The boss of Silverstone has warned Just Stop Oil campaigners that they will be putting lives at risk if they protest at the British Grand Prix.
The climate activists have already targeted the Lord’s Ashes Test, the Premiership rugby final and the World Snooker Championship so far this year.
Speaking to the PA news agency ahead of Sunday’s race, Silverstone managing director Stuart Pringle said: “The fundamental difference here is that you are not putting your life in danger when you run on the pitch at Lord’s.
“You are not putting your life in danger when you sit on a snooker table or protest at a flower show.
“A motor racing track is not the place to go. It is extraordinarily dangerous and people will be putting lives at risk if they go there, and any sensible, right-thinking person can extrapolate what the ultimate risk here is.
“My strong, strong message is: ‘Do not put your life in danger. This is not the place to go and sit on a floor’. It is absolute madness if someone climbs on to a live racing track.”
Five protesters invaded last year’s British Grand Prix after they stormed the Wellington Straight – the fastest point of the Northamptonshire track – before sitting down during the opening lap.
The contest had already been suspended following Alfa Romeo driver Zhou Guanyu’s high-speed crash, but a number of cars sped by the group before they were dragged away by marshals. The protesters were handed suspended jail sentences in March.
Silverstone has worked alongside Northamptonshire Police to beef up security ahead of this year’s event, with a record 480,000 people expected to attend over the weekend, and more than 140,000 fans in place for the race.
Pringle added: “We have no specific intelligence, but we will plan for the worst and hope for the best. If somebody is minded to invade a flower show then they are probably minded to invade a motor race because we have many more global viewers.
“But there are plans in place. We will have a much more visible police presence around the event and we hope that fans help us to try and spot people who are planning to disturb people’s fun.”
Lewis Hamilton is gearing up for his home race following a disappointing Austrian Grand Prix where he finished seventh and was then demoted to eighth after a post-race penalty for exceeding track limits.
Hamilton was also dealt a public rebuke by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff. The Austrian told Hamilton to “just drive the car” following a number of complaints by his driver over the radio.
“There are days when I can say I’m truly proud of myself, and days like today when frustration takes over,” said Hamilton on his Instagram account.
“In a race it can feel like you’re hanging off a cliff and losing the strength to hold on.
“It’s confusing for us to have such strong performances one day and then be nowhere the next.
“But when you really care about what you’re doing, you brush it off and keep fighting. Heads down for Silverstone.”
FIA wrong to punish Verstappen for swearing, says Steiner
Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has said the FIA was wrong to punish Formula One world champion Max Verstappen for swearing.
The Red Bull driver, who won his third world championship title last year, was asked to do community service by the motorsport’s governing body for swearing in a news conference during last month’s Singapore Grand Prix.
Verstappen then protested against the punishment by giving short answers during an official news conference and termed the penalty "ridiculous", going on to say that such decisions could speed up his exit from the sport.
Now, the former Haas boss has weighed in, saying that the FIA should not have “made a big story out of it.”
“Max didn't swear at anybody. He used the f-word about his car. So nobody got offended by it, in my opinion,” said Steiner, who departed Haas at the start of the year.
"The best way [to handle it] would have been not to make a big story of it. Sit down with the drivers, they have a meeting every weekend, and say: 'Hey, guys, can you tone it down a little bit? We are the FIA, we don't really like this.'
"But don't say: 'If you do, you get a fine, a penalty, whatever.' Because you know these guys, they've got an ego as well. And they say: 'I don't want to do that.' And then what do you create? All this controversy - for nothing."
Leclerc excited by 'motivation' Hamilton's arrival will bring to Ferrari
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc thinks that the arrival of Lewis Hamilton can help take both the team and himself to another level.
At the start of the 2024 season, Ferrari shocked Formula One by announcing that Hamilton would replace Carlos Sainz and be joining for the following campaign.
His impending arrival is something that Leclerc is clearly excited about, as he explained in an appearance on the Beyond The Grid podcast.
“When a champion like Lewis gets to any team, it brings a lot of motivation out of every single person,” Leclerc said.
“He will come along with all the experience that he's had over the years with Mercedes – a different way of working, a different vision – and this is always benefitting a team.”
Hamilton is a seven-time Drivers’ Championship winner with his last title coming in 2020, meaning he is level in the all-time standings with Michael Schumacher, while he also holds the F1 record for the most race wins ever (105).
Understandably, Leclerc is looking forward to being able to measure his own performance against a strong yardstick.
“Obviously for me it's going to be amazing because I’ll have, in the same car as me, the most successful driver in F1 history,” he said.
“That will be both extremely interesting for me to learn from one of the best ever, as well as a really big challenge and motivation to beat Lewis and to show what I'm capable of.
“With Lewis joining the team, he will definitely be a benchmark so it will be very important for me to be on my top level.”
On a personal level, Hamilton’s arrival will spell an end to the four-year period that Leclerc and Sainz have been together at Ferrari.
Leclerc was reflective about the relationship the pair have had while racing together, with Sainz set to join Williams in 2025.
While they have a good personal relationship, Leclerc said that it has not always gone smoothly.
“I think we get on very, very well,” he said.
“Yes, there have been many moments where, inside the helmet, I hated him and he hated me, because we didn't view the situation in the same way.
“But everything was fixed after a discussion between us two. We share many interests and we’ve had a lot of memorable moments that I will remember forever.”
Jamaican sensation Alex Powell claims first F4 win in Italy
Jamaican Alex Powell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team Junior, claimed his first European F4 victory in one of the most exciting races of the year at the famed ‘Temple of Speed’, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Monza, Italy, on Sunday.
Ninth on the grid for the first race of the weekend, Powell had a blistering start, which saw him move up four positions on lap one, before the first of several Safety Car appearances paused racing. It was a race with multiple incidents and re-starts, but Powell remained focused and was consistently sharp for every start.
After a three-way battle, the Jamaican sensation executed a breathtaking pass for the race lead, before a final incident brought out the Safety Car again, with Powell crossing the line first as the race finished.
In addition to the outright race win, Powell also secured first among rookie drivers, claiming the two top trophies in the race. His performance also assisted Prema Racing to secure the team title for the 2024 Euro 4 Championship.
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