Formula 1

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

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen started the new season as he ended the last, with a dominant victory in the Middle East. The two-time champion led the Bahrain Grand Prix almost from start to finish, initially lapping at a pace beyond his rivals and then controlling the race. The drive, Verstappen’s 36th victory, underlined his status

Fernando Alonso says qualifying fifth ahead of both Mercedes cars in his first race for Aston Martin felt “too good to be true”. The Spaniard will start the Bahrain Grand Prix behind only the Red Bulls and Ferraris driving for a team that finished seventh in the 2022 standings. Alonso said: “It was amazing. It

Max Verstappen led a Red Bull one-two as he took pole position for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. The Dutchman beat team-mate Sergio Perez by 0.138 seconds, with the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz locking out the second row. Fernando Alonso made an impressive start to his time at Aston Martin with fifth

New Williams Formula 1 boss James Vowles says the task of leading the team back to the front is even tougher than he expected it to be. Vowles faces his first race in charge of William in Bahrain this weekend, after joining from Mercedes. Two weeks into his new role, Vowles said the job in

Lewis Hamilton says that Mercedes are “on the wrong track” with their new car at the start of the 2023 season. The seven-time world champion was eighth in Friday practice, 0.636 seconds slower than the pace-setting Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso. Hamilton said: “We found out we are a long way off. We kind of

Fernando Alonso has rejected the idea that he could start the Bahrain Grand Prix from pole position despite setting the pace in Friday practice. The Aston Martin driver was 0.169 seconds quicker than world champion Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, whose team-mate Sergio Perez was third fastest. Alonso said: “I am not thinking that high. I