention turns to whether Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez can beat Lewis Hamilton to second place.

Pressure is increasing on Perez, who does have a contract to stay at Red Bull for 2024, after another disappointing weekend saw him retire from the Sprint and finish only 10th at the Qatar Grand Prix.

He holds a 30-point lead over Hamilton, who will be looking to bounce back from his collision with Mercedes team-mate George Russell.

Mercedes will bring a new floor to the car in Austin but are not expecting to make big strides in their bid to get close to Red Bull ahead of 2024.

Ferrari are only 28 points behind Mercedes in the battle for second in the constructors’ championship and McLaren got within 11 points of Aston Martin in the fight for fourth, thanks to another double podium for Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in Qatar.

For the first time in F1, there are consecutive Sprint weekends on the calendar so there will be competitive sessions for all three days on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

• Qualifying begins at 10pm on Friday, with build-up from 9:30pm
• Sprint Race starts at 11pm on Saturday, with build-up from 10pm
• United States Grand Prix gets under way at 8pm on Sunday, with build-up from 6.30pm

Watch F1 Academy finale live on Sky

Sky Sports F1 will also have live coverage of the F1 Academy finale from the Circuit of the Americas, where three races will decide the title.

Marta Garcia is the big favourite as she leads the championship by 48 points from Lena Buhler, with Hamda Al Qubaisi 56 points behind.

There are 67 points left up for grabs and you can practice, qualifying and every race alongside the F1 action this weekend.

• Qualifying begins at 11.30pm on Friday
• Race 1 is at 3.30pm on Saturday, with Race 2 at 9.15pm
• Race 3 takes place from 3.30pm on Sunday

When to watch the US GP and F1 Academy finale live only on Sky Sports F1

Thursday October 19

• 8pm: Drivers’ Press Conference

Friday October 20

• 2.15pm: F1 Academy Practice One
• 6pm: US GP Practice One (Session starts 6.30pm)
• 7.55pm: F1 Academy Practice Two
• 9pm: US GP Qualifying build-up
• 10pm: US GP Qualifying (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
• 11.30pm: F1 Academy Qualifying
• (Saturday) 12.30am: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook

Saturday October 21

• 3.30pm: F1 Academy Race One
• 6pm: US GP Sprint Shootout build-up
• 6:30pm: US GP Sprint Shootout
• 9.15pm: F1 Academy Race Two
• 10pm: US GP Sprint build-up
• 11pm: US GP SPRINT (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
• (Sunday) 12.30am: Ted’s Sprint Notebook

Sunday October 22

• 3.30pm: F1 Academy Race Three
• 6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: US GP build-up
• 8pm: THE UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
• 10pm: Chequered Flag: US GP reaction
• 11pm: Ted’s Notebook

Watch Formula 1 return to Texas for the United States Grand Prix and another Sprint weekend live on Sky Sports F1 from October 20-22. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

Max Verstappen will be looking to celebrate his 2023 title triumph with his 14th win this season at the Qatar Grand Prix.

Verstappen starts on pole position for the second ever F1 race in Qatar but will face a big challenge from the two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell at the start.

It’s a long run down to Turn 1 and the Sprint showed the cleaner, left-hand side of the grid is where you want to be to get a good launch.

With Hamilton starting in third (on the left) and Russell in second (on the right), it could be the seven-time world champion who gets into the slipstream of Verstappen and goes for it in the first couple of corners, reminding us all of those feisty 2021 opening race exchanges.

“I’m battling the guy to the right of me for sure (Verstappen),” said Hamilton after qualifying on Friday at the Losail International Circuit.

“I’ll give it everything to try and fight him. Maybe like George said, maybe he will just disappear like he does in most of the other races, but maybe we’ll be able to fight. I’m trying to win the race. It doesn’t matter who I’m fighting against.”

However, he was less optimistic following Saturday’s Sprint when discussing his targets for the race.

Hamilton told Sky Sports F1: “I hope we can hold position. That would be amazing as a team. I think it will be difficult to beat the Red Bull. The goal is to keep the Ferraris behind and if there is any way of keeping the McLarens behind, we will do that. But it’s going to be a long race.”

Russell also suggested Hamilton and himself “are going to have to work together to make sure we get a strong result for the team”.

The last two events in Singapore and Japan have showed both Mercedes will race each other hard, so they need to ensure they don’t throw too many punches on the opening lap if they want to be ahead, or stay within touching distance.

Tyre degradation is going to be a big problem too – even without the FIA mandating three pit stops (more on that later) – so Mercedes will have two cards to play with up front.

Surprisingly, there were three Safety Cars in the Sprint, so Mercedes could split the strategy and some fortune for Hamilton or Russell with the timing of an accident could put Verstappen under a lot of pressure – if they keep him within sight.

F1 teams wait on FIA tyre ruling

In a throwback to the 2005 Indianapolis Grand Prix, tyres may become a major storyline in the race due to safety concerns over tyre wear.

Following analysis of the tyres used on Friday, in what was meant to be the sole practice session of the Sprint event, there were concerns from Pirelli over the impact the Losail International Circuit’s ‘pyramid’ kerbs are having.

In an attempt to reduce the impact, track limits at Turns 12-13 were revised, with the white line being moved inwards by 80cm, and an extra 10-minute ‘practice familiarisation’ took place ahead of the Sprint Shootout on Saturday.

Pirelli and the FIA have analysed tyre data from the Sprint, when the majority of drivers started on the medium tyres. Depending on the analysis, the FIA could enforce a mandatory three pit stop rule for Sunday’s 57-lap race, along with a maximum limit of 20 full laps run on any single new set of tyres.

The consensus from drivers is safety comes first although some think, including Russell, that it should be up to the teams to take a risk on pushing the limits of a tyre.

“At the end of the day, we all have the data. If you to a circuit like Barcelona, which is already a three-stop naturally, nobody would attempt a one-stop because we have the data to tell you a one-stop won’t work,” Russell told Sky Sports F1.

“Going into the Sprint Race, nobody had the data because we only did nine laps in a row in free practice. Now we have all got the data and it’s going to be clear what’s possible and I think it should just be down to the teams to judge and take the risk and the reward.”

In the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix in 2021, four drivers suffered punctures – Valtteri Bottas, Lando Norris, Nicholas Latifi and Russell himself.

Pirelli won’t want to see a repeat of that and the way the race goes will be critical for how things pan out.

Can McLaren fight through the field?

But what about McLaren? Friday setbacks leave Sprint stars with work to do.

As evidenced by their win and third place in the Sprint, McLaren’s strong form of recent races has absolutely transferred to Qatar’s Losail circuit but setbacks from Friday qualifying have left a sting in the tail for the start of Sunday.

Norris and Oscar Piastri had initially qualified second and fourth for Sunday’s grid but were eventually relegated to 10th and sixth respectively for separate track limits infringements in Q3.

Team boss Andrea Stella acknowledged they had “a lot of work ahead of us” to make up lost ground but were nonetheless “encouraged by the performance of the car”.

Norris, while unhappy with his own form so far this weekend following several untimely mistakes, believes the podium might not be out of the question from the fifth row.

“I just need to stay out of carnage. The first couple of corners are pretty sketchy. Depending on what tyres we start on, and so on, but the main thing is staying out of harm’s way the first few laps,” said Norris.

“We have the pace. I think we have reasonable degradation, maybe not the best, compared to the Red Bulls, but reasonable degradation. So, we want to score good points.

“I think we have pace to be on the podium but whether we can do it or not from P10 is going to be the question. So, it’s a long race, we don’t know what rules and stuff Pirelli are going to make us do with the tyres and things like that yet, but we’ll find out soon.”

Starting grid for Sunday’s Qatar GP

1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2. George Russell, Mercedes
3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
4. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
5. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
6. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
7. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
8. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
9. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
10. Lando Norris, McLaren
11. Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri
12. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
13. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
14. Alex Albon, Williams
15. Nico Hulkenberg, Haas
16. Logan Sargeant, Williams
17. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
18. Liam Lawson, AlphaTauri
19. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
20. Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo

Sky Sports F1’s live Qatar Grand Prix schedule on Sunday

Sunday October 8

• 4.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Qatar GP build-up
• 6pm: THE QATAR GRAND PRIX
• 8pm: Chequered Flag: Qatar GP reaction
• 9pm: Ted’s Notebook

Watch Max Verstappen’s first race as a three-time world champion in the Qatar GP on Sunday live on Sky Sports F1. The race starts at 6pm with build-up from 4.30pm. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW for £21 a month for six months