Author: quyen1

Credits: IMAGO/ Motorsport Images

Lewis Hamilton has had an illustrious Formula 1 career. He has raced with some of the sport’s toughest competitors and cultivated a good relationship with several fellow drivers and teammates. One of them is his old McLaren teammate, Heikki Kovalainen, whom he reached out to and wished a speedy recovery.

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The Finnish racing driver has recently undergone open-heart surgery and is now recuperating at home. Reacting to his update on X (formerly Twitter), the #44 driver replied, “Get well soon Heikki, praying for you.”

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Kovalainen became Hamilton‘s teammate when Fernando Alonso departed the team at the end of the 2007 season. The duo were teammates for two seasons (2008 and 2009). During this stint, Hamilton outpaced the Finn 24-10 in a head-to-head battle in Grands Prix—which has been corrected for mechanical failures.

While the Silver Arrows’ talisman, Hamilton would be having Heikki in his thoughts, the sum total of his focus will now be shifted to the Grand Prix. After yet another difficult session behind the wheel of the W15, Hamilton will start the Japanese Grand Prix from 7th on the grid.

Despite disappointing Quali, Lewis Hamilton has high hopes for the race

Mercedes haven’t been able to give Hamilton the car that can fight for wins, poles, and championships for quite a while. And a testament to that has been his performances in the season’s opening races. At the Suzuka International Circuit, he had yet another frustrating outing.

GPBlog.com quoted him as saying, “I’m naturally not happy with P7, of course.” However, given how close the gaps were during the qualifying session, he had high hopes for the race to come.

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“I think it’s gonna be really close between us all. If you look at qualifying, everyone is within half a tenth or whatever, the top seven or eight. I think it’s very, very, very close, so I hope where I put the car is going to be good in the race tomorrow,” concluded the #44 driver.

Credits: IMAGO / Eibner

Sergio Perez has struggled massively during qualifying since the start of the 2022 season. His performances on a one-lap were so poor last year that several reports even emerged that Red Bull could replace him for this season. However, the Milton Keynes-based outfit chose to stick with Perez, and the Mexican seems to be repaying the favor. The 34-year-old qualified an outstanding second for the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend, his career-best qualifying performance at Suzuka (previous was fourth). Consequently, of Perez’s strong performance, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner lost out on “a few quid.”

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Speaking about the same, Horner told Perez on the team radio after qualifying, “You’ve cost me a few quid today, great job“. The driver from Guadalajara had an interesting reply for Horner as he said, “Now, you see how to motivate me.”

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It seems that Perez enjoys proving people wrong. The former Racing Point driver seems to have proven Horner wrong since the Briton lost his bet.

Perez now hopes to carry on his form during Sunday’s main race. Even if the Mexican cannot challenge Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen for the win, he will at least hope to finish second to help his side register a third 1-2 for the season.

With Perez having rediscovered his form now, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko seems to have an interesting theory to explain it. The Austrian claimed that Perez is performing significantly better because he wants to extend his contract at Milton Keynes.

Helmut Marko reveals why Sergio Perez is now motivated more than ever

Helmut Marko analyzed the Mexicans’ performance after Sergio Perez qualified as an outstanding second for the Japanese GP this weekend. In an interview with Sky Germany, the 80-year-old said (as quoted by crash.net), “You can see he can do it. But perhaps it also plays a role that next year’s contracts are at stake“.

However, Marko made it clear that it is still too early for Red Bull to make any decision about their 2025 driver line-up. As for Perez, the best he can do is consistently deliver such strong performances.

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Perez seems to have found his Achilles heel from last year and is determined to have a better 2024 campaign. After his qualifying performance, the 34-year-old told the media that he performed better because he had now “stopped inventing.”

Throughout the 2023 season, Perez tried several things to reduce the gap with Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen. As a result, he often made mistakes that cost him dearly. Since he is no longer doing the same now, Perez seems in a good position to have a strong campaign this year.

Credits: Imago

Oscar Piastri has admitted that he struggled during the Japanese GP qualification and reasoned that the struggle was a result of the progress McLaren made over the winter. The MCL38 has reportedly improved, but with the improvement came unusual tire degradation, which is costing the British team dearly.

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The Papayas cut down their gap to Red Bull from six-tenths to three-tenths in just six months. This resulted in a satisfactory qualification for Lando Norris in Japan, who qualified in P3 behind the Red Bull duo of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez and ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.

Despite the progress, the newly found tire degradation is now the Achilles heel, and closing down the gap indeed costs them distinctly, to say the least.

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Speaking about the same, Piastri stated, as per SpeedCafe, “With the tires and the cars getting quicker and quicker, it’s just difficult not to overshoot the tires. As the car is getting faster, obviously putting the tires under more and more stress, so it just gets more and more difficult.”

For the race on Sunday, Norris gets to fight Sainz for the podium, but his teammate Piastri could only manage P6, who lines up alongside Fernando Alonso in the third row, ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Reasoning for his poor qualification, the 23-year-old lamented that he floundered during the session, which led him to believe that there “was more on the table” than what he could extract. For this, he blames nobody but himself.

Oscar Piastri rues about not finding rhythm in Suzuka

The 2024 Japanese GP started on the wrong foot for Piastri, who failed to find rhythm right from Q2. This resulted in him barely managing P8 and only improving two places in the next and final session.

“A solid session is not the word I would use for it. [I] Just struggled a bit from Q2 onwards just to find the rhythm, and just struggled a bit, especially in the middle sector,” he rued.

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McLaren arrived in Japan with immense optimism, thanks to their positive results last time when Norris and Piastri stood on the podium. However, things changed for them during qualifying, as Piastri believed he could have done better.

The Australian driver reflected on their performance and stated that they were second quickest here in Suzuka last year. However, in 2024, he concluded, “I would say this weekend [we’re] just second quickest, and the driver can make the difference. I didn’t today.”

All in all, Oscar Piastri is well aware that some tight fights are coming on Sunday. Teams know that it’s all to play for in the race, and the McLaren duo will have to give their best to make it count since the Suzuka International Racing Course is everything but kind to the drivers.

Credits: Imago/ ANP

Lewis Hamilton riding his scooter down the paddock has become an iconic view in F1. Each time the British driver takes his scooter out for a spin, the eyes of the fans and the cameras quickly go to him. The case was the same ahead of the main race at the Japanese Grand Prix. Hamilton was out for a stroll on his scooter with a fan’s camera pointed at him. As seen in the video uploaded on X, Hamilton’s race nearly ended before it even began, as he tripped on a wire, nearly falling on the ground face first.

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As Hamilton pushed his scooter, he seemingly failed to notice a cable running along the ground. The small wheels of his scooter failed to make it over the cable, tripping Hamilton in the process. Losing his balance, Hamilton quickly found his footing on the ground with the scooter tangled between his legs. Thankfully for Hamilton, nothing bad happened, owing to his quick reflexes.

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Notably, riding the scooter is banned during track walks, but using it to move around the paddock remains legal. The advent of e-bikes and scooters made track walks much more convenient for drivers. However, their use became more hectic on the tracks, especially during weekends when F2 and F3 races also had to take place. Hence, the FIA banned the use of all such vehicles during track walks.

Hamilton was right beside a Red Bull car when this happened. The team’s engineers quickly turned their gaze to Hamilton to make sure nothing bad happened. Things could’ve been much worse for Hamilton than going through a relatively embarrassing moment. Had he touched the Red Bull car so as not to fall to the ground, he could’ve become subject to a massive fine, courtesy of the latest FIA regulations.

Lewis Hamilton avoided what Max Verstappen couldn’t back in 2021

Back in 2021, Max Verstappen was subject to a massive fine by the race stewards in Brazil for a small incident. After Friday’s Sprint Session Qualifying, Verstappen went over to Hamilton’s car to inspect its rear-wing elements. He touched the wing with his hands, not knowing it would lead to a fine. Later that afternoon, the race stewards claimed Verstappen violated article 2.5.1 of the International Sporting Code. They ended up handing Verstappen a fine of $57,250 (€50,000).

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A fan footage showed Verstappen getting out of his car, taking his right glove off, and putting his hand inside the the slot gap of his car’s wing. He then moved over to the Mercedes car to repeat the process, touching the wing in two places. The stewards used the same footage to determine a fine was plenty of punishment for the Dutchman.

Since then, the FIA has increased the maximum fine limit to a whopping $1 million. The previous maximum limit was set at nearly $270,000, but the authority figured it wasn’t in tune with the latest needs of motorsports. ESPN quoted the reaction of Verstappen, who remarked, “If touching a rear wing is 50k, then I would like to know what one mill is.” Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton called for 100% of such a high amount of fine to go straight to a cause.

Credits: IMAGO/ Motorsport Images

The Japanese Grand Prix was a triumphant return to the podium for Max Verstappen as he won the race by over 12 seconds. Sergio Perez completed a 1-2 finish for his team, holding off a challenge from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz before building an 8-second lead. While the race fetched positive results for Perez, he believes things could have been much better. As quoted by Sky Sports, the Mexican driver believes he “paid the price” at the Japanese Grand Prix by starting in P2 behind his teammate.

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“I think we paid the price a little bit because we were a little bit off balance during that first stint, which meant we couldn’t keep it alive. We had to box and we were undercut by Lando [Norris] and then I had to push too much on that medium stint.” – said Perez.

Perez‘s stint on the mediums saw him pushing his car to the limit in each lap. It took a lot of toll on the driver, the car, and the tires. However, once he switched to the final stint in the hard compound, Perez’s life became much easier. He regained the lost pace from the mediums, which allowed him to take back his position from Lando Norris. It was smooth sailing for the 34-year-old as he kept Sainz in check to secure a comfortable P2 finish.

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Perez might have suffered from starting the race just behind Verstappen, but it also earned him some extra money. He and Christian Horner had a wager on whether Red Bull would secure a 1-2 finish in the Qualifying session in Japan. As Perez secured P2, Horner playfully scolded him for costing him “a few quid.” In response, Perez remarked, “Now you see how to motivate me.” Horner chuckled and replied he always knew it.

A much better outing for Sergio Perez than in 2023

Overall, it was a great outing for Perez, especially compared to what happened the last time he went racing in Suzuka. A turbulent start to the 2023 Japanese GP saw him sandwiched between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, which sheared off his front wing. Heading to the pit under a safety car, Perez accidentally passed Alonso, handing him a 5-second penalty.

However, the penalty was incurred after he exited the pitlane, meaning he would serve it the next time he came in. 10 laps later, Perez came in to serve the penalty, but more chaos would follow. On his out lap, Perez crashed into Kevin Magnussen. Red Bull recalled Perez to fix his car, but they had to retire him. Meanwhile, the stewards pinned the blame for the crash on Perez, incurring yet another 5-second penalty. With 13 laps to go, Perez’s retired car returned to serve the penalty.

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On Lap 43, Perez again retired his car, this time for good. Technically, the retiring and the subsequent unretiring of Perez’s car meant it was a pitstop. F1 Management thus declared it the longest pitstop in the sport’s history, lasting for 41 minutes and 26 seconds.

Credits: IMAGO / HochZwei

The struggles of Daniel Ricciardo continue to haunt him following a poor start to the 2024 season. Ricciardo’s poor outings have become somewhat of a mystery to his team, who continue to work on trying to find a solution for the same. Having not been able to outqualify his teammate in any of the opening three races, Ricciardo is now 0 for 4, after Yuki Tsunoda knocked him out in Q2 in Japan and his race had a worse story as he retired on Lap 1 after a collision with Alex Albon. Addressing the same, the Aussie detailed his dissatisfaction with the performance, as reported in an update on X by Junaid #JB17.

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“The part that I was disappointed about [yesterday] was missing out by obviously a very small margin. I think in general it was a positive day, so looking ahead to the race.”, Ricciardo said.

Tsunoda has outdriven Ricciardo every step of the way this season. At the qualifying session in Japan, it looked like that might change, with the 34-year-old on the brink of making it to Q3 for the first time this season. However, Tsunoda improved his lap time in the dying embers of Q2 and sent Ricciardo packing. A difference of only 0.055 seconds led to Ricciardo not making it past Q2.

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Ricciardo‘s struggles have also led to people recalling his days at McLaren. The 34-year-old consistently struggled with the car as Lando Norris outperformed him every weekend. It is a similar case this year with Tsunoda and him.

While Ricciardo hasn’t been able to finish above P12 thus far, Tsunoda has earned several points for Visa Cash App RB. The same was the story in Suzuka as the Japanese driver scored a point in P10, while the Honey Badger could not even get past Lap 1 after his crash with Alex Albon. There have also been certain incidents between the two drivers that indicate that all may not be well between the two drivers.

Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda treading deep waters?

Ever since Ricciardo took up driving duties in (formerly) AlphaTauri, he became the favorite to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull in 2025. Meanwhile, Tsunoda had to see himself sidelined from the conversation yet again.

Hence, he wanted to prove he, too, was a worthy contender. Things went from bad to worse for Tsunoda when he was asked to let Ricciardo pass in the opening race of the season.

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Famous for his short temper, Tsunoda let his feelings known in the cooldown lap after the race. He rushed past Ricciardo’s car, inches away from a collision. Following the incident, the team held a conversation with the drivers alongside some of Red Bull’s top-ranked employees. Having sorted the issue, the belief was that things would be much better between the two drivers.

And it looks like things have taken a turn for the better between Tsunoda and Ricciardo. The Australian driver recently revealed that he and Tsunoda made a stop in Tokyo together. They even went to have some Wagyu before heading to Suzuka for the 4th race of the season. The update comes as happy information to all those working with V-CARB, as there is a chance of parity returning between the drivers.

Credits: IMAGO / Motorsport Images

The Japanese Grand Prix was another strong race for Ferrari, as the team secured a 3-4 finish in Sunday’s race. Charles Leclerc put in a strong performance, clinching P4 after starting the race in P8 behind Lewis Hamilton. While the Monegasque driver was happy with the race result, his overall performance did not impress him much. Speaking to the media after the race, Leclerc expressed his disappointment in himself, acting as his own harshest critic.

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“I’m happy about that, but if we look at entire weekend… If I’m happy with a 4th place then I should stay at home.” – claimed Leclerc.

The last two races of the season have seen Carlos Sainz outperform Leclerc with relative ease. The case was the same in Bahrain, where Ferrari secured another 3-4 finish. While this has led to Ferrari securing a lot of points, the stat might not sit well with Leclerc.

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Often poised to be the next Ferrari driver to win the world championship, the stat would certainly be bugging Leclerc. He would be hoping to turn the tide around so the Tifosi and Ferrari don’t lose their faith in him.

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Leclerc was almost at his best in Sunday’s race in Suzuka. The 26-year-old exhibited excellent tire management skills, which allowed him to maximize performance in each stint. Notably, Leclerc was the only driver to do a [effective] one-stop race in Japan out of the top finishers. It was crucial to help him climb through the ranks and clinch a P4 finish. Owing to the same, fans also voted the Ferrari driver as the Driver of the Day.

Ferrari close in on Red Bull as Charles Leclerc hopes to pick up a few wins

So far, Ferrari stands as the best performer after Red Bull this season. Under Fred Vasseur, the Maranello-based outfit has done a great job of improving their overall performance, much to the delight of the Tifosi. They have been on the podium in each race this season, something that even Red Bull has not done, courtesy of the race in Australia.

Sainz won the race, while Leclerc finished in P2, followed by Lando Norris. Given the same, Leclerc would be hoping to continue improving and win a few races while securing consistent podiums.

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Thus far, Leclerc has had two podium finishes this season. The first podium came in Saudi Arabia in the form of a P3 finish amid Sainz’s absence. Meanwhile, Leclerc secured his second podium of 2024 in the following race in Australia.

At present, Leclerc sits in P3 with 59 points to his name. He is 5 points adrift of P2-placed Sergio Perez and 18 points behind championship leader Max Verstappen. Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, is breathing down Leclerc’s neck, as he is in P5, a mere 4 points behind his teammate.

Credits: IMAGO / PanoramiC

Fernando Alonso drove an outstanding race at the Japanese Grand Prix as he beat Mercedes’ George Russell to sixth. The Spaniard had to use every bit of his experience to keep the charging Briton behind him. Alonso did so brilliantly as he cleverly gave Oscar Piastri the DRS to defend himself from Russell. While Russell did eventually get past Piastri, it was too late for the 26-year-old to pull off a move on Alonso. When the Aston Martin driver was quizzed about his tactics, he took a massive dig at the stewards after what transpired at the Australian Grand Prix two weekends ago. As quoted by Formula Passion, Alonso said,

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“I don’t know what to say after Australia. Could they disqualify me for the rest of the championship? It’s clear that having Piastri behind me was a way to defend myself from Russell. That’s what Carlos Sainz did in Singapore, giving the DRS to second to protect himself from third. It’s a normal thing. We do it in every race“.

Alonso seems to have taken the dig at the stewards after they controversially handed him a 20-second time penalty for “potentially dangerous driving” in Melbourne when the 42-year-old attempted to defend his position against Russell. Alonso’s penalty was a huge talking point as it divided the F1 community.

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Some drivers such as Charles Leclerc defended the stewards’ decision and called for harsher penalties in such situations. Meanwhile, some other drivers such as Lando Norris believe Alonso was not really at fault. The 24-year-old believes that Russell had ample time to react, and hence, did not support the stewards’ decision to penalize Alonso.

While Russell did believe that the stewards were fair to penalize Alonso in Australia, he did not have any problems with the way the Spanish driver defended against him in Japan. Instead, Russell too appreciated Alonso’s clever tactical play.

George Russell appreciates Fernando Alonso’s “games” in Japan

When asked what he made of Fernando Alonso’s choice of defense at the Japanese Grand Prix, George Russell replied, “Fernando playing games, this is new to me. It was smart from Fernando and I expected nothing less. So, yeah that’s part of racing”.

Alonso eventually crossed the line in sixth, ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell and the McLaren of Oscar Piastri. While Alonso will most likely be satisfied with his performance after a difficult start to the 2024 season, Russell and Mercedes will be bitterly disappointed.

Heading into Sunday’s race, both Russell and Lewis Hamilton appreciated Mercedes for the improvements they had made. Hamilton even went to the extent of claiming that he felt the best he has had all season after Friday’s free practice sessions.

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However, come the race on Sunday, both Russell and Hamilton just did not have the pace to fight the likes of Ferrari. Moreover, poor strategic calls on the team’s part led to Russell only managing to finish seventh, his worst result of the season so far when he has crossed the chequered flag.

On the other hand, Hamilton finished all the way down in ninth, his joint-worst finish when he has crossed the chequered flag. Since Mercedes continued to have their fair share of struggles, they may have not found the improvement they thought they had made.

John Fury has explained why he’s not pleased with that fact that Mike Tyson is training Francis Ngannou.

John Fury finds it ‘irritating’ that Mike Tyson is training Francis Ngannou to fight Tyson Fury, explaining why.

Tyson meets former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou in a blockbuster showdown in Saudi Arabia next month.

‘The Predator’ has drafted in ‘Iron’ Mike to help him prepare to face ‘The Gypsy King’ in their Riyadh clash.

‘Big’ John isn’t pleased with the fact that the boxing legend will be training Ngannou considering he named his son after him.

“Irritating. I named my son after this man and he’s in his opponent’s corner,” he told talkSPORT via freebets.com.

“But that’s business and the business of the game we’re in.

“Would I want him in Tyson’s corner, yes I would, but he’s a grown man and can make his own decisions.”

Mike Tyson watches on as Francis Ngannou trains. Image: Getty

The WBC title holder holds the same opinion of his father as he reckons it’s ‘sad’ the 57-year-old is part of Team Ngannou ahead of the October 28 showdown.

“I think that it’s sad, actually,” he said. “The man that I am named after, a legend, has to go against me and then come out as a loser, having lost to a man who was named after him.

“I think that it’s sad and I think that he should be in my corner, not the opposing corner, but business is business and I understand that it’s strictly business.”

Fury, meanwhile, will make his first appearance since beating Derek Chisora last December.

As for Ngannou, he hasn’t fought since his victory over Ciryl Gane back in January 2022.

Who wins? Let us know what you think.

Like many other retired fighters, Mike Tyson has recently caught the boxing bug again and appears to have reignited his passion for the sport at the age of 53. Yes, he may be old enough to get an AARP card, but after looking at his Instagram, it’s obvious he still has some gas left in the tank.

What separated Tyson amongst his piers outside of his ferocious punching power and larger than life persona was his muscle-bound hulking physique. His bulging biceps and assertive shoulders definitely played a part in his dominance both before and during the fight. Here, we’ve wrangled together the most impressive photos of his physique.

Mike Tyson Becomes Youngest Heavyweight Champ – 1986

With Tyson’s victory over Trevor Berbick in 1986 he became the youngest heavyweight champion ever at the age of 20. Becoming a heavyweight champ before the age of 25 perched Tyson in boxing history next to the likes of Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Joe Lewis, and others who have achieved this feat. Heading into the fight. Tyson was 27–0 with 25 knockouts. As you’d expect Berbick was blasted by the young phenom, and the legend of Mike Tyson was born.

Mike Tyson Weigh-in vs. Tony Tubbs – 1988

By 1988 Iron Mike has cemented himself as a once in a generation knockout artist. He had earned the chance to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world with a bout against Micheal Spinx, but first he had to go through Tony Tubbs. After Tubbs managed to stay out of harm’s way for a round, the inevitable happened at the end of the second round. Tyson made his way through the defense, and finished the fight with a TKO.

Mike Tyson vs Buster Douglas – 1990

Tyson’s loss against Buster Douglas may have been a thunderous shock to the world in 1990, but just by giving him the eye test, it doesn’t look like his physique was the issue. When Douglas won, he was a 42-1 underdog, but still managed to KO the fighter who’s never been put on the canvas before. Tyson has since stated that at this time his personal life was spiraling out of control, and didn’t have any desire to fight the formidable Douglas.

Mike Tyson Weigh-in vs. Donovan “Razor” Ruddock – 1991

Five years after being crowned the youngest heavyweight champion of the world, Tyson was still rampaging through the heavyweight division and inching closer to a potential super-fight with Evander Holyfield. However, before he got there he needed to put an end to the Donovan “Razor” Ruddock controversy. In their first bout he won by TKO, but some felt that the fight was called early. A rematched ensued, and Tyson emerged with the unanimous decision victory. These back-to-back fights ended up being Tyson’s last bouts before his 4-year absence.

Tyson vs. McNeeley Face-off – 1995

Tyson’s bout with Peter McNeeley was billed as his return to the sport of boxing haven been away for over four years. Although the fight ended due to disqualification because of McNeeley’s corner illegally jumping into the ring during the bout, the real cause was Tyson hitting power. He dropped McNeeley several times in the first and was on the way to putting in more damage before McNeeley’s corner put an end to the punishment.

Mike Tyson vs Frank Bruno – 1996

Despite Frank Bruno losing by TKO at the hands of Iron Mike in 1989, he was up for the challenge again in 1996. Bruno, who had an impressive physique of his own was no match for Tyson who pummeled him to a TKO finish in the third round. With this victory Tyson regained the WBC heavyweight title.

Mike Tyson – 1996

At this point in Tyson’s career he had already been incarcerated and emerged with an even more ferocious physique. In 1996 Tyson won back the WBC and WBA heavyweight titles before losing the WBA title to his rival, Evander Holyfield.