Motorsports
Ferstappen: “It wasn’t easy to plan clever tricks, but we did it”
Max Ferstappen explained that it was a tactical win over Charles Leclerc at the Saudi Arabian GP and said his season “moved on” after his Bahrain departure.
Max Ferstappen’s tactics that gave him victory in Jeddah focused on two areas. The first was maintaining his hard tires for nearly 30 laps after his simultaneous pit stop with rival Charles Leclerc on lap 16 to make his attack on the final 10 laps.
The second was the DRS games before the last corner of the track. This is where the DRS tracking point is located, giving any rider less than a second behind the lead the open wing advantage in a straight line – an advantage that is huge at Jeddah in particular.
On lap 42, Leclerc almost gave the lead to Ferstappen before the last corner, giving the Monegasque the big advantage over the DRS on the long straight. And so it happened, and Leclerc soon took the lead again. Ferstappen realized he had to be smarter about it next time – but when he tried the same spot two laps later, he locked his brakes and tried to let Leclerc pass.
It’s a completely paradoxical way of two riders fighting for victory. In the same way and for the same reason, Ferstappen braked in Jeddah last year, resulting in Hamilton (who also didn’t want to pass) hitting Red Bull in the rear. Finally Ferstappen managed to move into lap 47 tonight and even kept the difference with Leclerc’s DRS.
“It wasn’t easy to plan clever tricks in the last corner, but I finally managed to get through. But Leclerc was firmly in the DRS zone again.”said the Dutchman. “It seems that if you get close enough, if you get like half a second, you can have a good exit. And that makes it harder to try to overtake, say, in the last corner compared to last year , it’s more difficult.” to plan the overtaking you’re going to make”.
In addition, Ferstappen played well in the waiting game with tire management, closely following Leclerc for 30 laps: “Ferrari is very fast in the corners, we are on the straight, but the tires wore out very quickly here. In the end we saw that we had a little more speed and I tried to overtake.”said the champion.
And he concluded: “It was a really difficult game but a good one. We’re fighting at the top and we’ve just started playing the waiting game. It was difficult but I’m very happy that we moved our year forward.”
RBR CEO Christian Horner said: “It was a very patient race from Max. He protected the tires until the end and then the last safety car launched his attack. Ferrari have a great car and great drivers. It was a very tough fight today and if we that expected.” . it’s going to be something epic for the rest of the season.
The Briton also pointed to the unlucky man of the day, Sergio Perez, who missed out on a possible win by pitting just before Nicolas Latifi crashed, which brought the safety car off the track. Perez, said Horner, “He drove great all three days. He will gain a lot of confidence. He took pole position, controlled the race and was just unlucky with the safety car, but that happens sometimes.”
Sophia Jhon is a sports journalist and author. He has worked as a news editor for Sportish and is now a sport columnist for the same publication. Alberta’s professional interests lie largely in sports news, with an emphasis on English football. He has also written articles on other sporting topics.
Former Formula 1 driver Riccardo Patrese believes 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli has the chance to compete for the championship in his second season.
With changes to the technical rules, the power order in the starting lineup for the 2026 season may change significantly. Patrese added that Antonelli has already shown that he can be among the names to compete for the championship:
“If Mercedes builds the best car under the new rules, Antonelli should focus on fighting Russell, as he has already shown he can do, and the rest will follow,” Patrese said.
“To the championship title!” he replied when asked how far the young Italian could go next year.
If Antonelli manages to win the championship next season, he will become the first driver to win the title in his second season since Lewis Hamilton in 2008.
Patrese recorded Antonelli’s first year:
“He made his debut, had to learn everything and coped well with the inevitable mistakes that come with lack of experience. I really enjoyed it, he showed pure class moments.”
Antonelli took three podium finishes in his debut season, including an impressive weekend at Interlagos and a spectacular comeback at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
A 2002 McLaren MP4-17A will go up for auction at RM Sotheby’s in Paris in 2026. Competing in 12 Grands Prix, the chassis was driven by Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard, achieving five podiums and one victory. The estimated price of the land is between 1,000,000 and 1,400,000 Euros.
The car was designed under the guidance of the legendary Adrian Newey. Although the MP4-17 initially showed inconsistent performance, it was later able to compete with the dominant Ferrari F2002 and regularly achieve podium finishes.
Chassis number 6 appeared in the middle of the 2002 season and was mainly used by Raikkonen, who replaced Mika Hakkinen in the team. The Finnish driver immediately finished third in the European Grand Prix, followed by second in France and third in the USA.
In 2003, the same chassis updated and driven by Coulthard won the season opener in Australia, marking the Scot’s 13th and final Formula One victory.
The car’s last race was at the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix, driven by Raikkonen, who finished second behind Rubens Barrichello, also of Ferrari. That season the championship was won by Michael Schumacher, who finished eighth in the race.
The car retains its original 2002 West livery and Räikkönen number 4 and is powered by a 3.0-litre Mercedes-Benz FO110 V10 engine. A complete restoration is required for reuse on the track.
Following its racing career, the car was stored at McLaren for 17 years and was purchased by its current owner in 2021. For fans of the early 2000s, this land is a unique investment and historical value.
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
About a year ago, Alpin decided to abandon Renault power plants and prefer Mercedes engines as of the 2026 season. The team came to the conclusion that its own engines had become a limiting factor in the fight for good results and sacrificed the status of the works team for the sake of customer cooperation with the German manufacturer, which was considered the favorite of the new technical regulations.
At the same time, the situation with Mercedes engines remains tense. Competitors are analyzing the possible use of thermal expansion to increase the compression ratio above the 16:1 limit in race conditions. While Honda, Ferrari and Audi may insist on breaches of the rules, Mercedes claims the rules were fully followed during static checks.
Despite the risks of the customer model, Enston is confident in the correctness of the choice. In 2026, the same engines will be used by McLaren, Williams and Mercedes factory teams, which will further intensify the competition. Of particular note is Williams, who finished the season under James Vowles in fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship, ahead of Alpine. This increases the pressure on the French team, but Pierre Gasly believes betting on Mercedes will allow them to compete at the front of the peloton from the start of Formula 1’s new era.
“We are opening a new chapter with Mercedes and given their CV and the number of championships, I am sure it will be a great adventure.”
“I’m not going to lie, I’m really excited about it. From what I hear, the Mercedes engine is in very good shape at the moment.”
“So I’m looking forward to the first test and the feeling that the Mercedes force is behind me. I have very high expectations for our team next year.”
“We made tactical sacrifices in 2025 so we can start 2026 on the right steps. I want to fight at the front of the peloton next season.”
“I don’t see any reason why we can’t be among the leaders at this point.”
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
-
Ligue 13 years agoRenato Sanchez signed in Paris for five years
-
Europa League4 years agoIn transfer alert at Olympiakos for additions and concessions
-
Europa League4 years agoFenerbahce – Eintracht 1: 1: The Germans took 1st place in the Olympiacos group
-
Europa League4 years agoWithout Nainggolan and Samata, the 11th team from Antwerp
-
Europa League4 years agoEuropa League
-
Europa League4 years agoAtalanta announced the acquisition of Boga
-
Europa League4 years agoFears that Zapata will be out for 4 months
-
Premier League4 years agoExcept for the rest of January, Sean was injured