Lewis Hamilton will be desperate for Mercedes to make improvements ahead of the next race in Miami after enduring a difficult Chinese Grand Prix weekend. The 39-year-old pulled off a strong recovery drive to finish ninth in Shanghai after a disastrous qualifying session, where he was sensationally knocked out in Q1.
Mercedes have already confirmed they will be bringing upgrades to the Miami Grand Prix in a bid to turn their fortunes around. However, it remains to be seen if it will be enough to help the Silver Arrows close the gap to the likes of Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren.
Speaking after the race in China, team prinicipal Toto Wolff said: “I think considering where we put the cars altogether, drivers and team, was not a good position for today. Not good enough overall.
“[We are] lacking pace. We have got to dig deep. We have got something coming for Miami that looks like a good step, let’s see where that brings us out. We can see what the mistakes are on the car.”
7 hours ago10:42 Archie Griggs
Talks underway over new Grand Prix venue
Srettha Thavisin, the prime minister of Thailand, has revealed that he wants the country to host a Grand Prix in the not-too-distant future.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he revealed that he discussed the possibility of a race being staged in Thailand with Stefano Domenicali on Monday.
“Thailand has the potential to host Formula One in Bangkok,” wrote Thavisin.
“If it is successful, I am confident that our country will be one of the hosts of the competition.
“Today I had a discussion with Stefano Domenicali, chairman of the executive board of Formula One Group, who was honoured to visit Thailand at the invitation of the government.
“I sincerely hope that this trip shows Thailand’s potential to host a Formula One competition. The Thai government is ready to fully facilitate.”
8 hours ago09:30 Archie Griggs
Nico Rosberg lifts lid on ‘stingy’ Christian Horner offer
Nico Rosberg has suggested that Carlos Sainz may be trying to get more money out of Red Bull following a ‘stingy’ offer from Christian Horner.
The Spaniard has been linked with a move to Red Bull ahead of next season and Rosberg believes he may be trying to drive up his potential new salary.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Rosberg said: “You know that they have an offer out to Carlos Sainz and I saw daddy Sainz speaking to Christian Horner yesterday.
“Christian Horner has apparently been a bit stingy on the offer, so they’re trying to get a couple more million out of him.”
9 hours ago08:47 Archie Griggs
Max Verstappen misses out on prestigious award
Max Verstappen has missed out on being crowned Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for the second time in a row.
The Dutchman was nominated for the prestigious award after his record-breaking season in 2023 but was pipped by Novak Djokovic.
The tennis icon scooped the prize for the fifth time after winning three of the four available Grand Slam titles last year.
Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland were among the other nominees, as well as pole vault world record holder Armand Duplantis and sprinter Noah Lyles.
9 hours ago08:01 Archie Griggs
Red Bull renew Mercedes war of words
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has urged Toto Wolff to focus on ‘other elements’ and not Max Verstappen with Mercedes lagging behind two of their customer teams at the moment.
The Silver Arrows were slower than McLaren and Aston Martin at the Chinese Grand Prix, prompting Horner to take aim at Wolff after the race.
Wolff spoke about the ‘ambitious’ targets Mercedes have set for 2026 but admitted that if he was Verstappen, he would choose to stay at Red Bull for the 2025 season.
“But I’m not Max,” he added. “It’s the quickest car but there are still other factors.”
Quizzed on Wolff’s comments, Horner said: “I think he’s probably got other elements that he needs to be focusing on rather than focusing on drivers that are unavailable.
“I don’t know how many more times he needs to say this, he’s said it numerous times. I’m not going to get drawn into this, I think sometimes it’s just designed to create noise.
“We’ve moved today ahead of the amount of races that Mercedes have won in the modern era. The team is in form. Why on earth would you want to leave this team?
“Mercedes are the third team behind their customers at the moment, so I would think his [Wolff’s] time would be better spent perhaps focusing on the team rather than the driver market.”
10 hours ago07:33 Archie Griggs
Lewis Hamilton at odds with Toto Wolff
Toto Wolff has refuted Lewis Hamilton’s suggestion that tyre pressure was to blame for Mercedes’ poor showing at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Asked for his thoughts on his car’s handling after the race, Hamilton said: “I mean, I think one of it is that the tyre pressures are so high. These are the worst I think we’ve had.”
Wolff, however, was adamant the team’s performance was behind their race results and not the tyre pressures as Hamilton suggested.
“I think, on paper, starting with the soft gave him… the theory said he should have a strong start with softer rubber and the grip just wasn’t there on the soft,” explained Wolff.
“I would more put it down to our own performance that we couldn’t really make the steps that we expected and, obviously, then it becomes very difficult.”
10 hours ago07:29 Archie Griggs
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