Motorsports

Anyone who wondered how Lewis Hamilton looked in red now has their answer.

On Wednesday, Ferrari posted video and photo of Hamilton taking his first lap in his new car ahead of the 2025 season.

Stepping into a new era 👊

Lewis Hamilton takes his first lap in a Ferrari! pic.twitter.com/LCOws2haSn

— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) January 22, 2025

Lewis Hamilton in a Ferrari 👊 pic.twitter.com/s5MxhYti5T

— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) January 22, 2025

The F1 legend previously took to social media and posted his first photograph wearing a Ferrari race suit along with an image of his new helmet. Hamilton won seven world drivers' championships during his illustrious career at Mercedes, but he is switching to Ferrari for the upcoming campaign.

FIRST TIME IN RED pic.twitter.com/mW0LRQHNEU

— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) January 21, 2025

AND YELLOW pic.twitter.com/qpmX0RPtiu

— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) January 22, 2025

This comes after Hamilton was met with plenty of fanfare and admiration during his first day with his new team:

A historic first day in the books pic.twitter.com/liMqgn8QC4

— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) January 21, 2025

He met with Ferrari's Formula 1 team principal Fred Vasseur, CEO Benedetto Vigna, chairman John Elkann and other team members in addition to the fans during his first official work with his new side.

While the switch to Ferrari will mean a new environment, cars and team around him, there will at least be a familiar face. Laurence Edmonson of ESPN reported Tuesday that Hamilton's former performance coach Angela Cullen is joining him once again at Ferrari.

Cullen worked with the seven-time champion from 2016 until early in the 2023 season when she left to work with Marcus Armstrong in IndyCar.

Now that the introductions are out of the way, the question becomes when will Hamilton start working with Ferrari's 2025 car.

Edmonson noted his first drive is expected to happen at its launch on Feb. 19, which will be an important first step. It will also be intriguing to see his reaction, as he was rather open about some of his concerns with Mercedes' cars during his final season.

Hamilton's move from Mercedes to Ferrari will be a major storyline during the 2025 season, especially as he and everyone else look to close the gap on Red Bull's Max Verstappen. While Verstappen is still behind Hamilton for overall championships, he has won the last four straight and figures to once again be the driver to beat in the new campaign.

With the start of the 2025 F1 season on the horizon, the Haas team has made a historic hire by naming Laura Mueller a race engineer.

Per The Athletic's Luke Smith, Haas confirmed Mueller's hiring that will make her the first full-time female race engineer in F1 history.

Mueller will work with Esteban Ocon for the upcoming season.

Ocon is entering his first season as a Haas driver after signing a multiyear deal with the team in July 2024 to partner with Ollie Bearman.

Smith noted Ocon and Mueller gained some experience working together in December during the Yas Marina Circuit test in Abu Dhabi.

Mueller's promotion was part of a wider reshuffle and restructure throughout the Haas Racing. Team principal Ayao Komatsu announced the changes were part of a "huge change" designed to improve their competitiveness on the track in 2025.

"We left too many points on the table from the trackside operations. So, we really needed to step up on that one," Komatsu said.

Haas originally hired Mueller in 2022 as a performance engineer.

"She's a pretty determined character," Komatsu said to describe Mueller. "And then she's very hardworking. Her work ethic is really, really good."

The race engineer serves as the main point of contact between the driver and the team. They are in the headset talking to them and guiding them through the race, providing feedback on ways to improve and offering insights into how other drives are navigating the track.

Ocon is set to begin his ninth full season competing in F1. He has finished in the top 15 in the overall standings every year since 2020, including a career-best eighth-place showing in 2022. His lone F1 victory thus far was at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Mueller's resume includes a stint as a race engineer in 2020 with the DragonSpeed team in the European Le Mans Series, as well as time in Germany with Abt Sportsline and the Manthey Racing team.

It was a historic day for Saudi Arabia motor racing.

Saudi Arabian racer Yazeed Al-Rajhi won the 2025 Dakar Rally on Friday, capping off the two-week event in style.

On home soil, Yazeed Al Rajhi & Timo Gottschalk make history with a Dakar victory for Saudi Arabia! 🇸🇦🏁🔥

*subject to the official publication of the results by the FIA#Dakar2025 #DakarInSaudi pic.twitter.com/Ke8VbIIMq2

— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 17, 2025

Pure joy & emotions as Yazeed Al Rajhi crosses the finish line! 🏆💥 @KSAF_SAMF
A moment to remember for the Saudi champion!#Dakar2025 #DakarInSaudi pic.twitter.com/qJMJOLKP5F

— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 17, 2025

🇸🇦 Making Saudi proud! 🏆💪

📸 A.S.O. | Jennifer Lindini#Dakar2025 #DakarInSaudi pic.twitter.com/jAPF1aPmfA

— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 17, 2025

Al-Rajhi became the first Saudi Arabian racer to win the event, and he did so on home soil. He said the opportunity to represent his country and win on such a grand stage was an honor.

🎙️ Yazeed Al Rajhi's first reaction:
"We make history for Saudi Arabia!" 🇸🇦#Dakar2025 #DakarInSaudi pic.twitter.com/CF3CZi4kkQ

— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 17, 2025

"I am very very happy," Al-Rajhi said. "We make history now, I am very happy and proud. I have put my country in a good position. People here from this land, we can win Dakar."

He finished with a time of 52:52:15, which was 3:17 faster than the second-place finisher, Henk Lategan of South Africa. His previous best finish was third place in 2022 and he led the field in the 2024 competition before a late accident ended his run.

This was his 11th entry into the Dakar Rally and he now adds some serious hardware to his collection.

Lewis Hamilton's time with Mercedes has come to an end.

The British driver is leaving the Mercedes team to join Ferrari for next season. His last race came at the Abu Dhabi GP, where he finished fourth after beginning in 16th. Before stepping out of the car a final time, he made sure to show off some theatrics:

Lewis Hamilton's farewell burnout with Mercedes 🖤 pic.twitter.com/kKl7tGSSik

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 8, 2024

He reflected on the previous year and said that while it featured highs and lows, he was happy it finished on a strong note.

"It's been a really turbulent year, probably the longest year of my life," Hamilton said, per ESPN. "I would say, because we've known it from the beginning that we're leaving. It's like a relationship, when you've told whoever the counterpart is that you're leaving, but you're living together for a whole year. Lots of ups and downs, emotionally, but we finished off with a high today."

He also reflected that he was sentimental this week and that it has been "hard to let go."

"Every moment that I've got in the car this week I've known that it's one of the last," Hamilton said. "It's been really, really clear, and really hard to let go."

He spent 12 years with Mercedes, winning 84 races and six drivers championships. He finished seventh in the drivers standings in 2024, which was his lowest finish in his professional career.

Hamilton will join a Ferrari team headlined by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz that finished second in the Constructors standings behind McLaren.

Lando Norris earned his fourth win of the 2024 Formula One season in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and secured the constructors' title for McLaren in the process.

McLAREN CLINCH THEIR FIRST CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE 21ST CENTURY! 🏆

What an achievement, what a season! 🧡#F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/e9Yyd6pcXo

— Formula 1 (@F1) December 8, 2024

🏆 WE DID IT! CONSTRUCTORS’ CHAMPIONS! 🏆

To everyone at McLaren and every single fan out there: this one’s for you. 🧡

We dreamt it. We built it. We WON it. LET’S GO! 🥳🔥#ThisTeam pic.twitter.com/dogBA7kKqZ

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) December 8, 2024

With Max Verstappen already crowned the champion for a fourth straight year, the head-to-head battle between McLaren and Ferrari provided the biggest subplot at Yas Marina Circuit. Twenty-one points separated the teams going into the race.

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc both getting onto the podium wasn't enough for Ferrari to close the gap.

Norris, who started from the pole, had a straightforward Sunday to cap off his best-ever F1 campaign. He maintained an early lead on Sainz and the gap only grew as the race unfolded. Nearly six seconds separated them at the end.

The drama was reserved for the rest of the field.

On the opening lap, Verstappen and Oscar Piastri made contact, with Piastri spinning out off the track.

Here's the moment Piastri and Verstappen made contact 👀#F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/9l6gihUplT

— Formula 1 (@F1) December 8, 2024

Oscar Piastri’s radio after Verstappen hit him 💀💀 pic.twitter.com/E0hi6mZDPT

— deni (@fiagirly) December 8, 2024

After reviewing the sequence, race stewards assessed a 10-second penalty to Verstappen for initiating the contact.

Red Bull's day quickly got worse when Sergio Pérez came together with Valtteri Bottas on the second lap and sustained enough damage to his car that he couldn't continue. Thus that's how Pérez's run with Red Bull is reportedly drawing to a close.

Sergio Perez understandably downbeat in the pen after that early exit. Admitted the collision summed up his season. For the first time this year, he wavered in his confidence about being on the grid next year #F1

— Lawrence Barretto (@lawrobarretto) December 8, 2024

Piastri subsequently found himself on the wrong side of a stewards' ruling for an incident on the first lap that didn't involve Verstappen. The McLaren star rear-ended Franco Colapinto, which resulted in a DNF for the Argentine driver.

Piastri received his own 10-second penalty, which sent him tumbling down the leaderboard as his team tried to keep Ferrari at bay. Fortunately, Norris' efforts meant that didn't matter.

Sunday saw a legendary era conclude with Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025. There was no storybook ending, though the seven-time champion made the most of the tough hand he got dealt.

Hamilton knew his hopes of a podium finish were effectively gone after a disappointing qualifying run. He would've started in 18th were it not for penalties to Colapinto and Leclerc.

A fourth-place showing wasn't too bad all things considered, but the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix summed up what has been a frustrating last few years for Hamilton with Mercedes.

Sir Lewis Hamilton making up 12 places to finish P4 in his final race with Mercedes 📈

Driver of the d̶a̶y̶ decade 👏 pic.twitter.com/5YwsJtL4Me

— Autosport (@autosport) December 8, 2024

Maybe the 39-year-old becomes a viable championship threat again with Ferrari.

The Australian Grand Prix will kick off Formula One's 2025 season on March 16, with all roads leading back to Yas Marina Circuit next December.

While Verstappen will undoubtedly enter as the favorite, he could have some serious challengers in Norris and Hamilton.

Formula One superstar Max Verstappen announced Friday that he and his girlfriend, Brazilian model Kelly Piquet, are expecting their first child together.

Verstappen revealed the news in an Instagram post that included a photo of himself and Piquet along with the caption: "Mini Verstappen-Piquet on the way."

🚨 Max Verstappen has announced that his girlfriend Kelly Piquet is pregnant

"Mini Verstappen-Piquet on the way ❤️" pic.twitter.com/H0n343cZqG

— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) December 6, 2024

The 27-year-old Verstappen is in the midst of one of the most dominant runs in F1 history, as he recently clinched his fourth consecutive title.

Although there is still one race left in the 2024 F1 season, Verstappen's fifth-place finish in the Las Vegas Grand Prix last month was enough to ensure that his points lead would be insurmountable.

The Dutch and Belgian driver made his F1 debut with Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2014 before making the move to Red Bull Racing in 2016.

Verstappen won his first career race with Red Bull in 2016, and he has finished sixth or better in the points standings every year since then.

After winning a remarkable 19 races last season, Verstappen has nine wins to his credit this season, and he is already third on the career wins list with 63 behind only Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.

Verstappen will cap another championship season Sunday when he competes in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen apparently had choice words for George Russell prior to the Qatar Grand Prix.

The pair attended a stewards' hearing following a tense moment in qualifying. Once the meeting concluded, Russell said Verstappen threatened he would "purposefully go out of his way to crash into me and 'put me on my f--king head in the wall,'" per ESPN's Nate Saunders.

Verstappen wasted little time denying he made the comments and said Russell is "exaggerating again."

"Do you know what I can't stand? The way he attacks me unacceptably with the stewards and then acts like nothing happened the next day, patting me on the shoulder," the four-time Formula One champion said, per Laurence Edmondson of ESPN.

"I think, 'Stay away from me.' He invents all sorts of nonsense. With me, you always get the same: here, at home, with the stewards—I don't change.

Verstappen also said Russell is "a backstabber" and "just a loser."

The 27-year-old didn't earn his "Mad Max" nickname due to his courtesy and geniality. While he has toned down his racing style somewhat, he hasn't exactly gone out of his way to make friends on and off the track.

Russell described Verstappen as a "bully" who has been enabled by the powers that be.

"Whenever anything is not going his way, he lashes out with unnecessary anger and borderline violence," Russell said. "That is not a guy who I respect and I wish he would be a better role model."

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is the final race of the 2024 F1 season.

Verstappen already clinched the title, while Red Bull is too far behind to win the constructors' championship. The ongoing war of words between the Dutch star and Russell will at least provide some intrigue to what would otherwise be a straightforward conclusion Sunday.

Max Verstappen didn't rest on his laurels after securing a fourth straight Formula One championship.

A week removed from clinching, Verstappen won the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday.

MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS THE QATAR GRAND PRIX!!

Expertly managed from the World Champion, who makes it two wins in three races! 👏👏#F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/KqMPFWAcbw

— Formula 1 (@F1) December 1, 2024

With the drivers' championship race now over, the focus has shifted to the constructor standings.

Red Bull, which trailed McLaren and Ferrari in third, claimed the top spot on Sunday. The team was unable to gain any ground, though, since Charles Leclerc repped Ferrari well in second place and Oscar Piastri got McLaren onto the podium.

McLaren remains in the lead heading into the season finale, but the door is wide open for Ferrari to move into first place on the last day.

Down to the wire.

The battle for the Constructors' Championship will be decided in Abu Dhabi! #F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/OGEctkBo7M

— Formula 1 (@F1) December 1, 2024

"I would have signed straight away a paper that told me we would have finished second on this track after a weekend like this because our car characteristics were not fitting very well with this track," Leclerc said after the Qatar Grand Prix, per the Guardian's Yara El-Shaboury.

"We knew it was going to be a very difficult weekend compared to McLaren but in the end we managed to take some point away from them so the fight will be all the way to the last race in Abu Dhabi next week."

In terms of the Grand Prix itself, Verstappen's triumph was relatively anticlimactic. Thanks to a grid penalty, he started second behind George Russell but overtook the British star on the opening lap. It was academic from there as no one seriously challenged "Mad Max" for the duration of the race.

Verstappen, who has been far more inconsistent compared to 2023, has displayed his usual dominance down the home stretch of the 2024 campaign.

Russell, meanwhile, fell back to fourth by the time he crossed the finish line. He also received a time penalty, which didn't affect his outcome.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit will bring the season to a close. Verstappen is the four-time reigning champion at the track and he'll be the heavy favorite, assuming he doesn't encounter any major setbacks in qualifying.

The battle over the constructors' title should at least supply plenty of drama.

Female motorsports pioneer Mary McGee, known affectionately as "Motorcycle Mary," died Wednesday at the age of 87.

According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN), McGee's family announced that she died at her home in Nevada.

McGee was a trailblazer for women in auto and motorcycle racing, becoming the first woman to compete in motocross racing in the United States. She was also the first woman or man to complete the Baja 500 off-road race on their own, accomplishing the feat in 1975.

By virtue of her historic achievements, McGee was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2018.

In a statement released on social media, McGee's family said she "inspired generations of athletes that followed in her footsteps," and added:

"Mary embodied resilience, grace, and optimism. She was a historic athlete and a motorsports pioneer who embraced life's challenges, cared deeply for others, and made time to brighten the lives of those around her. While we are deeply saddened by this loss, we are comforted knowing that her light will continue to shine in everyone she touched."

On Thursday, ESPN posted a 30 for 30 short film entitled Motorcycle Mary on the ESPN YouTube page:

The short, which details the life and times of McGee, was executive produced by Formula One legend Lewis Hamilton.

The 39-year-old Hamilton, who is a seven-time F1 champion, also released a statement on McGee's passing, saying: "Her legacy will live on as a trailblazer in the world of motorsports and beyond."

Max Verstappen secured his fourth straight Formula One championship with a fifth-place showing in Saturday's Las Vegas Grand Prix.

George Russell won the race itself, finishing 7.313 seconds ahead of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton. The 26-year-old has two checkered flags for the 2024 season.

Winning in Vegas, what a moment!! A massive thank you to the whole team for your hard work all weekend, we deserved that 1-2. LET’S GO!!🍾🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/z4Rh7YWbgE

— George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) November 24, 2024

Hamilton, meanwhile, got onto the podium for the first time since winning the Belgian Grand Prix in July. A runner-up finish was a major improvement from starting in 10th.

Lewis with the moves 🕺

Hamilton powers from P10 to the podium 💪#F1 #LasVegasGP pic.twitter.com/qBeYAGzekW

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 24, 2024

Ultimately the spotlight in Sin City belonged to Verstappen, though. His four championships put him into a tie with Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel for the third-most in F1 history. Only Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio have more.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Four time world champion!!! A season with a lot of challenges, but we worked hard as a team. I am very proud of us 🏆 This would never have been possible without all the dedication and effort of everyone at @redbullracing 🙌 A huge thank you to all involved for this… pic.twitter.com/mnekjbdC3a

— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) November 24, 2024

Unlike in 2023, Verstappen had to face a little bit of adversity on the road to his title.

Last year, the Red Bull Racing clinched the F1 championship in early October. No driver had ever been as dominant from start to finish in a single season.

It looked like 2024 might be more of the same when Verstappen opened with seven straight poles and five victories. His performance tailed off a bit, however, which opened the door for a challenge by Lando Norris.

When Norris cruised past the field in the Singapore Grand Prix, some fans might've begun to talk themselves into his long-shot bid to overtake Verstappen.

In the end, Verstappen was simply inevitable.

"He drove a better season than I did, he deserved it more than anyone else," Norris said after the Las Vegas Grand Prix. "Max just doesn't have a weakness.

"When he's got the best car he dominates and when he's not got the best car he's still just there always, always there to make your life tough and difficult."

Carlos Sainz chose to put a more positive spin on things since Verstappen didn't turn this year into one long coronation.

"As much as I think Max did an incredible job this year... the second half of the season just shows that when we are all in more of equal machinery, we can go up against each other and make each other's lives difficult," he said.

Two more races remain on the F1 calendar. The Qatar Grand Prix is the next stop this coming week with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to follow on Dec. 8.

The constructors title remains up for grabs with McLaren leading Ferrari by just 24 points, so there's more than just pride on the line across the two events.