F1 News

Mercedes have begun examining how the designs of their two leading rivals work in order to turn around their poor start to the 2023 season.

Williams team principal James Vowles says he overlooked Logan Sargeant's potential earlier in his career, after impressing the team on his Formula 1 debut.

Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko has confirmed that junior driver Liam Lawson will be used should either Sergio Pérez or Max Verstappen ever be unavailable, meaning Daniel Ricciardo is unlikely to feature at all this season.

Ricciardo’s return to Red Bull as a development driver for 2023 raised a lot of eyebrows, with many viewing it as a step backwards in the Aussie’s career.

The move was ultimately completed due to the former McLaren driver wanting to spend his one-year sabbatical in a familiar environment, with Red Bull having been keen to use Ricciardo in various marketing campaigns.

What his actual role is, though, is a continued question, with AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost having admitted that Ricciardo wouldn’t be used should either of his drivers be unable to compete.

READ: Martin Brundle admits he was happy to see Max Verstappen start from P15

“Theoretically we could,” Tost said.

“But I would prefer not to see it happen. There are young drivers like (Liam) Lawson, like Dennis Hauger. I think we would focus mainly on young drivers.”

Lawson is seemingly Red Bull’s official reserve driver, at least when he’s not competing in Super Formula.

Red Bull have put Lawson in the Japanese single-seater championship this season due to it being a closer comparison to F1 than Formula 2, highlighting just how important the young driver is to Red Bull’s F1 future.

“Super Formula is closer to F1 than Formula 2,” Marko said, “and people are aware of that fact.”

The topic over who is Red Bull’s actual reserve driver was brought up ahead of last weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen’s participation having initially been in doubt following a stomach bug.

“At the beginning of the week he had a relatively high fever and it was unclear whether he would be fit,” Marko told Sky Deutschland.

“It got better from day to day but he was sweating to a degree that he normally doesn’t.

“He certainly wasn’t 100 percent fit.”

Ex-#F1 champion claims Alpine will ‘suffer a big loss’ from Fernando #Alonso https://t.co/GN5VD0tnwq

— Formula1News.co.uk (@Formula1newsUK) March 21, 2023

READ: Frederic Vasseur hits out at Ferrari rumours

Verstappen, of course, was okay to compete come Friday, with the Dutchman having been granted permission to miss his Thursday media duties so that he could have an extra day to get over his illness.

Marko was still asked, though, who would’ve replaced Verstappen had he been unfit.

“Liam Lawson, our Formula 2 driver and our Super Formula man in Japan, who was here,” revealed Marko.

The post Helmut Marko hands Daniel Ricciardo fatal blow amid Max Verstappen illness appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

The two-time Dakar Bikes class winner posted a teaser on Instagram this morning that showed him chasing a Red Bull Formula 1 car on dirt roads in what looks to be a Red Bull video shoot.
Price was on four wheels for the shoot, behind the wheel of his Finke Desert Race-winning Mitsubishi-skinned Trophy Truck.
The F1 car was one of the Red Bull RB7s that spent time in Australia earlier this ...Keep reading

In the round-up: Alfa Romeo admit they "struggled more than expected" in Jeddah • Ex-Schumacher 2000 Ferrari goes on sale • Ferrari hybrid F1 engine to be displayed

At the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, it was only bad luck that prevented Sergio Perez from taking victory in the Middle East.

The Mexican took pole position and comfortably led the first stint of the race but unfortunately for Perez, a poorly timed safety car allowed his rivals who were on different strategies to leapfrog him, leaving him in P4.

During this year’s iteration of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Perez once again took pole position and after a short battle with Fernando Alonso, built up a healthy lead at the front.

A safety car caused by Lance Stroll’s retirement did not hinder the Mexican this time and he went on to win the race, ahead of his teammate Max Verstappen who recovered from his P15 start spectacularly.

READ: Sebastian Vettel becomes lead investor in performance drink brand

Verstappen was told not to worry about the fastest lap towards the end of the race, which was held by Perez at the time, but the Dutchman decided to disobey his team.

The 25-year-old set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap to snatch the extra championship point away from Perez.

Following the race, Perez posted a tweet about his victory, perhaps suggesting that he was unhappy with his teammate.

“It was tougher than I thought, but in the end I’m very happy to get my fifth victory in F1. Very happy with the result of the team. We are going to keep pushing very hard, I want to be champion,” he tweeted.

Toto #Wolff reveals new signing will ‘take over’ some of James Vowles’ responsibilities https://t.co/cS3NQunyXr

— Formula1News.co.uk (@Formula1newsUK) March 20, 2023

READ: Michael Schumacher would’ve prevented Mick’s Haas mistreatment

Perez quickly deleted this tweet and reposted it without the line: “I want to be champion,” which was perhaps a dig at Verstappen following the controversial end to the race.

Heading into the 2023 season, Perez was very vocal about the fact that he wanted to battle his teammate for the championship this year.

With Red Bull looking to be a level above their rivals this season, the title battle may only be between Perez and Verstappen, meaning that the Mexican has a genuine chance to win the championship should he be able to get the better of his teammate.

The post Sergio Perez deletes tweet amid Max Verstappen tensions appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack is refusing to get involved in “any war of words” with Red Bull, as the Austrians continue to accuse the Silverstone-based team of copying their 2022 design.

Both during the season-opener in Bahrain and ahead of last weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Red Bull senior figures continued to question the design of Aston Martin’s AMR23, with Sergio Pérez having stated during the Bahrain post-race press conference that there were “three Red Bulls” on the podium.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner added to the Mexican’s comments by admitting that “imitation is the biggest form of flattery”, whilst advisor Dr Helmut Marko took aim at former head of aerodynamics Dan Fallows, who is now Aston Martin’s technical director.

“It’s true, what Fallows had in his head cannot be erased,” Marko told Servus TV.

READ: Toto Wolff opens up on Lewis Hamilton’s decision to stop working with Angela Cullen

“Copying the focus is not prohibited, but can you copy in such detail without having documentation of our car?”

Since making his comments, Marko has backtracked on what he said by suggesting that it’s all just a joke; however, Krack is making sure he keeps his distance from any potential mind games with the reigning world champions.

“We always decided we will not go into any war of words,” responded Krack.

Further comments will likely be made after Fernando Alonso claimed another podium on Sunday at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

The Spaniard claimed a comfortable third place, after not having the pace to challenge either Pérez or Max Verstappen, who fought his way through the field from 15th.

With that in mind, Krack is certain that Red Bull still have a “substantial” advantage over his side despite the comments being made by the Austrians.

Sebastian #Vettel becomes lead investor in performance drink brand https://t.co/aGi0ryaCOK

— Formula1News.co.uk (@Formula1newsUK) March 20, 2023

READ: Michael Schumacher would’ve prevented Mick’s Haas mistreatment

“I think the gap is still substantial, we don’t know how much management that Red Bull had to do and did.

“I think it was quite comfortable for them to just get the mandatory tyres through and cruise the race to the end. So I think we have now one good result, we have improved our car.

“But we are fighting here with teams that are used to drive on the front, they are very used to high-intensity development. So I think let’s be respectful and humble, and see how it continues.”

The post Aston Martin break silence on Red Bull accusations appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Tensions between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are seemingly on the rise, after Mercedes claimed fourth and fifth at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Sunday’s Saudi Arabian GP was considerably better for Mercedes than the season-opener in Bahrain, with the Brackley-based team having come close to having the second fastest car on the grid.

After starting third, Russell did well to finish fourth at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, whilst Hamilton finished right behind in fifth.

The result could’ve perhaps been better for the Silver Arrows, though, with Hamilton having been on the best tyre after a mid-race Safety Car.

READ: Will Buxton criticises FIA after 2023 Saudi Arabian GP

Hamilton was the only driver in the top 10 to start on the hard compound, something which ensured he was on a softer compound than everybody else in the second half of the race.

As a result, he was able to overtake Carlos Sainz with ease, before quickly getting right onto the gearbox of his team-mate.

At the time of getting onto the rear of Russell, Fernando Alonso was around two-seconds ahead in third, a gap which Hamilton seemingly had the pace to close.

It was evident at the time that Hamilton was faster, given that he was on considerably better tyres; however, no message came from Mercedes to allow Hamilton to overtake Russell.

Given that the duo were on completely different strategies, Mercedes could’ve comfortably switched them back had Hamilton not been able to overtake Alonso for third, suggesting that the Germans possibly lost a great podium opportunity.

Russell instead opted to increase his pace, something which saw Hamilton remain behind the 25-year-old.

Russell was briefly promoted to third after the race due to a penalty for Alonso, only for the Spaniard to be reinstated to third several hours after the conclusion of the Grand Prix.

It did mean, though, that the post-race interviews occurred whilst Russell was classed as a podium finisher, something caused an interesting moment.

Hamilton was told that he must be happy about Russell finishing on the podium, to which he replied: “That’s got nothing to do with me, but it’s good for the team, sure.”

Perhaps Hamilton feels that a podium was possible for him; however, he did praise his team-mate after the race before the rostrum was taken from the former Williams driver.

“We got some great points as a team,” said Hamilton in the media pen after the race.

“George got third, which is amazing. I went forwards, which is always the hope, to at least go forwards, one foot in front of the other.

“So I’m really grateful to have come from seventh to fifth. Strategy just didn’t really work out for me. Set-up was a bit off. I think if I had the set-up that George had I would have been in a bit of a better position. Lots to work on but there are positives to take from it.”

The 38-year-old went on to reveal that himself and Russell used a different set-up during the race, but that on this occasion he had the wrong one.

Michael #Schumacher would’ve prevented Mick’s Haas mistreatment https://t.co/CaBfGPYAyC

— Formula1News.co.uk (@Formula1newsUK) March 20, 2023

READ: Felipe Massa makes massive Max Verstappen claim that will alarm Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton bizarrely took another shot at Russell, though, after stating that it’s typically the young Mercedes driver who chooses “the wrong one”.

“We work on that. There was like a 50-50 choice. I chose one way and he chose another,” Hamilton said.

“More often than not, the way [Russell] went is the wrong one. But it just happened to work. So I could only match his pace than be quicker this weekend. But I’ll work hard to make sure we are in a better place next time.”

The post Lewis Hamilton gives blunt reply when asked about George Russell’s ‘podium’ appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur understands why Charles Leclerc was furious with his race engineer, after the Monegasque was told vital information too late, costing him a place to Lewis Hamilton.

The Maranello-based team were incredibly unfortunate at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, after they pitted both Carlos Sainz and Leclerc moments before the race’s only Safety Car.

As a result, both Sainz and Leclerc lost several places; however, a lot of the damage could have been prevented.

Leclerc would’ve remained ahead of Hamilton had he been told to “push from Safety Car line one”, before reaching Safety Car line one.

READ: Developer of viral app admits they could face Formula 1 lawsuit

What followed was an understandable outburst from Leclerc to his race engineer, given that it cost Leclerc a position in the race that he never got back.

“Try to push from Safety Car line one. Hamilton just pitted,” Leclerc was told by his race engineer.

“Xavi, you need to tell me that before!” Leclerc shouted.

“Copy,” the race engineer replied.

“No, but come on!” continued a furious Leclerc.

Vasseur admitted after the race that it wasn’t “a good call” by Leclerc’s race engineer but that it’d be a “mistake” to “focus on it”, with the Frenchman instead wanting to prioritise a more pressing matter.

“Yes, it was not a good call,” Vasseur told the media after the race.

“It is like it is. It’s not the main issue and I think it would be a mistake from our side to focus on [it]. 

“I don’t want to say it’s details. It was a miscommunication and we will have to speak, to fix it. It’s not the main issue at all over the weekend.”

Ferrari’s pace in the second half of the race was absolutely shocking, with the Italians having had no response to Aston Martin or Mercedes whilst on the hard compound tyre.

Vasseur wants the team to “understand the lack of performance”, with considerable work clearly needing to be done by the Maranello-based outfit.

Toto #Wolff reveals new signing will ‘take over’ some of James Vowles’ responsibilities https://t.co/cS3NQunyXr

— Formula1News.co.uk (@Formula1newsUK) March 20, 2023

READ: Eddie Jordan demands rule change after Esteban Ocon nightmare

“The most difficult thing in my business after a race like this is to understand what is going well and what is not,” Vasseur added.

“We have positive points, but we need a step on the reliability. Even the first stint of the race we can be happy with, but the race was based on the last stint and clearly we did not have the pace. 

“In the tyre management we were a bit conservative, but it’s only a matter of one or two tenths. Nothing to do with the gap we had today. We need to understand the lack of performance and it’s not the tyre management.”

The post Frederic Vasseur understands Charles Leclerc’s anger after typical Ferrari blunder appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

2016 Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg has warned George Russell not to “get too comfortable” after beating Lewis Hamilton at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with the German expecting his former team-mate to “come back with a bang”.

Russell enjoyed a strong weekend at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, after having disappointed at the season-opener in Bahrain.

The former Williams driver claimed fourth in Jeddah, just one-place ahead of Hamilton.

Russell demonstrated stronger pace than the 38-year-old despite being on the hardest compound of tyre, whilst Hamilton was on the medium compound.

READ: Max Verstappen unhappy with Red Bull as battle with Sergio Perez hots up

Hamilton was visibly disappointed with the result after the race, with some now wondering if Russell is set to enjoy a string of races where he finishes ahead of the seven-time world champion.

Rosberg admitted that Hamilton didn’t look particularly pleased after the race and that he has a “big challenge” to get on top of his young team-mate; however, the former Mercedes driver knows that Hamilton has it in him to turn things around.

“That was just the ‘I got beat by my team-mate’ face. That’s pretty simple,” Rosberg told Sky Sports F1.

“George is the ultimate test, he is a future world champion. It is difficult for Lewis to stay in front. We saw it last year, what an awesome season George did.

“George is continuing on that form once again. It’s going to be a big, big challenge, but let’s not forget Lewis is the best of all time so if there’s going to be someone who can beat George then it will be Lewis.”

Rosberg went on to state that Russell must take advantage of Hamilton’s current low mood, given that the 103-time race winner will “come back with a bang” at any given moment.

“No, absolutely. It’s a little bit of a weakness that Lewis has that sometimes,” added Rosberg.

“He’ll mentally go into this down a little bit and lose a little bit of flow. But he comes back with a bang every single time so dear George don’t get too comfortable.”

Russell was incredibly upbeat after the race, with the 25-year-old having hailed the Saudi Arabian GP as one of his best in the sport.

He was also in hand to congratulate Red Bull on another 1-2, with the Austrians seemingly being unbeatable as things stand.

“Give credit to what Red Bull have done,” Russell said.

Ex-#F1 champion claims Alpine will ‘suffer a big loss’ from Fernando #Alonso https://t.co/GN5VD0tnwq

— Formula1News.co.uk (@Formula1newsUK) March 21, 2023

READ: Martin Brundle admits he was happy to see Max Verstappen start from P15

“The gap to the rest of the field is the biggest since Mercedes in 2014. It’s a serious gap, everyone needs to work harder to understand how to close that gap.

“We know we didn’t make the right decisions over the winter. We have gained more performance than you would ordinarily so everything is not lost. We will still be fighting hard, we want to win races this year, we want to be in the championship hunt.

“But we have to be realistic, focus on ourselves, and get the fundamentals right for the future. We have to take the positives away from this weekend. We qualified ahead of the Ferraris and Astons. The car is capable of that, at the moment.”

The post Nico Rosberg reveals Lewis Hamilton weakness, but sends George Russell a warning appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Sky Sports F1 presenter Simon Lazenby believes it will be a “slightly different story” if Lewis Hamilton is beaten in the drivers’ championship for a second consecutive season by George Russell, with the seven-time world champion having had an excuse in 2022 for being beaten.

By beating Hamilton in the standings last season, Russell became just the third team-mate of the 38-year-old’s to have done so, joining Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg in an exclusive club.

In Hamilton’s defence, he entered 2022 having considered leaving the sport, following the controversial handling of the 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi, where he lost an unprecedented eighth world title on the final lap to Max Verstappen.

As a result, the 103-time race winner was understandably not “as motivated” as usual, according to Lazenby.

READ: ‘I would support Charles’: Lewis Hamilton quotes re-emerge amid Ferrari rumour

As well as this, Hamilton spent the bulk of 2022 trialling different set-ups in the W13, in order to find one that actually resulted in strong performance.

Russell was largely given a base setup to just get on with last season, given that he was settling into the Brackley-based team.

With the 25-year-old now in his second campaign for Mercedes, though, he is likely going to be used in a more similar role to Hamilton, with the duo likely to share the responsibility of trialling new set-ups.

With this in mind, Mercedes might have to take notice should Russell beat Hamilton again; however, Lazenby has revealed that he’s “never seen” Hamilton “more determined”.

“I think everything combined in that. Lewis probably wasn’t as motivated as he could have been in the first half of last year,” Lazenby told Express Sport.

“They worked together to develop the car. George was desperate to prove himself, so I think it was a combination of factors Lewis Hamilton was beaten.

Carlos Sainz expects Saudi Arabia to be kinder to #Ferrari https://t.co/C0KBNJI4OV

— Formula1News.co.uk (@Formula1newsUK) March 13, 2023

READ: Senior Ferrari employee offered role at rival teams, the FIA and Liberty Media

“This year, I think if it happens again, it might be a slightly different story. I’ve never seen [Hamilton] look more physically fit. I’ve never seen him more determined.”

Hamilton did get the better of his team-mate at the Bahrain Grand Prix comfortably after finishing fifth, with Russell having claimed seventh.

The Stevenage-born driver was still 51 seconds behind Verstappen, though, highlighting the difficult position that Mercedes currently find themselves in.

The post Lewis Hamilton warned about being beaten by George Russell again appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

After finishing in a disappointing sixth at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz has revealed that Ferrari “know exactly” what is wrong with the SF-23, with the Italians currently possessing “the fourth fastest car”.

The 2023 F1 season certainly hasn’t started how Ferrari would’ve been hoping, with the Italians having slumped to fourth in the constructors’ championship after the opening two rounds.

Race pace has been a massive problem for the Italians, with qualifying having been less of an issue so far this year.

When it comes to Saturday, Ferrari have so far had the second strongest car; however, race day has been a different story.

READ: Saudi Arabia shows off stunning Formula 1 theme tune

Ferrari were narrowly the third fastest team in Bahrain, whilst last weekend at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit they were comfortably fourth.

Mercedes were much stronger in Saudi Arabia than expected, with the Silver Arrows having shown similar race pace to Aston Martin.

Team principal Toto Wolff admitted that since Bahrain, the Germans have understood “where we are lacking”, with a concept change set to be introduced in a few races time.

“I think we are on an equal footing with Ferrari and Aston Martin when it comes to the long run pace,” Wolff said.

“So that’s ok. And we now understand much better where we are lacking. What we have already found in the tunnel will probably already make us a few tenths faster.”

Mercedes’ pace as well as Ferrari’s lack of pace was a “surprise” to Sainz in Jeddah, with the Spaniard having revealed that the Maranello-based team “expected” to be the second fastest team.

“It came as a bit of a surprise,” Sainz told Diario AS newspaper.

“Because of the type of track Jeddah is, we expected to be faster than Mercedes and Aston Martin. But now we have two different types of asphalts, two different circuits and the race pace is not very good.”

Upgrades seemingly can’t come soon enough for Ferrari who have got a “plan” in place to improve the SF-23, with Sainz being confident that things will improve at Maranello over time.

“I had a couple of scares following (Lance) Stroll,” Sainz revealed.

Ex-#F1 champion claims Alpine will ‘suffer a big loss’ from Fernando #Alonso https://t.co/GN5VD0tnwq

— Formula1News.co.uk (@Formula1newsUK) March 21, 2023

READ: Martin Brundle admits he was happy to see Max Verstappen start from P15

“We know what the car’s weakness is – we overheat the tyres. But we do that on our own so you can imagine that when we are behind another car it’s even worse.

“We have to bring development now but we already know the plan that we have and where we have to improve it. But it’s impossible to create pieces from one day to the next.

“But I trust Ferrari, I trust that we are going to improve the car and we have the ability to do it. We know exactly what problem the car has.”

The post Carlos Sainz reveals he had a ‘couple of scares’ with Lance Stroll appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

After claiming his fifth Formula 1 grand prix victory, Sergio Pérez has sent team-mate Max Verstappen a warning that he’s “here to fight”, with all signs pointing towards a title battle between Pérez and Verstappen.

Pérez was exceptional at last weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and secured a perfect victory, with the Mexican having started on pole.

Despite being overtaken by Fernando Alonso on the first lap, Pérez quickly regained the lead and remained there, despite a late push from Verstappen.

The reigning world champion breezed from 15th to second in rapid fashion but had no answer to Checo’s consistent pace, with the Mexican having had an answer to whatever Verstappen tried to throw at him.

READ: Fernando Alonso lashes out at the FIA

Following their 1-2 finish, just a point separates the pair in the championship, with the Dutchman narrowly remaining in the lead.

“I’m here to fight,” Pérez told Sky Deutschland, when asked if he can win the title this season.

“That’s the only reason why I’m here.

“It was close in Bahrain and it was the same here. There are small margins between us.”

There is absolutely no doubt that nobody has an answer to Red Bull’s sensational RB19, with Pérez and Verstappen having several tenths over the entire field.

Despite this, the duo continued to push hard in the closing laps, something Pérez believes wasn’t “necessary”.

“We both pushed more than was necessary,” admitted Checo.

“The car would have been put under less stress.”

The duo both asked the team in the closing laps what the fastest lap was, with the pair having both wanted the additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race.

Up until the fastest lap, Pérez held the fastest lap, only for Verstappen to snatch it on the last lap of the race.

Had Verstappen not set the fastest lap, then Pérez would’ve moved into the lead of the drivers’ championship.

There was some confusion after the race, with Pérez having seemingly been surprised to see Red Bull allow Verstappen to set the fastest lap.

It resulted in an awkward conversation in the cooldown room, with some having questioned if Verstappen tricked Pérez.

Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko has since revealed that both drivers were given the opportunity to set the fastest lap and that Pérez simply “couldn’t react” to Verstappen’s attempt on the final lap.

The internal communication was that both asked who had the fastest lap,” said Marko. “We passed it on and gave no order not to do it.

Ex-#F1 champion claims Alpine will ‘suffer a big loss’ from Fernando #Alonso https://t.co/GN5VD0tnwq

— Formula1News.co.uk (@Formula1newsUK) March 21, 2023

READ: Martin Brundle admits he was happy to see Max Verstappen start from P15

“Max waited until the end so while he didn’t trick Checo, it was tactically very well done. Perez just couldn’t react.

“We couldn’t control that,” Marko told ORF.

“That’s just Max. For him, it was for the lead in the world championship.”

The post Sergio Perez sends Max Verstappen a warning appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Towards the end of last season, it was heavily rumoured that Lewis Hamilton would be extending his contract with Mercedes, in an attempt to win a record breaking eighth world championship before he retires.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff confirmed that this would be the case but with the winter break now over and the 2023 season underway, nothing has been signed yet.

The Silver Arrows have started the season poorly with P5 and P7 finished in Bahrain from Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, finishing 50 seconds being race winner Max Verstappen.

Mercedes decided to stick with their zero sidepod approach and Wolff has already admitted that this was a mistake, suggesting that the title is already out of reach for Mercedes this year.

READ: Ferrari in turmoil as another senior figure poised to quit

With Hamilton’s contract running out and no extension in the imminent future, it has been rumoured that the Brit could jump ship at the end of the season, with Ferrari being a possible destination.

Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle has suggested that Hamilton should look at some of F1’s past icons when deciding his future, with many motorsport legends moving teams during their career.

“There’s a lot of good reasons for him to stay at Mercedes, they just need to tell him how they’re going to sort this out,” began Brundle.

“But Senna left McLaren to go to Williams, Schumacher went off to Ferrari and took a long time but made it work.

“So these great drivers aren’t scared of going somewhere and then galvanising and getting a lot of new people around them and making something happen.

Lewis Hamilton isn’t making ‘money demands’ amid Mercedes talks https://t.co/LdEpnK0tNi

— Formula1News.co.uk (@Formula1newsUK) March 14, 2023

READ: Karun Chandhok makes bold Max Verstappen claim ahead of Saudi GP

“There must be part of Lewis that thinks, ‘I’d love to go to Ferrari and do a Michael Schumacher. If I can’t win my eighth or ninth now, why don’t I go and have some fun there’.”

Hamilton has claimed that these links to Ferrari are nonsense and that he will certainly stay with Mercedes next season but as the Silver Arrows continue to falter, the rumours will continue to intensify.

As well as upgrading the W14, Mercedes will be keen to tie Hamilton down to a new contract as soon as possible, with talks getting underway over the winter.

The post Lewis Hamilton told he shouldn’t be ‘scared’ of leaving Mercedes for Ferrari appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Red Bull's annihilation of the competition is not what Liberty Media wants to see. Will they use the rule book to improve 'the show'?

Lewis Hamilton has been a massive talking point following the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, with the seven-time world champion having vented his frustration with his team after admitting that they “didn’t listen” to him.

After an abysmal 2022 campaign, Mercedes were expected to bounce back at the Bahrain International Circuit and prove that last season was a blip.

In actual fact the complete opposite happened, with the Silver Arrows having slipped to fourth in the pecking order, behind their customer side Aston Martin.

It was a moment of realisation for Mercedes and arguably for Hamilton, with their poor result having been proof that the Germans truly aren’t the side they once were in the turbo-hybrid era.

READ: More Ferrari employees to defect after engineer set to join McLaren

Some can argue that their downfall is due to the new aerodynamic issues, whilst others might say that they’ve simply been caught, but one thing that can be agreed on by everybody is that Mercedes aren’t the fastest anymore.

By not being the fastest, Hamilton’s position at the team has to be questioned, given that the current likelihood is that the Brackley-based team won’t be able to supply him with a car good enough to pursue an unprecedented eighth world championship.

Hamilton and Mercedes have always appeared to be in an unbreakable relationship, but occasionally relationships do break down, and result in each party going in their separate ways.

There is absolutely no doubt that Hamilton doesn’t want to leave the Silver Arrows, with the 38-year-old having claimed so much success with the side.

But if things don’t improve in the next few rounds then he may need to ask himself an important question; what’s more important, remaining loyal, or winning another title?

He is, of course, approaching the end of his current contract, and whilst an extension has been speculated, nothing has been signed just yet.

Some have questioned if he’s waiting to see if Mercedes improve before agreeing to a new deal; however, he’s firmly denied this.

In order to sign a new deal, Hamilton will presumably want to feel like he’s being listened to by the team, something he slammed the side for not doing in regard to the W14.

“Last year, there were things I told them. I said the issues that are with the car,” Hamilton told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Chequered Flag podcast after the Bahrain GP.

“I’ve driven so many cars in my life. I know what a car needs. I know what a car doesn’t need. I think it’s really about accountability.

“It’s about owning up and saying, ‘Yeah, you know what? We didn’t listen to you. It’s not where it needs to be and we’ve got to work.’

“We’ve got to look into the balance through the corners, look at all the weak points and just huddle up as a team. That’s what we do.

“We’re still (multiple) world champions, you know? Just haven’t got it right this time. Didn’t get it right last year. But that doesn’t mean we can’t get it right moving forwards.”

Should Lewis Hamilton leave #Mercedes and join #Ferrari in 2024?

— Formula1News.co.uk (@Formula1newsUK) March 21, 2023

READ: ‘Maybe in Jeddah’: Mike Krack fires Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll warning

If he decides that leaving Mercedes is the right option at the end of 2023 then the likelihood is that only one option will be on the table.

He’s previously expressed how much he’d like to drive for Ferrari and actually Charles Leclerc has been highlighted as a possible target for Mercedes in the past.

Whether the duo could swap seats remains to be seen, but for now Hamilton is a Mercedes driver, whether that’s the right thing for him or not going forward.

The post Vote now: Should Lewis Hamilton leave Mercedes and join Ferrari at the end of 2023? appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

At the start of the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, it was confirmed that Fernando Alonso was not quite within his grid slot for the race start procedure.

Because of this, the Aston Martin driver was given a five-second penalty, the same punishment that Esteban Ocon was given in Bahrain for the same offence.

Also similar to Ocon, Alonso was further penalised to failing to correctly serve his penalty during a pit stop, with the FIA deciding that Aston Martin’s mechanics had breached the rules by touching the AMR23 with the rear jack during the five seconds.

Alonso served his penalty on the 19th lap of the race and was allowed to complete the race and take part in the podium celebrations before the FIA decided that he did not serve it correctly.

READ: Sergio Perez robbed of championship lead by Max Verstappen

F1 pundit Simon Lazenby has now criticised the FIA for taking so long to make this decision, with the footage of the pit stop being available for analysis for over an hour before they decided to penalise Alonso.

“Surely there was time to review the replay and apply the penalty before the podium,” he tweeted.

To make matters worse, hours after Alonso was stripped of his podium trophy, he was rewarded his P3 finish.

The FIA decided to reinstate the original classification, meaning that George Russell took the third-place trophy off on Alonso, only to be forced to give it back hours later.

This decision confused fans, as Ocon’s penalty in Bahrain stood after his mechanics were deemed to have touched the A523 slightly too early while the Frenchman was serving his penalty.

Max #Verstappen has awkward moment with Sergio #Perez after ignoring team orders https://t.co/d6KroBMLMc

— Formula1News.co.uk (@Formula1newsUK) March 19, 2023

READ: Toto Wolff reveals new signing will ‘take over’ some of James Vowles’ responsibilities

Formula 1 have announced that the FIA will be clarifying the rules surrounding serving penalties ahead of the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks’ time, hopefully to prevent this drama from becoming a weekly occurrence.

With Alonso’s penalty being rescinded, the Spaniard now officially has his 100th podium in F1 and his second in as many races for Aston Martin.

With two podium finishes for Aston Martin already this season, the team can begin to dream of the runner up spot in the constructors’ championship as they continue to defy expectations. 

The post FIA criticised for Fernando Alonso penalty fiasco appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Ex-Formula 1 driver turned pundit Martin Brundle has admitted that “it’s jaw drop and eyes roll time” at Ferrari, with the Italians looking set to have yet another season full of reliability issues.

2022 was a massively wasted year for Ferrari, with the Maranello-based team having arguably had the best car, but the worst reliability.

As a result, Charles Leclerc retired from two races whilst leading, due to an engine failure.

Carlos Sainz too suffered several power unit-based issues, resulting in himself and Leclerc taking multiple grid penalties throughout the season due to needing new engine components outside the legal limit.

READ: ‘Do I miss Daniel?’: Lando Norris makes Ricciardo admission ahead of Saudi GP

After identifying their engine’s reliability as a weak point, Ferrari reportedly worked tirelessly throughout the winter break to solve the issues with their engine and most importantly, fix them.

It was believed that they’d done exactly that, with Italian media having speculated that Ferrari had discovered an additional 30hp as a result of fixing their engine.

The season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, though, painted a very different picture.

Ferrari’s reliability in Bahrain was somehow worse than last season, with Leclerc having gotten through two sets of control electronics.

Staggeringly, Ferrari suffered an issue with both sets of control electronics, with the Monegasque having retired from third place following an engine failure.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the Italians have been forced into fitting a third set of control electronics to the 25-year-old’s car, meaning Leclerc has been slapped with a 10-place grid penalty this weekend at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Each driver can only use two sets of control electronics throughout the season, with Leclerc now set to be slapped with several penalties once again throughout the season.

Brundle can’t believe that Ferrari “burned” both of Leclerc’s legal sets of control electronics, with the pundit admitting that Ferrari “obviously” have some issues to solve.

“The reliability – Leclerc taking a 10-place grid drop here, it’s jaw drop and eyes roll time,” Brundle told Sky Sports.

“Already? It seems incredible that they’ve burned through two control units.

#Haas break silence on accusations of breaching US sanctions https://t.co/7JAU97P7Xn

— Formula1News.co.uk (@Formula1newsUK) March 17, 2023

READ: Max Verstappen sings George Russell’s praise as he targets Lewis Hamilton defeat

“There are obviously some issues there to be sorted out and reliability is everything.

“Teams, you’d imagine, have got that sort of thing aced by now, so that’s a shocker.

“I think the Ferrari will look better here than in Bahrain.”

The post Martin Brundle shocked by Ferrari’s reliability appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Fernando Alonso finished a strong third in the season opener at Sakhir, albeit helped by the retirement of Charles Leclerc.
Last weekend, Leclerc outqualified Alonso, but the Ferrari driver dropped back on the grid due to a penalty.
But in the race, Aston Martin showed much better pace than the Maranello cars and Alonso earned third on merit, with only the two Red Bulls ahead.
"I think ...Keep reading

The 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was full of drama for Fernando Alonso, who was eventually awarded the 100th podium of his career.

The Spaniard shot out of his P2 grid slot to lead the race into Turn 1, overtaking the slow starting Sergio Perez.

The Red Bulls were on a different level once again however and both Perez and his teammate Max Verstappen eventually managed to pass the 41-year-old, leaving Alonso in third place.

After the podium ceremony, Alonso was awarded a ten-second penalty for failing to serve a penalty correctly during the race, which he was awarded for starting slightly to the side of his grid slot.

READ: Michael Schumacher would’ve prevented Mick’s Haas mistreatment

It was deemed that one of Aston Martin’s mechanics had touched the AMR23 too early, similar to what happened in Bahrain with Esteban Ocon.

Only hours after Alonso’s podium was given to George Russell, the FIA reversed their decision and decided to give the podium back to the Spaniard.

Alonso is very up to date with his understanding of memes and social media trends and used this to his full advantage following the drama.

The 41-year-old posted a photo of a well-known meme template, with one man saying “I am sad” while he says “you were.”

The decision to award Alonso with a penalty after the race was controversial enough so to then take it away again caused a massive stir in the F1 community.

Esteban Ocon’s penalty stood in Bahrain, leaving fans confused as to what the actual rules are when it comes to serving penalties during pit stops.

Formula 1 have now announced that the FIA will be released a rule clarification prior to the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks’ time, hopefully putting these controversial penalties to bed.

Fernando #Alonso demands trophy back from George #Russell while mocking him https://t.co/lEBtCbyjeY

— Formula1News.co.uk (@Formula1newsUK) March 20, 2023

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With the larger wheels that came in this new era of F1, it is very difficult to see the floor around you when lining up a car at the start of a race, making it understandable that two drivers in two races have been found out of their grid slot.

Even George Russell admitted that the penalties were harsh, even though they would have seen him score his first podium of the season if they were upheld.

With clarity to come, drivers will hopefully not be penalised for these small details on a regular basis from now on.

The post Fernando Alonso mocks FIA after Saudi GP penalty drama appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.