The second practice was shortened from an hour to 45 minutes and the results did not count towards qualifying, following a vote amongst the riders when rain fell heavily prior to the session. While some were initially concerned if there could be any running at all given how wet the circuit was during a preceding […]
Month: March 2024
Verstappen hopes “impressive” F1 debutant Bearman doesn’t fixate on missing Q3
Bearman made his full F1 debut in place of the appendicitis-addled Carlos Sainz at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Friday, jumping into an SF-24 with only FP3 to prepare ahead of qualifying on the high-speed, walled layout in the Red Sea coastal city. He finished 11th in qualifying – knocked out in Q2 […]
Marquez “not far” in Qatar MotoGP practice but wary of “fake day”
The eight-time grand prix world champion ended Friday’s dry FP1 fourth fastest on the Gresini Ducati and topped the rain-hit FP2. Marquez enjoyed a strong pre-season on the 2023-spec Ducati but has repeatedly tempered expectations, doing so again after Friday’s Qatar running. While noting that he is feeling stronger all the time on the Ducati, […]
F1 Saudi Arabian Prix – Start time, starting grid, how to watch, & more
The Red Bull driver secured his 34th career F1 pole and his first in Saudi Arabia with a flawless qualifying performance at the Jeddah Corniche circuit – both his Q3 laps were quick enough to bag top spot. Charles Leclerc split the Red Bulls to join Verstappen on the front row for a sixth consecutive […]
Martin tops first practice, Acosta shines in third
Following two pre-season tests in February, the 21-round 2024 MotoGP campaign begins this weekend in Qatar. Last year’s championship runner-up Jorge Martin topped the times by 0.047 seconds in a largely unrepresentative opening session from Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro. But it was Tech3 GasGas rookie Acosta who stole the show, topping the session on… Continue Reading […]
Verstappen tops final practice as Zhou suffers heavy crash
Charles Leclerc finished second for Ferrari, with Sergio Perez third in the other RB20 and Carlos Sainz’s illness-replacement, Oliver Bearman, taking 10th in the second of the Scuderia’s machines. Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas ventured out on track first, with plenty of attention already on Bearman – a crowd of cameras and photographers clustered in front of […]
New Ducati MotoGP deal “important” to focus on 2024 title defence
On Monday of this week ahead of the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix, Ducati announced it had re-signed Bagnaia for two more years beyond 2024. It was a move Ducati was keen to secure before the new campaign got under way, not least with the rider market for 2025 set to be chaotic with more contracts […]
Perez admits he is not yet “super comfortable” with Red Bull’s RB20 F1 car
The Mexican finished runner-up behind race winner Max Verstappen in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, but the 22.4 second gap to the front shows how much more progress he needs to make. While the team is confident that Perez is more at one with this year’s F1 challenger than last season’s RB19, he acknowledges there […]
MotoGP secures new television rights in the US
The new MotoGP season begins this weekend with the Qatar Grand Prix, as Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia embarks on a campaign to defend his title for a second time. America is a major market for MotoGP promoter Dorna Sports, with it welcoming former NBA chief Dan Rossomondo as chief commercial officer last year. In 2024, MotoGP […]
Hamilton warned, Mercedes fined for impeding in Saudi F1 practice
While on a hot lap through the Jeddah Corniche Circuit’s snaking high-speed blasts, Sargeant had to take evading action to avoid a slow-driving Lewis Hamilton through Turn 10. As Hamilton moved over to the racing line, Sargeant had to jink right to cross the kerbs, labelling the near-miss as “dangerous” on the team radio. After […]