F1

FORMER Formula 1 driver Wilson Fittipaldi Jr has suffered a cardiac arrest after choking on a piece of meat.Fittipaldi Jr, whose brother Emerson won two F1 world titles, was celebrating his 80th birthday on Christmas Day when the horrific incident took place.
Wilson Fittipaldi Jr suffered a cardiac arrest after choking on a piece of meatCredit: Getty
Fittipaldi competed in Formula 1 in the early and mid-1970sCredit: Getty
He was resuscitated and is currently sedated in hospital.
A post from his wife on Instagram read: “During dinner, he choked on a piece of meat and suffered a lack of oxygen followed by cardiac arrest.
“He was resuscitated and is now sedated and intubated, we are waiting for him to wake up.
“He has a difficult post-surgical history of returning post-sedative, one day at a time, let’s wait.”
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According to The Independent, Fittipaldi’s son Christian, who is also an ex-F1 driver, attended the hospital with his dad.
In the social media post, his wife went on to add: “Yesterday I received countless phone calls and kind messages of support for the whole family.
“I appreciate all the messages, I know they are the ones that give us strength in this very difficult time.
“Continue the positive vibes of health and restoration for Wilsinho. God will make the best!”
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Fittipaldi started 35 F1 races between 1972 and 1975, claiming three points during his short career in the sport.
Alongside his world champion brother Emerson, he set up the first and only Brazilian F1 team – Fittipaldi-Copersucar – in 1974.
The team raced in F1 from 1975 to 1982. More

VALTTERI BOTTAS has revealed his stunning plans to swap sports when his F1 career is over.The 34-year-old is in the autumn of his F1 career and already planning for life after motor racing.
Valtteri Bottas has opened up on his plans for life after F1Credit: Getty
He has opened up on his love of gravel racingCredit: INSTAGRAM @valtteribottas
It is a form of off-road cyclingCredit: INSTAGRAM @valtteribottas
And he has revealed on the Bobby and Jens podcast that he plans to take gravel cycling “seriously” when he retires.
Gravel cycling is a branch of cycling that sees competitors riding a drop-bar bike on unpaved roads and trails, fitting somewhere between road cycling and mountain biking.
He has already competed in two gravel racing events at the Belgian Waffle Race and SBT GRVL at Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
He finished on the podium for his age range both times, with both races considered world class events.
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Bottas has fallen so in love with the sport that he has created his own gravel racing event, which his team, Alfa Romeo, sponsored.
The event is held in his home region of Laht in Finland.
He has also revealed his plan to qualify for the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships. 
He told the podcast: “Obviously, Formula One is the priority for me.
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He plans to compete in a gravel racing world championshipCredit: INSTAGRAM @valtteribottas
And has already finished on the podium in two eventsCredit: INSTAGRAM @valtteribottas
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“But a close second is cycling. Whenever I get the chance, I try to fit in some good [cycling] training blocks and I plan on racing some more gravel events this year – this time of year is for the bicycle.”
And while Bottas said he knew he wanted to be a racing driver from the age of six, “bikes were always around,” when he was growing up.
He continued: “Road, mountain and, now, gravel — I love to ride everything.”
Bottas’ girlfriend Tiffany Cromwell is an Australian Olympian and professional gravel racer and the two have encouraged eachother in their cycling.
Bottas will aim to qualify for the UCI Gravel World Championships in Belgium this year where there are several ways to qualify.
Bottas will likely try to leverage his age in a 36-39 men’s event where finishing in the top 25% of a race will secure him qualification.
The world championships will take place in September this year.
Bottas and Cromwell have a shared love of cyclingCredit: Getty More

SEBASTIAN Vettel has revealed his heartbreaking final conversation with his pal, F1 legend Michael Schumacher, before his horrific accident.Vettel said “I miss my friend” before he shared that the last time the pair spoke was when he broke the news he was to become a father.
Sebastian Vettel recently revealed his last conversation with his pal Michael SchumacherCredit: PA:Press Association
The pair were teammates and friends and won six Race of Champions Nations’ Cup crownsCredit: AFP – Getty
As of December 29, 2023 it has been 10 years since Schumacher suffered life-changing head injuries, hitting his head on a rock while skiing in the French Alps.
Updates on the seven-time World Champion have been few and far between and he has not been seen in public since, with his family keeping information on his health private.
Vettel discussed how his relationship with Schumacher grew “stronger and stronger” in the lead-up to his accident.
The pair shared the Formula 1 grid between 2010-12 and also formed the German line-up which won six consecutive Race of Champions Nations’ Cup crowns between 2007-2012.
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However, Vettel said the friendship between he and Schumacher grew so much that racing “was no longer the biggest thing (they) had in common.”
Not only were they team mates but Vettel described Schumacher as an “extremely important” figure for advice and “inspiration” that has been missing in his life.
“It’s still very, very difficult,” Vettel told RTL, “I don’t want to say to accept it, but to accept that he continues to fight.
“Yes, of course, I only wish him the best. But it’s still very often a topic I think about privately and I think about a lot and that is definitely a recurring theme.
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“Of course, the first thoughts immediately went to the last conversation we had together and that couldn’t be more positive. I told him that I was going to be a father and what was coming for us.
He added: “I think I really appreciated it towards the end in that sense, where our relationship became stronger and stronger before the accident.
“Because I think we both got to know each other more and more and racing was no longer the biggest thing we had in common, but life in general and life with and around racing.
He continued: “I believe in recent years he would have been extremely important.”
And explained how he has had “so many questions” recently and wishes he could have leaned on his pal for advice and support.
Vettel acknowledged that for Schumacher’s family it is “more difficult” to cope with the tragedy, especially for his son Mick who was very young at the time of the accident.
Vettel retired from Formula 1 after the 2022 season after achieving four World Championships with Red Bull between 2010-13.
Michael Schumacher’s ex-Formula One team Mercedes have urged him to “keep fighting” on the day of his 55th birthday.
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The birthday message from Mercedes provided some minor updates and suggests the 55-year-old is still battling back to full recovery.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the official Mercedes account wrote: “Happy Birthday, Michael. Today marks the @F1 legend’s 55th birthday. #KeepFightingMichael.”
Vettel said his relationship with Schumacher grew “stronger and stronger” in the lead-up to his accidentCredit: EPA
Vettel said their last conversation together was him telling Schumacher he was going to become a fatherCredit: EPA
Schumacher has not been seen since he had a serious skiing accident in the French AlpesCredit: Getty More