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      Keith Farmer dead at 35: Tributes paid to four-time British motorcycle champion after shock sudden passing

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      FOUR-TIME British motorcycle champion Keith Farmer has passed away aged 35.Farmer, known as the Clogher Bullet, passed away suddenly, his brother David announced on Thursday.
      Keith Farmer has passed away suddenly aged 35Credit: Pacemaker
      The ex-TAS Racing rider was a four-time British championCredit: Pacemaker
      David wrote: “I’m lost for words our little brother left us at 1.45 this morning with us all by his side.
      “Life will never be the same again, he made us all so proud and he will be very sorely missed. Love you Meekie #33.”
      Farmer, who was based in Cumbria, was described as “pure raw talent” whose motorsport career was hampered by injury and bad luck.
      He had retired from racing in September 2021, after battling injury for the final few years of his career, and was looking forward to spending time with his family.
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      At the time of his retirement, Keith told the News Letter: “I just feel the time is right now because the enjoyment’s not there any more and my body needs the chance to heal from the injuries I’ve had over these past couple of years.
      “I’ve another baby due in five weeks’ time and my other youngest daughter is turning five in December, plus I’ve my eldest daughter back in Northern Ireland.
      “I want to walk away now when I can rather than keeping going for the sake of it, and I want to spend more time with my family.”
      Four-time British champ Farmer competed for BSB, Paul Bird Motorsport, Buildbase Suzuki and TAS Racing, with the latter describing his passing as “absolute devastation”.
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      Team principal Philip Neill offered his sympathies to Farmer’s family and friends, saying: “We enjoyed many happy memories together both within racing and on a personal level as Keith had remained a close friend of the team.
      “His talent was undeniable and although his successes were many, including a memorable Superstock championship win with Tyco BMW in 2018, I will always feel like we never actually witnessed Keith’s full potential on a superbike – as he was so often hampered by injury or bad luck.”
      The British Superbike Championship say Farmer will be remembered fondly by his rivals.
      The organisation said: “Keith will be terribly missed by all that had the pleasure of meeting him throughout his career.
      “He was a brilliant and successful rider on track, who will be fondly remembered by his rivals, colleagues and fans following today’s tragic news.”
      Glenn Irwin, British Superbike rider, described him as his “fierce rival”.
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      Sharing a picture on Twitter of the pair on a podium, he added: “The day 3 mad Irish men locked out the podium. 2011 you were my fierce rival winning the stock 600 title.
      “I remember when PBM snapped you up, sure you would go all the way to the top with birdys then GP team. That’s how good you were, pure raw talent.” More

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      Lewis Hamilton is Mercedes’ best chance of winning despite George Russell’s 15 point gap, says F1 pundit

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      LEWIS HAMILTON is still Mercedes’ best chance of claiming a win, not George Russell, claims Jolyon Palmer.Rookie Russell leads his legendary Formula One team-mate by 15 points in the Drivers’ Standings.
      George Russell currently leads Lewis Hamilton by 15 points in the standingsCredit: Getty
      Seven-time world champ Hamilton has failed to mount a title challenge this term but after a poor start battling for midfield spots he has finished second in his last two outings.
      F1 pundit Palmer is adamant that the 37-year-old has shown recently that he is back to his best.
      And he added that if Mercedes can build a car capable of mounting a shot at the championship next season, then it will be Hamilton that will be pushing for it rather than his junior colleague.
      Discussing the points gap between the pair on the F1 Nation podcast, Palmer said: “I imagine George will close it out, just by sheer numbers.
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      “There’s only two races left and if he just manages to keep this consistency, he’ll be there.
      “But I think that doesn’t really tell the picture of the Mercedes story.
      “I think George has been impressive, if he beats Lewis it will be an amazing achievement.
      “But I do think the more the season’s gone on, the more Lewis looks like Lewis again.”
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      He added: “At the start of the year, there was a really odd moment where everyone was a bit perplexed [thinking] ‘is George Russell, gonna outdo Lewis Hamilton?’ and for the first six, seven races, it was looking that way.
      “As the season’s gone on, I think Lewis has got on top.
      “And I think if they do have a title-challenging car next year, I still think it’d be Lewis that would be that man.” More

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      ‘Max is weak technically’ – Ex-Red Bull engineer slams Verstappen despite Dutchman securing back-to-back F1 world titles

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      MAX VERSTAPPEN’S technical skills have been brutally criticised by former Red Bull engineer Guillaume Rocquelin.The driver won his second World Championship this year after winning a record 14 races this season, but that has not been enough to convince Rocquelin of his skills.
      Max Verstappen has been told that he can still improve despite winning his second World Championship title this year.Credit: EPA
      The ex-engineer believed that the Dutchman can still improve his ability in and out of the car in order to improve the team.
      He told Eurosport France’s ‘Les Fous du Volant’ podcast: “I’ll be honest, Max is weak technically compared to other drivers we’ve worked with.
      “I think he still has a lot of progress to make. He is a leader by his attitude, his results. But I think he can improve from a technical point of view and in the way of developing the car.”
      Verstappen beat Sebastien Vettel and Michael Schumacher’s record of wins in a season, but Rocquelin views Vettel as the “more complete driver”.
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      For seven years between 2015 and 2022 Rocquelin was Red Bull Racing’s head of engineering.
      He was the race engineer for all of Vettel’s championship wins, before the German driver left for Ferrari in 2015.
      He added: “I think Sebastian (Vettel) was a more complete driver than Max (Verstappen) when he arrived with us.
      “At the professional level, technique, mediation…he was trained at the (Michael) Schumacher school.
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      “He asked a lot of questions, took a lot of notes and when he arrived with us he was very thorough.
      “It’s no coincidence he won several titles. He was more prepared technically, and mentally.
      “I think Max (Verstappen) maybe had more natural talent, that’s what he relied on the most.
      “But Sebastian was the most complete. Max has always been a boss. He has enormous self-confidence, he knows what he wants and he is very direct.” More

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      F1 chief Stefano Domenicali wants to create a ‘Super Bowl’ effect after adding Las Vegas GP for 2023 season

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      FORMULA 1 chief Stefano Domenicali wants to create a Super Bowl effect on the track with a third US race now on the calendar.Texas and Miami both hosted Grand Prix events in 2022.
      Las Vegas has been added to the Formula 1 calendar for the 2023 seasonCredit: Getty
      And Las Vegas has now been added to the schedule for the 2023 season, increasing America’s host venues to three.
      That’s set to be the most the US have ever hosted in an F1 season.
      As a result, Domenicali wants to bring a Super Bowl effect to the sport.
      He said: “It was such a quick turnaround – really a matter of two years. An incredible ‘switch-on’ that before was not there.
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      “Our vision of, ‘Everywhere we go, we want to create a Super Bowl’ is much easier to understand if you have an American mentality.
      “We are trying politely to offer something that is not pure US but international.
      “And we saw the effect of being stubborn to be in Vegas.
      “No one thought we’d be able to convince the committees to be on the Strip on a Saturday night.”
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      The season draws to a close with the final two races, starting in Brazil this weekend Prix followed by the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix later this month.
      Max Verstappen was confirmed as a two-time F1 world champion after winning in Japan in October. More

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      Fernando Alonso wants Max Verstappen link up as Lewis Hamilton’s two great rivals could become team-mates outside F1

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      FERNANDO ALONSO said he wants to team-up with Max Verstappen for racing outside of F1 if the opportunity presents itself. The Spaniard, 41, will enter yet another year of Formula 1 next season and is showing no signs of slowing down.
      Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso are at different stages of their career but both have been successful in F1Credit: Reuters
      But he is already thinking about other motorsport categories he can compete in when he chooses to leave the sport for the second time.
      And despite his far younger age, Verstappen has already made noises himself about what he plans to do after F1.
      Alonso admitted he liked the idea of the two – who are arguably Lewis Hamilton’s greatest F1 rivals – joining forcing for the historic 24 of Le Mans endurance race.
      He told De Telegraaf: “I know Max wants to do some endurance one day and I know he’d like to do the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
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      “I’m certainly open to doing that together. I think we should give the idea a chance if we can drive for a competitive team.”
      Alonso was also asked about driving with Verstappen’s father Jos instead with Jos, at 50, being closer to Alonso’s age than Max.
      But Alonso joked: “His father for Le Mans? At the moment, I prefer Max.
      “But I also have a lot of respect for Jos. He could develop the role of team principal!”
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      Both Alonso and Verstappen have two World Championships, with the former’s coming with Renault in 2005 and 2006 while the latter’s won his with Red Bull in 2021 and this year.
      In that time, both have struck up fierce rivalries with Hamilton at either stage of his career.
      The seven-times World Champion was teammates with Alonso in 2007 at McLaren but the pair were often at loggerheads and allowed Kimi Raikkonen to sneak his Ferrari to that year’s World Championship.
      And in 2021, Hamilton and Verstappen engaged in a title duel for the ages that saw dangerous crashes, more dangerous crashes and eventually the most dramatic and controversial lap of racing the sport had ever seen. More

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      Michael Schumacher’s record-breaking Ferrari tipped to sell for staggering £8.4MILLION as it is put up for auction

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      MICHAEL SCHUMACHER’S world championship-winning Ferrari is expected to sell for more than £8MILLION at auction.The F1 legend, 53, won seven drivers titles between 1994 and 2004 – the last five of which came with the iconic Italian racing team.
      Schumacher claimed five titles in a row between 2000 and 2004Credit: Getty – Contributor
      The German used the iconic car for the 2003 campaignCredit: EPA
      The legendary Ferrari car is going up for sale on FridayCredit: Reuters
      It will be auctioned off at a sale in Geneva, SwitzerlandCredit: EPA
      Schumacher won five races in this car during the 2003 seasonCredit: Reuters
      He beat Fernando Alonso to the crown in this carCredit: EPA
      It has an iconic design, made historic by Schumacher’s achievementsCredit: EPA
      A picture of the steering wheel shows the fascinating set-up of the carCredit: AFP
      And now the German’s 2003 Ferrari car – which helped Schumacher to five race wins on his way to the title – is going up for sale at an auction in Geneva on Friday.
      The supreme feat of engineering saw him eclipse Juan Manuel Fangio to become the first ever racer to win six F1 world championships.
      Now, someone will be able to own the incredible piece of motor racing memorabilia.
      Vincent Luzuy, executive assistant to the director of RM Sotheby’s sales – who are auctioning the car, explained why it is such a precious commodity.
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      He told Reuters: “It’s special because this car is one of the only four cars with more than four wins in the Ferrari history and especially with one of the most skilled driver’s of his generation, Michael Schumacher.”
      The “Chassis 229” Ferrari is set to fetch around £8.4m at auction as F1 fans flock to try and snap up the car.
      Back in April, his 1998 Ferrari car was sold at auction for £5m, while his 2001 car used at the Monaco Grand Prix hit the £6m mark.
      Schumacher’s record-breaking tally of seven world titles has since been matched by Lewis Hamilton.
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      But it is still yet to be beaten after Hamilton missed out on an eighth crown last year as Max Verstappen passed him on the last lap of the final race of the season.
      Meanwhile, Schumacher is currently living back home in Switzerland with his family.
      In December 2013, the German racing legend suffered a severe brain injury during a skiing accident in the French Alps.
      He was placed in a medically induced coma until June 2014.
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      Since the horrifying incident nearly nine years ago, he has lived an extremely private life with very few updates on his health.
      His son Mick, 23, currently races in F1 with Haas.
      Schumacher is Ferrari’s greatest ever F1 driverCredit: EPA More

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      F1 Brazilian Grand Prix: TV channel, live stream, schedule for practice and qualifying before HUGE Interlagos race

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      HANG on tight Formula One lovers as we are approaching the final bend of this scintillating season – and the drivers travel to Brazil next.F1 champion Max Verstappen set a new record of most wins in a season after a dominant 14th victory last month on the Mexican circuit.
      Max Verstappen raced to a record 14th win this season in MexicoCredit: Rex
      And it also meant that British legend Lewis Hamilton is still searching for his first win of the campaign after securing second spot.
      However, Hamilton will be confident that he can put this torrid run to an end in Brazil on the very same track where he came back from 10th to grab first place.
      Furthermore, the seven-time champion has more of an incentive to win after officially receiving a Brazilian citizenship ahead of the weekend.
      SunSport has all the information required for the Brazilian Grand Prix below…
      When is the F1 Brazilian Grand Prix?

      The Brazilian Grand Prix is scheduled to take place on Sunday, November 13.
      It is expected to get underway from 6pm UK time – 3pm local time.
      Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace (Interlagos) in Sao Paulo, Brazil is the allocated track for this race and it can host 60,000 fans.
      Lewis Hamilton secured first place on the podium last season in Brazil.

      Lewis Hamilton came from 10th to win in Brazil last seasonCredit: Rex
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      What TV channel is the F1 Brazilian Grand Prix on and can I live stream it?

      The Brazilian Grand Prix will be shown LIVE on Sky Sports F1 in the UK.
      Subscription members of Sky Sports can stream the entire action on the Sky Sports website or Sky Go app.
      Alternatively, head to NOW TV where the race will also be available on all devices and tablets so long as you are subscribed.

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      What is the F1 Brazilian Grand Prix FULL schedule?
      Friday November 11

      Practice 1 – 3:30pm
      Qualifying – 7pm

      Saturday November 12

      Practice 2 – 3pm
      Sprint – 7:30pm

      Sunday November 13

      Race – 6pm More

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      ‘I feel like I’m one of you’ – Lewis Hamilton officially receives Brazilian citizenship ahead of Brazil GP

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      LEWIS HAMILTON has officially received his Brazilian citizenship, telling the country’s people “I feel like I’m one of you”.The F1 legend, 37, was named an honorary citizen in June.
      Lewis Hamilton received the legislative medal of merit after becoming a Brazilian citizenCredit: EPA
      He was also handed a diploma to signify his citizenshipCredit: Getty
      That was seven months after congressman Andre Figueiredo made the suggestion when Hamilton wore the country’s flag on the podium after winning the Brazilian Grand Prix for a third time.
      But now he has been confirmed as a citizen of the nation in a special ceremony in the capital, Brasilia.
      The Mercedes driver wore a blue suit for the occasion as he was awarded his citizenship in a touching moment.
      He was handed the legislative medal of merit and a diploma showcasing his new status.
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      Hamilton, who will race the Sao Paulo track once more this weekend, has a long affinity with Brazil.
      He was a huge admirer of the country’s racing icon Ayrton Senna when he was growing up.
      The seven-time champion then went on to win his first F1 world title in Brazil in 2008 – beating the home fans’ countryman Felipe Massa to the crown.
      But he has still gone on to be embraced by the South Americans.
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      And he made a speech to the Brazilian people following his citizenship ceremony.
      As reported by Reuters, he said: “I feel like now I’m one of you.”
      He then went on to add: “I have so many amazing memories of Brazil. And particularly 2021.
      “Knowing you guys would cheer me on the way was one of the most special moments of my entire life. I can’t wait for us to continue to strive ahead.”
      Hamilton will now be hoping to add to his three Brazilian GP wins this Sunday.
      The Brit previously claimed victories at the Sao Paulo race track in 2016, 2018 and 2021.
      Last year’s triumph was one of his greatest, with Hamilton coming from 10th in the grid to win by more than 10 seconds.
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      But he is yet to win a race so far in 2022.
      And with just two races left this season, it threatens to be the first winless year of Hamilton’s career since he debuted in F1 15 years ago. More