F1

Mercedes occupy the third row on the provisional Australian Grand Prix grid, with Lewis Hamilton fifth and George Russell sixth – and the seven-time ...

But I think P5, P6, we would have taken prior to the session.” “Tomorrow... I think we are still learning, still trying to understand the car. Looking ahead to his prospects for Sunday, with Carlos Sainz starting ninth and Sergio Perez in danger of a penalty, Hamilton said: “Well then that means we’ve got a good fight up front and there are potential podiums possible – who knows?

Pierre Gasly says the FIA can 'check my arse' in response to a clampdown on Formula 1 racers' fireproof underwear discussed at length in Friday's Australian ...

Obviously we wear the leggings, if you want to call it that, but we don't have actual underwear-underwear that's fireproof, so that was just more of a surprise, I'd never heard of it. I guess." "And then I don't really understand the small things they are picking up, like the underwear. "Also, nobody in the drivers' briefing was wearing masks. But we move on." If that makes them happy, feel free."

A car that 'is like a viper' once again struggled in Melbourne and may have already cost Hamilton any hope of an eighth F1 title.

Australia is race three of the season in what is looking like a straight fight between Ferrari and Red Bull with Leclerc and Verstappen at the sharp end. With two races down Hamilton is used to the experience but was illuminatingly descriptive of what this meant in the cockpit. “I’m optimistic that eventually we will get there, whether it is two races or five, or the season,” he said. “The problem is when you push that car a little bit more she is quite spiteful,” he said. This was a small victory then but its context is what really matters for the bigger picture of the season ahead. The race in Melbourne will likely mean a continuation of the fascinating fight between the frontrunners, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who took pole and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who was just behind him.

Pierre Gasly has cheekily told the FIA that if it's so desperate to check on Formula 1 drivers' underwear then it can inspect his private parts when it ...

And I guess it's going to be tailor-made of course!" "If someone says, 'don't drive with a ring', I'm not going to drive with a ring," he said. "I'm not too interested about these things," he said. Obviously we wear the leggings, if you want to call it that, but we don't have actual underwear-underwear that's fireproof, so that was just more of a surprise, I'd never heard of it. "And then I don't really understand the small things they are picking up, like the underwear. "Also, nobody in the drivers' briefing was wearing masks.

LIVE: Early F1 chaos as Ferrari star OUT; Lando misfire sets up Ricciardo showdown.

“I think it was a bit of a photo finish. “It is by far our best result of the season, personally and a team result. There was a second safety car on Lap 22 when Sebastian Vettel completed a shocking weekend with a spin and crash into the wall at the exit of Turn 4. Earlier, after a slow start, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz lost control at Turn 9 on the second lap and becahed his car in the gravel, forcing the safety car to come out. I was told Lando was having some issues so the team said be sensible so I had to control myself a little bit but of course a 5th and a 6th is a fantastic result. “I knew there was a problem (before the race). It was always going to be a question finishing the race, but these sorts of things, if you want to fight for the title, cannot happen.”

Charles Leclerc extended his lead at the top of the drivers' championship with victory in Melbourne but Max Verstappen was forced out for the second time in ...

Pérez in a clearly quicker Red Bull came back at Hamilton, retaking third with ease on the run to turn three on lap 10. The Briton’s pace had been strong on the final laps before the stops and he emerged in front of Pérez but the Mexican quickly struck to retake the place. Having claimed pole with a mighty lap he went on to prove to have the edge in race pace. The opening for Ferrari with two wins from three races is exactly what the Scuderia required and a statement of intent that cannot be ignored. The win has extended Leclerc’s lead at the top of the championship after three rounds with a planned 20 still to go. Mercedes made the most of his misfortune, with George Russell securing third place and Lewis Hamilton in fourth, as their car showing its best race pace thus far this season.

Lewis Hamilton has explained the background behind his late-race radio message to Mercedes in Formula 1's Australian Grand Prix that some had interpreted as ...

I think from my side, I let the team down in the last race and didn't get the points but to come away with this result is great." "It's an amazing result for us as a team," he explained. "Basically, I couldn't race for position because the car was overheating," he explained.

Christian Horner says the fuel system issue that caused Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen's retirement in Australia is “totally separate” to the ...

So I think there’s still a huge amount to go.” When you look at that, both the constructors’ and the drivers’ championship would be a lot different.” Verstappen said after the race it was “unacceptable” to be struggling so much with reliability and that he was “already miles behind” in the battle to defend his championship.

Max Verstappen says Red Bull's reliability problems are 'unacceptable' if the team wants to keep itself in the Formula 1 title hunt.

We can't accept DNFs, but we need to understand what the issue is and we have got to address it." "We don't know what the issue is yet, but I don't think it's actually engine related. "That was a really, really disappointing result not to finish the race.

Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton responded defiantly on Sunday after Formula One reminded drivers that jewellery cannot be worn during races.

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Max Verstappen joked the Aston Martin F1 safety car was “like a turtle” in Melbourne, arguing it is too slow versus the Mercedes version.

“It’s the way it is. “It was like a turtle. Mercedes F1 driver George Russell joked as a follow-up to Leclerc’s answer that “we don’t have the issue with the Mercedes AMG safety car” – although, in reality, there have regularly been complaints about the speed of safety cars over the years.

Riding high after a decisive victory for Ferrari in the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, Charles Leclerc's belief in the team's prospects are growing by the ...

"I don't even want to think about the championship at the moment," he said. "We are never going to give up. I hope it continues like this and if it does, we probably have chances for the championship." To be standing on the podium is special," Russell said. We are going to keep on fighting. Stroll had been penalized for crashing into Latifi in the first qualifying session.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc won the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on Sunday, as world champion Max Verstappen was forced to retire his Red Bull after ...

Perez overtook Russell for third at Turn 11 on lap 37, which became second two tours later when Verstappen was told to stop his car due to a technical failure. A second safety car was required for Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin stopping on track after he spun into the wall exiting Turn 4, with Russell taking advantage to make his pitstop under yellow and vault up to third. Perez was now struggling for grip, and had Hamilton all over him, the Mexican pitting on lap 21.

After pandemic-mired years without a race, a sunny Albert Park was heaving from Thursday to Sunday, when the grand prix corporation claimed 420000 people ...

Steph Augello and Alex Barilla, young women from Melbourne’s northern suburbs, represented the sport’s new appeal. After the race, Leclerc said it was too early to make predictions about winning the title but said the fact a championship for Ferrari was on the agenda “makes me smile”. “The car was incredible today,” the winner said to his team via radio after he crossed the finish line, cementing Ferrari as a frontrunner to win the famous team’s first championship in more than a decade. But the racing chief said the weekend went off without major issues and argued the race was a jewel in Melbourne’s major events crown. Tourism, Sport and Major Events Minister Martin Pakula – who gave a positive indication about a deal to secure Melbourne’s hosting rights – said he believed the crowd figures were greater than any previous Formula 1 race in any country. A three-year wait, a wildly popular Netflix series, and perfect skies combined on Sunday to deliver a Melbourne grand prix that organisers say drew more spectators than any race weekend in the sport’s history.

Mercedes thinks there are some hidden 'gremlins' within its W13 Formula 1 car that are the cause of its ongoing struggles in 2022 after another ...

"So is curing the bouncing the miraculous unlocking of a second within the car? "My time horizon is not a race weekend or a year, it's more like 10 years. But there are many other little improvements that we can make on weight and a few others where we can optimise. When you look at the overlay, sector one, we are very competitive. And that's something that we need to continue to analyse and look at the data. So we are still learning."

Record crowds at the Australian GP were a welcome boost for organisers after a two-year hiatus due to Covid-19 but where the race sits in the calendar ...

Australia’s future scheduling may depend on the proximity of other races in its east Asian timezone. Moving Australia to link up with Singapore and Japan in a late-season swing next year may be another option if Shanghai were to drop out again. I’m sure that going forward they can have a look at it.”

Engine problems saw Red Bull's Verstappen pull over with 19 laps remaining as title rival Charles Leclerc extended his lead at the top of the drivers' ...

“Until we get the car back we don’t have the data and we don’t have the info. “It is incredible,” said Hamilton when asked about how Russell has adapted to Mercedes after switching from Williams in January. “He has been so solid. “It is about making sure we leave no stone unturned, that the hunger is there and we are maximising every moment. “I will be on Zoom calls with our bosses, and really trying to rally them up,” he said. Asked if last-minute tweaks made in the pits might have played a role, Horner added: “I don’t think it’s related to that. He added: “I don’t think it’s actually engine-related.

Christian Horner says the fuel system issue that caused Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen's retirement in Australia is “totally separate” to the ...

So I think there’s still a huge amount to go.” When you look at that, both the constructors’ and the drivers’ championship would be a lot different.” Verstappen said after the race it was “unacceptable” to be struggling so much with reliability and that he was “already miles behind” in the battle to defend his championship.

DRIVERS 1 – Charles LECLERC (Ferrari) 2 – Sergio PÉREZ (Red Bull) 3 – George RUSSELL (Mercedes) TRACK INTERVIEWS(Conducted by Mark Webber)

And then we were side-by-side with Max for the first corner, I managed to stay in the lead and then it got much better with the tyres and then we could pull a gap to have a bit more margin. I don't think we could have achieved a higher result at any of the circuits as a team and that is, I guess, a silver lining. CL: Yeah, obviously, I've been in this situation in the junior categories but then to be in this situation in Formula 1 means a lot, and especially after the last few years, and especially with a team like Ferrari. So it feels incredible. At the end what matters is that I crossed the finish line first at the end, then obviously it's always nicer and it shows how good of a job we've done until now, especially this weekend, with a statistic like this. And then the restart with Max, the first restart that is, how was it from your point of view? And we know we've got a lot of work to do but I have faith that we can get there. Even yesterday, I think we were a bit close in qualifying and race, even yesterday, it felt like we were a bit closer than we’ve shown. CL: Yeah, I tried to prepare the last corner as much as possible, staying on the left, but I actually took quite a bit of old rubber and I just couldn’t turn for the last corner. CL: Yeah, well, obviously we only had the third race, so it's difficult to think about the championship, but to be honest, we've got a very strong car, a very reliable car too. We capitalised from others’ misfortunes and obviously we got a little bit lucky today, probably twice, but you know we take it and there's so much hard work going on back at base Brackley and Brixworth to try and get us back to the front, so to be standing on the podium is special. I heard on the radio on the in lap, I'm starting to sense a little bit of belief here. It’s the first one where we could control a little bit the gap and honestly, what a car today.