Category: Motor Sports

• McLaren driver fastest ahead of Mercedes duo

• Antonelli to start on front row alongside Norris

Mastering the most treacherous of conditions at Interlagos, Lando Norris had the edge to take pole position for McLaren at the São Paulo Grand Prix, having bested a downpour that tested every driver. But with more rain predicted for the race on Sunday, it remains wide open from the front to the very back of the grid.

After a qualifying session that took two and a half hours to complete because of delays caused by the heavy rain, Norris came out on top but the grid will be marked by a very mixed-up formation, as a host of drivers took penalties.

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The Scuderia are hopeful of being in the world championship mix next season but risk puncturing their chances if they can’t corral their men in the cockpits

Going into this weekend’s São Paulo Grand Prix, all indications are that the status quo at Ferrari will no longer suffice for Lewis Hamilton if the Scuderia’s ambition to return their first drivers’ Formula One championship since 2007 is to be taken seriously.

This year’s drivers’ title is already decided with Kimi Antonelli triumphant at the last round in Mexico and Ferrari are already looking towards next season where they are hopeful of genuinely being in the mix against the Italian and Mercedes.

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• Ferrari teammates clashed at Mexico Grand Prix

• Hamilton: ‘I’ve worked hard to build a relationship with Charles’

Lewis Hamilton has refused to back down over his criticism of his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc after a flashpoint between the pair at last weekend’s Mexico Grand Prix.

Leclerc and Hamilton were competing with one another at turn four on the opening lap of the race in Mexico last Sunday, with Leclerc attempting to pass his teammate. He went off in doing so and Hamilton’s defence left him vulnerable to being passed by Max Verstappen who went on to win, costing Ferrari a potential one-two.

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• Jones one of just two Australians to win F1 title after triumph in 1980

• He won 12 grands prix across 10 seasons before retirement in 1986

Alan Jones, the 1980 Formula One world champion, has died aged 80, leading to a string of tributes from across the sport.

Jones won 12 F1 grands prix across his career and became just the second Australian, after Sir Jack Brabham, to be crowned world champion when he claimed the title with Williams in 1980.

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Mercedes driver makes history at 20 years old by exceeding all expectations in only his second season

Before the 2026 season had begun there was something of a consensus within Formula One. Mercedes appeared to have the fastest car and George Russell was favourite for the title. Beside him in what was indeed a dominant Mercedes, his teenage teammate, Kimi Antonelli, was the prodigious talent who was expected to require honing after a tricky rookie season. Said consensus lasted one race, by the sixth it had been turned on its head and Antonelli was squarely on his way to being champion.

Few had doubted that the then 19-year-old Italian would prove to be strong in a car that for the first two-thirds of the season was the class of the field but for Antonelli to come out of the blocks with such verve, aggressive skill and also the judgment and at times maturity of a veteran was revelatory. As the youngest F1 world champion and Italy’s first since Alberto Ascari in 1953, Antonelli made history this year but it was the way he did it which truly caught the eye.

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The Italian won at the Circuit of the Americas but must wait to clinch the drivers title

Grid change. Lance Stroll will now start from the pit after setup changes.

Just a reminder what Kimi needs to do to become the youngest world champion of all time today. He’ll clinch the title if he wins and George Russell finishes outside the top eight, with Lewis Hamilton outside the top four.

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• African Grand Prix will take place at new track near Kigali

• Stefano Domenicali: ‘Today is a landmark moment for F1’

Formula One has confirmed Rwanda will join the calendar having concluded a 10-year agreement for the meeting to be hosted on a purpose-built circuit, with the first race set for the early 2030s. It will mark the first time F1 has raced in Africa since 1993.

The meeting, to be known as the African Grand Prix, will be held on a circuit in Bugesera, approximately 40km south of the capital Kigali and represents a successful conclusion to the sport’s long-held ambition to return to the African continent championed by Lewis Hamilton.

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The 52-year-old reflects on the pain of being sacked after two decades turning Red Bull into an F1 powerhouse, questioning his purpose in life and dealing with panic attacks

Christian Horner should be in steamy Singapore, preparing for another grand prix victory, but here he is, at home on an autumnal morning in genteel Highgate as his wife, Geri Halliwell-Horner, welcomes me with a cheerful hug. Horner smiles as the former Spice Girl produces an impressive imitation of my South African accent which echoes her old headteacher at Watford Girls.

After the most controversial man in the recent history of Formula One says hello, Halliwell-Horner and I discuss the fact that my two daughters also went to her school and that one of their history textbooks had her name printed on the inside page – while the ex-Ginger Spice talks about gritty old Watford, grammar school education and Nelson Mandela.

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• Italian can win title in Texas with win and other results

• Verstappen led race at Marina Bay from start to finish

Kimi Antonelli said he can finally dare to dream about winning his first Formula One world championship after he finished in third place at the Singapore Grand Prix and put himself in a position where he could secure the title at the next round in Austin.

Max Verstappen won with a dominant drive at the Marina Bay circuit but behind him, Antonelli’s podium means he could become F1’s youngest champion at the age of 20, in two weeks’ time. Antonelli leads his Mercedes teammate, George Russell, by 102 points and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton by 111. With six meetings remaining and 150 points to play for, the Italian will take the title if he wins in Austin and Russell finishes ninth or lower and Hamilton fifth or lower.

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Max Verstappen led from start to finish, with Charles Leclerc second and Kimi Antonelli – who has an outside chance of clinching the title in the next race – third

Zak Brown of McLaren confirms he has had a stern one with his drivers after they go in each other’s way yesterday. “I didn’t say please,” he laughs. “It’s an order.”

Our race comprises 62 laps and the relatively long track means it’ll last roundabout two hours. It’s hot, too, meaning a proper physical struggle for our drivers.

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• Red Bull driver claims second victory in a row

• Kimi Antonelli third and extends championship lead

Max Verstappen won the Singapore Grand Prix with a commanding run from pole to flag to take his first victory at the Marina Bay circuit on the occasion of his 250th race.

He comfortably beat the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc into second place with championship leader Kimi Antonelli third. Defending world champion Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were fourth and fifth for McLaren and Lewis Hamilton sixth for Ferrari. Antonelli’s Mercedes teammate George Russell came through to take ninth place, having started 19th on the grid.

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• Hamilton qualifies third with Antonelli fourth

• Russell crashed out of sprint when leading on lap one

While Red Bull and Max Verstappen were very much on a roll at the Singapore Grand Prix with victory in the sprint and then pole position, Britain’s George Russell was left having to roll with the punches. His vanishingly slight title hopes took another blow after he crashed out of the sprint race on the streets of the Marina Bay circuit.

Verstappen’s pole was a mighty lap to beat the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc into second by five-hundredths of a second as the Dutchman enjoys his best form of the season. A 50th pole, his first in Singapore coming on the back of a pole and win at the last round in Malaysia and pole and victory in the sprint at Marina Bay.

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• Principal denies bias towards Antonelli over Russell

• Verstappen takes pole in sprint qualifying in Singapore

Toto Wolff has condemned accusations of bias in how he has managed his drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, with the Mercedes team principal describing those positing such theories as better off watching “Teletubbies or Mickey Mouse” rather than Formula One.

With Antonelli leading Russell by 84 points in the world championship as they go into this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, the Italian’s first title is within his reach. The 20-year-old has driven superbly in only his second season in F1 but Russell has struggled with poor fortune and reliability issues that have stymied his championship challenge.

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