F1 2024
- Thread starter spitfire
- Start date
spitfire
Walty McWaltface
I was wondering about his accent and trying to work it out, it's very strange.
Limejuice
Well-Known Member
I couldn't make out his accent and I'm usually good at that.
Still if he can drive like that, he can mangle all the words he wants.
Limejuice
Well-Known Member
Sasaferrato
Super Refuser!
Sasaferrato
Super Refuser!
1%er
Well-Known Member
Bahrain seeks to sell controlling stake in McLaren amid mounting losses
The Bahraini owners of McLaren have hired bankers to find a buyer for their stake in the British car maker after investors were forced to pump it with £1.5bn in funding to prop it up in the wake of the pandemic. Mumtalakat, Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund with a 50pc holding in McLaren Group, is said to have drafted in advisers at JP Morgan following an order from King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to stem losses. It follows repeated cash calls on investors from the company, known for its supercars, the Sunday Times reported.Mumtalakat has owned a major stake in McLaren since 2007. It was forced to help fund a £300m emergency cash infusion to the car maker in 2020 as its finances were devastated by the Covid pandemic. Another £1bn was then raised the following year through measures including a sale-and-leaseback of its headquarters in Woking, the part-sale of the company’s heritage car collection and a fundraising involving Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. The Saudis were then bought out by Mumtalakat two years later, cementing the fund’s hold over the company.
However, the Bahrainis are now said to be losing patience and want to exit the business gradually. They have hired JP Morgan to find a new “strategic partner” with expertise in making electric vehicles, as McLaren looks towards an electrified future. This new partner could begin by taking a minority stake before gradually increasing it. Mumtalakat is said to have instructed JP Morgan to approach potential Chinese buyers, which have already swooped on rival luxury brands such as Lotus.
On Sunday, a spokesman for McLaren did not deny the report but refused to comment on details. He said: “As we have said previously, we are open to partnership discussions and maintain regular dialogue with potential strategic technology partners and suppliers, including some other OEMs [original equipment manufacturers]. However, we will not discuss the specifics of any such discussions.”
Last year McLaren admitted it was reliant on more investment from its Bahraini owners to stay afloat after losses at the business more than doubled. Losses at the carmaker swelled to £349m in 2022, accounts published in October showed, compared to £135m in 2021. That equated to a deficit of almost £140,000 per car produced as costs crept up and deliveries stalled. The company then received £80m from Mumtalakat in November, followed by another £30m in February. Its cash crunch has been long in the making, after the company was hit by the pandemic, a global shortage in semiconductors and more recently delays to deliveries of its Artura hybrid supercar, which suffered quality control issues.
McLaren’s racing business, founded in 1963, is no longer officially part of the group after a consortium of private investors took control in December 2020.
Indeliblelink
\......👁&👁......./
You do know he came third in the World Championship last year, best of the rest after the Red Bulls?
1%er
Well-Known Member
Bernie Ecclestone responds after Felipe Massa files lawsuit against him, F1 and FIA
Bernie Ecclestone says if Felipe Massa had come to him for advice over whether or not to sue over the 2008 F1 title, he would’ve told him to go ahead and do it. Last year new information regarding the 2008 F1 World Championship came to light when former F1 supremo Ecclestone revealed he and then-FIA president Max Mosley knew the truth behind the Singapore Grand Prix’s ‘Crashgate’ scandal that year already.Felipe Massa is suing over the 2008 F1 World Championship outcome
That Sunday, Renault ordered Nelson Piquet Jr to deliberately crash to help Fernando Alonso in the race, with a botched pit stop dropping race leader Massa out of the points while his title rival Lewis Hamilton was third. Hamilton went on to win the title by a single point ahead of Massa, a result that would’ve been different had F1 bosses cancelled Singapore and not included its points in the championship race.
While it had been thought the truth behind Crashgate was only revealed a year later, last April Ecclestone told F1-Insider he knew long before that. “According to the statutes, we should have cancelled the race in Singapore under these conditions,” the Briton told the publication. “That means it would never have happened for the World Championship standings. Then Felipe Massa would have become World Champion and not Lewis Hamilton.”
With Massa then threatening to sue Ecclestone, F1 and the FIA, Ecclestone backtracked and told Reuters: “I don’t remember giving the interview for sure.” Six months down the line, Massa is going ahead with his legal action claiming he is the “rightful” 2008 World Champion due to Crashgate. He announced this on Monday, filing a lawsuit in the United Kingdom’s High Court in which he is seeking the World title and a minimum of $82 million in damages. “I always said I was going to fight until the end,” Massa said in the statement. “Since the FIA and FOM decided not to do anything, we will seek to right this historical injustice in court. The matter is now for our lawyers and they are fully authorized to do whatever is necessary so justice in sport is served.”
Ecclestone, despite being named in that lawsuit, says the Brazilian is doing the right thing. “If he had asked me,” Ecclestone told Press Association. “I would have said it was the complete right thing to do, to sue, and to let an English judge decide what is right and wrong. I cannot say anything about the outcome and what will happen. From his point of view, it is better that an English judge comes up with a verdict. It will be of more help for him.”
F1 declined to comment on the situation when approached by PlanetF1.com, while a request for comment has been lodged with the FIA.
spitfire
Walty McWaltface
Buddy Bradley
Pantheistic solipsist
1%er
Well-Known Member
Formula 1 set to drop major 2026 regulation change after U-turn
The 18-inch Formula 1 wheels appear here to stay, after a plan that would see them downsized for 2026 was reportedly thrown out.Formula 1 has been racing with 18-inch Pirelli wheels since 2022 after an upgrade from the previous 13-inch rims, though a figure in between the two of 16 was mooted for the 2026 Pirelli rubber, the year where F1 will introduce new chassis and power unit regulations.
Formula 1 set to retain 18-inch wheels
A key goal for governing body the FIA with these new 2026 rules is to shed weight from the cars, with smaller wheel rims among the options to achieve this. However, reports claim that route has been scrapped following the latest FIA technical advisory committee, due to timeline concerns for the production changes and testing, as well as because smaller wheels would contrast the trend of road car-relevant technology. Speaking to reporter's, Pirelli’s F1 chief Mario Isola also raised performance worries as he confirmed that the firm wants 18-inch wheels to remain, while also playing down the weight-saving potential in reducing the tyre size.“We are close to the final version of the sizes,” he said. “Obviously when you design the wheel, you have to consider all the package, brakes, wheel, suspension, tyre, so I believe we are close to the final sizes. We have to change because the new car is different, and in any case, we have to design a smaller tyre. The discussion is between 16 and 18-inch tyres. And our preference is to stay on 18-inch tyres. And I believe that there are valid reasons to stay on 18-inch, with smaller tyres, but still the same rim. That’s what we are discussing, just a bit smaller diameter, a slightly lower profile and slightly narrower tyre. There is an element that is weight and clearly that affects all the package, and also the wheels. The difference between 16 and 18 and a narrow 18 is not huge. So the weight element is there. But it’s not the only element. There is an element of performance. Because obviously if you were to go to 16-inch tyres, much smaller, the risk of overheating is much higher. A smaller diameter means that you disperse the heat in a different way. And so there are many elements that if we wanted to design a tyre that is in line with drivers’ expectations. For performance, the 18-inch tyre is better than the 16.”
Rather than simply chasing lighter cars, Mercedes technical director James Allison has been vocal in his belief that the current ground effect-philosophy cannot be carried over into 2026 if Formula 1 wants to make these regulations a success. “I think that there are things in the regulations that don’t serve any of us well,” he told the media. “I don’t think it’s sensible to have cars that hug the ground in the way that these cars target and I think the idea that you get good racing by controlling wakes, while ignoring tyres and the whole idea of controlling wakes being something of a tilting at windmills type of challenge, I think that side of things has been tested to destruction fairly evidently. I don’t think there’s anything wrong in particular with ground effect floors, but the particular layout of these ones that have a response to rear ride height that is not particularly good for the cars, that isn’t something that we should carry into 2026. I think the FIA is still very much of a mind to place weight management at the top of the tree of everything, sacrificing other stuff. And I think it’d be helpful if there was more of a balanced approach to that.”
1%er
Well-Known Member
The problem Felipe is going to have in this case is that his race was messed up by the fuel stop he made as a result of that Safety Car intervention, the fuel line became detached from the Ferrari rig and he went down the pit lane with half of it hanging out the back of the car. It wasn’t a good race.
If he had finished second or something, if he hadn’t had such a messy race, maybe he’d have more chance of that race possibly being disqualified. But I think it’s going to be difficult for them to argue that the race should be taken off the Championship, bearing in mind they had those errors on their side which you could argue would have happened anyway, but that’s not really the point. The point is that Lewis finished third and got points in a race that was a rigged race and they’re saying that race should then have been deleted from the World Championship.
Limejuice
Well-Known Member
Interesting, and entirely plausible, video.
Good explanation of the roles of all the participants, except Jos Verstappen, who seems to be troublemaker-in-chief.
If I were Whinger, and I got control of the team, my first step would be to ban Verstappen Senior from the garage at any time.
Good explanation of the roles of all the participants, except Jos Verstappen, who seems to be troublemaker-in-chief.
If I were Whinger, and I got control of the team, my first step would be to ban Verstappen Senior from the garage at any time.
Limejuice
Well-Known Member
Well, here come the red-eye races. Three Far East races in a row, starting with Australia.
So, g'day to Melbourne and 'sleep well' to Europeans.
Here are the telly times in the UK:
Fri 22 Mar
FP1 - 01:30
FP2 - 05:00
Sat 23 Mar
FP3 - 01:30
Qual - 05:00
Sun 24 Mar
Race - 04:00
Yes, that's four in the morning, folks.
Good luck.
So, g'day to Melbourne and 'sleep well' to Europeans.
Here are the telly times in the UK:
Fri 22 Mar
FP1 - 01:30
FP2 - 05:00
Sat 23 Mar
FP3 - 01:30
Qual - 05:00
Sun 24 Mar
Race - 04:00
Yes, that's four in the morning, folks.
Good luck.
Bingoman
Well-Known Member
Channel 4 are showing highlights at 12.30 a sensible time to watch for meWell, here come the red-eye races. Three Far East races in a row, starting with Australia.
So, g'day to Melbourne and 'sleep well' to Europeans.
Here are the telly times in the UK:
Fri 22 Mar
FP1 - 01:30
FP2 - 05:00
Sat 23 Mar
FP3 - 01:30
Qual - 05:00
Sun 24 Mar
Race - 04:00
Yes, that's four in the morning, folks.
Good luck.
1%er
Well-Known Member
Wolff ‘incredibly proud’ of Susie Wolff’s action against the FIA
Lewis Hamilton has thrown his support behind Susie Wolff's decision to file a criminal complaint against the FIA in French courts. The F1 Academy director made the surprising announcement on Wednesday ahead of this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix. Wolff’s action is rooted in a December investigation launched by the FIA into a potential conflict of interest between Wolff and her husband, Toto Wolff, head of Mercedes motorsport. The governing body hinted at suspicions of confidential information being shared between the couple through their respective professional responsibilities.However, a day after the FIA’s probe was announced, Formula 1’s teams offered a united front as they unanimously denied lodging any complaints against the Wolffs. The move left the FIA with little choice but to abandon its investigation just 48 hours after its announcement. But feeling that her integrity and reputation had been unjustly injured by the FIA’s “unfounded and misleading” communication, Susie Wolff made clear at the time that she would hold the governing body accountable.
On Wednesday, Wolff made good on that commitment. “There has still not been any transparency or accountability in relation to the conduct of the FIA and its personnel in this matter,” she wrote on social media. “I feel more than ever it is important to stand up, call out improper behaviour and make sure people are held to account. Whilst some may think silence absolves them from responsibility - it does not.”
Hamilton's backing of Susie Wolff comes amidst a wave of controversy surrounding the FIA. Last week, a female Red Bull employee filed a complaint with the FIA regarding the conduct of team boss Christian Horner. Additionally, the institution itself came under scrutiny following an investigation into alleged attempts by president Mohammed Ben Sulayem to influence race officiating decisions during the 2023 season. While praising Wolff, Hamilton also highlighted the FIA’s crucial lack of transparency in its handling of its affairs.
“Firstly, I'm incredibly proud of Susie. She's so brave. She stands for such great values. She's such a leader,” the seven-time world champion told the media in Melbourne. “In a world where often people are silenced, for her to be standing up sends such a great message. I love that she's taking it out of this world, filing it from outside, because there is a real lack of accountability here within this sport, within the FIA. Things that are happening behind closed doors, there is no transparency, there is clearly no accountability. How can you trust the sport and what is happening here if you didn't have that? Hopefully, this stand that she's taken now will create change, have a positive impact, and especially for women. We're living in the time where the message is 'If you file a complaint, you'll be fired.' That is a terrible narrative to be projecting to the world. So, especially when we're talking about inclusivity here in the sport, we need to make sure that we're staying true to the core values here.”
Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate George Russell also underscored the importance of transparency guiding the FIA’s leadership. “You trust that the leaders in this sport have the best interest at their heart rather than their own interests… When we don't have the facts and figures, and there is no transparency, you always think there's something being hidden,” he said. “That's why it's so important for the sport now to send the right message to everybody who's supporting Formula 1, watching Formula 1, wants to be involved in Formula 1, that things aren't just swept under the carpet.”
1%er
Well-Known Member
Mercedes hits back with Ferrari signing
Italian newspaper La Repubblica reports that Simone Resta, a highly respected Ferrari engineer recently seconded to the affiliated Haas program, has been signed by Mercedes. He will be Mercedes' new strategic development director - and not the only one of his Ferrari colleagues also now making the move to Brackley. Also flying with him to Britain will be Enrico Sampo, reported correspondent Alessandra Retico, whilst in the other direction - joining Hamilton at Ferrari next year - is Loic Serra, Mercedes' performance boss. Both Resta and Sampo, according to Sky Italia, will not be able to start work at Mercedes until 2025, as per a customary 'gardening leave' arrangement.
1%er
Well-Known Member
[In my post 340 from less than two week ago, Mumtalakat were looking for someone to buy their stake in McLaren, so this new story wasn't expected]
The company is now understood to be looking at technical partnerships with other businesses, to help it develop electric vehicle technology. "We are delighted at Mumtalakat's continued commitment to McLaren through this deal," McLaren Group's executive chairman Paul Walsh said in a statement. "This will further enable us to focus on delivering our long-term business plan, including investment in new products and technologies, while continuing to explore potential technical partnerships with industry partners."
The group also has a majority stake in McLaren Racing, which owns the McLaren Formula 1 team, and also competes in the US IndyCar series, and the electric series Formula E and Extreme E. The business has been under financial strain since the Covid pandemic, which initially forced it to suspend production of cars, and also led to the cancellation of racing activities around the world. It underwent a major restructuring in 2020, which included the loss of more than 1,000 jobs. It was then affected by the widespread disruption to supply chains that occurred as economies got back into gear following the pandemic, in particular a shortage of computer chips.
There were also problems with its new Artura hybrid sportscar, which caused it to suspend production, and led to delays in deliveries. In the first nine months of last year - the most recent period for which figures are available - it made a pre-tax loss of £276m. Mumtalakat has been an investor in McLaren Group since 2007, when it bought a 30% stake from founding shareholders Ron Dennis and Mansour Ojjeh. Over time it increased that stake to 60%, while injecting hundreds of millions of pounds into the business. Its decision to take full control, which was initially agreed last year, bolsters McLaren's finances in the short term. Also, sources within the group say that getting rid of what was seen as an overly complex shareholder structure will make future partnerships easier.
McLaren is known to be looking for new technical link-ups to help it expand its range and in particular work on developing electric vehicles. The BBC understands the Swedish firm Polestar, owned by the Chinese group Geely, is among those to have held talks with McLaren. According to the Financial Times, discussions have also been held with Hyundai, BMW and Californian electric brand Lucid Motors. Any deal could involve Mumtalakat selling a minority stake in McLaren group to its chosen partner.
Bahrain takes full control of supercar brand McLaren
Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund has taken full ownership of the McLaren Group, which builds high-end sportscars and owns a majority stake in the McLaren F1 team. The Bahraini fund, Mumtalakat, was already McLaren's biggest shareholder. The deal follows a period of deep financial uncertainty for the British company, which has been making heavy losses. McLaren hailed it as a "major milestone".The company is now understood to be looking at technical partnerships with other businesses, to help it develop electric vehicle technology. "We are delighted at Mumtalakat's continued commitment to McLaren through this deal," McLaren Group's executive chairman Paul Walsh said in a statement. "This will further enable us to focus on delivering our long-term business plan, including investment in new products and technologies, while continuing to explore potential technical partnerships with industry partners."
The group also has a majority stake in McLaren Racing, which owns the McLaren Formula 1 team, and also competes in the US IndyCar series, and the electric series Formula E and Extreme E. The business has been under financial strain since the Covid pandemic, which initially forced it to suspend production of cars, and also led to the cancellation of racing activities around the world. It underwent a major restructuring in 2020, which included the loss of more than 1,000 jobs. It was then affected by the widespread disruption to supply chains that occurred as economies got back into gear following the pandemic, in particular a shortage of computer chips.
There were also problems with its new Artura hybrid sportscar, which caused it to suspend production, and led to delays in deliveries. In the first nine months of last year - the most recent period for which figures are available - it made a pre-tax loss of £276m. Mumtalakat has been an investor in McLaren Group since 2007, when it bought a 30% stake from founding shareholders Ron Dennis and Mansour Ojjeh. Over time it increased that stake to 60%, while injecting hundreds of millions of pounds into the business. Its decision to take full control, which was initially agreed last year, bolsters McLaren's finances in the short term. Also, sources within the group say that getting rid of what was seen as an overly complex shareholder structure will make future partnerships easier.
McLaren is known to be looking for new technical link-ups to help it expand its range and in particular work on developing electric vehicles. The BBC understands the Swedish firm Polestar, owned by the Chinese group Geely, is among those to have held talks with McLaren. According to the Financial Times, discussions have also been held with Hyundai, BMW and Californian electric brand Lucid Motors. Any deal could involve Mumtalakat selling a minority stake in McLaren group to its chosen partner.
1%er
Well-Known Member
2024 Australian Grand Prix – Free Practice 1 results
Lando Norris pipped the late-charging Max Verstappen to P1 in the opening practice session for the Australian Grand Prix. It was a closely-contested hour with the top nine separated by just 0.209s.Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen all had a turn at the top of the timesheets during Friday’s opening practice hour for the Australian Grand Prix. But when all was said and done, and after a red flag stoppage, it was Norris who was on top of the timesheet by 0.018s. Norris on the soft tyres led the way on the halfway mark with a 1:18.564, which put him a tenth up on Verstappen while Yuki Tsunoda was the quickest driver on the mediums in third place.
The session was red-flagged as Alex Albon crashed through Turns 6/7/8, spewing debris all over the track. Once the marshals had cleared that up, there was a nine-minute window for the drivers to put in their final laps for the session. Norris ended quickest with a 1:18.564, Verstappen was second, 0.018s seconds down, and George Russell third. Carlos Sainz, returning to the grid after appendectomy surgery, was eighth quickest while F1’s Australian drivers were 10th and 11th with Oscar Piastri ahead of Daniel Ricciardo.
1 Lando NORRIS 1:18.564 soft
2 Max VERSTAPPEN +0.018 soft
3 George RUSSELL +0.033 soft
4 Charles LECLERC +0.035 soft
5 Yuki TSUNODA +0.057 medium
6 Sergio PEREZ +0.078 soft
7 Lance STROLL +0.103 medium
8 Carlos SAINZ +0.122 soft
9 Lewis HAMILTON +0.207 soft
10 Oscar PIASTRI +0.354 medium
11 Daniel RICCIARDO +0.710 soft
12 Alexander ALBON +0.879 soft
13 Kevin MAGNUSSEN +0.925 medium
14 Logan SARGEANT +0.955 medium
15 Esteban OCON +0.997 soft
16 Nico HULKENBERG +1.040 medium
17 Pierre GASLY +1.058 soft
18 Fernando ALONSO +1.152 soft
19 Guanyu ZHOU +1.425 medium
20 Valtteri BOTTAS +1.450 medium
1%er
Well-Known Member
2024 Australian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2 results
The session began one driver short after Alex Albon’s FP1 crash damaged all four corners of his Williams FW46 and its gearbox, the team revealing he would not be back on the track before Saturday’s running. With the track temperature a few degrees hotter, honorary Australian Valtteri Bottas was the first driver out on the track ahead of Sergio Perez. The latter’s team-mate was not expected for several minutes as Red Bull worked on Verstappen’s car. The drivers ventured out on the medium tyres with Fernando Alonso setting the benchmark time of a 1:19.4. Unlike in the earlier session where there was a mix of softs and mediums, the first 30 minutes of FP2 saw all 19 drivers running the mediums. Perez replaced Alonso up in P1 before Leclerc hit the front followed by Lando Norris and then Leclerc again, a 1:17.936. But 20 minutes into the session, Verstappen had yet to leave the pits due to a broken floor.Logan Sargeant, in some doubt for the weekend given Williams don’t have a spare chassis for his team-mate Albon, went spinning, George Russell complained about Sainz being in the way, and Lance Stroll twitched but still went P1. The Aston Martin driver laid down a 1:17.8 to sit a tenth up on his team-mate with Leclerc in third place heading into the second half of the session. Bolting on a new set of soft tyres, the Ferrari driver hit the front with a 1:17.4. A hot lap for Verstappen was wrecked by a slow Zhou Guanyu, and with a few sweary words in the mix he backed off, leaving him down in P9. He improved to fifth on his next lap on the mediums with the Dutchman yet to do a soft tyre run.
Ferrari made it a one-two with 20 minutes remaining as Sainz, putting aside any aches and pains he may be feeling, shot up to second place behind Leclerc. The team-mates were separated by 0.430s, both on the soft tyres. Swapping to the soft tyres, Verstappen moved up to second place but was still 0.381s down on Leclerc’s best time. Sainz, recovering from an appendectomy, was third ahead of Stroll, Alonso and George Russell. As for Hamilton, who was woefully off the pace, he told Mercedes “something is wrong.” As for F1’s two Aussie drivers, Oscar Piastri was seventh with Daniel Ricciardo P12. Honorary Aussie Bottas was 14th.
Times
1 Charles LECLERC 1:17.277
2 Max VERSTAPPEN +0.381
3 Carlos SAINZ +0.430
4 Lance STROLL +0.545
5 Fernando ALONSO +0.635
6 George RUSSELL +0.674
7 Oscar PIASTRI +0.800
8 Sergio PEREZ +0.813
9 Lando NORRIS +0.878
10 Yuki TSUNODA +0.911
11 Guanyu ZHOU +1.144
12 Daniel RICCIARDO +1.257
13 Logan SARGEANT +1.301
14 Valtteri BOTTAS +1.308
15 Pierre GASLY +1.414
16 Nico HULKENBERG +1.425
17 Esteban OCON +1.428
18 Lewis HAMILTON +1.557
19 Kevin MAGNUSSEN +1.998
20 Alex ALBON no time
1%er
Well-Known Member
FIA president issues letter to membership defending his leadership
The head of Formula 1's governing body has issued a passionate defense of his leadership, claiming a pair of whistleblower complaints against him were meant to “destabilize me as President of the FIA, but also of questioning the integrity of our respected organization.”In a letter sent to FIA membership, a copy of which was seen by The Associated Press on Friday, Mohammed Ben Sulayem said the complaints have “shaken the FIA” and created a “period of unprecedented turbulence and challenge.”
The ethics committee for the FIA earlier this week cleared Ben Sulayem after an investigation it said lasted 30 days and included interviewing 11 witnesses, including the president.
The FIA had said its compliance officer received two complaints against Ben Sulayem. The first alleged he intervened to overturn a penalty given to Fernando Alonso at last year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The second, from the same whistleblower, claimed Ben Sulayem told officials not to certify the Las Vegas circuit for its high-profile race last November.
“These events have unfolded with one clear objective: to target the very heart of our leadership and undermine the foundation of our federation,” Ben Sulayem wrote to the FIA members. F1 this weekend is in Australia for the third race of the season.
Ben Sulayem was elected president in December of 2021 and is the first Muslim to run the FIA, which is comprised of 242 motoring and motor sport club members in 147 countries. It oversees F1 among other entities and tensions between the two have been particularly tense of late.
The leadership of Ben Sulayem has been questioned during his entire time at the helm. He tried to enforce a ban on drivers wearing jewelry in their cars, which seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton rebuked and showed up at a 2022 news conference wearing every necklace, watch, bracelet and ring he had with him in Miami.
The FIA also tried to issue a ban on drivers making political statements. Although many pushed back on that Hamilton said he outright refused to be silenced and even this week called for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestine.
Asked Thursday in Melbourne if Ben Sulayem had Hamilton’s support as president, the Mercedes driver said “never has.”
Hours after Ben Sulayem was cleared by the ethics committee, Susie Wolff announced she had filed a criminal complaint in France against Paris-based FIA over its brief December conflict of interest investigation into her.
Susie Wolff, who is the head of F1's all-female F1 Academy, was accused of sharing confidential information with her husband, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. The Wolffs denied any wrongdoing, and the other nine F1 teams released identically worded statement denying they'd complained about the Wolffs.
The FIA has also been hands-off in the saga at Red Bull Racing, where an employee accused team principal Christian Horner of misconduct. Red Bull's parent company investigated Horner and ultimately cleared him while also suspending the accuser.
The employee has since hired a communications firm, appealed Red Bull's findings to the parent company and lodged a complaint to either the FIA's ethics or compliance committees. Both bodies operate independently from the FIA.
The FIA has refused to comment on whether it is investigating Horner. F1 is not conducting its own investigation into Red Bull, saying that is the job of the governing body.
All the off-track drama has completely overshadowed the start of the season. Red Bull went 1-2 in the first two races and three-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen has won 19 of the last 20 races.
In his letter, Ben Sulayem wrote that he was annoyed that the FIA has “fallen victim to malicious leaks of confidential and sensitive information, tarnishing our reputation and causing concern among our members."
“Yet, despite these attacks aimed at my character and our organization as a whole, we have emerged stronger and more resolute than ever,” he wrote. “We know that the ultimate goal of these reprehensible acts was to target me and to weaken the very essence of the FIA.
He added that he is committed to “an environment of transparency, accountability and unwavering integrity within the FIA.” He closed the letter by insisting he remains “steadfast in my dedication” as president of the FIA.
1%er
Well-Known Member
2024 Australian Grand Prix – Free Practice 3 results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:16.714s | 22 | |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:16.734s | + 0.020s | 28 |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:16.791s | + 0.077s | 20 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:16.806s | + 0.092s | 20 |
| 5 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:16.886s | + 0.172s | 23 |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:16.997s | + 0.283s | 20 |
| 7 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull | 1:17.014s | + 0.300s | 28 |
| 8 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:17.087s | + 0.373s | 19 |
| 9 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:17.341s | + 0.627s | 22 |
| 10 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:17.490s | + 0.776s | 22 |
| 11 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | 1:17.673s | + 0.959s | 19 |
| 12 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | 1:17.752s | + 1.038s | 20 |
| 13 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:17.759s | + 1.045s | 23 |
| 14 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber | 1:17.876s | + 1.162s | 19 |
| 15 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1:17.920s | + 1.206s | 18 |
| 16 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas | 1:17.941s | + 1.227s | 17 |
| 17 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:17.961s | + 1.247s | 18 |
| 18 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB | 1:17.963s | + 1.249s | 20 |
| 19 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:18.390s | + 1.676s | 19 |
