Latest news with #Knittelfeld
Malay Mail
11 hours ago
- Automotive
- Malay Mail
Hamilton's struggles continue with third warning of F1 season after blocking rookie Antonelli in Austrian GP practice
SPIELBERG BEI KNITTELFELD (Austria), June 28 — Lewis Hamilton's difficult start to life at Ferrari continued yesterday as he was handed a warning by the race stewards after winding up 10th in second practice for the Austrian Grand Prix. The seven-time champion was alleged to have impeded his successor at Mercedes, Italian teenage rookie Kimi Antonelli, at turn four of the fast and technical Red Bull Ring circuit in the Styrian Alps. Hamilton apologised immediately and explained that he had not seen Antonelli approaching behind him as he descended over the crest of a hill on a slow lap and drifted into the racing line. Hamilton raised his hand to signal his apology to Antonelli as he passed him. After speaking to Hamilton, the stewards decided to give the Briton a formal warning — the usual sanction for such a misdemeanour in practice. It is the third time this season that Hamilton has been warned. 'The driver of car 44 (Hamilton), although constantly checking his mirrors after being informed by the team about car 12 (Antonelli) closing in, slowly moved on to the racing line on the approach to turn four and thereby unnecessarily impeded car 12 which had to take evasive action,' said the stewards in a statement. Hamilton was given a three-place grid drop at the Monaco Grand Prix where he impeded four-time champion Max Verstappen in qualifying when his race engineer Riccardo Adami wrongly informed him that the Dutchman was not on a flying lap. Hamilton struggled with gearbox problems on Friday as he evaluated a new floor design on his Ferrari car. His team-mate Charles Leclerc was fifth, six-tenths off the pace of McLaren's Lando Norris. — AFP
Malay Mail
11 hours ago
- Automotive
- Malay Mail
Verstappen to Mercedes? Wolff admits interest as Russell shrugs off speculation over 2026 line-up
SPIELBERG BEI KNITTELFELD (Austria), June 28 — Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff on Friday suggested he was interested in signing Max Verstappen to partner George Russell in a potentially explosive driver line-up for the 2026 season. During a series of interviews, it emerged that he had made contract with the four-time world champion and that this had affected contract talks with Russell who has been in outstanding form this year. Russell told Sky Sports F1 that it was entirely 'normal that conversations with the likes of Verstappen are ongoing', adding that a team that aims to win the championship has to go for the best drivers, engineers and pit-crews to succeed. 'But from my side, if I'm performing as I'm doing, what have I got to be concerned about? There are two seats in every Formula 1 team.' Wolff has flirted with the idea of recruiting Verstappen for some time, but also expressed satisfaction with the current partnership of Russell and teenage rookie Kimi Antonelli — a precocious talent, but not yet an experienced or metronomic points-scorer. It may be, as many seasoned observers believe, that Wolff feels he can manage the testy rivalry between Russell and Verstappen, who have clashed several times in the last year both on and off the track. But, he conceded, it remains much more likely that Russell will stay at Mercedes next year — his contract ends this season — than that Verstappen, who is contracted to Red Bull until 2028, will arrive. 'He has been part of our programme for 10 years,' Wolff said. 'He's always performed to the expectations and he's continuing to do so. These are normal business contract discussions as I have been doing for 30 years... And contract discussions are not held in Town Halls.' He added in a separate interview: 'At the moment, clearly you need to explore what's happening in the future, but it doesn't change anything of what I said before about George, about Kimi, about the line-up that I'm extremely happy having'. Verstappen declined to comment on the speculation when asked in a news conference on Thursday, but he is known to be frustrated with his Red Bull car this year. 'I don't think we need to talk about that,' the 27-year-old said. 'It's not really on my mind. Just driving well, trying to push the performance and then we focus on next year.' Much may depend on events at Red Bull where long-serving team consultant Helmut Marko is a key part of Verstappen's inner circle, but may be considering his own future amid reports that four-time champion Sebastian Vettel has been approached to replace him. In the wake of the departures of F1's most successful designer Adrian Newey to Aston Martin and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley to Sauber-Audi, it could be that Verstappen is also ready to leave. Next year will see F1 move into a new era with major rule changes requiring new engines and new cars — an opportunity that may favour a Mercedes revival. — AFP
Malay Mail
12 hours ago
- Automotive
- Malay Mail
Norris tops Austrian GP practice after Canada crash shame, McLaren takes 1-2 as Verstappen stays close
SPIELBERG BEI KNITTELFELD (Austria), June 28 — Lando Norris bounced back from his Canadian catastrophe with his customary smile yesterday after topping the times ahead of team-mate and championship leader Oscar Piastri as McLaren reeled off a solid 1-2 in practice at the Austrian Grand Prix. As the paddock digested news that Mercedes had held talks about possibly signing Max Verstappen from Red Bull alongside George Russell in 2026 Norris clocked a best lap in one minute and 4.580 seconds to beat Piastri by 0.157 seconds. Four-time champion Max Verstappen was third fastest for Red Bull, adrift by 0.318 seconds. For Norris, who sat out the first session at the Red Bull Ring, it was a relief to move on from his collision with team-mate Piastri in Montreal where he retired pointless, admitting he had 'made a fool of myself'. 'I didn't mind sitting on the pit wall,' he said, with a grin, referring to missing the morning session. 'I actually felt a lot more relaxed there than in the car, especially here. 'I've always enjoyed this track. The car felt good right from the start. Alex (Dunne, reserve driver) gave solid feedback this morning after FP1 and was on pace straight away, which was encouraging to see.' Norris added that he was pleased with the development of the car with McLaren's latest upgrades. 'They definitely moved the car in the right direction for FP2,' he said. 'Now, we just need to figure out if we want more of that tomorrow, less, or somewhere in between. 'So, it's a good step forward, but hopefully there's still a bit more to come.' 'Max is still close' McLaren came to the Styrian Alps with three performance-based updates including aerodynamic revisions of the front and rear of the car and suspension. Piastri, who leads Norris by 22 points in the title race, said he was satisfied with his first day in the car. 'It looked pretty good,' he said. 'Max is still close, so I think he'll definitely be a threat this weekend, but the car's feeling good. I think the pace is quite good, so a positive first day.' He added that both he and Norris had 'all the parts that we think will make the car faster' on their cars. Verstappen, who took his time to improve through the sessions, said: 'We didn't have any big issues. 'We lack a bit of pace and had too much understeer, both on the short and the long run. So that is something we have to try to get rid of.' Lance Stroll was fourth for Aston Martin ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, George Russell of Mercedes, who won last year and two weeks ago in Canada, and Yuki Tsunoda in the second Red Bull. Gabriel Bortoleto was eighth for Sauber ahead of two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, struggling in his updated Ferrari. Norris added: 'We've shown a bit more pace than some others, so I certainly think they're going to catch up. Max is not far behind and they normally improve a lot on Saturday. 'So I expect a good day tomorrow (Saturday) and I'm sure we'll improve on some things, but it's not as easy as maybe it looked. 'I think it's still going to be tight tomorrow - it always is. There's no reason for it not to be, but we'll work hard to make it as big of a gap as possible.' — AFP
Arab News
19 hours ago
- Automotive
- Arab News
Norris bounces back as McLaren take 1-2 in Austrian practice
SPIELBERG BEI KNITTELFELD, Austria: Lando Norris bounced back from his Canadian catastrophe with his customary smile on Friday after topping the times ahead of team-mate and championship leader Oscar Piastri as McLaren reeled off a solid 1-2 in practice at the Austrian Grand Prix. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport As the paddock digested news that Mercedes had held talks about possibly signing Max Verstappen from Red Bull alongside George Russell in 2026 Norris clocked a best lap in one minute and 4.580 seconds to beat Piastri by 0.157 seconds. Four-time champion Max Verstappen was third fastest for Red Bull, adrift by 0.318 seconds. For Norris, who sat out the first session at the Red Bull Ring, it was a relief to move on from his collision with team-mate Piastri in Montreal where he retired pointless, admitting he had 'made a fool of myself.' 'I didn't mind sitting on the pit wall,' he said, with a grin, referring to missing the morning session. 'I actually felt a lot more relaxed there than in the car, especially here. 'I've always enjoyed this track. The car felt good right from the start. Alex (Dunne, reserve driver) gave solid feedback this morning after FP1 and was on pace straight away, which was encouraging to see.' Norris added that he was pleased with the development of the car with McLaren's latest upgrades. 'They definitely moved the car in the right direction for FP2,' he said. 'Now, we just need to figure out if we want more of that tomorrow, less, or somewhere in between. 'So, it's a good step forward, but hopefully there's still a bit more to come.' McLaren came to the Styrian Alps with three performance-based updates including aerodynamic revisions of the front and rear of the car and suspension. Piastri, who leads Norris by 22 points in the title race, said he was satisfied with his first day in the car. 'It looked pretty good,' he said. 'Max is still close, so I think he'll definitely be a threat this weekend, but the car's feeling good. I think the pace is quite good, so a positive first day.' He added that both he and Norris had 'all the parts that we think will make the car faster' on their cars. Verstappen, who took his time to improve through the sessions, said: 'We didn't have any big issues. 'We lack a bit of pace and had too much understeer, both on the short and the long run. So that is something we have to try to get rid of.' Lance Stroll was fourth for Aston Martin ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, George Russell of Mercedes, who won last year and two weeks ago in Canada, and Yuki Tsunoda in the second Red Bull. Gabriel Bortoleto was eighth for Sauber ahead of two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, struggling in his updated Ferrari. Norris added: 'We've shown a bit more pace than some others, so I certainly think they're going to catch up. Max is not far behind and they normally improve a lot on Saturday. 'So I expect a good day tomorrow (Saturday) and I'm sure we'll improve on some things, but it's not as easy as maybe it looked. 'I think it's still going to be tight tomorrow — it always is. There's no reason for it not to be, but we'll work hard to make it as big of a gap as possible.'
