Formula 1

Alfa Romeo driver Zhou Guanyu was involved in a massive accident during the first lap of the British Grand Prix on Sunday -- flipping his car and skidding before tumbling over the tire barrier -- but miraculously, he escaped without serious injury.

The crash happened moments into the race  ... when Alpha Tauri's Pierre Gasly tried to squeeze between Zhou and Mercedes' George Russell ... making contact with Russel, who then bumped into Zhou.

Russell spun out as a result of the incident ... and as soon as a red flag was declared, he jumped out of his car and ran over to Zhou to see if he could help.

23-year-old Zhou -- F1's first Chinese driver -- was removed from his car and stretchered off the scene ... and received an immediate medical evaluation.

Zhou tweeted a positive update on his status shortly after ... thanking the car's halo protective barrier for saving his life.

Williams' Alex Albon was also in a multiple-car accident after Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel hit him from the back. Alpha Tauri's Yuki Tsunoda and Alpine's Esteban Ocon were also involved, but were able to continue on in the race.

Albon was transferred to the medical center, but is okay. Ocon eventually had to retire his car due to a fuel pump issue.

The rest of the race was nothing short of exciting -- Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr. finished P1 for the first time in his career ... with Red Bull's Sergio Pérez and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes rounding out the rest of the podium.

Tom Cruise was present for the race ... chatting up Hamilton after the checkered flag.

Keanu Reeves' onscreen need for speed became a reality this weekend -- he's in England taking in the Grand Prix race ... and seems to have an allegiance for one team in particular.

The actor was out and about Saturday at the Silverstone Circuit, where F1's British Grand Prix is underway ... surfacing at none other than the Aston Martin garage, where KR was watching the team's lead driver, Sebastian Vettel, take the wheel and zip around the track.

Keanu, who tends to be pretty private, was hard to miss ... and didn't seem to be shying away from the attention. At one point, he was photographed with raceway earmuffs while hanging out with AM crew members and staff -- who welcomed the guy with open arms.

In fact, he was kinda posing with whoever wanted a picture -- rocking his signature long hair and scruffy beard. Plus, his usual all-black getups ... which he didn't seem to mind having exposed to the rain.

Some shots of him on the actual grid -- while it was drizzling -- are making the rounds ... and, sure enough, there's Keanu with a vest on getting a closer look at the action. His blurry face has nothing to do with a glitch in the simulation ... just water on the camera. 😅

Martin Brundle from Sky News even landed an interview with Keanu, who apparently was digging the day's events. Sounds like John Wick's a real-life gearhead who nerds out on this kind of stuff ... who knew?!?

Nelson Piquet not only used racist language toward Lewis Hamilton -- the 3-time Formula 1 champion also issued a homophobic phrase while discussing the Mercedes superstar in 2021 ... a newly resurfaced clip shows.

69-year-old Piquet was recently banned from the F1 paddock over his controversial comments about Hamilton in an interview with Motorsports Talk last year ... when he, according to a translation by CNN Brazil, referred to the 7-time champ as a "little n*****."

Piquet is now facing even more backlash for comments made in a separate interview from last November ... in which he used the same word to describe Lewis, while also dropping a homophobic phrase.

As we previously reported, Piquet -- whose daughter, Kelly, dates Max Verstappen -- clarified his initial controversial comment in a statement this week ... claiming the term is used in Brazilian Portuguese to say "guy" or "person" and he had no racist intent behind his words.

Max also backed Piquet ... admitting what he said was wrong, but claiming the racing legend is no racist.

The new clip will certainly cause a stir within the sport ... which has made a push in recent years to welcome fans and drivers from all different backgrounds.

In fact, Sebastian Vettel said in an interview earlier this month F1 would welcome its first openly gay driver ... and Mercedes debuted a rainbow "Pride Star" for the month of June to raise awareness for the LGBTQ+ community.

Lewis has yet to respond -- the drivers are currently in the middle of practice for the British Grand Prix this weekend -- but he will certainly address it when the time comes.

Max Verstappen is breaking his silence on Nelson Piquet's controversial comments about Lewis Hamilton ... saying the 3-time champion was wrong to use the language he did, but insisting his girlfriend's father is not a racist.

"Everyone is against racism, I think it's very straight," Max told reporters ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix.

"I think the wording that was used, even though, of course, we have different kind of cultures and things that were said when they were younger, is not correct."

As we previously reported, Piquet was discussing an accident between Hamilton and Verstappen at the 2021 British Grand Prix in an interview with Motorsports Talk ... when, according to a translation by CNN Brazil, he referred to Hamilton as a "little n*****."

Piquet has since apologized ... but adamantly denied any racial intent behind his comment, saying it was a term used in Brazilian Portuguese to mean "guy" or "person."

Max backs the man up ... saying he's known Nelson to be a good man.

"I've spent a bit of time with Nelson," said Max -- who's dating Piquet's daughter, Kelly. "And, he's definitely not a racist and he's actually a really nice and relaxed guy."

Verstappen says the backlash can be a lesson for all people to keep from using the word in question ... calling it "very offensive."

As for Nelson's ban from the F1 paddock ... Max is against the punishment.

"When you ban people, you are actually not helping the situation," Verstappen said.

Former Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone just gave an eyebrow-raising endorsement of Vladimir Putin ... calling the Russian president a "first-class person" and claiming he'd "take a bullet" for him.

The controversial comments came during Ecclestone's appearance on Good Morning Britain ... when the billionaire was asked if he still supports his friend amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"I'd still take a bullet for him," 91-year-old Ecclestone said Thursday. "I'd rather it didn’t hurt, but if it does I'd still take a bullet, because he’s a first-class person. What he’s doing is something that he believed was the right thing he was doing for Russia."

Pretty interesting take, considering many want to see Putin dead.

Ecclestone also went after Volodymyr Zelensky ... claiming the Ukrainian president should have done more on his end to prevent the war.

"The other person in Ukraine," Ecclestone added. "His profession, I understand, he used to be a comedian. And I think he seems as if he wants to continue that profession."

"I think if he'd have thought about things, he would have definitely made the big enough effort to speak to Mr. Putin, who is a sensible person and would have listened to him and could have probably done something about it."

F1 distanced itself from his comments shortly after the interview ... saying, "The comments made by Bernie Ecclestone are his personal views and are in very stark contrast to the position of the modern values of our sport."

Former Formula 1 champ Nelson Piquet is apologizing for the controversial comments he made about Lewis Hamilton in an interview last year ... but claims there was zero racial intent behind his words.

Piquet was discussing an accident between the Mercedes superstar and his daughter's boyfriend, Max Verstappen, after the 2021 Silverstone Grand Prix ... when, according to a translation by CNN Brazil, he referred to Hamilton as a "little n*****."

The 69-year-old says he would never use such a disgusting term ... claiming the translation was completely inaccurate.

"What I said was ill-thought-out, and I make no defense for it, but the term used has widely and historically been used colloquially in Brazilian Portuguese as a synonym for 'guy' or 'person' and was never intended to offend," Piquet said in a statement Wednesday morning.

"I would never use the word I have been accused of in some translations," he added. "I strongly condemn any suggestion word was used with aim of belittling a driver because of his skin color. I apologize wholeheartedly to anyone affected."

Piquet praises Lewis as an incredible driver and apologized for the hurt he caused ... saying, "Discrimination has no place in F1 or society and I am happy to clarify my thoughts in that respect."

Lewis has yet to respond to the apology ... but tweeted a call for change within the sport on Tuesday.

"It’s more than language," the 7-time champion said. "These archaic mindsets need to change and have no place in our sport. I’ve been surrounded by these attitudes and targeted my whole life. There has been plenty of time to learn. Time has come for action."

Juri Vips has just been fired by Red Bull Racing ... less than two weeks after the F2 driver was captured using a racial slur on a hot mic on a video game stream.

RBR just made the announcement, saying after completing its investigation into the junior driver, it decided to terminate Vips' contract.

"The team do not condone any form of racism," RBR said in their announcement Tuesday.

Red Bull Racing initially launched its probe into Vips last week ... after the 21-year-old used the n-word while playing "Call of Duty" on a live stream.

Vips did apologize following the incident ... saying in a statement on his social media page, "This language is entirely unacceptable and does not portray the values and principles that I hold. I deeply regret my actions and this is not the example I wish to set."

Lewis Hamilton is demanding change after former champion Nelson Piquet called him the n-word in an interview last year ... saying racism of any kind has no place in Formula 1.

Piquet -- a Brazilian F1 legend who won titles in 1981, 1983 and 1987 -- made the comments while discussing an accident in the first lap of the 2021 Silverstone Grand Prix ... when Hamilton made contact with Max Verstappen, leading the Red Bull driver to lose control and crash into the wall.

According to CNN Brazil, 69-year-old Piquet referred to Hamilton as a "little n*****" while speaking with Motorsports Talk ... adding, "The little black guy put the car in and left because there was no way to pass two cars on that corner."

"He made a joke," Piquet continued. "Lucky for him, only the other one [Verstappen] got f***** up."

FYI -- Piquet's daughter, Kelly, is in a relationship with Verstappen.

While the comment was made last year, it is just now gaining attention ... which led the Mercedes superstar to condemn the racist comment.

"It's more than language," Lewis tweeted minutes ago. "These archaic mindsets need to change and have no place in our sport. I've been surrounded by these attitudes and targeted my whole life."

"There has been plenty of time to learn. Time has come for action."

Hamilton, 37, also tweeted a response in Portuguese ... saying, "Vamos focar em mudar a mentalidade" ... which translates to "Let's focus on changing the mindset."

The F1 world is now showing support for Hamilton ... with the sport's governing body releasing a statement Tuesday morning.

"The FIA strongly condemns any racist or discriminatory language and behavior, which have no place in sport or wider society."

"We express our solidarity with Lewis Hamilton and fully support his commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion in motorsport."

F1 also addressed the comment ... saying, "Discriminatory or racist language is unacceptable in any form and has no part in society."

"Lewis is an incredible ambassador for our sport and deserves respect. His tireless efforts to increase diversity and inclusion are a lesson to many and something we are committed to at F1."

Hamilton -- the only black driver to compete in F1 -- has been at the forefront of change in the sport ... and led the organization's anti-racism campaign following George Floyd's death in 2020.

Lewis Hamilton isn't just a killer on the track -- the Formula 1 superstar clearly knows his way around the water, too ... showing off his incredible moves during a surf session in Malibu this week.

Of course, Lewis is all about getting his adrenaline rush when he's not behind the wheel -- he recently went skydiving in a pretty terrifying video.

But, things were a bit more chill during the Mercedes driver's off-week before Silverstone ... throwing on his wetsuit and catching some waves in California.

The guy clearly knows what he's doing ... propping himself up on the board and maintaining his balance throughout the run (no porpoising here, thankfully).

Sir Lewis also had some fun on a different type of board as well ... longboarding through the streets before getting his beloved doggo, Roscoe, in on the fun.

It's been a challenging start to the 2022 campaign for the 7-time champ -- he's currently 6th in the standings with only two podiums -- but he looks more than happy during his time away from the track.

Red Bull Racing has suspended junior driver Juri Vips after the 21-year-old used the n-word this week while playing "Call of Duty" on a live stream.

The driver -- who's racing in Formula 2 this year -- was gaming on Twitch with another driver when microphones caught him abruptly using the racial slur.

On Tuesday, Red Bull Racing announced its suspended Vips "from all team duties" over the language ... saying an investigation is ongoing.

"As an organization, we condemn abuse of any kind," the Red Bull Racing team said in a statement, "and have a zero-tolerance policy to racist language or behaviors within our organization.”

Vips released an apology on his Instagram page shortly after the suspension was announced -- saying what he did was "unacceptable."

"I wish to unreservedly apologize for the offensive language used during a live gaming stream earlier today," Vips said.

"This language is entirely unacceptable and does not portray the values and principles that I hold. I deeply regret my actions and this is not the example I wish to set."

The Estonian driver -- who won the 2017 ADAC Formula championship -- had been sitting 7th in the Formula 2 standings this season.

F1 star Sergio Pérez is owning up to the videos of him partying with women after winning Monaco on Sunday ... saying the clips do not represent his character -- and claiming his relationship with his wife is stronger than ever.

Footage of Checo's celebration started making rounds on the internet after the huge victory ... showing the Red Bull driver dancing and putting his hands around women who are not his wife, Carola.

32-year-old Pérez is now addressing the vids ... taking full responsibility for his actions.

"It was a bad party that I did not know how to control myself," the Mexican driver said on Instagram. "But it was just that, a bad party."

"The people close to me know my values and the type of person that I am."

Pérez is adamant there are no issues with his wife -- who just gave birth to their third child, Emilio, last month -- saying they are "more united than ever."

"And for those that just want to cause us harm, I wish you better."

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are taking their talents to infinity and beyond -- the Formula 1 stars have voiceover gigs in Disney's new "Lightyear" movie!!

The Scuderia Ferrari drivers teamed up with the Mouse for cameos in the Buzz Lightyear origin story ... with Charles slated to be featured in the Italian version of the flick, and Carlos joining the Spanish version.

Unclear what role they have in the movie ... but Ferrari said in an announcement they are playing the same character.

The duo appeared in promos for the project ... with Leclerc saying this was his first time getting in the booth.

"It was a completely different experience from what I have done in the past," Leclerc said Wednesday.

Leclerc says the partnership is a perfect fit -- he says he has a lot of similarities with the "Toy Story" spaceman ... pointing out they both love to go fast and have supportive families and teams behind them.

This isn't the first Formula 1/Disney crossover -- Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher have had guest spots in the "Cars" franchise.

4-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel reportedly had to put his speed to the test after the Spanish Grand Prix ... chasing after a group of thieves who made off with his bag.

Vettel -- who finished P11 on Sunday -- was reportedly exiting his Aston Martin in Barcelona on Monday when the robbers grabbed his backpack and made a run for it.

Apparently, Vettel wasn't going down without a fight -- because according to local reports, he hopped on a scooter and used the GPS tracking on his AirPods to hunt down his bag.

Unfortunately for Vettel, the thieves must've planned ahead ... because once he made it to his headphones, they were not with his bag.

A rep for AM spoke about the incident ... saying, "A bag belonging to Sebastian Vettel was stolen in Barcelona this morning; he tried to find it by using his iPhone to track his earphones which were in his bag; but when he located his earphones he found them abandoned and was therefore unable to locate his stolen bag."

Sorry NASCAR and IndyCar fans -- Daniel Ricciardo says he's already got his plans lined up after he retires from Formula 1 ... and it doesn't include racing in the U.S.

TMZ Sports spoke with the McLaren driver out in West Hollywood this week ... and asked if he'd ever take his talents to the States full-time when he's all done tearing it up in F1.

Of course, Daniel is only 32 ... and Sebastian Vettel (34), Lewis Hamilton (37), and Fernando Alonso (40) are all still doing their thing on the track this year.

But, Ricciardo got people talking recently ... when he jokingly said he was delaying his retirement after F1 announced the Las Vegas Grand Prix would debut in 2023.

The guy was clearly just having a laugh, but it put the thought into fans' heads that maybe he was considering hanging up the helmet soon.

While Ricciardo says he's a huge fan NASCAR and American racing, he says he intends to enjoy his time away from behind the wheel.

F1 superstar Daniel Ricciardo is giving the Miami Grand Prix two thumbs up -- telling TMZ Sports he had an absolute blast in Florida over the weekend ... especially because he got to hang out with his bestie, Josh Allen!!

Of course, the biggest stars on the planet were in town for the inaugural race ... from David Beckham to Tom Brady and Michael Jordan.

Ricciardo says it was an awesome experience having so many celebs stop by ... telling us, "It was cool, it was pretty nuts, actually. It was pretty wild."

But, there was one VIP that had Daniel super pumped ... and that's the Buffalo Bills quarterback, who was a special guest for McLaren.

In case you didn't know, Ricciardo and Allen have randomly become really close over the years ... with Daniel -- a hardcore Bills fan -- instantly clicking with the signal-caller after meeting in Monaco in 2019.

We spoke with Ricciardo about hanging with #17 ... and you can tell by the look on his face, he's still giddy over the bro sesh.

As for the race, Ricciardo finished 13th ... but he definitely still enjoyed himself.

Ricciardo also talked about the hit Netflix series, "Drive To Survive" getting picked up for two more seasons ... and he says he's not sick of the cameras hanging around him just yet.

F1 driver Valtteri Bottas was one with nature during his trip to Aspen, Colorado ... getting buck nekkid and laying out in a creek!!

The Alfa Romeo star took a trip to the Centennial State after finishing 7th at the Miami Grand Prix over the weekend ... and didn't shy away from showing off his posterior on Instagram.

Now, it's not a new sight for fans of Netflix's "Drive to Survive" -- the Finnish driver takes it ALL off while sitting in the sauna during the show ... so really, this is just another day for Bottas' backers.

F1 drivers have a bit of downtime before taking the track in Barcelona ... so it's nice to see VB checking out the States a bit.