JEDDAH: The 1,000-strong marshalling team at this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will include 800 Saudi volunteers, it was revealed on Friday.
This year’s race witnessed a huge turnout of local men and women volunteering to marshal the race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, which included a record 25 percent female participation.
Marshals are an important element and an integral part of any race, and are the first source of protection for drivers and those around the racetrack.
Race marshals are posted at several points inside the track perimeter to provide assistance to the drivers if a malfunction or accident takes place.
They are also provided with the latest and most advanced equipment in the world.
Race marshals have multiple functions and are organized into groups, including the emergency team, track team, flags team, evacuation team, and standby area team, in addition to the start, the pit lane team, the track team, and the administrative team.
1,000 volunteer marshals ready for Saudi Arabian F1 Grand Prix
https://arab.news/8n87n
1,000 volunteer marshals ready for Saudi Arabian F1 Grand Prix
- Marshals team includes 800 Saudis and a record 25 percent turnout of female volunteers
- Marshals are an integral part of any race, and offer emergency help if an accident takes place
Al-Faisal Al-Zubair wins Gold Cup at Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch (England): Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT’s Al-Faisal Al-Zubair and teammate Jens Klingmann delivered a sensational performance to win the second of the one-hour Sprint races at the opening round of the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Series at Brands Hatch in England on Sunday.
After finishing fifth in the first of the two short races, Al-Zubair and Klingmann delivered a masterclass in pit strategy to kickstart their season in the new series with outright victory in the Gold Cup category and sixth position overall in Sprint Race Two at the helm of the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
Al-Zubair said: “Starting off doing very minimal laps in the Sprint Championship was something to get used to. Brands Hatch is such a difficult track, and we didn’t have much running time. There were a few red flags in practice. I think we did a total of 20 laps before we got into qualifying. It was not so easy.
“We started off with qualifying on the wrong foot. We finished fifth in class in the first race and then we won the second race. To jump so many people in the second stint and in the pit stop is something that we should be very happy of. It is good to get a start like this, and we can look forward to the rest of the season.”
Al-Zubair began the opening one-hour Sprint race from sixth on the Gold Cup grid but was not able to make headway through the opening laps. Arthur Rougier drove the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari to give the CSA Racing McLaren a brief lead, but Chris Lulham hit the front again in the Ferrari after the mid-race pit stop and driver change.
Klingmann took over from Al-Zubair with the sole target of moving up the field, and he managed to sneak ahead of James Kell in the CSA Racing McLaren following the driver changeovers after 23 laps.
Lulham continued to lead from Louis Prette in the Garage 59 McLaren as the opening Sprint race headed into its closing stages and on to the checkered flag. Klingmann held on to secure a fifth-place finish for the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW after 42 laps of racing.
Race Two took place in similar cool and overcast conditions in the afternoon. Klingmann took the wheel for the first stint and quickly settled into fourth place behind the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari, the Sainteloc Racing Audi and the Tresor Attempto Racing Audi.
Full course yellows failed to prevent Klingmann from maintaining his position, but the damage was done at the driver changeover when the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT delivered the strategy to perfection and Al-Zubair hit the front.
The Omani continued to lead from the defending champions, Sainteloc Racing, and overcame another full course yellow to win Race Two with a margin of just under three seconds to Thierry Vermeulen and Lulham in the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 after 37 laps.
Al-Zubair and Klingmann carried out free practice on Saturday morning and ran the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW for 30 laps. The team carded a best lap of 1 minute 24.186 seconds that put them fifth of the Gold Cup runners. The Emil Frey Racing Ferrari topped the times with a tour of 1 minute 23.178 seconds.
Pre-qualifying was next on the agenda, but the Al-Manar Racing duo could only manage a best lap of 1 minute 24.720 seconds, and the bragging rights from the Gold Cup session went to the Garage 59 McLaren with a time of 1 minute 24.122 seconds.
Qualifying was split into two sessions, and Al-Zubair managed six laps in Q1. The Omani carded a best tour of 1 minute 24.626 seconds, and that put him in sixth in the stint, with Thierry Vermeulen winning Q1 for Emil Frey Racing with a lap of 1 minute 23.374 seconds.
Klingmann fared slightly better in Q2 and was classified fifth in the Gold Cup runners with a best lap of 1 minute 24.012 seconds, with Lulham winning the stint for Emil Frey Racing to claim pole position for the first of the two one-hour Sprint races.
Action in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Series continues at Zandvoort in the Netherlands on May 16-18.
Oscar Piastri wins at Miami for 3rd straight F1 victory, 4th win of season for championship leader
- McLaren has won Miami the last two years, with Norris on top last season for his first career F1 victory
- Piastri is the first McLaren driver to win three consecutive F1 races in 28 years
MIAMI GARDENS, Florida: The first time Oscar Piastri arrived at the Miami Grand Prix as a Formula 1 driver he was in the slowest car in the field and only narrowly avoided finishing last.
Fast-forward two years and Piastri and McLaren Racing have come full circle.
Piastri maintained his advantage in the F1 championship fight by winning at Miami on Sunday for his fourth win through six races this season. Piastri has won three consecutive F1 races for McLaren Racing, where he and teammate Lando Norris are trying to dethrone four-time defending champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull.
McLaren has won Miami the last two years, with Norris on top last season for his first career F1 victory.
“It’s just incredible, the hard work that’s gone in,” Piastri said of McLaren. “I remember two years ago here in Miami, we were genuinely the slowest team. I think we got lapped twice and to now have won the Grand Prix by over 35 seconds to third is an unbelievable result of the hard work of every single person.”
Piastri is the first McLaren driver to win three consecutive F1 races in 28 years; Mika Hakkinen did it with a win in the 1997 season finale and then victories in the first two races of 1998.
He widened his lead over Norris in the driver standings to 16 points, while Verstappen trails Piastri by 32 points.
Norris’ win at Miami last season snapped Verstappen’s two-year winning streak at the course surrounding Hard Rock Stadium. Norris also won the sprint race on Saturday — Piastri dominated but a late safety car cost him the victory — but Verstappen won the pole in qualifying.
Verstappen, who announced the birth of his first child Friday morning, has been determined to disprove the myth that fatherhood would make him a more conservative driver. It was evident as he darted away at the start and then aggressively held off Norris’ challenge for the lead.
The Red Bull and McLaren were side-by-side and Norris was trying to edge ahead of the Dutchman, but he ran off track and lost four spots. Norris said Verstappen forced him off track and there was nothing he could do but try to avoid running into a wall — but F1 took no action against Verstappen.
“What can I say? If I don’t go for it, people complain. If I go for it, people complain,” Norris said. “You can’t win. But it really just how it is with Max — it’s crash or their pass.”
Verstappen was unapologetic after fading to fourth and insisted he raced within the rules.
“I mean, I had nothing to lose, so I also wanted to have a bit of fun out there,” Verstappen said, adding McLaren’s strong start to the season is “not frustrating at all.”
“We are here to win and today we were miles off that, so it doesn’t really matter,” Verstappen said.
Norris recovered from the early incident and picked his way back toward the front, but not before Piastri took control away from Verstappen on the 14th of 57 laps. McLaren has decided it will allow Piastri and Norris to race each other cleanly without team orders, and Norris was cleared to challenge his Australian teammate for the victory.
In the waning laps, Norris was able to close the gap but could never catch Piastri and settled for second in a 1-2 finish for McLaren. The two held a nearly 40-second advantage over George Russell of Mercedes, who finished third.
Alex Albon of Williams was fifth, Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes was sixth and Charles Leclerc was seventh after Ferrari ordered Lewis Hamilton to give his teammate the position in the closing laps. Hamilton was eighth.
Carlos Sainz Jr. was ninth for Williams and Yuki Tsunoda was 10th for Red Bull.
Doohan in doubt
Jack Doohan ran into another car on the opening lap and then crashed on the second lap — a showing that won’t quiet chatter the rookie is on the verge of being replaced at Alpine by Franco Colapinto.
There have been media reports in Argentina that Colapinto will replace Doohan at F1’s next race, later this month in Italy. It was dismissed at the start of the Miami weekend by Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes, who indicated “as it is today” the Australian would still be in the seat at Imola.
“I think it was a sponsor from Argentina off-camera giving his view on Franco, when he’s going to be in the car. I’m sure there’s a lot of people in Argentina who’d like him in the car this Sunday,” Oakes said about the speculation. “We’ve been pretty open as a team that that’s just noise. Jack needs to continue doing a good job. But it’s natural that there’s always speculation there.
“As it is today, Jack is our driver along with Pierre (Gasly),” he continued. “We’ve been pretty clear on that. We always evaluate, but today that is the case.”
Doohan, who didn’t complete two laps Sunday and finished last, has yet to score a point this season through six races. His best finish was 13th at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Buemi ends 6-year drought with Monaco masterclass as Rowland extends championship lead
- Swiss driver secures third Monaco win, first since 2019, 78 races ago
- Oliver Rowland, Nick Cassidy complete the top 3
MONTE CARLO: Envision Racing’s Sebastien Buemi claimed a long-awaited and dramatic victory at the second Monaco E-Prix of the weekend on Sunday, ending a six-year winless streak and securing his third career triumph in the principality.
Starting from eighth on a soaked Monte Carlo grid, the Swiss driver, Formula E’s Season 2 champion, delivered a measured, tactical drive through the field to take the checkered flag.
The win marks his first since New York City in 2019, a span of 78 races, and lifts Envision off the bottom of the overall team standings.
“I thought I would never win again at some points, so you know you need a bit of luck, you need the right timing, you need the right car, a good team, and today everything just came together, so I’m so happy,” he said.
“I’m actually speechless because you know it’s been a long time. It was obviously quite tricky at the beginning with the fight with Antonio (Felix da Costa) and Max (Guenther), but in the end the timing of the Attack Mode was good, I was able to make a gap and I was safe when Oli (Rowland) took his second one.
“I was able to read where the track was drying up, especially in turns three and four, there was lots of lap time to be gained, but you needed the confidence and today I had it. I thought that my number of wins would never change but it did today, so I’m very proud,” he added.
Behind him, Nissan’s Rowland delivered another strong performance to finish second and extend his lead at the top of the FIA Formula E Drivers’ World Championship.
The Brit’s aggressive attempt to overtake Jean-Eric Vergne at the chicane on lap 21 ultimately altered the race’s complexion.
Rowland was later required to cede the position after being deemed to have forced the DS Penske driver off track — a moment that allowed Buemi and Mahindra’s Nyck de Vries to capitalize.
Rowland smartly reclaimed momentum by returning the position to Vergne while simultaneously activating his final mandatory 50kW Attack Mode. This allowed him to surge back past both Vergne and de Vries for second place by lap 24, finishing just over four seconds behind the winner.
Jaguar TCS Racing’s Nick Cassidy completed the podium with a storming drive from 14th to third, his first top-three result of the season, managing energy expertly to gain ground in the closing stages.
In fourth, da Costa was the highest-placed Porsche, followed by de Vries in fifth and a frustrated Vergne in sixth after leading much of the race before the pivotal lap 21 incident.
The result sees Rowland head to Nissan’s home race in Tokyo on 115 points, with da Costa trailing on 67.
Porsche holds a narrow lead in the team standings on 133 points to Nissan’s 126, but Nissan tops the FIA Manufacturers’ Championship with 191 points to Porsche’s 163.
The action returns in two weeks for a Tokyo doubleheader in Odaiba on May 17 and 18.
Ben Sulayem committed to to transforming FIA into ‘modern, accessible and connected organization’
- Leading figures in racing assemble in Marrakech as FIA president continues mission to double motorsport participation
DUBAI: The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, the global governing body for motorsport and the federation for mobility organizations worldwide, is set for a busy agenda of high-level discussions at its annual FIA Region I Spring Meeting starting in Marrakech on Tuesday.
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem will be in attendance at the three-day assembly of mobility and motorsport leaders from across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to discuss key initiatives in road safety, sustainable mobility, regional sporting growth, and innovation in transport.
Speaking ahead of the conference, which is hosted by Mobilite Club Maroc, Ben Sulayem said: “As a global federation it is not often that we are able to unite our community in one place, so moments like this are particularly special.
“The next few days will provide an invaluable opportunity for engagement and participation, along with key votes to decide on the leadership of our community.”
The Region I Spring Meeting will coincide with a series of sessions designed to equip member clubs with new strategies and insights into evolving mobility and sporting trends. The event will be an opportunity to share knowledge and best practice across topics such as service delivery, sustainable responsibility, and consumer-focused innovation.
Ben Sulayem said: “Our members are fundamental to the success of the FIA, and I am incredibly proud of the progress we have made together during my first term in office and the successes we have achieved. We continue to strengthen the link between sport and mobility, expanding our reach and impact on the global stage.
“I am committed to the transformation of the FIA into a modern, accessible, and connected organization. Globally we are continuing our mission to double motorsport participation through grassroot initiatives and accessibility programs such as Affordable Cross Car and the Global Karting Plan, while ensuring ongoing empowerment of all regions across our mobility capabilities.”
The FIA Member Club structure forms the backbone of the federation’s governance and operations, with each full member club holding voting rights across the FIA’s elections and regulatory decisions. Clubs are grouped into two primary categories, with some serving in both roles.
Mobility clubs provide mobility services and represent the interest of road users, with a focus on road safety, travel and tourism, consumer rights, and sustainable mobility.
National sporting authorities govern and develop motorsport at a national level, are responsible for sporting events, issuing licenses, and engagement across regulations.
Within the FIA there are four mobility regions and six sport zones. FIA Region I is comprised of 101 mobility member clubs from across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, representing over 41 million members.
Mahindra Racing secures season-best result in Monaco E-Prix as Rowland takes first place
- The team had arrived in Monaco on the back of nine consecutive points finishes
MONACO: Mahindra Racing recorded its strongest result of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship season to date with a second-place finish in the opening Monaco E-Prix on Saturday.
Nyck de Vries secured a runner-up finish in the Principality behind eventual winner Oliver Roland of Nissan, while team-mate Edoardo Mortara crossed the line in fourth, moving Mahindra up to third in both the Teams’ and Manufacturers’ standings.
Jake Dennis scored the third and final podium sport for Andretti.
The team had arrived in Monaco on the back of nine consecutive points finishes and a perfect Duels qualification record so far in Season 11 with its M11Electro car.
That consistency continued in qualifying, where de Vries advanced to the Semi-Finals and secured fourth on the grid. Mortara qualified ninth, giving Mahindra two cars in the top 10.
De Vries made a strong start, moving into third at the first corner before managing his race through two full-course yellow periods, a mandatory PIT BOOST stop – which requires a 34-second stationary recharge – and two Attack Mode activations. He moved into second in the closing stages and held position to the flag despite late pressure from behind.
“I’m very happy to be on the podium today, especially in front of my family and friends here in Monaco,” said de Vries. “The car was excellent, and we executed a very strong race strategically, so the whole team deserve a lot of credit for the work that we’ve done.
“Tomorrow is another day, and another race, but we’ll enjoy this result, and it’s great to have some confirmation of the progress we’re continuing to make, and a reward for the work we’ve done so far. We know the next steps will be harder, but this is encouraging.”
Mortara also moved forward through the race despite running with minor front wing damage following contact from another car. He climbed from ninth on the grid to fifth by managing his energy and using the PIT BOOST period to gain track position. He passed Nico Mueller on the final lap to take fourth.
“It’s a strong result for the team, and I was very happy to come through the field and score some good points today,” said Mortara. “Even with some minor damage, we were able to make progress and fight towards the front, which is very encouraging and another sign we are on the right path with our development of this new package.
“It’s a great start to the weekend, and hopefully we can have another positive result tomorrow.”
Team Principal and CEO Frederic Bertrand praised the team’s performance and execution, particularly under the new PIT BOOST format that was introduced this season.
“These are the days we’ve been working towards as a team, and it’s important to enjoy them whilst also being hungry for more,” said Bertrand.
“Today was a great example of what we have been building. We’ve extended our run of qualifying for the Duels and scoring points in every race this season, and I was particularly pleased to see not only how Nyck was able to fight at the front, but how Edo moved through the pack despite some small damage.
“PIT BOOST races are still a bit of an unknown for the whole paddock, but our engineers and mechanics executed a great strategy, and we were able to use it to our advantage again, as we did in Jeddah.
“Overall, a very pleasing result. It’s always nice to end the day with a trophy, but our focus remains to keep up this level of performance consistently and keep being ambitious and aim for even higher.”
Mahindra will return to action on Sunday for the second Monaco E-Prix of the weekend.
