Motoring News

F1 Correspondent & Presenter Lawrence Barretto picks out his winners and losers from an entertaining Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Toyota’s technical director David Floury said he is glad to see the back of the 2025 World Endurance Championship, despite ending the year with a morale-boosting victory in Bahrain 8 Hours.
The Japanese manufacturer endured its worst season in the WEC’s top class in years, as constant frustrations with the Balance of Performance left it as an also-ran while Ferrari dominated the ...Keep reading

McLaren has signed 2025 Formula Regional European runner-up Matteo De Palo to its driver development programme as part of an academy shake-up. 
The 18-year-old secured his best result since moving to single-seaters in 2023 by finishing second to FRECA champion Freddie Slater ahead of his graduation to Formula 3 with Trident next year.
De Palo will now also contest F3 with the backing of ...Keep reading

Ferrari president John Elkann has discussed the disappointing Brazil Grand Prix that resulted in the Maranello outfit slipping from second to fourth in the constructors' standings after a double DNF. The Ferrari chief claimed that drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton need to "focus on driving and talk less".
"We won the Endurance world titles in Bahrain, and it was an extraordinary ...Keep reading

Oliver Solberg has the speed to fight for podiums at every round of the World Rally Championship next year, according to Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala.
Solberg has realised a life-long dream of becoming a full-time factory WRC driver after securing the vacant seat at Toyota left by Super Formula-bound Kalle Rovanpera.
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WRCOliver Solberg secures full-time ...Keep reading

Former Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo made a rare public appearance at a Premier League football match between Brentford and Newcastle with Sky Sports F1 presenter Natalie Pinkham during the Brazil Grand Prix weekend.
Pinkham, who was forced to sit out her presenting duties at Interlagos due to recent surgery, shared on social media: "Recruited a couple of newbees…. @brentfordfc….and ...Keep reading

Mika Hakkinen’s Formula 1 career was highlighted by two drivers’ world championships, 20 grand prix victories, 26 pole positions and 25 fastest laps. But the ‘Flying Finn’ achieved all this following his darkest day at the Australian Grand Prix on 10 November 1995.
During Friday qualifying, his McLaren-Mercedes suffered a left-rear tyre deflation on the approach to Brewery Bend – the ...Keep reading

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has identified the positives after a disastrous weekend in Brazil left the Maranello outfit overtaken by both Mercedes and Red Bull in the constructors' standings.
The weekend started with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton qualifying in P8 and P11 for the sprint race, respectively. While both were able to finish the sprint in the points, bringing home six ...Keep reading

Racing Bulls celebrated a return to points after three scoreless weekends with a double top-10 finish for Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar in seventh and eighth at Interlagos - although the pair survived contact on the final lap to get there.
Lawson made a bold one-stop strategy work but came under huge pressure from Hadjar and a gaggle of midfield cars on the final few laps, a fight that ...Keep reading

Red Bull Team Principal Laurent Mekies believes Max Verstappen's charge to third in Sunday's Sao Paulo Grand Prix was "as sensational as last year" when he claimed victory.

Ollie Bearman believes Haas "executed honestly a perfect race" as the Briton claimed another strong points finish in Sunday's Sao Paulo Grand Prix, suggesting sixth "was the best possible result we could have achieved".

Gabriel Bortoleto’s high expectations for his first Formula 1 home event were crushed as he suffered a DNF in both the Sprint and Sao Paulo Grand Prix, leading to him labelling it “one of the toughest weekends of my whole career”.

On Lap 51 of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with 20 laps to go, Gianpiero Lambiase radioed his driver Max Verstappen: “Something I didn’t think I’d say: you are the race leader.”

Yuki Tsunoda insisted he is not throwing anything away after another tough race weekend at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
While his Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen put in an incredible drive from a pitlane start to a podium finish in P3, Tsunoda struggled with two penalties and finished 17th.
In addition to his grand prix struggles, the Japanese driver was knocked out in the first round of ...Keep reading

McLaren Formula 1 boss Andrea Stella reckons Oscar Piastri received a “harsh” penalty during the Brazil Grand Prix - claiming Andrea Kimi Antonelli was equally to blame. 
Piastri was hit with an extra 10 seconds at Interlagos after knocking Antonelli into Charles Leclerc when he took second down the inside of Turn 1 with the cars three-wide. 
Stewards said the McLaren driver was ...Keep reading

Nicolo Bulega, the World Superbike rider substituting for Marc Marquez aboard the factory Ducati, has revealed the extent to which he had to adjust his riding for the Michelin tyre used in MotoGP.
At the same time, he could be on the right side of that gulf when MotoGP switches to Pirelli rubber for 2027 – if he can land a ride.
Bulega scored a point with 15th place in a cautious but ...Keep reading

Tech3 KTM stand-in rider Pol Espargaro says Franco Morbidelli’s field-scattering move on lap one of the Portuguese Grand Prix was ‘way too aggressive’.
Morbidelli was the biggest loser in the Turn 5 incident, which ended with the VR46 Ducati rider on the floor and out of the race. But that did not stop Espargaro, who was among the riders Morbidelli was seemingly trying to pass, from ...Keep reading

Max Verstappen's progress from a pitlane start to the podium in the Brazil Grand Prix was remarkable, all the more so since Verstappen had been complaining about his car's poor performance all weekend – even on his way to fourth in the sprint race.
Changes to the car the team made in response to those complaints actually made the car slower, resulting in Verstappen being failing to progress ...Keep reading

Aprilia returned to the top in MotoGP at the Portuguese Grand Prix, as Marco Bezzecchi shrugged off his sprint defeat to deliver a dominant victory on Sunday.
Bezzecchi, Alex Marquez and Pedro Acosta were the star performers of the weekend, each leading the charge for their respective (European) manufacturers. Honda and Yamaha weren’t in the fight, but the dynamics within their respective ...Keep reading

When Ferrari, albeit reluctantly, put its weight behind Eddie Irvine in Formula 1's 1999 title hunt, it did so against all convention. Sure, it was a necessity after Michael Schumacher's leg-breaking shunt at the British Grand Prix, but for the first time in his F1 career Irvine was already in the hunt on merit.
Before the 1999 season had begun, Irvine had not won an F1 race. He was firmly ...Keep reading