F1 LIVE: Lewis Hamilton weakness revealed by Nico Rosberg ahead of Australian GP
Nico Rosberg believes Lewis Hamilton can get mentally low when faced with a competitive team-mate after finishing behind George Russell at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last week.
Russell finished fourth in Jeddah, with Hamilton coming home fifth as Mercedes look likely to fall short of a title challenge once again this year with Red Bull way out in front so far. Russell also scored 35 more points last season – in his first year driving for Mercedes – than Hamilton, finishing fourth in the Driver Standings compared to Hamilton’s sixth.
And Rosberg, who beat Hamilton to the World Championship in 2016 before retiring from the sport, insists 25-year-old Russell is a “future world champion” and elaborated on how Hamilton fares when faced with a battle in the same garage.
Elsewhere, Nelson Piquet has been ordered to pay damages for making racist remarks about Hamilton, Madrid has emerged as a contender to host the Spanish Grand Prix and Christian Hornerdismissed the prospect of Red Bull signing Hamilton at the end of the year.
Follow the latest news from the world of Formula 1
F1 LATEST NEWS AND UPDATES
Daniel Ricciardo exit theory offered by former F1 world champion
‘Really bad idea, devastating’: Fans react to F1 CEO’s desire to cancel practice sessions
What are the timings for the Australian Grand Prix this weekend?
Nico Rosberg hints at Lewis Hamilton weakness in team-mate battle with George Russell
Madrid to rival Barcelona as host city for F1’s Spanish Grand Prix
F1 news: Fans react to F1 CEO’s desire to cancel practice sessions
Tuesday 28 March 2023 17:56 , Kieran Jackson
Formula 1 fans have reacted with mostly dismay after the prospect of practice sessions being cancelled in the future was raised by F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.
A normal race weekend consists of three one-hour practice sessions, two on Friday and one on Saturday prior to qualifying, with the race on Sunday.
But Domenicali, with a view to attracting more competition when cars are on track, says he supports the cancellation of free practice and “a lot of things are on the table” with a view to change the race weekend schedule in the future.
Six of the 23 race meets this season are sprint weekends where the schedule will consist of one hour of practice on Friday, followed by qualifying, with a second practice on Saturday prior to the sprint race – a race one-third the distance of the usual number of laps for that circuit – and the normal grand prix on Sunday.
“I am a supporter of the cancellation of free practice sessions which are of great use to the engineers, but that the public doesn’t like,” Domenicali told Portuguese outlet SportTV at the opening event of the MotoGP season on Sunday.
F1 fans ‘devastated’ by plan to change grand prix weekends
F1 news: Madrid to rival Barcelona as host city for F1’s Spanish Grand Prix
Tuesday 28 March 2023 17:23 , Kieran Jackson
Madrid has emerged as a potential host of the Spanish Grand Prix after talks in the Spanish capital last week.
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which will run with a reconfigured track layout this year, has hosted the Spanish GP since 1991.
While Barcelona has a contract to host the race until 2026, Madrid could become the latest illustrious city to join the calendar from that point onwards and is seen in some quarters to be the favourite.
Spain is unlikely to host more than one race a season, meaning Madrid would replace Barcelona if it were to join the ever-growing calendar.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali met with city officials last week at the opening of the F1 Exhibition in Madrid.
Madrid to rival Barcelona as host city for F1’s Spanish Grand Prix
F1 news: Nico Rosberg hints at Lewis Hamilton weakness in team-mate battle with George Russell
Tuesday 28 March 2023 16:54 , Kieran Jackson
Nico Rosberg believes Lewis Hamilton can get mentally low when faced with a competitive team-mate after finishing behind George Russell at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last week.
Russell finished fourth in Jeddah, with Hamilton coming home fifth as Mercedes look likely to fall short of a title challenge once again this year with Red Bull way out in front so far. Russell also scored 35 more points last season – in his first year driving for Mercedes – than Hamilton, finishing fourth in the Driver Standings compared to Hamilton’s sixth.
And Rosberg, who beat Hamilton to the World Championship in 2016 before retiring from the sport, insists 25-year-old Russell is a “future world champion” and elaborated on how Hamilton fares when faced with a battle in the same garage.
“George is the ultimate test, he is a future world champion,” Rosberg told Sky F1. “It is difficult for Lewis to stay in front.”
Nico Rosberg hints at Lewis Hamilton weakness in team-mate battle with George Russell
F1 news: Daniel Ricciardo exit theory offered by former F1 world champion
Tuesday 28 March 2023 16:26 , Kieran Jackson
Daniel Ricciardo’s downturn in form last year was due to spending “too much time on activities out of the cockpit rather than it” according to 1980 Formula 1 world champion Alan Jones.
Having made his F1 debut in 2011, popular Australian driver Ricciardo lost his seat at McLaren last year after a sudden drop in form, particularly compared to team-mate Lando Norris.
The 33-year-old’s place at McLaren was taken by compatriot and 2021 F2 champion Oscar Piastri.
While Piastri will be racing in the Australian Grand Prix this weekend at Albert Park for the first time, Ricciardo will be watching on from the sidelines having joined Red Bull as a third driver after his McLaren exit.
Yet Jones, Australia’s last F1 world champion, has his own theory as to why Ricciardo’s results dipped.
“I don’t think he even knows himself [why his form disappeared],” Jones told the Herald Sun. “I just think he went off the boil.”
“Really, in my own opinion, I think he concentrated and spent a bit too much time for his activities out of the cockpit rather than in it. That’s my opinion.”
F1 news: Nelson Piquet ordered to pay damages for racist comments against Lewis Hamilton
Tuesday 28 March 2023 15:58 , Kieran Jackson
Three-time Formula One champion Nelson Piquet has been ordered by a Brazilian court to pay $953,050 in moral damages for racist and homophobic comments against Lewis Hamilton.
Piquet twice used a racial slur when referring to Hamilton in an interview in November 2021, when commenting on the Mercedes driver’s British Grand Prix crash with Max Verstappen.
The footage of the interview surfaced on social media last June, with Hamilton calling for action to change “archaic mindsets”. Piquet, 70, apologised to the British driver and said his comments had been mistranslated.
In another clip which surfaced later, Piquet used racist and homophobic language against Hamilton in a podcast interview when describing how Hamilton missed out on the 2016 championship to Nico Rosberg.
The charges were brought by four human rights groups, including Brazil’s National LGBT+ Alliance, which wanted Piquet to pay 10 million Brazilian Reals for alleged moral damages.
Nelson Piquet ordered to pay damages for racist comments against Lewis Hamilton
F1 news: Fans react to F1 CEO’s desire to cancel practice sessions
Tuesday 28 March 2023 15:12 , Kieran Jackson
Formula 1 fans have reacted with mostly dismay after the prospect of practice sessions being cancelled in the future was raised by F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.
A normal race weekend consists of three one-hour practice sessions, two on Friday and one on Saturday prior to qualifying, with the race on Sunday.
But Domenicali, with a view to attracting more competition when cars are on track, says he supports the cancellation of free practice and “a lot of things are on the table” with a view to change the race weekend schedule in the future.
Six of the 23 race meets this season are sprint weekends where the schedule will consist of one hour of practice on Friday, followed by qualifying, with a second practice on Saturday prior to the sprint race – a race one-third the distance of the usual number of laps for that circuit – and the normal grand prix on Sunday.
“I am a supporter of the cancellation of free practice sessions which are of great use to the engineers, but that the public doesn’t like,” Domenicali told Portuguese outlet SportTV at the opening event of the MotoGP season on Sunday.
‘Really bad idea, devastating’: Fans react to F1 CEO’s desire to cancel practice
F1 news: 2023 Driver Standings
Tuesday 28 March 2023 14:44 , Kieran Jackson
1) Max Verstappen - 44 points
2) Sergio Perez - 43 points
3) Fernando Alonso - 30 points
4) Carlos Sainz - 20 points
5) Lewis Hamilton - 20 points
6) George Russell - 18 points
7) Lance Stroll - 8 points
8) Charles Leclerc - 6 points
9) Valtteri Bottas - 4 points
10) Esteban Ocon - 4 points
11) Pierre Gasly - 4 points
12) Kevin Magnussen - 1 point
13) Alex Albon - 1 point
14) Yuki Tsunoda - 0 points
15) Nico Hulkenberg - 0 points
16) Logan Sargeant - 0 points
17) Zhou Guanyu - 0 points
18) Nyck de Vries - 0 points
19) Oscar Piastri - 0 points
20) Lando Norris - 0 points
F1 news: F1 boss urged to correct ‘false’ Bahrain Grand Prix protest claims
Tuesday 28 March 2023 14:15 , Kieran Jackson
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has been urged to correct “false” claims about the arrest of Bahraini protestors prior to the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Reports emerged that four Bahraini political protestors were arrested near the Bahrain International Circuit on 5 March, speaking out against sportswashing of human rights abuses in the Gulf country.
Yet the Bahraini government deny that any arrests took place, a view shared by Formula 1, despite evidence first-hand by the protestors and the UK government confirming the arrests.
Now Domenicali has been urged by Paul Scriven, a Liberal Democrat life peer, to correct and respond to these “false” claims about the arrests, as well as speak out “regarding executions and the right to protest without risk of reprisals” in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
The two Gulf countries hosted the first two races of the 2023 season.
F1 boss Stefano Domenicali urged to correct ‘false’ Bahrain protest claims
F1 news: Why are Red Bull so quick – and can anyone stop their F1 title charge?
Tuesday 28 March 2023 13:52 , Kieran Jackson
Comment by Kieran Jackson
Come on then, who’d have thought this was how it’d turn out already? No, really. Red Bull’s margin of victory in last year’s Constructors’ Championship was a mammoth 205 points but in 2023, that could well be surpassed. In fact, never mind surpassed: ridiculed and knocked out the park.
Just two races down and after a pair of comfortable – bordering on effortless – one-two triumphs, the gap is 49 points to Aston Martin in second. The only point Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen have missed out on was the fastest lap in Bahrain. There’s 21 grand prix left; 27 races including sprints. The signs, for the rest of the pack, are nothing but scarily ominous.
There can be no doubt where most of the acclaim should be directed. Superstar designer Adrian Newey has created arguably his greatest beast yet; the RB19 was described as an evolution of 2022’s all-conquering machine and boy has that proved an underestimation.
Swap evolution for upgrade. Double upgrade. Aerodynamically supreme, as illustrated by the unstoppable surge in speed down the straights with DRS, this breed of car is lightning through the corners too. Their dominance in Saudi Arabia over the weekend was monumental: they topped all five sessions including practice.
Not that he needs an invitation, Christian Horner was basking in the prospect of his team’s greatest ever season.
F1 news: Lewis Hamilton move to Red Bull ruled out by Christian Horner - for one reason
Tuesday 28 March 2023 13:30 , Kieran Jackson
Christian Horner insists Red Bull won’t be moving to sign Lewis Hamilton for next year, adding that he “can’t see where we would be able to accommodate Lewis.”
Red Bull are the standout team in Formula 1 right now, having won both the Drivers and Constructors’ World Championship last year at a canter.
They have produced an even quicker car this season, earning one-two finishes in the first two races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, leaving their rivals for dead in qualifying and race-pace.
Yet Hamilton, whose deal at Mercedes expires at the end of the season, has not win in his last 25 races and while a fresh contract isn’t penned, rumours continue to swirl about his future in the sport.
Former team principal Eddie Jordan believes Hamilton needs to move to Ferrari, but Red Bull boss Horner ruled out signing the seven-time world champion and is satisfied with his current driver pairing of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
Lewis Hamilton move to Red Bull ruled out - for one clear reason
F1 news: Madrid to rival Barcelona as host city for F1’s Spanish Grand Prix
Tuesday 28 March 2023 13:05 , Kieran Jackson
Madrid has emerged as a potential host of the Spanish Grand Prix after talks in the Spanish capital last week.
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which will run with a reconfigured track layout this year, has hosted the Spanish GP since 1991.
While Barcelona has a contract to host the race until 2026, Madrid could become the latest illustrious city to join the calendar from that point onwards and is seen in some quarters to be the favourite.
Spain is unlikely to host more than one race a season, meaning Madrid would replace Barcelona if it were to join the ever-growing calendar.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali met with city officials last week at the opening of the F1 Exhibition in Madrid.
Madrid to rival Barcelona as host city for F1’s Spanish Grand Prix
F1 news: Here are the timings you need this weekend!
Tuesday 28 March 2023 12:44 , Kieran Jackson
The third race of the 2023 season, the Australian Grand Prix, takes place from Friday 31 March - Sunday 2 April at the Albert Park Circuit.
FP1 takes place at 2:30am (BST) on Friday morning, with second practice following at 6am.
After third practice at 2:30AM on Saturday morning, qualifying starts at 6am (BST) with the race on Sunday also at 6am (BST).
F1 news: Nico Rosberg hints at Lewis Hamilton weakness in team-mate battle with George Russell
Tuesday 28 March 2023 12:29 , Kieran Jackson
Nico Rosberg believes Lewis Hamilton can get mentally low when faced with a competitive team-mate after finishing behind George Russell at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last week.
Russell finished fourth in Jeddah, with Hamilton coming home fifth as Mercedes look likely to fall short of a title challenge once again this year with Red Bull way out in front so far. Russell also scored 35 more points last season – in his first year driving for Mercedes – than Hamilton, finishing fourth in the Driver Standings compared to Hamilton’s sixth.
And Rosberg, who beat Hamilton to the World Championship in 2016 before retiring from the sport, insists 25-year-old Russell is a “future world champion” and elaborated on how Hamilton fares when faced with a battle in the same garage.
“George is the ultimate test, he is a future world champion,” Rosberg told Sky F1. “It is difficult for Lewis to stay in front.”
Nico Rosberg hints at Lewis Hamilton weakness in team-mate battle with George Russell
F1 news: Fans react to F1 CEO’s desire to cancel practice sessions
Tuesday 28 March 2023 12:13 , Kieran Jackson
Formula 1 fans have reacted with mostly dismay after the prospect of practice sessions being cancelled in the future was raised by F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.
A normal race weekend consists of three one-hour practice sessions, two on Friday and one on Saturday prior to qualifying, with the race on Sunday.
But Domenicali, with a view to attracting more competition when cars are on track, says he supports the cancellation of free practice and “a lot of things are on the table” with a view to change the race weekend schedule in the future.
Six of the 23 race meets this season are sprint weekends where the schedule will consist of one hour of practice on Friday, followed by qualifying, with a second practice on Saturday prior to the sprint race – a race one-third the distance of the usual number of laps for that circuit – and the normal grand prix on Sunday.
“I am a supporter of the cancellation of free practice sessions which are of great use to the engineers, but that the public doesn’t like,” Domenicali told Portuguese outlet SportTV at the opening event of the MotoGP season on Sunday.
‘Really bad idea, devastating’: Fans react to F1 CEO’s desire to cancel practice
F1 news: Nelson Piquet ordered to pay damages for racist comments against Lewis Hamilton
Tuesday 28 March 2023 11:52 , Kieran Jackson
Three-time Formula One champion Nelson Piquet has been ordered by a Brazilian court to pay $953,050 in moral damages for racist and homophobic comments against Lewis Hamilton.
Piquet twice used a racial slur when referring to Hamilton in an interview in November 2021, when commenting on the Mercedes driver’s British Grand Prix crash with Max Verstappen.
The footage of the interview surfaced on social media last June, with Hamilton calling for action to change “archaic mindsets”. Piquet, 70, apologised to the British driver and said his comments had been mistranslated.
In another clip which surfaced later, Piquet used racist and homophobic language against Hamilton in a podcast interview when describing how Hamilton missed out on the 2016 championship to Nico Rosberg. The charges were brought by four human rights groups, including Brazil’s National LGBT+ Alliance, which wanted Piquet to pay 10 million Brazilian Reals for alleged moral damages.
Nelson Piquet ordered to pay damages for racist comments against Lewis Hamilton
F1 news: McLaren axe technical director James Key
Tuesday 28 March 2023 11:19 , Kieran Jackson
McLaren have parted ways with technical director James Key after a start to the season which has seen the Woking-based team fail to score a point.
Key, largely responsible for the car’s design, has come under increased scrutiny after a start to the 2023 campaign which has seen both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri struggle with reliability problems and a severe lack of straight-line speed.
New team principal Andrea Stella, who took over from new Sauber CEO Andreas Seidl in the off-season, has been evaluating McLaren’s pitwall operations alogngside CEO Zak Brown.
And Key’s removal comes alongside a host of changes, including replacing the role of technical director with three specialised roles.
Peter Prodromou will be the new Technial Director, Aerodynamics, while Neil Houldey is promoted to the new role of Technical Director, Engineering and Design.
McLaren axe technical director James Key after tough start to season
F1 news: Why are Red Bull so quick – and can anyone stop their F1 title charge?
Tuesday 28 March 2023 10:59 , Kieran Jackson
Comment by Kieran Jackson
Come on then, who’d have thought this was how it’d turn out already? No, really. Red Bull’s margin of victory in last year’s Constructors’ Championship was a mammoth 205 points but in 2023, that could well be surpassed. In fact, never mind surpassed: ridiculed and knocked out the park.
Just two races down and after a pair of comfortable – bordering on effortless – one-two triumphs, the gap is 49 points to Aston Martin in second. The only point Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen have missed out on was the fastest lap in Bahrain. There’s 21 grand prix left; 27 races including sprints. The signs, for the rest of the pack, are nothing but scarily ominous.
There can be no doubt where most of the acclaim should be directed. Superstar designer Adrian Newey has created arguably his greatest beast yet; the RB19 was described as an evolution of 2022’s all-conquering machine and boy has that proved an underestimation.
Swap evolution for upgrade. Double upgrade. Aerodynamically supreme, as illustrated by the unstoppable surge in speed down the straights with DRS, this breed of car is lightning through the corners too. Their dominance in Saudi Arabia over the weekend was monumental: they topped all five sessions including practice.
Not that he needs an invitation, Christian Horner was basking in the prospect of his team’s greatest ever season.
Why are Red Bull so quick – and can anyone stop their F1 title charge?
F1 news - Joann Villeneuve interview: ‘You still feel the deception and the betrayal’
Tuesday 28 March 2023 10:45 , Kieran Jackson
Exclusive by Kieran Jackson
Amid the plethora of sub-plots to emerge in Formula 1, one constant year-on-year is the often chaotic dynamic between team-mates. Even as recently as Sunday in Saudi Arabia, with a bubbling of tension between Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, respect can quickly shift to animosity. One manoeuvre, one incident, one moment can change everything.
Sky’s new documentary, Villeneuve Pironi: Racing’s Untold Tragedy, tells the story of Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi in Formula 1. The pair were team-mates at Ferrari and, during the early stages of the 1982 season, their relationship soured. The consequences were devastating, with Canadian hero Villeneuve killed in Zolder, Belgium, after colliding with a car in qualifying as he pushed for pole above his team-mate. It was a heartbreaking, sudden end to a short tale, symbolising hostility and bitterness.
But more than anything, as Gilles’ wife Joann says in the film’s opening lines, it is a story about betrayal. A very deep betrayal.
The events of 40 years ago, having spurned numerous requests to tell the tale on the big screen, had to be addressed. The time was now for Joann and her family – including Gilles’ son, 1997 F1 world champion Jacques – to speak out.
“I have to say it brings up emotions that are not very comfortable,” Joann tells The Independent. “I always refused in the past, but this was the right time to do it.”
Joann Villeneuve interview: ‘You still feel the deception and the betrayal’
F1 news: Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has no problem with Red Bull’s dominance
Tuesday 28 March 2023 10:29 , Kieran Jackson
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has sided with rival Christian Horner in defending Red Bull’s dominant start to the new season.
Sergio Perez led home team-mate Max Verstappen at Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as Red Bull secured their second crushing one-two finish in as many races.
Red Bull have now won 12 of the last 13 races, with Lewis Hamilton describing their machine as the fastest he has ever seen.
However, there are fears that Red Bull’s superiority could prove a turn-off for Formula One fans, undoing the sport’s dramatic surge in popularity in recent years.
But Wolff, who oversaw Mercedes’ run of eight consecutive constructors’ world championships, said: “We have had those years where we were as strong, but it is a meritocracy.
Mercedes chief has no problem with Red Bull’s dominance
F1 news: F1 boss urged to correct ‘false’ Bahrain Grand Prix protest claims
Tuesday 28 March 2023 10:14 , Kieran Jackson
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has been urged to correct “false” claims about the arrest of Bahraini protestors prior to the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Reports emerged that four Bahraini political protestors were arrested near the Bahrain International Circuit on 5 March, speaking out against sportswashing of human rights abuses in the Gulf country.
Yet the Bahraini government deny that any arrests took place, a view shared by Formula 1, despite evidence first-hand by the protestors and the UK government confirming the arrests.
Now Domenicali has been urged by Paul Scriven, a Liberal Democrat life peer, to correct and respond to these “false” claims about the arrests, as well as speak out “regarding executions and the right to protest without risk of reprisals” in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
The two Gulf countries hosted the first two races of the 2023 season.
F1 boss Stefano Domenicali urged to correct ‘false’ Bahrain protest claims
F1 news: Madrid to rival Barcelona as host city for F1’s Spanish Grand Prix
Tuesday 28 March 2023 10:02 , Kieran Jackson
Madrid has emerged as a potential host of the Spanish Grand Prix after talks in the Spanish capital last week.
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which will run with a reconfigured track layout this year, has hosted the Spanish GP since 1991.
While Barcelona has a contract to host the race until 2026, Madrid could become the latest illustrious city to join the calendar from that point onwards and is seen in some quarters to be the favourite.
Spain is unlikely to host more than one race a season, meaning Madrid would replace Barcelona if it were to join the ever-growing calendar.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali met with city officials last week at the opening of the F1 Exhibition in Madrid.
Madrid to rival Barcelona as host city for F1’s Spanish Grand Prix
F1 news: Nico Rosberg hints at Lewis Hamilton weakness in team-mate battle with George Russell
Tuesday 28 March 2023 10:01 , Kieran Jackson
Nico Rosberg believes Lewis Hamilton can get mentally low when faced with a competitive team-mate after finishing behind George Russell at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last week.
Russell finished fourth in Jeddah, with Hamilton coming home fifth as Mercedes look likely to fall short of a title challenge once again this year with Red Bull way out in front so far. Russell also scored 35 more points last season – in his first year driving for Mercedes – than Hamilton, finishing fourth in the Driver Standings compared to Hamilton’s sixth.
And Rosberg, who beat Hamilton to the World Championship in 2016 before retiring from the sport, insists 25-year-old Russell is a “future world champion” and elaborated on how Hamilton fares when faced with a battle in the same garage.
“George is the ultimate test, he is a future world champion,” Rosberg told Sky F1. “It is difficult for Lewis to stay in front.”
Nico Rosberg hints at Lewis Hamilton weakness in team-mate battle with George Russell
F1 news: Good morning!
Tuesday 28 March 2023 10:00 , Kieran Jackson
Welcome to our F1 news blog ahead of this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix!
We’ll be bringing you all the build-up to the race at Albert Park in Melbourne, round three of the 2023 season!
Here are the timings you need!
The third race of the 2023 season, the Australian Grand Prix, takes place from Friday 31 March - Sunday 2 April at the Albert Park Circuit.
FP1 takes place at 2:30am (BST) on Friday morning, with second practice following at 6am.
After third practice at 2:30AM on Saturday morning, qualifying starts at 6am (BST) with the race on Sunday also at 6am (BST).
