Latest news with #CircuitOfTheAmericas
Yahoo
a day ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Mayer confirms he is running for FIA presidency
American Tim Mayer has announced he is standing for the presidency of the FIA - motorsport's governing body. The 59-year-old will run against incumbent Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who sacked him as a Formula 1 steward last November. Advertisement Mayer said his decision to stand in December's election was "not personal" but he felt the FIA could "do better for the member clubs, for the motorsport community". Mayer has long experience in motorsport, having worked for 15 years as a race steward in F1 and in senior leadership positions in championships in the US, including Indycar, the International Motor Sports Association and the American Le Mans sports car series. "I can bring value to our stakeholders, whether they are small clubs in under-served regions, or whether it's the Formula 1 track," he said. "I'm equally comfortable in both places. "And as much as I come from motorsport, I've spent the last six months educating myself on the mobility side and what that opportunity is. Advertisement "To me, actually, that's the larger opportunity - the opportunity to have a global impact for sustainability, for accessibility, and for safety all around the world." Ben Sulayem was elected president in December 2021. He sacked Mayer last year after representing the Circuit of the Americas in a "right of review" hearing into a fine levied on the track following a crowd invasion at the end of last year's US Grand Prix. Mayer told BBC Sport the Emirati had felt that an element in the right of review hearing "was a personal attack on him". Asked whether he was confident he would be able to muster sufficient support to make the election a contest, Mayer added: "The goal is to go to the clubs and demonstrate to them that there is a viable alternative." Advertisement


BreakingNews.ie
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
‘What a rush': Brad Pitt on driving Formula One car as new movie hits cinemas
Brad Pitt relished an 'extraordinary' experience of driving a Formula One car as F1: The Movie hit cinemas in Ireland. The Hollywood star, who plays F1 driver Sonny Hayes in the blockbuster film, was recently given the chance to drive McLaren's 2023 car around Austin's Circuit of the Americas. Advertisement Pitt (61) had plenty of driving experience – including behind the wheel of modified F2 cars – while filming the movie over the last two years, but was blown away by his first taste of an F1 car. 'Oh my God, what a rush,' Pitt said in a video on McLaren's social media channels. 'A lot bigger horse than I've been on.' Brad Pitt LOVES the MCL60 🤩✅ #McLaren | #F1TheMovie — McLaren (@McLarenF1) June 25, 2025 Pitt added on the Beyond the Grid podcast: 'I got to hit 197mph this week. I really wanted to hit 200. You know, it hurts me a little bit – three miles per hour short on the straight. This was at Austin. 'You're so focused, but you're not white knuckling. You're just in this sublime groove. It is really extraordinary. Advertisement 'I try to explain this feeling of downforce, and I fail every time because you try to say like a rollercoaster, but that's not even right, because you feel the fulcrum point underneath you – you're in it. 'I was in an aerobatic plane once, and it's the closest thing, but still this thing… this is such a unique feeling and an absolute high. I'm still on a high, I really am. I'm just still on a high.' Pitt's fictional rookie team-mate Joshua Pearce is played by British actor Damson Idris. Filming has taken place across multiple races over the last two seasons and F1 chiefs hope the movie will follow the popularity of Netflix's Drive To Survive series in cracking America. Advertisement Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is an executive producer on the movie, directed by Joseph Kosinski and co-produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, which will be released in the United States on Friday. Hamilton (40) posted a picture of himself alongside Pitt as he reflected on the journey he had been on while making the film. 'Four years in the making — what a journey it's been,' Hamilton wrote on Instagram. 'I'm incredibly grateful to everyone at Apple and Warner Bros for believing in us and partnering with such heart and vision. To Joe and Jerry — thank you. I've learned so much from both of you and it's truly been an honour to work alongside you. Advertisement 'These were taken on our very first day on track, with Brad at Silverstone looking into Copse Corner. What a moment. One of those memories that stick with you.'


New York Times
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
To make ‘F1: The Movie' real, Brad Pitt had to learn to race
Craig Dolby watched in his mirrors as actor Damson Idris spun, navigating the triple righthander at Circuit of the Americas. The feeling of 'No, no, no, no' sank in. The two had been practising in Austin for 'F1: The Movie,' and Dolby, a stunt driver and the additional sequence choreographer, was leading the way around the circuit. Confidence was increasing, and Idris reduced the gap. 'I thought, 'I know what you're going to try and do',' Dolby tells The Athletic. 'He came through there and he tried to close in. But as he closed in, he got in my wash and lost the grip.' Advertisement Idris nailed a 360-degree spin safely. But it goes to show the levels to which Idris and co-star Brad Pitt pushed in the cockpit of the Formula Two cars used for filming the latest Joseph Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer production. While reviews across the motorsport and entertainment industries weigh the authenticity of different scenes, the filming of the racing moments wasn't just a product of solid acting from Pitt or Idris. They weren't being towed on rigs or driving at half-speed. They pushed the limits in real cars, and their body language and reactions became a natural outcome of moving at up to 200 mph. It was months, and years, in the making. 'I think a lot of people won't believe that they got in the cars and did what they did,' Dolby says. 'But when you're on track with them and doing what we did with them, it's mind-blowing.' Professional racing drivers typically start their careers in go-karts, usually at around the age of six, and build from there over the years. They learn the physical training needed to navigate higher speeds and grow their skill sets. Pitt, 61, and Idris, 33, only had a few months to get up to speed as the movie's production developed. Both had different starting points, but they had the help of former racers turned stunt drivers in Colby and Luciano Bacheta. Bacheta, the 2012 F2 champion (a series unrelated to the current F1 support category) and lead sequence choreographer, worked closely with Pitt. He described the motorcycle-loving actor as 'a bit of an adrenaline junkie'. In his spare time, Pitt will go driving through mountains, and 'because of that, he had a fairly high understanding, but not necessarily a high experience, of track driving.' Idris, though, needed more work, as he was 'a blank canvas, which was nice, because there were no habits to have to iron out,' Bacheta said. Idris wasn't into bikes like Pitt, but he at least had played the F1 video game. His training began earlier than Pitt's, given the differing starting points, and Dolby said they built up over a four-month period. In those early days, Idris would stall the car, but once he was moving, he began quickly picking it up. Advertisement Both Pitt and Idris started their movie training in sports cars before progressing to open-wheel versions, then making their way to Formula Three and F2 challengers. 'When you first start, you're making big jumps — gaining seconds. And as the months go by, you're fighting for quarters of seconds,' Pitt said in the movie's media notes. 'The first month is just learning to trust the car — that it will stick to the ground, will stop, even when you're heading for a wall. The more you put into it, the better it sticks, the faster you can whip around a corner, even as every instinct in your body is screaming, 'No! No! No! No! No! It's gonna give way, it's gonna give way, it's gonna give way!'.' But how Bacheta and Dolby approached the training differed for each actor, as Idris enjoyed simulator time while Pitt 'less so', according to Bacheta. 'When they came to (driving on) track, we'd usually allocate simulator time to get used to the track, let them learn the layout, and Damson would do that,' he says. 'But with Brad, we'd just kind of go out in a road car and physically show it and talk about it. And that was the best way to work with him on that, because you see it, you get the lay of the land. You're physically on it. You see the curbs, you talk about them. And to be fair, that's how I kind of like working as well. I'm much more practical.' One of the habits Pitt needed to learn was when best to deploy hard braking. He did have a session with seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton before working with Bacheta, who thinks 'Lewis had told him that you hit the brake as hard as you can, which is the case sometimes in F1, but not always,' Bacheta says. 'So the first time we went out on track, I had Brad in my mirrors, and every time he hit the brakes, the wheels were locked up. He was absolutely killing them.' Advertisement Similarly, Idris had to work on pressing 'the brake pedals correctly' and 'using the aerodynamics' on the car to stay on track. This meant building trust 'that the faster you go through a corner, the more downforce you get and the more grip you get, so the more comfortable it will then feel,' Dolby says. And Idris would ask questions, such as how to improve clutch use. The actor is right-handed and would use that hand to operate the clutch, believing that would be easier than using his left (though Dolby advised doing it that way). One day, Idris tried it because he had to and told Dolby afterwards, 'That was so easy.' Idris and Pitt spent around six weeks driving F3 cars before progressing to F2, which is the type of car that was modified to look like an F1 challenger in the movie. Dolby and Bacheta would lead the actors when driving on the track, and they'd have an open mic radio system between the cars, where the actors wouldn't have to press a button like the real F1 stars do to communicate with their teams during track sessions. They'd talk through braking points, apexes and the gears. It was about getting the actors into a comfortable rhythm, before Bacheta and Dolby began speaking less — to prompt Pitt and Idris to think through the lap. If there was ever a radio failure, they couldn't have the actors relying on the instructors to prompt them on what to do. They then progressed to driving wheel-to-wheel, even through corners. Bacheta would ask Pitt to outbrake him, which the actor 'got really competitive with at times, which was scary, and we'd start to just have a sort of a dummy race, if you like, where sometimes I'd say to him, 'You're going to stay ahead of me. I'm going to be behind, and you can't let me pass.' ''I'm not going to talk. You just have to look for me in your mirrors',' Bacheta says. ''I'm going to pop up. I'm going to dive down inside of your corners. I want you to defend as if there's no rules. As in, if you want to push me on the grass, push me on the grass.' It was on me to not hit him.' Pitt wasn't the only adventurous one. Dolby recalled 'when Idris found the race map in the engine', which ups its output. When they were exiting a corner and Dolby was following the actor, Idris took off, leaving Dolby to switch to their faster map to catch up. Advertisement 'They were both eager. They wanted to have some fun and we did let them,' Dolby says. 'When we could, and when it was safe to do so, we opened the cars up and really let them experience what they could do.' But driving these cars is more than just shifting gears and nailing braking points. Pitt and Idris needed to find their limits, and, if they exceeded them, needed to learn how to recover. Dolby says, 'If something did go wrong, it wasn't like we just had a safety cushion. They're on their own once they put that helmet on and they're strapped in.' While there were spins and lock-ups, nothing big went wrong for Idris and Pitt. Dolby, on the other hand, experienced an unintentional high-speed crash, one so significant that it was ultimately used in the film. The stunt driver involved is alright now, though he did injure a hand and was sidelined for three weeks (but didn't miss any subsequent driving/filming). Pitt and Idris improved as drivers as filming continued. The whole process took two years, with production halted during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. For Pitt, his speed and confidence stood out. Bacheta felt the actor had the pace in the first year of filming, but with crowds present and the pressure of filming on real-life F1 weekends, they did hold back so there wasn't a spin or a crash in front of fans. But come year two, Pitt seemingly had no fear or pressure when performing in front of others. For Idris, it came down to the car's aerodynamics. Dolby remembered when they were testing F3 cars at Silverstone in the UK and how the actor obeyed natural human instinct and would brake at what would've been a full-throttle corner for real racers. But over time, he began trusting the car more and taking Copse, one of the fastest turns at Silverstone, flat out. F2 and F3 cars have plenty of grip, but Dolby says it's still 'very difficult to do that'. He adds: 'I've seen racing drivers in the past not get the hang of that kind of thing. 'So for him to be able to, in the time we had him, that really impressed me. And also just being able to be consistent every lap, so we can get closer and play to the cameras more. Because effectively, when Brad was driving, Luci was playing Damson, and when Damson was driving, I was playing Brad.' One of the big goals of 'F1: The Movie' was trying to create an authentic racing film. While there were storyboards with choreographed sequences and both Idris and Pitt needed to also act with their eyes when driving and learn their lines, both needed to take a professional approach to their racing training. According to Dolby, while they were at Silverstone, they were already practising for the next track filming location (in that case, Hungary) on the simulator. Advertisement Both Bacheta and Dolby have done stunt-driving in major movies before. Both worked on three different 'Mission: Impossible' films, for instance. Dolby was a stunt driver for 'Ferrari' and 'Gran Turismo,' and felt those experiences compared to filming 'F1: The Movie' were completely different. It had the feel of ''Top Gun' on wheels', which doesn't come as a huge surprise given that Kosinski directed and Bruckheimer produced 2022 hit 'Top Gun: Maverick'. 'When we're filming, a lot of the time it has to be a certain speed or a certain kind of choreography,' Dolby says. 'But for Luci and myself to get sent storyboards and then come up with some of the maneuvers to make it look so dynamic and work with the real F1 footage as well going in there, I think it just raised the bar on what a racing movie is like. We were, every day, 180/190 miles an hour.' Bacheta echoed a similar sentiment, sharing how typically a stunt driver will go through cardboard boxes, do some drifting, and navigate at lower speeds (around 40-50 mph). Sometimes they and the actors wouldn't have time to do a warm-up lap (or only have one) given the tight filming windows on an F1 weekend, and so they had to adapt on the fly. The experience overall reminded Bacheta of his racing days. He had hoped to compete in F1, but two sponsors had independent issues that kept him from continuing his dream. But this movie provided a full-circle moment of sorts. 'It's quite funny, because obviously, through working with Brad, we spoke about all of the process (of becoming an F1 driver). And I feel like he was quite keen for me to experience it with him,' Bacheta says. 'It wasn't just the Brad and Damson Show. Brad was very keen for me to almost lap it up, in a way. To be like, 'Oh, you're kind of getting it in some kind of way. You're experiencing the F1 world'.' The similarities between that world and Hollywood extended beyond the track and into recovery from the effort needed to drive racing cars. Barry Sigrist, who has an elite sport background, has worked with Premier League football clubs and consulted in F1, was brought in to help with physio — specifically for injury prevention and physical preparation. He described it as 'passive stuff', such as massages, helping lower core temperatures, and soft-tissue work to help with mobility, the nervous system and physiological recovery. Advertisement Idris and Pitt dealt with G forces, given the caliber of their training, with the back, neck and core typically feeling this the most. A warm-up is key, and Sigrist took a more athletic-based approach, meaning the focus was on mobility rather than increasing body temperature. Reaction testing is another component of driver preparation, which helps with the nervous system. They'd use a similar light-up pod device, as real F1 drivers do, where the actors would have to hit as many as they could in an allotted time. Sigrist pulled from his experience but adapted the training 'because, with all due respect, they do train, but F1 training is very different…. It was derived from a regular driver's F1 warm-up.' 'F1: The Movie' is, at the end of the day, a Hollywood movie and is geared towards the general audience. But, it does have authentic elements that could get a motorsport fan onboard. Calls were made early on about the script and what needed to be removed because a driver may not prepare or do something that was in the initial copy, Sigrist says. This went from how drivers prepared to how team members interact in garages, to how the on-track scenes were done, as the competitors raced closely to get the perfect shot. 'It was dangerous, what they did,' Dolby says. 'Every time they strapped themselves in the car, there was a high risk, and they took it. And hopefully that shows in the film.' (Illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; NurPhoto/ Getty, Scott Garfield Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures / Apple Original Films)


Motor 1
17-06-2025
- Automotive
- Motor 1
'America's Hypercar:' The New Chevy Corvette ZR1X Aims to Take Down Ferrari
The 2025 Corvette ZR1 may already be the fastest rear-wheel-drive car to touch down on our planet: A record-stomping track monster that crushes 60 miles per hour in 2.2 seconds, and whose 233-mph top speed reads like an AI hallucination. Bucket-list ZR1 laps in May at Circuit of the Americas—the kind of Texas-sized corral this raging bull needs to properly fling itself about—find me chasing the very Corvette engineers who've been setting production-car lap records in their spare time; smoking a $1.2-million McLaren Senna, shaming a Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Our Interview With Chevy The ZR1X Is the Fastest Corvette Ever. Chevy Tells Us How It Happened Stretching its jacked legs on COTA's back straight, my ZR1 reaches 175 mph, then 178 the next lap. 180 mph feels tantalizingly within reach. The 5.5-liter LT7 screams its titanium-hardened lungs out, flexing more turbo horsepower than the F1 cars that fly past and fill these grandstands. This 'Vette grips harder than Schwarzenegger on the campaign trail, and it's not the Terminator you might imagine: It's communicative, (reasonably) accommodating, and daily drivable, still a Corvette at heart. And it all costs $178,195 to start, including a $3,000 gas-guzzler tax for a ZR1 that can inhale two gallons of premium unleaded per minute at full power. The drinking problem is real, but you can barely buy a 911 GTS for this much cash; the 532-hp Porsche, with precisely half the ZR1's 1,064 horses, starts from $167,000. While I sneak in 15 memorable bonus laps—I'll never understand auto journos who prefer lunch or 'work' to additional track time—a thought wells up. How is Chevrolet, or any automaker, going to top this? To my sincere surprise, I quickly find out. The Most Powerful Corvette Ever Photo by: Chevrolet That evening, still basking in post-COTA bliss, I'm escorted down a flashily lit hallway, Goodfellas style, to an Austin hotel rooftop for an audience with the 2026 Corvette ZR1X. The coupe and convertible, in the flesh, no camouflage, no rumors. And no "Zora," badge, either. Sorry. That name, honoring Russian-born Corvette patriarch Zora Arkus-Duntov, was always more media wishful thinking than reality, a familiar game of Corvette Telephone that now proves garbled. Chevy executives say the "X" signature—while not as romantic and evocative as Z-in-Zora—underscores this as a natural evolution of the ZR1 family, rather than a standalone model. Or, just spitballing here, a standalone, more-desirable, more-collectible model. Wouldn't want to hurt the standard ZR1's feelings, or those of buyers. Photo by: Chevrolet Photo by: Chevrolet Yet speculators and sharp-lensed spy photographers got a lot right, if not the ZR1X's earlier-than-expected arrival, with deliveries set to begin before year-end. This is the range-topping, AWD hybrid Corvette that has haunted the dreams of collectors and the nightmares of seven-figure European rivals. "America's Hypercar," Chevrolet is calling it. What once would have been eye-rolling GM performance puffery, in the days of Fieros or Solstices, now seems legit. Forget garden-variety 911s that put a chip on the Corvette's shoulder since about, oh, 1963. The ZR1X directly targets the rare birds typically spotted in Goodwood or Pebble Beach, and then never again outside of YouTube crash videos: The $3.9-million Ferrari F80, a $2.1-million McLaren W1, a $2.7-million Mercedes-AMG One. Sure, it's 'only' a Chevy. But here's the crazy part. Blue-collar badge aside, the X no longer comes across as the performance underdog. Not with a track record of track records for its rear-drive sibling. And not with a gonzo, fully competitive 1,250 hp and roughly 973 pound-feet of torque. Versus an X-less ZR1, a jump of 186 hp and about 145 lb-ft is entirely due to a Frankenstein jolt from an electrified front axle, an upgraded version of the Corvette E-Ray's hybrid system. The extra oarsmen up front relieve a brutal burden on the ZR1X's rear tires, helping them lay down power and maintain grip, including on optional Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires. Especially for standard Pilot Sport 4S rubber, AWD will make the ZR1X more confident in slippery street conditions, which translates to more opportunities for fun without jangling nerves. Photo by: Chevrolet Neutral handling and driver confidence were development watchwords. Leveraging the front axle, says Corvette vehicle chief engineer Josh Holder, "is the most approachable way to achieve maximum capability and predictable, repeatable performance." Keith Badgley, ZR1X lead development engineer, says plotting performance curves shows the lighter ZR1 a touch quicker through the middle of many corners. But for corner entry or exit, it's game over. The four-wheeling freak can use regenerative braking to help slow and balance the car. From there, the ZR1X leaps like a cheetah with a taste for gazelle. "You'll feel that coming out of every corner, the car clawing you out," Badgley promises. "This thing accelerates like crazy, like nothing you're used to. The two powertrains play together in a harmonious and advantageous way that's beyond what you'd expect from just adding them together." Naturally, the ZR1X is no slouch in a straight line, despite those electrified parts pushing it past 4,000 pounds, even in base coupe form. The ZR1X can maintain an unholy 1.3 g's of longitudinal acceleration throughout first and second gears, and nearly through third gear. In more familiar terms, that's a wormhole trip from 0-60 mph in less than 2.0 seconds. Photo by: Chevrolet Chevy confirmed that on a prepped surface at a Michigan drag strip, along with a quarter-mile in less than 9.0 seconds. Chalk up two more all-time Corvette records. That suggests a Corvette that might (blessedly) out-drag YouTube stars like the Lucid Air Sapphire or Tesla Model S Plaid to 60 mph, then wave goodbye and stretch its lead over those far-heavier EVs. Engineers are still tinkering, looking to unlock even more speed. And though GM President Mark Reuss hasn't done a 233-mph run in this baby—a stunt that Reuss told me left his spouse anxious and none-too-pleased—the Corvette team is confident in simulations that show the ZR1X matching that terminal velocity. But that's all moot, innit, in a boundaried world where a standard ZR1 runs out of room at COTA at around 180 mph. Batteries Included Photo by: Chevrolet Recall that the E-Ray's oft-quoted 1.1 kilowatt-hour battery, neatly ensconced in the cabin's center tunnel, is only the useable portion of 1.9 kilowatt hours of lithium-ion pouch cells. So, engineers managed to squeeze 26 percent more energy from the same-size battery, which suggests well over 1.3 kWh of usable juice. (Chevy has not cited a total.) Expanded voltage allowed engineers to push more power into the drive unit, which gains 26 horsepower and 20 pound-feet versus the E-Ray. That single motor was redesigned to handle increased loads, including new bearings. As on the E-Ray, the hybrid battery is designed for hyper-fast discharge and charge events, versus EV-style propulsive stamina. So there's plenty of buffer to ensure consistent performance and battery life. On the street, it's impossible to deplete the E-Ray's battery to where it can't provide boost—and oh, how I've tried—no matter how hard you drive. Push a Charge+ button, included on the ZR1X, and the Corvette boosts motor resistance to fully recharge within a few miles of normal driving. As Tadge Juechter, the now-retired Corvette chief engineer told me, the no-hassle hybrid system is designed to convince Corvette refuseniks—of which he admits there are many—that electricity can be their performance friend, and is nothing to fear. That front axle can contribute power at up to 160 mph before disconnecting, versus 150 mph for the E-Ray. Intelligent strategies, heavy on the algorithms, reserve electricity for when it's truly needed. Photo by: Chevrolet "We want to be razor sharp in how we use that finite energy," Badgley says. To humiliate mere supercars, a "push to pass" function unleashes the full tag team of gasoline and electric thrust. That's accessed via a repurposed steering-wheel cruise-control button. A Qualifying Mode provides maximum jolt up to the front axle's speed limit. An Endurance Mode monitors state-of-charge to sustain all-wheel advantages through a full tank of fuel. Aside from ZR1X badges on the flanks, steering wheel, and interior waterfall panel, you'll need to squint to spot exterior differences. Or crouch to see the E-Ray's telltale, additional front radiator on the driver's side. Both cars offer the bewinged aero package and carbon-fiber handling aids. Both offer optional carbon-fiber wheels. 'We want to be razor sharp in how we use that finite energy.' To rein in the thrust, the ZR1X does introduce standard carbon-ceramic brakes that are the largest in GM history, including 16.5-inch front rotors clamped by 10-piston calipers. For 2026, that 'J59' brake package will become an option on the ZR1. These bros love to share. Whatever your preference on rear-drive versus AWD, the ZR1X has one clear edge: The redesigned interior of all 2026 Corvettes, which is more visually appealing and functionally coherent. That includes enlarged screens, a useful 6.6-inch auxiliary driver's screen, and a passenger grab handle that replaces the former try-hard waterfall switches. Tactile HVAC controls migrate below the main display. A smartly redesigned console adds a drive-mode controller that no longer feels like carpal tunnel waiting to happen. How Much Will It Cost? Photo by: Chevrolet Chevrolet isn't ready to talk pricing, so allow me. An E-Ray costs about $37,000 more than a base Stingray. That's a clue, but it may not be apples-to-apples versus the ZR1s. Chevrolet may see an opportunity to establish the ZR1X as its crowning achievement; "America's hypercar" with a price to match. That said, Corvette fans aren't known as price-no-object types. Tony Roma, the new executive chief engineer, notes there are no production limits on the ZR1X. If you order one, a process set to begin soon, Chevy will get it in the pipeline. It hopes to build as many as fans demand. Considering how Chevy loves to sandbag on Corvette pricing, I expect them to impress the world again with the ZR1X's value proposition. The C8's booming sales, including record international sales, have largely defied an industry-wide downturn in sports cars, but they've shown cracks of late. Pricing the ZR1X too high could be self-defeating, limiting even this niche audience. So with a ZR1 coupe starting around $178,000, or $188,000 for a convertible, I'm going to peg a ZR1X coupe at $210,000 to start, $220,000 for a droptop, and loaded 3LZ convertibles topping $275,000. And if Chevrolet decides to blow people away with a $199,995 starting price, I wouldn't be surprised. Some old-school Corvette fans will choke on the price. But so will people who pay $1 million or more for highfalutin' hypercars. Even they'll know a (relative) bargain when they see it. 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Daily Mail
14-06-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS McLaren pours cold water on bizarre claim that Donald Trump is set to drive one of its F1 cars in secret Austin test
McLaren has poured cold water on a bizarre report that Donald Trump will drive one of its Formula 1 cars in Austin next week. News of the rumor began to spread around the F1 paddock on Saturday afternoon when Canal+ claimed the President was set for an unprecedented drive at the Circuit of the Americas, home of the United States Grand Prix. In a tweet to its 384,000 followers on X, the French broadcaster reported: 'Donald Trump will drive an F1 car next week! 'Info Julien Febreau: The American President will be driving an F1 car in Austin.' When asked by the Daily Mail at the Canadian Grand Prix, a McLaren spokesperson quickly denied there was any truth to the baffling report. Canal+'s post was quickly removed after being widely shared around social media.