Zane Maloney
Barbadian teenage sensation Zane Maloney welcomed an almost three-month break to reflect ahead of the final Formula 2 race for the year on November 25 in Abu Dhabi.
Formula 2 is the second tier to Formula 1 racing organised by the FIA, motor sport’s world governing body, and held on select circuits on the F1 schedule.
It is the ultimate training ground for prospective F1 drivers, providing them with the opportunity to showcase their talents in front of F1 teams on some of the most challenging and renowned racing circuits in the world.
Maloney, 19, has been enjoying fairly good form this season with second-place finishes at the British Grand Prix in July at Silverstone, and the Dutch Grand Prix in August at Zandvoort, complemented by third-places at the Bahrain Grand Prix at the start of the season in March at Sakhir, and the Monaco Grand Prix in May at Monte Carlo.
He heads into the break occupying 10th position in the 22-driver standings on 96 points, after 13 of the 14 races on the schedule for this year, with the final race of the season at the Yas Marina circuit.
“I’d love to have a race next weekend to be honest, but I’ll just be focusing on life in general, have some time at home, train hard, and be back for Abu Dhabi,” the Rodin Carlin driver told F2.com website.
“We’re nowhere near where we want to be in the Championship, but we are there on pace. Hopefully, we’ll have a very good race, and I’ll put myself in a good position for what’s to come next year.
“It’s a nice circuit (Yas Marina). In terms of targets, it’s always to get on the podium and win races. We’ll see. I’m going to go home first, relax with family. The team are doing a great job, so we’ll be back in Abu Dhabi strong,” he added during the recent interview.
On that note, Maloney reflected on his recent setback when he crashed out of contention at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
“It was a really good race actually. I was P14 after the first lap. When the crash happened, I was probably net P10, and we would have already made up 10 places, which is a good day at the office. Pace was good, I was just driving down the straight and then one second later I’m heading to the wall,” Maloney shared.
“To be honest, I didn’t really take much away from the race. We knew that we had good pace all weekend, but I qualified bad, which put us in a difficult situation. Everything became difficult after that. We had good pace, but that wasn’t a surprise,” he noted.
Vertsappen confident in Red Bull revival after taking 'good step' in Baku
Max Verstappen is confident that Red Bull's mid-season struggles are now firmly in their review mirror ahead of the United States Grand Prix this weekend.
Verstappen started the season with seven wins from the opening 10 races, with the Dutchman on track to claim a fourth consecutive world championship at a canter.
However, a combination of Red Bull taking a wrong turn with car development and McLaren's resurgence has seen the campaign take on a new complexion for the final six races.
Verstappen has gone eight races without a victory, seeing his lead in the drivers' championship cut to 52 points by Lando Norris, with Red Bull also surrendering top spot in the constructors' standings to McLaren after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
For now, Verstappen is optimistic that Red Bull have turned a corner after they introduced an update to their floor in Baku.
“Yes, it felt better,” Verstappen confirmed. “That was already a good step for us. I do think we are moving in the right direction now.
"It will take some time. You can’t turn something like this around in one or two weeks. But I do think the team was happy with what they saw in Baku as well.
“Yes, I do think so to be honest," Verstappen added about their season struggles being behind them. "Hopefully we can continue to make good steps from here.”
If either Verstappen or team-mate Sergio Perez scores points in the United States, Red Bull will have put at least one of its two drivers in the points for 62 consecutive races, equalling the third-best run in Formula One history.
Red Bull are also 45 laps led away from reaching 7000, and would be the fifth team to reach this figure in the competition after Ferrari (15888), McLaren (11029), Williams (7584) and Mercedes (7255).
But that particular milestone could have come much sooner, with Verstappen saying he was surprised by Red Bull's dramatic drop-off after a dominant period on the track.
“In the beginning, I was surprised as well, but if you look at what our problems were, then I fully understand it," Verstappen told Autosport.
“At some point, we have gone in the wrong direction. The other teams have either not faced that particular point yet or they developed the car in a slightly different way.
"That is always difficult to assess.”
Jamaica leads the way as 64 teams set for battle at Caribbean Four Ball Golf Champs
Reigning champions Jamaica is set to field the largest team to the Caribbean Golf Association's (CGA) Four-Ball Golf Championships, as 64 players from eight countries are set to contest this year’s edition of the tournament scheduled for October 17 to 20 in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Jamaican contingent comprises 20 players, with hosts Trinidad and Tobago fielding 14 players, while Barbados and Bahamas are set to field 10 and eight players, respectively. Bermuda (6) with Cayman Islands (2), Puerto Rico (2), and St. Lucia (2) have also been confirmed for what should be a competitive event at the Plantations Golf and Country Club.
Jamaica copped the overall title last year ahead of the Bahamas.
They were victorious in the Ladies 25 plus, as well as the Men's Senior and 70 plus divisions, while the Bahamian players copped the Men's Mid-Amateur and Super-Senior Categories. Trinidad and Tobago claimed the Ladies' 45 plus honours.
The teams are scheduled to arrive in the Twin Island Republic on Wednesday, with the opening ceremony set for Thursday at the Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort.
Tournament action will get underway on Friday and continue until Sunday, starting at 8:00am each day, with an award ceremony to follow on the final day.
Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley, and Minister of Sport and Community Development, Shamfa Cudjoe-Lewis, are both expected to grace the tournament with their presence.
Binotto likens Audi challenge to 'climbing Everest' ahead of 2026 debut
New Audi chief Mattia Binotto has admitted the task of turning the current Sauber team into Formula One winners will be like “climbing Everest”.
Sauber, the team which has been bought by Audi and will transform into the German manufacturer’s works outfit in 2026, are enduring a torrid season.
The Swiss team are rooted to the bottom of the constructors' championship, with Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu failing to score a point in 2024 so far.
In fact, their best finish came at the Bahrain Grand Prix in the opening race of the season, with Guanyu finishing in 11th place.
Former Ferrari team principal Binotto, who was installed as chief operating officer and chief technical officer in August, has been tasked with spearheading Audi’s F1 project, though he acknowledged the challenges that lie ahead.
"It’s not only climbing a big mountain, it’s climbing Everest. It will take several years," Binotto told BBC Sport.
"Our objective is by the end of the decade to be able to fight for the championships."
Binotto added: "When you are here and you start looking into the details, the more you look, the more you realise where you are and what are the main differences to what I knew from before from Ferrari.
"Certainly the gap and the differences are many and the gap is big.
"It’s big because of dimensions, because of the number of people, because of mindset, because of tools, facilities.
"Whatever you look around, it is really comparing a small team to a top team."
Sauber are yet to decide who will complete their driver line-up for the 2025 season alongside new signing Nico Hulkenberg.
Bottas is a leading contender to join the German on the grid in 2026, though Williams stand-in Franco Colapinto has impressed since replacing Logan Sargeant.
Binotto has also confirmed that Mercedes reserve driver Mick Schumacher, who lost his full-time F1 seat with Haas at the end of 2022, is also in the frame.
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