Gymnast Simone Biles won her third Laureus Sportswoman of the Year award while Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton and footballer Lionel Messi shared the men’s title. American Biles, 22, won five gold medals in Stuttgart last year to become the most decorated athlete at the World Championships. Briton Hamilton, 35, won his sixth drivers’ title.
Formula 1
Williams have begun their 2020 season with a recognition of the long haul they face before the team can return to competitiveness. Williams finished adrift of the field in 2019, their worst ever season, with a car nearly 1.5 seconds slower than the next slowest on the grid. Deputy team boss Claire Williams said 2020
The cars have been launched and testing is under way. Can Mercedes be stopped or will it be business as usual for world champion Lewis Hamilton? What do you want to know about the new F1 season? Send us your questions and our chief F1 writer Andrew Benson will answer some of the best ones.
Red Bull’s junior team has been rebranded as Alpha Tauri for 2020. The former Toro Rosso team is now being used to promote a new clothing line produced by the drinks giant. Team boss Franz Tost said the outfit was targeting a place in the top five of the constructors’ championship. Last year they were
Lewis Hamilton says he and Mercedes are as motivated as ever this year to continue their success. Mercedes’ new car is having its first run at a private test at Silverstone on Friday. Hamilton’s Finnish team-mate Valtteri Bottas will drive the car in the morning before the Briton, 35, takes over in the afternoon. “It
McLaren have unveiled their new car with the ambition of continuing the progress they showed last year. In 2019, they were the fastest team behind Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull and finished fourth, two places better than in 2018. Team boss Andreas Seidl said: “It is important to keep the positive momentum up and move
Former F1 driver Robert Kubica will race in the DTM German Touring Car Championship for BMW this year. The Pole, 35, returned to Formula 1 last year with Williams, eight years after a horrific rally accident left him with only partial movement in his right arm. Kubica will race a BMW M4 in the DTM
The Vietnam Grand Prix is expected to go ahead on 5 April despite concerns over the coronavirus, says Formula 1’s managing director Ross Brawn. Vietnam’s inaugural race is being held in Hanoi, 100 miles from the border with China, the centre of the outbreak. The Chinese GP, which was scheduled for 19 April, was postponed
Renault need to “regain confidence” this season after a tough 2019, their Formula 1 boss Cyril Abiteboul says. They fell from fourth to fifth in the world championship last season, which led to a significant staff reshuffle and their technical director’s exit. “Taking back fourth position in the constructors’ championship remains the objective,” Abiteboul said.
Max Verstappen described his first experience of Red Bull’s 2020 Formula 1 car as “very positive” after it ran at Silverstone on Wednesday. Red Bull conducted a private test limited to no more than 100km to shake down the new RB15 before the start of pre-season testing in Spain next week. “It is important to
Lewis Hamilton says he feels “physically and mentally on another level this year” after a successful pre-season training programme. The six-time world champion’s comments came in an online message to fans before the debut of his new Mercedes later this week. Hamilton, 35, is aiming to win a seventh world title this season. He said
The Chinese Grand Prix is expected to be postponed as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. The race is scheduled to be held in Shanghai on 19 April and a decision is set to be made in the next few days. Formula 1 managing director Ross Brawn has previously said it will look to reschedule
The sun shone on Ferrari for the launch of their new car. Literally. It was a glorious day in Emilia Romagna, the thermometer nudging 20C, brilliant blue skies, the snow glinting on the Apennine peaks. As the fading light cast a golden hue on the terracotta buildings of Reggio Emilia, Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and
Ferrari have unveiled a 2020 Formula 1 car that team boss Mattia Binotto says takes design to the “extreme” as they seek to challenge for the title. The Italian team struggled last year, winning only three races as Mercedes dominated, but Binotto hopes they can take a step forward this season. He said: “It may
Media playback is not supported on this device Britain’s richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe says he has no plans to invest in a Premier League team and believes he has “enough on his plate” with his existing sports portfolio, which expanded today into Formula 1. The billionaire’s petrochemicals firm Ineos has signed a five-year partnership
Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff says that Lewis Hamilton staying with the team beyond the end of this season is “the obvious pairing”. The six-time world champion’s contract runs out at the end of 2020 and he has so far made no decisions on his future. Wolff said: “We would like to have the
The death of Anthoine Hubert at last year’s Belgian Grand Prix had no single cause and no-one was to blame, the official report says. Hubert was killed in a multi-car accident at the start of the Formula 2 race at Spa-Francorchamps on 31 August. The report by governing body the FIA says Hubert was killed
US-based Haas have become the first Formula 1 team to release images of their new car for the 2020 season. Haas’ traditional grey, white and red livery returns after last year’s public falling-out with a title sponsor. And the team hope it can lead to a revival after dropping to ninth in the constructors’ championship