“Nobody’s going to compromise on anything that would put teams into an uncomfortable situation.”
There was no immediate comment from Liberty Media-owned Formula One or the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA).
The World Endurance Championship (WEC) has already postponed what would have been its season-opener in Qatar on March 26-28, with the first race now scheduled for Italy’s Imola circuit on
April 19.
The Qatar round at the Lusail circuit outside Doha, which also hosts Formula 1 in November, has been rescheduled for October 24 as the penultimate round before the finale in Bahrain on November 7.
MotoGP is due to race in Qatar on April 12 with that round also likely to be cancelled.
Reuters
George Russell earns first career sprint pole
After winning the season-opening Australian Grand Prix last week in Melbourne, Mercedes driver George Russell qualified for the pole of Saturday’s Chinese Grand Prix sprint race in Shanghai.
Russell, atop the F1 driver standings with 25 points, finished the final qualifying lap in 1:31.520, edging teammate Kimi Antonelli, who finished second in sprint qualifying at 1:31.809.
It’s the first career sprint pole for Russell, 28, who has six career F1 wins and finished fourth in the driver standings last season.
George Russell salutes the crowd.Credit: Getty Images
Lando Norris qualified in third place for McLaren after opening his 2025 title defense with a fifth-place finish in the Australian Grand Prix. His McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, qualified in fifth, flanked by Ferrari teammates Lewis Hamilton (fourth) and Charles Leclerc (sixth).
The sprint race kicks off Saturday’s day of competition before qualifying for the Grand Prix is held later in the day ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix race.
Points for this season’s six sprint races are awarded to the top eight finishers, from eight points down to one.
Reuters