Red Bull’s advisor has been on Checo Perez’s back lately, however, he also has a few words for Lewis Hamilton

Helmut Marko has been very outspoken about his own and his rivals’ concerns. The Red Bull advisor has thrown a couple of jabs at the two unquestionable Mercedes drivers. Marko recently lashed out at Lewis Hamilton and then took turn with Toto Wolff as well.

Lewis Hamilton’s Mistake in Qatar

At the start of the race held in Qatar, Hamilton hit his teammate, George Russell. The Stevenage driver ruined the race of both Mercedes competitors. Afterward, the ’44’ took full blame for the incident at the Losail track. “I have seen the replay of the mishap and I take full responsibility. I apologize to the team and George,” he said humbly.

Well, that came in handy for Marko to criticize the seven-time world champion. “He has finally started to admit the mistakes he makes,” said the veteran manager, speaking to OE24, when it was mentioned that Lewis had acknowledged his failure at the start of the Qatar GP.

Helmut Marko also had some words on Wolff

Now that Max Verstappen is blowing away the competition Marko has been on a high-horse as he was proclaimed a three-time champion in Qatar. While Red Bull is on top of the world, Marko did not hesitate to point out that the Mercedes boss underestimated the Dutchman when he began to emerge as a possible future figure in F1

“By the way, Mr. Wolff said he did not see the talent in Max and then preferred to sign Ocon,” referring to the fact that the head of the Brackley team chose to be the representative of the now-Alpine driver. A glaring mistake

Formula 1’s governing body is reassessing a penalty Lewis Hamilton received at the Qatar Grand Prix for crossing the track without permission.

A spokesperson said: “In view of his role-model status, the FIA is concerned about the impression his actions may have created on younger drivers.”

The statement “noted” Hamilton had been “apologetic” in the initial hearing.

“The FIA is revisiting the incident in which Lewis Hamilton crossed a live track during the Qatar Grand Prix,” said a FIA spokesperson.

It added that at the time Hamilton “acknowledged that the crossing was a serious safety breach”.

The incident happened after Hamilton had crashed out of the Qatar Grand Prix on the first lap in a collision with his Mercedes team-mate George Russell.

The stewards’ report into the incident on 8 October stated: “The driver of car 44 (Hamilton) abandoned his car in the gravel and ran back to the pits.

“He thereby crossed the track that was live at this time and reached the inside edge of the track just seconds before car 63 (Russell) arrived at high speed after exiting the pits.

“He then continued to walk alongside the track until finally exiting the track.”

The stewards’ added that Hamilton had been “very apologetic and realised that the situation could have been very dangerous for him as well as the drivers approaching.

“The stewards reinforced the fact that crossing a live track can cause extremely dangerous situations and the drivers have to be very cautious about it.”

The F1 rule dealing with this topic emphasises that while drivers are permitted to cross the track, they must only do so “having first received permission to do so from a marshal”.

It is the second incident reviewed by the FIA following events in Qatar.

On Friday, the FIA said it had received an apology from Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll for his behaviour after a poor performance in qualifying.

A few weeks ago, Victoria Beckham—a.k.a. Posh Spice from the Spice Girls—had a candid conversation with E! News. During the conversation, she talked about the beginnings of her relationship with the legendary soccer player David Beckham. Victoria said, “We were very working class…” and David popped his head into the room and demanded the truth. “Be honest,” he said. He finally got her to admit she wasn’t working class. Yes, her parents worked hard, but her dad also drove her to school in a Rolls-Royce. She isn’t Posh Spice for nothing. While David and Victoria may not have “working class” families in common, he does share his humble beginnings with Lewis Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton bonded with David Beckham at the Qatar GP

The UK is a country where sports thrive. Sport is like a religion there, and the players are like the common folks’ gods and goddesses. Hamilton and Beckham

are two extremely loved personalities, not just because of their mind-boggling talent and achievements, but also because of their personalities and characters. It takes hard work to achieve the kind of success they have. But as important as hard work and discipline are, so is having that support from the ones closest to you. That’s precisely what the two stalwarts bonded over.

When Hamilton was just two, his parents—Anthony Hamilton and Carmen Larbalestier—split. The family had just enough money to get by. So when Anthony saw Lewis fall in love with motorsport at 6, he knew he had to change something to help him fulfill that dream. He quit his job as an IT manager and became a contractor to support Lewis’ career more easily. He often worked multiple jobs, too. Ultimately, though, he helped Lewis achieve the success he now has. It’s a story that’s strikingly similar to Beckham’s.

In his documentary, Beckham’s mother, Sandra, said, “We didn’t have much then.” Beckham added, “I saw my mom and dad working hard every day until 11:00 at night, 12:00 at night. I knew the only way to be a professional footballer was to work hard.” Work hard he did, so much so that soccer became an obsession. An obsession that led to him becoming one of the best footballers in the world. When Hamilton and Beckham met up at the Qatar GP, the seven-time champion revealed he was watching BECKHAM. Hamilton said, “It’s a beautiful story. I’ve just started watching it, and it’s really, really cool seeing your dad and your mum talking. That’s like the real stuff. It was cool, though, for me. I’m starting to see some of these clips… when I was growing up and watching you, and you were first coming in. So it’s really cool.”

As Hamilton and Beckham engaged in emotional, nostalgic talk, Hamilton’s teammate joined the two and pulled Beckham’s leg.

George Russell may have brought back bad memories for Beckham

Beckham and Hamilton’s conversation hit everyone right in the feels, but George Russell entered the chat and took it in a different direction. While Hamilton’s conversation might’ve left Beckham teary-eyed, George Russell may have left Beckham crying sand and angry tears. After joining the two, Russell said, “I was up until 3 a.m. watching your documentary last night. I love it. It’s really, really good. I really like how it’s produced and directed.” But what he said next was what Beckham wouldn’t have wanted rehashed.

Russell said, “Never a red card as well!” If there’s one moment Beckham could erase from history, it would be getting that red card at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. During England’s Round of 16 game against Argentina, Argentina captain Diego Simeone fouled Beckham. The then-23-year-old kicked Simeone and got shown a direct red card. England eventually lost the game, and most pinned the blame on Beckham. What followed was the most difficult time in his life. In his documentary, Beckham said, “I wish there was a pill you could take to erase memories. I made a stupid mistake. Changed my life.” 

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“

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.

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.’

“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.

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.”

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.”

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.

“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.

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.