Lando Norris backs Max Verstappen to stay in F1 after drivers win rule changes
Lando Norris has said he believes Max Verstappen will continue to race in Formula One but that it would be “a miss” for the sport if the four-time world champion did decide to leave owing to his dissatisfaction with the way this season’s new regulations have affected how drivers race.Verstappen has been outspoken in his dislike of the new regulations and their focus on electrical energy management that now makes up almost 50% of the car’s power output.He has intimated he might leave the sport but, with the rules having been adjusted by the FIA in an effort to address concerns of all drivers this week, Norris felt the Dutchman would remain in F1.“Hopefully things get better and I just saw that he said he wants to win the fifth world championship at the minute, so I’m sure he’ll stay longer than people say,” Norris said.The McLaren driver, who is the defending world champion, noted, however, that it would very much be F1’s loss if Verstappen left because he was disenchanted.
“It would be a shame for the sport, it would be a miss for the sport if that does happen because he probably is one of the best drivers you’ll see in Formula One ever,” he said.“It would be a shame for us because as much as he makes our lives incredibly tough at times, he’s always good fun to race against and it’s always cool to race against someone that’s won four world championships.You always feel like you want to race against the best in the world and he certainly is one of them, so it would be a loss for the sport.”On Monday F1 announced the changes to the regulations, which will come into force at the next round in Miami on 3 May.The adjustments focus on the parameters of the energy recovery management during qualifying and racing.
Both Norris and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri expressed cautious optimism that the adjustments would indeed lead to a better experience behind the wheel.“The two main things we [drivers] wanted addressing was reinstating the challenge in qualifying and making things more natural in the way it should be in qualifying and being able to reduce the closing speeds and the speed differences in the race in unexpected places,” said Piastri.“The FIA took it very seriously.F1 took it very seriously.I think that’s reflected in some of the changes and the dialogue’s been very good.
We’ll have to wait and see if we need further changes,We probably had ideas of other things that you could change but they’re not things you can change from one weekend to the next,They’re from year to year or even longer term than that,“I think the FIA did a good job of recognising our concerns and acting in what seemed like the most appropriate way,”Norris was happy responding to all enquiries on Verstappen and the regulations after last week, during an interview by the Guardian’s Donald McRae, the driver’s personal management team stated he would not answer questions relating to the new regulations or his rival drivers Verstappen and George Russell.
Norris was apologetic at the stance of his management at the time and said he was happy to answer the questions but the interview was brought to a halt by his managerial team,On Wednesday Norris was speaking at an event at his team’s HQ, the McLaren technology centre in Woking and embraced all questions, as is always the case when he is with McLaren and the driver continues to enjoy a friendly, open relationship with the media,
Tesla reports mixed financial results as Musk pivots automaker to AI and robots
Tesla reported its first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, disclosing some better-than-expected results but faltering in some key areas. The report failed to significantly buoy Tesla’s stock, which has limped along this year while its CEO, Elon Musk, has tried to sell the company’s new vision of humanoid robots and self-driving robotaxis. Its core car business has struggled in the face of competition from Chinese counterparts and backlash against his close involvement with the Trump administration.“There remains significant effort and hard work to realize our mission of Amazing Abundance,” Tesla said in its report, while claiming that demand for its vehicles was rebounding.Tesla revealed earnings of 41 cents a share on Wednesday after market close, more than the 37 cents per share that Wall Street expected
What is Mythos AI and why could it be a threat to global cybersecurity?
Anthropic has ruled out releasing its latest AI model, Claude Mythos, to the public because of the threat it poses to global cybersecurity.However, the US tech startup behind the Claude chatbot confirmed on Wednesday it was investigating a report that a group of people had gained unauthorised access to Mythos. The alleged incident has raised concerns over the pace of development and the ability of tech companies to keep their riskiest products out of the public domain. Here, we examine Mythos and its potential impact.Mythos is an AI model – the underlying technology that powers tools such as chatbots – that, according to Anthropic, represents a serious potential threat to any organisation’s cybersecurity
‘Get back to work’: Amazon faces fresh scrutiny over workplace safety record
Amazon, one of the world’s largest employers, has for years faced scrutiny over its safety record. When Billy Foister, a 48-year-old worker, died after a heart attack inside one of the tech giant’s warehouses in September 2019, managers were accused of telling staff to “get back to work”.When another worker died this month at a distribution center in Troutdale, Oregon, an Amazon spokesperson claimed they had collapsed from an “existing medical issue”. They denied a report that a nearby employee was told: “Please get back to work.”As Donald Trump’s administration continues to overhaul federal government oversight of workplace safety, workers inside Amazon and labor advocates say the company’s injury rates, and how it treats injured workers, remain a problem
Anthropic investigates report of rogue access to hack-enabling Mythos AI
The AI developer Anthropic has confirmed it is investigating a report that unauthorised users have gained access to its Mythos model, which it has warned poses risks to cybersecurity.The US startup made the statement after Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that a small group of people had accessed the model, which has not been released to the public because of its ability to enable cyber-attacks.“We’re investigating a report claiming unauthorised access to Claude Mythos Preview through one of our third-party vendor environments,” said Anthropic.Bloomberg said a “handful” of users in a private online forum gained access to Mythos on the same day Anthropic said it was being released to a small number of companies including Apple and Goldman Sachs for testing purposes.It reported that the unnamed users got to Mythos through access that one of them had as a worker at a third-party contractor for Anthropic and by deploying methods used by cybersecurity researchers
AI hallucinations found in high-profile Wall Street law firm filing
The elite Wall Street law firm Sullivan & Cromwell has told a court that a major filing it made in a high-profile case contained errors resulting from hallucinations generated by artificial intelligence.Andrew Dietderich, the co-head of the firm’s global restructuring group, apologised in a letter to the New York federal judge Martin Glenn on Saturday for the string of mistakes, which included inaccurate citations.The errors, uncovered by the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner (BSF), which was also working on the case, included misquoting the US bankruptcy code and citing cases incorrectly in a filing made on 9 April.In multiple instances, S&C, which employs more than 900 lawyers and has one of the top reputations for corporate work in the US, filed inaccurately summarised conclusions made in other cases using AI.“We deeply regret that this has occurred,” said Dietderich in the letter
‘An element of exploitation’: the world of TikTok child skincare influencers
In a TikTok video a young girl – her age anywhere between 10 and 15 – sits unboxing package after package of products she says were sent to her by skincare brands. She calls it a “PR haul”.In another video, a 16-year-old opens a box of products she received from a well known brand. She says: “I know I have younger people watching,” before reading out a note from the brand that says: “Can’t wait for you to share your thoughts.”This is the rapidly growing world of children’s skincare, in which online influencers as young as 13 accept free products from brands and promote them to their followers
UK consumer confidence falls as people get ‘the jitters’; BP’s new chair suffers investor revolt – business live
American Airlines says soaring price of jet fuel will cost it $4bn this year
Private health records of half a million Britons offered for sale on Chinese website
Some Interrail travellers told to cancel passports as hacked data posted online
Sportradar’s share price falls after reports claim it had links to hundreds of illegal gambling sites
‘Worth a thousand words’: Trump photo obscuring women’s tennis team sparks backlash