Formula 1

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen pipped Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to fastest practice time at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix before qualifying on Friday. Verstappen was 0.037 seconds ahead, with his team-mate Sergio Perez third and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz fourth. Lando Norris was fifth for McLaren as the team introduce a major car upgrade. Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc insists he has not held talks with Mercedes – but fuelled claims of a potential move by adding “not yet” to his denial. The 25-year-old is under contract to Ferrari until the end of 2024. Asked whether he had had any conversations with Mercedes, he said: “No, there have not been any

Max Verstappen says he enjoys racing and winning and the money that comes from it – but could still end up asking himself whether Formula 1 “is actually a good life”. The Red Bull driver’s concerns stem from the ever-expanding schedule and F1’s trials of different formats, such as the revised ‘sprint’ in Baku this

Max Verstappen says the new sprint-race format will make the Azerbaijan Grand Prix “a little more chaotic”. The Red Bull driver said: “This track is normally quite chaotic and this will only make it more chaotic.” Fernando Alonso said it was “more challenging and stressful”. And Lewis Hamilton feels it is “the most exciting weekend

Franz Tost will be replaced at the end of this season as team principal of Red Bull’s Alpha Tauri team by Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies. Peter Bayer, previously F1 executive director and secretary general for motorsport at governing body the FIA, will become the team’s chief executive. Alpha Tauri said the changes were “aimed

The streets of Baku often throw up a chaotic grand prix. The track has hosted six grands prix – and a different driver has won every time. As we prepare for this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, can you name the victors. You’ve got two minutes. Can you name the drivers who have won the Azerbaijan

The FIA says “due process was followed” in the departure of a former employee after sexism allegations emerged against its president. Shaila-Ann Rao wrote a letter accusing president Mohammed Ben Sulayem of sexist behaviour before her departure last December, the Telegraph reported. Rao was the FIA’s former interim secretary general for motorsport, who left after

Formula 1 is to introduce a new format for ‘sprint’ races, starting at this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The ‘sprint’ – a shorter race held on Saturday – has been made independent of the grand prix and will have its own qualifying session, known as the ‘sprint shootout’. Qualifying to set the grid for the

The editor of a German magazine that published an artificial intelligence-generated ‘interview’ with Michael Schumacher has been sacked. The magazine’s publisher has apologised to the Formula 1 legend’s family. Schumacher, a seven-time world champion, suffered severe head injuries in a skiing accident in December 2013 and has not been seen in public since. Die Aktuelle

James Allison has returned as Mercedes technical director in a major reorganisation following the team’s disappointing start to the season. The 55-year-old swaps roles with Mike Elliott. Elliott assumes the position of chief technical officer, to which Allison was appointed in a 2021 reshuffle. The changes come a month after Mercedes started a season in

Michael Schumacher’s family are planning legal action against a magazine which published an artificial intelligence-generated ‘interview’ with the former Formula 1 driver. Schumacher, a seven-time F1 champion, suffered severe head injuries in a skiing accident in December 2013 and has not been seen in public since. Die Aktuelle ran a picture of a smiling Schumacher,

Ferrari’s attempt to overturn Carlos Sainz’s penalty at the Australian Grand Prix has been rejected. The race stewards reconvened on Tuesday to hear Ferrari’s petition for a right of review of the penalty, which dropped Sainz from fourth place to 12th. They decided that “no significant and relevant new element” had been presented by Ferrari,

Ferrari’s request for a review of the penalty imposed on Carlos Sainz at the end of the Australian Grand Prix will be heard on 18 April. The Spaniard’s five-second penalty for colliding with Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin dropped him from fourth to 12th. The hearing will first assess whether there is significant, new and relevant

Charles Leclerc has asked fans to respect his privacy and stop turning up outside his Monaco apartment. The 25-year-old said his address has recently become public, leading to fans gathering outside and ringing the bell. The Ferrari driver said he would still greet fans in public places or at the track, but gathering at his

Ferrari say Red Bull’s strong start to the season is partly due to their being given a “very light” punishment for breaking Formula 1’s budget cap. Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur says that Red Bull have done a “very good job” but the penalty they were given last October was “very low”. Red Bull were

Fernando Alonso’s contribution to Aston Martin’s leap to the podium in Formula 1 this season is “something we must not underestimate”, says team principal Mike Krack. Alonso has taken three podiums in three races at the start of 2023 to put Aston Martin, who finished seventh last year, second in the constructors’ championship behind Red

Australian Grand Prix organisers have promised to investigate after fans invaded the track before Sunday’s race had officially finished. Footage showed a “large group” of the 131,000-strong crowd squeezing through barriers and climbing fences just metres from speeding cars. Some reached the stranded Haas of Nico Hulkenberg on the exit of turn two. The sport’s

MercedesAMG F1 By James Burridge and Laurence Cawley BBC News, East When Formula 1 looked at its workforce six years ago, just 28% of those employed were women. Today that figure stands at more than 30%. This shift is something Rosie Wait, head of race strategy at Northamptonshire-based Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1, has seen first hand.