The winners and losers from F1's 2025 Imola GP
While fans of old school venues may have wanted to see Imola stay on the calendar, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix hasn't always delivered since its modern F1 return. But Pirelli's move towards softer compounds, as well as a race impacted by two neutralisations, gave us the strategic variance we craved for so long at F1’s Imola GP.
The reigning world champion struck again with a brilliant lap ...Keep reading
Sun, 18 May 2025 19:42:12 +0000
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Frustrated Charles Leclerc “cannot accept” the situation at Ferrari
Charles Leclerc expressed his disappointment after struggling to a sixth-place finish in the F1 Imola GP, saying he cannot accept the position he currently finds himself in at Ferrari.
Leclerc was eliminated in Q2 on Saturday and although he recovered to finish inside the points, he was left dejected with the weekend’s performance.
The Monegasque currently finds himself 85 points ...Keep reading
Sun, 18 May 2025 18:44:22 +0000
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“Win it or bin it”: How Max Verstappen won Red Bull’s 400th race in F1
Red Bull boss Christian Horner hailed Max Verstappen’s sensational opening lap overtake on polesitter Oscar Piastri as a turning point for the team. The move, which he labelled a “win it or bin it” manoeuvre, secured the lead for Verstappen and paved the way for Red Bull to win its 400th race in Formula 1.
Verstappen swooped past Piastri around Tamburello to power into the lead, where ...Keep reading
Sun, 18 May 2025 18:20:56 +0000
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George Russell blasts Mercedes as being “dead slow” after wilting in Imola disappointment
George Russell delivered a damning assessment of his Mercedes team’s performance in the F1 Imola Grand Prix - saying they were "dead slow" and lucky to finish as high as they did.
Russell came home in seventh place while his team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli retired from the race, as the team battled against rising temperatures.
Russell says the heat is causing him and Mercedes a headache as ...Keep reading
Sun, 18 May 2025 17:21:00 +0000
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Lewis Hamilton's relief after positive F1 Imola GP result
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton said the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was the first time he felt at one with his Ferrari Formula 1 car since his China sprint win.
Hamilton's shock pole-to-flag victory in Shanghai proved to be an outlier in what has otherwise been a difficult campaign that has not brought the results he was hoping to achieve on his fresh start in a new ...Keep reading
Sun, 18 May 2025 17:06:28 +0000
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Kimi Antonelli suffers heartbreak on F1 Imola GP debut
Andrea Kimi Antonelli was forced to retire from his first F1 race around his home circuit after his Mercedes had a throttle failure.
The Italian pulled to he side on lap 46 when he was running in eighth place, having made up from 13th on the grid.
Antonelli, who has otherwise impressed this season, also admitted he was overcome by the occasion of competing in his home race for the first time ...Keep reading
Sun, 18 May 2025 16:43:19 +0000
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Lando Norris admits McLaren had no answer for Max Verstappen’s speed in Imola GP
Lando Norris climbed from fourth to second in Formula 1’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, but admitted that the leading Red Bull of Max Verstappen was simply too “fast” around the Imola GP circuit.
McLaren won five of the last six races, but conceded defeat to the Red Bull of Verstappen after the Dutchman took the lead of the race in the opening lap. Despite a late charge from Norris after ...Keep reading
Sun, 18 May 2025 16:21:55 +0000
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F1 Imola GP: Five quick takeaways
Red Bull still has fire – at least in Max Verstappen’s hands
After the Miami GP, Helmut Marko called the gap to McLaren “depressing.” But just two weeks later, Red Bull showed it is still very much a force in this F1 season – well, at least one Red Bull. Max Verstappen once again demonstrated his brilliance in the RB21 and this time, it wasn’t a surprise pole lap, but a decisive ...Keep reading
Sun, 18 May 2025 14:54:20 +0000
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F1 Imola GP: Max Verstappen and Red Bull outfox McLaren for victory
Red Bull's Max Verstappen has won Imola's Emilia Romagna Grand prix, interrupting a McLaren victory run by brilliantly snatching the lead at the start.
Lando Norris was second after passing polesitter Oscar Piastri late on, with two safety car situations mixing up the order.
From second on the grid Verstappen attacked Piastri into the first braking zone of Tamburello, going late on the ...Keep reading
Sun, 18 May 2025 14:54:07 +0000
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Pirelli can't explain why its C6 tyre was so bad in Imola GP qualifying
Pirelli’s new C6 tyre made its maiden appearance as part of the race-weekend at Imola but left everyone, including the tyre supplier itself, baffled when competitors struggled to make it last over a single lap. The two Aston Martin drivers and Mercedes’ George Russell set their best laps in qualifying on the C5, which is the medium tyre selection for the Imola GP.
What’s all the more ...Keep reading
Sun, 18 May 2025 11:39:09 +0000
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Unhappy Haas F1 team demands Oliver Bearman Q1 explanation from FIA
Haas has asked the FIA for written clarification after Oliver Bearman was kicked out of qualifying for Formula 1's Emilia Romagna GP during the first session.
The Brit looked to have posted a lap time that was sufficient to see him safely into Q2; however, it came at the precise time the session was red-flagged following a crash for Franco Colapinto.
The FIA deliberated over the decision ...Keep reading
Sun, 18 May 2025 11:01:44 +0000
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Yuki Tsunoda demoted to Imola GP pitlane start due to huge crash damage on Red Bull F1 car
Yuki Tsunoda will start from the pitlane in F1's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after Red Bull built up a spare chassis following his Imola qualifying accident.
Heading into the fast Villeneuve chicane at the end of the first sector, Tsunoda lost control over his RB21 and made heavy contact with the inside wall, sending his car into a barrel roll.
The Japanese driver climbed out unhurt and was ...Keep reading
Sun, 18 May 2025 10:48:12 +0000
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Max Verstappen offended as fellow drivers question Nurburgring record
When news broke from Imola on Thursday that Max Verstappen had set a Nurburgring Nordschleife lap record testing a GT3 Ferrari a week earlier, the reaction was a mix of astonishment and scepticism.
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Formula 1Who is Franz Hermann? Max Verstappen shares details of Nurburgring GT3 test
The idea that someone could simply show up and immediately outpace all the ...Keep reading
Sun, 18 May 2025 10:39:17 +0000
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Why Aston Martin's F1 turnaround may be genuine despite Imola GP tyre gamble
A smart tyre choice helped Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll qualify a shock fifth and eighth for Imola's Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. But how genuine is Aston Martin's upgraded performance?
Imola saw the introduction of Pirelli's new-for-2025 C6 compound, an even softer tyre than its C5, which is in turn designed to spice up the action on street circuits and avoid races in which one-stopping is ...Keep reading
Sun, 18 May 2025 08:51:22 +0000
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Why Pirelli’s new C6 tyre shook up Imola GP qualifying – and how it may impact the race
“Understanding the C6s was difficult,” said Alex Albon after qualifying seventh for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
To an extent, that was the point in bringing it here. F1 teams spend a massive proportion of their annual budgets on research and simulations to eliminate uncertainty, but predictability is the enemy of good racing.
Pirelli added the C6 to its family at the beginning of the ...Keep reading
Sun, 18 May 2025 08:15:31 +0000
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Lando Norris “never good enough” in Q3, settling for fourth on Imola GP grid
McLaren racer Lando Norris admitted that he made “a lot of mistakes” in qualifying for Formula 1’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix and went so far as to say that his qualifying performances over the course of the season “have not been strong enough”.
The Briton will line up in fourth for tomorrow’s Imola GP, behind George Russell, Max Verstappen and team-mate Oscar Piastri – who ...Keep reading
Sat, 17 May 2025 18:02:22 +0000
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Lewis Hamilton left "devastated" as Ferrari duo miss top 10 in Imola GP qualifying
“We are just P nowhere at the moment,” Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc muttered disconsolately into a waiting Sky Sports F1 microphone after qualifying 11th for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. Team-mate Lewis Hamilton was 12th and, if the gap between them was more slender than it has been in recent outings, the fact remains that this was Ferrari’s most abject qualifying performance ever at ...Keep reading
Sat, 17 May 2025 17:41:11 +0000
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Franco Colapinto hit with F1 Imola GP grid penalty
Franco Colapinto has been slapped with a grid penalty – despite crashing out of qualifying for the F1 Imola Grand Prix.
The Argentine was penalised for breaking protocol after Yuki Tsunoda’s high-speed crash.
Colapinto, who was making his debut for Alpine after replacing the luckless Jack Doohan, with the Aussie failing to score a single point in the opening six races.
However, when ...Keep reading
Sat, 17 May 2025 17:33:49 +0000
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Yuki Tsunoda blames himself for "stupid" Imola F1 qualifying crash
Yuki Tsunoda has apologised to his Red Bull team after an “unnecessary” and “stupid” crash in qualifying for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which will see him start tomorrow’s race from the back of the field.
The Japanese driver crashed during the first part of qualifying in Imola after losing control of his RB21 and making heavy contact with the inside wall.
Tsunoda was taken to ...Keep reading
Sat, 17 May 2025 16:44:54 +0000
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Oliver Bearman slams FIA for “totally unfair” Imola GP qualifying
British racer Oliver Bearman slammed the FIA after his fastest lap in qualifying for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix was deleted due to a late red flag in the session. The Haas driver says he wasn’t notified of the red flag until “quite a way after I crossed the line”. Update: FIA statement added below.
Qualifying for F1’s Imola GP was hit by two red flags in the first session. An ...Keep reading
Sat, 17 May 2025 16:03:31 +0000
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F1 2025 qualifying head-to-head: Imola GP
After every F1 qualifying session, Motorsport.com publishes each team's qualifying record in terms of team-mate battles.
This record is based exclusively on qualifying results so that grid penalties don't alter the statistics.
When a driver can't put in a representative lap time due to a technical issue or an incident, this will be mentioned in the table.
McLaren
Oscar ...Keep reading
Sat, 17 May 2025 15:49:40 +0000
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F1 Imola GP: Oscar Piastri beats Max Verstappen to pole position
McLaren's Oscar Piastri has grabbed pole for Formula 1's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after pipping Max Verstappen's Red Bull in Imola qualifying.
After the first salvo of Q3 runs Verstappen led the way with a 1m14.772s, half a tenth up on Piastri and two tenths ahead of Norris.
On his final attempt, championship leader Piastri lost out to Verstappen in sector one, but a better second and third ...Keep reading
Sat, 17 May 2025 15:49:05 +0000
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Massive Franco Colapinto crash red-flags F1 Imola GP qualifying again
Qualifying for Formula 1's Imola Grand Prix has been red-flagged a second time for a crash by Alpine driver Franco Colapinto.
On his final flyer at the end of Q1 Colapinto, who is making his 2025 season debut with Alpine this weekend, dipped his wheels onto the grass on the exit of Tamburello, the first corner sequence at Imola.
That error sent the Argentinian spinning into the gravel trap ...Keep reading
Sat, 17 May 2025 14:46:49 +0000
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Violent Yuki Tsunoda crash stops F1 Imola GP qualifying
Qualifying for Formula 1's Imola Grand Prix has been red-flagged for a heavy crash for Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda.
Heading into the fast Villeneuve chicane at the end of the first sector, Tsunoda lost control over his RB21. Upon heavy contact with the inside wall, Tsunoda's car was sent into a violent a barrel roll.
Fortunately, his car landed the right side up, allowing the ...Keep reading
Sat, 17 May 2025 14:15:02 +0000
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Lando Norris breaks from social media to focus on “things that are productive"
McLaren driver Lando Norris took a step back from social media ahead of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, which he says allowed him to focus on "things that are productive".
The British racer, who has 9.9 million followers on Instagram, told media ahead of the Imola GP that he had "not been on social media for a few weeks now", reports ESPN.
"It's just not something I enjoy. I don't need to ...Keep reading
Sat, 17 May 2025 14:12:43 +0000
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“Tricky” new Pirelli C6 tyre doesn’t last a lap of Imola F1 track
Pirelli has taken its new C6 soft-compound tyre to Formula 1’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix this weekend, and Williams boss James Vowles has warned that it might not be capable of performing over a full lap of the historic Imola circuit.
Teams got their first taste of the new C6 soft-compound Pirellis during practice. Grip levels for the new tyre seemed to be strong initially, but drivers have ...Keep reading
Sat, 17 May 2025 13:36:06 +0000
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F1 Imola GP: Lando Norris leads Oscar Piastri ahead of qualifying
Lando Norris has kept McLaren's clean sheet intact atop the Imola leaderboard in Saturday's third practice session for F1's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Norris headed McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri with Red Bull's world champion Max Verstappen in third.
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Formula 1Max Verstappen intends to stay at Red Bull… “unless strange things happen”
Amid searing ...Keep reading
Sat, 17 May 2025 11:36:43 +0000
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Max Verstappen intends to stay at Red Bull… “unless strange things happen”
Red Bull racer Max Verstappen says he isn’t thinking about jumping ship from the team that delivered him four consecutive Formula 1 world titles, despite his struggles with the 2025 car.
Verstappen joined Red Bull from its sister team, Toro Rosso, in 2016 and won his very first race with the Milton Keynes-based outfit. He has since added a further 63 race victories to his tally and picked ...Keep reading
Sat, 17 May 2025 10:17:59 +0000
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McLaren’s rivals “focusing on wrong things” as dominance continues at Imola GP
McLaren's team principal Andrea Stella says it is "good news" for his team that its Formula 1 rivals are focused on what he believes are incorrect reasons behind the papaya squad's dominance.
McLaren has been at the forefront of F1 for 12 months, ever since a large upgrade package at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix reversed its fortunes and turned it from a midfielder into a race-winning ...Keep reading
Sat, 17 May 2025 09:27:43 +0000
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This 2004 Michael Schumacher record still motivates McLaren’s Andrea Stella
Among Formula 1’s most famous ones that got away is the 1988 season, where McLaren would have won every single race had Ayrton Senna not tangled with Jean-Louis Schlesser’s tardy Williams in the closing laps. Up there with that performance is Michael Schumacher’s 2004 season in what was also among the most dominant F1 cars ever: the Ferrari F2004. The German won 12 of the first 13 races of ...Keep reading
Sat, 17 May 2025 08:23:16 +0000
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Lewis Hamilton says brake performance has felt like a ‘lottery’ in 2025
Lewis Hamilton said the performance of his brakes has been so inconsistent this season that it’s felt like a “lottery.” The Ferrari driver spent most of the first practice session during the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix weekend complaining about the brakes over team radio. Evidentially, he’s still adapting to the Italian outfit’s Brembo brakes, after more than a decade spent driving with ...Keep reading
Fri, 16 May 2025 20:20:00 +0000
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Pierre Gasly: Alpine in “much better place” at Imola GP despite crash with rabbit
Alpine Formula 1 driver Pierre Gasly heralded 2025 Imola Grand Prix practice as “the best Friday so far this year”, despite admitting a crash with a rabbit hampered his running.
After a turbulent few weeks for the French side, which has featured the resignation of team boss Oliver Oakes and the announcement a mid-season driver swap, Gasly was on fine form in the first day of practice at ...Keep reading
Fri, 16 May 2025 18:37:54 +0000
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Ferrari fined for breaking tyre rules in Imola GP practice
Ferrari was fined €5,000 (£4,200) for tinkering with tyre pressures during F1’s Imola Grand Prix and breaking the sport’s rules.
The Italian team was hauled to the stewards after they spotted that Ferrari had breached the regulations regarding tyre pressures on Charles Leclerc’s car during Friday’s practice session.
Strict rules govern the limits on tyre pressures and ...Keep reading
Fri, 16 May 2025 18:28:50 +0000
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Red Bull “not fast enough” as McLarens pass Max Verstappen in Imola GP practice
Max Verstappen says he was passed and dropped by the McLarens during long run practice ahead of Formula 1's Imola grand prix, with Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko saying the team lacks four tenths.
The world champion endured a difficult FP1 and then finished Friday running in fifth place in a slightly more positive FP2 session, but the Dutchman was still 0.442 seconds behind pace-setting McLaren ...Keep reading
Fri, 16 May 2025 17:34:10 +0000
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F1 Imola GP: McLaren gets 1-2 in red-flagged FP2
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have ended Friday running at Formula 1's Imola GP on top as McLaren looks set to retain its early 2025 advantage, heading an FP2 session red-flagged for Isack Hadjar's late off.
Piastri had already led the way in FP1 earlier in the afternoon and underlined McLaren's ominous form. Piastri pipped team-mate Norris by a mere 0.025s but the pair comfortably stayed ...Keep reading
Fri, 16 May 2025 16:12:07 +0000
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Flavio Briatore denies Alpine’s five-race F1 plan for Franco Colapinto
Alpine team leader Flavio Briatore has contradicted his own squad’s announcement that Franco Colapinto had been promoted to a race seat for the next five Formula 1 rounds from this weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
Alpine announced on 7 May that it was replacing Jack Doohan, who had failed to score a single point over the first six grands prix of the 2025 season, with reserve driver ...Keep reading
Fri, 16 May 2025 15:54:32 +0000
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McLaren opens up about secrets of Oscar Piastri's speed
“Trying to find little bits everywhere” was how Oscar Piastri described the marginal-gains approach he feels has boosted him to four grand prix wins this season and the championship lead.
“It’s quite a different feeling when you win a race because you feel like you’ve just gotten by or had good circumstances,” he said in the FIA press conference ahead of the Imola GP. “But to now ...Keep reading
Fri, 16 May 2025 15:10:59 +0000
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Esteban Ocon: Alpine’s F1 driver switch is wrong
Former Alpine racer Esteban Ocon has hit out at the team after it demoted Jack Doohan back to a reserve driver role just six grands prix into the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Alpine promoted Doohan to a race seat at the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year, with Ocon giving up on his drive in order to be allowed to take part in the post-season test with his new team, Haas.
Doohan had been ...Keep reading
Fri, 16 May 2025 15:02:30 +0000
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Red Bull: Max Verstappen’s focus has to be on F1 after Nurburgring test
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says Max Verstappen is free to let off steam in other motorsport series, but reaffirmed that the Dutchman’s “focus has to be” on Formula 1 following a secret test at the Nurburgring last week.
Verstappen drove Emil Frey Racing's Ferrari 296 GT3 car during a test at Nurburgring's Nordschleife at an official Nurburgring Endurance Series test, and ...Keep reading
Fri, 16 May 2025 14:27:00 +0000
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F1 Imola GP: Piastri fastest in FP1 with top five within 0.096s
Oscar Piastri has pipped McLaren team-mate Lando Norris by 0.032s in the first free practice session for F1's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, which was red-flagged for a late crash by Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto.
At the historic Italian track outside Bologna, which is set to host its last F1 race for the time being, Piastri and Norris led an extremely tight session while most teams grid ...Keep reading
Fri, 16 May 2025 12:35:58 +0000
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Frederic Vasseur defends Ferrari F1 technical director amid lack of performance
“It's basically the same as it's been for three years,” Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur said of Ferrari’s engineering setup while facing questions from the media ahead of the 2025 Imola GP. “We've made some mistakes with the car, but we know where to improve.” The line of questioning directed at Vasseur is not new in motorsport, nor at Ferrari’s Maranello HQ. If a car ...Keep reading
Fri, 16 May 2025 11:24:28 +0000
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Red Bull plots McLaren challenge with new F1 Imola GP updates
Red Bull's endeavours to chase after Formula 1 championship leader McLaren have continued as the team has introduced a new sidepod package for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
In Miami, the RB21 was equipped with a revised floor, and this is to be paired with a reshaped set of sidepods in Imola; the team has taken a different approach to its inlet arrangement, bringing it slightly more in line ...Keep reading
Fri, 16 May 2025 10:56:58 +0000
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Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen make the world's athletes' rich list
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen rank among the absolute global elite in terms of sports earnings in 2025.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton edged out four-time champ Verstappen on the annual ranking of the world’s highest-paid athletes by the American business magazine Forbes. According to the magazine, Hamilton sat in equal 22nd place with Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez, earning a total of ...Keep reading
Fri, 16 May 2025 09:13:46 +0000
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Max Verstappen fears Red Bull won't close McLaren gap anytime soon
Max Verstappen says it is unrealistic to expect Red Bull to close its race pace deficit with McLaren in the short term despite a range of upgrades coming to the 2025 Formula 1 car.
Verstappen finished 40 seconds behind McLaren's race winner Oscar Piastri at the most recent Miami Grand Prix, having beaten both McLarens to pole but then slumped back in the race as the Woking team's superior race ...Keep reading
Fri, 16 May 2025 08:22:52 +0000
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Here's why Haas would stop its F1 drivers from copying Max Verstappen
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen provoked rampant intrigue in the motorsport community last weekend when he drove a Ferrari – of all things – in a test at the Nurburgring Norschleife. However, Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu says his team’s driver’s won’t be following the Red Bull racer's example.
Verstappen took advantage of the gap between the F1 Miami GP and this weekend’s ...Keep reading
Fri, 16 May 2025 05:00:01 +0000
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Lewis Hamilton and George Russell blast FIA president’s swearing ban U-turn
Lewis Hamilton has piled into the FIA president’s decision to row back on his swearing ban - saying the whole “ridiculous” situation is “a mess”.
Meanwhile, George Russell said Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s plans to climb down on its previous stance on punishing drivers seemed "all a bit suspect".
It comes after Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA, revised penalties for drivers for ...Keep reading
Thu, 15 May 2025 17:50:05 +0000
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Lewis Hamilton's father Anthony set to receive official FIA young driver role
Lewis Hamilton's father Anthony is set to receive an official role at the FIA helping the governing body with its young driver programme.
As first revealed by The Times and verified by Motorsport.com, Hamilton Sr has been working in an advisory capacity over the past 18 months and his role will become official at next month's FIA conference in Macau, where the governing body will officially ...Keep reading
Thu, 15 May 2025 17:27:21 +0000
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Who is Franz Hermann? Max Verstappen shares details of Nurburgring GT3 test
Max Verstappen revealed further details of his GT3 test at Nurburgring's Nordschleife, in which he competed under the pseudonym of "Franz Hermann" during an official Nurburgring Endurance Series test.
The four-time Formula 1 champion drove Emil Frey Racing's Ferrari 296 GT3 car, which the Swiss outfit usually races in DTM. Verstappen's protege, Thierry Vermeulen, is one of the team's ...Keep reading
Thu, 15 May 2025 16:03:23 +0000
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Lewis Hamilton admits he “didn't know how tough” Ferrari move would be
Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he “didn’t know how tough it was going to be” to adapt to life at Ferrari during the 2025 Formula 1 campaign.
The seven-time world champion made a surprise, blockbuster move to the Scuderia over the winter after 12 successful seasons with Mercedes, where he won six titles.
But Hamilton has largely struggled at Ferrari, as he is seventh in the ...Keep reading
Thu, 15 May 2025 15:31:09 +0000
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Franco Colapinto shuts down talk of having just five F1 races to prove himself at Alpine
"If your 100% is just to perform at a very high level in Formula 1, which is where I want to get to as soon as possible, that for me should take less than half a year; five to 10 races.”
One of the recurring narratives over the first quarter of the 2025 F1 season has been Carlos Sainz’s apparent struggles to adapt to the Williams after four seasons at Ferrari. He cast it as a battle to ...Keep reading
Thu, 15 May 2025 15:13:44 +0000
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