List of All Articles with Tag 'eppersons'

This week’s new entertainment releases include Taylor Swift's rerecording of her “Speak Now,” a documentary on Wham

Wimbledon is on, the sun is shining and the Pimm's is chilling in the fridge -- summer has well and truly arrived. For those planning an escape to Europe and who want to add a sense of history, there are a fair few regal attractions beyond London that you might like to include in your itinerary.

A dominant Max Verstappen set the practice pace in the first running of the weekend at the British Grand Prix. The double world champion, a winner at seven of the opening nine rounds of a one-sided campaign, finished nearly half-a-second clear of Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez. Lewis Hamilton managed only 12th in front of his home supporters, two places ahead of fellow Briton George Russell in the other Mercedes. Alex Albon was an impressive third for Williams with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso fourth. Charles Leclerc finished fifth for Ferrari. Verstappen has already established a commanding 81-point lead in his pursuit of a hat-trick of world championships. The Dutch driver cruised to the chequered flag a week ago at Red Bull’s home race in Austria, and he will head into the remainder of the weekend as the driver to beat following an emphatic start at a sun-cooked Silverstone. Verstappen pulled on the speediest soft tyres with a dozen minutes to go and crossed the line 0.448 seconds ahead of Perez in the other Red Bull. Hamilton has won seven of the last 10 races staged at Silverstone, but the seven-time world champion will have to upset the odds to add to his tally on Sunday. The 38-year-old finished a distant 1.1 sec adrift of Verstappen and was on the radio complaining about the bouncing in his upgraded Mercedes machine. Russell was also on the intercom to bemoan his unruly Mercedes, ending the one-hour running a tenth back from Hamilton. However, neither Hamilton nor Russell posted a lap on the fastest soft compound. Nyck de Vries is under pressure to keep his seat with AlphaTauri and the rookie Dutchman was the only driver to fall off the road in practice. De Vries spun into the gravel at Turn 7 but was able to keep his car going through the sand trap before returning to his garage. Despite the threat of action from Just Stop Oil protesters, the first running passed off without incident. However, F1 bosses, Silverstone and Northamptonshire Police remain on high alert that a protest could yet disrupt the three days of running, with 480,000 people anticipated to pass through the gates this weekend. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lewis Hamilton promises to keep his cool on team radio after Austrian flashpoint Lewis Hamilton defends casting ‘iconic’ Brad Pitt as F1 driver in new film Max Verstappen hints he may retire from Formula One unless calendar reduced

Jackie Stewart has revealed he suffered a stroke five weeks ago in a health scare which saw him fall “unconscious for a long time.” The three-time F1 world champion, still a regular in and around the paddock, will be present at Silverstone this weekend despite the incident. The 84-year-old was in Jordan attending the wedding of Crown Prince Hussein when, the night before, he was taken to hospital after falling unconscious. "This was the night before the wedding, I got up in the night feeling strange,” he told the Daily Mail. "I just dropped. And then I can’t remember. I was unconscious for quite a long time. "I was taken to hospital in Jordan. My son Paul and his wife were there for the wedding, in a bedroom on a different floor. "To this day I don’t know how I got to Paul’s room, but I must have been somewhat alert to get hold of him.” Stewart was then treated in Jordan before flying home in a plane supplied by the Crown Prince. "They got me into an ambulance, but I have no recall of that either,” Stewart added. “His Majesty got the best doctors available for me. "I wanted to get home as fast as possible, and the Crown Prince of Bahrain very generously gave his aircraft to fly me back to Europe. "By then I was pretty much okay. I wasn’t walking very well though." Stewart now says he can walk “almost completely perfectly” and will be present at Silverstone for two days – he also attended a meeting at Downing Street on Tuesday alongside a number of F1 officials and team principals. The F1 legend has also backed championship leader Max Verstappen to continue his domination. “The combination of the Dutchman and Milton Keynes,” he added. “Max is a remarkably talented man, and he hasn’t gone astray. “He is a wonderful ambassador for our sport." Read More F1 British Grand Prix LIVE: Practice updates and FP1 lap times from Silverstone Jackie Stewart breaks through VIP barrier to help Sky’s journalist interview Roger Federer Jackie Stewart on a life with dyslexia and his unrelenting push for safety in Formula 1 F1 British Grand Prix LIVE: Practice updates and lap times from Silverstone Lewis Hamilton promises to keep his cool on team radio after Austrian flashpoint Lewis Hamilton must be ‘cold-blooded’ in new Mercedes contract negotiations

Lewis Hamilton said he will tone down his radio complaints following team boss Toto Wolff’s public rebuke at last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix. During the race, Hamilton, sanctioned for exceeding track limits, asked why some of his rivals – namely Sergio Perez – had not been penalised, and also lambasted the speed of his under-performing Mercedes machine. Wolff rarely speaks to his drivers over the radio, but he was on the intercom twice to Hamilton. “Lewis, the car is bad, we know,” said Wolff on his second appearance over the airwaves. “Please drive it.” Addressing Wolff’s comments ahead of his home race at Silverstone on Sunday, Hamilton said: “We always learn from our experiences, and on my side I’ve reviewed my comments, where I was at mentally, and will make sure I adjust that for the future. “The best thing about my partnership with Toto is that we can be direct with each other. He is just an out-and-out racer. He was just trying to encourage me and that was his way of doing it.” Hamilton has endured another up-and-down campaign. He arrived at the last round in Spielberg following consecutive podium finishes but Mercedes struggled at the Red Bull Ring. Hamilton crossed the line in seventh and was demoted to eighth following a second timed penalty, this time after the race, for exceeding track limits. His £40million-a-season deal with the Silver Arrows expires at the end of the campaign and Hamilton and Wolff say the terms and finances of his next contract have been agreed, but an extension will not be announced at the seven-time world champion’s home race. Hamilton was asked if he could yet move elsewhere if Mercedes fail to show him he can be in a contender in their machinery. “That is not what I am thinking,” said Hamilton. “I still have 100 per cent faith in this team. “It has taken longer for all of us to get to where we want to be and it’s definitely not easy, but I believe that we will get there. We’ve just got to continue to work and chip away at it.” Hamilton’s Mercedes team were handed a reprimand after the British driver arrived late for Thursday’s official press conference. Mercedes blamed Hamilton’s tardy entrance on an “extremely busy schedule” and said “it is difficult for Hamilton to move through the paddock” because of the interest at his home race. A statement from the FIA read: “While the stewards understand this to be the case, it is also true that this is an activity required by the regulations, that late attendance is disruptive to the press conference, and that there is significant interest by the media in talking to the drivers whose access is limited. “Activities on Thursday are generally organised by the teams and the drivers follow the instructions of their team co-ordinators. “Therefore, the stewards determined that the most appropriate penalty was to the team rather than to the driver. As some leeway has been given previously the stewards consider a reprimand to the team to be appropriate, with the warning that further penalties may be considered in case of repetition.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lewis Hamilton defends casting ‘iconic’ Brad Pitt as F1 driver in new film Max Verstappen hints he may retire from Formula One unless calendar reduced 5 memorable races staged at Silverstone

Lewis Capaldi's Hot Ones episode may start off fairly composed, but don't let that fool

Formula 1 heads back to one of its most famous sites as Silverstone hosts the 2023 British Grand Prix this weekend. Last time out in Austria, Max Verstappen continued his dominant form with a fifth straight win this season, extending his lead in the world championship to 81 points to team-mate Sergio Perez. Lewis Hamilton endured a mixed weekend in Spielberg with Mercedes, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished on the podium. Hamilton, George Russell and Lando Norris will be eyeing strong results this weekend at their home race. Free practice 1 starts at 12:30pm; FP2 is at 4pm. Follow British Grand Prix updates with The Independent: Read More British Grand Prix: 20 years since Irish ‘lunatic’ invaded the track at Silverstone Why is Brad Pitt filming at Silverstone during the British Grand Prix? Lewis Hamilton supports ‘peaceful’ protests at British Grand Prix this weekend

It's easy to forget amidst the Twitter/Threads drama, but Elon Musk is still CEO of

“Oh my goodness me!” screamed ITV’s lead Formula 1 commentator James Allen, words struggling to comprehend the sheer craziness of what was being witnessed. “We’ve got a lunatic on the track!” When a group of protestors from Just Stop Oil invaded the circuit last year during the opening lap of the British Grand Prix, it wasn’t Silverstone’s first run-in with track invaders. Contrarily, 20 years ago, the 2003 British Grand Prix was 10 laps in before deranged Irish priest Neil Horan sprinted up the fiercely quick Hangar Straight. Many drivers had to swerve to avoid him as Horan, dressed in a brown kilt, madly ran into the racing line of F1 cars speeding at 200mph while waving banners which read: “Read the bible” and “The Bible is always right.” The result could have been catastrophic if it wasn’t for the quick awareness of the drivers and the marshal stationed at position ‘Hangar 1’. Volunteering at the British Grand Prix once again, Stephen Green ran into the void of the unknown. “I didn’t really think, adrenaline just kicks in,” Green, now 72, tells The Independent. “I made the decision anyway to wait until most of the pack had gone past. I actually watched it last week on YouTube – it seems like the guy is running up there forever and a day before I get to him. “I think I just barged into him! Then he fell over and I just grabbed his wrists and dragged him. There was a white transit van with security waiting behind the debris fence. I remember what I said to him but it’s not printable!” It was an astonishing scene. While pitch invasions and streakers have for many a long year popped up at various sporting events across the country, a live racetrack is an entirely different situation altogether. More so than any wider cause, lives in the immediacy are at risk. For Green, though, it brought a sense of notoriety not familiar to the men and women in orange suits. Soon after, once the police investigation had subsided and Horan was charged with “aggravated trespass”, the marshal was the second man awarded the BARC (British Automobile Racing Club) Browning medal for outstanding bravery. The first was David Purley, 21 years earlier, following his attempts to save Roger Williamson from a fire at Zandvoort. Meanwhile Horan, laicised by the Catholic Church, did not stop there; in fact, Silverstone was just the start of his bizarre interventions. A year later, at the 2004 Athens Olympics, he ran into the path of lead Brazilian runner Vanderlei de Lima in the men’s marathon and pushed him into the crowds, ruining his path to gold. Months earlier, he was caught by police at the Epsom Derby. He also appeared on Britain’s Got Talent in 2009, performing an Irish jig. Yet that day 20 years ago brought together two very different people from two very different walks of life. A point not lost on Green when, peculiarly, Horan got in touch. “Strangely enough, he emailed me five years ago to ask how I was,” Green says. “We exchanged a couple of emails and that’s about it. “Strange chap, shall we say!” The subject of protestors is top of the agenda at Silverstone this weekend. If not for last year’s near-catastrophe, then for Just Stop Oil’s recent interventions at Twickenham, the World Snooker Championship, the Ashes and just this week, Wimbledon. “At a national event, you always run the risk of idiots turning up and doing whatever they’ve got in mind to do,” Green says. “There was a huge tightening of security after the 2003 incident. “Last year I just got messages from my mates saying ‘why are you not at Silverstone?!’ There is a difference between Just Stop Oil and Horan though, I think everyone would say that Just Stop Oil are actually trying to achieve something. “Motorsport is lucky in many ways that we don’t get as much as we could’ve done. It is very tightly controlled – given F1 goes all over the world, I think it does pretty well.” Green, who still marshals at events across the UK after previous F1 stints in the Middle-East as well as Silverstone, had the rarest of race interactions on that day in ‘03. F1 and the police are on red-alert this Sunday to ensure a repeat does not occur, with the threat level at an all-time high. Read More Lewis Hamilton supports ‘peaceful’ protests at British Grand Prix this weekend Just Stop Oil ‘vital’ says Dale Vince as sports fans are backed to intervene Arrests at Wimbledon after Just Stop Oil protesters storm court twice Lewis Hamilton must be ‘cold-blooded’ in new Mercedes contract negotiations F1 release 2024 calendar with radical change to start of the season F1 descends into farce again after results shake-up – the FIA has to be better

South Korea’s government has formally endorsed the safety of Japanese plans to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea as it tries to calm people’s fears about food contamination

Whistle-blower Chen Chien-jou has watched with mixed emotions as Taiwan's #MeToo movement swept from politics and academia to the entertainment world after her account of...

It has been five years since Jawhara al-Wabili became one of Saudi Arabia's first women drivers -- a reform she saw as revolutionary, even as...