Tag: Michael

Pierre Gasly was angry after being knocked of Q1 having been impeded by Carlos Sainz; Sainz was later given a three-place grid penalty for Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix; watch the Canadian GP live on Sky Sports F1 at 7pm on Sunday, with build-up from 5:30pm

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly has accused Carlos Sainz of “unacceptable and unfair” driving after being impeded by the Ferrari during Canadian Grand Prix Qualifying.

In a dramatic end to the first part of the wet session, Sainz slowed down approaching the final corner, creating chaos as the cars following him were left at risk of not crossing the start-finish line in time to set a final flying lap.

Gasly, who was coming down the main straight – that precedes the final chicane – at full speed, was forced to run off track and lost the opportunity to set a flying lap, which resulted in him being knocked out in 17th.

Sainz finished eighth, but was given a three-place penalty by the stewards for the incident, demoting him to 11th on the grid for Sunday’s race.

“I don’t think any words can express the disappointment and frustration right now,” Gasly told Sky Sports F1.

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Alpine’s Gasly was furious after taking evasive action to avoid Sainz as he missed out on Q2

“You put so much work into free practice, building your weekend, extracting everything out of Qualy. We did everything right, that lap was good enough for top six. Even if I lost a couple of tenths with a bit of traffic it would have been good enough for top 10.

“Carlos did the worst job possible to stay completely on the racing line. For me that’s completely unacceptable and unfair. I have no words to explain what happened.”

Asked if he held Sainz or the Ferrari pit wall responsible for the incident, Gasly continued: “You rely a lot on the team but the whole team, when they come to Canada know it’s a dangerous one.

“We know that last chicane, everyone is bumping into each other and you have to pay extra attention. The bare minimum is to at least be off line. First this was impeding and second it was extremely dangerous.

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Max Verstappen secured pole once again at the Canadian Grand Prix, while Nico Hulkenberg claimed a surprise second as Haas will start on the front row for the first time

“If I smash him at 300kph it puts him in danger and also myself. It’s completely unfair.

“Today it ruined my entire day. Tomorrow we will start in P17 so it will impact my race.

“Obviously, there should be something [punishment] but, at the end of the day, it won’t give us back what we should have had and this is what I care the most. I’m just really gutted.”

Sainz: It depends how much you shout on the radio

Sainz appeared to dismiss Gasly’s criticism, suggesting the incident was only highlighted because of the Frenchman’s reaction on radio, which initially saw him call for the Spaniard to be “banned”.

“It was very tight with the flag, it was about to fall,” Sainz said.

“I got impeded seven times today and I’m not shouting on the radio at Turn 13. Other drivers choose to use the radio more than others. Today I was impeded many, many times.

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A red flag was issued during final practice after Sainz hit the wall as the rain came down in Canada

“Some incidents are under investigation, some are not. It depends how much you shout on the radio.

“I had to let other cars go and I couldn’t get out of the way. I did my best to get out of the way and tried to go.

“I had to go, if not I would have missed my qualifying lap also. I was getting impeded at the time too.”

Sainz had endured a challenging final practice earlier on Saturday, slamming into the barrier and leaving his team with a repair job that continued right up until just a few minutes before the start of Qualifying.

During that time Sainz had already been to see the stewards, having been summoned for impeding Williams’ Alex Albon on two occasions on the same part of the track.

Sainz escaped punishment as the stewards take a more lenient approach to practice incidents.

He added: “One of the trickiest (Qualifying) by far in my career, especially coming from the incident (in P3).”

Charles Leclerc says Ferrari were unable to identify the issues in his car that resulted in an early qualifying exit at the Spanish GP; Leclerc doesn’t expect a big step forward at this weekend’s Canadian GP; watch the Canadian GP live on Sky Sports F1 all weekend

Charles Leclerc admits it is “worrying” Ferrari do not know the reasons for the car troubles that led to his Q1 exit in Spanish GP Qualifying.

Leclerc qualified 19th in Barcelona after being blighted by handling problems, especially through left-hand corners.

Ferrari changed the whole rear end of his car ahead of the race – in which Leclerc finished P11 – but the Monegasque revealed ahead of this weekend’s Canadian GP that they had failed to find a cause for his issues.

“Qualifying in Barcelona was a very particular one and I think I wasn’t the only one to struggle. We need to understand these things and for now we don’t have the reasons,” Leclerc said on Thursday.

“This is a little bit more worrying and that’s where we need to push and try to understand the reasons of it because obviously the feeling was really bad.”

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Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was left frustrated after failing to qualify for Q2 in Barcelona, finishing 19th at the Circuit de Catalunya

Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz had managed to put his Ferrari on the front row in Spain, but he finished the Grand Prix in fifth after Ferrari’s lack of race pace reared its head again.

Ferrari have just one podium finish in 2023 and are fourth in the constructors’ championship, already 187 points behind leaders Red Bull. Leclerc meanwhile finds himself seventh in the drivers’ championship on just 42 points.

The Scuderia were being tipped as title contenders in pre-season, and Leclerc has urged the team to bring updates to the underperforming SF23 as swiftly as possible.

“Overall I think all the team is not satisfied with the performance we are showing at the moment on track and it is very far off expectations at the beginning of the season,” Leclerc said.

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Simon Lazenby shares his most memorable moments from the Canadian Grand Prix ahead of this weekend’s race in Montreal

“Looking ahead we just need to keep pushing, try and bring upgrades as quickly as possible and regularly which is our aim now to try and close the gap to the guys in front and also close the gap especially in terms of race pace.

“Even though I struggled a lot in qualifying on the Saturday, the Sunday wasn’t great either – and if we look at Carlos he had a great Saturday and then on Sunday we struggled again with the race pace. That’s where we are trying to push at the moment.”

Leclerc reiterated he still had faith in Ferrari’s project, saying: “What gives me confidence though is that there is a clear direction of where we want to work and improve and this is what makes me believe in the project.”

Leclerc not expecting miracles this weekend

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Sky F1’s Karun Chandhok takes a look at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix

Leclerc’s troubles in Spain came on the first weekend that Ferrari ran their major upgrades to the SF23, and while he thinks the team will have an improved showing in Montreal on a track that should suit their car better, the 25-year-old is not expecting huge progress.

“On this track we don’t have anything new so I don’t think we’ll have any miracles. But we need to just try and maximise our package, understand more this package, set-up the car in order to maximise it.

“In Spain we were quite easily off the window and then we were losing a lot of performance. We have learnt a lot and pretty sure we will be in a better place for this weekend but I don’t think it will be a huge step forward.

“Last year [when Ferrari finished second and fifth) we were in a very different situation. We expect Aston Martin to be very strong this weekend, we expect Red Bull to be very strong this weekend, we struggle to understand where Mercedes will be compared to us.

“We have to focus on ourselves, try to maximise our package. It’s a very challenging track and with the weather, we don’t really know which side it’s going to go. We’ll just focus on ourselves and see what we can do.”

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A look back at some of the most dramatic moments from the Canadian Grand Prix

Sky Sports F1‘s live Canadian GP schedule

Friday June 16
6pm: Canadian GP Practice One (session starts at 6.30pm)
7.45pm: The F1 Show
9.45pm: Canadian GP Practice Two (session starts at 10pm)

Saturday June 17
5.15pm: Canadian GP Practice Three (session starts at 5.30pm)
8pm: Canadian GP Qualifying build-up
9pm: Canadian GP Qualifying
11pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook

Sunday June 18
5.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday Canadian GP build-up
6:55pm: The Grandstand with Daniel Ricciardo and Will Arnett (via red button)
7pm: THE CANADIAN GRAND PRIX
9pm: Chequered Flag Canadian GP reaction
10pm: Ted’s Notebook

Toto Wolff on Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes contract: “It is going to happen soon, and we are talking more days than weeks. We are trying hard [to get it done before the Canadian Grand Prix]. I will see him today and maybe we will talk about it. We have such a good relationship”

Lewis Hamilton’s Formula 1 future could be resolved before this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, according to Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff. 

Hamilton has six months to run on his £40m-a-season deal with Mercedes, but Wolff said his superstar driver is on the brink of agreeing new terms.

“It is going to happen soon, and we are talking more days than weeks,” Wolff told CNBC’s Squawk on the Street programme in New York when asked about Hamilton’s contract negotiations.

“We are trying hard [to get it done before the Canadian Grand Prix]. I will see him today and maybe we will talk about it.

“We have such a good relationship that we dread the moment that we need to talk about money.”

Hamilton, 38, met with Wolff the day after the last round in Spain, in the hope of rubber-stamping a fresh contract with the Silver Arrows.

It is anticipated that the British driver’s extension will be a multi-year deal, extending his stay in F1 beyond his 40th birthday.

“Lewis is the most important personality in the sport,” added Wolff.

“He is so multi-faceted, not only with the racing, but also off track, so we need to keep him in the sport for as long as possible.

“From a team’s perspective, Lewis and Mercedes have gone back a long time. He has never raced for any other brand than Mercedes.

“We both joined the team in 2013 together, and from a professional relationship, we now have a friendship. It has been a wonderful time.”

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Lewis Hamilton says he’s meeting with Toto Wolff on Monday to discuss a new contract at Mercedes

Hamilton, who has not won a race since his contentious championship defeat to Max Verstappen at the 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi, is already 83 points off the title pace this year.

But Mercedes’ recent upturn in form has provided Hamilton, who finished runner-up to Red Bull’s Verstappen at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, with renewed hope that his dream of a record eighth world title is not over.

However, Wolff warned: “The result in Spain was a well-deserved reward for everyone’s efforts at Brackley and Brixworth to bring our update package to the track.

“We were pleased with how it performed, and it will provide a new baseline for us to build from.

“But we must also manage our expectations. It was a circuit that suited our car, and we should expect our direct competitors to be stronger in the next races.

“The gap to Red Bull is large and it will take lots of hard work to close that down. Nevertheless, we’re up for the challenge.”

Ferrari dropped more points to Mercedes and Aston Martin in the constructors’ championship after Carlos Sainz finished fifth and Charles Leclerc was 11th at the Spanish Grand Prix; watch the Canadian GP from June 16-18 with all sessions live on Sky Sports F1

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has admitted their 2023 car is “very difficult to understand” after a tough Sunday at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Carlos Sainz started on the front row but dropped to fifth behind Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Sergio Perez.

Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc failed to get out of Q1 in Qualifying but failed to finish in the points as he struggled with tyre wear and car inconstancies.

Leclerc told Sky Sports F1 he “didn’t understand” what Ferrari were doing wrong as the car handled differently throughout the race, even when using the same tyre compound.

Ferrari brought a significant upgrade package to Barcelona, including new sidepods, but didn’t appear to go forward.

“You can’t compare Miami and Barcelona in terms of layout, tarmac and energy on the tyres, but I would say that the global picture is the same,” said Vasseur.

“We are there in qualifying, and we are not there in the race. We are still inconsistent on the same car between compounds and sometimes between the same compounds.”

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Charles Leclerc can’t understand what is wrong with his Ferrari after finishing P11 at the Spanish Grand Prix

He continued: “We have 1,000 people [working] on this now and it is very difficult to understand and to fix it because it’s not always the same problem.

“It’s true that in qualifying, you are in free air and in the race you are not. I think Charles struggled a lot in the first stint as he was a lot closer to the car in front of him.

“The main issue for us is not the potential on the lap on [high-speed] corners, the main issue is the inconsistency.

“On Charles’ car for example, between the first and third stints with the same compound, one the balance was out of place, and the last one was OK, and with Carlos, he did a decent first stint, and in the middle, he lost 15 or 20 seconds.”

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Red Bull chief technology officer Adrian Newey admitted he gave serious consideration to joining Team Ferrari twice in the 1990s

Vasseur: Ferrari can fight Mercedes

Mercedes’ updates did work as their new front suspension and sidepod design saw them take a double podium at the Spanish GP, with Hamilton in second and Russell in third.

Vasseur thinks Ferrari are keeping up with Mercedes in the development race and can beat them once their consistency is solved.

“I think as soon as we will unlock the situation with consistency we can imagine to fight with them [Mercedes] all over the race,” he said.

“With Red Bull, it’s another story, especially with Verstappen. He is still much faster than us in qualy, much faster in the race.”

Charles Leclerc finished has gone through a tough run of results in Miami, Monaco and Spain

Are Ferrari going in the wrong direction?

Ferrari are fourth in the constructors’ championship at 32 points adrift of Aston Martin and 52 points behind Mercedes

Damon Hill and Rachel Brookes told the latest Sky Sports F1 Podcast that Ferrari are very difficult to predict.

“It’s a funny season in a way because we have seen quite a lot of disparity between apparent form on one circuit and the same form, or expectations, on another circuit,” said Hill. “Everyone is scratching their heads apart from Red Bull, who are delivering on every track.

Ferrari are fourth in the constructors’ championship ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix

“Then what can you say about Ferrari? When one is up, the other is down. It’s like they are running with one leg all the time. So going forward, you have got the development curve and cost-cap restrictions to think about.”

Brookes added: “My worry is Ferrari are going in the opposite direction. They changed their car and we saw a very different Ferrari in Spain, they are now trying to chase that route as well.

F1 returns in Canada from June 16-18 with all sessions live on Sky Sports F1, including race coverage from 5.30pm on Sunday June 18

Fernando Alonso’s last win in Formula 1 came 10 years ago at the Spanish Grand Prix; the Aston Martin driver was narrowly beaten to pole position by Max Verstappen last time out in Monaco and thinks Qualifying at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Saturday will be very close

Fernando Alonso believes just “one or two tenths” will change the grid at the Spanish Grand Prix after a close second practice.

Alonso was 0.170 seconds behind Max Verstappen in the second session on Friday, with the top 17 split by less than one second around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

It was a contrast to Practice One, where championship leader Verstappen was more than three-quarters of a second ahead of the field.

“I think it’s so tight that one or two tenths will put you in a completely different spot on the classification. So don’t bring too much attention on the times,” said Alonso.

“We went through all the programmes that we had before practice, which is a good thing – learning about the tyres, the track is slower maybe than what we predicted, so there’s still more time to find more tweaks on the set-up, but it was a productive Friday.”

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Sky F1’s David Croft and Anthony Davidson review Friday’s practice sessions at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Asked if Aston Martin’s upgrades at the Spanish GP worked as intended, Alonso added: “Absolutely. There is not a new part that we put on the car that is not helping the performance. That’s something that has always been the case with the team since Bahrain.

“So, happy with the upgrades and let’s see tomorrow, when everyone goes to full power, where we are.”

Verstappen: The car was in a good window

Verstappen, who won his maiden F1 race at the 2016 Spanish GP, is looking for consecutive pole positions for the first time this season.

The Red Bull driver enjoyed driving through the fast penultimate corner after the slow-speed chicane was ditched ahead of this year’s event.

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Max Verstappen says he felt ‘very comfortable’ in his Red Bull as he topped both P1 and P2 ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.

“It’s been a lot more fun to drive. F1 cars in general feel better in high speed so for me the last two corners are much better to drive,” he said.

“I tried to follow a few cars as well and it seemed quite OK through there as well. Positively surprised for the overtaking and overall we had a very good day.

“The car was in a good window and you try to fine tune a few things here and there but short run, long run everything seemed quite good.

“From my side I felt very comfortable in the car looking after the tyres. I still need to look at the lap times of others but from our side it was a good day. [The bumps] are not too bad. This track has been resurfaced a few years ago and it’s still quite decent.”

Alonso hopes to put on ‘good show’ for fans

Alonso’s popularity in Spain has seen a sea of green fans turn out around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, representing the green of Aston Martin.

The two-time world champion says 67 per cent of the fans at the Spanish GP were wearing the Aston Martin colours on Friday.

“It’s amazing. I think this is going back to the 2005/06/07 years, where everything was in one colour,” added Alonso, who last won in F1 10 years ago at his home event.

“I really feel that support, that special energy. The fan forum this morning was amazing. While driving I cannot hear them, but I feel how enthusiastic they are. So hopefully we put a good show for them.”

Fernando Alonso testing new parts on his Aston Martin during Friday practice for the Spanish Grand Prix

Sky Sports F1’s live Spanish GP schedule

Saturday June 3
9.25am: F3 Sprint
11.15am: Spanish GP Practice Three (session starts 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: Spanish GP Qualifying build-up
3pm: Spanish GP Qualifying
6.15pm: IndyCar – Detroit GP Qualifying

Sunday June 4
8.50am: F3 Feature Race
10.20am: F2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday Spanish GP build-up
2pm: THE SPANISH GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag Spanish GP reaction
5.45pm: Indy NXT – Detroit GP
8pm: IndyCar – Detroit GP

Will Red Bull’s winning run in F1 2023 continue at the Spanish GP? Watch all the action live on Sky Sports F1, with Qualifying at 3pm on Saturday and the race at 2pm on Sunday. Get Sky Sports

In a TV first, three young F1 fans will present the Hungarian Grand Prix alongside Natalie Pinkham, Nico Rosberg, and Danica Patrick; You can tune in to the F1 Juniors broadcast on the 23rd of July live on Sky Sports

Young Formula 1 fans are set to present the Hungarian Grand Prix live on Sky Sports in a TV first.

Sky Sports F1 presenters will be joined by three young fans who will commentate, present and interview drivers at the event, while regular coverage will be available as usual on Sky Sports F1.

Over the course of the race week, the young recruits will try their hand at various broadcasting roles including interviews with their favourite drivers and other big names from the paddock, co-hosting with Natalie Pinkham and the Sky Sports F1 team, and commentating live during the race.

The F1 Juniors will also showcase their knowledge on all things F1, presenting their analysis and punditry after the race as with traditional F1 coverage.

Zac, a young go-kart racer, and Braydon and Scarlett who present Sky Kids show FYI, will join F1 world champion Nico Rosberg and former NASCAR and IndyCar racer Danica Patrick as they present F1 Juniors, live from Budapest’s Hungaroring.

Formula 1 will provide a dedicated international feed, including bespoke graphics, sound effects and special features such as 3D augmented graphics on specific camera angles that will enhance the broadcast for younger audiences in the UK and Germany.

Sky Sports F1‘s Jenson Button said: “We are really excited about giving the next generation of F1 fans a platform to show their passion and excitement for the sport as F1 continues to grow in popularity amongst younger audiences.

“We may just find our next Crofty or Naomi Schiff!”

Ian Holmes, Director of Media Rights and Content Creation at Formula 1 said: “We want to ensure that our fans of all ages can enjoy and fall in love with Formula 1, so working with our long-standing partners at Sky on this project to target younger audiences is really exciting.

“This is a first of its kind in motorsport and I am excited to see the broadcast come to life and to watch the next generation of presenting talent!”

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Our Premier League Juniors team bring you the best of the action from Brentford’s 3-1 win against Liverpool.

F1 Juniors follows December’s Premier League Juniors which saw young football fans join Kelly Cates as they took on similar roles during the Premier League fixture between Brentford and Liverpool.

Young F1 fans can tune in to the F1 Juniors broadcast on the 23rd of July live on Sky Sports

After weeks of speculation, Mercedes’ long-awaited upgrades to their W14 car are finally set to arrive for this weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Imola.

The Silver Arrows realised as early as the beginning of March at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix that they had made an error by sticking with their design concept from the previous year.

There had been hope that untapped potential remained in the eye-catching ‘zero-sidepod’ look first seen on their previous W13 model, but it quickly became clear the new car would be unable to challenge Red Bull, who in 2022 emphatically ended Mercedes’ eight-year streak of constructors’ titles and have won all five races to start the new campaign.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton said as early as Friday practice in Bahrain that they were on the “wrong track” before team principal Toto Wolff conceded that the W14 design “didn’t work out”.

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Ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, look back at some of the most dramatic moments to have taken place around Imola

Since then, it has been a case of damage limitation with Mercedes battling Aston Martin and Ferrari to finish behind the Red Bulls, and seven-time world champion Hamilton admitting he has been “counting the days” until the upgrades arrive.

There have already been repercussions in Mercedes’ senior leadership team, with James Allison returning as technical director in place of Mike Elliott, who moved into the broader chief technical officer role.

With the waiting almost over, we have collated the most notable comments coming from the Brackley outfit to answer the key questions ahead of the upgrades being unveiled at Friday practice in Imola, live on Sky Sports F1.

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Sky Sports’ Natalie Pinkham breaks down what to expect from the Emilia Romagna GP as F1 heads to the iconic Italian circuit

Why have the upgrades taken this long?

Given Mercedes realised they needed to make major changes at the first race of the season, some may wonder why it has taken them two-and-a-half months to have them ready.

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Toto Wolff made an early concession that Mercedes had gone wrong with their 2023 car design

Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin last week explained: “If we go all the way back to the test and race in Bahrain, that was where we realised that we didn’t have a package that was going to allow us to fight for a world championship – if we continued on that same development direction, we wouldn’t end up in a position where we felt we could challenge Red Bull.

“It was around that time that we took some decisions on how we develop the car, how the car works aerodynamically, and how we shape the characteristics of the car. In essence, how it is in terms of handling for the drivers to drive.

“What we are going to be bringing to the track in Imola is the first step of that work. This takes quite a long time to develop in the wind tunnel and you can’t just do these things overnight.”

Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has been explaining the upgrade process

Discussing upgrades on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast, Karun Chandok added: “They take as long as they take. I think that’s what people don’t understand – you can’t just think of an idea and just put it on the car for the next race.

“There’s a six-to-eight week lead time. You come up with an idea, design it in CFD (computational fluid dynamics) in the virtual world, then once you’re happy with that, you make a model which goes in the wind tunnel – there’s x amount of testing that has to happen with that.

“Then it goes to the composite department to make the parts and get them to the actual race, and that whole process is six-seven weeks at least.”

Are Mercedes ditching their ‘zero-sidepod’ concept?

When Mercedes unveiled their 2022 W13 model in Bahrain last year, the car’s lack of sidepods stunned the paddock.

Given the team’s incredible streak of titles and reputation for excellence, most assumed it was another moment of genius that would ensure more success.

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Mercedes’ ‘zero-sidepod’ look was first revealed at 2022 pre-season testing

While the sidepods aren’t the only reason Mercedes haven’t reached the level they aspire to, they are undoubtedly a key element and appear set for a radical change in Imola.

As early as the Bahrain GP, then technical director Elliott said of new planned sidepods: “It won’t be the same as other people’s and it won’t be the same as we’ve got, it’ll be different.

“We have got a very different sidepod coming – I say very different, a different sidepod that’s coming.”

So yes, we can be pretty sure the sidepods are going to look different, but plenty of mystery remains around exactly what form they will take.

What other changes will there be?

Speaking at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in March, Hamilton made it very clear that changing the sidepods alone wouldn’t solve Mercedes’ issues.

“People keep talking about getting the new sidepods on the car but it’s not as simple as that,” the Brit said.

“You put the Red Bull sidepods on our car and it won’t change a thing, it literally won’t change a thing, it might even go slower.

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Ted Kravitz looks at Mercedes’ changes at technical director, where James Allison returns to the role replacing Mike Elliott

“It’s about aero characteristics, it’s how the car is balanced through the corners. There’s so many different elements that people of course would not know because they’re not aerodynamicists and you can’t see it – there’s a lot more to it.”

Aside from the sidepods, Mercedes had largely been reluctant to share much information about what would be changing, but Wolff gave his most detailed answer at the Miami Grand Prix earlier in May.

“What we are doing is we’re introducing a new bodywork and we’re introducing a new floor and we’re doing a new front suspension,” he said.

“That’s a pretty large operation, a large surgery and so there is going to be a lot of learning.”

Will the upgrades enable Mercedes to challenge Red Bull?

Red Bull have won all five races this season in dominant fashion, with Max Verstappen topping the drivers’ standings as he seeks a third successive title.

Given the stunning pace of the RB19, it’s difficult to see anyone closing the 122-point lead Red Bull have already opened up in the constructors’ standings, but just competing with them for wins would undoubtedly be a triumph.

Asked in Miami what he is expecting from the upgrades, Wolff said that in the “virtual world” the car is producing a “good lap time” but has repeatedly warned that suddenly challenging Red Bull is highly unlikely.

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Max Verstappen wins the Miami Grand Prix, Sergio Perez finishes in second to bring home another Red Bull one-two, with Fernando Alonso claiming another podium

“We need to manage our own expectations,” Wolff said. “Because we are bringing an update package that is going to consist of new suspension parts and bodywork and some other things but I have never in my 15 years in Formula 1 seen a silver bullet being introduced where suddenly you unlock half a second of performance. I very much doubt this is going to happen here.

“What I’m looking for is that we take certain variables off the table where we believe we could have introduced something that we don’t understand in the car and to have a stable platform. We shall see what our baseline is and what we can do from there.”

While Wolff is keen to manage expectations, Hamilton’s revelation that he’s been “counting the days” until the upgrades suggests that there is internal confidence of significant improvement.

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Sky F1’s Martin Brundle and Nico Roseberg explain how Mercedes’ concept differs from Red Bull’s and assess the ‘massive job’ they face to close the gap

While it must be noted that Ferrari are also expected to bring major upgrades to Imola, Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok believes Mercedes are hoping to establish themselves as Red Bull’s nearest challengers.

“I believe there’s a decent upgrade coming to the Mercedes in Imola, and I’m really intrigued to see where that moves them,” Chandhok said.

“I don’t think it will move them into Red Bull territory, but I think they’re hoping it will clear them ahead of Aston and Ferrari, that’s their ambition I think, but we’ll see.”

Will more Mercedes upgrades follow?

Once upon a time, Mercedes would have quite literally been able to build a completely different ‘B-spec’ car, but Formula 1’s budget cap and the sliding scale of aero testing allowed puts limitations on what they can do.

Despite those measures, Wolff confirmed that Mercedes have enough funds remaining to continue on the path they will reveal in Imola.

Wolff said: “Yes we do, because if you embark on a new development direction it’s that one project you concentrate on so that should be fine.”

While Wolff has said he believes Mercedes can win races this season, the ultimate aim of the concept change is to ensure the Silver Arrows can get back to competing with Red Bull over a full campaign.

Shovlin explained in his Miami GP review: “We do hope that it is quicker, we hope that it’s better in terms of qualifying and race pace.

“The key thing though is that we are not just looking to bring a lap time update, we are looking to head off in a different development direction. One that we think gives us a better chance in the long term of being able to challenge for race wins and world championships.”

Formula 1 returns to Imola for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix from May 19-21. Watch every session live on Sky Sports F1 including the race from 2pm on Sunday May 21.

Formula 1’s drivers were introduced to the grid at the Miami Grand Prix by musician LL Cool J in a ceremony that lasted more than seven minutes; Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and several others offered a range of opinions on the event

Formula 1 drivers have offered a split verdict after the sport tried out a new look with musician LL Cool J introducing the drivers onto the grid ahead of Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix.

The 20 drivers were introduced one-by-one in a ceremony that lasted more than seven minutes, and required the usual pre-race schedule to be altered.

Formula 1’s rapid growth in recent years has motivated those running the sport to maintain an innovative approach, as they seek to continue to extend its reach.

Along with LL Cool J’s appearance, fellow musician Will.i.am released an F1 inspired single on Sunday to coincide with the race.

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Highlights of the Miami Grand Prix at the fifth race of the season

The proceedings appeared to have little negative impact on the drivers, with an extremely clean race playing out as Max Verstappen caught Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez to extend his world championship lead.

However, the consensus after the race appeared to be that drivers feel like too much is being asked of them as they prepare to deliver an elite performance.

Here’s what they had to say:

Max Verstappen, Red Bull:

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Red Bull driver Max Verstappen reflects on victory at Miami after climbing up from P9 to P1

“Personally, I think it is just a personality thing. Some people like to be more in the spotlight, some other people don’t. I personally don’t, so for me I think that naturally what they did today is not necessary.

“I prefer to just talk to my engineers then put my helmet on and drive but of course I understand the entertainment value.

“I just hope we don’t have that every single time because it is a long season so we don’t need an entry like that every time but it also depends a bit on the crowd I think in terms of what you want.

“I think it is just a personal preference as well from the drivers.”

Sergio Perez, Red Bull:

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Red Bull driver Sergio Perez pays homage to teammate Max Verstappen for being the stronger driver and taking victory at the Miami Grand Prix

“I think as long as we don’t do it on too many occasions.

“I think it is nice to do it once for the crowd but we also have to be very respectful of the drivers.

“We need our own time to get ready and it is just minutes before the race starts and I think as long as it doesn’t happen very often it is ok.”

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin:

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Following his third-place finish at the Miami Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso says victory was ‘a little bit too easy for Max Verstappen’

“I understand the point of view of everybody but I am not a big fan of those things just before the race.

“If we have to do it, I think we need to remove some of the other stuff we are doing like the parade lap or something like that because it is really in the middle of the preparations and the strategy meeting.

“I disagree a little bit with if we do it we don’t have to do it everywhere because I don’t think the Miami fans are better than the Italian fans in Imola or in Spain or in Mexico or in Japan.

“I think we need to make everyone with the same rules and the same show before the race.”

George Russell, Mercedes:

“We spoke about it as drivers on Friday night. Everybody has got different personalities, I guess it is the American way of doing things and doing sport.

“Personally, it is probably not for me but that is just my personal opinion because I am here to race. I am not here for the show, I am here to drive and I am here to win, but I guess we have to roll with it.

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Mercedes driver George Russell reflects on a successful Miami Grand Prix

“It is distracting because we were on the grid for half an hour in our overalls in the sun and I don’t think there is any other sport in the world where 30 minutes before you go out to do your business that you are out there in the sun, all the cameras on you, making a bit of a show of it.

“I can appreciate that in the entertainment world but, as I said, we only want the best for the sport and we are open to changes but we wouldn’t want to see it every weekend.

“I don’t think it will be at every weekend, I think it will be at the big races.

“The thing I love every single race is the national anthem. That sort of pumps you up and is respectful to the country you are racing at but I have mixed feelings on the additional show.”

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes:

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Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton says he enjoyed racing at the Miami Grand Prix

“I think it is cool that the sport is continuously growing and evolving and they are not just doing the same things they have done in the past.

“They are trying new things, they are trying to improve the show and I am in full support of it.

“I grew up listening to LL Cool J and then he is there, that was cool.

“You have got Will.i.am, who is an incredible artist. You have got Serena and Venus (Williams) standing there. It was cool.”

What’s next?

There’s a brief pause for breath before Formula 1 returns to Europe for a triple-header of back-to-back races.

The first of those is the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Imola from May 19-21, with Mercedes and Ferrari expected to bring significant upgrades which they hope will move them closer to Red Bull.

All eyes will be on Ferrari at the first of their two home races this season, with the team’s inconsistent start to the campaign likely to come under major scrutiny in front of the tifosi.

Charles Leclerc crashed at Turn Seven in the closing stages of Q3 at the Miami GP having hit barriers at same corner in practice; Leclerc to start Sunday’s race from seventh; watch Miami GP live on Sky Sports F1 at 8:30pm Sunday

Charles Leclerc admits his crash in Miami GP Qualifying was “unacceptable” after also hitting the barriers in the same place during Friday practice.

Leclerc was pitched into a high-speed spin after losing control of his Ferrari at Turn Seven during his final Q3 run. The crash brought out the red flag and prevented anyone else getting in a second lap as Sergio Perez took pole.

It was a case of déjà vu for Leclerc after his Friday practice had been curtailed by a crash through the same corner.

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Charles Leclerc had a massive crash in his Ferrari towards the end of Q3, bringing out the red flag and in the process handing pole to Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.

Having also made an error on his first Q3 run, Leclerc will start seventh on Sunday and he could not hide his anger at himself afterwards.

“More than the track, I think what’s unacceptable is doing twice the same mistake in the same corner. I am really disappointed with myself,” Leclerc told Sky Sports F1.

“You can always find excuses in those situations, the wind was really strong, it was really tricky, the set up of the car was really tricky also but I put myself in this condition. I wanted this set up and I knew it would be tricky, but I thought I would be able to extract the maximum out the car in Q3, which is normally one of my strong points.

“I know that I’m also taking more risks than others in Q3, which is why most of the time why I’m doing good Q3s but this is too much.

“Very disappointed with myself, I did the same mistake yesterday and this shouldn’t happen.”

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Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc had a heavy collision with the wall as a red flag was brought out during P2.

Asked if he was putting too much pressure on himself in Q3 sessions, Leclerc replied: “I don’t think so. It’s paying off most of the time, but this weekend I did too much and I cannot hide my disappointment.”

There is the possibility of rain affecting Sunday’s race, and Leclerc says his initial focus is just on staying out of trouble.

“Now looking forward to tomorrow we are starting seventh, weather looks to be quite tricky so hopefully we’ll have a clean race and be able to come back to the front,” he said.

“The Astons look strong in race pace so I don’t know exactly where we are going to be, a podium would be a really good finish tomorrow considering our race pace.”

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Anthony Davidson was at the SkyPad to analyse how Charles Leclerc could have avoided crashing his Ferrari in the final part of qualifying.

Brundle: Leclerc doing a lot of damage at key times

As well as his crash on Friday, Leclerc ended up in the barriers of the Sprint Shootout at last weekend’s Azerbaijan GP when trying to improve his SQ3 time.

High-profile crashes have littered Leclerc’s F1 career, and Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle thinks the 25-year-old is too often pushing beyond his limits.

“Leclerc was just totally lit up through there, too hard. We see that a lot with Charles, he doesn’t seem to quite know where the limit is,” Brundle said on commentary.

“His determination and his speed is so incredible, but there’s no cut off point until he hits something, we’ve seen it a lot through his career and a lot lately as well.

“He’s just got to take a quarter of a per cent out of it somewhere. He’s doing a lot of damage to that Ferrari and at critical times.”

The Formula 1 season continues with the Miami GP – watch Sunday’s race live on Sky Sports F1 from 7pm, lights out at 8.30pm. Get Sky Sports

Lewis Hamilton says it was a “kick in the guts” for Mercedes to be so far behind Red Bull at the end of Friday practice and is going into qualifying day at the Miami GP with no expectations.

Signs had initially looked promising for Mercedes after George Russell led Hamilton in a surprise one-two in Practice One, albeit their times being set when track conditions were at their best.

But Friday afternoon saw Mercedes’ difficulties return as Hamilton finished the session seventh, 0.928s off Max Verstappen’s leading time and behind Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris as well as the two Ferraris and Red Bulls. Russell, meanwhile, ended up 15th.

“We’re not particularly quick and it’s a struggle out there,” Hamilton said on Friday evening.

“We’re trying lots of different things. P1 looked quite good and then to come into P2 and the true pace came out – it’s a kick in the guts.

“It’s difficult to take sometimes but it’s OK, we’ll keep on working on it and we’ll regroup tonight and see if we can make some set-up changes and get the car in a sweeter spot.”

He added: “I’m trying to stay positive with it and we’re working as hard as we can. It’s just we’re dying, desperately need those upgrades for sure.

“Just got to keep our head down for one more race and then hopefully we’ll start a new path next race.”

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Lewis Hamilton first set the fastest time in opening practice before Mercedes teammate George Russell went even quicker towards the end of the session.

A year ago, Mercedes topped a Friday practice session at the inaugural Miami GP before Russell suffered a Q2 exit and Hamilton could only manage sixth in qualifying on Saturday.

And the seven-time world champion is just hoping to be part of Q3 given the difficulty he is having with the W14 this weekend.

“I don’t have expectation. The car I just hope I can get it into a better place tomorrow. I hope we can be in Q3 and if we can be mid-bunch of that top 10 that would be great,” Hamilton said.

“Melbourne was night and day difference, much much nicer to drive there. Baku felt better than here also. Maybe it’s the heat or maybe it’s the balance we have at the moment.

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Sky F1’s Anthony Davidson reviews Practice Two ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.

“I’m going to stay optimistic and I’m going to stay hopeful that we can get the car in a better place tomorrow and maybe be a couple of steps up.

“But it feels like, apart from last year we had large-scale bouncing, it generally feels like we’re racing pretty much the same car and that’s the difficult thing.”

Russell: We can still get ahead of Ferraris, Astons

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George Russell is confident Mercedes can still be the second-quickest team behind frontrunners Red Bull at the Miami Grand Prix.

Russell’s difficult second session saw him at one point complain that his car felt like it was “three-wheeling” through Turn Two.

The 25-year-old believes he and the team understand why he struggled on his soft tyre attempts on Friday and retains hope that Mercedes can still get ahead of the Ferraris and Aston Martins come race day.

“It’s fine margins,” Russell said.

“If we get things right, there’s no reason why we can’t be ahead of Ferrari and Aston Martin – that’s the aim.

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George Russell had to take to the run-off area during second practice, while Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso had a dig at previous employers Alpine over team radio.

“I think we’ve seen in these first four races now it’s really tight between those three teams, so if only that was for the win and pole position, it would be exciting. But it’s good because it shows if we can get things right, we can be rewarded and jump ahead of them.

“I think we need to make some improvements overnight. We know we’ve got the potential because we saw it in FP1 and we saw it at the start of FP2, but for sure we just need to get things aligned.”

Max: I always felt good | Perez: I’ve not driven well

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Red Bull driver Max Verstappen reflects on a positive practice day at the Miami Grand Prix.

Friday saw contrasting fortunes for the two Red Bull drivers and title rivals.

Verstappen, who leads Sergio Perez by six points in the championship heading into the weekend, had dominated Practice One until the late laps from the two Mercedes and Charles Leclerc usurped him, but still finished over a second ahead of his team-mate.

The Dutchman was then nearly half a second ahead of Perez in the afternoon session as he stamped his authority on the weekend.

“I think it was a good day. Initially I think it was getting used to the track a bit with the new tarmac, I think it was ramping up a lot throughout the day,” Verstappen said.

“I always felt good in the car and we had good balance.

“Most importantly today I think we had a good balance in the car to start with, so I felt happy. There’s still a few little things we want to look at.”

Perez admitted he needed to improve over the remainder of the weekend.

“I haven’t had the greatest of Fridays but my lap was also pretty bad where I locked up on the final corner,” Perez said.

“I think there is quite a bit to come together with my driving. I don’t think I drove well today, so if I can improve my driving and get myself a bit more comfortable I’ll be all right.”

Leclerc on P2 crash: I pushed too much

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Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc had a heavy collision with the wall as a red flag was brought out during P2.

Leclerc finished third in both of Friday’s practice sessions, but his afternoon running was curtailed 10 minutes early in the second of those when he crashed into the barriers after losing control at Turn Seven, bringing out the red flag.

Ferrari are running an upgraded floor and diffuser in Miami but the rear of the car escaped undamaged in the crash.

Leclerc said the crash was due to pushing too hard and struck a defeatist tone about the chances of reeling in Red Bull on Sunday.

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Charles Leclerc crashed his Ferrari in P2 and isn’t optimistic about challenging Red Bull for the win in Sunday’s race.

“I pushed a bit too much lost the rear, tried to recover from it, but I had no grip to recover the car. There was no damage to the rear of the car, which is the most important, and tomorrow is another day,” Leclerc said.

“Apart from that I think the feeling is pretty good over one lap, but over the race we are so far behind. Red Bull is again in a league of it’s own, but very far in front so in the race we have a lot of time to find. In qualifying, we are more or less there.”

Sky Sports F1’s live Miami GP schedule

Saturday
5.15pm: Miami GP Practice Three (session starts 5.30pm)
8pm: Miami GP Qualifying build-up
9pm: Miami GP Qualifying
10.45pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook

Sunday
7pm: Grand Prix Sunday Miami GP build-up
8.30pm: THE MIAMI GRAND PRIX
10.30pm: Chequered Flag Miami GP reaction
11.30pm: Ted’s Notebook

The Formula 1 season continues with the Miami GP this weekend. Watch qualifying at 9pm on Saturday with lights out at 8.30pm on Sunday. Get Sky Sports

The inaugural season of F1 Academy, the new all-female racing series, gets under way in Austria this weekend.

The drivers and teams have had four days of pre-season testing in Barcelona and at Circuit Paul Ricard, with British driver Abbi Pulling topping both days of testing in France.

F1 Academy will race at seven locations in 2023, with the season concluding at Formula 1’s US GP in October. Three races will be held at each venue over the course of the weekend.

Here Sky Sports F1 breaks down the new series.

What is F1 Academy?

F1 Academy was launched in November 2022 by Formula 1 and aims to prepare and develop female drivers to progress to higher levels of competition.

The category is designed to “give more access to track time, racing and testing, as well as support with technical, physical, and mental preparations”.

It is hoped the F1 Academy will provide the experience to progress to Formula 3, and help Formula 2 and Formula 1 opportunities in the future.

Susie Wolff, the former Williams F1 development driver and most recently team principal of Formula E team Venturi, was named managing director of the series in March.

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F1 Academy managing director Susie Wolff explains what she hopes the achieve with the new all-female series

Who are the drivers and teams?

F1 Academy features five teams – ART, Campos, Rodin Carlin, MP Motorsport and Prema – each entering three cars to make up a 15-strong grid.

All five teams also race in Formula 3 and Formula 2 and have pedigree for bringing through young talent: Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are ART alumni, Lando Norris was given his F2 debut by Campos before racing for Carlin, Charles Leclerc and Mick Schumacher both won the F2 title with Prema while MP Motorsport had last season’s F2 champion Felipe Drugovich.

A number of drivers have joined F1 Academy having previously raced in W Series. Among those is Pulling, who finished fourth in last season’s W Series standings.

Speaking to Sky Sports about her ambitions for her first season in F1 Academy, Rodin Carlin’s Pulling said: “I want to win races and show consistency and show that I can be a front runner.

“I think I showed that at times last year (in W Series) and I just want to solidify that. The team have got a really good package. There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes and I think it will all add up and amount to success.”

Abbi Pulling is one of four British drivers on the F1 Academy grid

Prema’s Marta Garcia is a former winner in W Series while Campos’ Nerea Marti was on the podium three times.

And some of the youngest talents on the F1 Academy grid are British with 17-year-old Chloe Grant, 18-year-old Jessica Edgar and 16-year-old Chloe Chong joining Pulling on the grid.

Pulling is one of two drivers on the grid affiliated already to an F1 team, with the 20-year-old part of Alpine’s academy. Lena Buhler is part of the Sauber Academy.

What car will they be driving?

F1 Academy is using the same chassis as Formula 4

F1 Academy will see all drivers race in identical cars – a Tatuus T421 chassis that is also used in Formula 4.

The cars are powered by turbo-charged engines supplied by Autotecnica and capable of 174 horsepower, while Pirelli will supply tyres.

The cars will have a top speed of 240 kph (149mph).

Where will F1 Academy be racing?

F1 Academy will race at six European tracks in its inaugural season before its finale at the US GP in October.

The season begins with a two-day event at the Red Bull Ring this weekend, April 28-29.

Spain will then host two events at Valencia and Barcelona in May before summer stops in the Netherlands (Zandvoort), Italy (Monza) and France (Le Castellet).

While only the season-finale is part of an F1 weekend in 2023, F1 president Stefano Domenicali has already confirmed F1 Academy will be held exclusively at Formula 1 race weekends in 2024.

What is the weekend format?

Each race weekend will feature seven sessions of track action.

They will begin with two 40-minute practice sessions before two qualifying sessions later in the day, each lasting 15 minutes.

Qualifying 1 will set the grid for Race 1 while Qualifying 2 sets the grid for Race 3.

Race 2’s grid will be set by reversing the top eight drivers from Qualifying 1.

Races 1 and 3 will both be 30 minutes long plus one lap. Race 2 is a shorter, lasting 20 minutes plus one lap.

“The format is huge for development,” Pulling told Sky Sports. “I’ve been fighting to get some seat time and this year it looks like it will be really good.

“Seven weekends with three races per weekend – two 30-minute and one 20-minute reverse grid race so that throws some race craft into the mix as even if someone is driving away with it, they’ll have to go back.

“The testing that they provide…is great for developing drivers at a young age.”

What is the points system?

F1 Academy will have the same points scoring system as Formula 1 for Races 1 and 3, with 25 points being awarded to the winner and points being awarded down to P10.

The points in descending order will be: 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1.

The shorter Race 2 will see 10 points awarded to the race winner and points being awarded down to P8.

The points in descending order for Race 2 will be: 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

In all three races, a driver will receive an additional point if they set the fastest lap, provided they finish in the top 10.

The driver who claims pole position in each qualifying session will also be awarded two points.

After a chaotic Australian Grand Prix, won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, how are each of the 10 teams feeling as they fly home from Melbourne?

The sold-out Albert Park crowd were treated to a thrilling race of crashes, battles and a sprinkling of controversy. While Max Verstappen fought back to win Red Bull’s first race in Australia since 2011, he was joined on the podium by Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. Reliability, collisions and penalties caused pain for many, including George Russell and the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

Ted Kravitz delivers his verdict on all 10 teams…

Red Bull – ‘Super-duper DRS is half their advantage’

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Max Verstappen gets DRS on Lewis Hamilton and makes an easy overtake to take the lead of the Australian Grand Prix

It was a weekend of mixed fortunes for Red Bull, who have often struggled in Australia as Verstappen won, while Sergio Perez limited the points lost to his title rival after a horrible Saturday that saw him crash out of qualifying after three corners.

TED’S VERDICT: Max Verstappen P1 – it was a terrible lap one with Verstappen down to P2 – the Mercedes got past him, Lewis pushed him off.

But Max eventually breezed past Hamilton with the magic DRS.

What word shall we think of to describe this DRS? ‘Super-duper DRS’.

It is an advantage – the engineers in the pitlane estimate that it’s worth two-tenths or three-tenths of a second on that lap compared to another car with DRS.

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Highlights of the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park Circuit

So, this Red Bull super-duper DRS is worth rather a lot.

When you consider that Red Bull’s entire advantage is two-tenths or three-tenths, that’s quite a handy advantage to have.

I don’t think it is their entire advantage – there’s a great car, it’s aerodynamically efficient, it’s engineered well and all the rest of it, but it could be half of their advantage that is down to their super-duper DRS – food for thought for the other teams.

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Watch as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen moves further forward before launching on the second red flag restart

Sergio Perez pitted twice under the first Safety Car, got the hard tyres out of the way, got boxed in at the start – that was his problem, and then, after that, it was a quieter weekend for Checo.

He made his way through, but it’s a missed opportunity – I think after qualifying and after the problems they had on Saturday with the brakes, it is a missed opportunity for Red Bull and Perez – he should have been P2 or higher.

Mercedes – ‘They’re happy around here’

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George Russell makes a great start and takes the lead from Max Verstappen as Charles Leclerc crashes out and brings out the safety car on the opening lap!

Despite Russell’s fiery end to the race, Mercedes will be generally pleased as they appear to have made progress, taking the fight to Aston Martin and Ferrari in the competition for the second-quickest car – only three-tenths off Verstappen in qualifying, will future developments help them fight for future wins?

TED’S VERDICT: They should be happy at Mercedes because Lewis Hamilton was second.

George Russell DNF, it’s an engine failure – went pop, apparently it wasn’t a leak.

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George Russell’s car sets on fire and he is out of the race with a power unit issue!

Poor George had already been done over by the red flag caused by gravel.

Lewis Hamilton got Max Verstappen at the start, stayed out before Max got him back.

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Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton says his P2 finish is a great result and gives the team hope as they look to catch up with Red Bull

Lewis was challenging Russell before Russell pitted, but I thought Lewis managed it all very well and secured P2, so I think they are happy around here.

Aston Martin – ‘They got a bit of luck today’

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After finishing third at the Australian GP, Fernando Alonso admits he was confused as to what exactly was happening after a red flag caused pandemonium at the end of the race

Aston Martin were rare in that both drivers had good days, finishing third and fourth – something they may not have seen coming after the second restart, which saw Alonso spin out and Lance Stroll off into the gravel.

TED’S VERDICT: Fernando Alonso’s got his third podium in three races and he got a bit of luck even if it was the correct interpretation of the rules.

Alonso stays P3 and Lance Stroll stays P4, and both benefited from the gravel red flag.

Alonso challenged Max Verstappen in race two and then he chased Lewis Hamilton, but he said it was difficult to get close.

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Fernando Alonso is tagged by Carlos Sainz which causes a long line of accidents at the second race restart and brings out yet another red flag!

It was a disastrous red flag too – Alonso spun, but they got that reinstated.

Solid race from Stroll, [as he] got stuck behind Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz’s fight.

McLaren – ‘Woo! Gravel!’

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri grew up in Melbourne where he scored his first F1 points on Sunday

McLaren leave Melbourne with their local boy scoring his first F1 points as a rookie at his home race and the team moving off the bottom of the table after two torrid races in the Middle East.

TED’S VERDICT: They have scored their first points of the year, so well done McLaren – 12 points and that puts them straight into P5 in the Constructors’ Championship – Lando Norris P6, Oscar Piastri P8.

I’ve got ‘Woo! Gravel’ here.

They were very much advantaged by the red flag for gravel, both into ninth and 10th with the free pit stop.

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McLaren chief executive Zak Brown insists there is no exit clause in Lando Norris’ contract and he has no concerns about the prospect of him leaving the team

Oscar Piastri lost out at the restart, dropped to P12 and then he got up to P11 ahead of Yuki.

Lando was really quick, did so well – well done McLaren.

Haas – ‘That was scary’

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Haas thought Kevin Magnussen suffered a wheel puncture after the Danish driver completely loses his right rear tyre after clipping the wall

At one stage, it looked as though Nico Hulkenberg was going to score his first F1 podium, but despite their protests, he moves back to seventh to at least score points after his team-mate’s wheel came off – it was that sort of crazy day.

TED’S VERDICT: DNF for Kevin Magnussen with that spin and it’s Hulkenberg with P7.

Hulkenberg nearly hit Alex Albon when he span – that was scary, he said.

Magnussen lost out at the red flag and restarted last, he then ran brilliantly, Lando Norris then challenged him and got P8, then Magnussen spun and crashed, putting wheel-rim debris all over the track.

Alfa Romeo – ‘Would have been much more than it was’

Alfa Romeo scored just two points as they lost out during a red flag

Safety Cars and red flags can cause teams to roll a dice hoping for double sixes, but Alfa Romeo came away missing out – Valtteri Bottas’ mullet in Melbourne clearly was not the lucky charm they were hoping for.

TED’S VERDICT: Let me tell you the sorry tale of Alfa Romeo’s race because after pitting early on the first Safety Car, they could have been set for many points, so they are frustrated at the red flag for gravel.

They don’t really know why the red flag happened and they were always catching up from that point on.

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Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas believes his victory at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix was the best of his career

Valtteri Bottas P11 and Zhou Guanyu P9, so well done Zhou Guanyu, he’s got two points.

Both benefitted from the gravel early on [when they pitted under the Safety Car] but then lost out when there was a red flag [the second of the three] – it would have been much more than it was.

AlphaTauri – ‘This is what we have, I’m sorry’

AlphaTauri scored their first point of the season with Yuki Tsunoda in Melbourne

It’s been a tricky start to the season for AlphaTauri with an uncompetitive car, but Yuki Tsunoda managed to score the Red Bull junior team’s first points of the season.

TED’S VERDICT: They got a point, Yuki Tsunoda had a point and I think that’s AlphaTauri’s first point of the season.

Yuki restarted P8, Nyck de Vries got clonked on the restart too by Ocon.

Yuki struggled with the set-up of the car, the balance of the car, the engineer said ‘this is what we have, I’m sorry’.

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Check out all the funniest Formula 1 moments from the weekend in Australia

De Vries was struggling with the car for the whole race, after that clonk, he said that the car was not right, he pitted, Yuki also pitted on the Magnussen safety car and lost out because of the red flag – he would have been much further up.

Ferrari – ‘Groans, a thunderous face but a little bit of pace’

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Carlos Sainz is furious at being handed a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Fernando Alonso

Leclerc crashed out on lap one and Sainz was taken from fourth [to] out of the points due to a controversial penalty that he called “unacceptable” – Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur reportedly has a bad back and these race results will only add to the pain.

TED’S VERDICT: It’s Sainz P12 and Leclerc DNF.

Carlos Sainz, [his penalty was] very unfair I think he believes, and by the look on his face, which is worse than thunder, I would imagine he knows that that result is not going to be adjusted.

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Fernando Alonso is tagged by Carlos Sainz which causes a long line of accidents at the second race restart and brings out yet another red flag!

It was never going to be adjusted – let’s face it – but they had to give it a go and test the theory.

Charles Leclerc, a real fan favourite, groans in the grandstand when he has had the incident with Lance Stroll.

And when you qualify badly in P7 and you’re in the carbon-fibre zone, this kind of thing can happen.

As for Sainz, it was a good fight on lap one, pitted under the Safety Car before the gravel caused the red flag, and that sunk him to P11, then he got stuck behind Gasly for quite a while, but got through and was going to be P4 but then got the five-second penalty for clonking into Alonso, which he thought was a racing incident.

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Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was left frustrated after being taken out by Lance Stroll on the opening lap of the Australian Grand Prix

But at least Ferrari had some pace, and that’s an interesting little upside for Ferrari going forward.

Alpine – ‘A costly result’

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Karun Chandhok analyses the onboard view as Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly collided at the end of the Australian Grand Prix

To quote Sky Sports’ Sam Johnston, who was reporting from Australia, Alpine were looking “frisky” and were set to score points with both of their drivers, but the French team was one of the biggest losers as both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly got caught up in the manic final restart.

TED’S VERDICT: I hope dinner’s good because they’ve ended up with two wrecked cars and no points.

Not their fault – it was the first time that the drivers had come together – we always thought they would, but actually it wasn’t a thing because they were just innocent with each other.

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Carlos Sainz passes Pierre Gasly with a brilliant dummy move on the Alpine man!

Ocon pitted at the end of lap one, Gasly benefited from the red flag.

It was all going well, and then Gasly went wide, rejoined and clonked into his team-mate, so you’ve got to feel sorry for them because that is a costly result from a race where they should have had 10, 11, 12 plus points down here at Alpine.

Williams – ‘Alex absolutely gutted’

Alex Albon was flying during qualifying, and looked like scoring points in his low drag and low downforce car – it was the lack of downforce that may have caused his huge crash and that left Williams pointless.

TED’S VERDICT: It’s a DNF for Alex Albon, it’s P16 for Logan Sargeant.

Alex Albon absolutely gutted – it had been a great weekend, he was P6 when the rear let go, he spun it into the wall and out.

Logan Sargeant pitted under the first Safety Car, put on the hard tyre and then he went onto the medium, he said ‘this tyre is terrible, we have to get off it’, and then he had some more fruity words on the radio and they said ‘careful on the radio Logan, we don’t like those kind of words’.

There you go, another lesson for Logan in his Formula 1 debut season

Max Verstappen claims his first Australian GP pole position: Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez crashed out in Q1; Mercedes’ George Russell second ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton; watch the Australian GP live on Sunday at 6am on Sky Sports F1, with build-up from 4:30am

Max Verstappen held off a surprise Mercedes charge in Australian Grand Prix Qualifying to beat George Russell and Lewis Hamilton to pole position.

The reigning world champion became an overwhelming favourite for pole when his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez crashed out in Q1, but in challenging cool and windy conditions at Albert Park, Mercedes posed an unexpected challenge.

Hamilton was just nine thousandths of a second off Verstappen after the first set of runs in Q3, but the Dutchman was able to pull out a clear 0.2s advantage as he delivered a 1:16.732 in the closing moments.

It was Russell who was able to snatch a place on the front row, edging out Hamilton by further tenth and out-qualifying his seven-time world champion team-mate for the third time in as many races this season.

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George Russell on Lewis Hamilton react to securing second and third on the grid for the Australian GP.

Fernando Alonso, who has finished on the podium behind Red Bull one-twos in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, was only able to finish fourth for Aston Martin, while his team-mate Lance Stroll was sixth.

Carlos Sainz split the Aston Martins in fifth, pulling off a rare Qualifying triumph over his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, who was seventh.

Alexander Albon produced a hugely impressive performance to take eighth, as a Williams driver reached Q3 for the first time this season, finishing ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg, who continued his strong start to the campaign.

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Drive onboard with Max Verstappen as he takes pole position at the Australian GP for Red Bull.

Australian GP Qualifying Result
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2) George Russell, Mercedes
3) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
4) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
5) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
6) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
7) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
8) Alexander Albon, Williams
9) Pierre Gasly, Alpine
10) Nico Hulkenberg, Haas

What happened to Perez?

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Sergio Perez brings out the red flag in Qualifying as he beaches his Red Bull at the Australian GP.

Having delivered a hugely impressive performance to beat Verstappen in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago, Perez’s hopes of mounting a world championship challenge had been a hot topic coming into the weekend in Melbourne.

However, the Mexican endured one of the worst days of his Formula 1 career, initially struggling badly in final practice on Saturday morning as he went off track several times after missing the beginning of the session while his mechanics worked on his car.

Light rain in the moments before Qualifying meant conditions remained challenging as the session began, with Logan Sargeant’s early spin in his Williams at Turn 13 a clear warning to other drivers.

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After suffering multiple issues in final practice, Sergio Perez then crashed out of Q1 to ensure he’ll start last at the Australian Grand Prix.

However, Perez didn’t learn, and as he had done in practice, locked up on the way into Turn 3, before running into the gravel and becoming beached in mud just before the barrier.

While Verstappen was able to fight back from 15th on the grid to finish second in Saudi Arabia, Perez faces a huge task to extend Red Bull’s streak of one-twos to start the season.

Mercedes come from nowhere to create Q3 drama

It has been all doom and gloom so far this season at Mercedes given Red Bull’s dominance, with team principal Toto Wolff confirming the implementation of major changes to their design philosophy are under way.

Russell and Hamilton said after Friday practice that the third row of the grid was the best they could hope for in Qualifying, but as the pole position shootout played out – with Perez absent – it became clear the W14s were Verstappen’s biggest challengers.

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Max Verstappen just avoids colliding with a bird calmly walking across the Albert Park Circuit during qualifying.

Verstappen was only able to knock Hamilton off provisional pole by the narrowest of margins as the first runs concluded, and the prospect of a first pole since December 2021 for the 38-year-old suddenly seemed realistic.

However, with time left for only one flying lap after the field pitted for fresh tyres, Verstappen delivered a stunning lap which would be enough to seal a first pole at Albert Park for the two-time world champion.

Russell was able to get within 0.3s, with Hamilton a further half-tenth behind his team-mate having had his preparations for his lap hindered by Hulkenberg, who didn’t leave a clear path for the Mercedes to pass.

Lewis Hamilton suggested after the Saudi Arabian GP that Mercedes team-mate George Russell had benefitted from good fortune after they chose alternative car setups; watch the Australian GP live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend, with Sunday’s race live at 6am

George Russell has rejected Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton’s claims that his superior performance at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was based on luck.

Russell comfortably outqualified Hamilton in Jeddah before finishing the race where he started it in fourth, a place ahead of Hamilton who recovered from seventh on the grid.

With the Mercedes pair having chosen alternative setups going into the weekend, Hamilton said after the race that “more often than not” Russell’s would have been the “wrong one”, and that consequently he “could only match his pace rather than be quicker”.

“I don’t think there’s any luck in it at all,” Russell said on Thursday ahead of this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, when asked to address Hamilton’s comments.

“I think it’s down to the preparation you put in before the event.

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Hamilton spoke about Russell’s set up after the Saudi Arabian GP

“The changes we made overnight, I knew that was going to be the right direction with the work we did with the team. And I believed it was going to be better than the setup that Lewis opted for.

“I think everybody’s got different preferences, I was happy with the direction I took and the work I’m doing with the engineers.”

Russell impressively outperformed Hamilton in his debut campaign with Mercedes last year, finishing 35 points ahead of the seven-time world champion in the drivers’ standings, and also claiming the team’s only win of the season.

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Mercedes driver George Russell’s battle for P3 followed some confusion around Aston Martin Fernando Alonso’s five-second penalty at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Hamilton, along with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, repeatedly suggested throughout 2022 that his willingness to experiment with alternate setups on their troublesome W13 car was the reason he lost ground to Russell.

Hamilton: Russell did a great job

Speaking shortly after Russell in Melbourne on Thursday, Hamilton sought to clarify the comments he had made in Jeddah.

“I think people probably, from my choice of words at the weekend… I want to reiterate how great a job George did on the weekend,” the seven-time world champion said.

“I think the thing I was commenting on is that there’s one specific thing that you can change in the suspension that you have to do over Friday night.

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Hamilton says Mercedes are hoping for rain at the Australian Grand Prix to make ‘racing more exciting’ and also reflects on the end of his working relationship with performance coach Angela Cullen

“And when you make that change, once you start P3 (final practice), you can’t change it for the rest of the weekend, so when you make that change, you’re basically rolling the dice – sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

“I’ve done it in the past, sometimes it hasn’t worked, sometimes it has, and it worked great for George and he did a great job.

“And the thing that I was lacking in the race was a lot of front end, which that setup gives you, so, in hindsight, that would’ve been great.”

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Sky F1’s Karun Chandhok takes a look at the Albert Park Circuit ahead of this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix

“We took lots of learnings from it – I think race pace was quite decent, particularly in the second stint.

“And for us to move forward and get fourth and fifth place was great points for the team and a great result considering where we are in terms of performance deficit.”

Hamilton goes into Sunday’s race in Melbourne two points ahead of Russell in the 2023 drivers’ standings, with the team focused on attempting to close their deficit to Red Bull, who are seeking a third successive one-two to start the season.

Watch the Australian Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend, with Sunday’s race live at 6am. Get Sky Sports

Lewis Hamilton was left frustrated as Mercedes remained off the pace of Red Bull at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix; Sergio Perez led a one-two from Max Verstappen as Hamilton finished fifth behind team-mate George Russell

Lewis Hamilton says Red Bull’s 2023 advantage over the rest of the Formula 1 field is greater than anything Mercedes managed during their streak of eight successive constructors’ championships.

Hamilton finished fifth in Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as Mercedes remained well off the pace of Red Bull, who secured a second one-two in as many races this season.

Sergio Perez won from pole position in Jeddah, but reigning world champion Max Verstappen’s effortless advance through the field from 15th on the grid – following a technical failure in Qualifying – provided further evidence of Red Bull’s stunning pace.

“I have definitely never seen a car so fast,” said Hamilton, who claimed six of his seven world championships during Mercedes streak of constructors’ titles between 2014 and 2021.

“When we were fast, we were not that fast. It is the fastest car I have seen, especially compared to the rest.

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Highlights of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

“I don’t know how, but he [Verstappen] came past me with some serious speed and I didn’t even bother to block him because there was a massive speed difference.

“Everyone wants to see a close battle, but it is the way it is. It is not my problem, it is not my fault.”

Hamilton cut a despondent figure after qualifying more than three tenths – and four places – behind his team-mate George Russell, but was able to gain two places in the race to finish directly behind the other Mercedes and in front of both Ferraris.

While Hamilton said there were “positives” to take from his Sunday, the 38-year-old remained frustrated by his team’s deficit to Red Bull and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, who took the final spot on the podium for a second successive race.

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Lewis Hamilton and George Russell acknowledged Red Bull are the clear frontrunners after finishing fifth and third respectively.

“(We are) still a long, long way off Red Bull,” Hamilton said. “(It’s) definitely strange to see that Ferrari are behind us and it’s positive for us.

“It’s a different surface here and we don’t really understand why on this surface our car works one way and different on another.

“It will be up and down through the first three races. Hopefully we can get some upgrades ASAP and try to close that gap to the Astons.”

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Red Bull driver Max Verstappen was pleased enough to finish second after starting in 15th at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Hamilton, who finished behind Russell last season in his younger team-mate’s first year with Mercedes, suggested his deficit in Saudi Arabia was caused by a “50-50” set up choice that went against him.

“The strategy didn’t really work out for me, the set up was a little bit off – if I had the set up George had, I would have been in a better position,” Hamilton said.

“There was a 50-50 choice, I chose one way and he chose the other, and more often than not, the way he went was the wrong one but it just happened to work.

“I could only match his pace rather than be quicker this weekend, but I’ll work hard to make sure we’re in a better position next time.”

F1’s biggest-ever season continues as Saudi Arabia hosts the second round of 2023; watch every session from Jeddah’s stunning street circuit live on Sky Sports F1, starting with Practice One at 1pm on Friday

Formula 1 returns to the fastest street circuit on the calendar this week for the Saudi Arabian GP, with the thrilling layout bound to ensure drama that will take your breath away.

After reigning world champion Max Verstappen made a strong start to his title defence in Bahrain, the rest of the field are looking to hit back in Jeddah.

Ferrari are confident set-up changes will unlock more performance at a circuit that should suit them, while all eyes will be on Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso to see if their dramatic ascent to the front of the grid can be maintained.

Verstappen is chasing a second successive win in Saudi Arabia, having come out on top in a thrilling battle for victory with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc last year, which displayed the thrilling potential for wheel-to-wheel racing at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Mercedes will also be looking to bounce back from a disappointing opening race, with all eyes on Lewis Hamilton following his apparent criticism of the team following their Bahrain struggles.

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Ted Kravitz shares his most memorable moments from the Jeddah circuit ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

There is also plenty of intrigue surrounding the midfield battle, with the change of track characteristics potentially shaking up the order from Bahrain.

Sky Sports F1’s live Saudi Arabian GP schedule

Thursday
2:30pm: Drivers’ Press Conference

Friday
10.50pm: F2 Practice
1pm: Saudi Arabian GP Practice One (session starts 1.30pm)
2:55pm: F2 Qualifying
4:45pm: Saudi Arabian GP Practice Two (session starts 5pm)
6:15pm: The F1 Show: Saudi Arabia

Saturday
1.15pm: Saudi Arabian GP Practice Three (session starts 1:30pm)
3:05pm: F2 Sprint Race
4pm: Saudi Arabian GP Qualifying build-up
5pm: SAUDI ARABIAN GP QUALIFYING

Sunday
1:35pm: F2 Feature Race
3.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday Saudi Arabian GP build-up
5pm: THE SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX
7pm: Chequered flag: Saudi Arabian GP Reaction

New for 2023: Ride onboard with any driver

Sky Sports F1 viewers can experience live races from inside the car of their favourite driver thanks to a stunning new innovation for the 2023 season.

Sky customers with a Sky Sports F1 subscription just need to download the Sky Sports App and log in to ride with Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc or any driver of their choice.

In addition to the 20 driver onboard streams, viewers will also be able to experience the Sky Sports ‘Battle Channel’, a split-screen offering focusing on a battle between up to three cars.

If you prefer to jump onboard through your TV screen, the service will also be available through Sky Q and Sky Glass.

This is in addition to the Race Control streams that have been available in previous seasons, including multi-screen, timing screen, driver tracker and onboard mix.

Watch the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend with Sunday’s race live at 5pm. Get Sky Sports

Mercedes made a disappointing start to their 2023 campaign as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were left well off the pace of Red Bull in Bahrain; Speculation has followed over Hamilton’s future with the team; watch the Saudi Arabian GP on Sky Sports F1 next weekend

Mercedes have insisted they will not “panic or look for scapegoats” after a disappointing start to the 2023 Formula 1 season in Bahrain last weekend.

Following a torrid 2022 campaign which saw their eight-year streak of constructors’ titles ended by Red Bull, Mercedes had been bullish during the winter over a return to contention this year, but that optimism faded as they were outperformed by not only the dominant reigning champions but also Ferrari and Aston Martin.

Recriminations followed with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton publicly questioning the team’s decision to ignore his advice over the design of their 2023 car, and team principal Toto Wolff describing the Bahrain GP as “one of the worst days in racing”.

With speculation raging about Hamilton’s future with the team, along with other key members of staff, the team released a letter addressed to their fans on Saturday morning in an apparent attempt to calm the situation.

The letter said: “Bahrain hurt. It hurt each one of us, who head into every season determined to fight for world championships. It hurt the team as a whole, after pouring so much hard work into a car that hasn’t met our expectations.

“The situation we face right now isn’t the one that any of us wanted – but it’s the one we have. That’s the reality of it. And the simple questions are: what can we do about it, and what will we do about it?

“We won’t panic or make knee-jerk reactions. In a spotlight as fierce as F1, people are quick to point fingers, or look for scapegoats. But you know us better than that. Inside the team, we talk about having the courage to fail, the character to be accountable and the strength to see failure as an opportunity.

“We have been open and searingly honest about where we find ourselves. And we are working urgently and calmly to build our recovery plan, focusing on what needs to happen short term, medium term, and long term to win. We already have developments in the pipeline for the next races – and there will be more to come. But this won’t be the work of a moment; there are no silver bullets in F1.”

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With Mercedes having made a poor start to the season, Sky F1’s Naomi Schiff contemplates whether Hamilton will ever win a record eighth world title. You can listen to the latest episode of the Sky Sports F1 Podcast every Tuesday.

Hamilton, who finished fifth in Bahrain ahead of team-mate George Russell in seventh, has repeatedly expressed a desire to remain with Mercedes in F1 beyond the end of the season, when his current contract expires.

Both the 38-year-old and Wolff had previously suggested agreeing an extension would be a formality, but the team’s apparent failure to provide him with a championship-contending car for a second straight season has led to speculation over whether he could choose to retire or look for a move elsewhere.

There is also great interest in how Mercedes will proceed with the development of their W14 car after Wolff suggested in Bahrain that the team had accepted their current concept will not work.

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Toto Wolff says the team had one of the ‘worst days in racing’ after Mercedes finished fifth and seventh at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The statement continued: “We will keep our heads held high – and take this journey step by step, together. We are Mercedes. We know the standards we aspire to, and nobody is flinching when we look at the mountain we must climb. It won’t be easy – but where’s the value in something easy?

“These are the times when character is forged; the times when a team becomes greater than the sum of its parts, tackling difficult problems and conquering them. We’re together through thick and thin – from Toto, Lewis and George, to every single woman and man in the factories in Brackley and Brixworth. And we love that challenge.”

Hamilton and Mercedes will be back in action next weekend at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with every session live on Sky Sports F1, starting with first practice on Friday at 1:30pm.

As Formula 1 returns for the 2023 season, we’ve explained the key phrases you will hear while following Sky Sports F1’s coverage of the sport’s biggest ever season.

The exciting, innovating and high-speed sport can be complex and confusing for existing fans, never mind new ones.

So, ahead of the opening race of the 2023 season in Bahrain this weekend, here are some F1 terms that can be confusing but crucial during a Grand Prix weekend.

Pole position

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Max Verstappen takes pole in the final race of the 2022 season in Abu Dhabi.

What you might hear – “Fernando Alonso is on pole position.”

What you might think – Where’s the pole?

What it actually means – The driver on pole position is the one who set the fastest lap time during qualifying. Usually, that will mean the driver on pole starts the Grand Prix at the front. However, during a Sprint weekend, the pole-sitter will start the Sprint on Saturday at the front, but the finishing order from the Sprint decides the starting order for the Grand Prix on Sunday.

DRS

The DRS board tells drivers where they can activate the system

What you might hear – “Yuki Tsunoda has got DRS.”

What you might think – DRS could be a medical term or the decision review system, like cricket.

What it actually means – DRS stands for drag reduction system, which allows drivers to move a flap in the rear wing of their car that decreases the air resistance, giving the car up to 7.5mph more speed. The system is designed to deliver more overtaking, but can only be activated when a car is within one second of the car ahead.

Slipstream

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Max Verstappen uses a slipstream to pass Lewis Hamilton on the final lap in Abu Dhabi to win the 2021 F1 Championship!

What you might hear – “Oscar Piastri is in Alex Albon’s slipstream.”

What you might think – Is this a new type of streaming?

What it actually means – When a driver is directly behind another car, they can go faster because there is less air resistance, in the same way you might hide behind your friend so they block the wind getting to you. Getting a slipstream should enhance a driver’s chances of pulling off an overtake. Team-mates may also intentionally give each other a slipstream in Qualifying to help set the fastest lap.

Chicane

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Daniel Ricciardo lost control of his McLaren and crashed into the barriers at Monaco’s swimming pool chicane.

What you might hear – “And here they come through the swimming pool chicane.”

What you might think – Are they racing in the water these days?

What it actually means – A chicane is a sequence of corners that sees two changes in direction in quick succession. The swimming pool chicane is one of the sport’s most famous chicanes, as the cars thread their way through a remarkably tight section around Monaco’s swimming pool.

Oversteer/understeer

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Anthony Davidson takes a look at the understeer suffered by Max Verstappen in his Red Bull during practice at the French GP.

What you might hear – “Logan Sargeant prefers his car to oversteer.”

What you might think – I’m only used to one type of steering.

What it actually means – Depending on the setup of the car and how it is driven, a driver may either oversteer or understeer. If a car oversteers, the car is very sensitive to the driver turning the steering wheel, often leading to the rear of the car sliding – it looks cool, but can be slower, worse for the tyres and lead to accidents.

Understeer happens when the car won’t turn as much as the driver would like. This can lead to the car running wide and also going slower. The perfect car would have no understeer or oversteer, but this is not a perfect world, so sometimes the drivers and teams must choose between the two evils.

Going purple

The F1 timing screen shows data in purple if it is the best of anyone

What you might hear – “Max Verstappen is currently fastest, but Charles Leclerc is going purple.”

What you might think – Charles Leclerc must be angry.

What it actually means – When a driver completes a sector of a track faster than anyone, the timing screens will go purple for that sector. A purple sector would tend to indicate that a driver is on a highly competitive lap, which has a chance of being the fastest of the session or race.

Undercut/overcut

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Lewis Hamilton gets the double-bubble by undercutting Max Verstappen and overtaking Daniel Ricciardo.

What you might hear – “Lewis Hamilton has undercut Carlos Sainz to take the lead.”

What you might think – Hamilton has done some sort of boxing move.

What it actually means – During a race, Hamilton has come into the pits earlier than Sainz, who he was behind on track. That allows him to go faster on fresh tyres, meaning by the time Sainz has pitted a lap or two later, he would come out of the pits behind Hamilton.

The overcut is the opposite of this and can happen when newer tyres make a car slower, so the driver that pits later comes out ahead. This would be likely to happen on a cold day when the tyres take a while to get up to a higher temperature and become hot and grippy.

Locking up

Lewis Hamilton locks up at Silverstone

What you might hear – “Lando Norris has locked up going into turn one.”

What you might think – Norris has been imprisoned – perhaps for speeding.

What it actually means – Norris has tried to slow his car down by braking, but there is not enough grip and his tyre is sliding across the tarmac. Lock ups usually create a puff of smoke and cause a car to run off line, while significant damage can be done to the tyre.

Apex

George Russell runs wide at the 2021 British Grand Prix

What you might hear – “Sergio Perez has missed the apex there.”

What you might think – Is this racing or climbing?

What it actually means – The apex is the point of the corner that the car should go through for no time to be lost – so if Perez missed the apex, he might have gone wide, losing time.

Backmarker

The blue flag tells slower cars to get out of the way of faster cars coming up behind

What you might hear – “The blue flags are going to need to come out soon as the leaders catch the backmarkers.”

What you might think – Who are they marking?

What it actually means – Backmarkers are the slower cars at the back that will often be lapped by the leading cars. A blue flag is shown to a backmarker to tell the driver to get out of the way as the faster car comes through. Backmarkers can sometimes interfere with racing between the leaders.

Degradation (Deg)

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As the countdown continues to this weekend’s highly anticipated Azerbaijan Grand Prix, we take a look back at last year’s memorable race in Baku.

What you might hear – “The deg on that Ferrari today has been really bad.”

What you might think – Did I hear that correctly?

What it actually means – Degradation happens as tyres wear – or become damaged – during a stint, and there are two main types of degradation. ‘Blistering’ happens when the tyre overheats and bubbles up on the surface and ‘graining’ when the tyres slide across the tarmac, crumbling apart like a ball of mozzarella might. ‘Deg’, as drivers will often refer to it, can have serious consequences – see the video above!

Marbles

Tyre ‘marbles’ gather at the edge of the track

What you might hear – “Look at all the marbles on the track.”

What you might think – Has someone dropped their marble collection onto the track?

What it actually means – As the tyres fall apart – or grain – the bits of rubber can gather on the track, creating a surface which feels to the drivers like they are driving on marbles. There is not a lot of grip if you drive on marbles, but after the race, drivers will drive onto the marbles to pick up rubber and add to the car’s mass to ensure the car weighs enough to comply with rules.

Bottoming out

Sparks fly from Max Verstappen’s Red Bull

What you might hear – “George Russell has gone wide and bottomed out on the kerb.”

What you might think – It sounds a little rude.

What it actually means – F1 cars are really low because the closer the ground, the more speed drivers can take through corners. Often, the bottom of the car scrapes along the ground, bottoming out and creating sparks.

Delta

The driver can see on their steering wheel what the delta to their rivals is

What you might hear – “The soft compound of tyre has a delta of half a second to the hard compound.”

What you might think – Isn’t delta part of the Greek alphabet?

What it actually means – You’d be correct. Delta is part of the Greek alphabet, but also means difference. So in the example above, the softer tyres are quicker than the hard tyres by half a second per lap. Delta might also be used to describe the difference in pace between different drivers or cars.

Parc ferme

Teams can make very limited changes to the cars when they are in parc ferme

What you might hear – “The cars are in parc ferme conditions”

What you might think – It’s hard enough understanding F1 without needing to speak French!

What it actually means – It is French for secure park. After qualifying, an expensive car park is created with no maintenance allowed to take place on cars before the race without the permission of the FIA – F1’s governing body. FIA officials scrutineer the cars to ensure no changes are made that shouldn’t be.

The F1 Academy is an all-female racing championship for younger drivers; the inaugural 2023 season will feature five teams, each entering three cars to make up a 15-strong grid; the season finale will serve as a support event at the US Grand Prix in October

The race calendar for the inaugural 2023 season of the F1 Academy has been announced, with a total of 21 races over seven rounds, including a season finale which will serve as a support event at the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.

The brand-new all-female championship is for younger drivers and will feature five teams – ART, Campos, Carlin, MP Motorsport and Prema – each entering three cars to make up a 15-strong grid.

The 15 competing cars will take to the track for the first time on April 11-12 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for an official test session, with the season getting under way on April 28-29 in Spielberg, Austria.

Spain will host two events in May, in Valencia and Barcelona, with summer stops in the Netherlands (Zandvoort), Italy (Monza) and France (Le Castellet), before the season-ender in the US on October 20-22.

There will also be 13 more days of testing throughout the season, to be revealed in the coming weeks.

Bruno Michel, general manager of the F1 Academy, said: “Our goal was to be able to race on as many Formula 1 Grand Prix tracks as possible, with circuits that could be a great challenge for the drivers.

“The teams know these layouts very well, so they will be able to help their young talents get to grips quickly.

“We had announced that F1 Academy would be racing alongside Formula 1 at one event, so it’s fantastic to be part of the F1 Grand Prix package in Austin, where we will also conclude the first season, in front of the F1 paddock and the American crowd.”

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Reigning W Series champion Jamie Chadwick expresses her excitement as she steps into Indy NXT with ambitions to race in Formula One.

Race Weekend Format

Each race weekend will consist of two free practice sessions of 40 minutes each, followed by two qualifying sessions of 15 minutes each.

All events will have three races: Races 1 and 3 will be 30 minutes long, and Race 2 will be 20 minutes. Qualifying 1 will set the Grid for Race 1 and Qualifying 2 will set the grid for Race 3.

The first eight finishers in Qualifying 1 will start Race 2 in reverse order, cars finishing in ninth position and below will start in the position they qualified in that session.

The drivers who take pole position for Races 1 and 3 following the final classification of the Qualifying sessions will be awarded with two points.

In each race, one point will be awarded to the driver who achieves the fastest lap time, providing she was in the top 10 positions of the final race classification.