Formula 1

The new Formula 1 season is only a week away – but can it match the drama and controversy of 2021 and that final race, in which Max Verstappen snatched the title from Lewis Hamilton? The fallout has barely subsided during the three-month off-season, with the removal of race director Michael Masi, question marks over

Mercedes are at the centre of a row over the legality of their car after introducing a radical new design at the second pre-season test. Formula 1 managing director Ross Brawn said the car’s aerodynamics around its sidepods was a “very extreme interpretation of the regulations”. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner told Germany’s Auto

Ex-Haas driver Nikita Mazepin and his father Dmitry have been added to a list of Russians sanctioned over the invasion of Ukraine. On Wednesday the European Union declared chemicals billionaire Dmitry Mazepin “a member of the closest circle of [President] Vladimir Putin”. An EU document accused Mazepin Sr of “supporting or implementing actions which undermine

Dane Kevin Magnussen will make a comeback to Formula 1 as the replacement for Nikita Mazepin at the US-based Haas team. Magnussen, 29, drove for Haas from 2017 to 2020 before the team decided to replace him and Romain Grosjean with Mazepin and Mick Schumacher. Mazepin was sacked on Sunday as a result of Russia’s

Italy’s historic Imola circuit has secured a place on the Formula 1 calendar until at least 2025. The track returned to the schedule in 2020 after a 15-year absence as part of F1’s attempts to restructure the calendar in the middle of the pandemic. Its success has led to a new deal for the next

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has accused rivals Mercedes of “bullying” behaviour resulting in the exit of race director Michael Masi. “Was it right to fire him based on pressure that was placed on him from a rival team? That for me was wrong,” Horner said. “That’s tantamount to bullying. It’s passively aggressive.” Horner’s

Russian driver Nikita Mazepin has been sacked by the Haas team as a result of his country’s invasion of Ukraine. The US-based outfit have also terminated the contract of their title sponsor, the Russian chemicals company Uralkali. Uralkali is part-owned by Mazepin’s billionaire father Dmitry, a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, through his

Nikita Mazepin would be required to sign a document forbidding him from supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine if he remains in Formula 1. The Russian is expected to lose his Haas seat because of the Ukraine crisis but is still officially a driver. The FIA has made not backing the invasion, either directly or

New Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack says he believes the outfit are on target with their plan to be Formula 1 title contenders by 2025. The 49-year-old, formerly boss of BMW Motorsport, has been appointed by Aston Martin’s ambitious owner, the Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll. “We have everything we need but we need to

Formula 1 has terminated its contract with the Russian Grand Prix. The sport’s commercial arm, which controls the calendar, has decided racing in the country is impossible following the invasion of Ukraine. The race in Sochi scheduled for September this year has already been cancelled. There will now no longer be a race in St

World champion Max Verstappen has signed a new contract with Red Bull that lasts until the end of 2028. The Dutchman was already committed to Red Bull until the end of 2023, and the team said the new contract was “in addition to” his existing deal. Verstappen said: “I love this team and last year

Russian drivers have been banned from competing in the UK by the national motorsport authority. Motorsport UK will refuse to recognise licences of competitors from the Russian federation until further notice. It means Nikita Mazepin cannot race in the British Grand Prix even if he continues to be part of the Haas team. Mazepin’s father

Max Verstappen is poised to sign a lucrative new deal to keep him at Red Bull for the next few years, according to Netherlands newspaper De Telegraaf. The world champion’s existing deal with Red Bull expires in 2023 and the newspaper says the new one would extend it by an additional four or five years.

Motorsport’s governing body the FIA is to allow Russian competitors to take part in international events despite the country’s invasion of Ukraine. President Mohammed ben Sulayem said the FIA “condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine”. But the statement added that Russian and Belarusian drivers and officials could compete in a neutral capacity. The FIA also

Excluding Russian athletes from sport because the country invaded Ukraine is an “unfair solution”, says ex-Formula 1 driver Daniil Kvyat. The sport’s governing body, the FIA, is staging an emergency meeting on Tuesday to “discuss matters relating to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine”. It will determine whether F1’s only current Russian driver, Nikita Mazepin, can

Valtteri Bottas admitted Alfa Romeo have work to do before the new Formula 1 season, as the team officially launched their new car. The Finn has moved from world champions Mercedes to Alfa Romeo, where he will be partnered by rookie Guanyu Zhou, the first Chinese driver to make it to F1. “The nice feeling

Lewis Hamilton ended the first pre-season test fastest – but his Mercedes team-mate George Russell warned not to take the lap times too seriously. Seven-time world champion Hamilton set his best time late on the final day of the three-day stint in Barcelona – supplanting Russell, who had set the pace in the morning session.

The Russian Formula 1 Grand Prix has been cancelled as a result of the invasion of Ukraine. An F1 statement said it had been agreed at a meeting of stakeholders “that it is impossible to hold the Russian Grand Prix in the current circumstances”. It added that F1 was watching the ongoing situation in Ukraine