New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\nElsewhere, Valtteri Bottas has had a run-in with the FBI at the Miami Grand Prix as part of a theft investigation, while F1\u2019s return in Canada this weekend could be affected by a strike targeting one industry\u2019s most lucrative weekend of the year.<\/p>\n
RENAULT PICKS MERCEDES AS PREFERRED ALPINE BIDDER, MCLAREN DOUBLES DOWN ON OBJECTION<\/p>\n
The Mercedes F1 team is Renault\u2019s preferred bidder for the 24 per cent stake in its Alpine squad despite McLaren CEO Zak Brown upping the ante on his campaign to have multiple team ownership outlawed in Formula 1.<\/p>\n
US investment vehicle Otro Capital is looking to offload its 24 per cent share in the team this year after buying the stake in 2023. The deal valued Alpine at approximately $1.36 billion at the time, but Formula 1 team valuations have skyrocketed since then.<\/p>\n
The Mercedes team \u2014 owned in equal parts by the Mercedes Group, British chemicals company Ineos and Toto Wolff\u2019s Motorsport Investment business \u2014 is one at least two bidders, with the other publicly known contender for the share being an investment group spearheaded by ousted Red Bull Racing principal Christian Horner.<\/p>\n
Horner had initially been thought of as a frontrunner, with the former boss motivated to return to Formula 1 after his shock 2025 sacking, but Mercedes subsequently emerged as a competitive rival, and Racer has now reported that it is Alpine\u2019s preferred buyer.<\/p>\n
Reports suggest Alpine must approve a buyer if the transaction is completed before September this year.<\/p>\n
The news preceded the revelation that McLaren chief Brown had written a six-page letter to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem arguing that Formula 1 should outlaw multiple teams being owned or part-owned by the same entity.<\/p>\n
Though the letter does not name any particular teams or organisations, Brown has spoken out against both Red Bull\u2019s ownership of Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls as well as the prospect of Mercedes buying a stake in Alpine.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to eliminate any further alliances, whether through ownership, strategic participation or any other equivalent form of control or influence, and we need to work together quickly to start the process of unwinding those already established to ensure that the future integrity of the sport is not compromised,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the work that the FIA and Liberty have done to create 11 healthy teams, in a cost-controlled environment, has created the most competitive era of Formula 1 ever.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that, by addressing this remaining structural issue, Formula 1 will be set on an even stronger course, will continue to thrive and be the best the sport has ever been, we just need to make sure we bring total parity and integrity to the sport in every aspect. I am confident we can achieve that together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben Sulayem appeared to give tentative support to Brown\u2019s objections earlier this month, saying that the FIA was looking into the \u201ccomplicated area\u201d.<\/p>\n
Jorge Martin FUMING after crashing out | 00:13<\/p>\n
BOTTAS IN FBI INVESTIGATION OVER STOLEN CAR<\/p>\n
Valtteri Bottas has revealed the FBI is investigating the theft of his hire car at the Miami Grand Prix earlier this month.<\/p>\n
Bottas had his Cadillac Escalade hire car stolen from the driveway of his short-stay rental in Fort Lauderdale after returning on Friday night, having qualified 20th for the Miami sprint.<\/p>\n
The Finn told his What\u2019s Next? podcast that it wasn\u2019t until Saturday morning that he realised it was gone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wake up Saturday morning. I was in the shower about 15 minutes before leaving for the track, and then Paul Harris, who stayed also in the Airbnb next door in the room, is calling me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Hello, why are you calling me up, I\u2019m next door?\u2019 He was like, \u2018Oh, I was asking: where did you go?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018What do you mean?\u2019 \u2018Well, the car is gone.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it. I went outside, opened the door. The Escalade has vanished. Keys are still inside on the table, I can see them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The drama didn\u2019t end for Bottas there, however, who realised later that his credentials were in the stolen car.<\/p>\n
\u201cLuckily they sent another Escalade that took us to the track, and then I was like, \u2018Oh, my paddock pass was in the car.\u2019 I didn\u2019t have a paddock pass.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said, however, that there was no sign that the thief had used the credentials and car stickers to access the grand prix.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had all the opportunities for that day \u2014 get the VIP parking, walk to the paddock, sign in, go to the team \u2014 but no, the next day the car was found dumped already somewhere in a dodgy area, in a high-crime area.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe police and FBI got involved just because of this reason \u2014 we had the parking pass, so somebody could have driven the car to the track, they had my pass. But they obviously weren\u2019t interested in the F1 race.<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently they probably just did a crime with the car and dumped it, so in my mind it must have been a getaway car or something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Formula 1 deactivated Bottas\u2019s passes when it was notified of the theft, and a statement from Fort Lauderdale police to the Athletic denied the FBI was still involved in the investigation, which is ongoing.<\/p>\n
Bottas said he subsequently had a security stationed outside his accommodation for the rest of the weekend, adding that his neighbours were given gifts as an apology for the disruption.<\/p>\n
Marquez hospitalised after horror crash | 01:15<\/p>\n
MONTREAL STRIPPERS TO STRIKE ON GRAND PRIX WEEKEND<\/p>\n
The Montreal strippers association is calling for a strike during this weekend\u2019s Canadian Grand Prix as it argues for workers rights and improved conditions.<\/p>\n
The Sex Work Autonomous Committee says it has deliberately timed its proposed industrial with the race because it is when \u201cclubs are at their busiest, making it the most lucrative period of the year\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must disrupt these exploitative labour practices where our management employs them the heaviest, and profits from them the most,\u201d the committee said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The strike is laid down for Saturday 23 May, the day of the sprint race and grand prix qualifying.<\/p>\n
The committee is arguing for regulatory changes that would have sex workers considered as ordinary employees rather than self-employed, which it says would force bars and clubs to provide safe and healthy working environments and end discrimination in hiring.<\/p>\n
In particular it wants to see the abolition of bar fees that force dancers to pay clubs to perform before they can earn money, a practice it says penalises workers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reality is that we\u2019re clearly trapped in an employer\/employee power dynamic, and the bar fee model benefits only the bosses,\u201d its statement continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have every incentive to bring in as many dancers as possible each night to maximise their profits. As for our safety, our employers show very little concern and leave us to handle it on our own.\u201d<\/p>\n
The committee is also calling for the full decriminalisation of sex work in Canada.<\/p>\n
Montreal has hosted the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve since 1978. It recorded the biggest attendance in its history last year, when it reported a crowd of 352,000 people over three days.<\/p>\n
George Russell won the race from pole position ahead of Max Verstappen and first-time podium-getter Andrea Kimi Antonelli.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With only one grand prix in the last seven weekends, Formula 1 has had plenty of time to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18237,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13063],"tags":[3445,13775,356,13815,13777,13830,13789,514,13808,13799,13797,13813,13782,13802,13800,13805,13818,84,13795,13816,13781,13821,13788,13803,13828,13822,13787,13798,13806,13820,13783,13810,6554,13780,6529,13792,13827,13817,13811,1540,13796,13809,13779,13790,13794,13825,13786,13819,13801,1154,13776,13778,12198,11213,13793,13826,13791,13785,13829,13812,13823,13784,13804,13807,1633,13814,13824],"class_list":["post-18236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-renault","tag-america","tag-andrea-kimi-antonelli","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-bar-fee","tag-box-seat","tag-british-chemicals-company","tag-canada","tag-car-stickers","tag-car-theft-investigation","tag-christian-horner","tag-competitive-rival","tag-employer-employee-power-dynamic","tag-employers-show","tag-end-discrimination","tag-equivalent-form","tag-exploitative-labour-practices","tag-florida","tag-force-dancers","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-george-russell","tag-getaway-car","tag-grand-prix","tag-grand-prix-qualifying","tag-grand-prix-weekend","tag-horror-crashalex","tag-ineos-plc","tag-investment-group","tag-investment-vehicle","tag-italian-wonderkid","tag-jake-nowakowski","tag-max-verstappen","tag-melbourne","tag-mercedes-group","tag-miami","tag-mohammed-ben-sulayem","tag-montreal-strippers","tag-multiple-team-ownership","tag-multiple-teams","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-oceania","tag-off-track-business","tag-ordinary-employees","tag-paddock-pass","tag-paul-harris","tag-penalises-workers","tag-picks-mercedes","tag-preferred-bidder","tag-press-conference","tag-race-victory","tag-raul-fernandez","tag-renault","tag-sex-work","tag-sex-work-autonomous-committee","tag-short-stay-rental","tag-six-page-letter","tag-sprint-race","tag-strippers-association","tag-team-valuations","tag-tentative-support","tag-theft-investigation","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-ups-case","tag-victoria","tag-workers-rights","tag-zak-brown"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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