Lewis Hamilton will be desperately hoping for Mercedes to keep improving when Formula One returns after the summer break, with the Silver Arrows still miles away from Red Bull in terms of outright pace. There will also be the small matter of finalising his proposed new deal with the German outfit, which has been in the works for some time but is yet to be officially signed by the 38-year-old.
Max Verstappen’s unwavering dominance with Red Bull has made it difficult for Mercedes to stomach no longer being the team to beat, with Hamilton having failed to win a single race since doing so in Saudi Arabia two years ago. The Brit will have plenty of time to ponder his long-term future at Mercedes during the summer break as he weighs up whether or not to extend his association with the team beyond a decade.
Hamilton has performed relatively well over the course of this season and currently sits ahead of George Russell in the Drivers’ Championship standings despite finishing behind his team-mate last time around. It certainly makes sense that he would want to consider all options available to him, with speculation linking him with Ferrari refusing to go away, but he is still widely expected to put pen to paper at Mercedes regardless of any potential interest from elsewhere.
41 mins ago14:56 Archie Griggs
Alonso drops retirement hint
Fernando Alonso has suggested that he could remain in F1 for several years to come by insisting that age is not a factor in helping a driver to decide when to retire.
“It’s not a big change, when you’re 41 or when you’re 25,” said Alonso.
“It’s more in your head, in the motivation, how you approach the weekend.
“The teams, they bet more on experience, like Daniel now in AlphaTauri and things like that. It’s not about youth, it’s just about going fast.”
1 hour ago14:26 Archie Griggs
Russell demands FIA action
George Russell has urged the FIA to clamp down on the issue of porpoising after Mercedes were hit by bouncing on the straights during the Belgian Grand Prix.
“It’s still obviously a bit of a shame to see that, as a sport at the pinnacle, the majority of teams are still struggling with bouncing,” said Russell.
“I hope something can be solved in that regard in the future.”
2 hours ago13:35 Archie Griggs
Brundle on ‘brutal’ Alpine sackings
Martin Brundle has been left shocked by the spate of departures from Alpine following last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, with team principal Otmar Szafnauer among those to have been axed by the French outfit.
“I’m still taken aback by their wholesale forced departure of experienced F1 folk, and apparently with more to come,” wrote Brundle in his Sky Sports column.
“I must assume there are wise and knowledgeable people incoming that we’ve yet to hear about.
“Publicly binning team boss Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane mid-event while they still had a job to do on the pit wall was brutal, even by F1’s less-than-impressive standards in this respect.”
3 hours ago12:17 Archie Griggs
Alonso tears into Szafnauer
Fernando Alonso has launched a scathing attack on Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer after the latter claimed that he should have been given more time before he was sacked by the French team last weekend.
“After this year, he should be quiet, he should not talk at all,” said the Spaniard.
“After the results of Aston Martin and the results he’s achieving, he’s still talking and still proud of the decision, which is incredible, amazing.”
5 hours ago10:54 Archie Griggs
Wolff issues Hamilton contract update
Toto Wolff has insisted that only ‘trivial things’ are holding up Lewis Hamilton from putting pen to paper on a new contract at Mercedes.
“We’re not talking about an ambassadorial role post his retirement, nor is that part of the contract negotiations,” said Wolff.
“He has many years to go as a driver within this team, and therefore, it’s only about cleaning things up in the contract.
“It’s simply down to trivial things that just need to be cleaned up in contracts and we need to find the time.”
6 hours ago09:44 Archie Griggs
Alonso reflects on Hamilton controversy
Fernando Alonso has insisted that he did not deliberately block Lewis Hamilton from setting a qualifying lap in Hungary when the pair were team-mates at McLaren back in 2007.
The Spaniard picked up a penalty for delaying in the pits during qualifying in order to prevent Hamilton from setting a final lap.
“No-one heard my version, or the truth, or the facts,” said Alonso.
“I said that I never hold anyone. They just gave me old tyres when it was qualifying.”So there is the radio transcript, the decision from the stewards, where it is written that they put me a penalty on an article that didn’t exist.
“They just put the penalty but clarified it was not for any article, and things like that.”
7 hours ago08:23 Archie Griggs
Verstappen warned by Hakkinen
Mika Hakkinen has warned Max Verstappen that his era of dominance will eventually come to an abrupt end in spite of his imperious form at Red Bull over the last two years.
“Is it going to last forever? No, because that’s how history repeats itself,” said Hakkinen.
“There will be changes coming. When? I don’t know, but I can only say that the work they do and the success they get, they deserve that. Let them enjoy it.”
