"I really hope she can stay injury free because the quality of tennis is unquestionable" - Novak Djokovic enjoys F1 as he offers glowing praise for Emma Raducanu

Novak Djokovic switched from the tennis court to racetrack as he watched the Formula One in Barcelona this weekend. While not in action, he still had his mind on tennis with the grass swing coming up as well as noting Emma Raducanu's progress this week.

Djokovic has been seldom seen on court in 2026. Aside from the incredible final run at the 2026 Australian Open, he was defeated in the fourth round of Indian Wells to Jack Draper. A second round exit at the Rome Open ended a period away from the court struggling with a shoulder injury. Roland Garros also proved to be frustrating with a third round loss to Joao Fonseca ending any hope of securing an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam for the time being.

He is not set to participate in any grass events in the build up to Wimbledon, focusing solely on the major event. This has opened up some free time, and he opted to make the trip to Catalonia to watch the F1 in the blistering Spanish heat.

He marvelled at the drivers who had to cope with these soaring temperatures while admiring their bravery and skill to drive the cars and even risk their life on a regular basis. "Oh yes, I am very familiar with these kinds of conditions," he said in an interview on Sky Sports.

"I wouldn't want to be in the car in this heat, but they are trained for this. They have many different races. They have to get challenged, they have to adapt. It's really admirable these guys putting at least from my perspective their life on the line when they are in the car even if they do not see it that way."

It proved to be a very entertaining race with Lewis Hamilton securing a long-awaited first win for Ferrari. Similar to Djokovic, Hamilton is also a veteran in his sport but able to compete with the best while the talented youngsters come through. Before the race, he was very excited to see it play out. "I am a big fan of sport, and it if going to be a great race today."

A seven-time champion, Djokovic has had a lot of success at SW19. This includes a run between 2018 and 2022 where he won four titles on the spin with the event in 2020 not being held. He has since relinquished this dominance to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz defeated him in both the 2023 and 2024 finals before Sinner took him down last time out in a supreme manner on the way to winning the title.

All attention is firmly on the third Grand Slam of the year with Djokovic fancying his chances. Similar to last year, he is not going to play in any events in the build up to the event, hoping to settle quickly on the grass as he preserves his body for another title charge.

"Yeah it's good. I am looking forward to it. I am looking forward to the grass, not as much running required as on clay," he laughed. This could be a positive thing with grass much less physical than clay.

He also has the added bonus of Alcaraz not being involved. Sinner will still pose a threat with the likes of Roland Garros champion Alexander Zverev heavily tipped, but the 39-year-old will fancy his chances of glory.

While Djokovic enjoyed the F1, another motorsport fan was battling it out for a title in London. Raducanu would go on to lose the Queen's Club Championships final 6-0, 7-6(6) against Donna Vekic as her wait to secure more WTA glory continues.

She is looking back to her best while putting on a show for the crowd at Queen's. This final run has got British fans hopeful again that Raducanu can find a rich vein of form heading into Wimbledon as she looks to once more challenge the top players again.

Djokovic was most certainly one that hopes the British number one can get back to her consistent best. "I've followed that, and wish her the best of luck," he commented. "She's a great person, a great girl. I really hope she can stay injury free because the quality of tennis is unquestionable for her. She is a Grand Slam champion, she has that inside. She has the British support behind her for Wimbledon, so hopefully she can have a great one."