List of All Articles with Tag 'f1'

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz topped a rain-hit practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix. With persistent rain falling at Spa-Francorchamps, not one driver completed more than eight laps. Sainz headed the timing charts, half-a-second clear of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri with team-mate Lando Norris third. Max Verstappen, who is set to serve a five-place grid penalty following a gearbox change, was among five of the 20-strong field who did not complete a timed lap. Qualifying is due to take place at 5pm local time (4pm BST), but the running is under threat given the bad weather and poor visibility generated by the spray in the Ardennes. Formula One’s governing body, the FIA, said their priority is to ensure qualifying for Sunday’s main event takes place with other sessions throughout the weekend – including Saturday’s sprint schedule – likely to be sacrificed. Heavy rain is expected to continue on Friday, and into Saturday with conditions forecast to improve on Sunday. One option is to move qualifying to Sunday morning, as the FIA did in Japan in 2019 when Typhoon Hagibis struck. If qualifying can not take place, the FIA confirmed the grid for Sunday’s main event will be set by championship order. Conditions worsened through Friday’s one-hour session with Logan Sargeant crashing out at the midway stage. The Williams rookie lost control of his car under braking for Les Combes, heading straight into the barrier. The American was unharmed in the accident but the red flags were deployed to recover his stricken machine. Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu also grazed the barrier after he ran through the gravel. The FIA’s decision whether or not to run in the wet conditions will be heightened following the death of 18-year-old Dilano Van ‘t Hoff at Spa-Francorchamps earlier this month. The Dutch teenager was killed after a crash in a rain-hit Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA) race on July 1. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live How Max Verstappen and record-breaking Red Bull compare to Formula One greats I held my breath – Lewis Hamilton enjoys ‘extraordinary’ run to pole in Budapest Max Verstappen gives hope to rivals after coming 11th in Hungarian GP practice

The Formula 1 paddock returns to Spa-Francorchamps this weekend for the Belgian Grand Prix and the third sprint weekend of the 2023 season. Max Verstappen claimed his seventh grand prix victory in a row last weekend in Hungary and now returns to a track he won at from 14th on the grid last year. The Dutchman is cruising to a third world championship this season and currently holds a 110-point lead at the halfway stage of the campaign to Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez. EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Daniel Ricciardo is back – and this time he wants to go out on top Lewis Hamilton secured his first pole since December 2021 in Budapest but slipped down to fourth during the race. The Mercedes star will be looking to bounce back at a circuit he retired at in 2022, while McLaren’s Lando Norris is hoping to keep up his good form after two second-place finishes in a row. Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is a staple F1 track and for the first time in 2023 will host an F1 sprint race, meaning there will be more action than ever before in the final meet before the summer break. Here is everything you need to know.

Max Verstappen has received a five-place grid penalty for the Belgian Grand Prix as a result of exceeding his gearbox allocation. The Red Bull driver, who is cruising to his third-straight world title, currently has a 110-point lead in the standings at the halfway stage of the 2023 season. The Dutchman started 14th on the grid at Spa-Francorchamps last year and went on to win the race and will have a deficit from the start this Sunday given his penalty. The penalty will just apply to Sunday’s grand prix, as opposed to the sprint race on Saturday. Teams are limited to just four each of a prescribed number of gearbox components. It is not yet clear which component Verstappen has exceeded his allocation on. Qualifying for the grand prix takes place on Friday afternoon. Verstappen has won nine of the 11 races so far this season, with team-mate Sergio Perez winning the other two. This weekend’s race at Spa is the last meet before the summer break, with the season resuming at the end of August with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. Read More F1 Belgian Grand Prix LIVE: Qualifying updates and times at Spa-Francorchamps What time is qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix on Friday? F1 2023 race schedule: When is the Belgian Grand Prix?

Max Verstappen will not start Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix from pole position with the world champion set to serve a five-place grid penalty. Verstappen, 110 points clear at the top of the standings, is due to take on his fifth gearbox, one more than he is permitted. It means the 25-year-old will begin the grand prix on Sunday no higher than sixth in something of a boost to his forlorn rivals. However, the Dutchman started the race from 14th last year owing to engine penalties and still took the win in his dominant Red Bull machine. Verstappen has won the last seven races, nine of the 11 rounds staged so far this season, and is on course to wrap up a hat-trick of titles. At last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Verstappen’s Red Bull team set a new F1 record of 12 consecutive wins. Qualifying for Sunday’s race is due to take place at 5pm local time (4pm BST) on Friday. A sprint race will be staged at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday, but Verstappen’s penalty will apply only to the main event. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

George Russell has raised the prospect of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix being cancelled amid poor weather. Heavy rain fell over the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit on Thursday, with the grizzly weather expected to continue throughout the weekend. Although the forecast is better for Sunday’s Grand Prix, the weather is notoriously difficult to predict in the Ardennes and there is a fear in the paddock that the weekend’s running – which features a sprint race on Saturday – could be heavily disrupted. Indeed, it is understood Formula One are already looking into potential changes to the timetable. The FIA’s decision to run in the wet conditions will be heightened following the death of 18-year-old Dilano Van ‘t Hoff at Spa-Francorchamps earlier this month. The Dutch teenager was killed after a crash in a rain-hit Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA) race on July 1. “Obviously to have a race cancelled is not perfect for anybody, but we don’t want to see another huge incident that we have just seen,” said Russell, 25, director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association. “The conditions are safe and suitable enough to drive for one Formula One car. But when you have got 20 cars on track at once, anybody from third position backwards literally cannot see 20, 30, 40 metres ahead of them. “We have no visibility whatsoever. To give it some perspective, it is like driving down the motorway in pouring rain, and turning your windscreen wipers off. That is how it feels in the cockpit. “It was only a matter of time before the incident in the FRECA race happened. Drivers do not go flat out on the straight because they cannot see, someone gets rear-ended, and then there is a car in the middle of the track. “I also fear a little bit for the junior categories. I truly think Formula Three should not have 30 cars out there at one time at any point, even in dry conditions. I feel like it is a matter of time before a big incident happens there, too.” In 2021, the race here was abandoned after just two laps behind the safety car because of torrential rain, and Mercedes’ Russell continued: “It was the correct decision to call off the race. “The FIA has to be bold with its decisions when it comes to safety and when it comes to visibility. “We want to race, everybody wants to race, but when you go down that straight at over 200mph and you can’t see in front of you, there will be huge incidents, so they have got a big responsibility.” Van ‘t Hoff died following a multiple car pile-up on the exit of the notorious Eau Rouge corner and leading into the Kemmel Straight. In the spray, Van ‘t Hoff was tagged from behind, rebounding off the wall, and into the middle of the circuit where he was hit at high speed by another driver. Frenchman Anthoine Hubert was killed four years ago in an F2 race following a similar incident, albeit in the dry, at a circuit which has now claimed 49 lives. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton said: “It is not something I ever think of. As a driver, you can’t let it enter your mind, but you have to trust in what the FIA do. “We wouldn’t be here if they didn’t think it would be safe. They have done such incredible work over the past few decades and I trust them to make the right decisions moving forwards.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live How Max Verstappen and record-breaking Red Bull compare to Formula One greats I held my breath – Lewis Hamilton enjoys ‘extraordinary’ run to pole in Budapest Max Verstappen gives hope to rivals after coming 11th in Hungarian GP practice

Silverstone, 2022. That was the moment a goal within touching distance for so long was finally grasped by Carlos Sainz. Fittingly, his first pole position of his career was duly followed by a first Formula 1 race win, in his 150th grand prix. Ferrari were back among the top contenders and Sainz, this time, was the leading man ahead of his team-mate Charles Leclerc. The Scuderia were a force at the front once more. Or so we thought. Despite producing a race-winning car, Ferrari failed to capitalise last year amid strategy and reliability clangers. Red Bull leapfrogged the calamitous prancing horse – and have not looked back. Now, Ferrari have not won since Austria last year, just a week after Sainz’s inaugural triumph. They are fourth in the Constructors’ Championship at the halfway stage this season. Sainz has not even finished on the podium. “I thought we’d be fighting for more podiums and wins but unfortunately it’s a very competitive team called Red Bull who are dominating,” Sainz tells The Independent. “It’s been a challenging season. All of us at Ferrari expected more from this year’s car and performance. We haven’t done the best job. “I’m happy with my own performance and the way I’m driving. But for one reason or another the results are not coming.” 2023 marks Sainz’s ninth-straight season in a sport he has devoted his life to. You can only wonder his thoughts as Max Verstappen – the driver he entered the sport alongside at Toro Rosso in 2015 – steamrolls to a third consecutive world championship at Red Bull. Via Renault, McLaren and now the scarlet red of Ferrari, Sainz’s progression through the ranks has been steady, if a bit slow. “I saw from very early on [as a junior] when I was winning that I was very good,” the 28-year-old says. “But I was naïve to believe that just by winning I was going to be an winning F1 driver. “I started to understand that everything needed to align. There needed to be a space for me in F1 and then I would need to be good enough to stay on. There’s always challenges.” An initial challenge, no doubt, was coping with the pressure which naturally came with being Carlos Sainz Jr. His father won the World Rally Championship twice and still competes in Extreme E at the age of 61. But Sainz Jr. is quick to point something out: his dad was not a pushy parent throughout his upbringing in Madrid. “My dad never got me into it, it was just me and something inside me that wanted to drive,” he insists. “It was just the genes, I’m not going to lie. “I happened to fall in love with F1 as a sport. It coincided with racing in go-karts and since the age of two, I’ve always been on top of a car.” His adoration for the sport is palpable. Time spent away from the paddock – whether it be golf, eating tapas or time with his family and dogs – is attuned to his return to the racetrack. Despite being the right side of 30, only three current drivers have completed more consecutive seasons in the sport than him. And unlike his first team-mate Verstappen – who despite his success is adamant he will not race deep into his 30s like Fernando Alonso or Lewis Hamilton – Sainz is not interested by other competitions or opportunities at the moment. Not even the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which Ferrari won this year? “Yes I would, one day,” he says. “But I don’t think about it yet. Why? Because I’m so focused on F1.” Instead, while the ultimate dream is still attainable with a contract at Ferrari until the end of the 2024 season, Sainz will continue down the same road. And that road is currently one of recovery, which starts this weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix before the summer break. “I want to be a world champion one day,” he states. “I want to be winning more races. My brain is only thinking about that and I don’t even think about the other possibilities. Now, my target is to help the team to develop the car and go faster. That will allow me to fight for podiums and wins. “And that’s what I’m here at Ferrari for.” Carlos Sainz is a brand ambassador for Estrella Galicia 0.0. Read More Daniel Ricciardo is back - and this time he wants to go out on top F1 Juniors broadcast an admirable idea – but a reminder that all kids want to be is grown up Max Verstappen making Red Bull rivals ‘look like F2 cars’, says Toto Wolff F1 Academy announces radical team change for 2024 season How to win new fans for a growing sport and rival racing championship F1 2023 race schedule: When is the Belgian Grand Prix?

All 10 Formula 1 teams will have one driver competing in F1 Academy next year as part of a radical overhaul in the setup of the all-female racing series. The Academy, formed at the back end of last year with Susie Wolff as managing director, is currently in the midst of its first full season, culminating at the United States Grand Prix in October. Now, after an announcement earlier this year that all F1 Academy races would be held on F1 race weekends next year, there has been a further shake-up. The team currently has five teams – ART Grand Prix, Campos Racing, MP Motorsport, PREMA Racing and Rodin Carlin – but next year, all 10 F1 teams will nominate a driver and will have their livery on that car meaning the likes of Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren will all be involved in the competition. The full driver line-up will be announced at a later date, with the remaining five drivers supported by other partners. “This landmark moment not only demonstrates the depth of support for F1 Academy from across the F1 community but will inspire a whole generation of young girls to realise the opportunities both on and off track in motorsport,” said Wolff. “As we join the F1 calendar for next year and host F1 Academy Discover Your Drive events in the lead up to our races, I am confident that we will have a positive impact across our sport in the long term.” F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali added: “We created F1 Academy to bring about real and lasting change to ensure young female talent have the right system in place to follow and achieve their dreams. “Today is a very important moment as it shows the impact the project is having and the support it is receiving from across the F1 community. “Susie, the teams, and everyone involved are working tirelessly to ensure we go from strength to strength and continue to deliver on the important objective we have set out together. “In 2024 the F1 Academy will join our race calendar, raising the awareness and profile of the series globally and to have the F1 liveries on the grid will be something very special.” Spanish driver Marta Garcia leads the 2023 standings with a 36-point lead with six races to go. Read More Daniel Ricciardo is back - and this time he wants to go out on top F1 race schedule: What time is the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday? Lewis Hamilton makes damning statement about his level after Hungarian GP F1 2023 race schedule: When is the Belgian Grand Prix? Max Verstappen making Red Bull rivals ‘look like F2 cars’, says Toto Wolff F1 Juniors broadcast an admirable idea – but all kids want to be is grown up

The 2023 Formula 1 season is here and the new campaign has seen Red Bull pick up where they left off in 2022. This year sees 23 races held in a record-breaking calendar, as Max Verstappen looks to make it three in a row following back-to-back World Championship triumphs. Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team have found further improvements so far this year following a disappointing 2022 season. Meanwhile Ferrari are struggling to match their strong start to 2022. There are new faces on the grid too - such as Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant - and all 20 drivers will be itching to get back on track after a three-month break with the official pre-season test in Bahrain before the first race of the season a week later. This year’s biggest shake-up so far came mid-season when AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries was dropped almost immediately after Silverstone as he failed to impress the higher-ups at Red Bull. He has been replaced by returning favourite Daniel Ricciardo. Here is everything you need to know. What is the 2023 F1 calendar? ROUND 1 —BAHRAIN Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir - 3-5 March ROUND 2 - SAUDI ARABIA Jeddah Corniche Circuit - 17-19 March ROUND 3 - AUSTRALIA Albert Park, Melbourne - 31 March-2 April ROUND 4 - AZERBAIJAN (sprint weekend) Baku City Circuit - 28-30 April ROUND 5 - MIAMI Miami International Autodrome, Hard Rock Stadium - 5-7 May ROUND 6 - EMILIA ROMAGNA CANCELLED Imola Circuit - 19-21 May ROUND 7 - MONACO Circuit de Monaco - 26-28 May ROUND 8 - SPAIN Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya - 2-4 June ROUND 9 - CANADA Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal - 16-18 June ROUND 10 - AUSTRIA (sprint weekend) Red Bull Ring, Spielberg - 30 June-2 July ROUND 11 - GREAT BRITAIN Silverstone Circuit - 7-9 July ROUND 12 - HUNGARY Hungaroring, Budapest - 21-23 July ROUND 13 - BELGIUM (sprint weekend) Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps - 28-30 July ROUND 14 - NETHERLANDS Circuit Zandvoort - 25-27 August ROUND 15 - ITALY Monza Circuit - 1-3 September ROUND 16 - SINGAPORE Marina Bay Street Circuit - 15-17 September ROUND 17 - JAPAN Suzuka International Racing Course - 22-24 September ROUND 18 - QATAR (sprint weekend) Lusail International Circuit, Lusail - 6-8 October ROUND 19 - UNITED STATES (sprint weekend) Circuit of the Americas, Austin - 20-22 October ROUND 20 - MEXICO Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City - 27-29 October ROUND 21 - BRAZIL (sprint weekend) Interlagos Circuit, Sao Paulo - 3-5 November ROUND 22 - LAS VEGAS Las Vegas Street Circuit - 16-18 November ROUND 23 - ABU DHABI Yas Marina Circuit - 24-26 November When and where does the 2023 F1 season start? The first race of the season, the Bahrain Grand Prix, takes place from Friday 3 March - Sunday 5 March at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. Qualifying on Saturday 4 March starts at 3pm (GMT) with the race on Sunday also at 3pm (GMT). When is pre-season testing? Pre-season testing takes place at the Bahrain International Circuit the week before the first race, from Thursday 23 February - Saturday 25 February. Running will take place between 7am and 4:30pm (GMT) on each of the three days. There will be an hour’s break midway through each session for lunch. Each driver will have one-and-a-half days worth of time in the car. How can I watch it online and on TV? The Bahrain Grand Prix, as well as pre-season testing, will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom. Sky Sports subscribers can watch pre-season testing on the Sky Go app. If you’re not a Sky customer you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription. We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. What has been said? Max Verstappen has challenged Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes to raise their game and provide him with the championship battle that Formula One needs. Verstappen ran away with last season’s title, winning 15 of the 22 races, to secure his second championship with four rounds to spare. In contrast, Hamilton, in his under-performing Mercedes, endured the worst year of his career as he failed to win a race and finished 214 points adrift. But when addressing the prospect of renewing his rivalry with Hamilton at Red Bull’s season launch in New York, Verstappen, 25, said: “In the interest of the sport you always want the teams to be super-close. “I do think it was close last year, but as a team we executed a lot of things better than the others and that was why the points gap was so big. I never felt, apart from two or three races, that we absolutely dominated. But for the general interest of Formula One, everyone wants a title battle with multiple teams involved.” What are the driver line-ups for 2023? RED BULL Max Verstappen Sergio Perez FERRARI Charles Leclerc Carlos Sainz MERCEDES Lewis Hamilton George Russell ALPINE Esteban Ocon Pierre Gasly McLAREN Lando Norris Oscar Piastri ALFA ROMEO Valtteri Bottas Zhou Guanyu ASTON MARTIN Fernando Alonso Lance Stroll HAAS Kevin Magnussen Nico Hulkenberg ALPHATAURI Yuki Tsunoda Nyck de Vries WILLIAMS Alex Albon Logan Sargeant *italics represents new addition to the grid/change of team Read More F1 makes South African Grand Prix call for 2024 calendar George Russell sends stark warning to F1 bosses: ‘There will be crashes’ Eddie Jordan makes bold Max Verstappen prediction: ‘He will be the greatest’ Poignant Netflix film captures the many facets of legendary Schumacher What happened to Michael Schumacher and what’s latest health update? Schumacher’s F1 career highlights as Netflix documentary is released

“Now it’s time to cross over to our F1 Juniors,” said Sky’s lead presenter Simon Lazenby, in a feel which became familiar throughout the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend. Often the broadcaster striving for new avenues, never afraid of the status quo, Sky Sports took their television trials to a different avenue this weekend with the first-ever Formula 1 broadcast for children. An admirable experiment, it gave three teenagers a few days to savour as they started their summer holidays in Budapest alongside broadcasters Radzi Chinyanganya and Harry Benjamin. For Braydon, Scarlett and Zak – the latter a go-karter at junior level, the former duo presenters on Sky’s BAFTA-winning kids show FYI – it presented opportunities of a lifetime with interviews, quizzes and predictions with the best drivers and pundits in the paddock. And it provided some indisputably heartwarming moments. Like the segment where Zak met Lewis Hamilton and spoke to his hero about how inspiring the Mercedes star has been to black kids around the world, before then sitting in his Mercedes car. Or Scarlett and Braydon quizzing the ‘terrible trio’ of George Russell, Lando Norris and Alex Albon about what ice cream they’d describe themselves as. “Vanilla,” Norris quipped, pointing at Russell. There’s something about the involvement of adolescents in a press environment which can bring some much-needed light-heartedness to what can sometimes be a sterile process for all involved. For example, who can forget the young boy, in awe of his sporting icon, who asked Roger Federer at the US Open in 2017: “Switzerland is really cool, right? There isn’t too much livestock. So why do they call you the GOAT?” Yet away from one-on-ones with drivers, the core aspect to the alternative broadcast was the informal race coverage, live on free-to-air Sky Showcase, which presented an F1 race in an entirely different format. There were bright, 3D augmented graphics throughout, with a colour-coordinated leaderboard which, frankly, seemed clearer than the usual feed at times. Explainers popped up at various points, defining key F1-focused terms for younger viewers. The use of avatars for each driver was a cute touch, though obviously best kept for this experiment. Overall, it provided something completely unique and distinctive for a 70-lap race which provided a common routine in the obligatory Max Verstappen victory. Sure, nobody was asking for an F1-kids broadcast. And inevitably, naysayers online will have been quick to roll their eyes at the initiative. It was notable that both Sky F1 and Benjamin turned off replies to their tweets involving F1 Juniors over the weekend. Less an indication of the general reaction to the initiative and more a sign of the times – and the highly-charged often-abusive nature of social media. But that is not the point. F1 has for a while been a step ahead of other sports in the intuitiveness and creativity of its product, to the stage now where it is in the midst of a period of unprecedented worldwide popularity. The most obvious is the fly-on-the-wall nature of Drive to Survive on Netflix, a format only now being followed by the professional tennis and golf tours in search of extra eyeballs. It is a fine balancing act, though. During practice and the qualifying show, there were regular interspersions on the main feed to the Juniors, a process which may well have irritated petrolheads and fans of a sterner generation. While Sky like to push boundaries, their executives will be all too aware of trying to avoid alienating their core viewership. The one-off nature of F1 Juniors, at least this season, means this is unlikely to materialise. And there were moments of awkwardness. Like cutting to Christian Horner on the pit wall, seemingly in a baffled daze, who bluntly said: “Can we come back and do this in another 10 laps or so?” Like a selfie in the commentary booth with Danica Patrick, who had earlier stated the nature of sport “is masculine and aggressive” as she spoke about the lack of female racing drivers. There were obviously a few mistakes here and there – and it wasn’t completely crisp and clear-cut. But then it wasn’t meant to be. And, frankly, nor is David Croft and Martin Brundle’s expert commentary always error-free. In a sport as technical and fast-paced as F1, perfection is near-on impossible. Of course, unless you’re Verstappen at the moment. But the underlying takeaway is this: as a child, all you want to be is treated as a grown-up. The best way of learning about the intricacies of a sport like Formula 1 is to immerse yourself in the usual feed on a regular basis, creating a curiosity gap to discover more. As a one-off, F1 Juniors was worthwhile and undoubtedly a commendable initiative. For intrigued parents, showing their children an F1 race for the first time, who knows how many may have flicked on the coverage? Who knows how many might now flick on an F1 race in the future on a Sunday afternoon? Something different is not to be something dismissed. Read More Lewis Hamilton makes damning statement about his level after Hungarian GP Daniel Ricciardo is back - and this time he wants to go out on top Max Verstappen making Red Bull rivals ‘look like F2 cars’, says Toto Wolff ‘That would be terrible’: Max Verstappen jokes about Lewis Hamilton’s car number Lewis Hamilton makes damning statement about his level after Hungarian GP

Max Verstappen’s Hungarian Grand Prix victory gave his Red Bull team a record 12th successive Formula One race win. Here, the PA news agency looks at how the dominant Dutchman and his team compare to the greats of the grid. Prost and Senna’s record falls Verstappen has won nine of this season’s 11 races, with team-mate Sergio Perez taking the other two. Verstappen also won last season’s final race and not since the great McLaren pairing of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in 1988 has a single team dominated to such an extent. That season began in Brazil and while Senna was disqualified from his home race for an illegal car change, Prost took the chequered flag. Senna won in San Marino and he and Prost shared the next four races equally before Prost recorded a home win in the French Grand Prix. Four straight victories for Senna followed before Ferrari’s Gerhard Berger broke the streak in Italy, the only race all season not won by McLaren as they and Senna won a championship double with Prost close behind in second in the drivers’ standings. That is the case for Verstappen and Perez this season as well, albeit with Verstappen over 100 points clear of his team-mate. Verstappen added Bahrain and Australia to last season’s success in Abu Dhabi, alternating at the start of the season with Perez’s wins in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan before taking sole control. Mercedes had three separate runs of 10 successive wins during Lewis Hamilton’s period of dominance, with Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari team also hitting double figures in 2002. Magnificent seven Since the start of May, Verstappen has won the Miami, Monaco, Spanish, Canadian, Austrian, British and now Hungarian Grands Prix to equal the second-longest winning run for an individual driver. Only Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine straight wins in 2013 remains for him to chase – victory in the next two races would see him equal that mark in front of his adoring home fans at August 27’s Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort. Alberto Ascari has a claim to matching Vettel. The Italian won the last six races of the 1952 season and the Argentine Grand Prix at the start of 1953 before not entering the Indianapolis 500, which at the time was part of the drivers’ championship. He went on to win the Dutch and Belgian GPs on his next two starts. Michael Schumacher won seven in a row in 2004, as did Nico Rosberg at the end of 2015 and the start of his 2016 title-winning season. Schumacher also had a run of six across the 2000 and 2001 seasons while Hamilton’s longest run is five wins, as was Verstappen’s before his current streak. He is on track to be the first driver ever to win over 80 per cent of races in a season – beating Ascari’s 75 per cent in 1952, when there were only eight races in total – while he has won over 93 per cent of the maximum points available with 281 of a possible 302 so far. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Max Verstappen making Red Bull rivals look like Formula Two cars – Toto Wolff I held my breath – Lewis Hamilton enjoys ‘extraordinary’ run to pole in Budapest Max Verstappen gives hope to rivals after coming 11th in Hungarian GP practice

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes Max Verstappen’s dominance of the sport is so one-sided that he is making the rest of the grid look like they are racing in a junior category. Verstappen took his ninth win of the season, extending Red Bull’s unbeaten streak to 11 from 11 this year with just one race remaining before the summer break. The Dutchman, now a staggering 110 points clear in the championship, finished more than half-a-minute clear of his rivals following another supreme showing in his supreme Red Bull machine. McLaren’s Lando Norris was runner-up – scoring consecutive podium finishes for the first time in his career – with pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton only fourth and his Mercedes team-mate George Russell sixth. “It was like a bunch of Formula Two cars against a Formula One car,” said Wolff. “In the F2 gang, our car was quick. The F1 car won by 33 seconds. “We had the second quickest car today, and obviously we can talk it up and say we could have been second, but that’s irrelevant because you have a car that finished 39 seconds ahead [of Hamilton], and was probably cruising a lot of the time. “We are going to fight back and win races and championships, but we saw the pace Max had, and that’s the bitter reality. “But it’s a meritocracy, and as long as you’re moving within the regulations, then we need to acknowledge Red Bull has just done a better job.” Hamilton has now gone 34 appearances without a victory – the longest streak of his career – while Verstappen has triumphed 24 times during the same period, moving him to 44 career wins. Verstappen’s Red Bull set a new record of 12 consecutive wins on Sunday, with Mercedes’ unprecedented 19 victories in a single campaign under threat. At the midway stage of this 22-round campaign, the world champions also remain on course to become the first team to complete the perfect season. However, speaking ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps – which includes a sprint race and the possibility of rain – Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was keen to guard against complacency. Horner said: “How long can we keep this winning run going? Who knows? “We’ve got another challenge next weekend, a sprint race, with the variable conditions of Spa. Anything can happen, so we’re really just taking it pretty much one event at a time.”

Max Verstappen said it would be “terrible” to remain stuck on the same number of career wins as Lewis Hamilton’s car number following his crushing triumph at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The all-conquering Dutchman beat pole-sitter Hamilton to the opening bend at the Hungaroring before going on to lead every lap and claim his seventh successive win and 44th of his career. “Hopefully I don’t stay on 44 for too long,” joked Verstappen. “That would be terrible I need to get to 45 quickly.” The evidence of the season so far would suggest Verstappen’s wait will last only a week with Spa-Francorchamps the venue for the final round before the summer break of this most one-sided of campaigns. Indeed, Red Bull will head into next Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix unbeaten from the opening 11 rounds of 22, setting a new record on Sunday with their 12th consecutive win. The perfect dozen includes the final round of last season in Abu Dhabi, eclipsing McLaren’s 11 in a row in 1988 when Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were at the wheel. Hopefully I don’t stay on 44 for too long. That would be terrible I need to get to 45 quickly. Max Verstappen “Twelve wins in a row is just incredible,” added Verstappen, who is now 110 points clear at the summit of the world championship on his unstoppable march towards a hat-trick of titles. “What we’ve been doing for the last two years has been unbelievable. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going for a long time. We always want to do better but days like this are just perfect.” Verstappen, 25, crossed the line more than half-a-minute clear of runner-up Lando Norris to record his ninth win of the season and retain Red Bull’s chance of becoming the first team in F1 history to complete a perfect campaign. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: “As a young kid I remember watching Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna under the incredible leadership of Ron Dennis achieve that feat (11 wins in a row) and to think we have bettered that is something all the team in Budapest and back in Milton Keynes have worked so hard for and means so much. “Max is a driver totally at one with himself in the car and with total confidence and trust in the team. We are witnessing a sportsman at the top of his game and he is a joy to work with. “Max is a modest guy and he is uncomfortable with the plaudits he is given, but he deserves all the credit he is getting at the moment.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lewis Hamilton rues poor form after Max Verstappen’s dominant win in Hungary I held my breath – Lewis Hamilton enjoys ‘extraordinary’ run to pole in Budapest Max Verstappen gives hope to rivals after coming 11th in Hungarian GP practice