This weekendâs SĂŁo Paulo Grand Prix will mark the one-season anniversary of Mercedesâs last victory in Formula 1.
Mercedes that day appeared to be turning a corner after a difficult start to life under the then new regulations. The one-two led by George Russell was a shot in the arm and was assumed to be a sign that it would return to regular victory contention this season.
But 2023 has been scarcely better. Though the team has improved to second in the constructors standings, it is no closer to scoring a meritorious victory.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSMercedes and Ferrari have pinned Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclercâs disqualifications from the United States Grand Prix on the sprint weekend format and the bumpy Circuit of the Americas surface.
Hamilton finished the race third and pole-getter Charles Leclerc claimed sixth, but both were excluded from the final classification for running their cars too low.
Ride height is governed by a wooden plank fixed beneath the car. The plank is 1 centimetre thick and can wear by no more than 1 millimetre over the course of the race without falling foul of the rules.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSLewis Hamilton has been stripped of second place at the United States Grand Prix after a post-race technical inspection revealed his Mercedes car was set up to run lower than allowed according to the regulations.
Charles Leclerc has also been disqualified from sixth place after Ferrari was found to have committed the same breach.
A random post-race technical check found both cars suffered excessive wear to their rear titanium skid blocks.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSLewis Hamilton says heâs been operating beneath his usual competitive standard despite not having the car to take the fight to the leaders.
The Briton beat Max Verstappen to a shock pole by just 0.003s on Saturday to set up a potentially fascinating battle, but a slow start opened the door to a bold move on the brakes by the Dutchman to assume the lead into the first corner.
Verstappen went on to claim a 33s victory, the largest since Hamilton won the 2021 Russian Grand Prix by almost a minute. Hamilton eventually trailed home fourth, 39s off the lead.
Continue reading on RACERLewis Hamilton has praised the overnight work of his team to turn the carâs lacklustre Friday pace into a surprise pole-setting performance.
Mercedes ended Friday practice anchored to the bottom of the time sheet, with Hamilton 16th and teammate George Russell last. While the raw times were due to neither driver using the soft tire, Hamilton described the car as being âat its worstâ at a track he has historically dominated.
âItâs night and day different today,â he said. âLiterally we turned it up on its head. Yesterday the car felt terrible. The balance was all over the place. It was very, very difficult to extract any performance from it.â
Continue reading on RACERLewis Hamilton has set a new record for most poles at one racetrack by pinching the fastest time from Max Verstappen in a thrilling qualifying hour at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The fight for pole was delicately poised at the end of the first laps of Q3. Verstappen had strung together a lap for provisional pole, but his advantage was a slender 0.126s ahead of Hamilton.
The Dutchman has been unhappy with the balance of his Red Bull machine all weekend, and that discomfort was evident at several moments throughout qualifying.Â
Continue reading on RACERLewis Hamilton bested Max Verstappen to top spot of an intriguing final practice session at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Warm weather and a high track evolution following rain on Friday made the hour difficult to read, as did the ongoing effects of Pirelliâs reduced tire allocations for teams, which forced them to be more frugal with their run plans.
It took until the final 15 minutes for Hamilton and Verstappen to get to their soft-tire qualifying simulation laps, having spent the balance of the hour on the slower medium tire.
Continue reading on RACERLewis Hamilton says his Mercedes car was âat its worstâ on a difficult Friday afternoon at the Hungarian Grand Prix but apportioned some of the blame to Formula 1âs experimental tire rules in operation this weekend.
Hamilton finished the day an uncompetitive 16th and 1.06s off the pace. Teammate George Russell was last and 1.489s adrift.
Pirelli has temporarily reduced the number of sets of dry-weather tires available for each driver from 13 to 11 in a push to improve its environmental footprint and create more strategic jeopardy. Rather than the usual two hards, three mediums and eight softs available, each driver has been allocated three hards, four mediums and four softs.
Continue reading on RACERGeorge Russell topped a wet first practice hour at the Hungarian Grand Prix after Sergio Perez spun into the barriers just three minutes into the session.
Perez was two laps into his run plan when he dipped his left wheels onto the grass getting on the brakes at Turn 5, sending him sliding out of control towards the outside barrier on exit. His upgraded Red Bull Racing car crunched its left-front corner into the wall, forcing a red flag to retrieve it from the circuit.
âI cannot believe this,â the distraught Mexican said over team radio, acknowledging his rookie error.
Continue reading on RACERMercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have topped the mostly dry second practice at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Dark clouds descended on Montreal, but rain held off until the final five minutes of the 90-minute session, allowing teams to complete dry qualifying and race simulations uninterrupted.
The track was declared wet in the final 10 minutes in anticipation of the thunderstorm crawling towards the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, leading to the bizarre scenes of most of the field fitting intermediate tires but lapping a still-dry track.
Continue reading on RACERGeorge Russell topped a slippery first practice session at the Miami Grand Prix ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton.
The Mercedes duo left their soft-tire runs until the final two minutes of the session, when the circuit was at its cleanest, with Russell setting the pace at 1m30.125s to pip Hamilton by 0.212s.
It was a strong return for Russell, who spent most of the first 30 minutes having his steering rack changed after rejecting an experimental new part following just two opening laps in the car.
Continue reading on RACERGeorge Russell says Max Verstappen should have known the risks associated with trying to hold position around the outside of a corner after the two drivers made contact on the first lap of the Azerbaijan sprint.
Verstappen started third alongside Russell, whose third place grid spot gave him the inside line for the first three corners, and the Briton made the most of it by claiming the apex of all three and forcing the Dutchman to try to cling on with a wider line to hold position.
Both got through the first corner cleanly, but Russellâs front-right wheel tagged the left side of Verstappenâs car as they exited Turn 2, tearing a hole in the RB19âs sidepod and causing other minor damage.
Continue reading on RACERWe often talk about the truism of motor racing that the first person every driver must beat is their teammate.
Less talked about is the constructor-equivalent maxim: never be beaten by your customer teams.
Itâs the golden rule of running a race team, and Mercedes broke it in Bahrain, where it was trounced by Aston Martin.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSAfter 16 years in Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton is used to contract speculation.
But contract years hit differently for the racing veteran these days. As the most successful driver of all time and comfortably the gridâs highest profile personality, he holds all the cards in any negotiation. His seven titles and unprecedented 103 wins have earnt him that right.
What Hamilton wants Hamilton gets. But what happens when what the Briton wants isnât possible to obtain?
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSAfter 16 years in Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton is used to contract speculation.
But contract years hit differently for the racing veteran these days. As the most successful driver of all time and comfortably the gridâs highest profile personality, he holds all the cards in any negotiation. His seven titles and unprecedented 103 wins have earnt him that right.
What Hamilton wants Hamilton gets.
But what happens when what the Briton wants isnât possible to obtain?
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSThe Silver Arrows are back in black for 2023.
Mercedes pulled the covers off its 2023 challenger, the W14, in a slick but understated online launch this week to reveal it was returning to the darker hues of its 2020â21 cars.
But the decision was about more than just style. As is increasingly the trend in Formula 1, much of the car is unpainted carbon fibre in a desperate measure to reach the minimum weight. The opportunity for a livery redux was just a bonus.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSLewis Hamilton says he will continue to speak his mind during the 2023 Formula 1 season in defiance of an FIA ban on political speech in motorsport.
Late last year the FIA inserted a clause into the International Sporting Code, world motorsportâs fundamental governance document, that bans drivers from making âpolitical, religious and personal statementsâ without prior written approval.
Punishments for breaking the code range from a simple warning to the suspension of a competition licence and a maximum fine of âŹ250,000 ($387,000).
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSLewis Hamilton led teammate George Russell in a Mercedes one-two in opening practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Both drivers surged on soft tires to take the top two spots with around 15 minutes remaining, with Hamilton 0.22s ahead of Russell.
Charles Leclerc was a close third, 0.035s adrift in his Ferrari, while Sergio Perez was 0.334s off the pace for Red Bull.
Continue reading on RACER