
F1 descends into farce again after Austria results shake-up – the FIA has to be better
It was long after the chequered flag was waved at the Red Bull Ring on Sunday when Lando Norris, buoyed by a positive weekend in his upgraded McLaren, posted a selfie of his bare hand. A high-five for P5. Little did he know that, in the end, a finger needed to be withdrawn. Another Instagram picture comically corrected the initial post. Because Norris had actually recorded his best result of the season in claiming fourth, after a shaking-up of the final classification of Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix due to a raft of time penalties. Twelve drivers – including Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz – were punished retrospectively, after 83 lap times in Sunday’s race were deleted due to the exceeding of track limits. The scenario, which only concluded five hours after the race finished, has once again placed the spotlight on the FIA, the governing body of Formula 1. An appeal from Aston Martin triggered the farcical scenes to sign off a weekend in Spielberg typified by the absurdity of the track-limits issue at the final two corners of the track. The only salvation was that the podium and Max Verstappen’s win remained unchanged. Qualifying on Friday was dominated by cars continuously extending the limits of the car beyond the white line. Sergio Perez, incredulously, fell foul three times in Q2, even after a host of warnings from his engineer and subsequently missed out on the top-10 shootout. Sprint day on Saturday seemed less impacted by the issue, but only because of the wet conditions resulting in the drivers being more conservative in their driving style on the approach to turns 9 and 10. Come the grand prix a day later, the number of warnings, black-and-white flags and then time penalties rather overshadowed what was actually an enthralling 71-lap race. Hamilton, exuding disbelief at the situation over team radio, was aghast at the notion that only he was being punished. Ultimately with the late result change, nobody escaped. Esteban Ocon, for instance, had an astonishing 30 seconds added to his final time, seemingly driving a completely different configuration altogether. There are a few problems at play here. Firstly, the issue of cars consistently crossing the white line at the end of the lap. The Red Bull Ring, which has been a fixture on the F1 schedule since 2014 and on Sunday extended its contract until 2030, is the shortest track on the calendar. A fact which should encourage captivating battles, both on track and on the timesheets. Instead, it is the circuit most prone to ignominy with the deletion of lap times. Practically, it can be avoided too. Last year, a gravel trap on the outside of the final turn – as opposed to sections of run-off area – was recommended by the race director. Such an addition would encourage drivers to be more cautious on the approach and thus more likely to stay within the white lines. Such an improvement must be made next year. Yet more so than the track-limits discussion itself, what is particularly concerning for the sport in the long-term is the changing of the result hours after the race has ended. We have been here before, too. In March, the second race of the season in Saudi Arabia saw Fernando Alonso’s third place reinstated past midnight local time, rendering George Russell’s experience on the podium redundant. A fortnight later in Australia, a chaotic race saw post-race appeals drag the race result into uncertainty for a matter of weeks, with Ferrari appealing a late penalty for Sainz. The FIA and F1, two distinctly different enterprises but reliant in many ways on one another, are not the best of friends at the moment. Ideally, they would work perfectly in harmony but on the contrary, the divide is stark, as illustrated by Formula 1 calling out FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem in the off-season for opining on F1’s market value in the wake of takeover rumours from Saudi Arabia. All of it points towards a situation where the whole operation and system of work must improve. There is an argument that it could be completely scratched and revamped – and perhaps both parties could work towards this after the 2023 season. But something has to change. The net result of more ridiculous scenes such as Sunday night’s result change will be spectators turning away from the sport. The influx of fans in the past few years, due to Netflix, the 2021 season and more races than ever before, will be completely undone if those watching cannot fully trust the finality of the chequered flag. The sport’s marketeers have done so well to be ahead of the curve as it enjoys a period of unprecedented popularity. Now the executives themselves must improve their processes in correlation. Read More Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz demoted after Austrian Grand Prix penalty chaos Max Verstappen refuses to ponder title hat-trick despite another emphatic win San Luis Obispo: Why you should visit California’s last sleepy stretch of coast, hidden in plain sight Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz demoted after Austrian Grand Prix penalty chaos F1 Austrian Grand Prix LIVE: Race latest updates and results from Red Bull Ring Lewis Hamilton: 18 months, 13 podiums and an elusive race victory
2023-07-03 20:45

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Man whose wife was killed in wedding night crash speaks out on horrific ordeal
A man who was severely injured and whose wife was killed in an auto accident on the night of their wedding in South Carolina is describing his experience. “My body’s getting back to where I can manage, I guess,” Aric Hutchinson told WCSC on Saturday during a memorial for his wife Samantha Miller, 34, held in Folly Beach, South Carolina. “It’s just as good as I can feel with the situation, but obviously, today and the outpouring of people was just amazing,” he added. “I know Sam would love it.” The beach on the island off the coast of Charlotte North Carolina was where the couple was married. On 28 April, Mr Hutchinson, Miller, and two others were leaving their wedding reception in a golf cart equipped with lights and licensed to drive at night. Police say Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, slammed into the cart from behind, sending Mr Hutchinson flying 100 yards away from the vehicle. He suffered a brain injury and broken bones as a result of the crash, and was in a wheelchair at Saturday’s memorial. Ms Komoroski, who was allegedly drunkenly driving 65mph in a 25mph zone in a rental car, was arrested and charged with one count of reckless homicide and three counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily harm. Witnesses told police the crash was like a “loud explosion going off,” while another described Ms Komoroski saying aloud, "I did nothing wrong”. Ms Komoroski had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit in South Carolina, according to police, and told police she had multiple drinks the night of the crash after refusing to perform a field sobriety test. "Words cannot express how devastated we are by her loss," XenTegra, the North Carolina IT company where Miller worked, said in a statement to NBC News. “She carried a light about her, one that shined so brightly upon everyone with whom she interacted. Simply put, Samantha brought an abundance of joy and laughter to the workplace.” Read More Drunk driver who killed bride on wedding day had blood alcohol level three times over the legal limit Newlywed bride killed after drunk driver hits her golf cart immediately after wedding Family of dead bride urges drivers not to drive drunk
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2023-09-16 06:17

Max Verstappen and Red Bull dominate again as Lewis Hamilton toils in Hungary
Lewis Hamilton apologised to Mercedes after a poor start at the Hungarian Grand Prix allowed Max Verstappen to rack up another win. Verstappen gazumped pole-sitter Hamilton on the downhill run to the opening corner at the Hungaroring before racing off into the distance to score his seventh successive victory of this most one-sided of Formula One seasons. Hamilton finished a disappointing fourth after both McLaren drivers also moved ahead of him inside the first two bends of Sunday’s 70-lap race. Lando Norris was runner-up to Verstappen for the second consecutive race, 33.7 seconds behind the dominant Dutchman, while Sergio Perez fought back from ninth to third with Oscar Piastri crossing the line in fifth. Verstappen’s ninth win from the 11 rounds so far, and 18th from his last 22 outings, sees him extend his championship lead to three figures, moving 110 points clear of Perez, heading into next weekend’s concluding round before the summer break in Belgium. Red Bull remain unbeaten this season, setting a new Formula One record with their 12th consecutive win in a row. Twenty-four hours after he ended a 595-day wait for pole position, Hamilton’s challenge to end a losing streak which now stands at 34 races was over after a few hundred metres. Hamilton’s initial reaction to the lights turning green was fine, but he struggled for traction in the next phase, with Verstappen moving alongside the Mercedes and then ahead under braking for the first right-hander. Hamilton, sharing the front row with Verstappen for the first time since he was denied a record eighth world title in the desert, could do nothing to prevent Verstappen barging his way through. Forced wide by Verstappen, Hamilton then lost two further positions. First to Piastri at the same right-hander, before Norris also muscled his way ahead of the seven-time world champion around the outside of the next bend. Hamilton had a nibble back at his countryman on the long run up to Turn 4 but Norris held firm. A contrite Hamilton was straight on the radio. “Sorry about that, guys,” he said. “Don’t sweat about it, Lewis,” came the reply from Hamilton’s ever-upbeat race engineer, Peter Bonnington. “It is going to be a long race.” Further back, and a slow-starting Zhou Guanyu mimicked a ten-pin bowling ball when he bumped into the returning Daniel Ricciardo, who hit Esteban Ocon, who in turn collided with Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly. Zhou was given a five-second penalty as both Alpines were unable to continue on a disastrous afternoon for the French team. As Verstappen did what Verstappen does and controlled the race to perfection, Hamilton was struggling for speed. He questioned if his Mercedes team had turned down his engine after falling a dozen seconds back from Verstappen by the time he stopped for fresh rubber on lap 16. He then expressed his exasperation at being cast more than 10 seconds behind third-placed Piastri, the Australian dropping behind team-mate Norris at the first round of stops. “Where am I losing all the time?” he asked, adding: “It is just the car is slow.” Perez started ninth following another below-par qualifying, but by lap 40 he was crawling all over the back of Hamilton’s Mercedes. To his credit, the Briton held off Perez before the Red Bull man dived into the pits. Bonnington called on Hamilton to pick up the pace. But the despondent 38-year-old replied: “This is as fast as it goes, mate. That is what I have been saying.” When he finally stopped for rubber for a second time with 20 laps to run, Hamilton dropped to fifth, with Perez now running in third after fighting his way past Piastri. Piastri was suddenly struggling for speed and Hamilton wiped out a six-second deficit to the Australian inside a handful of laps and at the start of 57 he breezed past the McLaren man at the first corner. Hamilton set about hunting down Perez, wiping out significant chunks of time in the closing laps, without getting close enough to challenge, crossing the line 1.5 seconds back from the Mexican and 39 behind Verstappen. Charles Leclerc finished sixth while George Russell, who started 18th, passed Carlos Sainz for seventh with five laps remaining. The Briton was then bumped up one place after Leclerc was penalised five seconds for speeding in the pit lane. On his first race back in the saddle after being dumped by McLaren at the end of last season, Ricciardo – despite slipping to last after Zhou’s first-corner antics – finished a commendable 13th in his AlphaTauri. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live 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 Like someone cut my heart out – Claire Williams on sale of father’s F1 team
2023-07-23 23:19
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