Formula 1

Formula One is increasing its efforts to develop and promote female drivers in the sport.

The promotion announced Friday it will launch F1 Academy, an all-female driver series, in 2023 with 15 drivers split up into five teams and competing in seven events.

Bruno Michel, CEO of Formula Motorsport Limited, is managing the new venture. The seven events will consist of three races each for a total of 21 races during the 2023 calendar.

According to F1's official announcement, the decision to start F1 Academy came after "assessing the barriers young female drivers face with entering the F1 pyramid," making it more difficult for them to gain the same level of experience as their male counterparts.

"I am very excited to launch this new category," Michel said in a statement. "Diversity is extremely important in motorsport, and with the F1 Academy we will prove that female drivers have what it takes to compete at high levels. I am absolutely convinced that if young women are given the same amount of experience as any other driver, they can successfully make their way through the pyramid."

F1 Academy will afford female drivers more time on the track for racing and testing, while also being able to work with professional teams that can help them develop the skills necessary to compete at the highest level of the sport.

The W Academy will continue to operate, along with F1 Academy. The W Series announced last month it had canceled its final three races of the 2022 season because of financial difficulties.

The W Series had its inaugural season in 2019 and began running under the F1 umbrella in 2021. The all-female series features 18 drivers. Jamie Chadwick has won the championship in each of its first three seasons.

Five female drivers have competed in an official F1 series race. Giovanna Amati was the last woman to compete in the senior circuit during the 1992 season.

The 2022 Formula 1 season has belonged to Max Verstappen, but after a season full of near-misses, George Russell has finally broken through.

Russell gave Mercedes its first win of the 2022 campaign at Sunday's São Paulo Grand Prix, turning in a dominant performance while teammate Lewis Hamilton finished behind him in second place.

Two weeks after setting the F1 single-season record for wins (14), Verstappen had a frustrating afternoon that was highlighted by a five-second penalty for causing contact with Hamilton early in the race.

The penalty caused him to take a nosedive down the field before he was able to recover for a sixth-place finish.

Two weeks after setting the F1 single-season record for wins (14), Verstappen had a frustrating afternoon that was highlighted by a five-second penalty for causing contact with Hamilton early in the race.

The penalty caused him to take a nosedive down the field before he was able to recover for a sixth-place finish.

Tensions also appear to be bubbling over between Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez. Verstappen was criticized for his refusal to allow Perez to move ahead of him in Sunday's waning moments, a move that would have given Perez critical points as he attempts to lock up second place in the standings.

"It shows who he really is," Perez said on the radio to his team.

A fuming Perez later said Verstappen's two championships are "thanks to me."

While Verstappen would undoubtedly prefer a stronger result—and some better inter-team relations—there's nothing that can take away from his brilliant 2022 campaign. This is one of the finest seasons in the history of racing, in any discipline, across any decade.

Russell's victory will give Mercedes at least some reason to have a positive outlook heading into 2023. This season has been a consistent source of frustration for the Mercedes team, with Hamilton not performing up to his typical championship expectations due in large part to the failures of the cars given to him by the team.

Russell has emerged as a bright spot in the future for Mercedes, and giving him his first career F1 victory will go a long way toward building that team's morale moving forward.

Formula One Racing team Mercedes-AMG Petronas announced Friday that it has suspended its partnership with crypto exchange FTX.

According to TMZ Sports, the team said it will remove the FTX logo from its cars after the company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy this week.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas is led by seven-time F1 points champion Lewis Hamilton, making him one of several high-profile athletes to be impacted by FTX bottoming out.

TMZ Sports noted that Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, Los Angeles Angels pitcher and designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and tennis star Naomi Osaka all have involvement with FTX.

Also, the NBA's Miami Heat renamed their home venue FTX Arena next year, although that partnership is likely now in danger.

FTX reportedly filed for bankruptcy since it was insolvent and unable to pay out its customers, despite recently being worth $30 billion and claiming this week that it was "100 percent liquid."

The decision to remove the FTX logo from its cars was an about-face for Mercedes-AMG Petronas since Jonathan Noble of Motorsport.com reported Thursday that the team had decided to stick with the decals for this weekend's race.

Instead, Hamilton and teammate George Russell will be without FTX advertising on their cars for Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen made history Sunday by holding off Lewis Hamilton to win the Mexico Grand Prix in Mexico City.

With the victory, Verstappen now has 14 wins in the 2022 season, setting a new all-time record for most in a single year. He entered the race tied with Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel atop the record books.

The race was mostly dominated by Verstappen. Hamilton briefly took the lead after the Dutchman pitted on Lap 26, but when he brought his Mercedes to pit road 10 laps later, Verstappen overtook him once again and never looked back.

The key difference for Verstappen was that he switched to medium tires, while Hamilton switched to hard tires. Hamilton could be heard on his radio multiple times complaining about his tires, while Verstappen was in cruise control and had a lead of over 10 seconds for nearly the entire second half of the race.

Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez placed third, while Mercedes' George Russell settled for fourth. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz rounded out the top five.

Sunday's victory continues a dominant run for Verstappen, who is now on a three-race winning streak. The 25-year-old was victorious at the Japan Grand Prix on Oct. 9 and again at the United States Grand Prix last weekend.

Verstappen will have the opportunity to extend his single-season record when he returns for the Brazil Grand Prix in Sao Paulo on Nov. 11-13.

The Federation Internationale de l'Automobile announced Friday it levied a $7 million fine against Red Bull Racing for a violation of the FIA Formula 1 Financial Regulations.

FIA's Cost Cap Administration determined Red Bull underreported it's 2021 costs by £5.6 million, which created a £1.9 million minor overspend breach of the regulations' cost cap. RBR has agreed to enter an accepted breach agreement in wake of the violation.

"Red Bull Racing was found to be in breach, however, the Cost Cap Administration recognize that Red Bull Racing has acted cooperatively throughout the review process and has sought to provide additional information and evidence when requested in a timely manner, that this is the first year of the full application of the Financial Regulations and that there is no accusation or evidence that RBR has sought at any time to act in bad faith, dishonestly or in fraudulent manner, nor has it willfully concealed any information from the Cost Cap Administration," the FIA said in a statement.

The CCA's review found 13 areas where RBR either incorrectly excluded or improperly calculated relevant costs. If RBR would have properly applied its tax credit, it would have lessened its overspend, but it would have still been noncompliant by £432,652 (0.37 percent) against the FIA F1 cost cap.

Since RBR agreed to the ABA, it doesn't have the right to appeal the findings or punishment. Further noncompliance would be referred to the Cost Cap Adjudication Panel.

Along with the fine, RBR also received a 10 percent reduction in aerodynamic testing for the next 12 months, and it must cover the costs incurred by the CCA during its review.

All 10 teams must abide by the FIA F1 Financial Regulations, which were enforced for the first time in 2021, to compete in the sport's top division.

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, the 2021 F1 champion who also recently clinched the 2022 title, told The Race's Scott Mitchell-Malm and Matt Beer the team didn't agree with the findings.

"It's just a bit frustrating," Verstappen said Thursday. "From our side, we feel like we are not wrong. Just some things are taken into the budget cap which are very unexpected, but we'll have to deal with it. It's not up to me to decide what's right."

Red Bull's decision to accept the ABA was meant to avoid more significant penalties, such as point reductions or limits on future budget amounts, according to The Race's report.

The 2022 F1 season continues Sunday with the Mexico City Grand Prix at the Mexico Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

There are three races left in the campaign, which wraps up Nov. 20.

Max Verstappen held off Lewis Hamilton on Sunday in the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, to continue his attack on the Formula One record book.

The 25-year-old earned his 13th win of the 2022 season to tie Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel's mark for most victories in a single year.

Hamilton did what he could to hold off the on-rushing Verstappen, but he was powerless to halt a brilliant pass from the Dutchman on the 50th lap.

Verstappen's lead shrunk to less than a second at one point, but he successfully shut the door on Hamilton for the remainder of the race.

The Red Bull team had plenty to celebrate as they secured the constructors' championship.

Carlos Sainz claimed the pole in Saturday's qualifying. As he sought his second victory of the season, he acknowledged he was "realistic" and added it was "going to be tough" to hold off Verstappen, who was second in the starting order.

Little did Sainz know how difficult his day would be.

The 28-year-old didn't even complete one full lap before he made contact with George Russell, the result of which was serious enough to knock Sainz out of the United States Grand Prix.

Race officials issued a five-second penalty to Russell.

That paved the way for Verstappen to claim the lead, and the 2022 F1 champion was unsurprisingly dominant from the top spot. Although he complained of some issues with his car, it was largely smooth sailing until a pit stop on Lap 36.

Verstappen's Red Bull team was slow to get him new tires, and he had fallen behind Hamilton and Leclerc by the time he was off pit road and back on the track. Vettel, benefited from Verstappen's misfortune as well and looked a good bet to earn a podium finish.

Verstappen overtook Leclerc, though, and Vettel had a terrible pit stop of his own that sent him slipping down the leaderboard. In no time, the race became a head-to-head battle between Verstappen and Hamilton.

The former continued to chip away at the latter's lead to the point where the turnaround felt inevitable. As great as Hamilton is, Verstappen has been nearly untouchable in 2022.

Three stops remain in the current Formula One season. The series will head to Mexico City for the Mexico City Grand Prix on Oct. 30, with Verstappen one checkered flag away from history.

Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who also played an instrumental role in the development of Formula One racing, has died at the age of 78, the company announced on Saturday.

Mateschitz co-founded Red Bull gmbH with Chaleo Yoovidhya in 1987. The company has grown into one of the biggest conglomerates in the world, with Mateschitz boasting a net worth of $15.1 billion.

The Austria native first got involved in F1 in 1995 through an association with the Sauber team before he eventually bought a majority ownership share of the engineering company.

Mateschitz purchased the Formula One Jaguar Racing Team in November 2004. The team was rebranded as Red Bull Racing following the acquisition. He also bought out the Minardi team 10 months later.

Red Bull Racing has become one of the most dominant teams in all of Formula 1. Sebastian Vettel posted six consecutive top-five finishes in the overall standings from 2009-14, including four straight titles from 2010-13.

Led by Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing is in position to win its first points championship this year for the first time since 2013.

Mateschitz also tried his hand at NASCAR when he formed the Red Bull Racing Team. The squad competed in the Sprint Cup Series from 2006-11 and Nationwide Series in 2010. No one on the team ever finished higher than 12th in the overall standings during that six-season run.