The race started on a wet track, after a 28-minute delay because of the poor conditions. Piastri made a better launch than Antonelli, and was alongside the Mercedes on the approach to the first corner, the position already won. Antonelli claimed Piastri had pushed him off, but in fact ran wide off track on his...
Norris, who won the season-opening race in Australia, said: “There are just certain things that don’t allow me to feel what I need to feel and those things are what allow me to drive to the level I can drive at, to get pole positions and drive at the highest level in racing. “We’re talking...
Why do the regulations change just when the field is beginning to close up in competitiveness? The new regs for 2026 seem like a lottery for teams who either nail or fail them, leading to a dominant team and those lagging behind. Stable regs = competitive racing. – Matt F1 has always changed its regulations...
Will Max Verstappen modify his driving as a result of the decision to give him a five-second penalty in Saudi Arabia? – Kate Max Verstappen was given a five-second penalty in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix because the stewards adjudged him to have gained an advantage by leaving the track while contesting the lead with...
McLaren showed extremely strong race pace during the practice sessions in Jeddah but Norris said he was “going to need a bit of luck” in the grand prix. He said that to “get close” to Verstappen, Piastri and Norris was “not very realistic”. “It’s almost impossible to overtake around here, so I’m not expecting anything...
Norris’ crash interrupted the first runs of all his rivals in Q3 apart from Piastri, who laid down a marker just before his team-mate lost control over the kerb at Turn Five and slid sideways into the wall. When the session resumed, Verstappen went out on his semi-used tyres and took over top spot in...
Norris has admitted to not being comfortable with the new McLaren car since the start of the season, despite leading the championship by three points from Piastri coming into the fifth race of the season. He said he had been concentrating on gaining confidence in the car on the high-speed Jeddah street track. Norris said:...
He added his approach to the high-speed nature of the Jeddah circuit will change slightly, partly because he is struggling to replicate the same form in the car that saw him finish second in the title race to Max Verstappen in 2024. “It is clear that there are things… things that have changed since last...
Combining consistent speed with the mental solidity and racing decisiveness he has always shown makes Piastri a formidable rival who, psychologically at least, will be a tough nut to crack. As McLaren team principal Andrea Stella put it in Bahrain: “There’s no noise in Oscar’s head, which is a very useful characteristic in Formula 1,...
Lando Norris said he felt “clueless” and “like I have never driven a Formula 1 car before” after qualifying sixth for the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Briton’s McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri took pole position, while Norris was 0.426 seconds slower than the Australian. Norris said: “No big complaints. The car’s amazing. The car’s as good...
Verstappen led the two McLarens for the entire first stint, the three lapping closely together. There may be questions as to why McLaren pitted Piastri first, when it might have made sense to attack Verstappen with Norris with an earlier pit stop. Verstappen and Norris stopped on the same lap, one later than Piastri, and...
Norris, who twice ran wide at the tricky Degner Two corner, headed Piastri by just 0.026 seconds as the fight between the two McLaren drivers remained close and intense. Mercedes driver George Russell was third, 0.112secs off the pace, and ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton. Leclerc was...
Tsunoda had a few edgy moments as he familiarised himself with his new car. He ran on to the kerb at Degner One, twice had an oversteer moment at the hairpin, and then a big wobble out of the final chicane. But he kept the car on track and displayed a mature approach in the...
McLaren’s Lando Norris set the pace from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in Friday practice at the Chinese Grand Prix. Norris was 0.454 seconds quicker than Leclerc with a lap right at the end of the only session before sprint qualifying later on Friday. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was third fastest despite running wide into the gravel at...