The F1 Commission has approved several updates ahead of the 2023 season, including new wet weather tyre specifications from Imola onwards and relaxed rules on radio communications from teams to drivers
Last Updated: 21/02/23 10:23pm
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won the Japanese GP in confusing circumstances to secure his second title
F1 has rewritten a rule to ensure reduced points are given for shortened races, following Red Bull’s Max Verstappen clinching his second title in confusing circumstances last season.
The Formula 1 commission, which groups the 10 teams and governing FIA as well as the commercial rights holder, met in London on Tuesday ahead of next week’s season-opening race in Bahrain.
A statement of key decisions – to be rubber-stamped by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council – included a change of wording “to ensure that shorter races have reduced points even if they don’t finish with a suspended race.”
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Ted Kravitz explains how the confusing finish to the Japanese Grand Prix led to Max Verstappen becoming two-time world champion
Ted Kravitz explains how the confusing finish to the Japanese Grand Prix led to Max Verstappen becoming two-time world champion
Last year’s rain-hit Japanese race was halted after two laps and resumed more than two hours later, where 28 of the scheduled 53 laps were completed and even Verstappen was unsure how many points he had won.
It turned out to be full points, enough for Verstappen to clinch the title with four races to spare. The FIA explained at the time that the reduced points rule only applied when a race was suspended and could not be resumed.
The commission also agreed “to relax the regulation of radio messages to and from the drivers at all times during a competition.”
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Watch the full wide-ranging interview between Stefano Domenicali and Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle as the Formula 1 boss delves into several key topics
Watch the full wide-ranging interview between Stefano Domenicali and Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle as the Formula 1 boss delves into several key topics
It said a change to wet weather tyres had been approved, with Pirelli producing a new compound that performed better and did not require the use of tyre blankets used to get tyres up to temperature. This will be introduced from Imola in May.
What else has changed?
Bahrain, Jeddah, Melbourne, Baku and Miami will have changes to the Drag Reduction System (DRS) zone to make overtaking either easier or harder, while Melbourne will have a fourth DRS activation zone.
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As the 2023 Formula 1 season fast approaches, check out all of the new cars following a month of exciting reveals
As the 2023 Formula 1 season fast approaches, check out all of the new cars following a month of exciting reveals
Teams and engine manufacturers will have a winter factory shutdown in 2023, in addition to the August break.
A cost cap adjustment was agreed to allow teams to spend an extra $1.2 million, on top of a base of $135 million for the season, to reflect the calendar stretching to a record 23 rounds and those added being long-haul and more expensive.
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The rules were tweaked also “to allow easier access to the factories for the FIA auditing team, in order to police the adherence of the teams and PU (Power Unit) manufacturers to the financial regulations”.
The meeting was chaired by Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali and FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who has agreed to stand back from day-to-day running of the sport after recent controversies, did not attend.
When and where is testing?
Testing will take place in Bahrain over three successive days, starting on Thursday, 23 February and finishing on Saturday, 25 February, with each day split into two extended sessions.
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With the 2023 season less than two weeks away now, Sky F1’s Craig Slater and Ted Kravitz look at each of the 10 team’s new cars
With the 2023 season less than two weeks away now, Sky F1’s Craig Slater and Ted Kravitz look at each of the 10 team’s new cars
The Bahrain International Circuit makes sense as a testing venue given its status as the host of the opening race on the F1 calendar, which this year takes place on March 5.
You can watch live coverage of every minute of pre-season testing on Sky Sports F1, along with a daily wrap and special testing edition of Ted’s Notebook.
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Former F1 world champion, Jenson Button says he expects Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes to all battle it out for the driver’s and constructor’s title in 2023
Former F1 world champion, Jenson Button says he expects Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes to all battle it out for the driver’s and constructor’s title in 2023
The full television schedule is as follows:
Thursday 23 February
Session One – 6:50am-11am Session Two – 11:50am-4:30pm Testing Wrap – 8pm-8:30pm Ted’s Testing Notebook – 8:30pm-9pm
Friday 24 February
Session One – 6:50am-11am Session Two – 11:50am-4:30pm Testing Wrap – 8pm-8:30pm Ted’s Testing Notebook – 8:30pm-9pm
Saturday 25 February
Session One – 6:50am-11am Session Two – 11:50am-4:30pm Testing Wrap – 8pm-8:30pm Ted’s Testing Notebook – 8:30pm-9pm
There will also be regular updates throughout testing on Sky Sports News, with reporter Craig Slater in Bahrain keeping an eye on what’s going on both on and off the track.
Finally, you can follow every moment of testing right here on the Sky Sports App and website, with a live blog bringing you updates and the best video.
Watch Alpine reveal their A523 car live at 8pm UK time; Alpine finished fourth last year and head into 2023 season with Pierre Gasly as new driver, replacing Fernando Alonso; Esteban Ocon remains to form all-French driver line-up
Last Updated: 16/02/23 7:51pm
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Alpine launch their 2023 car!
Alpine launch their 2023 car!
Watch a live stream as Alpine reveal their A523 car from a launch party in London.
It is the final car to be revealed this launch season and the show starts at 8pm UK time, which you can also watch on Sky Sports F1 and our YouTube channel.
Alpine head into this year’s campaign looking to build on an impressive 2022 which saw them lead the midfield as the closest challengers to Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes.
They do so without former talisman Fernando Alonso, with Pierre Gasly joining the team alongside Esteban Ocon.
It is an all-French driver line-up for the French team, a sub-brand of Renault.
The drivers will both be present at the launch, which draws a curtain on the car reveals.
The three-day pre-season test begins a week today on February 23 before the opening Bahrain GP on March 5.
Fernando Alonso, who joins Aston Martin to partner Lance Stroll this season, says team is “different” to former teams Alpine and McLaren with their ambition; Alonso aiming to lead the midfield in 2023 before fighting for wins and podiums next year
Last Updated: 13/02/23 7:48pm
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Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll gives there thoughts on the new Aston Martin AMR23 and their aspirations for the new season.
Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll gives there thoughts on the new Aston Martin AMR23 and their aspirations for the new season.
Aston Martin have revealed the car they believe will vault them up the standings in 2023, with bullish new signing Fernando Alonso adamant his latest Formula 1 team is “special” and destined for future titles.
Bringing an end to a mega Monday after McLaren’s launch, Aston Martin used their all-new Silverstone base to unveil the AMR23, donned in the classic racing green that the luxury British manufacturer is famous for.
The car is also adventurous in its design following a string of behind-the-scenes signings from rivals and the team, formerly known as Racing Point and before that Force India, are confident in a big improvement this year after back-to-back seasons in seventh following their re-brand.
Nobody typified their conviction at the launch more than Alonso, the fiery double world champion who surprisingly left Alpine to join Aston Martin and replace the retiring Sebastian Vettel.
“There is something going on in this team that makes things special,” insisted the Spaniard, 41, before firing a dig at his former teams.
“This is very different compared to any other team I joined [recently] where maybe they had success in the past and they were just in a comfortable position,” Alonso, who before Alpine grew frustrated at McLaren, added.
“They were fourth and they were happy with fourth. They were fifth and they were happy with fifth. They were seventh and there was a celebration.
“There there is no celebration here until we win… and this is very appealing.”
Aston Martin have long stressed their hopes to reach the front of the grid but – while buoyed by a new factory, new aerodynamic gurus and a new superstar driver – admit their project is more long-term than short-term.
Alonso though said he wants the team to “leave the midfield” in 2023 before fighting for wins and podiums next year.
He partners Lance Stroll, the son of of owner Lawrence, with Mike Krack the team principal.
“When I get excited about something, I get very passionate,” said Lawrence Stroll. “When I get passionate about something, I win.”
What Alonso sees in ‘special’ Aston Martin
Alonso provided the shock of the driver market last year when he rejected an Alpine contract in the summer in favour of joining Aston Martin, the rebuilding, and consistently slower, team. Given Alonso’s age – he is comfortably F1’s elder statesman – the move flummoxed many.
On Monday, however, Alonso remained buoyant about his decision, and the chances of Aston Martin.
That is due to the heavy investment of Aston Martin and Lawrence Stroll, the improving facilities and influx of talent, headlined by new technical director Dan Fallows arriving from Red Bull.
The AMR23, like many this launch season, seems to be taking inspiration from last year’s title-dominating Red Bull.
It has been called “bold and aggressive” and a “significant evolution” of their previous AMR22.
Aston Martin in F1 2023
Driver
Fernando Alonso
Driver
Lance Stroll
Team boss
Mike Krack
Car name
AMR23
Engine
Mercedes
2022 championship finish
7th
Best championship finish
7th (2021, 2022)
Race wins
0
Podiums
1
“Every day I’m happier,” said Alonso, who won his world titles with Renault almost 20 years ago. “I’m very demanding on everything that I do. I give my 100 per cent and I expect the same from the people I work with.
“From the first day at Aston Martin, I felt exactly the same values from the people around me. It’s very motivating.
“In Formula 1, you need investment and you need talent. We have the investment, we have the facilities and we have the talent. Unfortunately I am not 20 years old any more, but I will do my best to help the team.”
It’s rare to see Alonso this optimistic going into a season. If he is proven right, the man who is renowned for making unfortunate career decisions may wish he had made this switch earlier on in his glittering career.
How high can Aston Martin go?
Aston Martin were born from teams that consistently punched above their weight but now have the finances and facilities to compete with any of F1’s leading lights, albeit while acknowledging that their project may not have lift-off until the arrival of a windtunnel for 2025.
The long term goal is, evidently, championships, but for now Aston Martin are focused on getting to the front of the midfield. Even that is a lofty goal given they finished over 100 points behind Alpine in fourth last year.
“I cannot say to anyone we will be fighting for victories this year,” continued Alonso. “I will lie if I say that.
F1 2023: When are the new cars being revealed?
“But at the same time we want to have a good car to start with and maybe in the second part of the year we can get closer. If an opportunity comes we will not miss that opportunity.
“We have to understand there are no miracles in F1, from one year to the next, only a few months since Abu Dhabi and there is a big gap to recover to the top teams.
“But we definitely we have to leave the midfield and get closer to the top three teams. The most important thing this year is to make sure this is the baseline to develop future Aston Martin cars.”
The car will have a Silverstone shakedown before hitting the track at pre-season testing on February 23-25, live on Sky Sports F1. The season then starts with the Bahrain GP on March 5.
Episode five of HBO’s The Last of Us marks the midpoint of our nine-episode journey. That’s right, we’re halfway there, and Ellie and Joel are definitely living on a prayer. Look, I’m sorry for the bad Bon Jovi reference but man, this episode is The Last of Us at its most relentlessly bleak. I needed to do something to lighten the mood for myself, and unlike Ellie, I don’t have a book of awful jokes handy. At least this episode also features what I consider the most effective subtle nod to the game in the entire season. We’ll get to that in a bit.
At the end of episode four, Joel and Ellie were being held at gunpoint by two characters who players of the game likely immediately recognized as Henry and Sam. (If you need to catch up, you can find my recap of that episode here.) As episode five begins, we flash back a little while to meet these new characters and learn about what’s driven them into such desperate circumstances.
The Fall of Kansas City FEDRA
At first glance, this episode’s beginning seems like one of pure jubilation. Chants of “freedom!” are heard rising from a crowd that’s celebrating in the streets. But almost immediately, we’re shown the grim side of this happy occasion, with FEDRA officers being executed at point-blank or publicly hoisted into the air by the neck as they twitch with their final struggles for life. An armored vehicle the people have reclaimed roams the streets blasting the message, “Collaborators, surrender now and you will receive a fair trial.” Hmm, yes, somehow I don’t believe you. Maybe it’s the fact that you’re dragging a body behind you that’s stuffed with so many blades it looks like a pincushion, I’m not sure.
As the armored vehicle passes, we see Henry and Sam lurking in the shadows. Henry (Lamar Johnson, The Hate U Give) uses ASL to communicate with his brother, cluing us in to a significant change from the game: Here, Sam is deaf. (Sam is wonderfully played here by young actor Keivonn Woodard, who is also deaf.) In this brief exchange, you can already sense Henry trying to put on a brave face for his much younger brother. The two sneak away unseen by the patrolling resistance which, as we learned in last week’s episode, is hell-bent on finding them.
Screenshot: HBO / Kotaku
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In fact, even as the celebration rages on, Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey), the resistance’s leader, is working, interrogating a group of “collaborators”—civilians who worked with FEDRA before it fell—about Henry’s whereabouts. Lynskey remains chilling in the role, coating her comments in a tone that, on the surface, sounds reasonable and kind, but is so transparently cold and ruthless underneath. “Lucky for you, I’m not FEDRA,” she tells them, saying that if they cooperate, they’ll be put on trial, be found guilty of course, and then have to do some time, “easy.” She’s got her commando assistant Perry (Jeffrey Pierce, who voices Joel’s brother Tommy in the games) by her side, his silent presence lending her words an added threat of danger. Finally someone cracks and tells her that Henry and Sam are with Edelstein, the doctor we saw Kathleen interrogate in last week’s episode.
A moment later, she orders her men to go door-to-door until her prey is found. When Perry shows some hesitation and advises against this plan, we see that she can turn her condescending ruthlessness on him, too. “He’s not my seventh priority, Perry,” she says. “Is that what he is to you?” I’m starting to feel like the way she prioritizes finding Henry above all other concerns may backfire on her in some way. Remember last week, when Perry showed her the ominous, quivering sinkhole in the building, and rather than dealing with it in any real way, she told him to just seal the building off and remain focused on finding Henry? Yeah, I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
Perry asks if they’re really putting the arrested collaborators on trial. Of course they’re not. “When you’re done, burn the bodies. It’s faster,” she says, the way you might ask someone to pick up some milk from the grocery store on the way home.
Henry and Sam stay with Edelstein
Henry and Sam meet up with Edelstein, who takes them into the same cramped attic space we saw Kathleen investigate in last week’s episode. Here, it’s not yet covered with Sam’s drawings, as Henry and the doctor discuss their very limited food supply and total lack of ammunition for their guns. Everything that transpires here has an undercurrent of dread for us, since we already know that Edelstein soon gets captured and executed by Kathleen.
Sam, who can’t hear what they’re saying, sits in the corner, drawing on his little magnetic sketch pad. Edelstein seems like a kind and thoughtful man, showing genuine concern for Sam’s well-being. “He’s scared because you’re scared,” he advises Henry.
Screenshot: HBO / Kotaku
Henry goes to comfort his little brother, who has drawn a masked superhero on his pad. “Super Sam,” Henry signs. Sam is understandably afraid, and Henry tries to reassure him that they’re safe here. “There is one problem, though,” he says. “This place? Is ugly.” He then breaks out the big bag of art supplies that Sam uses to decorate the space. It’s an endearing moment, with Henry creating for his younger brother an alternate reality in which the only real problem facing them is the drabness of their surroundings, and not the army hunting them right outside.
The birth of Super Sam
We skip ahead ten days, to find the attic filled with images of Super Sam blasting evil FEDRA officers and flying protectively over the city. But now, a real problem is bearing down on them: they’re almost out of food, and Sam is hungry. Edelstein’s been gone a whole day, and their hopes rest on him returning with some. We already know he’s not coming back. And yet right out the window, Henry can see resistance officers scouring the city, making leaving a dangerous proposition. They’re in a tight spot.
Finally, Henry has to face the fact that Edelstein isn’t returning. He tells Sam that he’s studied the patterns of the resistance patrols and can guide them to safety. When Sam asks if they killed Edelstein, Henry is honest and says they probably did. Sam clings to Henry for a long time after that. He’s a child growing up in a world in which nothing is ever safe or assured. He must be terrified.
Screenshot: HBO / Kotaku
As he holds his brother and looks at the art decorating the walls, Henry has a flash of inspiration. He tells Sam to close his eyes, and paints a red mask on his face, just like the one Sam’s alter ego sports in all the drawings. Seeing it reflected in his brother’s knife, Sam nods with satisfaction. He’s ready to face the world.
They don’t get far, though. Just as they’re about to leave the building, a gunfight breaks out outside. It’s Joel and Ellie’s unceremonious arrival in Kansas City, and Henry observes as Joel kills the hunters attacking him. We see the wheels in his head turning. “New plan,” he tells his brother.
Meeting Joel and Ellie
Now we come back to the moment that concluded episode four, when the paths of these two duos intersect. Henry’s obviously been keeping an eye on Joel since earlier in the day, and he’s tracked him and Ellie to the apartment building where they’ve crashed for the night.
Joel isn’t exactly thrilled about waking up to the reality of being held at gunpoint, but soon they agree to a tentative truce, and Henry introduces himself as “the most wanted man in Kansas City.”
Over a quiet meal, Ellie asks Sam how old he is, and with Henry acting as an interpreter between them, he responds that he’s eight. (In the game, Sam is closer to Ellie’s age of 14, but him being younger here makes me even more sympathetic to how overwhelming and terrifying his experience of the world must be.) Joel, being Joel, says dryly that they successfully ate together and didn’t kill each other, so they should call it a win and move on. But Henry has a card up his sleeve. “I’m betting that y’all came up here to get a view of the city and plan a way out,” he says. “And when the sun’s up, I’ll show you one.”
“Welcome to Killa City”
The next morning, Henry provides Joel (and us) with some additional context for what went down in Kansas City. Looking out at the city, Joel is struck by the lack of FEDRA, especially since he’d always heard that KC FEDRA ruled with an iron fist. Henry confirms the rumors. “Raped and tortured and murdered people for 20 years,” he says. So if Henry wasn’t part of this monstrous FEDRA, Joel wonders, what, then, was he? When Henry replies that he was something even worse, “a collaborator,” Joel protests and says he doesn’t work with rats. Henry insists that today, he doesn’t have much choice, “‘cause I live here and you don’t.” They need each other, Henry argues. Only he knows where to go, and only Joel has the capacity for violence to get them out alive.
This is all quite different from the game, in which Henry and Sam weren’t native to Pittsburgh (where the game’s version of this storyline takes place), but had just come there from Hartford, Connecticut in search of supplies. They had no connection to the resistance that had risen up in Pittsburgh, but just happened to be people who could help Joel and Ellie get out of the city. In both stories, though, Sam lets us see new sides of Ellie by giving her a fellow kid to geek out with and play with, and having another duo traveling with them for a while illuminates Joel’s growing attachment to Ellie and his sense of himself as her protector, no longer just out of obligation but increasingly out of genuine care and concern.
As the two talk, the sound of kids laughing can be heard nearby. Ellie is showing Sam her tattered book of jokes, and a genuine smile stretches across Henry’s face. “Haven’t heard that in a long time,” he says, mirroring a moment from the game in which Ellie and Sam playfully eat blueberries together and Henry says it’s been a long time since he saw Sam crack a smile.
Perhaps counterintuitively, I find these moments of fleeting happiness among the most devastating in both the game and the show, because I know how things end for Henry and Sam. Their fate is so awful, so bleak, that it makes me think back to Ellie’s question to Joel in episode four: “If you don’t think there’s hope for the world, why bother going on?” I’m once again glad that the TV series at least offered us the reprieve of Bill and Frank, giving us one vision of lives lived well and with meaning, to temper how relentlessly hopeless it all gets for a while.
Henry’s plan
Henry sketches a map of the area showing how Kathleen’s forces have the area on lock. Still, there is a way out, he insists. Sam sits nearby sketching, but Henry doesn’t want him left out of the conversation. “How do we get across?” he signs at his brother. Sam writes intently on his pad for a moment, then holds it up. “TUNNELS.” It’s a great plan, but there’s a huge catch. Kansas City may seem strangely lacking in Infected, but there’s a reason for that. “FEDRA drove them underground 15 years ago,” Henry says. He insists, though, that FEDRA cleaned out the tunnels three years ago. Just what that means or how exactly they did that remains ominously unspoken, almost as if the show’s writers want to plant a seed in our minds about it. Nah, I’m sure it won’t come up again. Henry admits that the plan is “dicey-as-fuck,” but it’s also the only plan they’ve got.
Screenshot: HBO / Kotaku
As they head down into the tunnels, Joel tells Ellie to get her gun out, and it looks like Ellie has to suppress a smile as he’s finally fully shifted from relentlessly denying her a gun to asking her to be ready to use one. However, the tunnels do indeed appear empty, vastly, surprisingly empty, stretching hollowly before them as far as the eye can see. Joel stays on guard but nothing is stirring in these subterranean passageways, and at last they come to a place that looks quite different, where the walls are decorated with the kinds of colorful drawings you might see at a preschool. Passing through a door, they find an abandoned place where people—adults and children—clearly once lived. Amidst all the details—the toys, the posted signs laying out rules, all the other signs of life—one thing stands out: a child’s drawing of two smiling men in body armor, with rifles, labeled “our protectors,” Danny and Ish. And here’s where we come to the episode’s great little nod to the game.
Who is Ish?
First, a little background. In the game, Joel and Ellie’s journey with Henry and Sam briefly takes them along a beach where you can enter a battered old boat and find a note. (Considering that this is near Pittsburgh, that probably makes about as much sense as the beginning of episode two being set “10 miles west of Boston.”) The note is signed by someone named Ish (perhaps a reference to Moby Dick’s sea-faring narrator Ishmael) and details how, after spending some time at sea to hide from the outbreak, he eventually found himself running low on supplies and his boat in disrepair, and returned to shore to take his chances with humanity again.
Ish’s boat on the beach near Pittsburgh, which, yeah, probably doesn’t make a lot of sense. Screenshot: Naughty Dog / Kotaku
From there, you head into nearby sewers, where you can find a small area where Ish lived alone for some time after coming ashore. A note of his you can find there mentions that he met some people who had kids with them and who did not want to shoot him on sight. “Shocking I know,” he comments. The encounter puts the idea in his head that maybe it’s better for him to try trusting other people than it is to continue living alone. “What’s the point of surviving if you don’t have someone to laugh at your corny jokes?” his note reads, a question that cuts to the heart of The Last of Us’ themes. “Tomorrow, I’m going in search of them.”
Soon, you come to a place that’s very much like the one the party finds in the TV series, where Ish lived with other adults and children. In fact, the very same drawing of Ish and another adult named Danny that we see in the show is seen here in the game. Unfortunately, environmental clues also tell us that at some point, infected did get into the settlement, and the results were tragic, with another adult named Kyle and a few children getting trapped in a room by infected, and Kyle killing the children himself to spare them an even worse fate. Another note that you can find in the suburbs upon leaving the sewers reveals that he and a woman named Susan got out, but it’s excruciating to read. “She lost her children,” it says, “and I have no clue what to say to her.”
It concludes with Ish writing that every part of his being wants to give up, but he just can’t. “I’ve seen that we’re still capable of good. We can make it. I have to stay strong… for her.” What happened to him after that remains unknown.
Very often, I feel that Easter eggs are kind of exclusionary. They wink and nod to those people who are in the know, letting those viewers perhaps feel smug about picking up on cool details that fly over the rest of the audience’s heads. This drawing on the wall, though, works either way, I think. If you haven’t played the game, it offers some insight into what life was like here in this underground settlement at one time, and if you do know it from the game, it opens up a whole other narrative to you. A tragedy nested within a tragedy. Right about now, The Last of Us just feels like tragedies all the way down.
Savage Starlight
Sam finds a copy of a Savage Starlight comic, which in the game serves as a collectible Joel can find throughout and give to Ellie. Ellie is immediately stoked at Sam’s find, and the two of them bond over their shared enthusiasm for the series, trading details about which issues they each have. One particularly sweet moment sees Ellie quoting the hero’s catchphrase of “Endure and survive” and Sam teaching it to her in ASL. God, I want these kids to make it. (Around this same stretch of the game, Ellie will occasionally say “Endure and survive” after Joel has finished taking out a group of enemies and it seems like the two are safe for the time being.)
Ellie and Sam play soccer in the game in a moment referenced in the show.Screenshot: Naughty Dog / Kotaku
Other moments here are direct nods to the game, like one when Ellie and Sam play soccer using a makeshift goal painted on the wall. However, a conversation between Joel and Henry that sheds further light on his connection to Kathleen is totally new. Joel apologizes for having called Henry a rat before, saying that if Henry did what he did for Sam’s sake, he understands. Henry finally tells Joel exactly what it is he did do, and why. He paints a picture of a great man, one who “was never afraid, never selfish, and he was always forgiving.” He’s clearly talking about Kathleen’s brother, who he wanted to follow, and would have followed, if only.
“But Sam, he got sick. Leukemia.” And wouldn’t you know it, FEDRA had control of the very limited supply of the only drug that could treat him. So he made a deal, and gave FEDRA what they wanted. He’s still wracked with guilt about it, but the world presented him with an impossible choice that he never should have had to make in the first place. Rather than offer any words of comfort or understanding, though, Joel just says “We’ve waited long enough.” It’s time to move on.
Kathleen and Michael
We find Kathleen standing in her childhood bedroom, in a clearly abandoned house. And as she tells Perry about her brother—who we learn here was named Michael—and how he’d always comfort her during thunderstorms when they were kids, all I could think was, “Oh my god, shut up.” She’s the type of person who’s so convinced that her pain and suffering matter so much more than everyone else’s, that hunting down Henry is good and righteous because he took her brother from her, even though he only did it because it was the only way to save his own brother. Of course her pain and grief are real, but the extremes she’s going to in her pursuit of Henry make me lose all sympathy for her. She’s an egomaniac.
In fact, even her own brother’s wishes don’t matter to her, much as she might pretend to be honoring his life or his memory in this act. “He was so beautiful,” she says about Michael. “I’m not. I never was.” She knows Michael would want her to forgive Henry. He outright told her that when FEDRA had him locked up right before they killed him. But her pain is just too important to her for her to do that. And Perry is happy to validate her worst impulses. “Your brother was a great man. We all loved him,” he says. “But he didn’t change anything. You did. We’re with you.” Thanks, Perry. Big help. I’m sure that won’t encourage Kathleen to do something even more selfish and reckless than all the things she’s already done.
Sniper on the street
Joel and the gang emerge outside of Kathleen’s territory in a suburban neighborhood that seems safe at first glance, and the mood is relatively light as Ellie begins does her best Joel impression and encourages Henry and Sam to come with them to Wyoming. (In the game, Henry and Sam are already planning to track down the Fireflies, but here, they just want to get out of Kansas City for starters.) The calm is broken, however, when a sniper bullet strikes the ground near them and they dash behind a wrecked car for cover, plunging us into a sequence that owes a lot to the game.
The Pittsburgh suburbs section leading up to the sniper encounter is perhaps the game at its most ruinously beautiful.Screenshot: Naughty Dog / Kotaku
Sniper bullets continue to rain down on them, and just as in the game, Joel opts to sneak around and try to come at the sniper from behind. In the game, though, what you find in the sniper’s perch is a young man with a knife, prompting a grisly button-mashing sequence in which you ultimately turn the blade on the man and stab him with it repeatedly. Here, Joel finds an older man, one of Kathleen’s faithful, who refuses Joel’s plea to just drop the gun, instead cementing his own death by turning the gun on Joel. Just then, Kathleen’s voice crackles over a radio. “Hold them where they are,” she says. “We’re almost there.”
“It ends the way it ends”
In the game, the one repurposed Humvee the Pittsburgh resistance claimed from FEDRA soon arrives, but here, Kathleen’s forces are much more well-equipped, and a number of vehicles are soon barreling down on Ellie, Henry, and Sam. Just as in the game, Joel provides cover with the sniper rifle, and here he takes out the driver of the truck leading the charge, sending it careening into a nearby house where it promptly explodes.
Still, Kathleen’s forces close in. Perry sends men after Joel, and Kathleen begins to address Henry, revealing that her hypocrisy and self-importance know no bounds. “I know why you did what you did,” she says, “but did you ever stop to think that maybe [Sam] was supposed to die?” When Henry protests that Sam is just a kid, she replies that kids die “all the time.” That may be true, but it doesn’t change the fact that by her moral calculus, Sam’s life should have been totally disregarded, while Michael’s life should have been prioritized above all. In one truly staggering moment of cognitive dissonance, she says “You think the whole world revolves around him?” as if she isn’t acting like the whole world revolves around her quest for vengeance.
Finally, Henry emerges. “It ends the way it ends,” Kathleen says as she raises her gun to kill him. This calls for a deus ex machina, baby!
Something wicked this way bloats
Just then, the truck nearby teeters and falls as the earth beneath it yawns open, and an absolute tidal wave of speedy infected rise up out of it, a kind of cosmic retribution for Kathleen’s hubris. (A mob of infected also bear down on the group during this sequence in the game, but it’s nothing like this.) Huh, I guess FEDRA didn’t really deal with the infected problem after all, they just tried to brush it aside. Showrunner Craig Mazin knows a thing or two about writing stories where institutions do that, I guess, having worked on Chernobyl as well.
Screenshot: HBO / Kotaku
Suddenly Kathleen’s considerable show of force feels quite impotent, as the assault rifles have little effect in stemming the tide of death. Joel does the best he can to cover his allies amidst the chaos, but Ellie gets separated from Henry and Sam and climbs into an old SUV. Just then, a guttural growl unlike any sound we’ve heard an infected make thus far is heard, and a very different beast emerges from the sinkhole, a formidable, fungus-encrusted chonker of an infected called a bloater, a boss-type enemy from the game. Kathleen’s forces don’t have any of the molotov cocktails or nail bombs I usually use to take these bad boys down, so I think they’re pretty much fucked.
Perry peppers the thing with bullets but they clearly have little effect aside from making it mad. As it bears down on him, he urges Kathleen to get to cover, then turns to face his fate, which is having his head ripped clean off in a death consistent with one of the game’s most horrifying death animations.
Meanwhile, Ellie has a guest in her little SUV sanctuary: a creepy infected who was also a teenage girl before getting turned. Ellie heads out onto the street where she sees Henry and Sam pinned down by infected under a nearby car. With Joel’s help and a few stabs of her trusty switchblade—her signature weapon in the game—she gets them out and they make a run for it. Kathleen stops them yet again, but her success is short-lived, as a young infected—who I think but I’m not certain is the same one that chased Ellie out of the vehicle a moment before—leaps on her and absolutely shreds her to bits. It ends the way it ends.
As Joel leads them away from the chaos, we see the mob of infected, including the bloater, lurching its way back toward Kansas City. Nice going, Kathleen. Great job.
“I’m scared of ending up alone”
Joel and the gang have found shelter in an old motel for the night. In the game, there’s a nice moment here where Henry presses Joel for details about the time Joel and his brother Tommy rode Harley-Davidsons on a cross-country trip. That detail’s been omitted from the show, but the general arc of how things play out here is pretty similar.
“You think they’ll be okay?” Henry asks about the kids as they read Savage Starlight together in the next room, and Joel, in his own taciturn way, offers a kind of comfort to Henry, as a fellow protector of a young charge. It’s easier when you’re a kid, he says. “You don’t have anybody else relying on you. That’s the hard part.” Then comes a bit of playful meta-dialogue as Joel says, “What’s that comic book say? ‘Endure and survive’?” “Endure and survive,” Henry says. Then, after a moment: “That shit’s redundant.” “Yeah, it’s not great,” Joel agrees.
And now, as Ellie jokingly predicted earlier, Joel does indeed invite Henry and Sam to join them on the trip to Wyoming. It’s another one of those seemingly pleasant, hopeful moments that I find all the more painful because we’ll never get to see what might have come to pass if only the world they lived in were a little less dangerous and cruel. “Yeah, I think it’d be nice for Sam to have a friend,” Henry says. “New day, new start.” Okay, writers. Now you’re deliberately twisting the knife, jeeze.
Screenshot: HBO / Kotaku
Though Henry urges Sam to get some sleep, he and Ellie stay up for a bit, Ellie doing different voices as she reads Savage Starlight aloud. But Sam is preoccupied. “Are you ever scared?” he writes on his pad, a question he effectively asks her aloud in the game. (“How is it that you’re never scared?”) Just like in the game, Ellie first jokes that she’s afraid of scorpions, before admitting that what really scares her is the possibility of ending up alone.
In the game, when Ellie asks Sam what he’s scared of, he brings up infected. “What if the people are still inside?” he asks, and it’s the first time that the game directly engages with a terrifying idea that the show brings up early on: whether the person an infected once was remains somehow present and aware, even as they lose all control over their body. The game’s Ellie dismisses the idea, saying “that person is not in there anymore.” Her counterpart in the show, however, seems a bit more troubled by the idea.
The game’s Sam keeps his bite a secret, but in the show, after asking Ellie, “If you turn into a monster, is it still you inside?” he lifts the leg of his jeans to show her the nasty wound. Ellie here does something strange and sweet and hopeless: she cuts her own hand to draw blood and press it into the bite, telling Sam, “My blood is medicine.” If only it were that simple.
What happens the next morning is so awful, I don’t even want to bring myself to write it. If you’re reading this recap, you probably know, and if you don’t, I think you can guess.
Screenshot: HBO
As they bury the bodies near the motel, Ellie sets Sam’s sketchpad atop his grave. On it, she’s written the words “I’m sorry.” She’s withdrawn and just wants to leave. You have to wonder if she isn’t starting to give up on the world herself. Meanwhile, as he looks at the message she’s written, Joel seems, if anything, more committed to Ellie than ever. Something in his face suggests that he wants to spare her an existence made up of this kind of relentless suffering. He collects his gear, picks up the sniper rifle (new weapon unlocked!), and they head west.
As I said above, I find this week’s episode excruciating, so miserable in its outcome that in retrospect, even the few bright spots make it more agonizing. I don’t know about you but good lord, after all this, I sure hope these two catch a bit of a break soon.
Williams reveal updated livery for FW45, adorned with new sponsors such as Gulf Oil; Alex Albon and rookie team-mate Logan Sargeant aiming to lift team up standings in 2023 after dismal five years; Williams also have new team principal in James Vowles, who starts on February 20
By Matt Morlidge
Last Updated: 06/02/23 1:57pm
Williams have revealed their new livery for the 2023 Formula 1 season after agreeing a mega new partnership with Gulf Oil.
The third team to start their campaign with a launch, Williams showed off an updated blue and red livery adorned with many new sponsors at their Grove base, before their FW45 car debuts hitting the track next Monday.
The most notable addition to the livery is the Gulf logo, with the oil company joining forces with another F1 team after its partnership with McLaren ended in 2022. Many had speculated that the Williams car may feature more of the famous blue and orange Gulf colours.
“This signifies the strength of our brand and commercial offerings as we continue our transformation,” said Matthew Savage, Chairman of the Board at Williams.
“Gulf and Williams Racing share an illustrious motorsport heritage and, together, we are making history with this partnership.”
Williams, one of the most successful F1 teams of all-time but backmarkers in recent years, have been going through their “transformation” since Dorilton Capital acquired the team from the legendary Sir Frank Williams in 2020.
Alex Albon returns for his second year with the team this year and will be partnered by rookie team-mate Logan Sargeant, F1’s first American driver since 2016.
Williams will also have a new team principal in James Vowles – the highly-respected Mercedes strategy chief – although he was not present at Monday’s launch as he doesn’t start in his role until February 20.
The FW45 will hit the track at Silverstone on Monday, February 13, before pre-season testing begins the following week.
Pre-season testing is all live on Sky Sports F1 from February 23-25, as is every Formula 1 practice, qualifying and race. The season-opener is the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 5.
Will new recruits help Williams end miserable run?
With 16 world championship titles to their name, only Ferrari and McLaren have won more titles than Williams – but the Grove outfit have been rock bottom of the standings in four of the last five seasons.
Powered by Mercedes engines, Williams will be aiming to leap up the field in 2023 after scoring eight points last year and say they have heavily evolved the sidepod concept on this year’s car.
They also say there are modifications to the front suspension layout and ‘major external aerodynamic surfaces’, while the car will be more ‘aerodynamically efficient’ than last season’s FW44.
Williams drivers Alex Albon (left) and Logan Sargeant
Tasked with leading their rebuild is Vowles, while Albon – Max Verstappen’s former Red Bull team-mate – and rookie team-mate Sargeant form a young driver line-up.
“The team has worked really hard last year and over the winter to address some key areas in our car, putting in the work to try and maximise what we get out of the car for 2023,” said Albon.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what the FW45 can do.”
Williams in F1 2023
Driver
Alex Albon
Driver
Logan Sargeant
Team boss
James Vowles
Car name
FW45
Engine
Mercedes
2022 championship finish
10th
Best championship finish
1st (x9)
Race wins
114
Podiums
313
Sargeant, 22, replaces Nicholas Latifi at Williams after finishing fourth in the feeder Formula 2 championship last year.
He added: “I’m really excited for the season to get started after what, for me, feels like a long winter! I’m super motivated and we’ve put a lot of hard work in.
“The car is looking amazing and it shows the huge effort the team has put in the off season, so I’m looking forward to getting started at Silverstone before heading out to Bahrain.”
Williams also have a driver academy that includes three-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick, who is bidding to make her name Stateside this season in Indy NXT.
Williams’ liveries over the years
Williams’ 2019 car, the FW42
Williams’ 2020 car, the FW43
Williams’ 2021 car, the FW43B
Williams’ 2022 car, the FW44
What’s new on the cars for 2023?
While there is no rules overhaul for next year like there was for 2022, there are subtle changes to the rules and cars that teams can take advantage of.
The most notable is a higher ride height. This is essentially lifting the cars higher off the ground to help reduce the bouncing ‘porpoising’ phenomenon that affected teams – most notably Mercedes – in 2022.
This is done by raising the floor edge and throat, while the diffuser edge has also been stiffened. There is also an additional sensor to effectively monitor porpoising.
While these are mostly for safety reasons and are expected to initially cost teams time due to a stiffer floor, it could also narrow the field with a higher ride height thought to have been key to Red Bull and Ferrari’s 2023 cars.
The other changes to the cars revolve around outlawing designs such as Aston Martin’s rear wing and Mercedes’ front wing from 2023, and more safety additions.
The roll hoops, for example, have been strengthened following Zhou Guanyu’s dramatic crash at Silverstone last year.
Genesis 9, a major fighting game tournament, took place over the weekend. There were stellar combos and massive upsets as the supermajor event for Super Smash Bros. Melee and Ultimate concluded on January 22. Unfortunately, while the tournament was underway, one of Canada’s top Kazuya players, Michael “Riddles” Kim, sparked some heated discourse in Ultimate’s community around “top player privilege” and “ego problems” when he threw his controller after losing a match.
Considered one of the best Kazuya and Terry mains in Canada, Riddles is ranked ninth in all of North America. A member of the esports organization Team Liquid, Riddles has placed in the top 10 at just about every tournament he’s competed in, with his last first-place win being at the November 2022 Path to Glory tournament in Saskatchewan where he took home approximately $11,000 alongside the top spot. In short, the Super Smash Bros. community sees Riddles as goated. So, knowing he was entering Genesis 9, a California tournament stacked to the brim with top-tier talents such as Steve player acola and Marth main MKLeo, his ardent fans and interested onlookers were expecting him to perform. He did, but not to the level he, or the game’s community, might’ve hoped for.
Riddles found himself in the losers’ bracket after losing a close set against Palutena player Chase. Riddles would win the next two matches in that bracket, only to wind up facing off against France’s Lucina main, Nassim “Leon” Laib. The bout started heavily in Riddles’ favor. However, Leon had Riddles’ number on speed dial, as Leon switched to Chrom and gave Riddles little room to breathe.
It all came to a head when, in the last bout, Leon absolutely bodied Riddles in spectacular fashion. Riddles lost that match. After sitting in his chair for a while, the frustration clearly visible on his face and his opponent no longer on screen, Riddles threw his controller down hard before leaving the arena.
Folks were perplexed by the upset as Riddles was a top seed, meaning he was expected to place pretty high. Leon, however, is ranked 77th. The odds were ever in Riddles’ favor, as evidenced on the faces of those around the two players. Aside from congratulating Leon on his victory, most people were stunned by what happened. There were a few taking pictures of Riddles sulking in his chair, but most of everyone else in the immediate vicinity was shooketh.
ScreenKO
It’s this brief moment that has ignited the Super Smash Bros. community into discoursing about popping off in a professional setting.
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“You throw the controller,” one tweeter said to Riddles in all caps. “Do you know how much you make people suffer? You lost [and] got outplayed by a neutral character. You just cheese people at 0 so [fuck] off.”
“It’s called holding people accountable,” another tweeter said. “Something this community needs more of actually.”
“It doesn’t matter if he is humble, he still had that moment,” a third tweeter said. “If you give him a pass now, 9 times outta 10, it’ll happen again. Just stop fam lmao. Everyone has those moments, we get it, but shrugging it off like this just shows why top player privilege is a thing.”
The comments on the above YouTube video aren’t much better, with some agreeing Riddles “has no right to be salty or rage” and that he’s “a little baby” who needs to “man up.” Others laughed at the incident, while a few folks memed his name, calling him “Shittles” instead. One person even said Riddles has “insane ego problems” for reacting this way. Sheesh.
This is because Riddles mains Kazuya Mishima, one of Tekken’s protagonists, the 81st combatant part of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s Fighters Pass Vol. 2, and a notorious character in the game’s scene. Kazuya is a combo-heavy fighter in Ultimate, primarily relying on his electric wind god fist to stun his opponents and rack up some heavy damage. Kazuya, and this stun move especially, have been thorns in the community’s side, with Ultimate players regularly asking for Kazuya (as well as Steve from Minecraft) to get banned from tournament use. In short, Riddles receives a lot of hate because of the character he plays, and his loss to Leon and the resulting explosion on camera, was an excuse to pile on—to the point that Riddles ended up deactivating his Twitter account.
Kotaku reached out to Riddles for comment.
In Twitter DMs with Kotaku, Leon said he was both afraid of and motivated by Riddles, ready to face him in the Genesis 9 competition. Leon didn’t anticipate beating Riddles, though, saying he was “very surprised and shocked” to do so with his secondary character, Chrom. He also wasn’t totally surprised by Riddles’ reaction to the upset after the fact, although he didn’t completely agree with his opponent’s behavior.
“[Riddles’ reaction was] completely [unwarranted] in any kind of big competition. It’s easy to see that,” Leon said. “Throwing your own controller to [release] frustration isn’t the best move, but it concerns only him and himself. As long as he respects his opponents (which was the case with me), there is nothing very disgusting [about what he did]. I would be sad and frustrated to get out of the tournament that early, too.”
Not everyone is dragging Riddles for the way he popped off at Genesis 9. Multiple top players, from former competitor Yonni to big-name player Justin Wong to Moist Esports’ Aaron Wilhite, defended Riddles’ actions. It’s kind of ironic when you think about it, as a few days before Genesis 9 kicked off, an Italian Smash player was banned from tournaments going forward after literally slapping his opponent during a livestream. Riddles, on the other hand, took his frustration out on an inanimate object and announced he would take a long break in his Discord. I’m not entirely sure what the community wants from Riddles, or top players in general, but asking that they be robots and show no emotion just ain’t it. I mean, I still occasionally throw my controllers because video games make me angry. It’s human nature, right? At least Riddles didn’t take it out on his competitor.
Toto Wolff says talking about Red Bull chief Christian Horner is a waste of his time but believes Horner is “obsessed” with him; In 2022 Sky Sports interview, Horner said ‘it’s very easy to pull his chain’ when discussing Wolff
By Amar Mehta
Last Updated: 21/01/23 1:23pm
Toto Wolff believes he is living in Christian Horner’s head “rent free” and thinks speaking about the Red Bull chief is a “waste of time”.
The Mercedes chief and Horner have publicly sparred several times, with Horner making digs at Wolff during an award ceremony in December, joking that his rival was the Rookie of the Year at the Autosport Awards.
When asked about what he thinks of their rivalry during an interview with The Times, Wolff said: “I am living in his head rent-free. The guy is obsessed.
“Every second that I spend on talking about Horner is a waste of time in my life.”
The rivalry between the pair came to a head during the 2021 season when Mercedes and Red Bull were battling it out for the championship.
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There was certainly no love lost between Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and Red Bull boss Christian Horner during the 2021 title tussle
There was certainly no love lost between Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and Red Bull boss Christian Horner during the 2021 title tussle
The season ended in controversial fashion, when Michael Masi made a contentious safety car decision which allowed Max Verstappen to beat Lewis Hamilton to the title.
Wolff opened up about the frustrations after the Abu Dhabi race and said the decision taken by Masi during the race breached the “principle of fairness”.
“At the end of the race, an individual (Masi, who has since been replaced) took decisions that were not reflected anywhere in the rule book and were so drastic that they made the outcome unbelievable.
“That is a moment when you fall out of love with the sport…the principle of fairness was breached.
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Take a look at some of the best overtakes from the 2022 season.
Take a look at some of the best overtakes from the 2022 season.
“The FIA took the guy out of the job because it was a human error. But it’s done and dusted now. I still think about it a lot, but not with anger; it is just incomprehensible how it came about.”
“Toto is Toto. He’s done a phenomenal job with Mercedes. He’s obviously come into the sport from a very different background to me, he’s very much from a financial background,” he said.
“And it’s very easy to pull his chain, and you can see it. Sometimes it affects him. So of course when you’re competing, and last year was so intense and of course it was the first time he’d ever been in that situation, it’s always interesting to see how people react.
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Natalie Pinkham, Simon Lazenby, Karun Chandhok and David Croft select their favourite races, overtakes and most improved drivers and teams from Formula 1 2022.
Natalie Pinkham, Simon Lazenby, Karun Chandhok and David Croft select their favourite races, overtakes and most improved drivers and teams from Formula 1 2022.
“And when they’re smashing headphones and so on, you can see that you got to them.”
Asked if he thought he was a better team boss than Wolff, Horner added: “That’s not for me to judge…
“I’m focused on what I’m doing, you guys are judge and jury. Sometimes we get judged by Sky but that’s not for me… I’m focused on what I’m doing and he’s focused on what he’s doing.”
Logan Sargeant is the first American driver in Formula 1 since 2015 as he replaces Nicholas Latifi at Wiliams; there are three races in the United States in the 2023 Formula 1 calendar as the sport heads to Miami, Las Vegas and Austin
By Megan Wellens
Last Updated: 17/01/23 5:00pm
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Logan Sargeant says it is a dream come true to join the Williams team and begin his Formula One journey
Logan Sargeant says it is a dream come true to join the Williams team and begin his Formula One journey
Entering the F1 paddock comes with an immense amount of pressure for any driver, none more so than Williams’ newest star Logan Sargeant.
Sargeant, 21, was revealed as the replacement for Nicholas Latifi at last year’s USA Grand Prix and as the only American in a sport that is taking off in the United States, he knows all eyes will be on him as he takes the next step in his career, his focus already switching to proving himself on motorsport’s biggest stage.
“Obviously it is super special to be the first American driver in a while,” said Sargeant.
“With three Grand Prixs [in America], that is going to be fun. Miami is just on my doorstep so I am really looking forward to that one.
“It is maybe a little bit of extra pressure, but, at the end of the day, I put a lot of pressure on myself and the expectations are high.
“We just need to get the job done.”
As he teams up with Alex Albon at Williams, Sargeant becomes the first American driver in the sport since Alexander Rossi in 2015, the last American to win a race being Mario Andretti back in 1978.
The pressure will be mounting as the season draws closer, but Sargeant has always made sure to remember he is living out his dream for a team who have supported him for so long.
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Sargeant finished fifth in the final F2 feature race of 2022 to secure his super licence
Sargeant finished fifth in the final F2 feature race of 2022 to secure his super licence
“It is definitely a dream come true. I feel like 16 years of hard work, the weight was lifted off my shoulders that we made it here,” he added.
“Then you immediately think, now the real work starts trying to keep my place in Formula 1 going forward.
“The stars definitely have to align and you have to be in the right place at the right time.
“Williams has supported me so much since the end of last year and they gave me so much confidence throughout the year that this seat was up for grabs if I did my job.
“Going into that last round, I needed to get my super licence and the pressure was on to maximise the weekend and we did.
“I am just looking forward to doing my best for them in the future.”
Williams team principal James Vowles denies Mercedes control rival F1 team
Newly-appointed Williams team principal James Vowles insists the team will not become a “mini-Mercedes” following his move from the Silver Arrows.
Williams announced on Friday that Vowles will take over as team principal on February 20 ahead of the new season, ending his 13-year run with Mercedes.
James Vowles (L) with Lewis Hamilton
Vowles, who departs his position as strategy director, provides a further link between the two teams, who are already tied by Mercedes having supplied Williams with engines since 2014.
Meanwhile, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is a former owner and director of the British team, and Silver Arrows driver George Russell spent three years at Williams before partnering Hamilton for the first time last season.
“I wouldn’t consider it a mini-Mercedes,” Vowles said on Friday. “Williams is an incredibly independent team in its own right, which has formed its own history, its own heritage.
Vowles had been at Mercedes since the team’s inception in 2010
“Williams is an entirely independent organisation, and furthermore, it’s one that my success is subject and dependent on me doing a good job there, and that has to be independent of Mercedes.
“It doesn’t mean that Mercedes and ourselves won’t have collaboration in some form or another, there was collaboration before I joined, but I have to do what is best for Williams from here onwards.”
Formula 1 opts not to replace Chinese GP, which was set for April 16 before its cancellation due to Covid measures; there will now be four-week gap between third and fourth races of season (Melbourne and Baku); all 23 races this year – an F1 record – live on Sky Sports F1
Last Updated: 17/01/23 12:21pm
Formula 1 has formally confirmed a 23-race season for 2023 after opting not to replace the cancelled Chinese Grand Prix.
Discussions were held with numerous promoters about filling the April 16 slot – with Turkey and Portugal mooted – but the decision means there will be a four-week gap between the third and fourth rounds of the season.
The Australian GP takes place on April 2 and the Azerbaijan GP on April 30.
All 23 races – an F1 record – are live on Sky Sports F1.
An F1 statement read: “Formula 1 can confirm that the 2023 season will consist of 23 races.
“That means the season will kick off with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 5, and finish up in Abu Dhabi on November 26, with the brand new Las Vegas Grand Prix joining the calendar a week before the season finale.”
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The Chinese GP was cancelled for the fourth year in a row at the beginning of December due to strict Covid measures.
The sport had been set to return to China for the first time since 2019 but with the country continuing to implement a zero-Covid policy, which has led to heavy restrictions and continued lockdown, F1 decided it was not feasible to hold a race at the Shanghai International Circuit.
F1 2023 starts with pre-season testing on February 23-25 before the first race of the season, the Bahrain GP, on March 5.
The 10 F1 teams will unveil their new cars in February ahead of a solitary sole pre-season test, which takes place over three days in Bahrain from February 23.
The confirmed 2023 calendar
March 5: Bahrain (Sakhir) March 19: Saudi Arabia (Jeddah) April 2: Australia (Melbourne) April 30: Azerbaijan (Baku)* May 7:Miami (Miami) May 21: Emilia Romagna (Imola) May 28: Monaco (Monaco) June 4:Spain (Barcelona) June 18: Canada (Montreal) July 2: Austria (Spielberg)* July 9: Great Britain (Silverstone) July 23: Hungary (Budapest) July 30: Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps)* August 27: Netherlands (Zandvoort) September 3: Italy (Monza) September 17:Singapore (Marina Bay) September 24: Japan (Suzuka) October 8: Qatar (Losail)* October 22: USA (Austin)* October 29: Mexico (Mexico City) November 5: Brazil (Sao Paulo)* November 18: Las Vegas November 26: Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina)
Red Bull are set to be the first team to launch their car for the 2023 Formula 1 season; the reigning drivers’ and constructors’ champions will reveal the RB19 in New York City on February 3
Last Updated: 13/01/23 5:27pm
Max Verstappen led Red Bull to drivers’ and constructors’ titles in 2022
Reigning Formula 1 constructors’ champions Red Bull have announced they will launch their 2023 car in New York City on February 3.
With only two teams – Alfa Romeo and Haas – left to announce their launch dates, Red Bull’s RB19 is set to be the first 2023 car revealed.
The RB18 delivered a dominant season for Red Bull, ending Mercedes’ eight-year streak of constructors’ titles and helping Max Verstappen to his second successive drivers’ crown.
“The 3rd February is set to be our biggest launch yet, in the city that never sleeps, New York,” Red Bull said in a statement released on Friday.
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“Not only is this going to be the first Formula 1 season launch to take place in the US, we’re also planning to make it the greatest in F1 history.”
Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri had previously confirmed that they would also launch their 2023 campaign in New York, but that event comes eight days later.
Verstappen produced a brilliant season-long display of driving, winning a record 15 races as he cruised to his second title.
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Relive how Verstappen won his second world title, as we look back at some key races from the 2022 season.
Relive how Verstappen won his second world title, as we look back at some key races from the 2022 season.
Red Bull were similarly dominant in the constructors’ contest, beating second-placed Ferrari by 205 points.
Verstappen’s dominance in 2022 allowed the team to start work early on their 2023 car, but they will also be coping with a loss of development time after being punished for breaching F1’s cost cap in 2021.
F1 2023: When are the new cars being revealed?
February 3
Red Bull
February 6
Williams
February 11
AlphaTauri
February 13
Aston Martin
February 13
McLaren
February 14
Ferrari
February 15
Mercedes
February 16
Alpine
Two teams TBC
What changes are there on the cars and when’s testing?
While there is no rules overhaul for next year like there was for 2022, there are subtle changes to the rules and cars that teams can take advantage of.
The most notable is a higher ride height, which is primarily to help with porpoising but could also see teams find performance.
There is one pre-season test this year, in Bahrain, on February 23-25.
The 2023 season starts in earnest the week after pre-season testing at the same Sakhir circuit, on March 3-5.
The series will start in 2023 and F1 says it will be an ‘extra route’ for young women alongside W Series, the all-female championship that is aiming to return for a fourth season next year despite having its 2022 campaign shortened amid financial difficulties
Last Updated: 16/12/22 10:17am
The new F1 Academy series will see younger female drivers run in the same chassis as Formula 4 (above)
ART, Campos, Carlin, MP motorsport and Prema have all been announced as teams for the F1 Academy – an all-female driver championship.
The five teams all have impressive pedigrees in multiple junior categories.
Last season, ART Grand Prix took Victor Martins to the Formula 3 crown, Prema Racing became F3 Team Champions, MP Motorsport secured both Driver and Teams Championships in Formula 2, Carlin finished second in the F2 Teams’ Championship with Logan Sargeant and and Campos Racing reigned supreme in Spanish F4 in 2022.
The series will start in 2023 and F1 say it will be an ‘extra route’ up the motorsport pyramid for young women alongside W Series, the similarly all-female championship that is aiming to return for a fourth season next year despite having its 2022 campaign shortened amid financial difficulties.
It is hoped the F1 Academy will quickly see a woman progress into Formula 3, and help Formula 2 and Formula 1 opportunities in the future.
The last female to race in F1 was Lella Lombardi back in 1976.
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Stefano Domenicali talks of Formula 1’s own all-female driver category, the F1 Academy, which the sport hopes will eventually lead to a woman racer on the grid.
Stefano Domenicali talks of Formula 1’s own all-female driver category, the F1 Academy, which the sport hopes will eventually lead to a woman racer on the grid.
The driver line-up and calendar will be announced in the next few months.
The F1 Academy will feature five teams, run by current F2 and F3 teams, with three cars each to make up a 15-car grid. The inaugural season will have 21 races, with seven three-race events, and is likely to include at least F1 race weekend.
Like W Series, all drivers will compete in the same Formula 4 chassis.
F1 say they will be providing funding of €150,000 (£130,000) for each car, which will need to be matched by drivers to enter. They say that is a ‘fraction of the usual costs to enter comparable series’, and the rest of the budget will be provided by the teams.
Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, said: “It is exciting to be able to announce the five teams that will be racing in the F1 Academy for next year and who will be providing this fantastic opportunity to the young and talented women to begin their journey into competitive motorsport. We believe it is important that everyone has the chance to follow their ambitions and get the support and guidance needed to progress and excel.
“The F1 Academy is an important part of our plan to increase diversity and representation in motorsport and we are looking forward to the first season in 2023 and stay tuned for more news in this area.”
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Could former W Series and IndyCar’s Jamie Chadwick be the first female since the 1970s to compete in Formula One?
Could former W Series and IndyCar’s Jamie Chadwick be the first female since the 1970s to compete in Formula One?
Three-time champion Jamie Chadwick says she hopes the W Series “can survive and continue” alongside Formula 1’s newly-announced category for women.
“It (W Series) has been a life-changing opportunity for me over the past few years and for the other girls as well and everyone else involved in the series,” Chadwick told Sky Sports News.
“It’s proven to be a very positive platform in providing these chances for us all to go racing. I really hope it can survive and continue on next year.”
Chadwick, who will not compete in either of the all-female categories next year after signing a deal to make her American racing series debut in Indy NXT, is hopeful W Series and F1 academy can both thrive.
“From my side, I think anything we can to do to encourage more girls into the sport is key,” she said. “I think the fact that F1 have created a new opportunity for drivers to be doing that is fantastic.
“I’d love to see that alongside W Series as well, and we can see more and more young girls get involved in the sport as a result of it.”
When Kyrsten Sinema campaigned for the Senate as “an independent voice for Arizona,” her volunteers didn’t take that literally. Perhaps they heard what they wanted to hear. Ana Doan, a retired teacher, thought Sinema would bring fresh energy to Washington as Arizona’s first openly LGBTQ senator. Devina Alvarado, a young Costco forklift driver, thought Sinema would defend women’s rights from Donald Trump. Michael (identified by his middle name to avoid retaliation) admired that Sinema had made it out of poverty after experiencing homelessness as a child, as he did. Each from a different corner of Arizona, they were all proud to have volunteered to get Sinema elected, proud of the doors they’d knocked and calls they’d made, proud to have had her glossy purple-and-yellow literature scattered in their home or on the floor of their car. But their pride had curdled long before Sinema announced she was leaving the Democratic Party last Friday.
So far, both the White House and Sinema’s Senate colleagues have been conciliatory, praising her legislative skill and acting as if little will change following her switch. (Sinema will still caucus with the Democrats.) Although her influence will diminish in a forthcoming 51–49 chamber, Democrats can ill afford to make Sinema a pariah. When reached for comment about the switch, Sinema’s press secretary told me in an email, “Kyrsten’s approach remains the same from when she first ran for Senate,” and directed me to a sleek video Sinema released on Friday: “I’m gonna be the same person I’ve always been,” the senator said.
But many of her most dedicated supporters don’t see things that way. I spoke with dozens of Sinema’s former volunteers from across Arizona, some of whom I managed in 2018 as a field organizer for the Arizona Democratic Party. What they’ve described to me is a feeling more raw and pained than mere disagreement over policies. Arizona Democrats are used to that; many have Republicans and independents in their family. They’re used to talking through differences. What they cannot forgive is the feeling that Sinema was not straight with them.
Doan, the teacher, had worked on a lot of campaigns in the border town of Nogales. She had just retired when Sinema announced her run, and she threw herself into the Senate race. Sinema was smart, well-spoken, a member of the LGBTQ community, and a fundraising powerhouse. In previous elections, Doan had begged the state party to do more phone banking in Spanish, and she didn’t like that phone bankers rushed older Latino voters who had questions about important issues. Things were different on Sinema’s campaign. Doan could have phone-bank lists brought to the houses of other volunteers, so they could make calls from the comfort of their own home.
She was thrilled when Sinema won, but her excitement was short-lived. Sinema, in her view, started spending too much time with the Big Business people who had funded her campaign and not enough time among the working-class folks who’d made phone calls for her. Doan told me it hurt to watch her senator block positive initiatives that other Democrats wanted to pass. “She made an idiot out of me, and I made an idiot out of all the people I spoke to,” Doan said. She said she wished Sinema had run as an independent in 2018, so people knew who she really was.
Alvarado, the forklift driver, had never volunteered on a political campaign before. She canvassed for Sinema a few days a week after finishing work and on the weekends too, always wearing her pink Planned Parenthood shirt. Alvarado couldn’t believe it when Sinema said she thought protecting the filibuster was essential to protecting women’s rights. When Sinema comes up in conversation these days, Alvarado’s fiancé teases her. “He knows I’m super salty that I volunteered for her,” she told me. “I for sure look forward to canvassing for her opponent.”
Michael considered Sinema to be a personal hero when he started volunteering on her campaign in Phoenix. A few years before, he’d been homeless, just as she had been. But Michael felt betrayed in March of 2021, when Sinema voted against raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. “Hunger changes people,” he wrote to me in an email. “It made me want to make no one feel that way. I’m guessing it made her protective of what she has.”
Some of the people with the fewest illusions about Sinema were the people furthest away from her. Missa Foy, the chair of the Navajo County Democrats, didn’t even vote for Sinema in the primary. In 2018, she knocked on more than 1,000 doors for a ballot initiative in Navajo County, one of Arizona’s most rural regions. (You can’t walk down the sidewalk to the next house on your list in Navajo—you get back in your truck and drive there.) The voters Foy spoke with would offer her dinner and shelter from the cold, and listen to why they should oppose programs such as expanding school vouchers. Although Foy passed out the Democratic slate of candidates, with Sinema on top, she didn’t talk her up. Foy told me she was grateful for all the things that Democrats, including Sinema, were able to pass through the Senate, but she didn’t think Sinema’s new party preference was earth-shattering stuff. “Our mission is the same as before this news broke,” she said.
When Sinema visited Hopi sovereign land in 2018, Karen Shupla was impressed by her familiarity with water rights and other issues important to Native Americans. A tribal-elections registrar, Shupla is scrupulously neutral, but she does volunteer hundreds of hours to make sure elections run smoothly in a region that Democrats carry by more than two to one. She was unsurprised when the Hopi and other tribes supported Sinema by broad margins, and she was indifferent about Sinema becoming an independent. “It depends on how she deals with Natives from here on out,” Shupla told me. “We don’t want to be guessing which side she’s going to take on matters.”
The volunteer I spoke with over the weekend who still has the most affection for Sinema was the one who knew her personally. Martha “Marty” Bruneau met Sinema when the two of them ran for different seats in the Arizona state legislature in 2000. “I never ran again, and she never lost again,” Bruneau told me. The two of them stayed in touch. Bruneau thinks her fellow progressive Democrats have been exasperating and believes they put too much pressure on Sinema, who votes with Biden more than 90 percent of the time. She told me she doesn’t get Sinema’s reputation for being unapproachable. When I asked her if she’d support Sinema over a Democratic challenger, Bruneau praised Sinema’s record and said she’d have to look at both candidates. This was, in dozens of interviews, the closest that any of Sinema’s former volunteers came to saying they would vote for her again.
Some believe that Sinema is becoming an independent because she can’t win against a primary challenger. Campaigning as an independent worked in Alaska for Lisa Murkowski in 2010, and in 2006 for Joe Lieberman in Connecticut—but they were running in deep-red and deep-blue states, where their party was dominant enough to form a coalition with voters from other parties. Arizona is purple, with roughly equal portions of Republicans, independents, and Democrats. Sinema positioned herself as a lone politician capable of uniting her state, but if she is reelected, it will likely be by forcing an expensive and vicious election.
As David A. Graham wrote in The Atlantic last week, Sinema’s move is flashy but comes from a place of weakness. She seems vulnerable to a challenge from not only the left but also the center. Arizona just elected a full slate of establishment Democrats in a year far less favorable than 2018, when Sinema won her seat. It’s unclear if the campaign arm of the Senate Democrats will even support her next time around. What’s more, 2024 is a presidential-election year in an era when split-ticket voting is rare. Although Sinema is an incumbent, her sour relationship with the Arizona Democratic Party means she will not benefit from party infrastructure, for fundraising or mobilization. They don’t know what to expect from her, and she feels no obligation to explain publicly what she believes, or why she believes it. That’s her prerogative. But it’s also the prerogative of people who lent Sinema their time and reputation to now turn against her. In bitter irony, the volunteers who cut their teeth working to get her elected may be among those working the hardest to defeat her.
Mattia Binotto had been at the helm of Ferrari since 2019; the Italian team made a promising start to the 2022 season but failed to claim a win in the final 11 races of the campaign; Italian will leave role on December 31
Last Updated: 29/11/22 9:44am
Mattia Binotto has resigned as Ferrari team principal.
Binotto will leave his role on December 31 while the team expect to appoint his replacement early in 2023, with Frederic Vasseur, current boss of the Ferrari-linked Alfa Romeo, the favourite.
Ferrari appeared to be in contention to end its long wait for titles after a strong start to the 2022 season, but failed to win any of the final 11 races of the campaign amid a loss of performance, and finished a distant second to Red Bull in the constructors’ championship.
While the Italian team ultimately did not have the pace to compete with Red Bull, the combination of reliability issues and repeated strategy errors saw Binotto come under pressure, with rumours surfacing ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi that he would be dismissed.
At the time, Ferrari said reports that Binotto would be sacked were “totally without foundation”, but less than two weeks after that denial, the team released a statement confirming the 53-year-old’s departure.
It brings a three-year reign at the head of Formula 1’s most famous team, as well as a 28-year career in total, to an end.
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As Max Verstappen claimed another world title, take a look at Ferrari’s biggest strategic errors of the 2022 F1 season
As Max Verstappen claimed another world title, take a look at Ferrari’s biggest strategic errors of the 2022 F1 season
“With the regret that this entails, I have decided to conclude my collaboration with Ferrari,” said Binotto, who had previously insisted he was going to stay for 2023.
“I am leaving a company that I love, which I have been part of for 28 years, with the serenity that comes from the conviction that I have made every effort to achieve the objectives set.
“I leave a united and growing team. A strong team, ready, I’m sure, to achieve the highest goals, to which I wish all the best for the future. I think it is right to take this step at this time as hard as this decision has been for me.
“I would like to thank all the people at the Gestione Sportiva who have shared this journey with me, made up of difficulties but also of great satisfaction.”
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Despite speculation about his job, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto remains focused on developing a good car for next season.
Despite speculation about his job, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto remains focused on developing a good car for next season.
Ferrrai CEO Benedetto Vigna added: “I would like to thank Mattia for his many great contributions over 28 years with Ferrari and particularly for leading the team back to a position of competitiveness during this past year.
“As a result, we are in a strong position to renew our challenge, above all for our amazing fans around the world, to win the ultimate prize in motorsport. Everyone here at the Scuderia and in the wider Ferrari community wishes Mattia well for the future.”
What went wrong for Binotto and who will replace him?
Binotto rose through the ranks at Ferrari, becoming head of the engine department in 2013 and then chief technical officer in 2016, before replacing Maurizio Arrivabene as team principal in 2019.
It was hoped that Binotto, a calmer presence than Arrivabene, would help Ferrari claim their first title since 2008.
Binotto’s first year in charge was controversial, with Ferrari competitive – particularly in qualifying – but having also been involved in an engine scandal, reaching a settlement with the FIA after the season.
Ferrari changed tack in 2020 with a car design that spectacularly failed, enduring their worst season in four decades and then struggling in the midfield the following season, too, when Binotto made the decision to replace four-time champion Sebastian Vettel with Carlos Sainz.
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Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who finished second in the standings, says he is very proud of his team for coping with the external pressure coming into the weekend.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who finished second in the standings, says he is very proud of his team for coping with the external pressure coming into the weekend.
2022 was the big goal for Binotto and his team with all-new rules and cars – and initially, it was a test passed.
Ferrari started the new season with the fastest car, overhauling Mercedes and battling Red Bull, and Charles Leclerc won two of the first three races to lead the championship early on.
But Ferrari started to throw away wins and points with mechanical failures and, more frustratingly, strategic mistakes. Pit-stop errors and incorrect choices became a theme of Ferrari’s season and – even after Red Bull moved ahead of them with their car upgrades – it is those failures that may have cost Binotto his job.
Binotto has long-defended his team and long insisted that they are focusing on an improved 2023, although the internal and external pressure has now led to his resignation, and an opening as Ferrari’s boss.
Sky Sports in Italy report that Alfa Romeo boss Vasseur is expected to replace Binotto.
Vasseur has a strong F1 pedigree and, perhaps crucially, a strong rapport with Ferrari’s lead driver Leclerc.
Other contenders noted include Ross Brawn, Ferrari’s former technical chief, although the Englishman re-joining is extremely unlikely given he has just left an F1 motorsports role and wanted time away from the sport.
Lando Norris finished seventh in the world championship, finishing best of the rest behind the drivers of Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes; the 23-year-old is contracted to McLaren until 2025 but says “time will tell” regarding his future with the team
Last Updated: 27/11/22 9:20pm
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After winning in Brazil, George Russell acknowledges finishing fifth in Abu Dhabi was a reality check, while Lando Norris believes he couldn’t have finished higher than sixth in his McLaren.
After winning in Brazil, George Russell acknowledges finishing fifth in Abu Dhabi was a reality check, while Lando Norris believes he couldn’t have finished higher than sixth in his McLaren.
Lando Norris insists he maintains “faith” in McLaren, despite warning the team “can’t be satisfied” with their 2022 Formula 1 campaign.
The 23-year-old Brit drove superbly to finish seventh in the world championship as the best of the rest behind the drivers of Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes, but McLaren were beaten to fourth in the constructors’ championship by Alpine.
Norris penned a new contract with McLaren before the start of the 2022 season that ties him to the team until the end of 2025, but the quality of his performances undoubtedly make him one of the most desirable drivers on the grid.
Asked by Sky Sports F1 during the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend about his future with the team, Norris said: “It’s just faith, it’s just honesty – that’s the main thing I need.
“I’m not a guy who likes BS or likes people trying to make me happy, I like people just being honest.
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Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo say it is getting emotional ahead of Ricciardo’s departure from McLaren, but they still plan to see each other.
Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo say it is getting emotional ahead of Ricciardo’s departure from McLaren, but they still plan to see each other.
“I have faith in McLaren, I have faith in the guys I work with, the whole team.
“Time will tell. You can never be 100 per cent certain where you’re going to be, but you can have a good shot at it.”
The 2022 season saw the introduction of radical new design regulations, which in theory could have given McLaren a chance to close the gap to the front-runners, but issues relating to the overheating of the car’s brakes put the British team on the back foot almost immediately.
Norris highlighted his brilliance by becoming the only driver outside of the top three teams to claim a podium during the season. He also finished 85 points clear of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, and 30 points clear of his nearest challenger for seventh, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.
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After his final race, Sebastian Vettel acknowledges his role in Formula 1, while Lando Norris thanks him for inspiring the McLaren driver to keep speaking out against issues outside of the sport.
After his final race, Sebastian Vettel acknowledges his role in Formula 1, while Lando Norris thanks him for inspiring the McLaren driver to keep speaking out against issues outside of the sport.
“I mean, from where we were in race one, I think we’ve done a good job – we recovered well,” Norris said.
“If I think of before this season, did we achieve in 2022 what we should have done as McLaren? Honestly, it’s no.
“If we want to do well and we want to be champions at some point and we want to win races, we can’t be satisfied with where we have been this season, but we can certainly be satisfied with the progress we’ve made.
“From the mechanics with our pit stops, our strategy, the whole team’s work ethic – so many things are working well, it’s just we need a slightly better car, that’s all.”
Max Verstappen won Sunday’s season finale in Abu Dhabi to claim a record-extending 15th victory of the campaign, having previously wrapped up his second successive title; 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg: “He’s already one of the best of all-time and I think, he’s only getting started.”
Last Updated: 21/11/22 9:42pm
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Nico Rosberg believes Max Verstappen has already proved himself to be one of the best drivers of all time following his sensational second title-winning season
Nico Rosberg believes Max Verstappen has already proved himself to be one of the best drivers of all time following his sensational second title-winning season
Max Verstappen has already established himself as one of Formula 1’s “best of all time” after delivering “one of the greatest driving seasons ever seen”, according to former world champion Nico Rosberg.
Verstappen won Sunday’s season finale in Abu Dhabi to claim a record-extending 15th victory of the campaign, having previously wrapped up his second successive title with four races to spare.
The 25-year-old Dutchman’s dominant triumph came after a concerning start to the season, which saw Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc open up a 46-point lead as Verstappen retired from two of the first three races.
“He is an incredible driver,” 2016 world champion Rosberg told Sky Sports F1’s Any Driven Monday.
“I think it’s easy to say even now that’s he’s going to be one of the best of all time, if you look at the statistics he actually even is now.”
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Max Verstappen ends a dominant season with a record-extending 15th victory of the campaign!
Max Verstappen ends a dominant season with a record-extending 15th victory of the campaign!
Verstappen’s 2022 victories took his career tally to 35, moving him up to sixth on the sport’s all-time list, which is topped by Lewis Hamilton with 103.
“He’s a double world champion with all of the race wins that he has, more than (Fernando) Alonso,” Rosberg continued.
“He’s already one of the best of all time and I think, he’s only getting started.
“He’s going to confirm that in the next decade, certainly. His level of driving is phenomenal and it’s great to witness that.”
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Check out some of Max Verstappen’s highlights from a dominant 2022 season.
Check out some of Max Verstappen’s highlights from a dominant 2022 season.
Verstappen’s many victories came in all forms, with wins from seven different positions on the grid, including a memorable triumph from 14th at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Ferrari pushed Red Bull hard, particularly during the first half of the season, with Leclerc ending the year with nine pole positions to Verstappen’s seven.
However, reliability issues, strategic blunders and driver errors from the Italian team on race days were taken advantage of by the ruthless Verstappen, who hardly put a foot wrong all season.
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Max Verstappen reflects on his outstanding 15 wins this season, but says the ‘goal is to be better’.
Max Verstappen reflects on his outstanding 15 wins this season, but says the ‘goal is to be better’.
“We need to remember also, it’s not like from the get-go this year his car was miles quicker than everyone else’s,” Rosberg said.
“The Ferrari was the quickest car in the beginning of the season and still, he got this incredible 15 wins and really destroyed the opposition in that way.
“If you look at the points, he scored 146 more than anybody else, it’s unreal. It’s one of the greatest driving seasons we’ve ever seen certainly.”
Sergio Perez outpaced Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen to top final practice at the Yas Marina Circuit; Lewis Hamilton under investigation for failing to slow under red flag; watch Abu Dhabi GP Qualifying later on Saturday live at 2pm, with build-up from 1.15pm
Last Updated: 19/11/22 12:21pm
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Lewis Hamilton will be investigated after the FP3 session for allegedly failing to slow under the red flag
Lewis Hamilton will be investigated after the FP3 session for allegedly failing to slow under the red flag
Sergio Perez outpaced Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen to top final practice at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as Lewis Hamilton was left facing a stewards investigation for failing to slow under a red flag.
There was little surprise that constructors’ champions Red Bull remained a step ahead of their rivals at the Yas Marina Circuit, but Perez being 0.152s clear of world champion Verstappen with a 1:24.982 was certainly unexpected.
Mercedes were hoping overnight setup changes would help them close the gap to Red Bull after Verstappen had topped second practice on Friday, but Hamilton was more than two tenths back from Perez, with team-mate George Russell further back in fourth.
Hamilton faces a nervous wait – and likely meeting with the stewards – after the session, having come under investigation for failing to slow down after a failure on Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri triggered a red flag.
Replays suggested Hamilton may not have been aware of the red flag as he overtook McLaren’s Lando Norris, but the seven-time world champion could now face a grid penalty, which would harm his faint hopes of sealing a first victory of the campaign in the season finale.
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Sergio Perez finds the pace in FP3 and beats teammate Max Vertsappen by 0.152s at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Sergio Perez finds the pace in FP3 and beats teammate Max Vertsappen by 0.152s at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Norris, meanwhile, led a strong showing from McLaren to take fifth ahead of Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, with team-mate Daniel Ricciardo behind them in eighth.
While the session provides encouragement to Perez as he seeks to beat Leclerc to second in the drivers’ championship, the fact it was conducted in hot sunshine and daylight means it is not representative of the night-time conditions Qualifying and the race will be run in.
However, the fact that Red Bull looked equally – if not more – strong under the lights on Friday, is an ominous sign for their rivals.
Ferrari, whose team principal Mattia Binotto is facing continued speculation over his job security, appeared a step behind both Red Bull and Mercedes, with Leclerc heard complaining about his engine during the session.
The series will start in 2023 and F1 says it will be an ‘extra route’ for young women alongside W Series, the all-female championship that is aiming to return for a fourth season next year despite having its 2022 campaign shortened amid financial difficulties
Last Updated: 18/11/22 12:59pm
The new F1 Academy series will see younger female drivers run in the same chassis as Formula 4 (above)
Formula 1 has announced the launch of its own all-female driver category, the F1 Academy, which the sport hopes will eventually lead to a woman racer on the grid.
The series will start in 2023 and F1 say it will be an ‘extra route’ up the motorsport pyramid for young women alongside W Series, the similarly all-female championship that is aiming to return for a fourth season next year despite having its 2022 campaign shortened amid financial difficulties.
It is hoped the F1 Academy will quickly get a woman into Formula 3, and help Formula 2 and Formula 1 opportunities in the future.
The last female to race in F1 was Lella Lombardi back in 1976.
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Click2Drive Bristol Street motors racing driver Alice Powell says her team were disappointed on missing out on the Constructors Championship after the W Series was cut short, but is optimistic the series will return next year
Click2Drive Bristol Street motors racing driver Alice Powell says her team were disappointed on missing out on the Constructors Championship after the W Series was cut short, but is optimistic the series will return next year
“Everyone should have the opportunity to follow their dreams and achieve their potential and Formula 1 wants to ensure we are doing everything we can to create greater diversity and routes into this incredible sport,” said Formula 1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali.
“That is why I am delighted to announce the F1 Academy that will give young female drivers the best chance to fulfil their ambitions through a comprehensive programme that supports their racing careers and gives them everything they need to move into F3 and hopefully to F2 and then the pinnacle of Formula 1.
“The more opportunity there is the better and this is designed to provide another route for the drivers to succeed.”
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The F1 Academy will feature five teams, run by current F2 and F3 teams, with three cars each to make up a 15-car grid. The inaugural season will have 21 races, with seven three-race events, and is likely to include at least F1 race weekend.
Like W Series, all drivers will compete in the same Formula 4 chassis.
F1 say they will be providing funding of €150,000 (£130,000) for each car, which will need to be matched by drivers to enter. They say that is a ‘fraction of the usual costs to enter comparable series’, and the rest of the budget will be provided by the teams.
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Anthony Davidson believes W Series champion Jamie Chadwick has a very bright future in the sport after she claimed her third W Series title
Anthony Davidson believes W Series champion Jamie Chadwick has a very bright future in the sport after she claimed her third W Series title
The statement adds: ‘Formula 1 wants to ensure aspiring female drivers have the best opportunities to reach their potential with an important first step of getting into Formula 3 and progressing through the ranks.
‘The W Series continues to provide a great platform for drivers and the F1 Academy is intended to add an extra route for the next generation of young female drivers’.
The series will be headed up by Bruno Michel, who has ran F2 and F3, and he said: “I am very excited to launch this new category. Diversity is extremely important in motorsport, and with the F1 Academy we will prove that female drivers have what it takes to compete at high levels.
“I am absolutely convinced that if young women are given the same amount of experience as any other driver, they can successfully make their way through the pyramid. Our goal is to see female drivers on the F3 grid in the next two to three years, and for them to quickly challenge for points and podiums.
“The aim is to increase the field in the near future, because we hope that this category will inspire more young girls to compete in motorsport at the highest of levels.”
W Series welcome F1 Academy
CEO of W Series Catherine Bond Muir welcomed the announcement.
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“W Series created the first platform for women in motorsport which has inspired young girls all around the world since our inaugural season in 2019. It is fantastic to see this grow as a result of our pioneering work.
“W Series welcomes any initiative which shares our ambition to provide more opportunities for women in motorsport,” said Bond Muir.
“Our objective from the start has always been to increase the talent pool of women racing drivers, and the addition of the F1 Academy as a feeder to W Series and other series is a further step in inspiring the next generation to progress up the motorsport ladder.
“We are looking forward to finalising W Series’ plans for 2023 and beyond, providing exciting racing and entertaining our fans around the world.
“Our mission is still clear: to offer women racing drivers a platform to race globally at the pinnacle of women’s motorsport, and in doing so continue to spread our message further and wider.”
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Karun Chandhok analyses the clashes between Alpine drivers, Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon during the Sprint at the Sao Paulo GP.
Karun Chandhok analyses the clashes between Alpine drivers, Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon during the Sprint at the Sao Paulo GP.
Fernando Alonso suggested he was looking forward to his partnership with Alpine team-mate Esteban Ocon “finally” being over after the pair ruined each other’s races with a collision in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix Sprint.
Armed with a car that had shown strong pace throughout the weekend and in solid starting positions of sixth (Ocon) and seventh (Alonso), Alpine appeared well placed to strike a further blow against McLaren in the battle for fourth in the constructors’ championship.
However, the pair made contact twice on the first lap, and both cars suffered damage that would see Alonso finish 15th and Ocon 18th, with no points and poor starting positions for Sunday’s full-length race.
“(It’s) far from ideal when you touch on the first lap of the sprint race because it’s too short to come back,” Alonso said.
“On a positive side, the pace was very good today, close to the leaders actually. P15 we start tomorrow and if we have this pace. We can score points tomorrow.”
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Esteban Ocon says it’s unfortunate for the team that there was a clash between the Alpine drivers, while Fernando Alonso says ‘it’s one more race’ as teammates.
Esteban Ocon says it’s unfortunate for the team that there was a clash between the Alpine drivers, while Fernando Alonso says ‘it’s one more race’ as teammates.
Ocon forced Alonso off track as the Spaniard attempted an overtake around the outside of Turn 4 on the opening lap, which caused him to lose control as he drove over the kerb and suffer a snap that caused the pair to make minor contact.
That was somewhat of a reprieve, but the pair failed to learn their lesson. In the closing stages of the first lap, Alonso once more tried to initiate a pass at the start of the home straight, but apparent confusion saw them make contact once more, with the damage this time more significant, and ultimately causing both to finish outside the points.
The Alpine duo were called to see the stewards after the race, with Alonso ultimately adjudged to have been at fault for the second collision, as he was given a five-second time penalty that dropped him to 18th, and lifted Ocon to 17th.
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Check out the key moments from the Sao Paulo Grand Prix Sprint.
Check out the key moments from the Sao Paulo Grand Prix Sprint.
Speaking before that decision, Alonso, who is leaving Alpine to join Aston Martin at the end of the season, was critical of his team-mate, as he made reference to earlier incidents in the season.
Asked whether he had spoken to Ocon, Alonso said: “No, not really.”
“I don’t need to. It’s one more race and then it’s over finally.
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“It was very close to the wall in Jeddah, close to the wall in Budapest, today in Turn 4, now here.
“It’s the way these things are. Sometimes it’s very competitive inside the team.”
Ocon: Alonso will be calm for the race
Ocon, also speaking before the stewards’ ruling, played down the incidents, insisting Alonso would have calmed down in time for Sunday’s race, if the Spaniard hadn’t already.
“It was unfortunate for the team really what happened,” Ocon said. “We were in such a good position and we are now at the back with a lot of work to do tomorrow.
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A dramatic first lap sees Kevin Magnussen hold onto the lead of the Sprint race at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
A dramatic first lap sees Kevin Magnussen hold onto the lead of the Sprint race at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
“So, it is going to be important to work together tomorrow to come back through the field.
“It is unfortunate what happened on lap one. I was trying to attack the McLaren, I took my line into Turn 4 and Fernando came out of nowhere on the outside and we touched.
“From there on, my race was pretty much over.
“I am quite calm. If he isn’t, he will be for tomorrow.”
Alpine condemn ‘unacceptable’ online abuse
Later on Saturday evening, Alpine released a statement condemning the online reaction to the incidents between their drivers.
“Whatever happens on track, there is absolutely no excuse for hateful comments, abuse or toxicity to be directed towards our drivers, team members, fans or indeed anybody online,” the statement said.
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“Of all of the comments that we received across our social media channels during and after today’s Sprint qualifying, we received 882 toxic comments, 162 of which were severely toxic. This is wholly unacceptable.
“What we have seen today is, unfortunately, not an isolated incident. We continue to see hate and discrimination online, and as a team, will not tolerate this.
“We will take action against individuals or groups who produce or disseminate social media posts that contain or encourage online abuse of our drivers, team members, and fans.”
Vettel understanding after Stroll’s ‘naughty’ manoeuvre
Alonso and Ocon weren’t the only team-mates to clash during Saturday’s Sprint, with Aston Martin duo Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll also hampering each other.
Vettel, who appeared to be the faster of the Aston Martins, was challenging Stroll for 11th on lap nine when the Canadian forced him onto the grass in the run to Turn 4.
Vettel, who is retiring from F1 at the end of the season, was fortunate to retain control of his car and return to the track, which he did before easing past Stroll soon after.
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Lance Stroll forces his Aston Martin teammate Sebastian Vettel onto the grass at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix Sprint race.
Lance Stroll forces his Aston Martin teammate Sebastian Vettel onto the grass at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix Sprint race.
“That was naughty driving there from Lance Stroll, that was too much, way too much,” Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle said on commentary at the time.
The stewards agreed, handing Stroll a 10-second time penalty, which would relegate him from 12th to 17th in the final standings, and giving him three penalty points on his licence for dangerous driving.
Despite the stewards clearly ruling in his favour, Vettel, who ultimately finished a place outside the points in ninth, offered a measured assessment of the incident.
“It’s obviously split seconds,” he said. “I went to the inside and the gap closed and it was really tight and I went off the track, which was difficult to recover from, I was sort of stuck sitting on the plank but fortunately I got back.
“After that we were able to work together, and I was able to use the pace I had in the car.
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Sky F1’s Ted Kravitz reflects on an exciting Sprint at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Sky F1’s Ted Kravitz reflects on an exciting Sprint at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
“It’s a fine line. You’re fighting for your spot. Obviously, it’s important to defend, on the other hand, it’s always trying to weigh up whether you are losing more than you’re gaining (by battling).
“Plus we are obviously trying to work together, so I think today in the end we could have done better, both of us, to try to get a better positioning for the team.”
The three penalty points given to Stroll takes his current tally to eight, which is only four short of the 12-point limit that would see him incur a one-race ban.
Speaking before the penalty point ruling, the Canadian only offered a limited response when quizzed about the incident.
“I have to look at it again I haven’t really seen the video,” he said. “So probably I didn’t leave enough space.”
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Pierre Gasly says being on the brink of being given a one-race ban from F1 is ‘unpleasant’ and ’embarrassing’ for him
Pierre Gasly says being on the brink of being given a one-race ban from F1 is ‘unpleasant’ and ’embarrassing’ for him
Pierre Gasly has urged the FIA to change regulations that have left him on the brink of receiving a race ban for breaching Formula 1’s penalty point limit.
Gasly reached 10 penalty points for the season at the Mexico City Grand Prix, leaving the AlphaTauri driver just two short of the 12-point limit, which triggers a one-race ban if reached.
Penalty points do not drop off a driver’s licence until a year after they were given, meaning that this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix is the first of nine races – spanning across this season and next – that Gasly will have the possibility of the ban hanging over him.
The Frenchman, who will move to Alpine at the end of the season, is adamant the offences he has committed are not significant enough to merit the very rare implementation of a race ban.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s a very unpleasant situation and quite delicate, in some ways a bit embarrassing to be standing in a position where I could be banned for a race after the season that I’ve done,” Gasly said on Thursday in Brazil.
“I don’t really feel like I’ve been particularly dangerous over these last 12 months and that would definitely be a harsh penalty.”
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Gasly reached 10 penalty points after this incident with Lance Stroll at the Mexico City GP
Gasly reached 10 penalty points after this incident with Lance Stroll at the Mexico City GP
Otmar Szafnauer, who will be Gasly’s boss next season, has joked that his incoming driver should commit a “tactical foul” in Brazil to ensure he serves the penalty with AlphaTauri, but the Alpine team principal more seriously suggested the possibility of the Frenchman attending a class that would result in points being cleared.
Gasly is adamant that he shouldn’t have to miss a race for either his current or future team.
“(There’s) definitely a lot of discussion with the FIA trying to find a solution because personally I want to do all of the races,” he said. “I want to finish the season in the best way I can with AlphaTauri. I want to do all of the races in 2023 and get the chance to perform for Alpine.
“Obviously, there’s a lot at stake because no-one knows what’s going to happen in 2023, I could end up in an amazing car fighting for the championship for example. I can’t take the risk to then lose all my hopes for the championship. So, it’s a very tricky situation.
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Stroll spun his Aston Martin after making contact with AlphaTauri’s Gasly at the Spanish GP
Stroll spun his Aston Martin after making contact with AlphaTauri’s Gasly at the Spanish GP
“I’ve been discussing it quite a lot with the FIA to try and find solutions because the way the regulation is written at the moment, it’s quite strict on the drivers and quite harsh penalties even though it’s not always related to dangerous driving.”
“We’re going to have more conversations today and I do hope we can find solutions out of the weekend to avoid ending up in a silly situation where I’ll be banned for a race. That would be terrible for myself and definitely not the way that I’ve seen the sport growing up, I don’t think that’s the correct approach.”
How did Gasly incur penalty points?
Gasly’s most notable offences in amassing his 10 penalty points have been for causing collisions, the first of which was with Lance Stroll in Spain in May.
Another collision, this time with Stroll’s Aston Martin team-mate Sebastian Vettel, followed in Austria in July, with each incident resulting in a two-point penalty. Gasly incurred a further one-point penalty for exceeding track limits in Austria.
He was then involved in a major controversy at the Japanese GP in October as he was penalised for going too fast under a red flag, with the incident occurring while a recovery vehicle had been prematurely sent on track in wet conditions.
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Gasly slams what he describes as the ‘unnecessary’ use of a recovery crane on track at the Japanese GP saying it was disrespectful to the memory of Jules Bianchi
Gasly slams what he describes as the ‘unnecessary’ use of a recovery crane on track at the Japanese GP saying it was disrespectful to the memory of Jules Bianchi
Gasly would later say that he had feared for his life because of the presence of the vehicle, but was criticised by the FIA in a review of the race.
Another two-point penalty followed at the United States Grand Prix after Gasly failed to stay within 10 lengths of the car in front under Safety Car conditions.
The Frenchman then reached 10 penalty points at the Mexico City GP following another incident with Stroll, in which he was adjudged to have forced the Aston Martin off track.
What do the other drivers think?
Mercedes driver George Russell, who is president of the Grand Prix Drivers Association, was one of several drivers to speak out in Gasly’s defence on Thursday.
George Russell, Mercedes
I think the penalty doesn’t fit the crime, let’s say, especially in Pierre’s case. I think he’s got some for safety car infringements, or incidents in practice sessions. If anything were to result in a race ban, it needs to truly be for something pretty reckless and dangerous.
I personally don’t associate Pierre being a reckless or dangerous driver. It’s actually something we spoke about earlier in the year around Barcelona after some drivers picked up penalty points for a nothing of an incident.
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I hope he gets away with not getting a race ban because he certainly doesn’t deserve one. And if somehow he does manage to get 12 penalty points, there needs to be some exemption because the rules aren’t in the right place at the moment in that regard.
Definitely they (the FIA) have expressed to us that they’re going to have a conversation in the off-season and review all of this.
I think in sport you need to be able to adapt. You do have these regulations in place, and it only takes one incident to recognise maybe that regulation isn’t quite right and we need to have the capability to change things or take penalty points afterwards if we all agree that it was incorrect.
Alex Albon, Williams
I’m quite high up there as well (in terms of penalty points). I completely agree with Pierre.
Just to give some context to it, I think I have three points on my licence down to track limits, which is something that’s not dangerous at all, I’m not harming any other driver or myself in that situation.
I think I’ve got another two points in relation to a collision with Lance Stroll in Jeddah which at the end of race, as drivers we deemed that it wasn’t my fault. So, there are a lot of points on my licence which I don’t think are deserved.
We are discussing about it; I think there is going to be a change.
Firstly, we’ve already got the points on our licence so what happens then? Even if we do make steps forwards into next year, do the points that we’ve got from previous years and races stay on?
We do need to do something about it, I don’t think any of us are dangerous drivers. I do understand of course you should punish drivers if they do dangerous things, but I don’t think the points everyone has right now are because of dangerous things.
Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
I think there’s already been discussions. I think it’s better to keep it internal, but my understanding is that some changes will be made for the future.
For sure, some of the things these guys have been getting the points for are not dangerous at all. They (points) should only be given when they’re really dangerous and (in situations) that can be harmful to somebody else on track.
I think we will see progress being made but I don’t think Pierre deserves to be in that kind of situation on the edge. That’s the rule now but the main thing is how we act in the future.
Sergio Perez, Red Bull
I feel like there are things that are not even related to his driving and we get points for that. When it’s not related to bad driving or mistakes, there shouldn’t be a penalty. It will be really bad if he ends up losing a race for that.
Lewis Hamilton posted a photo on social media on Saturday in an apparent cryptic response to comments from Fernando Alonso; the Spaniard was reported to have told Dutch media that he believes Max Verstappen’s F1 titles are “worth more” than Hamilton’s
Last Updated: 30/10/22 7:44am
Lewis Hamilton posted a cryptic response on social media following a report that claimed Fernando Alonso had said Max Verstappen’s championships were worth more than the Brit’s.
The Spanish driver, formerly Hamilton’s team-mate at McLaren, was quoted in the Dutch newspaper, De Telegraaf, as saying Verstappen’s titles were of greater value due to the more competitive nature of the seasons in which the Dutchman triumphed.
Verstappen recently sealed his second successive drivers’ championship with four races to spare, after edging out seven-time champion Hamilton last season in controversial circumstances after a titanic battle to claim his maiden title.
Following the release of the report on Saturday, two-time world champion Alonso took to social media to bemoan “the continuous search for headlines”, adding all titles were “amazing”.
However, Hamilton, appearing to respond to the report, later posted an image from his 2007 season alongside Alonso at McLaren, which showed the Brit stood on top of a podium with the Spaniard below him, accompanied by a thumbs up emoji.
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Alonso was reported to have said: “Max’s titles are worth more than Hamilton’s.
“I have a lot of respect for Lewis but it’s different when you win seven world championships having only had to fight against your team-mate.”
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After a confusing finish, Johnny Herbert is the person to reveal to Max Verstappen that he has become 2022 F1 drivers’ world champion
After a confusing finish, Johnny Herbert is the person to reveal to Max Verstappen that he has become 2022 F1 drivers’ world champion
Alonso hit back at the report, writing on Twitter “Please, all the titles are amazing, well deserved and inspiring. Incomparable to each other and let’s enjoy champions and legends of our current time.
“Tired of the continuous search for headlines. Let’s enjoy them”.
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The incident marks the second time in two months that tensions have flared between the former team-mates.
The pair posed with a signed Hamilton cap, gifted to Alonso, following insulting comments made by the Spaniard on team radio when the pair collided in a frantic first-lap incident in Belgium.
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Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz holds the lead in the first lap as Lewis Hamilton suffers a collision with Fernando Alonso and is out of the race at the Belgian Grand Prix
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz holds the lead in the first lap as Lewis Hamilton suffers a collision with Fernando Alonso and is out of the race at the Belgian Grand Prix
Fernando Alonso has set the record straight regarding his opinion on Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s titles’ value
Watch the Mexico City Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 at 8pm, with build up from 6:30pm on Sunday.
