IMOLA, Italy: Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton offered an upbeat view on Mercedes’ future prospects on Thursday when he said the team had finally found their “North Star” in the prolonged effort to develop their car.
The Briton, without a win since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, said he was encouraged by the directional breakthrough and both the energy and resilience of the team.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the first race in Europe this year after six flyaway rounds around the world, Hamilton and his Mercedes team-mate George Russell said they were impressed by the durability of their team.
Mercedes have struggled for performance and have yet to register a podium finish this season.
“There is a long way to go,” said Hamilton. “But I am excited with what I know we have coming in the pipe-line now. We have found our North Star and we know what we want to do and what to change.
“The energy in the team is amazing. They are so resilient and continue to push all the time even though we have been knocked down quite a few times this year.”
Hamilton, who has won six of his drivers titles with Mercedes, is set to leave the team and join Ferrari next year.
Hamilton says struggling Mercedes have found ‘North Star’
https://arab.news/nsuf4
Hamilton says struggling Mercedes have found ‘North Star’
- “There is a long way to go,” said Hamilton
- “The energy in the team is amazing“
Saudi driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi records historic Dakar Rally triumph
- Saudi Arabia have hosted the Dakar Rally since 2020, when it moved from South America.
SHUBAYTAH: Yazeed Al-Rajhi made history on Friday becoming the first driver from host nation Saudi Arabia to win the Dakar Rally.
The Overdrive pilot held onto his overnight lead to beat South Africa’s Henk Lategan in a Toyota by 3min 57sec with Mattias Ekstrom of Sweden third in his Ford, 20min 21sec adrift.
Saudi Arabia have hosted the Dakar Rally since 2020, when it moved from South America.
Saudi Arabia celebrates its champion!
— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 17, 2025
Yazeed Al Rajhi makes history on home soil.#Dakar2025 #DakarInSaudi pic.twitter.com/ASaz2NhHwA
There was also a first win in the world’s most famous endurance rally for Australia’s KTM rider Daniel Sanders in the motorbike category.
Sanders, 30, dominated from the moment he won the prologue and finished a comfortable 8min 50sec faster than Spanish runner-up Tosha Schareina on his Honda.
Sanders is the second Australian to prevail in the motorbike category, Toby Price emerging victorious in 2016 and 2019.
“It was a tough race,” said Sanders.
“The last three days couldn’t come quick enough. It was really, really exciting to see the finish line when we came over one dune.
“You see the whole bivouac, I just smiled and had chills go through my whole body. Super special, won’t forget that moment.”
Teams owners Tom Brady, Will Smith and Didier Drogba prepare for E1 Jeddah Grand Prix
- The UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF, the world’s only all-electric racing boat championship, starts its second season Jan. 24-25
- 2024 winner Team Brady prepare to defend crown against Team Drogba, Team Rafa and Racing Team Aoki
JEDDAH: Just under a week remains for Tom Brady, Will Smith, Didier Drogba, Virat Kohli and a host of other celebrity owners to prepare their teams for this season’s UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF, which begins with the Jeddah GP.
The all-electric RaceBird boats took to the Red Sea waters off Jeddah for the E1 Championship’s global debut in February 2024, and the season concluded with Team Brady crowned the 2024 Champions of the Water.
Qualifying for the 2025 E1 Jeddah GP takes place on Friday, Jan. 24, and is followed on Saturday by the main race, presented in partnership with the Kingdom’s Ministry of Sport and the Saudi Water Sports and Diving Federation.
Prince Sultan bin Fahd bin Salman, president of the SWSDF, said: “For owners, pilots, organizers and fans, the countdown is on for the start of what will be a fascinating UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF at the Jeddah GP.
“This is where relentless innovation, marine preservation, and exhilarating races all come together, unveiling a new season for the Championship.
“In such a spectacular setting, this popular event highlights Saudi Arabia’s commitment to pioneering sustainable sports and furthering its reputation as a global hub for innovation and eco-tourism.”
The teams, each featuring male and female pilots sharing driving duties, are owned by celebrities from the world of sports and entertainment.
They include Smith (Westbrook Racing), Marc Anthony (Team Miami powered by Magnus), Steve Aoki (Racing Team Aoki), Brady (Team Brady), Kohli (Team Blue Rising), Drogba (Team Drogba), Rafael Nadal (Team Rafa) and Marcelo Claure (Team Brazil by Claure).
In its first season, E1 races took place in Venice, Monaco, Puerto Banus and Lake Como.
Dakar Rally comes down to a duel in the sand between Lategan and Al-Rajhi
- The South African Lategan leads his Saudi rival by 2 1/2 minutes going into the 11th and penultimate stage in the Empty Quarter dunes
- Friday’s last stage is a ceremonial drive to the finish in Shubaytah
SHUBAYTAH: Henk Lategan and Yazeed Al-Rajhi will duel in the Saudi sand for their first Dakar Rally title after swapping the lead for a second straight day Wednesday.
The South African Lategan leads his Saudi rival by 2 1/2 minutes going into the 11th and penultimate stage in the Empty Quarter dunes. Friday’s last stage is a ceremonial drive to the finish in Shubaytah.
Al-Rajhi led by seven minutes before the 10th stage, a tricky 120-kilometer loop south of Shubaytah on Wednesday. But he got stuck and relinquished the overall lead back to Lategan.
“We got stuck because we were taking it easy,” Al-Rajhi said. “Everything is going good, that’s the most important (thing). I have a good position, I hope.”
Lategan also took it easy but without finding any trouble, and was 10th on the stage, making up minutes on all of his nearest pursuers.
“It wasn’t the plan to go quickly today,” Lategan said.
On Thursday, he will start 10th and Al-Rajhi 27th and they can push harder by taking advantage of the tracks of those in front.
’Most disappointing day of my life’
Third-placed Mattias Ekström fell two minutes further back to 27 minutes, and five-time champion Nasser Al-Attiyah lost five minutes to drop back to 30.
Al-Attiyah, the only former champion with an outside title shot, got lost about nine kilometers in.
“I’m very disappointed, but what can you do?” Al-Attiyah said. “We had a good pace but we lost a lot of time. This is the most disappointing day of my life.”
Spain’s Nani Roma, one of only three men to win the Dakar in a car (2014) and motorbike (2004), won his first stage in nine years by 18 seconds from Lucas Moraes of Brazil. Brian Baragwanath of South Africa was third.
Sanders on the brink
Australian rider Daniel Sanders was on the brink of his first Dakar title in a motorbike race he’s dominated from stage one.
Sanders was fourth on the 116-kilometer stage but ahead of his nearest rivals, extending his overall lead by about two minutes against Spain’s Tosha Schareina and France’s Adrien van Beveren.
The advantage over Schareina was 16 1/2 minutes, the biggest in the race so far.
“It’s pretty much survival tomorrow and just getting through,” Sanders said. “I think we’ll be all right. I felt really good in the navigation and I was opening a little bit and then, yeah, it felt nice. So yeah, ready for tomorrow.”
Portugal’s Rui Gonçalves won his maiden stage in his fifth Dakar by nearly four minutes from Slovakia’s Stefan Svitko. American Skyler Howes was third.
Al Rajhi takes over Dakar Rally lead after miserable stage for Lategan
- Lategan led the Dakar for the past week
- Al Rajhi, like Lategan, has never won the Dakar
HARADH: Local driver Yazeed Al Rajhi took advantage of a miserable stage by South Africa’s Henk Lategan to grab the Dakar Rally lead in the Saudi Arabia desert on Tuesday.
Lategan led the Dakar for the past week, but errors and bad luck on the 357-kilometer ninth stage from Riyadh south-east to Haradh turned his overall lead of more than five minutes over Al Rajhi into a potentially decisive seven-minute deficit.
The rally has effectively two days and 400 kilometers remaining in the dunes of the Empty Quarter. The last day, Friday, is a ceremonial drive to the finish line in Shubaytah.
Al Rajhi, like Lategan, has never won the Dakar. This is the Saudi’s 11th attempt with a best finish of third in 2022. He’d been lying second since last Wednesday. The title race appears to be between only them.
Third-placed Mattias Ekström of Sweden and five-time champion Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar were about 25 minutes behind.
“It’s a bit of disaster to be honest,” Lategan said. “About 13 kilometers in we got lost. We thought we missed the waypoint but we actually had it. When we got lost we got one puncture and then toward the end we got another one and the wheel is actually flat. So, it was a messy, messy, messy day for us but it’s not the end of the world, we’re still in it.”
Lategan and navigator Brett Cummings were 11th on the stage and Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk third.
“We did a great job like we planned to,” Al Rajhi said. “We pushed well. We enjoyed it, that’s the most important. I hope everything goes well the next two or three days to win the Dakar ... I will fight to win. It won’t be easy.”
Al-Attiyah won the stage ahead of Belgium’s Guillaume de Mévius in under three hours to rise to one minute off third place overall.
His 49th car stage win, and first in the Dakar for Romanian manufacturer Dacia, lifted him to only one behind the record jointly held by Finland’s Ari Vatanen and France’s Stephane Peterhansel.
Sanders cushions motorbike lead
Australian rider Daniel Sanders bolstered his motorbike lead to nearly 15 minutes when closest challenger, Spain’s Tosha Schareina, crashed early.
The back wheel of Schareina’s Honda hit a rock and sent him flying only 20 kilometers in. He resumed racing but the nearly four minutes he finished behind Sanders dropped him in the general standings.
Schareina’s teammate Adrien van Beveren of France remained third, more than 20 minutes behind, while Sanders’ KTM teammate Luciano Benavides of Argentina strengthened his position in fourth place by winning his second successive stage.
Benavides, thanks to collecting time bonuses of nearly five minutes by opening the way, beat Van Beveren by nearly two minutes, and repeated his win into Haradh two years ago. Sanders was third after leading until about 70 kilometers from the end.
“I only got lost a couple of times ... and lost a little bit of time,” Sanders said. “I could have pushed and made some more (time) but it’s not too bad.”
FIA president commends Saudi Arabia’s efforts in organizing Dakar Rally
- Mohammed Ben Sulayem speaks of Kingdom’s commitment to delivering top-notch experience for participants
- Rally resumes on Saturday with 7 stages remaining
Ha’il: The International Automobile Federation’s President Mohammed Ben Sulayem commended the Kingdom’s efforts in organizing the Dakar Rally during his visit to Saudi Arabia’s rally bivouac on Friday.
Ben Sulayem also praised the Kingdom’s commitment to delivering a top-notch experience for participants and highlighted the warm hospitality and generosity that embody the spirit of the Saudi people.
The FIA president highlighted that Saudi Arabia’s success in hosting global sporting events, such as the Dakar Rally, has set a benchmark and become a source of pride. He also acknowledged the hard work and teamwork of all rally participants, noting their role in strengthening the Kingdom’s reputation as a world-class motorsport hub.
The participants have taken a well-deserved rest after enduring several days of tough desert challenges. Meanwhile, support teams have continued their vital work, ensuring vehicles are maintained and ready for the next stages to help competitors perform at their best.
After covering about 2,579 km of special stages, 299 vehicles arrived at the bivouac camp in Ha’il. Vehicles included 118 bikes, 58 cars, two stock vehicles, 45 challengers, 33 SSVs, and 43 trucks.
The rally resumes on Saturday with seven stages remaining. Participants will head to Al-Dawadmi, covering 829 km, including 605 km of timed special stages.
The journey will then take them through a circular stage in Al-Dawadmi, followed by Riyadh, Haradh, and finally Al-Shubayta.
The rally concludes with two final stages in Al-Shubayta on Jan. 16 and 17, marking the end of this year’s Dakar Rally.
