Formula 1

Three-time Formula 1 world champion Nelson Piquet has been ordered to pay five million Brazilian Reals (£780,000) for making racist and homophobic comments about Lewis Hamilton. The 70-year-old Brazilian used a racially offensive term in referring to Hamilton in an interview in 2021. Hamilton called for “archaic mindsets” to change after the footage surfaced. Piquet

Chloe Grant is targeting Formula 1 after joining a new all-female programme – even though she cannot yet legally drive on UK roads. The 17-year-old will be part of the F1 Academy series and will partner Lena Buhler and Carrie Schreiner with French team ART Grand Prix. But first, she will start her driving lessons

Technical director James Key has left McLaren after a difficult couple of seasons and been replaced by a new design-office structure at the team. Key’s role has been split into three separate technical director positions under team principal Andrea Stella. David Sanchez joins from Ferrari to lead car concept and performance. He is joined by

Fernando Alonso has been reinstated to third place in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after stewards overturned their earlier decision to demote him. The Aston Martin driver had been dropped to fourth after it was ruled his team had worked on the car while he was serving a five-second penalty. But his team successfully argued

Sergio Perez held off team-mate Max Verstappen to take a Red Bull one-two in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Verstappen fought up from 15th on the grid to fourth place before a safety car closed up the field and brought him into contention for victory. But after passing Mercedes’ George Russell and Aston Martin’s Fernando

Lewis Hamilton says he is “at a bit of a loss” with this year’s Mercedes car. The seven-time champion qualified eighth fastest at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, four places and 0.366 seconds behind team-mate George Russell. Hamilton said: “George did a great job and is right up there on the second row. The car

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez took pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after team-mate Max Verstappen suffered a power problem. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso will line up second on the grid because Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who qualified second, has a 10-place grid penalty for engine usage. Verstappen’s driveshaft failed in the second session and

Lewis Hamilton will have to consider leaving Mercedes if they cannot deliver a competitive car “in the next couple of years”, his team boss says. Toto Wolff said he was “absolutely confident” Hamilton would sign a new contract at Mercedes this year. But he added: “Nevertheless, if he wants to win another championship, he needs

Carlos Sainz says his Ferrari team are in a “bad situation” at the start of the Formula 1 season. Ferrari lagged behind Red Bull at the season-opening race in Bahrain. Sainz’s team-mate Charles Leclerc starts this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with a 10-place grid penalty because of reliability problems. He said the start to

Lewis Hamilton and a number of fellow Formula 1 drivers have made it clear they are uncomfortable about being back in Saudi Arabia. Last year’s race was dominated by a missile strike by Yemeni rebels against an oil refinery close to the track, after which drivers had misgivings about racing. On Thursday’s media day, Hamilton

Follow live text and radio commentary of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah from 17-19 March. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen started the new season as he ended the last, with a dominant victory at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. Sergio Perez made it a Red Bull one-two, ahead of

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will receive a grid penalty at this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He will have at least a 10-place drop as a result of his retirement from the season-opening race in Bahrain. Team principal Frederic Vasseur said on Wednesday that Leclerc’s car had two problems with the electronics control unit (ECU) on

The Austrian Grand Prix will be on the Formula 1 calendar until at least 2027 after circuit owners Red Bull signed a new four-year contract with the sport. Austria is one of a core of historic European circuits that have become fixtures on the calendar as F1 seeks to expand globally. This year, it will

Former Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button will race in three Nascar Cup Series meetings this year. The 43-year-old Briton, who won the 2009 title, will make his debut in the stock car series in Texas on 26 March. Button will also take part in the inaugural Chicago Street Race on 2 July and compete

Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes “didn’t listen” to him over the development of their 2023 Formula 1 car. “Last year, there were things I told them. I said the issues that are with the car,” said the 38-year-old Briton. “I’ve driven so many cars in my life. I know what a car needs. I know what

Lance Stroll raced in the Bahrain Grand Prix just 12 days after receiving medical treatment for fractures in his hands, wrist and foot. Stroll, 24, revealed the extent of his injuries in an Instagram post. The Aston Martin driver had “a fracture and displacement in my right wrist, a fracture in my left wrist, a

In the third part of BBC Sport Africa’s series examining the history of South African Grand Prix racing, Ben Sutherland looks at how one team changed the look of F1 racing. The lights are out and the 2023 F1 season is under way, with new cars bedecked, as ever, with bright sponsor logos to catch

Mercedes’ George Russell says Red Bull are already unbeatable this year as his team considers what to do to close their huge deficit to the front. Max Verstappen dominated the Bahrain Grand Prix while Lewis Hamilton finished as the best Mercedes in fifth. Russell, who was seventh, said: “They have this championship sewn up. I