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      ‘Ready for Singapore’ – Alex Albon breaks silence after respiratory failure ordeal as Williams star eyes rapid F1 return

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      FORMULA ONE ace Alex Albon is hoping to be fit for the Singapore GP following his respiratory failure scare.The Williams driver, 26, was rushed into intensive care last Saturday in Monza ahead of the Italian GP.
      Alex Albon has broken his silence after suffering from respiratory failureCredit: https://twitter.com/alex_albon
      Albon spent last Saturday night in intensive careCredit: Getty
      Albon was diagnosed with appendicitis on Saturday morning, but after complications during surgery he suffered respiratory failure.
      The Thai-British driver spent the night on a ventilator before being transferred to a general ward on Sunday morning, and discharged on Tuesday.
      Now Albon has broken his silence on the terrifying ordeal, and revealed he plans to be back behind the wheel in time for the Singapore GP at the start of October.
      In a video statement posted to Twitter, Albon thanked doctors at the San Gerardo hospital in Monza for doing an “amazing job” treating him.
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      He said: “I feel pretty good. I feel OK. Obviously on Saturday I had a slight issue and the doctors did an amazing job and I’m very grateful that they got me in good health and out of the hospital by Tuesday.
      “So I’ve been in Monaco since then, I’ve been starting to walk around and the goal is to be ready for Singapore, which is going to be tough.
      “It’s one of the toughest races that we go to so it’s not an easy one. But let’s aim high and see what happens.”
      Albon also thanked F1 fans for the messages of support he received while in hospital.
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      He added: “And just a quick message to say thank you for all the kind messages, I’ve been reading them all, or as many as I can. And yes it means a lot.
      “So thanks, hopefully see you in Singapore, and peace out.”
      Albon was replaced for last weekend’s race in Monza by Nick de Vries, with the Dutchman finishing an impressive P9.
      Albon’s best result this season was also P9 at the Miami GP back in May.
      He joined Williams earlier this year, replacing George Russell who left to link up with Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.
      Nick de Vries raced in Albon’s place last weekendCredit: Splash More

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      What do F1 tyre colours mean and how much do they cost?

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      IF you ever watch a Formula One race, you will undoubtedly hear the commentator talk about tyres.We don’t really consider just how important they are on our road cars.
      There are five types of tyres available to F1 teams and they use three of the five on race weekendsCredit: Getty
      But in racing the performance of the tyre is crucial, after all, it is the only thing connecting the driver and his F1 car from the ground.
      Unlike other championships, there is just a single tyre supplier in F1 – Pirelli – who are paid by the teams to supply tyres for the season.
      Here SunSport looks into the F1’s world of rubber and answers some of the key questions.
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      What are the five types of different Formula One tyres?
      Pirelli produce five different types of tyre.
      Three variations of the slick tyre, one set of intermediate tyres and a set of wet.
      The slicks offer the quickest lap times where as the intermediate tyres are used on a drying track or when there is light rain in parts of the track.
      Wets are obviously used in the rain but the profile is designed not only to maintain grip, but also to dispel the standing water from the track.
      What do the colours on this side of the tyre mean?
      Fortunately, we are able to identify what tyres a driver is using by the coloured bands around the side of the tyre wall.
      Red indicates the softest tyre.
      Yellow is the medium and white for the hard tyres.
      Green is the banding on the intermediates and blue for wets.
      The tyres are colour coded so fans and commentators can easily spot which tyre choice the teams have gone with during a raceCredit: Getty
      Why do they use soft, medium or hard?
      Here is where some of the confusion starts.
      While Pirelli bring three sets of slick tyres (soft, medium and hard) to each race, the actual compound differs from track to track.
      There are five different compounds, called C1, C2, C3, C4 and C5.
      C1 is the harder compound and will last longer, they are used in high-speed tracks such as Silverstone and Suzuka that take a lot of energy out of the tyre life.
      The C5 compounds are the softest variety and offer the stickiest rubber, used for street circuits like Monaco where high grip is vital.
      Formula One 2022Everything you need to know about F1 this season

      How many tyres can one driver use over the weekend?
      During a race weekend, each driver is allocated 13 sets of dry tyres to last the whole race weekend, however, most are handed back after the practice sessions.
      Teams have to run the tyres at the pressures ordered by Pirelli to preserve the tyre’s safety.
      If a driver makes it into the top 10 on the grid in qualifying, the driver must start the race on that exact set he set his best lap time in Q2.
      Drivers outside the top 10 on the grid have a free choice on which tyres they start the race.
      F1 rules for a dry F1 race require each driver to use at least two different compounds, so either a hard and soft for instance.
      This not only forces them to make at least one pit stop, but also creates a fascinating strategy as teams try to work out the quickest route to the finishing line.
      So a driver may start the race on the quicker, but less durable, soft tyres but then pits for the slower but durable hard tyre.
      A rival could opt for three pit stops, starting on the soft then swapping to the medium tyre before taking another new soft tyre for quicker speeds at the end of the race when the car is also light on fuel.
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      What happens with the old tyres?
      Every tyre goes back to Pirelli and is checked at their factories in Italy or Turkey for any defects.
      The tyres are then ground up and used in building construction.
      How much do F1 tyres cost?
      The teams effectively rent the tyres off Pirelli, which costs around £4.4million or $5m a year.
      Each team is allowed to use 13 sets of tyres per grand prix weekend.
      The price of an individual tyre is around £2,300 or $2,700 each, and that means a team would spend about £30,700 per grand prix weekend, or $35,000. More

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      ‘What you’ve done is obscene’ – F1 fans left raging as Silverstone suspend ticket sales for 2023 Grand Prix

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      FORMULA ONE fans have been left raging after ticket sales for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone next year were suspended. The iconic venue is the regular host when F1 comes to Britain and staged its latest race in July.
      Silverstone has been the venue for some of F1’s most memorable moments in recent yearsCredit: Reuters
      Fans aren’t impressed with ticket sales over next year’s British Grand Prix
      The likes of British stars Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris will take to the famous track again in 2023 for what will be the 56th running of the Grand Prix at Silverstone.
      But organisers have had to apologise to fans as ticket sales were suspended.
      The official Silverstone Twitter account blamed “ongoing issues” with their ticket provider for the problems.
      But they add that they are hoping to have things back up and running soon – but acknowledged the “frustrating experience” for fans.
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      Their statement says: “We’ve decided to suspend the 2023 Formula 1 British Grand Prix ticket sale, as we’re acutely aware a lot of fans have experienced intermittent issues in securing their tickets.
      “Due to ongoing issues with our ticketing provider, Secutix, we feel the fairest thing for us to do is to temporarily pause sales and freeze all ticket prices until these are resolved.
      “We sincerely apologise for the frustrating experience that many of you have had today and thank you for your support throughout this time.”
      The announcement did not seem to calm down many fans who had been left irritated by the process.
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      Some have complained about payments failing to process and long online queue times while others now fear having to start waiting all over again to buy tickets.
      Other fans were left fuming with the cost of the event in general, with tickets subject to dynamic pricing.
      This sees ticket prices rise based on demand, with the huge clamour for a place at Silverstone next year leading to prices rising in a quicker timeframe than normal.
      One F1 follower on Twitter said the experience has put them off attending again.
      They said: “You need to freeze ticket prices full stop. What you’ve done today is obscene.
      “I won’t be attending another event at Silverstone.”
      Another furious racing enthusiast tweeted: “You’re an absolute joke of an organisation. I’ve already shelled out 4 x camping so am forced to try and do this again tomorrow.
      “I’m seriously thinking of cutting my loses and not even bothering. I regularly watch MotoGP, BSB [British Superbike] & BTCC [British Touring Car Championship] at your circuit but never again.”
      One person wrote: “We are literally in a COST OF LIVING CRISIS and you’re out here pricing people out of their home grand prix and it’s cheaper to go abroad??? It’s a JOKE.”
      This year’s British Grand Prix sold out in the shortest time in the track’s history as a record 142,000 filled the grandstands.
      In recent years Silverstone has often been the venue for outstanding races and big moments.
      In July fans were treated to a chaotic race which was won by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and saw Hamilton and other frontrunners scrapping for podium places until the final laps.
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      A year earlier the track was the venue for the extraordinary high-speed crash between title rivals Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
      And in 2020, in front of empty grandstands due to Covid, one of Hamilton’s tyres gave way on the final lap and left the Mercedes driver limping to the finish line in heart-stopping scenes. More

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      Ferrari looking to add two major upgrades to F1 car in last-ditch bid to stop Max Verstappen cruising to world title

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      FERRARI are reportedly looking to add two major upgrades to their car as they bid to stop Max Verstappen cruising to the world title. The Dutchman has an enormous 116-point lead in the Driver’s Championship and it now looks inevitable he will claim his second straight F1 crown.
      After fighting tooth and nail for last season’s championship, Max Verstappen appears to be waltzing to victory this yearCredit: Splash
      Ferrari’s season has largely unravelled but the team remain hopeful of being competitiveCredit: Rex
      Verstappen has won the last five races and pulled away from a floundering Ferrari who have been plagued by mechanical issues and strategic mistakes.
      But the famous Italian team are still fighting for every point and will be hoping to at least delay Verstappen’s coronation.
      The 24-year-old can win the championship as early as the next race in Singapore if results fall in his favour.
      But Motorsport report Ferrari are set to bring upgrades to their car to give themselves a lift.
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      The racing site says improvements will be made to the floor and the wings ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.
      Both elements are crucial parts of an F1 car as Ferrari attempt to claw back some ground on Red Bull before the end of the season.
      Chiefs at the team see the race as a “great opportunity” to end Verstappen’s winning streak as the sport returns to the Marina Bay circuit for the first time since 2019.
      Motorsport say there could be a further update to come later in the season from Ferrari, with Mexico earmarked as the target race.
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      While much of the team’s attention has turned to their 2023 car, the Prancing Horse are still hopeful of being competitive over the remainder of this season.
      Charles Leclerc won two of the first three races this season but Red Bull have pulled ahead of their rivals and proven increasingly difficult to get close to over a full race distance.
      But qualifying has remained a positive for Ferrari with the team landing pole in over half of this season’s races. More

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      Lewis Hamilton given hope of winning F1 race this season despite Mercedes ace’s fears he’ll go without after tricky year

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      LEWIS HAMILTON has been given hope of a first race victory of the season – despite the seven-time world champion fearing he could end up winless. The Mercedes driver, 37, holds the extraordinary record of winning at least one Grand Prix in every F1 season since his 2007 debut.
      Hamilton has had to come to grips with an underperforming car for much of the season but has been given hope of landing a win in SingaporeCredit: Rex
      But with his Merc car inconsistent and Max Verstappen dominating the championship, Hamilton’s hopes of retaining his record appear slim.
      He also only has six races left to break his duck, starting in Singapore next month.
      But his hopes have been given a boost after one Mercedes chief shared a positive update.
      Technical director Mike Elliot says the layout of the Marina Bay circuit in Singapore could play into their car’s hands, similar to previous races in Hungary and the Netherlands.
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      The twisty-nature of the street track and the lack of long straights could work in favour of Mercedes and allow them to be competitive.
      Elliot told Mercedes’ YouTube channel: “I think when you look back at the learning we’ve gathered over the season, we expect Singapore to be a bit more like what we’ve seen in Budapest and Zandvoort.
      “It’s a bumpy circuit, which is going to provide its challenges. But in terms of the nature of the corners, we think it will be better for our car. So hopefully we’ll have a good result there.
      “As always, we’ll do all the pre-simulation work we need to do, we’ll maximise our learning in the practice sessions and hopefully we can turn that into a good result on the weekend.”
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      Hamilton did not appear nearly as hopeful about the team’s chances as he branded his former title rival Verstappen “almost unbeatable”.
      The Dutchman has won the last five races as hopes of another tight championship battle quickly came to be dominated by the Red Bull driver.
      The 24-year-old has won 11 of 16 races so far this season and is closing in on another F1 record.
      Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher hold the title for joint-most wins in a single season with 13.
      Given Verstappen’s form, he will be hopeful he can break the record.
      His latest win came with ease at the Italian Grand Prix – but he was helped by a controversial late safety car. More

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      Mick Schumacher and Nyck de Vries among four drivers to take part in Alpine F1 testing to determine 2023 driver

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      MICK SCHUMACHER and hotshot Nyck de Vries are among four drivers to take part in Alpine testing for a spot on the team for the 2023 Formula One season, according to reports.Alpine will lose two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso to Aston Martin at the end of the season following the retirement of Sebastian Vettel.
      Mick Schumacher’s Driver Academy contract at Ferrari expires at the end of this year and he is set to leaveCredit: Rex
      Nyck de Vries will test for Alpine alongside Mick Schumacher and two others in Hungary ahead of the Singapore GPCredit: Alamy
      The French owned F1 team also dropped the ball with Oscar Piastri, who rebuked their offer of a race seat in favour of replacing Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren.
      And according to Racing News 365, in a bid to spare their blushes, Alpine will be holding a test as part of an in-season programme, which was meant for Piastri using a 2021 Alpine A521.
      Schumacher, 23, and De Vries, 27, are two of four drivers who will drive at the Hungaroring just days before the Singapore Grand Prix on October 2.
      The son of seven-time F1 world champ Michael, is reportedly set to leave the Ferrari Driver Academy at the end of the season when his contract expires.
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      Schumacher is currently in his second season at Haas and has shown signs of promise, scoring 12 points this term.
      De Vries, meanwhile, stole the show at Monza, securing a points finish in his first F1 race after finishing ninth behind a safety car at the weekend.
      The Mercedes reserve took the wheel of the Williams as a substitute for Alex Albon, who was receiving treatment for appendicitis.
      Other drivers named in the report who will be involved for the test in Hungary are F2’s Jack Doohan and IndyCar driver Colton Herta.
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      Doohan is a contender for the 2024 race seat, but that could be pushed forward a year following a strong campaign in F2.
      Soon-to-be retired four-time F1 world champion Vettel was also rumoured to have held talks over racing for Alpine.
      However, the German will NOT be involved in testing.
      Despite announcing his retirement, Vettel says “time will tell whether I get bored” of watching F1 from home.
      Vettel said in Monza: “Time will tell what you know, [if there] will be something that is possible to do if there is an offer of any such nature or not.
      “Then I will see how I feel like at the moment.
      “I’m quite happy to spend more time on other things and look forward to seeing the kids more and stuff like that.
      “Time will tell whether I get bored within three months or three years or I don’t know.” More

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      Ex-F1 champ Jacques Villeneuve blasts Daniel Ricciardo’s career claiming that almost half of it has been ‘terrible’

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      DANIEL RICCIARDO’S Formula One career has been blasted as “terrible” by former champ Jacques Villeneuve – or at least, half of it.The Aussie finds himself without a seat for next season after being ditched by McLaren – and replaced by Oscar Piastri – with a year remaining on his contract.
      Daniel Ricciardo has endured a difficult 2022 seasonCredit: Rex
      Jacques Villeneuve slated Ricciardo’s performancesCredit: Splash
      Ricciardo, 33, has won eight races during his time in F1, but is just 14th in this year’s driver championship with only 19 points.
      But racing legend Villeneuve, 51, is anything but surprised the former Red Bull driver is yet to be snapped up by another team, telling F1 TV: “Why would he be?
      “He had two terrible years at Renault and two even more terrible years at McLaren. That’s four years. Almost half of his Formula One career was bad.
      “Alpine have no reason to take him, especially when he’s driven there before.
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      “The modern cars just don’t seem to suit his driving style.
      “He was impressive at Red Bull. He showed amazing overtaking manoeuvres. He was ahead of Max at the beginning. But in the end Max started to get a handle on him.
      “Then he switched. And after the switch something seems to have happened that he never managed to get a handle on. He never recovered from that.”
      Ricciardo achieved two third-place championship finishes with Red Bull. Since leaving at the end of 2018 has come ninth, fifth and eighth.
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      Despite links to Haas and Williams, speculation has grown that Ricciardo could take a one-year sabbatical from the sport – but Villeneuve thinks this would be a bad idea.
      He added: “It could make him lazy.
      “You can take a year off if you’re an Alonso, a Schumacher, if you’ve been world champion and won a lot of races, if you know in the paddock that you’ll always be at your best, no matter what season.
      “After four bad years, don’t do that. You take what you can get. If you have an offer to drive in Formula One, then you take every cockpit.
      “In public you will say you don’t want to drive for one of the back teams, but if that’s the only contract you can get, then you’ll sign it.”
      Last weekend, Haas team principal Guenther Steiner appeared to play down the likelihood of his team moving for Ricciardo.
      He said: “I’ve talked to most of the potential drivers, which is my job.
      “There’s nothing concrete yet, but we only want to take the smallest risks for the development of the team. You can take a big risk which is great when it works, but it’s bad when it doesn’t.
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      “There are none of those [experienced drivers] who are currently on the market. Except maybe Daniel.
      “But his form isn’t great at the moment and we don’t know what he’s going to do. Maybe he’ll sit out a year.”
      Guenther Steiner played down Haas’ interest in Daniel RicciardoCredit: Getty More

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      Lewis Hamilton’s shock F1 title loss at Abu Dhabi GP unlikely to happen again after safety car rule change in Italy

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      LEWIS HAMILTON can sleep easy knowing he’ll never lose the Formula One World Championship because of a safety car controversy ever again – thanks to a rule change.Max Verstappen edged the British seven-time champion to the crown in the final race of last year’s season in Abu Dhabi in shambolic circumstance.
      Lewis Hamilton is yet to win a race this season following his 2021 heartbreakCredit: PA
      Red Bull’s Max Verstappen looks set to make it two titles from the last two seasonsCredit: AP
      The 24-year-old overtook the British legend on the last lap after a restart following a crash gave him the chance to catch up.
      But under different rules in the Italian GP last weekend, Daniel Ricciardo crashed towards the end of the race.
      And a decision was made that there would be no restart in the order the drivers were in – meaning Verstappen remained near the back of the queue behind the safety car after lapping opponents.
      He could then not be overtaken by George Russell in second place as he was at the front of the queue of cars stuck behind the safety car.
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      Mercedes boss Toto Wolff praised the FIA’s choice not to restart under the conditions seen in Abu Dhabi despite the decision being criticised by fans and other team principles.
      He also aimed a dig at ex-race director Michael Masi who was in charge during the controversial end last season.
      Wolff told Sky Sports: “I’m really satisfied to see that there is a race director and colleagues that apply the regulations against the pressure of the media and the fans to just be in breach of the regulations.
      “So at least Abu Dhabi in that sense gave the FIA more robust confidence to apply the regulations.
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      “There was a car on track, there were marshals, a crane out there, that’s why they didn’t let anybody overtake and then there wasn’t enough time to restart the race once all cars caught up.
      “If one is not happy with the regulations and you want to have a big bang show and two laps of racing and mayhem, I’m absolutely up for it. But then we need to change the regulations.
      “So I don’t think we need to complain about anything that happened because this is the rules.
      “I think we should all sit down and say ‘is there something we do better?’. But what happened is in the regulations book and that’s why it was applied.”
      Hamilton himself commented on the contrast in decision comparing last year’s finale to what happened in Monza.
      He said the weekend’s race brought “memories back” of what had happened.
      The seven-time world champion also said: “Only one time in the history of the sport where they haven’t done the rules like that today and that’s the one where it changed the result.”
      Christian Horner of Red Bull was less happy with the rules despite his man winning in Italy.
      He said: “We don’t want to win a race under a safety car. It’s something we’ve talked about for many, many years, that they should finish racing.
      “There was enough time to get that race going. I think they picked up the wrong cars, picked up Russell.
      “We had the faster car and we would have liked to win the race on the track, not behind the safety car. We share the disappointment of all the fans, because it took away a grandstand finish.”
      Daniel Ricciardo’s car caused the issue in MonzaCredit: The Mega Agency More