Latest news with #FrancoColapinto
Telegraph
a day ago
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Max Verstappen brands Kimi Antonelli a ‘f------ idiot' after crash ends title hopes
Max Verstappen lashed out at Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli after retiring on the opening lap of Red Bull's home Austrian Grand Prix. The four-time world champion had started seventh on the grid, with Italian rookie Antonelli ninth, at a circuit where he has won a record five times. Antonelli, who clearly caused the turn three collision, also retired and the safety car was deployed. 'I'm out, got hit, like crazy,' Verstappen said. 'F------ idiots.' In the other Red Bull, Yuki Tsunoda was penalised for crunching Franco Colapinto and would finish 16th and last. A desperate weekend for Red Bull at their home event. Verstappen had called his car 'undriveable' in qualifying on his way to taking a lowly seventh. And his torrid weekend was over on the first lap when Antonelli arrived like a torpedo at the third corner to T-bone Verstappen. IT'S LIGHTS OUT IN AUSTRIA 🚥 Max and Kimi make CONTACT and both are out of the race 💥😳 — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) June 29, 2025 'Sorry about that, I locked the rear,' Antonelli told his team. The retirement ended a run of 31 grands prix in the points for the Dutch driver, whose fans throng in their thousands to the Red Bull Ring. The race had started later than scheduled after Carlos Sainz's Williams was stuck on the grid as cars moved away for the formation lap. Sainz eventually got going and returned to the pitlane, where his car's brakes caught fire before being extinguished by mechanics with smoke still billowing out as he was pushed back and into retirement. Sainz OUT of the race ❌ His rear brakes both catch fire at the end of the pit lane 😳 — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) June 29, 2025 Lando Norris won the battle of the McLarens to land a morale-boosting victory in Austria which breathes fresh life into his world championship charge. Norris kept his nerve in a thrilling duel with Oscar Piastri to take his third triumph of the season, reducing the title deficit to his team-mate to 15 points from 22. A fortnight after Norris ran into the back of Piastri in Canada, the two McLaren men came within centimetres of another collision on lap 20 of 70. Piastri momentarily lost control of his car as he attempted a lunge at turn four, before he was warned not to attempt a similar move – a clear sign McLaren had called off the fight. Norris took the chequered flag 2.7 seconds clear of Piastri, with Charles Leclerc finishing third. Lewis Hamilton was fourth with the seven-time world champion's wait for a first podium in Ferrari colours extending to his home race at Silverstone next weekend.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Private jet instead of EasyJet: Hamilton gives Colapinto a lift
British Formula One driver of Scuderia Ferrari Lewis Hamilton arrives to the padock during the pre-event coverage of the Formula 1 Austrian GP at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. Erwin Scheriau/APA/dpa Alpine driver Franco Colapinto has said he had the experience of a lifetime when he swapped a recent flight on a lowcost carrier for a place in the private jet of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Colapinto told reporters in Spielberg ahead of Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix that Hamilton offered a place aboard his plane after the June 1 Spanish Grand Prix in the drivers' Whatsapp group. Advertisement He said that Hamilton asked if anyone was flying to London, that he had space on his plane, and "invited me to go" after he said he was also booked to London - on EasyJet. Giving other drivers a lift on a plane is not uncommon in F1 but it was a new and unique experience for the 22-year-old Argentine Colapinto. 'Lewis is a great guy. I had the best flight of my life with him. It was very special, very unique. I was very, very impressed by him," Colapinto said. Colapinto drove for nine races for Williams last year in his F1 debut and has now replaced Jack Doohan at Alpine, where the Austrian race will be his fifth after hje started the season as their reserve driver.
The Sun
4 days ago
- Automotive
- The Sun
Lewis Hamilton gives lucky F1 rival a lift home on his private jet after finding out he was booked on EasyJet
LEWIS HAMILTON took rookie Franco Colapinto on his private jet following the Spanish Grand Prix, instead of flying EasyJet. The seven-time world champion put a message in the F1 drivers' WhatsApp group following the race in Barcelona offering a free flight. 4 4 4 4 22-year-old Argentinian Alpine driver Colapinto said he was headed to London - but with budget airline EasyJet. So Hamilton told him to cancel his plans and hitch a ride onboard his swanky jet instead. Colapinto said it was a "dream come true" given he has always been a huge admirer of the Ferrari driver and he had never been on a private jet. Ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, Colapinto said: "Yeah it was nice, 'Lewis is a great guy and I had the best flight of my life with him. It was very special and very unique. "You all know that he was my idol since I was very young, with Senna as well, and to be able to fly with him and have a bit of a chat. 'He asked if anyone was flying to London and I said I'm going to London but on EasyJet. "And he came back saying he had a lot of space on his plane and invited me to go. "It was quite special. Also flying private for the first time, two very unique experiences and a lot of stories from Lewis. A very special flight. 'He's a great guy and I was very, very impressed by how he is as a person and how he is as a professional. "A lot to admire from the personal part from the sportsman. It was great, a dream come true and didn't have to fly on my EasyJet flight.' In 2013 Hamilton purchased a £25million luxury Bombadier Challenger 605 in a striking cherry red colour, shortly after leaving McLaren for Mercedes. He sold it in 2019 so it is likely the jet that Colapinto travelled on was rented by Hamilton. Hamilton sold the jet on as it did not make financial sense and it was also not in keeping with his views on sustainable living.
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
F1 drivers face disqualification for 2 serious offences after unprecedented move
The FIA has made a significant decision for the first time ever on the eve of this weekend's Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, which makes it clear what drivers must do The FIA has published its official Formula 1 stewards' guidelines documents ahead of this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix. In an unprecedented step, the sport's governing body said it has made the guidelines publicly available for the first time ever in a bid to achieve greater transparency of decisions. We often know what sort of behaviour on track is likely to be punished by the stewards. And, thanks to past precedents, it is usually easy to predict the punishment that is likely to be given for some of the more commonly-seen types of rule-breaking. But it has never been exactly clear what the wording of the FIA guidelines to stewards actually is, as the document has never been made publicly available. But that has now changed with the governing body publishing the documents ahead of the Spielberg race. The decision has been welcomes by Grand Prix Drivers' Association director George Russell, who said: "Greater transparency within the governance of our sport is an important issue and this is a useful step in that direction. "Hopefully it will be beneficial for the sport to give the media and fans a clearer understanding of the rules of engagement when we're racing on track, and to help them understand how the stewards reach their decisions." The guidance to stewards is split into two documents: The penalty guidelines, and the driving standards guidelines. The latter was last updated after the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix, at which a meeting was held with drivers to discuss their contents. The FIA said "further refinements" are to be made in the future. READ MORE: Alpine make decision on replacing Franco Colapinto as F1 team hatches unusual plan The current version tells the stewards how they should act in some lesser-seen circumstances, such as when a driver is shown a black flag, which means they have been disqualified from a session, or the black-and-orange flag – known colloquially as the 'meatball flag' – which forces a driver to stop because they have a significantly damaged car. Ignoring either of those signals from the marshals or race control will result in some of the harshest sanctions that the stewards are able to give, under the guidelines. It would result in the offending driver being disqualified from the race anyway, while a whopping five points would be added to their racing licence. The FIA said it plans to publish similar documents for the other World Championship racing series which it sanctions, including the likes of the World Rally Championship and Formula E. President Mohammed ben Sulayem said: "We are today publishing the penalty and driving standards guidelines that assist [the stewards] with their decisions. "This will give fans and members of the media a much deeper and more accurate insight into how decisions are made in Formula 1. The penalty guidelines have been a core tool for almost a decade while the driving standards guidelines introduced in 2022 and constantly updated have brought the most important voices, those of the drivers, to the table to create a genuine reference for certain racing situations."
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Alpine make decision on replacing Franco Colapinto as unusual plan hatched
Franco Colapinto was drafted in to replace Jack Doohan but has also struggled to perform, as Alpine mull over their driver options alongside Pierre Gasly for their Formula 1 future Franco Colapinto is set to continue to race for Alpine beyond this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix despite reaching the end of his initial five-race spell with the team. The Argentine was promoted to a race seat after Jack Doohan failed to score a point across the first six race weekends of the season. Colapinto has also yet to register, however, and has struggled like his predecessor. The team sits rock bottom of the constructors' championship and all 11 points they have on the board to date in 2025 were scored by lead driver Pierre Gasly. The second seat remains an issue, even though boss Flavio Briatore has already given his public backing to Colapinto. The colourful Italian attacked Argentine media for putting too much pressure on the 22-year-old as he hinted that he would be given more time. Briatore also rubbished suggestions that Colapinto had only been given an initial five-race deal, claiming that it had been made up by the media. However, it was specifically stated in Alpine's initial press release back in May, when the driver swap that saw Doohan replaced was announced. The race in Spielberg on Sunday is the last of that initial run of five given to Colapinto. But it is not likely to be his last with Alpine, for now, set to stick with the Argentine and give him more time to display the promise that he showed in the early weeks of a nine-race stint with Williams last season. The Race reports that Colapinto is likely to still occupy that second Alpine seat at next weekend's British Grand Prix. He is set to continue to represent the team on a race-by-race basis, an unusual arrangement in modern Formula 1 where drivers tend to have contracts for a defined period of time. READ MORE: Max Verstappen refused to film F1 movie scene with Brad Pitt as he explains double snub Colapinto's Williams stint came in the latter stages of last season. That means he has never raced in F1 on the tracks on which he has been competing with Alpine so far this year, though Silverstone will offer more familiarity as that is where he drove F1 machinery for the first time in 2024. And he referenced that on Thursday as he strongly hinted that he expects to still be racing for Alpine there next Sunday. Colapinto said: "To be doing my first FP1 with the team and doing a good job there next to Alex [Albon] was really good for my future and probably what put me in that situation to jump in later in the year. "It was a very important weekend, and to be able to have that comparison now in the same track I've been driving the Williams last year, it's good. "It's a bit more knowledge, a bit more experience. It obviously comes easier as well when you already drove an F1 at that track. You don't get that shock of speed. So, yeah, looking forward to Silverstone, too, it's a great track, full of high-speed, and I love driving there."
