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F1 Brazilian GP qualifying delayed by heavy storm



Qualifying for the Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix has been delayed after a deluge of rain began to fall half an hour before the session was due to begin at 1500 local time.

The sprint race had run on Saturday morning in dry conditions, with McLaren’s Lando Norris winning ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri.

But between the sessions it began raining at Interlagos, with the FIA allowing teams to close their garages because of the downpour.

With the radars suggesting rain would continue and with lightning spotted over the track, the decision was taken to delay the start of qualifying indefinitely.

The next update was due to be announced at 1800, when qualifying was originally scheduled to begin.

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Bearman explains early wake-up call for Haas stand-in drive


Oliver Bearman revealed he was woken up on Friday morning with the call to replace Kevin Magnussen for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

With Haas driver Magnussen taken ill, Bearman stepped in for the Dane for the second time this season and duly qualified 10th for Saturday’s sprint, before finding out he would fill Magnussen’s shoes for the entire weekend.

Having initially been drafted in for the sprint running in Sao Paulo, Bearman discovered shortly after the qualifying session that he would start the third F1 grand prix of his career on Sunday.

«Kevin Magnussen will not participate in Friday’s track running at the São Paulo Grand Prix after suffering with sickness,» a statement from Haas said. 

«Official reserve driver Oliver Bearman will take over driving duties. The team wishes Kevin a quick recovery and will provide a further update in due course.»

Bearman, who made his F1 debut as a late stand-in for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, will race full-time for Haas in 2025 and stood in for Magnussen when he was banned for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Oliver Bearman, Haas VF-24

Oliver Bearman, Haas VF-24

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

The race in Baku was so far the only time the Briton has been able to fully prepare for a race, but he was delighted to get the call from Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu on Friday, regardless of how early it came.

“Ayao woke me up this morning at, like, 6:30 with his call,” said Bearman.

“When I saw his name I wasn’t so mad. If it was my mum or something, not realising the time difference, I would have been a bit more angry!

“Of course, I want to give my best to Kevin because I know he’s feeling bad, and he has had a lot of success at the track and he took pole here. Of course, I am very happy to get into an F1 car and it is a pleasure.”

Bearman is the first driver in F1 history to score points for two different teams in his first two races, having finished seventh in Jeddah for Ferrari and 10th on his Haas debut in Baku.

Brazil presents his first chance to take part in an F1 sprint race before then lining up for the grand prix on Sunday.

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team, speaks with Mark Slade, Race Engineer, Haas F1 Team

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team, speaks with Mark Slade, Race Engineer, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Lubomir Asenov / Motorsport Images

He outqualified the sister Haas of Nico Hulkenberg in sprint qualifying – only for an error at the start of his hot lap in the top-10 shoot-out to prevent him starting even further up the field.

“I mean, the car was feeling really good all day,» he added. «Honestly, from the first lap I did in FP1 I had a great feeling.

“So, yeah, happy to be in SQ3 and finally make it to the third stage of a qualifying session but I just made a little mistake in sector one which lost me a lot of time. The rest of the lap was really, really good so I’m a bit disappointed.”

Watch: Why Interlagos Is a Major Challenge for F1 Teams in 2024 — Brazil GP Friday Reaction



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Leclerc fined by FIA for swearing in F1 press conference


Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has been handed a €10,000 fine, half of which is suspended, for swearing in the Mexico Grand Prix’s post-race press conference.

After finishing third in Mexico City, Leclerc used an expletive in the FIA press conference to describe his thinking as he went off the track at Mexico’s final corner, which allowed McLaren driver Lando Norris through to claim second.

«I had one oversteer and then when I recovered from that oversteer, I had an oversteer from the other side and then I was like, ‘fuck’,» Leclerc said.

He then realised he might get in trouble over his choice of words given FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s recent crackdown on swearing, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen handed a community service penalty for his own use of the word in Singapore.

«Oh, sorry! Oh no, I don’t want to join Max,» Leclerc laughed.

But after investigating the matter on Friday evening in Brazil, the FIA stewards decided to hand the Ferrari driver a €10,000 fine instead, with €5,000 suspended provided there is no repeat offence over the next 12 months.

Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari

Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Explaining their verdict, the stewards argued that Leclerc immediately being apologetic was a mitigating factor in his punishment, and that Leclerc’s offence was not at the same level of Verstappen’s swearing in Singapore.

«The Stewards reviewed the transcript of the Post-Race Drivers’ Press Conference in Mexico and found that Charles Leclerc, the driver of car 16, used language in response to a somewhat leading question asking him “what did you say to yourself” in relation to the significant moment towards the end of the race when Leclerc was fighting to control the car at the exit of the last corner,» the verdict read.

«In response Leclerc used coarse language being the accurate recollection of what he thought to himself at the time. Leclerc immediately realised his error and apologised. Such language is not considered suitable for broadcast.

This is “Misconduct” as defined in Article 20 of the International Sporting Code, and is a breach of Article 12.2.1.k. The Stewards noted that the language was not directed at anyone or any group and that Leclerc immediately apologised.

«During the hearing Leclerc expressed his regret for his momentary lack of judgment and shared that he understood his responsibility as a role model for the sport. The Stewards considered the mitigation factor that Leclerc was immediately apologetic.

«The Stewards while noting that the driver’s contrite behaviour conclude that a breach has occurred and a penalty is warranted. The Stewards do not consider that this breach reached the same level as the most recent case and as such chose to levy a fine of €10,000 with €5,000 suspended pending no repeat within 12 months.»

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Lionel Ng / Motorsport Images

Verstappen therefore remains the only F1 driver to serve community service penalties, with the Dutchman previously joining the FIA stewards at the 2019 Formula E round in Marrakesh as an observer to gain a better understanding of how they worked.

Verstappen was given the penalty for shoving Esteban Ocon in parc ferme at the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Later on, Verstappen also joined a meeting of the FIA’s International Stewards Programme as part of his community service.

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Verstappen takes engine penalty for Sunday’s Brazilian GP


Max Verstappen will take a five-place grid penalty for an engine change for Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix, as he moves onto his sixth internal combustion engine of the 2024 Formula 1 season.

The championship leader had already taken a new ICE beyond the allowable limit of four at July’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, this being the third successive year that Red Bull had chosen to take the hit at that circuit.

Following a series of power unit issues in Mexico’s Friday sessions, as an air leak kept Verstappen confined to the garage during the final part of FP1 and the majority of FP2, Red Bull has chosen to take another engine from outside its pool.

This means that Verstappen will lose five places from wherever he qualifies for Sunday’s grand prix, although his sprint race qualifying result will be unaffected.

Verstappen will also use a new exhaust system, his eighth of the season, which takes him to the maximum permitted to last the campaign.

The Dutchman has been in an increasingly precarious situation with his engine allowance for much of the season, as a problem with one unit in practice for the Canadian Grand Prix in June led to a lengthy inspection — leading to a fourth ICE being used as early as Spain.

This led to Red Bull taking a new Honda powerplant at Spa, but Verstappen has now lost another from his pool as a result of the issues in Mexico.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko told Austrian broadcaster ORF that the engine eventually used at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez «was no longer intended for the race, and the older an engine gets, the more its performance diminishes.»

He added that the Red Bull was giving up approximately «three to eight km/h on the straights» thanks to the reduction in horsepower.

Asked on Thursday if Brazil was one of the less compromising races to take a power unit penalty, Verstappen responded that it was not a certainty that he could recover ground lost to a penalty.

«That is something that is always unknown. You think that one particular track is the best place to take an engine or whatever penalty, but it’s never guaranteed. But yeah, it’s a possibility.»



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I have the wrong passport for the F1 paddock


Max Verstappen says he «has the wrong passport» for the Formula 1 paddock amid fierce criticism over his driving tactics in last week’s Mexico Grand Prix.

In Mexico City, Verstappen was handed a double 10-second penalty for two incidents in which he forced McLaren title rival Lando Norris off the track, which caused unease from various colleagues over his aggressive driving style in the title run-in.

Verstappen particularly copped heavy criticism from British pundits, with 1996 F1 world champion and Sky analyst Damon Hill wondering if the three-time champion is even capable of racing fairly.

Meanwhile, Johnny Herbert, who was the FIA driver steward in Mexico, suggested Verstappen drove Norris off on purpose exiting Turn 7 to ensure Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc would make it past, hindering Norris’ title bid by reducing the number of points left on the table for the Briton.

Verstappen initially shrugged off Hill’s comments in the Brazilian Grand Prix’s FIA press conference, but speaking later on to Dutch-language journalists, he was amused by how he seemed to have the wrong nationality to be treated fairly by the media and the stewards.

«I know what most people are like, it’s nothing new,» he said. «Last year was perfect, so it must have hurt a lot for many people that they couldn’t say anything negative.

«Now they’ve got the chance to say something, so they’re all coming out of the woodwork. At the end of the day, I’ve got the wrong passport for this paddock.»

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Verstappen called Herbert’s theory «a pretty extreme accusation» and insisted he didn’t drive Norris off on purpose in Turn 7.

«I didn’t do anything on purpose. They can’t look inside my head,» he said. «It’s a pretty extreme accusation. We just raced hard.»

While questioning the size of the penalty for his Turn 4 incident with Norris, Verstappen did acknowledge the second 10-second penalty for his Turn 7 manoeuvre was fair. But he didn’t feel there was any reason to race differently from now on.

«You win some, you lose some,» he said about the outcome of his Turn 7 lunge. «It depends. Every situation is different and in hindsight, it’s always easy to have another look at it.

«It happened, we just have to make sure we have a more competitive car so we don’t end up in that situation again, because that’s where it starts.»

What is also behind Verstappen’s suggestion of bias is his community service penalty for swearing in Baku’s press conference, while Leclerc hasn’t been slapped on the wrists yet for a similar offence in Mexico.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Lubomir Asenov / Motorsport Images

«[Herbert] had big opinions about what I said in the press conference [in Baku], but I didn’t hear him after the press conference in Mexico.

«Actually, what [Leclerc] said is worse than what I said in its context, and it was a much more important press conference with more people watching. But you know, I’m not going to spend time on that. It is what it is.»

Autosport understands the FIA is still considering whether or not Leclerc’s swearing in Mexico’s post-race press conference needs to be investigated further, with a call expected over the Brazilian GP weekend.

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F1 needs permanent stewards with «real salaries», says Russell


George Russell reckons it is time the FIA has full-time employed, professional race stewards to improve consistency and help drivers interpret the guidelines.

It comes after explosive races at the US GP in Austin and especially the Mexican Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen was issued with two 10-second time penalties.

Verstappen was penalised for forcing title rival Lando Norris wide at Turn 4 and leaving the track and gaining an advantage at Turn 7 in Mexico City.

The world champion contested both decisions while, ahead of this weekend’s Brazil Grand Prix, Norris said he felt that «deep down» Verstappen knew the manoeuvre was wrong.

It has reopened the interpretations of F1’s loosely-worded rulebook and Russell, who is a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, says that while he does not believe the rulebook needs ripping up, it does now require a stable body of race officials to improve the consistency of the penalties being dished out.

Russell said: «On a personal view, not a view of the collective, I don’t think it [the rulebook] needs ripping up at all. It just needs some fine adjustments or a small addition. It’s all pretty clear.

«The guidelines need to be in place but it also needs to be remembered they are guidelines. There’s not a written regulation and it’s down to the stewards to take the best judgement.

«When things come down to interpretation, and when things are about consistency, you can argue if you were to have the same stewards week in, week out, the consistency will be better because they’re interpreting things in the same manner and the drivers understand exactly what they expect in a given circumstance.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

«So I do feel, again a personal view, not one of on behalf of the drivers, but personal view, I do think we’re at a point now in this sport that we do need a full-time professional steward in where they earn a real salary.

«They’re not effectively volunteers and I do think within the pool of stewards we’ve got now, they are definitely up to standard. So it’s not saying anything bad about the current stewards, it’s just saying I feel we should be having system stewarding week in, week out.»

The FIA wishes to speak to drivers about the racing rules to provide clearer guidelines in the future. However, Verstappen — who has made several references to falling out of love with F1 — says the series has become over-regulated.

Speaking in Sao Paulo ahead of the race, he said: «It’s never going to be perfect because even if you remove rules, then you get into a battle, then you want more rules because it’s not clear what is allowed or not.

«Then when you have too many rules, you want less rules. It just keeps on going left and right all the time. Do I think it’s over-regulated? Probably yes. I mean, in general, the rulebook is only getting bigger and bigger every single year, I don’t think that’s always the right way forward.»

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Russell however says that along with professional stewards, the guidelines do need further clarification but they only become highlighted when the wording is tested.

He added: «If you read the rules, there are lines that say if you’re driving erratically or dangerous, you’ll be punished and you can argue if a driver outbreaks himself and doesn’t make the corner on the exit that is erratic because you’re driving off the racetrack. 

«So there is an element of interpretation there, for sure it does need to be cleaned up a little bit.

«At the end of the day, every incident is different. For sure, now things are evolving… it’s like the safety of the cars, you need a bad accident to happen before you make this real progress.

«It’s the same with the driving regulations. You need something or decisions to be incorrect or things to be pushed beyond its limit before you realise change needs to happen.»



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TV deals in spotlight as Brazilian GP shuts curtain on F1’s Americas triple-header


After another dominant Ferrari victory in Mexico both Formula 1 world championships remain in the balance heading to the Brazilian Grand Prix this weekend, with global television audiences clamouring to see the latest twists and turns in a three-team tussle for the titles.

The race at Interlagos is the end of three consecutive weeks of F1 racing in the Americas, with the United States GP in Austin immediately preceding Carlos Sainz’s impressive win in Mexico last weekend.

But, with interest in the championship still riding the crest of a wave, uncertainty over broadcast deals in the key markets of the US and Brazil could see some of that popularity crash down to earth.

Brazil

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W14, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR23, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR23, the rest of the field, as Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-23, Alex Albon, Williams FW45, crash

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W14, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR23, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR23, the rest of the field, as Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-23, Alex Albon, Williams FW45, crash

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images

Rather interestingly, it is the potential F1 future of highly-rated Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto that could have caused a headache over broadcasting rights in his homeland.

To see how much the interest of a South American nation is piqued by having a local favourite to cheer on, just look across Brazil’s near-800 mile border with Argentina and witness the clamour for Franco Colapinto.

The potential uptick in viewing figures should Bortoleto — the 20-year-old Sao Paulo-born racer who leads the F2 championship — land the remaining seat at Sauber next year could potentially have caused quite the issue over broadcasting agreements in Brazil.

Band, having signed a three-year renewal in 2022 to broadcast all grands prix, qualifying sessions and sprint races between 2023 and 2025, has reportedly been struggling to pay the instalments on its deal and has previously been attempting to renegotiate the terms for the final year.

A contract termination was mooted but Band is understood to have scoffed at the fee to cancel the deal early and is instead prepared to commit to seeing out the agreement – with the potential added incentive of extra revenue should Bortoleto sign for Sauber.

Gabriel Bortoleto, Invicta Racing

Gabriel Bortoleto, Invicta Racing

Photo by: Invicta Virtuosi Racing

While a tricky situation is yet to be resolved, the waters are further muddied by the arrival on the scene of Globo, the largest commercial television network in Brazil.

Having previously aired F1 for decades, Globo is almost certainly expected to sign a deal to replace Band from 2026 onwards – but was also reportedly ready to step in and broadcast the 2025 season should Liberty Media and Band sever ties.

Julianne Cerasoli, a freelance F1 journalist from Brazil, reported a replacement deal has already been struck between Globo and Liberty.

“It turns out on Liberty’s side they had already agreed with Globo that there would be 15 races on free to air TV,” she said.

“Everything was agreed, there was another little thing to settle, and the contract was going to be sent to the lawyers. But the signing could only happen after Band agreed to its termination.”

Reginaldo Leme, TV Globo

Reginaldo Leme, TV Globo

Photo by: Sutton Images

Conflicting reports emanating from Brazil suggest Band is now ready to drop its rights for the 2025 season, while the company itself issued a statement in response to such suggestions.

«Band not only wants F1, but also has a contract to broadcast the world championship until 2025,” it read. “The hasty decisions that have occurred violate the contract that the broadcaster has with Liberty Media. Band will fulfil the contract until the end.”

While an agreement cannot be struck at this time, Globo presented an F1 car front and centre during its recent ‘UpFront’ event, showcasing the network’s main attractions to potential advertisers.

As the watching world of F1 turns its collective eyes to Brazil this weekend, the country’s own television rights face an uncertain future – much like potential F2 champion Bortoleto.

United States

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Liberty has turned F1 into a roaring success across the globe, opening the doors for more access, increased social media and a seemingly ever-increasing fandom.

Nowhere is that clearer than in Liberty’s own backyard, with American fans flocking to F1 in recent years.

Likewise, that metric can be judged as well as anywhere else by looking at the United States and their broadcast rights for the series.

A previous home of F1 in America, ESPN returned with a new broadcasting deal for the 2018 season – paying no traditional fee for the rights, with Liberty keen to get F1 into as many living rooms across the country as possible, and then paying $5million a year between 2019-2022.

As with Band, a new deal was signed in 2022 running through 2025, with at least 16 races airing on ABC and ESPN, although this time, following the groundswell of interest from American audiences, the Disney-owned broadcaster had to pay much more for the privilege – a reported $90m annually.

Burke Magnus ESPN, President, Programming & original content, Stefano Domenicali, CEO

Burke Magnus ESPN, President, Programming & original content, Stefano Domenicali, CEO

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images

ESPN had a record-setting 2022 with the most-viewed F1 championship ever broadcast on US television and from 2023 onwards screened all 23 races – 18 across ABC or ESPN and the remaining five on ESPN2.

The three races across the Americas are given the best-in-class treatment by ESPN, with GameDay on the ground alongside the network’s regular team in Austin, Mexico City and Sao Paulo.

With ESPN utilising the Sky Sports F1 coverage, its own race weekend offering could be considered slim, but it is still attractive to Liberty as the sheer reach of the grands prix screened on ABC is huge.

However, one source told Autosport that they rate the chance at 50/50 as to whether a new deal will be signed with ESPN or if another broadcaster, who could come on board and invest in its own broadcast of races, will be tempted to bid for the rights from 2026.

From paying nothing to a $90m a year outlay and with F1 continuing to enjoy a boom period in the US, the next deal could be worth a record amount and there will be plenty of suitors should the rights go to tender next year.

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Mexico penalties “won’t stop” Verstappen aggression towards Norris


Former Formula 1 driver turned FIA steward Johnny Herbert does not expect a pair of 10-second sanctions at the Mexico Grand Prix will stop Max Verstappen from being aggressive in combat with title rival Lando Norris.

One week on from a controversial off-track overtake from Norris, which saw the McLaren driver handed a five-second penalty in Austin following a robust defence from Verstappen, the Dutchman was himself in trouble with the stewards, being penalised 10 seconds for gaining an advantage by leaving the track, and a second identical penalty for forcing another driver off the track.

With a meeting between the FIA and the drivers scheduled for the Qatar Grand Prix, the penultimate weekend of the season, some rules of engagement may be altered or clarified for the Losail and Abu Dhabi rounds.

But until this point, Herbert – who was one of the FIA stewards at the Mexico GP — believes Verstappen will keep pushing up to and occasionally beyond the letter of the law.

Speaking to Action Network, he said: “Those penalties in Mexico won’t stop Max Verstappen from pushing Lando Norris off the track in the future.

“The whole intention of Verstappen was to try to let Ferrari get the 1-2 finish. I think that’s definitely what Verstappen intended and tried to achieve, I understand why he did it but I don’t agree with it, I don’t think many people do.

Johnny Herbert, former driver and FIA steward, arrives at the track

Johnny Herbert, former driver and FIA steward, arrives at the track

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

“‘Fair racing’ is something Norris has mentioned before, and that’s the type of fight he wants to have. I don’t see Verstappen’s driving changing because the number one goal is to stop Norris from closing the gap for the drivers’ championship. We potentially still have a lot of interesting racing coming our way.”

McLaren CEO Zak Brown believed the stewards’ action in Mexico was not tough enough, while Red Bull team principal Christian Horner felt it was too harsh.

Offering his thoughts, Herbert added: “It’s the guidelines we followed, the teams agreed with our decisions. The right decision was made, the 20-second penalty for Max Verstappen was not harsh. Was Verstappen’s driving style on the edge or over the top? Yes, it was.

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“Verstappen’s driving style was harsh, especially when he’s taking a fellow driver off the track. It’s an absolute no-no from me, current drivers, former drivers and stewards.

“I am such a big fan of Verstappen and it frustrates me massively when he drives the way he did in Mexico. He doesn’t need to do it, he’s so good in the cockpit and at this point in the championship, he just needs to stay out of trouble and drive as well as possible.

“When Verstappen goes into this horrible mindset of trying to gain an advantage by taking a fellow driver off the race track so Ferrari can get the 1-2, that is where Verstappen needs to know he doesn’t have to do that. Just win in the cleanest possible way you can.”



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