Latest news with #Constructors
IOL News
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
Max Verstappen shines amid Red Bull turmoil and Christian Horner's uncertain future
Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen celebrates after securing pole position during the qualifying session for the Miami Grand Prix. Photo: AFP Image: AFP The age old adage that 'where there's smoke, there's fire' comes to mind when rumours of Christian Horner's exit from Red Bull came to light. It could just be that an opposition team started a rumour to throw them off their game this season or that Red Bull's management in Austria are actually considering replacing the Englishman. If you had to plot Red Bull's performance since the last season, it would look like a downward trend with spikes of individual brilliance from Horner's golden boy Max Verstappen. But overall, the team has lost that edge it had in the 2022 and 2023 season, during which they dominated the sport. Not without reason, an integral part of Red Bull's outfit was stripped away when car designer Adrian Newey left them for Aston Martin. Newey's influence in Red Bull's dominant years could not be seen on the track as Verstappen was the one behind the wheel, but without him, the team have struggled since the start of the 2025 season. Signs of relief emerged at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, however, when Verstappen single handedly took apart the 'untouchable' McLarens with yet another bold overtake at Turn 1. It was a narrow track though, with few opportunities to overtake other than Turn 1, even if you're as gutsy as Oscar Piastri. Excuses aside, Verstappen's drive at Imola silenced any critics that they were unable to compete with McLaren this season. That is for the Driver championship at least, as they stand little to no chance for the Constructors title this year. Despite the win at Imola, reports from the F1 world indicate that Horner may lose the support of the Thai contingent within Red Bull if the upgrades they made at Imola do not prove successful for the remainder of the season. To say that Horner is under an immense deal of pressure to deliver right now, would be an understatement. What makes it worse is that Red Bull unfortunately have two drivers who have delivered points this year, and their from two separate teams. Isack Hadjar of the Racing Bulls has been the only other reliable driver this year, with Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson having a difficult season so far. Verstappen's class, skill and determination has given the Milton Keynes outfit some much needed breathing room with his wins at Imola and Suzuka. He's also shunned any rumours that Horner's head is on the chopping block. "Of course, I think naturally, as a team, we are not entirely happy with how we are performing, but we're also working on trying to be more competitive. "But if you ask everyone this question, I think no one is happy or satisfied with their performance, you always want to be better, you want to perform more. That's what we're trying to do. So, for me, these rumours don't mean anything,' Verstappen said. Pressure to deliver a fast car After the first quarter of the season, it was evident that McLaren were leaps and bounds of everyone else in the paddock - leaving Horner with little time to act decisively and make adjustments to the RB21. They started with small changes underneath the car, then adjusted the front and rear suspension in Miami. They've also redesigned the floor of the RB21 with more weight, which could improve the overall balance. Red Bull Chief Engineer Paul Monaghan said the changes will be incremental, but conceded that trying to come up with a cure for the RB21 may never fully rid it of the problems. 'It's going to be incremental improvements on the car. We understand what's happened, but actually affecting a cure is not that straightforward. It may never disappear from the car. 'Can we reduce the magnitude, and improve the lap time? Yes, there are a lot of clever people in Milton Keynes at work or are working hard to improve, and it will come,' Monaghan told an Italian F1 publication. Verstappen has managed to secure pole positions this season and with the Monaco Grand Prix up next, the importance of pole position could not be overstated. Both McLaren drivers, thankfully for Verstappen, don't have any real history of success there as yet, but Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc do. And with the Prancing Horse making some headway during the Imola race, a fight for pole with Ferrari may be on the cards for Verstappen. We can only wait and see what Oscar Piastri or Lando Norris has to offer.
The Irish Sun
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Lando Norris to boycott social media after being subjected to fresh abuse as F1 star falls behind Oscar Piastri
LANDO NORRIS has boycotted social media after falling behind McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri in the F1 title race. Despite Advertisement 1 Lando Norris has faced a torrent of abuse and is ditching social media Credit: Alamy And Norris has been subject to fresh hate and abuse since falling 16 points behind Speaking to reporters including SunSport in the McLaren motorhome at Imola, Norris opened up about his online detox ahead of the The 25-year-old admitted: "I've not been on social media for a few weeks not something I enjoy. I don't need to be on it. It's my life and I can do what I like. 'I enjoy not going on my phone as much as I used to. I still text my friends. Advertisement READ MORE F1 NEWS 'But I see social media as a waste of my time and energy. I don't need it or want it. I don't find it interesting. 'I've got more time to do things that I want to do, I play golf and train and want to be productive." Of course, it's still too early to write any driver off with 16 more races up for grabs, but the feeling in the Norris camp seems somewhat bleak going into the European triple header. Despite sitting second in the standings, Norris also revealed he feels 'unhappy' with how his MCL39 feels and isn't bothered about winning the title. Advertisement Most read in Motorsport CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Asked if he was thinking about the title standings, Norris said: 'No, is the answer. 'I don't care about it and won't think about it. It is easy for things to change. Max Verstappen and Lando Norris open up on F1 rivalry after controversial clashes 'Oscar has done a good job. But a lot of it is just focusing on myself. 'He's just another competitor. Another guy, he's just dressed in the same colours. Advertisement 'It's been clear that there have been differences from last year in how the car works, how it acts, and how I'm able to get lap time out of it and perform. 'I'm obviously not happy at the moment, but we will see with the upgrades this week.' Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton, 40, unfollowed everyone on Instagram, including all of his Ferrari team, in the days after his played-down radio spat with team strategists in Miami last time out. On this, Norris added: 'Lewis can do what he wants, good for him.' Advertisement The Brit's first season since leaving Mercedes has been a big let down so far, as the Scuderia were meant to be challenging for the title after finishing second in the Constructors race last season. Instead, Andrea Stella's team linger a staggering 152 points behind leaders McLaren in the, while Hamilton sits 90 points adrift of Piastri and behind both Silver Arrow drivers in seventh.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
East Grand Forks robotics heading to world competition with five invites from state
Mar. 9—EAST GRAND FORKS — Following a good showing at the Minnesota State VEX Robotics Competition, the East Grand Forks team is preparing to head to the VEX World Championship this spring. "We had a very good year, all year, and it has been very exciting to see the team the whole time," Coach Nathan Blair said. "I knew they were going to do well (at the competition). ... It's been a pretty big year for them." The Minnesota State VEX Robotics Competition was held Feb. 27 through March 1 in St. Cloud, and is the state's largest competition for K-12 robotics. The East Grand Forks Robotics program came home with five invites across its three teams to the Worlds Competition. The teams also earned four awards recognizing their design, coding and team skills. Sixty high school-level teams and 54 middle school-level teams competed. This was the fourth year qualifying for the state competition for the East Grand Forks senior team SynthWave. The team made it to the quarterfinal round of the head-to-head competition and won the skills tournament with the highest score of any team throughout the season, breaking its own season record, qualifying them for Worlds. The team also won the Think Award, which recognizes the most effective use of coding techniques and design for game challenges, also qualifying them for Worlds. The team made up of Nolan Blair, Luke Massmann and Sebastian Olson got two invites to Worlds. East Grand Forks had two teams competing in the Metal Robot middle school division. The Constructors made it to finals in the head-to-head tournament and won the skills tournament, qualifying for Worlds from both. The Constructors team is made up of Braiden Anhorn, Asher Blair, Andrew Cassanelli and Aiden Kazmierczak. The Robo Turtles made it to the quarterfinals in the head-to-head tournament, and also won the Design Award, recognizing their team's approach to engineering its robot, qualifying them for Worlds. The Robo Turtles team is made up of Zoe Baez, Eli Bowman, Kylen Driscoll and Zaiden Olson. Nathan Blair also won the Mentor of the Year award and Jessica Johnson won Volunteer of the Year for the time she has put into helping the team compete. The team is currently fundraising to help fund its trip to the world competition in early May. Around 800 high school teams and 500 middle school teams from across the world will be competing in the VEX V5RC Worlds Competition in Dallas. More information on the fundraising can be found on the East Grand Forks Robotics Facebook page.
