F1

RACECAR driver Alex Areia survived a brush with death after crashing into the STANDS ahead of the Porsche Sprint Challenge.Practice for this weekend’s race took place at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao, Portugal early on Friday.

Alex Areia crashed through the fence during practice for Porche Sprint ChallengeCredit: CLICK DEPORTES
Areia’s car flew into the stands after skidding along gravel and hitting a tire barrierCredit: CLICK DEPORTES
But it almost ended in tragedy as Areia lost control of his 991.2-generation 911 GT3 Cup car.
The Portuguese petrolhead lost control while at full speed in the braking zone of a very tight corner and eventually went into a gravel trap.
His car skidded along and hit a tire barrier before cannoning through the fence and landing backwards in the grandstand.
Thankfully, there was no one sitting in the area of the stand where Areia’s car flew into – which would’ve been packed during race day.
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The wreckage of Areira’s car – which was well and truly written off – had to be lifted out of the stands by a crane.
Racing fans feared for Areia’s safety after seeing the horrific crash, the tail end of which was caught on camera.
But he miraculously walked away from the accident with no injuries.
The speedster addressed the scary crash on Twitter, writing: “It was very angry.
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Alex Areia broke his silence on the horrific crash on TwitterCredit: TWITTER
“I ran out of brakes at the end of the straight, I practically became a passenger.
Luckily, no one was in that area of the grandstand and I managed to get out of the accident unharmed, thanks to the safety level of that car.
“Keep strong.”
One racing fan said of the crash: “That’s insane.
“In a packed grandstand, there are a dozen or more fatalities and just as many injuries. Wow.”
Another said: “WOAH. Thank the Lord that this was during a practice session! Hope the driver is ok!”
And another said: “f we had the stands crowded now we would be talking about 10 dead people.” More

F1 legend Damon Hill believes Max Verstappen should consider QUITTING the sport.The former world champion thinks Verstappen is “not having fun” driving in Formula One and should walk away.
Former F1 World Champion Damon Hill thinks Verstappen should leave the sportCredit: Getty
Verstappen has admitted he isn’t a fan of the constant changes to the F1 formatCredit: The Mega Agency
Hill’s comments come after Verstappen threatened to quit F1 if more sprint races are added to the calendar.
There are six 30-minute sprints scheduled for this season, but the number may be increased as F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali is a big fan of them.
Hill claimed that if Verstappen isn’t happy he should have a major career rethink.
Speaking on the Sky Sports podcast, Hill said “Max’s retirement threat is very unusual. It’s kind of strange to hear, isn’t it? I mean, what’s he going to do with himself?
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“He should stop now, really. Stop now, he’s done it.”
The 1996 world champion continued: “You mentioned fun. I think that’s a very important point. Is he having fun, because I sometimes think he’s not having fun.
“I think you have to love what you’re doing, otherwise it’s a grind.
“I think there’s an element of this with Max with him wanting to not waste his time of superfluous things that really are just invented for novelty reasons.
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“I think he’s that kind of person. So I can imagine him just saying it because he just thinks ‘well, I just come here and want to win a Grand Prix. I just want one race to mean something. I don’t want to have a half-value race, what’s the point of that on your CV?’
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“People are going to go ‘how many Grand Prix have you won?’ Not ‘how many sprints have you won?'”
During the Australian Grand Prix Verstappen voiced his upset with the overhaul of the traditional three-day format to include the sprint races rather than a practice session on some weekends.
He claimed that the addition of the races messed with the “DNA of F1”, and that he was “not a fan of it at all”.
Explaining his stance, the reigning world champion pointed out that the seasons could have 24 or even 25 races, and that adding more is “not worth it for me”.
This year already has 23 races scheduled, making it the longest season in the sport’s history.

Complete F1 2023 race calendar – details on every Grand Prix this year More

HAAS chief Guenther Steiner has slammed Mick Schumacher over his crashes in a new book.Schumacher raced for Haas for two years in F1 before being let go at the end of last season.
Guenther Steiner tore into Mick Schumacher in his new bookCredit: Getty
Schumacher was ripped a Haas car apart last yearCredit: AFP
The German was involved in mutliple crashes in 2002Credit: Getty
And Steiner has revealed a big reason for that was his propensity for crashing cars.
The Haas chief felt Schumacher’s mentality was off and found it increasingly difficult to justify his place in the team to Haas bosses.
He wrote in his upcoming ‘Surviving to Drive’ book: “And now we get on to Mick. Jeezoz [sic], where do I start?
“The first time a driver writes off a car in a season due to human error, you have to forget about it. It’s just one of those things and at the end of the day, s*** happens sometimes.
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“The second time it happens you think ‘hang on, something’s not right here.’
“The cost and the effect it has on our chances of scoring points is one thing but what about the dangers to the driver and other people? Nobody ever mentions that.
“I know I could go on about it but we have a good car this season and I’ve run out of excuses for things like this.
“‘He crashed again Gunether?’ the board will say. ‘What’s the point of having a good car when you don’t score any points and keep wrecking them?’
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“What can I say to that? Nothing. Having a good car quickly turned into a double-edged sword for me and one of the main reasons for this is that we keep on f***ing wrecking them, or should I say one driver does.
“The driver who hasn’t scored any points yet and who is one of only two left on the grid right now.”
Schumacher left Haas at the end of the season and signed for Mercedes as back-up to Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. More

DAMON HILL feels that Lewis Hamilton, given his age and experience in F1, has started to “lose his speed on the track”. Hill, who won the world championship with Williams in 1996, said that “the arrival of the younger, faster driver” can seriously impact an older team-mate.
Damon Hill now works in the media Paddock on race weekendsCredit: Getty
And according to Hill, Lewis Hamilton cannot keep up with the pace of the younger drivers foreverCredit: Alamy
The former racing driver was specifically referring to George Russell’s ability to out-qualify Hamilton.
Russell,25, leads Hamilton 3-0 in their qualifying head-to-heads in 2023.
Hamilton,38, was also out-performed by his younger team-mate last season, with the seven-time-world champion failing to win a single race in 2022 for the first time in his career.
Despite clinching his own title at age 36, Hill referenced how the sport has a history of seeing veteran drivers struggle against younger team-mates.
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Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, he said: “Drivers in their late 30s can no longer do those absolutely absurd kind of transcendental laps that they used to be able to do when they were in their 20s.
“George is super quick, and he’s revelling in the early part of his career and he’s got this speed.
“I don’t know if Lewis has acknowledged that he can’t match that, or I’m sure he will eventually.
“But, I mean, it’s possible that that instinctive unconscious speed is starting to leave him, it does happen”.
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Hill insisted that Hamilton and Russell’s relationship brings back memories from the past: “Niki Lauda had Alain Prost arrive.
“When the older, experienced driver is faced by the speed of a young arrival, they can get depressed about it or devote their energy to making sure the outcome in the race is the thing that matters”.
The 2023 season has begun on a rather precarious note again for Hamilton’s Mercedes team.
Though it is Hamilton who has claimed the team’s best finish so far in this campaign, crossing the line in P2 in Australia.
That did come after Russell, who had earlier been leading his team-mate, was forced to retire prematurely after his car set on fire. More

TORRENTIAL rain in Miami caused mass flooding at the city’s newly-minted F1 race track.Downpours for the last three days have left some South Florida roads completely impassable.
The Miami Grand Prix returns next monthCredit: GETTY
But there was chaos at the race track this week when severe flooding hitCredit: REDDIT
The water, however, was eventually drained away from the trackCredit: TWITTER@F1MIAMI
And the race track for next month’s Miami GP was also badly affected by the biblical rain.
Images shared on social media showed parts of the track – which is built in the streets around the city’s Hard Rock Stadium – completely underwater.
The water almost came up to the knees of one of the individuals working at the track – who had to don a full-length yellow jumpsuit to wade through it.
Staff at the track worked tirelessly to get rid of the water, which, initially, failed to drain away.
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But the track was once again clear and looking picture-perfect after several gruelling hours for staff members.
The race’s official Twitter account shared some mesmerising pictures of the track to on Wednesday night.
The accompanying caption read: “3 weeks until race weekend in Miami.”
F1 returns to Miami for the second time on May 7.
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The season resumes a fortnight on Saturday with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which takes place at the Baku City Circuit.
Defending champion Max Verstappen enters the race top of the pile with 69 points to his name following two wins and three podium finishes.
His Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez is second in the driver standings following one win and two podium finishes.
Veteran Fernando Alonso rounds out the top three with three podium finishes.
Sir Lewis Hamilton is currently in fourth spot following one solitary podium finish. More