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F1 in SA?
WHILE many drivers welcomed the addition of Las Vegas to the Formula 1 calendar next season, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton called for South Africa also to be returned to the roster.
Nearly 30 years have passed since the country hosted an F1 race in 1993, and Africa is the only inhabited continent which does not feature on the current calendar.
“We’re pretty much on every other continent, so why not?” said Mercedes driver Hamilton.
“And ultimately, my ancestors are from there so that’s why it is important for me personally.” | Reuters
Man to beat
CHARLES Leclerc has long been touted as a Formula One world champion in the making and the Ferrari driver has emerged as the man to beat this season after a dominant victory in Melbourne.
The 24-year-old from Monaco blew away his rivals at Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix at a revamped Albert Park, starting from pole and taking the chequered flag by more than 20 seconds from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. The pace of Leclerc’s Ferrari – coupled with Max Verstappen’s problems at Red Bull and Lewis Hamilton’s travails at Mercedes – have seen him emerge as early favourite to win a maiden drivers’ title. | AFP
TESLA’S factory in China sold more than 180 000 vehicles in the first quarter of this year, the company said this week.
It launched “zero contact” self-service car collection services in many parts of China in the face of Covid-19 resurgences, shortening the delivery process from about two hours to some 20 minutes.
Deliveries at the Shanghai Gigafactory stood at 484 130 vehicles last year, an increase of 235% from 2020, accounting for 51.7% of Tesla's global production capacity in 2021.
Last year, Tesla’s Shanghai factory delivered more than 160 000 vehicles to overseas markets. | Xinhua
Epic
WILLIAMS driver Alex Albon was praised as the “tyre whisperer” by his team after lasting 56 laps on the same set of hard compound rubbers to finish 10th at the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday after starting at the back of the grid.
Albon’s epic run on the first set of tyres helped secure Williams their first championship point of the season.
Staying on track despite multiple safety car periods, Albon pitted on the penultimate lap at Albert Park to switch to soft tyres. That allowed several cars to pass him but he sneaked in front of Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu and held on to 10th through the final lap. | Reuters
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