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The Pandemic Forces Further F1 Calendar Changes
The ongoing impact of the pandemic has forced further changes to this season’s Formula 1 calendar. A Turkish Grand Prix had already been added in place of the cancelled 13 June Canadian race in Montreal, but the COVID situation in Turkey and the impact of the UK government adding the…
The Turkish Grand Prix on 13 June has been called off
A 100th Pole And A Sixth Spanish Victory For Hamilton
Graham Read
Formula 1 Correspondent
Lewis Hamilton claimed a 100th pole position plus the race victory in Spain
Just five days after the chequered flag had flown at the end of the Portuguese Grand Prix Formula 1 cars were back on track, this time at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, as practice began for today’s Spanish Grand Prix. Mercedes’ Sir Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen have so…
7:03 PM 9th May 2021
Fell Running Exhibition Launches in Settle in May
Kirsty Hall leads out at Cracoe Fell Race
As fell running gears up for a summer comeback, the brand new Run the Dales photographic and memorabilia exhibition is all set to celebrate this beloved and traditional Dales sport in a very special way. Following its recent launch, new fell running website, Run the Dales is taking fell running off…
7:37 AM 5th May 2021
Hamilton Extends His Championship Lead In Portugal
Graham Read
Formula 1 Correspondent
Hamilton proved untouchable in the Algarve
Two weeks after the incident packed Grand Prix at Imola in northern Italy the Formula 1 paddock reconvened at the rollercoaster Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in the hills inland from Portimão for today’s Portuguese Grand Prix and Sir Lewis Hamilton’s latest victory for Mercedes extended his championship lead over Red…
6:50 PM 2nd May 2021
F1 Approves Sprint Races At Three 2021 Grands Prix
Graham Read
Formula 1 Correspondent
Fans will be able to enjoy two F1 races rather than a single Grand Prix at three events later this season
There was a significant, if expected development at a meeting of the F1 Commission yesterday ahead of this weekend’s Portuguese Grand Prix when the FIA governing body, F1’s owners Liberty Media and all the teams voted unanimously in favour of holding three sprint qualifying race trials this season at two…
9:45 AM 27th April 2021
Doncaster’s Ewen Sergison Claims A Podium Finish In Monaco
Four weeks before modern Formula 1 returns to the streets of Monaco, the last three days have witnessed the spectacular running of the 12th Grand Prix de Monaco Historique race meeting after the pandemic had forced its cancellation last year. Following free practice sessions on Friday for the seven categories…
5:38 PM 25th April 2021
Government To Launch Independent Review Into Collapse Of Football Gambling Firm
Independent expert to be appointed to look at the demise of Football Index Review will also assess action taken by the Gambling Commission Findings will help to inform the Government’s ongoing review into the Gambling Act Football Index, operated by BetIndex…
6:51 PM 20th April 2021
Verstappen Sublime At Incident Packed Imola
After a three week break since the season opening race in Bahrain Formula 1 very much returned to life this weekend for the unusually named Made in Italy and Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and it was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who put in a sublime performance to emerge with the…
7:31 PM 18th April 2021
Government Announces Pilot Events To Pave Way For Larger Audiences At Sport, Theatre And Gigs This Summer
The EFL Cup Final and an FA Cup Semi-Final are set to be among a range of pilot events hosting audiences as part of the government’s plan to get big crowds back this summer. The events will be part of the government’s science-led Events Research Programme (ERP) working closely with…
11:16 AM 6th April 2021
Hamilton Holds Off Verstappen In A Bahraini Thriller
Graham Read
Formula 1 Correspondent
Sir Lewis Hamilton drove superbly to hold off a charging Max Verstappen
After a single three-day test in Bahrain for all ten Formula 1 teams the new 23-race season sprang into life today at the same venue with the opening Grand Prix of 2021 and after a thrilling encounter it was Mercedes’ Sir Lewis Hamilton who held off Red Bull’s Max Verstappen…
7:00 PM 28th March 2021
Frank Worthington: Football Legend - 1948-2021
Steve Whitaker
Literary Editor
Frank Worthington
Big Frank remained a regular feature in the stand at Huddersfield even in relatively recent times. You’d see him on match day, in a long black overcoat, often sporting a fedora. That much never changed. He was always a sartorial extrovert; his sense of dress dovetailed almost symmetrically with the…
8:06 AM 27th March 2021
R.I.P. Johnny Dumfries, The 7th Marquess Of Bute 1958-2021
Graham Read
Formula 1 Correspondent
Racing was so much the passion of young Johnny Dumfries
It is with sadness and regret that I must write this fourth sporting obituary in just over a week following the death after a short illness of British former F1 driver and Le Mans winner Johnny Dumfries, the 7th Marquess of Bute, aged just 62. His real name was John Crichton-Stuart,…
9:14 AM 23rd March 2021
R.I.P. Peter Lorimer 1946-2021
Graham Read
Formula 1 Correspondent
Record goalscorer Peter “Hotshot” Lorimer, (photo: Leeds United)
After the deaths in recent days of both Murray Walker and Sabine Schmitz from the motorsport world I was also saddened to learn today of the passing of one of my footballing icons as a schoolboy, Peter Lorimer, aged just 74. How I remember attending so many Leeds United games at…
7:42 AM 21st March 2021
Dan Benn's Football Roundup
Episode 5
This week’s football saw only 5 games involving Yorkshire sides, with those in the Premier League and League Two not taking part. Barnsley and Doncaster continued their playoff pushes, whilst Sheffield Wednesday struggle to stay in the league. Rotherham United have returned to playing after their enforced break, only without manager Paul…
7:45 PM 19th March 2021
R.I.P. Sabine Schmitz 1969-2021 “The Queen Of The Nürburgring”
Following the death of Murray Walker last Saturday the motorsport world lost another of its most popular characters yesterday when the German professional racing driver and Top Gear presenter Sabine Schmitz lost her battle with cancer and passed away, aged just 51. Born and raised in the village of Nürburg, which…
12:34 PM 17th March 2021
Red Bull’s Verstappen Fastest In F1 Testing
Formula 1’s sole three day pre-season test ended yesterday evening in Bahrain and it was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who set the fastest overall time. As always though, it should be noted that testing times can be deceptive due to all the variable factors involved and potential sandbagging. It represented…
12:42 PM 15th March 2021
R.I.P. Murray Walker OBE 1923-2021
Murray Walker, the truly legendary British motorsport commentator who became known as the voice of Formula 1, died yesterday aged 97, leaving behind his lovely wife Elizabeth whom he married back in 1959. The news saddened me personally as he had gone out of his way over the years to…
11:59 AM 14th March 2021
Ferrari’s New SF21
Graham Read
Formula 1 Correspondent
The new SF21 has an eye-catching new two-tone livery
This afternoon Ferrari became the final Formula 1 outfit to reveal its livery for the forthcoming season after it had held a team launch back on 26 February. In an online event the SF21 was unveiled for the first time. What is most striking about the new livery is its two-tone…
3:34 PM 10th March 2021
Aston Martin’s New F1 Safety And Medical Cars
Graham Read
Formula 1 Correspondent
Aston Martin’s new Formula 1 Safety Car
Not only will Aston Martin be competing in this year’s Formula 1 world championship for the first time since 1960, but it will also be sharing the safety and medical car duties at every Grand Prix weekend with Mercedes. Mercedes has supplied the official Formula 1 Safety and Medical Cars since…
2:45 PM 8th March 2021
UK Coaching Calls For Gender Parity Within The Coaching Workforce
The lead charity for coaching in the UK is calling for more women to enter the coaching workforce. UK Coaching exists to support and develop the nation’s three million coaches and is today outlining its ambition for gender equity within coaching, in the next five years. Pre-pandemic, female coaches made up…
4:00 AM 8th March 2021
Government Announces Funding To Safeguard Grassroots, Elite Women's And Championship Rugby Union
The Sports Minister has announced the latest tranche of funding from the Government’s Sport Winter Survival Package, which will see more than £40 million provided to support grassroots rugby union clubs and up to £5.5 million to support the launch of the men’s Championship competition from this weekend. The Rugby…
2:47 PM 7th March 2021
Williams Uncovers Its FW43B Challenger
The Williams Formula 1 team has this afternoon uncovered the car with which it will contest this year’s world championship, the FW43B, and it features a striking change of livery. The Grove based outfit had hoped to use an augmented reality app to share the car with the world, but this…
3:33 PM 5th March 2021
Haas Adopts A New Russian Livery
The American owned but UK based Haas Formula 1 team has this morning unveiled via social media the livery for the VF-21 car which it will race in this year’s world championship. Most noticeable is the change to a red and blue livery on a white background, reflecting the colours of…
11:54 AM 4th March 2021
Aston Martin Is Back On The F1 Grid
The iconic Aston Martin company is returning to Formula 1 with its own team for the first time since 1960, having been associated far more recently with Red Bull as its title sponsor, and this afternoon its new challenger, the AMR21, was uncovered during a much awaited virtual launch at…
5:00 PM 3rd March 2021
Mercedes And Alpine Unveil Their 2021 Cars
The Mercedes and Alpine Formula 1 teams have today held virtual unveilings of the cars they will use in this year’s world championship, Alpine being the new name for the outfit which was known as Renault upto the end of last year. Mercedes has won every Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship since…
4:55 PM 2nd March 2021
Ferrari Kicks Off Its 2021 Season
Graham Read
Formula 1 Correspondent
Team principal Mattia Binotto is tasked with leading Ferrari back to better times
Formula 1’s longest standing entrant, the iconic Scuderia Ferrari, has today kicked off its new campaign with a team launch. However, there was no car present, just senior personnel, as it is keeping its new SF21 challenger under wraps until 10 March, just a couple of days before pre-season testing…
3:10 PM 26th February 2021
Red Bull Joins The Launch Party
Graham Read
Formula 1 Correspondent
Red Bull hopes its RB16B will threaten Mercedes more this season
Today it has been the turn of the Red Bull Formula 1 team to join the current launch party as it revealed online its new RB16B offering, a car it hopes will enable them to pose a bigger threat to Mercedes’ dominance of the sport since 2014. The all new technical…
4:22 PM 23rd February 2021
Alfa Romeo’s C41 Unveiled
Graham Read
Formula 1 Correspondent
Alfa Romeo’s new C41 has an eye-catching revised livery
The Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team, operated by Sauber Motorsport from its Swiss base, has today uncovered its C41 car for this year’s world championship and the unveiling took place in a rather fine setting, the Grand Theatre in the Polish capital Warsaw as the city is the home of…
1:25 PM 22nd February 2021
AlphaTauri’s AT02 Breaks Cover
Graham Read
Formula 1 Correspondent
The AT02’s 2021 livery was revealed in the AlphaTauri clothing showroom in Salzburg
The Scuderia AlphaTauri has today become the second Formula 1 team to unveil the car in which it will compete this season. Images of the AT02 were revealed online, whilst its new livery was also displayed on a previous chassis as part of a fashion and F1 display at the…
11:16 AM 19th February 2021
McLaren Launches Its 2021 Challenger
McLaren has become the first Formula 1 team to launch its car for the 2021 season, which is set to begin in Bahrain late next month. Broadcast live on the internet and on the Sky Sports F1 channel from the McLaren headquarters in Woking, their MCL35M challenger was revealed. The second…
10:06 PM 15th February 2021
Sporting Legends Led By Sir Geoff Hurst Urge Over 70s To Get Coronavirus Vaccination
Hurst says: “For goodness sake, just get it done. It's in your interest, as well as that of your family, friends, workmates, and your country." England’s 1966 World Cup hero Sir Geoff Hurst has led some of Britain’s sporting legends to urge people aged 70 and over yet to receive their…
10:08 AM 13th February 2021
Alonso’s Fractured Jaw, An Engine Freeze And Sprint Races
Fernando Alonso, who is returning this year for a third stint with the Renault Formula 1 team which has now been rebranded as Alpine, sustained a fractured upper jaw yesterday whilst cycling near Lugano in Switzerland. The 39 year old Spanish double champion, who has been away from F1 for the…
4:24 PM 12th February 2021
Hamilton Agrees A New One Year Deal With Mercedes
The Mercedes Formula 1 team has today revealed that Sir Lewis Hamilton has finally agreed a new contract with the team, although its length will only be for a single year. Negotiations have been ongoing since Hamilton wrapped up his record equalling seventh Drivers’ Championship title at last year’s Turkish…
2:34 PM 8th February 2021
Brady Leads The Bucs To Super Bowl Glory
Graham Read
Formula 1 Correspondent
Outstanding quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes (left) and Tom Brady starred in the 55th Super Bowl
The 55th American football end of season Super Bowl game took place yesterday between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and it was the Bucs who against the odds emerged very much on top after a superb performance. It is a million miles away from my usual…
7:06 AM 8th February 2021
Mercedes Announces The Launch Date For Its 2021 Car
Graham Read
Formula 1 Correspondent
This year’s Mercedes challenger will be a development of last year’s car
The dominant Mercedes Formula 1 team, which has won all the Constructors’ and Drivers’ championships since the 2014 season, has today revealed that it will hold a digital launch for its 2021 challenger on 2 March. Its official name will be the Mercedes-AMG W12 E Performance, with the E Performance…
5:32 PM 2nd February 2021
British Wheelchair Basketball Launch New Programme To Double Participation
photo - British Wheelchair Basketball
British Wheelchair Basketball, the governing body for the sport in the UK, has launched its ground-breaking ‘Inspire a Generation’ programme, in a bid to double participation over the next four years. The new programme, driven by British Wheelchair Basketball and supported by £1.5m of funding from Sport England, is a hugely…
5:53 PM 30th January 2021
Time To Hang Up The Gloves? Kell Brook
Laurence Gill
Sports Writer
What Next For Kell Brook? Last November, former IBF Welterweight World Champion and proud Sheffielder Kell Brook was knocked out in the 4th round by pound-for-pound superstar Terence Crawford in Las Vegas. This was Brook’s third loss in six fights, and this one his most damning. Many suspected that would be…
1:01 PM 14th January 2021
Formula 1 News
2021 has hardly started as we would all have wished it to and we face a challenging time ahead, but the sporting world still continues and various Formula 1 news stories are still emerging despite it currently being the close season. It looks increasingly likely that this year’s opening Grand Prix…
5:05 PM 7th January 2021
Lewis Hamilton Knighted
The 35 year old British Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton has been knighted in the New Year’s Honours list after winning a record equalling seventh Drivers’ title this season and becoming a very active campaigner in support of the BLM movement. His first F1 title was achieved back in 2008 with…
6:00 AM 31st December 2020
Sports Stars Back Longer School Day To Boost Games And Exercise
A plan to extend the school day by two hours to give pupils more time for physical exercise has been backed by some of the country’s leading sports stars. The move is intended to combat the obesity crisis and anti-social behaviour and, in the wake of the social damage done…
8:42 PM 27th December 2020
Hamilton Wins BBC Sports Personality Of The Year Award
Yesterday evening Formula 1 racing driver Lewis Hamilton received the BBC viewers’ award as its Sports Personality of the Year, just as Bill Bailey had won a similar public vote on Strictly Come Dancing 24 hours earlier. Hamilton has driven for the Mercedes team since 2013 and all bar one of…
1:48 PM 21st December 2020
F1 News From Mercedes, Red Bull And AlphaTauri
Graham Read
Formula 1 Correspondent
INEOS’ Monaco based Chairman and CEO Sir Jim Ratcliffe (left) and Mercedes part owner and Team Principal Toto Wolff (right)
There has been news today from the Mercedes Formula 1 team about its future ownership and on the driver front there has been confirmation from Red Bull of a change for next year, with AlphaTauri having made a similar announcement earlier this week. Mercedes’ former partner sponsor INEOS, a major chemicals…
5:08 PM 18th December 2020
Verstappen Imperious In Abu Dhabi Finale
Graham Read
Formula 1 Correspondent
Max Verstappen concluded his season with an impressive pole position and lights-to-flag victory
The big news before Formula 1’s season finale in Abu Dhabi today was that Lewis Hamilton was returning for Mercedes after suffering from COVID-19 and missing the previous race in Bahrain, but it was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who drove faultlessly to take the victory spoils come the chequered flag. The…
5:31 PM 13th December 2020
Unique Burrow Seven Fundraising Campaign Celebrates First Of Many Milestones
£50,000 donation is given to the MND Association. It is expected to be the first of many large donations the Burrow Seven team will make. In November of this year Rob Burrow and former teammate Barrie McDermott announced the launch of the Burrow Seven fundraising campaign. The unique initiative, unlike any…
11:00 AM 12th December 2020
Perez Wins As Mercedes Pit Blunders And Puncture Deny Russell
Graham Read
Formula 1 Correspondent
Sergio Perez was delighted to take his first ever win
After a dramatic week during which Lewis Hamilton had to self-isolate after testing positive for COVID-19 and an agreement was reached between the Mercedes and Williams teams for the highly popular 22 year old George Russell from King’s Lynn to cover his absence, we then witnessed an action packed first…
10:39 PM 6th December 2020
Russell To Replace Hamilton At Mercedes This Weekend
It has been announced today that the highly likeable 22 year old British Formula 1 driver George Russell will take over Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes car for the Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain this weekend after this year’s champion tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday and is needing to self-isolate. Russell,…
4:01 PM 2nd December 2020
Hamilton To Miss Sakhir Grand Prix After Testing Positive For COVID-19
Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton has tested positive for COVID-19 and will have to miss this weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion is now in isolation in Bahrain, but may be available for the season finale a week later in Abu Dhabi as the Bahraini isolation period…
10:56 AM 1st December 2020
Hamilton Victory Overshadowed By Horrific Grosjean Accident
Both the drivers and constructors championships had already been settled again in Mercedes’ favour for a seventh year running by the time the Formula 1 circus pitched camp in Bahrain this weekend for the first of two consecutive races before the finale in Abu Dhabi seven days later, but there…
6:55 PM 29th November 2020
International Swimming: London Roars Into Third Place Finish
This weekend saw the end of the International Swimming League 2020 season. With the four best teams going head to head in Budapest to claim the Championship title, it was the Cali Condors who were the ones to take home the trophy. Condor’s captain, Caeleb Dressel, leading his team to…
6:55 PM 23rd November 2020
Hamilton Equals Schumacher’s Title Record In Turkey
Graham Read
Formula 1 Correspondent
A seventh drivers title for Lewis Hamilton, with one for McLaren followed by six for the dominant Mercedes team
Lewis Hamilton claimed a seventh Formula 1 drivers title in Turkey today and equalled Michael Schumacher’s long-standing record, his all-conquering Mercedes team having won all bar two of this year’s Grands Prix and having sealed its seventh consecutive constructors title at the previous race in Italy. As the F1 circus set…
2:17 PM 15th November 2020
B. Braun Renew Support Of Paralympian Medalists
Sheffield-based B. Braun Medical Ltd has renewed their support of two world-class Paralympians set to make their mark at the Tokyo 2021 Paralympics. British athlete Karen Darke is a hand cyclist who won gold at the Rio 2016 Paralympics and took home two silver medals from the UCI Para-cycling Road World…
3:38 PM 12th November 2020
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