SPORTS STARS WE LOST IN 💔

 

MEMBERS OF THE F1 PADDOCK REMEMBER EDDIE JORDAN

 

REMEMBERING EDDIE JORDAN: LEGENDARY F1 TEAM OWNER & ENTERTAINER

REST IN PEACE EDDIE JORDAN | FORMULA 1 BOSS DIES AFTER AGGRESSIVE BATTLE WITH CANCER

 

PETER WINDSOR THINKS CHARLES LECLERC MUST ANSWER ONE QUESTION AT FERRARI IN 2025 AFTER LEWIS HAMILTON'S ARRIVAL

Vegas GP

Charles Leclerc will know how big an opportunity he has to win his first Formula 1 world championship in 2025.

Although Ferrari haven’t won a title since the 2008 Constructors’ Championship, they showed their potential at the end of last season.

Although the championship battle was between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, all of a sudden, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were constantly challenging for victories.

Sainz’s win in Mexico City was fantastic, leading from the front after a stellar pole position lap.

Leclerc didn’t win any of the last five races, but his victories in Monaco and at Monza were particularly poignant.

He defeated both McLarens with a stunning one-stop strategy at Ferrari’s home race with Nico Rosberg hailing team principal Frederic Vasseur for aiding Leclerc that day.

In 2025, he’ll want to go a couple of places better in the Drivers’ Championship and finish ahead of Verstappen and Norris.

However, the arrival of Lewis Hamilton is likely to complicate matters as for the second time in his career, he comes up against a multiple world champion as his teammate.

Leclerc expertly saw off Sebastian Vettel in the past, but Hamilton will be desperate to win a record eighth title in Ferrari colours.

Peter Windsor was speaking on his YouTube channel and believes the Monegasque driver has one key question he has to answer if he wants to achieve that accolade.

Charles Leclerc told he must manage his emotions to defeat Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari

Windsor was talking about the 27-year-old’s championship chances and said: “I think the interesting thing now will be how Charles Leclerc performs alongside Lewis.

“Obviously, Lewis was quicker in terms of the lap times on this test because he did a lot more miles.

“They rebuilt the car and Charles went out in it and didn’t do a lot in it and then Dino Beganovic the new favoured academy driver who’s really quick, got a lot of time for Dino did a run as well.

“So, for me, it’s a question of how Charles Leclerc is going to react now because I can imagine, certainly not because there was a shunt at all, but it would have been kind of welcome to Ferrari, Lewis when he hit the wall.

“But there’s no doubt that Lewis is already super quick and doing a great job in the car.

“So, for me, it’ll be a question of how Charles manages his emotions now.

“He’s got to be ready for Lewis potentially to have just through circumstances a very good start to the year and how Charles reacts to that.

“I still think over a 24-race championship, Charles is the guy most likely to win a championship for Ferrari if it’s a championship-winning car.”

Why Charles Leclerc was furious with Ferrari at last season’s Las Vegas Grand Prix

Windsor referred to Leclerc needing to keep his emotions in check, something he’s not always managed in the past.

One race from last season that stands out is the Las Vegas Grand Prix when Ferrari’s drivers started second and fourth, but Leclerc missed out on a podium after a phenomenal drive from Hamilton.

Eddie Jordan was left shocked by Leclerc in Las Vegas, as his outburst at the team and Sainz seemed quite out of character.

Ferrari’s strategy that day was poor, calling Sainz into the pits before keeping him out at the last second.

They then let Leclerc be undercut by his teammate after he initially passed him during the first round of stops and the whole race was managed very poorly.

Ferrari explained to Leclerc in the post-race briefing the mistakes he made that led to their strategy decisions, but if he’s going to defeat Hamilton and the rest of his rivals in the paddock, then he’ll need to stay calmer under pressure.

- Ben Evans

RED BULL"S SITUATION DESCRINED AS "CATASTROPHIC" | FORM "KILLING" MAX VERSTAPPEN

"You’re fooling yourself, you’re trying to believe in a wind tunnel that’s obviously given you miscalculations."

Ex-F1 team boss Eddie Jordan has described Red Bull’s form as “catastrophic” following a difficult Italian Grand Prix.

Red Bull endured their worst weekend of the 2024 F1 campaign so far as Max Verstappen could only finish sixth, nearly 38 seconds behind race winner Charles Leclerc.

It has left Red Bull vulnerable at the top of both championships, with their lead over McLaren just eight points.

Verstappen sits 62 points ahead of Lando Norris in the F1 drivers’ championship though with eight rounds remaining.

Speaking on the latest episode of the Formula for Success podcast, Jordan reflected on Red Bull’s plight and what he’d do if he was in charge.

“What was the setup that we had at the beginning? What was the setup we had when we were winning by 15 seconds and we were cruising? What has changed? Show me the upgrades because sure as heaven these upgrades haven’t worked,” he explained.

“You’re fooling yourself, you’re trying to believe in a wind tunnel that’s obviously given you miscalculations.

“Let’s go back to where we were and start from there. Make sure nothing gets changed until we can categorically guarantee that it’s quicker. That’s the way I feel about it. It’s now catastrophic.”

Jordan believes Red Bull boss Christian Horner has a “massive job” to turn things around in the final stretch of the year.

“Christian Horner has a massive job on his hands because he has to take out the big stick and start cracking it,” he added. “

We all were slagging off Perez but maybe Perez and that car - that’s the speed of the car, and what Max is doing is what Max is able to do. Beyond any doubt he’s the best driver in F1 in my opinion at this moment in time. Therefore, to finish fifth and fourth, or six, whatever it is, it must be killing him at this stage.”

VERSTAPPEN ‘CARRYING’ RED BULL

Former Red Bull driver Mark Webber thinks the warning signs have been there for some time.

Webber feels that Red Bull have relied on Verstappen’s brilliance to get him over the line on a number of occasions.

“It was a well oiled machine,” Webber explained. “Max has carried that team for a while now, this season. We’ve seen Barcelona, we’ve seen Silverstone, Imola. Lewis Hamilton’s win at Silverstone was absolutely extraordinary but Max’s P2 was top draw. We’ve seen some very, very special drives from Max.

“That car has times, as he’s called it himself, in his own words, has turned into a monster. Let’s see. It’s the fine gains. If they get a little bit back, you don’t know. It can change.”

ADRIAN NEWEY A LONG WAY FROM DECIDING NEXT MOVE - EDDIE JORDAN

Adrian Newey will leave Red Bull in 2025. Kym Illman/Getty Images

 Adrian Newey has not signed a deal with Ferrari and is a long way from deciding his next move, according to his business manager Eddie Jordan.

Newey will step down as Red Bull chief technical officer in early 2025, a decision which has sparked intense speculation about his next move.

The rumours of a switch to Ferrari, which would help him fulfill a career ambition of working with Lewis Hamilton, have been the strongest.

Ahead of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix the Daily Mail reported Newey to Ferrari is a done deal, but former F1 team boss Jordan, who handles Newey's business affairs, has said it is not true.

"It's not accurate, I can give my life on that," Jordan said on his Formula For Success podcast. "There is no inclination to go in any particular way at the moment. We're looking at opportunities and letting people come and talk to us."

Newey clearly will not have a shortage of interested and motivated suitors. He has also been linked with a return to former teams McLaren and Williams as well as Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin team. Alonso is another driver Newey has expressed regret at not working with before.

Newey built title-winning cars for Williams and McLarens in the 1990s before moving to Red Bull. His surprise move the upstart team ahead of the 2006 season was a shock at the time and turned out to be one of the cornerstones on which Red Bull's two dynasty periods were built.

Red Bull won consecutive championships with Newey's cars between 2010 and 2013 and is dominating the sport once again.

With Ferrari currently in a title drought stretching back to 2008 there has been a wave of excitement about the prospect of him moving to the Maranello-based team. But Jordan has cooled that talk, saying discussions about his next steps are not that advanced because Newey is in no rush to decide.

"I'm speaking as someone who should know and I'm not giving any information away... at no stage is any of this discussion happening," Jordan said, referring to the Ferrari story.

"There will be talks, and there will be ongoing talks because we have yet to decide what Adrian himself wants to do. He's been at this straight from university, Leyton House, McLaren, Williams.

"The guy is 60-something, he's getting a new boat. I would've said [his options] alongside all those potential teams we're talking about, the fifth team he should be thinking about is himself.

"I have no idea, and it will always be Adrian's decision, and so it should be."

- Nate Saunders, General Editor, F1

EDDIE JORDAN (EX-F1 RACER) ON CORINNA'S DEDICATION TOWARDS PROTECTING MICHAEL SCHUMACHER