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Toto Wolff Admits His Honest Feelings About Lewis Hamilton Talking to Ferrari Before Signing $250,000,000 Mercedes Contract

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Lewis Hamilton

The future of Lewis Hamilton was a huge talking point earlier in the season as there were rumors that he could join arch-rivals Ferrari. Moreover, the Briton himself admitted that he did have some conversations with certain representatives of the Italian outfit. However, none of the talks seemed to materialize as the 38-year-old ended up signing a two-year extension with the Silver Arrows. Now, several weeks after Hamilton extended his deal with Mercedes, team principal Toto Wolff has given his honest feelings about the seven-time champion talking to Ferrari before extending his $250,000,000 worth contract with his side.

Soon after Hamilton extended his contract with Mercedes, he himself admitted that he had a few “casual conversations” with Ferrari. While speaking to German newspaper Blick, he said, “Okay, I’m sure we’ve had a few casual conversations. I know a lot of good people there. But I never felt ready to move to Italy“.

Even though Ferrari were having such conversations with Hamilton, it did not bother Wolff. The Austrian was confident that Hamilton will extend his contract despite all the delay that took place in the negotiations.

Toto Wolff was always confident Lewis Hamilton was “not going anywhere“

Lewis Hamilton

Despite all the widespread speculation in the media, Toto Wolff has recently revealed in an interview about how Lewis Hamilton convinced him that he was “not going anywhere” despite his conversations with Ferrari. The Austrian began his remarks in a recent interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport by stating (as quoted by sportsmole.co.uk), “There was a bit of a delay but it was clear that it would end like this, with Lewis staying with us“.

The 51-year-old then explained why there was a delay by adding, “Some time ago Lewis told me ‘I saw John Elkann at dinner, but know that I’m not going anywhere’. And then when they wrote about his conversation with Ferrari, he said again ‘Toto, I’m not carrying out any negotiations’. There was never an inch of doubt in my mind“.

After stating the same, Wolff concluded his remarks by adding that he is “happy” to have both Hamilton and George Russell on the team. The Austrian believes that the 25-year-old is the future of Mercedes after Hamilton, “who grew up” with the side. As for the contract negotiations with Hamilton, Wolff revealed there was also a delay because of some minor hold-ups.

Wolff explains why there was a delay in Hamilton extending his deal

Soon after Lewis Hamilton extended his contract with Mercedes, Toto Wolff gave an interview to Autosport to explain why there was such a delay in confirming the same. The Austrian stated (as quoted by motorsportweek.com) that even though he and the 38-year-old were “clear on the major terms in June, July“, they took a bit of time to come to an agreement on some of the smaller topics such as marketing.

Hence, since there was a delay of more than a month in Hamilton finally extending his contract with Mercedes, it resulted in more and more speculations about his future as time passed by. It was only when the team confirmed on August 31 that the Briton had extended his contract with the side did the rumors stop.

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Max Verstappen sparks Red Bull uncertainty as F1 pundit notices effect on team

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Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen’s heroics have been masking Red Bull’s true car performance this year, believes one Formula 1 pundit.

The Dutchman has won 14 of 17 races so far this season and, with five more Grand Prix weekends to go, has already made sure of the drivers’ title. He has almost double the points scored by team-mate Sergio Perez, the gap between them standing at 209.

Red Bull have had the quickest car on the grid all year long. Yet, the disparity between the results secured by Verstappen and Perez over the course of the campaign means, according to former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde, it is had to assess the true pace of the team’s machines.

Max makes Red Bull better,” the Dutch pundit told RacingNews365. “If he had been with another team, that team would have achieved more victories and it is certain that Max would have won in a different car. He would also compete for the title, but the how, what, where and when is just difficult to estimate.

“But one thing is clear: he is currently the best driver on the grid, otherwise you would not become world champion three times. There is still room for improvement, but I can’t point out where. Everything is almost perfect already.

“He is almost a machine, I see that he does everything perfectly. Whether it is a start or a qualifying lap or working out strategy with his engineer, he has everything under control. He simply has a certain gift – and the capacity to think about other things [while driving].

“The guy is so good and I sometimes think we forget to mention that it all looks very easy – but I know how difficult it is. I know what you have to do and driving such a perfect qualifying lap, like he did at Suzuka, is so incredibly difficult and when you see that lap, then you really think, ‘Wow, this guy!'”

Verstappen’s dominance this season makes it look difficult for any of his rivals on the grid to compete with him any time soon. If any of them can do it, former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan believes rookie superstar Oscar Piastri is the most likely.

“Piastri is just fabulous,” the Irishman told TalkSPORT. “He is the only real one that I can see emerging that could take it to Verstappen in years to come… I have to say I have the height of respect for this kid and I think he’s got a massive future. Let’s see what happens.”

 

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Carlos Sainz makes worrying Mercedes prediction with Lewis Hamilton tipped to suffer

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Lewis Hamilton

Carlos Sainz believes that only Ferrari can challenge Red Bull for the Drivers’ and Constructor Championships next season with Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton not mentioned as potential challengers.

Ferrari endured a disappointing start to the 2023 season as they struggled to extract performance from the unpredictable SF-23, frustrating the Tifosi with inconsistent displays compared to their lightning-fast start to 2022.

The Scuderia failed to go the distance in their fight with Red Bull in 2022 but they remain the only team to have consistently challenged Max Verstappen in the fight for race wins and World Championships since the regulation changes came into effect at the end of the 2021 season.

Speaking to the Spanish media about Ferrari’s championship hopes for 2024, Sainz explained: “I am always optimistic before the season starts,” he told Spanish press at a sponsors event.’

Lewis Hamilton

“I was also optimistic last year and we stumbled. You have to be. I think that if you look at the last two years, the only ones who have been able to stand up to Red Bull a little have been the Ferrari, in the first half of last year and now with the victory in Singapore and the podium in Monza.

“Since there are these new regulations Red Bull is unbeatable, but if there is someone who can win from time to time to Red Bull, it’s us. I think I’m in the best place to try again next year but there are still six races left and we still have to focus on what we can improve to arrive prepared.”

If Sainz’s prediction proves true then this spells bad news for Hamilton and Mercedes. The 38-year-old is still chasing his record-breaking eighth World Championship but has been unable to fight for wins in the ground-effect era as his team continue to struggle.

George Russell’s first career win in Brazil last season remains the Silver Arrows’ only triumph of the new regulation period, and they have yet to record a victory in 2023. Ferrari and Sainz, meanwhile, claimed their first of the year in Singapore last month.

The two teams are separated by just 28 points heading into the final five races of the season, but Ferrari have looked the stronger of the pair on balance since the summer break, raising concerns about Mercedes’ prospects in 2024.

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Lewis Hamilton faces massive F1 challenge as Damon Hill spells out main Mercedes problem

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Lewis Hamilton

Max Verstappen and Red Bull have been a class above their F1 rivals over the last two seasons with the likes of Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team starved of success as a result

Max Verstappen’s Formula 1 dominance alongside Red Bull is so strong that their rivals need to be faultless to beat them.

That’s the view of Damon Hill as he reacted to the Dutchman’s title success at the Qatar Grand Prix. With still the main race in Losail and five more to go this year, Verstappen made certain of the 2023 drivers’ championship.

And his Red Bull team had already clinched the constructors’ title two weeks earlier. Only once this season has another team won a race, when Carlos Sainz secured victory for Ferrari in Singapore to take full advantage of a rare off weekend for Verstappen’s team.

The speed of Red Bull’s car and the consistently high level of performance Verstappen has been able to extract from it means, as far as 1996 world champion Hill is concerned, the likes of Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team face a near-impossible task.

“They’ve got a tall order to match or overturn the Red Bull combination with Max Verstappen driving,” he told Sky Sports. “They have come close to perfection this season, they really have, and they’ve broken a lot of records that have stood for a long time.

“I think Max is on target to break a record that Jim Clark set back in the ’60s which is the percentage of race wins in a season. He’s ticked off loads of records this year and they seem unstoppable. So, you need to achieve perfection to be able to beat them.”

Lewis Hamilton

Verstappen only turned 26 at the end of September and is already a three-time world champion. Though he has said on many occasions he plans to leave F1 earlier than most, his Red Bull contract until the end of 2028 gives him enough time to add several more titles to his name and threaten the record Hamilton shares with Michael Schumacher.

Hill is backing the Dutchman to continue improving more and more. “He’s a new breed of driver whereby he started very young,” he added. “In Max’s case, his father was a Formula 1 driver so he had all that experience of Jos Verstappen coaching him and giving him all the right direction.

“Michael Schumacher lived on a go-kart track but his dad wasn’t a famous Formula 1 driver – he started very young, as did Lewis Hamilton. Max, from a very early age, has been groomed and coached in the right way to understand what is required and he’s got the most extraordinary talent.

“He’s got a good head on his shoulders and is mature. He came into Formula 1 aged 17, before he could even driver a road car, and was both volatile and quick. He’s managed to combine his youth and speed with experience now and I think understands now what the job is. He’s just getting better and better.”

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Max Verstappen wins as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell collide

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Lewis-Hamilton

Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell collided at the start before Max Verstappen went on to dominate the Qatar Grand Prix.

The crash caused Hamilton’s retirement and dropped Russell to the back of the field, from where he fought back in impressive fashion to finish fourth.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took second and third after holding position in the final stages.

Verstappen was in total control after clinching his third title on Saturday.

The Dutchman led throughout from pole position, although he did lose the lead after his first stop, mandated by rules restricting tyre mileage as a result of safety concerns.

All the teams were restricted to a maximum of 18 laps on each set of tyres after Pirelli discovered its product was vulnerable to failure at high speed over the kerbs at the Lusail circuit.

That led to a staccato race in which it took time for the order to settle down, all drivers forced to make at least three pit stops by the tyre-mileage limits.

Williams’ Alex Albon led the race after Verstappen had made his first pit stop, a situation partly influenced by an early safety car deployed to recover Hamilton’s damaged Mercedes.

But as the strategies evened out over a race distance, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took fifth place behind Verstappen, Piastri, Norris and Russell.

Leclerc capitalised on an error by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, who ran wide off the circuit at about half distance and lost out to the Ferrari.

Alonso, struggling with a seat that was burning him, held on for sixth ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas.

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez finished ninth on the road after starting from the pit lane following a crash in Saturday’s spring, his race hampered by two five-second penalties for exceeding track limits.

But the Mexican’s race was hampered by two five-second penalties for exceeding track limits, the first served at a pit stop and the second imposed at the end, demoting him to 10th behind Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu.

Lewis Hamilton

What happened to the Mercedes pair?

Starting from second and third, Russell and Hamilton had a great opportunity to build a large gap to Ferrari in their fight for second in the constructors’ championship and Hamilton to close on Red Bull’s Sergio Perez for second in the drivers’ title chase.

But they came to grief at the first corner as they tried to go three abreast with Verstappen.

Hamilton started on the soft tyres, which gave him greater grip off the line, and he pulled alongside Russell on the outside, with Verstappen in the lead on the inside, but not a full car’s length ahead of the Mercedes.

As Hamilton tried to sweep around the outside, his right rear wheel tagged Russell’s left front and the seven-time champion spun into the gravel.

In their immediate radio messages, the drivers were angry with each other, Hamilton saying he had been “taken out by my team-mate” and Russell saying “for the second race in succession”, a reference to his feelings that Hamilton had not played the team game as they fought the Ferraris in Japan two weeks ago.

Out of the car, Hamilton was more contrite, saying: “It’s a fine line. I’m sorry for all the team.”

And he later said on social media: “I’ve watched the replay and it was 100% my fault and I take full responsibility. Apologies to my team and to George.”

Russell dropped to last with a pit stop to replace his tyres at the end of the first lap, but drove an impressive race to fight back to fourth place, underlining what might have been possible for both cars had they not collided.

Mercedes realised early on that the mandated shorter stint lengths, combined with less tyre wear issues than in the sprint, meant Russell could push harder than expected.

It was a realisation they seemed to come to earlier than other teams, and allowed Russell to make a lot of ground through the race.

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F1 take rare step with Qatar GP rule that could cause Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen chaos

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Lewis Hamilton
The FIA has announced that all drivers, including Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, could be obliged to make at least three pit stops during Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix amid concerns over tyre wear. An extra 10-minute ‘practice familiarisation’ has already been added ahead of the Sprint Shootout on Saturday as tyre-life limits have been imposed.

Analysis from Friday’s practice session has led to governing body the FIA stating that they could enforce a rule that would see all drivers pit a minimum of three times in order to change their tyres.

Pirelli noticed tyre damage following qualifying and have imposed a 20-lap limit for new tyres used in the race, and 22 for used, while track limits have been revised in Turns 12 and 13.

Lewis Hamilton

A statement by the FIA said Pirelli had noticed “a separation in the sidewall” when tyres were checked after practice. “Following the standard analysis of tyres used during Free Practice 1 yesterday, in which tyres that have been used for approximately 20 laps are examined by Pirelli to check various safety parameters, a separation in the sidewall between the topping compound and the carcass cords on many of tyres that were checked was discovered,” the statement read.

It is the view of the FIA and Pirelli that a significant number of additional laps on these tyres could result in circumferential damage of the tyres with subsequent air loss, and tyres analysed with lower lap numbers showed a much-reduced extent of the issue.

“This issue has likely been caused by the high-frequency interference between the tyre sidewall and the 50mm ‘pyramid’ kerbs used extensively at this circuit, aggravated by the propensity to ride those kerbs.

 

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Sir Lewis Hamilton keeps cards close to chest over ‘top secret’ Mercedes upgrade ahead of Qatar Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton

SIR LEWIS HAMILTON is keeping schtum about the “top secret” upgrade to his Mercedes.

The seven-time F1 champion will bid to pick up his and Mercedes’ first win of the season at the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday.

Mercedes have made changes to their struggling car during the recent break following last month’s Japanese Grand Prix in a desperate bid to get a first-place finish.

Hamilton recently visited the’ Brackley factory to see the fruits of the team’s labour but is keeping the details close to his chest.

The Stevenage speedster told Sky Sports: “I can’t tell you, man, I can’t tell you. It’s all top-secret stuff.”

When pressed further, the 38-year-old said: “From my experience in all these years, firstly [I’m] not an aerodynamicist.

“And you go into the wind tunnel and it’s always mega exciting.

Lewis Hamilton

“No matter what point of the year you go in there’s always new bits coming, there’s bits in the bucket and you know there’s just stuff being tried all the time.”

Hamilton was left disappointed with his car’s performance at Suzuka, where he finished in a disappointing fifth place.

But he’s been thrilled by the effort the entire team has put in to try to rectify the issues plaguing his suped-up motor.

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F1 LIVE: Verstappen and Red Bull chief clash as Lewis Hamilton snubbed by Fernando Alonso

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Lewis Hamilton

Max Verstappen is expected to secure his third consecutive World Championship this weekend at the Qatar Grand Prix, and there is still plenty at stake across the board at the Lusail Circuit. The Dutchman needs just three points to retain the title, and he could even be triumphant before Sunday’s big race gets underway.

This weekend will see the return of the sprint race, meaning that Verstappen could earn himself a vital three points on Saturday to reign triumphant. The Red Bull star has made it no secret that he is no fan of the additional races though, despite the sprint presenting him with an opportunity to secure the 2023 title early.

Speaking earlier this week, Verstappen claimed that the format ‘takes a little bit of the excitement away’, feeling that fans are unable to grasp the superiority of cars as the sprints make the situation ‘unclear’.

Elsewhere, Ferrari and McLaren still have plenty to play for in Qatar as they look to secure a second-place finish in the Constructor Championship, with Mercedes currently occupying the spot and 20 points clear of the field.

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Lewis Hamilton Bows to ‘Faultless’ Max Verstappen as Red Bull Set to Snatch Mercedes’ Record

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Lewis Hamilton

Dominance. The 2023 Formula 1 season has become synonymous with the word. And it’s all thanks to the relentless charge of Max Verstappen and Red Bull. Another race weekend, another bunch of records to their name. That’s been their mantra throughout the season. Had it not been for the Singapore GP, who knows? Red Bull could’ve become the first team to win every race in a calendar year. But a streak needs to break for another one to start, and that’s precisely what the Milton-Keynes team is focusing on. Needless to say, it’s back to it’s ‘another race weekend, another record’ mantra, and the next race to conquer is the Qatar GP.

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Verstappen single-handedly secured Red Bull’s sixth Constructors’ Championship in Suzuka. Two weeks later, at the Qatar GP, the reigning champion will get his first opportunity to become a three-time champion. As he sets out to become a part of history once again, Verstappen has found an unlikely appreciator in Lewis Hamilton.

What did Lewis Hamilton applaud Max Verstappen for

It’s no secret that Verstappen and Hamilton don’t have the best of relationships. It all started in 2021 when a resurgent Red Bull Racing was aiming to overthrow the incumbent champions, Mercedes AMG. That was a season for the ages, with Verstappen and Hamilton giving their absolute best every time they went out on track. Because of how hard they pushed each other at times, there has been this underlying animosity between the two champions since then. Even so, Hamilton set aside his pride and appreciated Verstappen for what he’s done in 2023.

Red Bull gave Verstappen the RB19—the fastest car on the grid. He got what he wanted, and he’s been making the most out of it. Discussing his dominance this season, Hamilton said, “Max has been faultless, and no one can take that away from him. He has done an amazing job with the package he has. He and the team have been phenomenal. They’ve raised the bar.” They certainly have raised the bar, one that Hamilton and Mercedes look to beat in the near future. But Red Bull isn’t quite done yet. It’s on its way to claiming another record, one that belongs to the eight-time champions.

Lewis Hamilton

If either Red Bull scores points in Qatar, the team would equal Mercedes’ record. What is the record? Most consecutive points finishes for a team. The current record is 38 races, set by Mercedes twice from the 2016 Monaco GP to the 2018 Australian GP. Having scored in every race since the 2022 Saudi Arabian GP, Red Bull is on a 37-race points-scoring streak, one that looks tipped to become 38. Another race weekend, another record to its name, right? Wondering what else Verstappen and Red Bull have achieved this season?

What records have Verstappen and Red Bull broken in 2023?

Max Verstappen has been close to invincible this season. Of the 16 races so far, the Dutchman has won 13 of them. After winning two of the first four races in 2023, he began a record-breaking winning streak at the Miami GP. From Miami to Monza, Verstappen won 10 consecutive races, surpassing Sebastian Vettel’s 2013 record of 9 in a row. With 48 wins to his name now, he surpassed Ayrton Senna’s 41 wins at the Canadian GP. Currently fifth in the career win tally, he needs just four more victories to surpass Alain Prost. In 2022, he won a record 15 races. With six weekends to go, he needs to win just three more to better his own record.

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Lewis Hamilton Drops 3 Word Message as Humanitarian From his $25,000,000 Project Receives Iconic Honor

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Lewis Hamilton

You might associate Formula 1 with Lewis Hamilton but Hamilton cannot be just associated with Formula 1. In fact, in the past few years, Hamilton has dipped his toes in multiple businesses and ventures across multiple fields. However, long before Hamilton became an entrepreneur he gave back to his community. In fact, he has made the biggest charitable contribution in the sport’s history with a whopping $25 million donation to Mission 44. Now, his initiative and contribution are bearing fruit and he couldn’t be more proud.

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For the unaware, after seeing a lack of diversity in F1 Hamilton took the initiative and funded a study to find out the root cause. The cause was the lack of STEM learning which gave birth to Mission 44, the charitable organisation. Now both the Hamilton Commission and Mission 44 work hand in hand to increase diversity in motorsport. The two organizations had something to celebrate this week.

Hamilton’s racing team X44 Vida Carbon Racing team’s engineer, a champion of STEM learning and Hamilton’s Commission’s board Member George Imafidon received one of England’s highest honour. The Brit had the honor of becoming a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to the community, an honor he shares with Hamilton now.

The Mercedes man was extremely proud to see his fellow man’s efforts being recognised and she showcased that by sharing the post on his story. Hamilton also wrote a 3 word comment which would mean a lot. He commented, “Proud of you” on the post.

Lewis Hamilton

One of Hamilton’s team members with the same ideologies and efforts getting recognized is a win for the entire team. Surely, this relentless approach is making motorsport more diverse and inclusive is instilled by Hamilton himself. An approach he takes with everything he does and the reason why he has a host of incredible organizations on board supporting his efforts.

Lewis Hamilton used his influence to get a major Mercedes partner on board with his philanthropic efforts

As we already know, after Hamilton initiated the Mission 44 charitable organization, the Brit also got his team on board as a sponsor. However, as it turns out, it was just the start. The Brit used his influence to swoop a four-year sponsorship deal with one of Mercedes’s biggest sponsors UBS. The boost to Mission 44’s efforts was celebrated all across social media and in an official announcement shared by Hamilton as well.

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