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For all the success garnered over the last two years, an asterisk has accompanied the Red Bull route to Formula 1 domination. In 2021, Max Verstappen’s dramatic title triumph was shrouded in controversy after the Abu Dhabi fiasco. Last year, their mightily impressive double title glory was overshadowed by breaching the inaugural F1 cost cap. This season, entering race nine back at base at the Red Bull Ring this weekend with Verstappen holding a 69-point lead in the championship – and even that is from his team-mate Sergio Perez – there does not look set to be such a dark cloud forming this time. The RB19 is perhaps Adrian Newey’s greatest achievement yet. Verstappen’s confidence is at an all-time high, to the extent he joked in real time about a slightly misjudged approach to the kerb in Canada where George Russell had earlier crashed. And when the Dutchman has a rare off-day, perhaps in qualifying, invariably Sergio Perez is there to pick up the first-place trophy instead. Christian Horner’s team are a pristine, well-oiled machine. They claimed their 100th win in F1 last time out in Montreal. Yet Lewis Hamilton, seven times a world champion scampering desperately with the other 17 drivers on the grid playing catch-up, is willing to discuss the elephant in the room. “The [cost cap] penalty didn’t cost them anything,” Hamilton said, ahead of this weekend’s sprint weekend in Austria. “It definitely, definitely didn’t. It was so small.” Red Bull were fined £6m and docked 10% of their car development time for their £1.8m overspend, impacting their wind-tunnel runs and simulations. As emphatic as Hamilton’s assessment is, and many will argue it has a certain degree of accuracy given the scale of Red Bull’s success, the Mercedes man went further as he looks to give himself a fighting chance of a record-breaking eighth title in the not-so-distant future. "I think the FIA should probably put a time when everyone is allowed to start developing on next year’s car,” he added, referring to Red Bull no longer focusing on their 2023 car such is their current advantage and instead shifting emphasis to 2024. “Say August 1, that’s where everybody can start so that no one can get an advantage on the next year, cause that sucks. "It would make more sense. They should. Say for example you start the season and you know you have a bad car, you can just say I’m not going to bother developing this car and put all this money into next year’s car and have an advantage." The notion that the FIA should change the regulations as a result of Red Bull’s domination has been regularly concocted in recent weeks, whether it be across the paddock or on social media. Short memories, it seems. For Red Bull’s current all-out supremacy, think Michael Schumacher’s five-in-a-row with Ferrari at the start of the noughties. Think Lewis Hamilton’s six victories in seven years with Mercedes. Think Sebastian Vettel’s four on the bounce back at Red Bull to kick off the 2010s. Periods of domination are commonplace in F1. A framework is set in place; regulations set in stone years in advance. These must remain. A sudden alteration of various rules, now, would be simply unfair and unsporting. Despite that, talk of a perfect 22/22 this season is being swiftly dismissed by Red Bull. The runaway leaders are not getting carried away yet. “At a sprint weekend, so many things can go wrong,” said a typically level-headed Verstappen on Thursday. His team-mate Perez was absent, due to illness, but is expected to be fit to drive on Friday. While the second of six sprint weekends this season takes place in Spielberg – with qualifying for the grand prix on Friday before “sprint day” on Saturday – could ruffle feathers, Red Bull are massive favourites to take their ninth-straight win of the year at their home track. Ferrari did win in Austria last year, but have not won since. Mercedes are on a slow road back to the top-tier, with a bigger upgrade due next week at Silverstone. If any team is to challenge Red Bull, therefore, it could well be Aston Martin – and their imperious 41-year-old double world champion Fernando Alonso. Read More Are Red Bull now the most successful F1 team ever – and how long can this dominance last? Toto Wolff optimistic as Mercedes target improvement at Austrian Grand Prix Sergio Perez misses media day at the Austrian Grand Prix Sergio Perez misses media day at the Austrian Grand Prix Toto Wolff optimistic as Mercedes target improvement at Austrian Grand Prix What is a sprint race in F1 and how does new qualifying shootout work?

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Lando Norris has revealed he had a number of expensive items stolen in a robbery at a villa in Marbella. It is the second time the British Formula One star has been targeted by thieves after he was accosted by two men and had his Richard Mille designer watch stolen after the Euro 2020 final at Wembley. McLaren driver Norris, 23 was understood to be on holiday in the south of Spain for three days when the incident took place. Speaking to the PA news agency ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, Norris said: “We were out for dinner and our place got robbed. “A mixture of many things were stolen. Some were expensive and some were not so expensive. It is still an ongoing conversation so I cannot say too much.” Norris was reported to be on holiday with a group of friends, including influencer Jennie Dimova. Dimova posted a video to her TikTok, saying: “If you are wondering why I look like that it is because our villa got robbed and everything I have ever owned – my clothes, my shoes, my bags, my jewellery – everything has been taken – and I am left with literally nothing. I cried for two hours but what can I do?” The popular Norris is only 11th in this season’s drivers’ championship having scored points at just three of the opening eight rounds in his under-performing McLaren machine. The British team have brought an upgrade to this weekend’s event in Spielberg in the hope of turning their disappointing season around. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Sergio Perez was absent from media day at the Austrian Grand Prix due to illness. The Red Bull driver, who is second in the championship standings behind team-mate Max Verstappen, “became unwell” on Wednesday night. With qualifying taking place on Friday this weekend with the sprint format in place, the 32-year-old took the decision not to go to the Red Bull Ring on Thursday. “He became unwell last night and is taking the day to rest to ensure he’s in the best possible health for this weekend’s race,” Red Bull said in a statement. Perez trails Verstappen by 69 points in the world championship. Despite two wins from the opening four races, the Mexican has struggled in recent weeks and is now only nine points clear of Fernando Alonso in third. This weekend’s action in Spielberg sees the second of six sprint weekends this season. Qualifying for the grand prix now takes place on Friday, with Saturday a designated “sprint day” with “sprint shootout” quickfire qualifying in the morning followed by the sprint race in the afternoon. Read More Are Red Bull now the most successful F1 team ever – and how long can this dominance last? What is a sprint race in F1 and how does new qualifying shootout work? F1 team bid confirmed for 2026 season after major investment

Toto Wolff believes Mercedes’ car should perform better this weekend in Austria than two weeks ago in Canada. The Silver Arrows switched their car philosophy a month ago, bringing in a host of upgrades for the Monaco Grand Prix. The true impact of the revamped car has been seen in the last two races – in Barcelona and Montreal – with improved performance, recording back-to-back podiums including a double podium in Spain. Yet both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell remain short of pace to challenge Red Bull’s Max Verstappen out in front. The Dutchman has a 69-point lead to team-mate Sergio Perez in the Driver Standings, while Red Bull are 154 points clear of Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship. "There were plenty of positives to take from the last race in Canada," Mercedes boss Wolff said, ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix. "Although we didn’t get both cars to the chequered flag, a podium was a solid result and we saw encouraging signs from our updated package. "It’s a short lap in Spielberg and looks straightforward on paper; several long straights broken up by a range of slow, medium-speed and fast corners. But it’s a challenging one to put together and get right. "We will aim to build on the momentum we have generated over the past two races and continue our positive trajectory with the car. "It’s a venue where the W14 should perform better than in Canada, but we won’t take anything for granted. As always, we will be working hard to maximise our performance and deliver strong results." This weekend’s action at the Red Bull Ring sees the second sprint race of the season, with qualifying for the grand prix taking place on Friday before ‘sprint day’ on Saturday. Read More F1 team bid confirmed for 2026 season after major investment

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F1 sprint is set for its biggest ever season this year with six sprint races on the calendar for 2023 - doubling the amount from 2022 and 2021. The 100km Saturday dash, first introduced at the British Grand Prix in 2021, has proven popular with teams and fans alike and will be present at more than a quarter of Grand Prix weekends during the 23-race season. Why F1’s sprint shake-up could be the beginning of the end for Max Verstappen There was an unanimous agreement to increase the number of sprint events amongst F1 teams at a meeting of the F1 commission meeting last year, following discussions with the FIA and a vote amongst the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC). As it was last year, the F1 sprint is a 100km race with no mandatory pit stops and drivers racing flat-out to the chequered flag. As it was in the 2022 season, the top eight drivers score points, with the driver who finishes P1 receiving eight points. How does the sprint race work? The F1 Commission and the FIA have approved new sprint weekend format changes which will see an extra qualifying session added to the schedule. The new order of play sees a new ‘sprint shootout’ take place on Saturday morning instead of a second practice session, with traditional qualifying on Friday now setting the grid for Sunday’s grand prix. It means there will be just one practice session over the course of the weekend, while Saturday is designated ‘sprint day’. The result of the Saturday sprint – a 100km dash, roughly a third of the distance of the grand prix – will not impact the grid for Sunday, as opposed to the past two years. Points will be awarded to the top-eight, as was the case in 2022. But now, that Friday qualifying session will take on added weight as it will set the grid for Sunday’s grand prix, regardless of what happens in Saturday’s sprint race. On Saturday, instead of what was seen as a generally pointless second practice session on Saturday, a new ‘sprint shootout’ will take place to form the starting grid for the sprint race later in the day. It will follow the same Q1-Q2-Q3 format but the session times will be shorter than traditional qualifying: Q1 will be 12 minutes, Q2 will be 10 minutes and Q3 will be eight minutes. NEW SPRINT WEEKEND FORMAT Friday: Free Practice 1; qualifying (for Sunday’s Grand Prix) Saturday: Sprint qualifying; sprint race (Top-eight receive points, finish order will have no impact on Grand Prix grid) Sunday: Grand Prix How many points are on offer? P1 - Eight points P2 - Seven points P3 - Six points P4 - Five points P5 - four points P6 - three points P7 - two points P8 - one point Where will the sprint races take place this season? There will be six sprint races this season, including at three of the final six Grand Prix weekends. ROUND 4 - AZERBAIJAN Baku City Circuit - 28-30 April Sprint shootout pole: Charles Leclerc Sprint race winner: Sergio Perez ROUND 10 - AUSTRIA Red Bull Ring, Spielberg - 30 June-2 July ROUND 13 - BELGIUM Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps - 28-30 July ROUND 18 - QATAR Lusail International Circuit, Lusail - 6-8 October ROUND 19 - UNITED STATES Circuit of the Americas, Austin - 20-22 October ROUND 21 - BRAZIL Interlagos Circuit, Sao Paulo - 3-5 November Read More F1 race schedule: What time is the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday? Why have Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney invested in Alpine F1 team? F1’s sprint shake-up could be the beginning of the end for Max Verstappen ‘Happy’ Lewis Hamilton still hungry for record eighth world title – Damon Hill F1 2023 calendar: All 23 Grand Prix this year Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to invest in F1 team