List of All Articles with Tag 'f1'

Max Verstappen’s crushing dominance of Formula One continued at the Austrian Grand Prix after he put his Red Bull on pole position. The world champion, a winner at six of the first eight races, saw off his rivals at the Red Bull Ring to seal his fourth pole on the spin for Sunday’s 71-lap grand prix. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc provided Verstappen with a late scare, but the Monegasque had to settle for second place, crossing the line 0.048 seconds shy of the Dutchman. F1 grid: Starting positions for Austrian Grand Prix Carlos Sainz took third in the other scarlet car, while Lando Norris impressed in his revamped McLaren to take fourth spot. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton finished fifth, 0.428 sec adrift. Sergio Perez’s torrid time continued after all three of his laps in Q2 were deleted for track limits. He lines up a lowly 15th on Sunday. On Friday, Verstappen clinched pole for Sunday’s grand prix with Charles Leclerc alongside him on the front row, while Sergio Perez and George Russell both struggled. Follow live updates from the Austrian GP with The Independent - the sprint shootout starts at 11am (BST). Read More F1 grid: Starting positions for Austrian Grand Prix Max Verstappen claims another pole but Sergio Perez struggles again at Austrian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen accused Formula One’s referee of making the sport’s superstars look like “amateurs” in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix. Verstappen put his Red Bull on pole position for Sunday’s 71-lap race in Spielberg after he saw off a late flurry from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Carlos Sainz starts third in the other scarlet car ahead of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton who qualified fourth and fifth respectively. Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez finished only 15th after all three of his laps in Q2 were deleted for exceeding track limits. Verstappen also had four runs scrubbed off by the stewards for putting his Red Bull over the white lines. In all, an extraordinary 47 laps were deleted by race director Niels Wittich. “This is a joke,” said Verstappen over the radio. “Honestly, with these track limits, f****** ridiculous.” Verstappen managed to fend off Leclerc by just 0.048 sec, but moments after he stepped out of his Red Bull, the Dutch driver took aim at Wittich’s refereeing. “Today, it was very silly,” he said. “It made us look like amateurs with the amount of laps that were being deleted and some of them were so marginal. “We spoke about it in the briefing before, and when it is very marginal, it is impossible to judge if the car is out or in, and yet laps were still getting deleted. It was not a good look today. “People will say, ‘you should have kept the car in the white lines’. If it was that easy, you can take my car and try it, but you probably wouldn’t get up to speed in time.” A Remote Operation Centre in Geneva consisting of six officials – FIA’s answer to football’s VAR system – flag up contentious laps to Race Control at the circuit using various camera angles. Wittich then has the final say. It is understood that if the laps in question are marginal, Wittich will lean in favour of the driver. But Verstappen continued: “We don’t do this on purpose. With these speeds and the high-speed corners it is so hard to judge where the white line is and that is why a lot of people got caught out. “My first lap in Q3 was just a banker lap which takes out the joy. Today showed that it is not easy to have a clear rule about it.” Despite the row, reigning world champion Verstappen will be favourite to take his seventh victory from the nine rounds so far this season and extend his 69-point championship lead over struggling team-mate Perez. Behind the Dutchman, Norris impressed to take fourth spot in his revamped McLaren, one place ahead of Hamilton who finished 0.428 sec adrift of Verstappen. The Red Bull Ring is hosting F1’s second sprint event of the year with a shortened qualifying and race to follow on Saturday before Sunday’s main event. “Our car has not suited this circuit in the past and it showed again today,” said Hamilton. “It was a really tough and difficult session but we got through it, thank God. “We will try to do better in sprint qualifying tomorrow, and then fifth on Sunday is a strong position to start from.” Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell managed only 11th on a disappointing afternoon for the Briton. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lewis Hamilton calls for change, claiming new rule would ensure a ‘real race’ ‘Happy’ Lewis Hamilton still hungry for record eighth world title – Damon Hill Horner details what makes ‘mega talent’ Verstappen so special

Max Verstappen’s crushing dominance of Formula One continued at the Austrian Grand Prix after he put his Red Bull on pole position. The world champion, a winner at six of the first eight races, saw off his rivals at the Red Bull Ring to seal his fourth pole on the spin for Sunday’s 71-lap grand prix. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc provided Verstappen with a late scare, but the Monegasque had to settle for second place, crossing the line 0.048 seconds shy of the Dutchman. Carlos Sainz took third in the other scarlet car, while Lando Norris impressed in his revamped McLaren to take fourth spot. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton finished fifth, 0.428 sec adrift. Sergio Perez’s torrid time continued after all three of his laps in Q2 were deleted for track limits. He lines up a lowly 15th on Sunday. The increasingly under-pressure Mexican looked to have sealed his spot in Q3 in the closing seconds only for the stewards to scrap his lap after he drove all four wheels on his Red Bull beyond the white line at the final bend. “Can we go again?” asked Perez over the radio. “No, that is the chequered flag,” said his race engineer, Hugh Bird. “What a f****** joke,” replied a furious Perez. George Russell was also subjected to an early bath after he failed to make it out of Q2. The Englishman, who retired at the last round in Canada after he crashed into the wall, missed out on progressing to the final phase by just 0.041 sec and qualified 11th. For Verstappen there were no such concerns, and the Dutchman is on course to extend his 69-point lead at the summit of the standings following another commanding performance. His qualifying triumph was greeted with a number of his travelling Dutch fanbase lighting orange flares. “It was very difficult because of all the track limits,” said Verstappen. “We don’t do this on purpose, but with these speeds and the high-speed corners it is so hard to judge the white line and that is why a lot of people got caught out. “It was about surviving. My first lap in Q3 was just a banker lap which takes out the joy but we still did a good enough lap and I am happy to be on pole.” Verstappen’s countryman Nyck de Vries’ place on the grid appears uncertain after Red Bull motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko said Christian Horner was right to question whether he should have been signed. The 28-year-old was brought into the Red Bull junior stable at the beginning of the year, but he has struggled to get up to speed at AlphaTauri, and he did little to help his cause here after he qualified last for Sunday’s race. Earlier, qualifying was delayed by half-a-dozen minutes after Valtteri Bottas stopped in his Alfa Romeo. Bottas spun on the exit of the opening corner and was left stranded on the track as he failed to engage neutral. The red flags were deployed but Bottas was able to get going again and made his way back to the pits. The Finn made it through to Q2 and qualified 14th. Spielberg is hosting the sport’s second sprint event of the year with a shortened race on Saturday to come before Sunday’s main event. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lewis Hamilton calls for change, claiming new rule would ensure a ‘real race’ ‘Happy’ Lewis Hamilton still hungry for record eighth world title – Damon Hill Horner details what makes ‘mega talent’ Verstappen so special

Max Verstappen finished fastest in the sole practice session at the Austrian Grand Prix – as Mercedes were fined £86 after Lewis Hamilton was caught speeding in the pits. Verstappen saw off Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz by 0.241 seconds at Red Bull’s home race, with Charles Leclerc third. Hamilton finished fourth. Spielberg is hosting Formula One’s second sprint event of the year which will see two qualifying sessions – one to decide the order for Sunday’s grand prix which takes place at 5pm local time (4pm BST) – and the other determining the starting grid for Saturday’s sprint race. Practice has been slashed from three hours to just one to create greater jeopardy with the teams unable to gather as much data as they would like. Red Bull are undefeated at the opening eight rounds of the season with Verstappen taking six victories to head the championship standings by 69 points. And the Dutchman, perhaps predictably, raced to top spot in the first running of the weekend without even posting a lap on the speedier soft tyre compound. Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez finished in fifth, half-a-second off the pace and one place ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. Meanwhile, Hamilton’s Mercedes team were hit with a 100 Euro (£86) fine after the British driver breached the pit-lane limit. Hamilton, who earns £40million-a-season, was adjudged to have broken the 50mph limit by just 0.12mph. Aston Martin were also hit with a fine – this time worth 300 Euros (£258) – after Fernando Alonso and team-mate Stroll drove too quickly in the pits. Elsewhere, Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell finished ninth for Mercedes, almost a second down on Verstappen, with Lando Norris bringing up the rear in his revamped McLaren machine. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

The new Formula 1 season is here - and that means F1 Fantasy is back! The game will see millions of motor sport fans pick their fantasy selection of drivers for an imaginary $100m budget. FOLLOW LIVE: F1 qualifying updates and FP1 lap times in Austria F1 Fantasy began five years ago and it has grown rapidly in popularity, in line with F1’s rise in popularity. The 2023 season will reward those players who are able to spot the early trends as the new season takes shape. See below for all the rules and top tips: How to play F1 Fantasy 2023 Each player gets to pick five drivers and two constructors (up from one in 2022) ahead of the first race of the season in Bahrain, spending a budget of $100m. They also pick a weekly ‘DRS Boost’ whose points are doubled – and new for 2023, any driver in your team can be given the DRS boost. There are also chips available to power up your team, 6 in total: Autopilot, Extra DRS boost, No Negative, Wildcard, Limitless and Final Fix. Max Verstappen is the most expensive driver at $27.8m, with Lewis Hamilton second on $24.0m and Charles Leclerc on $21.2m. As for the Constructors, Red Bull are $27.9m, Mercedes $25.2m and Ferrari $22.2m. Players can make up to two transfers to their team per week, up until the start of qualifying. More than 2 transfers carries a 4 point penalty per additional transfer - similar to Fantasy Premier League. F1 Fantasy tips (pre-Monaco) Let’s not mess about: get Fernando Alonso on your team! The two-time world champion, for Aston Martin, who has finished third in four out of the five races, is still something of a steal at $9.4m. Elsewhere, Nico Hulkenberg is a cheap option at $3.8m while Lance Stroll is also not a bad bet at $7.6m. It’s still hard to look beyond picking Max Verstappen ($27.6m), but Carlos Sainz is not a bad bet for your second-most expensive driver - at $17.2m. Similarly, Aston Martin are an obvious Constructors option at this point at $7.0m alongside one of the big boys. The deadline to make changes to your team is Austrian GP qualifying at 4pm (BST) on Friday afternoon *** One key to success in Fantasy F1 is riding the price waves and increasing the value of your team. You can do this by identifying the best value picks each week, and also by buying and selling strategically - so buy a successful driver at the end of a race on Sunday and sell him on later the following week for a profit. It’s worth biding your time when it comes to making your final substitutions, however. Practice on Friday will generally reveal plenty about what go down in qualifying, so waiting as long as possible to soak up information will help in making the right decisions each week. Given the budgetary restrictions, and the fact that most players will have some combination of Hamilton, Verstappen, Mercedes or Red Bull, the area to get a jump on the rest is in the midfield pack. Will Ferrari toppple Red Bull? Can McLaren top the midfield? And what about Alpine? How does the scoring work? Qualifying: Pole position (first place) 10 pts 2nd place 9 pts 3rd place 8 pts 4th place 7 pts 5th place 6 pts 6th place 5 pts 7th place 4 pts 8th place 3 pts 9th place 2 pts 10th place 1 pt No time set -5 pts Disqualification from qualifying -15 pts Constructors’ in qualifying Neither driver reaches Q2 -1 pt One driver reaches Q2 1 pt Both drivers reach Q2 3 pts One driver reaches Q3 5 pts Both drivers reach Q3 10 pts Race: 1st Place 25 pts 2nd place 18 pts 3rd place 15 pts 4th place 12 pts 5th place 10 pts 6th place 8 pts 7th place 6 pts 8th place 4 pts 9th place 2 pts 10th place 1 pt 11th-20th place 0 pts DNF/Not classified -20 points Disqualified -25 points Extras Positions Gained 1 pt per position Positions lost -1 point per position Overtakes made 1 pt per overtake Fastest lap 10 points Driver of the Day 10 points Constructors’ in race Fastest pitstop 10 points 2nd fastest pitstop 5 points 3rd fastest pitstop 3 pts Read More F1 Monaco Grand Prix LIVE: Qualifying updates and FP3 results after Lewis Hamilton crash F1 2023 season predictions: World champion, surprise star, best race and more Guenther Steiner interview: What makes star of Drive to Survive tick? F1 Austrian Grand Prix LIVE: Qualifying updates and times from Red Bull Ring Lando Norris victim of robbery in Marbella and influencer friend left with ‘nothing’ ‘It was so small’: Lewis Hamilton dismisses impact of Red Bull’s cost cap penalty

The Formula 1 paddock returns to Europe this weekend for the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring. Max Verstappen won his fourth race in a row as he triumphed from pole position in Montreal, with his lead in the F1 world championship now 69 points from Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez. PREVIEW: Lewis Hamilton dismisses cost cap penalty as supreme Red Bull return to Austria Fernando Alonso, meanwhile, finished second in Canada and is now just nine points off Perez in the standings. Lewis Hamilton finished third for Mercedes who show gradual signs of improvement with their revamped car, though George Russell did retire after making a mistake early in the race. Charles Leclerc, who has struggled so far this season, won last year’s Austrian GP - Ferrari’s last F1 victory. Verstappen did, however, win the sprint race which returns again this year; the second of six F1 sprint weekends in 2023. Follow live updates from the Austrian GP with The Independent - qualifying is at 4pm (BST). Read More Lewis Hamilton dismisses cost cap penalty as supreme Red Bull return to Austria Lando Norris victim of robbery in Marbella and influencer friend left with ‘literally nothing’ Are Red Bull now the most successful F1 team ever – and how long can this dominance last?

For all the success garnered over the last two years, an asterisk has accompanied the Red Bull route to Formula 1 domination. In 2021, Max Verstappen’s dramatic title triumph was shrouded in controversy after the Abu Dhabi fiasco. Last year, their mightily impressive double title glory was overshadowed by breaching the inaugural F1 cost cap. This season, entering race nine back at base at the Red Bull Ring this weekend with Verstappen holding a 69-point lead in the championship – and even that is from his team-mate Sergio Perez – there does not look set to be such a dark cloud forming this time. The RB19 is perhaps Adrian Newey’s greatest achievement yet. Verstappen’s confidence is at an all-time high, to the extent he joked in real time about a slightly misjudged approach to the kerb in Canada where George Russell had earlier crashed. And when the Dutchman has a rare off-day, perhaps in qualifying, invariably Sergio Perez is there to pick up the first-place trophy instead. Christian Horner’s team are a pristine, well-oiled machine. They claimed their 100th win in F1 last time out in Montreal. Yet Lewis Hamilton, seven times a world champion scampering desperately with the other 17 drivers on the grid playing catch-up, is willing to discuss the elephant in the room. “The [cost cap] penalty didn’t cost them anything,” Hamilton said, ahead of this weekend’s sprint weekend in Austria. “It definitely, definitely didn’t. It was so small.” Red Bull were fined £6m and docked 10% of their car development time for their £1.8m overspend, impacting their wind-tunnel runs and simulations. As emphatic as Hamilton’s assessment is, and many will argue it has a certain degree of accuracy given the scale of Red Bull’s success, the Mercedes man went further as he looks to give himself a fighting chance of a record-breaking eighth title in the not-so-distant future. "I think the FIA should probably put a time when everyone is allowed to start developing on next year’s car,” he added, referring to Red Bull no longer focusing on their 2023 car such is their current advantage and instead shifting emphasis to 2024. “Say August 1, that’s where everybody can start so that no one can get an advantage on the next year, cause that sucks. "It would make more sense. They should. Say for example you start the season and you know you have a bad car, you can just say I’m not going to bother developing this car and put all this money into next year’s car and have an advantage." The notion that the FIA should change the regulations as a result of Red Bull’s domination has been regularly concocted in recent weeks, whether it be across the paddock or on social media. Short memories, it seems. For Red Bull’s current all-out supremacy, think Michael Schumacher’s five-in-a-row with Ferrari at the start of the noughties. Think Lewis Hamilton’s six victories in seven years with Mercedes. Think Sebastian Vettel’s four on the bounce back at Red Bull to kick off the 2010s. Periods of domination are commonplace in F1. A framework is set in place; regulations set in stone years in advance. These must remain. A sudden alteration of various rules, now, would be simply unfair and unsporting. Despite that, talk of a perfect 22/22 this season is being swiftly dismissed by Red Bull. The runaway leaders are not getting carried away yet. “At a sprint weekend, so many things can go wrong,” said a typically level-headed Verstappen on Thursday. His team-mate Perez was absent, due to illness, but is expected to be fit to drive on Friday. While the second of six sprint weekends this season takes place in Spielberg – with qualifying for the grand prix on Friday before “sprint day” on Saturday – could ruffle feathers, Red Bull are massive favourites to take their ninth-straight win of the year at their home track. Ferrari did win in Austria last year, but have not won since. Mercedes are on a slow road back to the top-tier, with a bigger upgrade due next week at Silverstone. If any team is to challenge Red Bull, therefore, it could well be Aston Martin – and their imperious 41-year-old double world champion Fernando Alonso. Read More Are Red Bull now the most successful F1 team ever – and how long can this dominance last? Toto Wolff optimistic as Mercedes target improvement at Austrian Grand Prix Sergio Perez misses media day at the Austrian Grand Prix Sergio Perez misses media day at the Austrian Grand Prix Toto Wolff optimistic as Mercedes target improvement at Austrian Grand Prix What is a sprint race in F1 and how does new qualifying shootout work?

Lando Norris has revealed he had a number of expensive items stolen in a robbery at a villa in Marbella. It is the second time the British Formula One star has been targeted by thieves after he was accosted by two men and had his Richard Mille designer watch stolen after the Euro 2020 final at Wembley. McLaren driver Norris, 23 was understood to be on holiday in the south of Spain for three days when the incident took place. Speaking to the PA news agency ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, Norris said: “We were out for dinner and our place got robbed. “A mixture of many things were stolen. Some were expensive and some were not so expensive. It is still an ongoing conversation so I cannot say too much.” Norris was reported to be on holiday with a group of friends, including influencer Jennie Dimova. Dimova posted a video to her TikTok, saying: “If you are wondering why I look like that it is because our villa got robbed and everything I have ever owned – my clothes, my shoes, my bags, my jewellery – everything has been taken – and I am left with literally nothing. I cried for two hours but what can I do?” The popular Norris is only 11th in this season’s drivers’ championship having scored points at just three of the opening eight rounds in his under-performing McLaren machine. The British team have brought an upgrade to this weekend’s event in Spielberg in the hope of turning their disappointing season around. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Sergio Perez was absent from media day at the Austrian Grand Prix due to illness. The Red Bull driver, who is second in the championship standings behind team-mate Max Verstappen, “became unwell” on Wednesday night. With qualifying taking place on Friday this weekend with the sprint format in place, the 32-year-old took the decision not to go to the Red Bull Ring on Thursday. “He became unwell last night and is taking the day to rest to ensure he’s in the best possible health for this weekend’s race,” Red Bull said in a statement. Perez trails Verstappen by 69 points in the world championship. Despite two wins from the opening four races, the Mexican has struggled in recent weeks and is now only nine points clear of Fernando Alonso in third. This weekend’s action in Spielberg sees the second of six sprint weekends this season. Qualifying for the grand prix now takes place on Friday, with Saturday a designated “sprint day” with “sprint shootout” quickfire qualifying in the morning followed by the sprint race in the afternoon. Read More Are Red Bull now the most successful F1 team ever – and how long can this dominance last? What is a sprint race in F1 and how does new qualifying shootout work? F1 team bid confirmed for 2026 season after major investment

Toto Wolff believes Mercedes’ car should perform better this weekend in Austria than two weeks ago in Canada. The Silver Arrows switched their car philosophy a month ago, bringing in a host of upgrades for the Monaco Grand Prix. The true impact of the revamped car has been seen in the last two races – in Barcelona and Montreal – with improved performance, recording back-to-back podiums including a double podium in Spain. Yet both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell remain short of pace to challenge Red Bull’s Max Verstappen out in front. The Dutchman has a 69-point lead to team-mate Sergio Perez in the Driver Standings, while Red Bull are 154 points clear of Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship. "There were plenty of positives to take from the last race in Canada," Mercedes boss Wolff said, ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix. "Although we didn’t get both cars to the chequered flag, a podium was a solid result and we saw encouraging signs from our updated package. "It’s a short lap in Spielberg and looks straightforward on paper; several long straights broken up by a range of slow, medium-speed and fast corners. But it’s a challenging one to put together and get right. "We will aim to build on the momentum we have generated over the past two races and continue our positive trajectory with the car. "It’s a venue where the W14 should perform better than in Canada, but we won’t take anything for granted. As always, we will be working hard to maximise our performance and deliver strong results." This weekend’s action at the Red Bull Ring sees the second sprint race of the season, with qualifying for the grand prix taking place on Friday before ‘sprint day’ on Saturday. Read More F1 team bid confirmed for 2026 season after major investment

F1 sprint is set for its biggest ever season this year with six sprint races on the calendar for 2023 - doubling the amount from 2022 and 2021. The 100km Saturday dash, first introduced at the British Grand Prix in 2021, has proven popular with teams and fans alike and will be present at more than a quarter of Grand Prix weekends during the 23-race season. Why F1’s sprint shake-up could be the beginning of the end for Max Verstappen There was an unanimous agreement to increase the number of sprint events amongst F1 teams at a meeting of the F1 commission meeting last year, following discussions with the FIA and a vote amongst the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC). As it was last year, the F1 sprint is a 100km race with no mandatory pit stops and drivers racing flat-out to the chequered flag. As it was in the 2022 season, the top eight drivers score points, with the driver who finishes P1 receiving eight points. How does the sprint race work? The F1 Commission and the FIA have approved new sprint weekend format changes which will see an extra qualifying session added to the schedule. The new order of play sees a new ‘sprint shootout’ take place on Saturday morning instead of a second practice session, with traditional qualifying on Friday now setting the grid for Sunday’s grand prix. It means there will be just one practice session over the course of the weekend, while Saturday is designated ‘sprint day’. The result of the Saturday sprint – a 100km dash, roughly a third of the distance of the grand prix – will not impact the grid for Sunday, as opposed to the past two years. Points will be awarded to the top-eight, as was the case in 2022. But now, that Friday qualifying session will take on added weight as it will set the grid for Sunday’s grand prix, regardless of what happens in Saturday’s sprint race. On Saturday, instead of what was seen as a generally pointless second practice session on Saturday, a new ‘sprint shootout’ will take place to form the starting grid for the sprint race later in the day. It will follow the same Q1-Q2-Q3 format but the session times will be shorter than traditional qualifying: Q1 will be 12 minutes, Q2 will be 10 minutes and Q3 will be eight minutes. NEW SPRINT WEEKEND FORMAT Friday: Free Practice 1; qualifying (for Sunday’s Grand Prix) Saturday: Sprint qualifying; sprint race (Top-eight receive points, finish order will have no impact on Grand Prix grid) Sunday: Grand Prix How many points are on offer? P1 - Eight points P2 - Seven points P3 - Six points P4 - Five points P5 - four points P6 - three points P7 - two points P8 - one point Where will the sprint races take place this season? There will be six sprint races this season, including at three of the final six Grand Prix weekends. ROUND 4 - AZERBAIJAN Baku City Circuit - 28-30 April Sprint shootout pole: Charles Leclerc Sprint race winner: Sergio Perez ROUND 10 - AUSTRIA Red Bull Ring, Spielberg - 30 June-2 July ROUND 13 - BELGIUM Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps - 28-30 July ROUND 18 - QATAR Lusail International Circuit, Lusail - 6-8 October ROUND 19 - UNITED STATES Circuit of the Americas, Austin - 20-22 October ROUND 21 - BRAZIL Interlagos Circuit, Sao Paulo - 3-5 November Read More F1 race schedule: What time is the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday? Why have Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney invested in Alpine F1 team? F1’s sprint shake-up could be the beginning of the end for Max Verstappen ‘Happy’ Lewis Hamilton still hungry for record eighth world title – Damon Hill F1 2023 calendar: All 23 Grand Prix this year Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to invest in F1 team

Damon Hill has praised Lewis Hamilton for the “admirable” way he “kept his chin up” after the controversy of Abu Dhabi – and believes the Mercedes man is “absolutely motivated” to win a record eighth world title. Eighteen months have passed since Hamilton lost out to Max Verstappen at the contentious season finale, with his Dutch rival going on to take last year’s title too. And Verstappen, 69 points clear in this season’s championship, is primed to complete his hat-trick. Hamilton, 38, has not won a race since the penultimate round of the 2021 campaign – the longest losing streak of his career – but he heads to this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix following two consecutive podium finishes in his revamped Mercedes machine. “It is admirable the way Lewis kept his chin up after what happened in Abu Dhabi,” Hill, the 1996 world champion, told the PA news agency. “He got back on with the task in hand and he is driving better again this year than he has done before. He is starting to gel with that car now and he has solved some of the problems he faced. “So I would be amazed if he doesn’t want to go out on a high by winning that eighth title, and he is absolutely motivated by that. He has got that longevity and he looks after himself. “He needs a competitive car, half-a-chance, and someone like Lewis will rise up to that challenge and find more in himself. At the moment we are seeing a happier Hamilton, and a happy Hamilton is a fast Hamilton.” The British driver’s future on the grid, however, remains a hot topic of speculation. Hamilton has entered the final six months of his current £40million-a-season contract with Mercedes. But despite a string of recent discussions with team principal Toto Wolff, a conclusion to the saga is not understood to be imminent. “The talk is that Lewis is finalising a much longer-term deal that goes beyond his racing career,” added Hill, 62. “The car company itself is involved, so there is a bit more bureaucracy in this deal.” Hamilton is already 93 points behind Verstappen in the standings after the Red Bull driver raced to his sixth victory from eight rounds to equal Ayrton Senna’s career tally of 41 wins last time out in Canada. Following Verstappen’s triumph, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said his star driver must now be considered among Formula One’s all-time greats. “Comparing different eras is quite difficult,” said Hill, who was speaking at his Halow Project charity event in Sandown following a world-first kart run on Zero synthetic fuel. “They do many more races than they used to in the sport. But, nevertheless, in every era there are one or two drivers who are the cream of the crop, and you have to say Max is one of them, along with Lewis and Fernando (Alonso). “I certainly see him having his own era called ‘the Max Verstappen era’ where he wins practically everything. “If you appreciate great drivers and the job they do then it is great to watch. But I understand people want to see a race and not a demonstration and we have to be patient and hope the others catch him up pretty quickly.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Horner details what makes ‘mega talent’ Verstappen so special Max Verstappen aims to ‘keep winning’ after matching Ayrton Senna’s 41 victories Max Verstappen claims pole position during rain-hit qualifying for Canadian GP