Lewis Hamilton will be desperate for Mercedes to put in a good showing at this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The 39-year-old has endured a turbulent start to the season, having been unable to
Mercedes hold talks with Mick Schumacher about replacing Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes are now the fourth-quickest team on the grid, with Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren ahead of them, but they will be hoping for things to improve at Imola. Toto Wolff has already revealed that more upgrades will be introduced this weekend in search of a ‘clear path forward’ but it remains to be seen if they will have the desired impact.
“The first six races have not been straightforward, but we have built a clear understanding of where we need to improve and shaped a clear path forward to tackle that,” said Wolff.
“It will be several races before we see this bear fruit, but everyone is working hard to bring them as soon as is possible. In the meantime, we will be looking to maximise the package we have. We are bringing some more updates to Imola and hopefully they push us in the right direction.”
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Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has made it crystal clear that he wants to drive for the team that can provide him with the fastest car, and he has no desire to start a fresh project elsewhere.
That comes after Mercedes boss Toto Wolff publicly expressed an interest in Verstappen ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari.
Based on Verstappen’s latest comments, Wolff will have to wait.
“At the end of the day, these kinds of decisions are not made very easily and I’m very happy with where I am,” he explained to Sky F1.
“I want to be in the fastest car, that’s what I always said with the team. That’s what we have at the moment, and that’s what we try and have also next year.
“I don’t necessarily have the desire to suddenly build up something new or whatever. Because why would you want to leave when you are already in the best position and you think you can continue that for a long time?.
Martin Brundle issues Adrian Newey warning to Red Bull rivals
Martin Brundle has warned Red Bull’s rivals there will be ‘no point’ in signing Adrian Newey unless they have enough money and resources to allow him to flourish.
Speaking on the Beyond The Grid podcast, Brundle said: “You’ve got to have a lot of money and a lot of resource or there’s no point having Adrian Newey.
“If you sit him in an office but you don’t have the goods around him and the funds to use his ideas, then there’s no point.
“All the teams are like: ‘No, no, we’re really happy as we are, thank you very much’, because they might not get him and because they don’t want to upset the team they’ve already got in place.
“But clearly Mercedes, Aston Martin, McLaren, Ferrari will be looking and trying to get him somehow. It’s a double-edged sword.
“If you can get Adrian’s experience and skills, then you’ve got him and somebody else doesn’t have him, so they’ll all be trying like crazy. If they’re not, they should be.”
Martin Brundle has offered his thoughts on Adrian Newey’s
Michael Schumacher’s rare watches sold for millions
Michael Schumacher’s family have raised millions of pounds by selling some of his watches as care costs continue to spiral.
It has been reported that his family are paying upwards of £115,000 per week for his medical care.
Eight watches belonging to the F1 icon were put on at auction in Geneva on Tuesday.
The watch that fetched the highest price was a vintage Patek Philippe that sold for £2.15m.
Another rare timepiece, a custom watch from F.P. Journe made of 18-carat white gold, was sold for £1.3m.
Max Verstappen could walk away from F1 in 2026
Max Verstappen will take a year out from Formula One in 2026 before moving to Ferrari or Mercedes in 2027.
That is the view of Karun Chandhok, who told the Sky Sports F1 podcast: “I think Max will stay at Red Bull for 2025, I think he will take 2026 off and have a year out, see what happens.
“And then in 2027, he could go anywhere, couldn’t he? He will go off, and he’s talked about having ambitions of doing Le Mans and other forms of racing, so I think he’ll do something in 2026, have a year off from F1, see who hits the ground running with the new regs.
“Lewis [Hamilton] would have done his two years at Ferrari, 2025, 2026, he could go to Ferrari in 2027, he could go to Mercedes in 2027, he could go back to Red Bull in 2027. I think that could happen.”
Lewis Hamilton has Adrian Newey hopes dashed
Karun Chandhok believes Adrian Newey will take some time away from Formula One when he leaves Red Bull, rather than joining Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari next year.
“Whether they get Adrian Newey is still the big question mark and everyone’s waiting to see how that unfolds,” said Chandhok.
“I genuinely believe what Adrian was saying to Martin [Brundle] in Miami, which is I think he is going to just have some time off and consider his options.
“Whether he finally goes there would be another story.”
Adrian Newey has been tipped to take some time away from
Pierre Gasly will pay tribute to Ayrton Senna by wearing a special helmet at this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Senna lost his life in a high-speed crash at Imola in 1994, with the 30th anniversary of his death being marked earlier this month.
This weekend, Gasly will offer his own personal homage to Senna with a helmet that blends the F1 icon’s colours into the Frenchman’s own design.
He told Sky Sports F1: “I’ll be wearing a special Senna helmet design to remember Ayrton’s
“He was a huge inspiration since my first days karting and I had the chance and privilege to drive his first ever F1 car in Silverstone couple of days ago.”
Nico Rosberg warns Mercedes about Kimi Antonelli
Nico Rosberg believes it is too early to promote Kimi Antonelli ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s impending move to Ferrari next year.
The Italian teenager has been touted as a possible replacement for Hamilton after taking part in a recent private Mercedes test.
But speaking to Sky Germany, Rosberg said: “That’s asking a lot, because he hasn’t shown anything in Formula Two yet.
“That’s the minimum requirement, to do well in Formula Two in order to be considered for Formula One. Therefore, Toto Wolff has to take his time with this strategy and wait until summer or autumn for the decision.”
Alex Albon signs long-term Williams contract extension
Alex Albon has committed his future to Williams by signing a multi-year extension to his current deal.
The 28-year-old had been linked with Mercedes and Red Bull but has decided to stay at Williams for the foreseeable future.
He said: “I am incredibly happy to be remaining with Williams Racing and to continue working with such a talented and dedicated team of people.
“It has been a difficult start to the year but since joining Williams we have made significant progress together and I have seen the huge changes happening behind the scenes to take us back to the front of the grid.
“This is a long-term project that I really believe in and want to play a key role in, which is why I have signed a multi-year contract.”
David Croft to skip Imola as Sky Sports replacement named
It was confirmed ahead of the season that Croft would sit out of several race weekends to spend more time with his family.
Benjamin will be joined by in the commentary box at Imola by regular pundit Karun Chandhok.
Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Benjamin said: “Yeah, very excited. I mean, big shoes to fill, but I’m looking forward to it.
“What a track to do it at as well, Imola, and stood alongside Karun too. I’m honoured.”
David Croft will not be commentating on the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix (Image: GETTY)
Sergio Perez relaxed over Red Bull contract situation
Sergio Perez has insisted that securing his Red Bull future is not his ‘main priority’ at the moment despite not having a deal for 2025.
The Mexican driver’s contract will expire at the end of the season and he is yet to agree fresh terms.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s race at Imola, Perez said: “I think like everyone that hasn’t done a contract, that is not signed, until you don’t have that in paper fully signed, then everything remains an option.
“So right now, it’s not really the main priority. We are in a period of time, obviously the driver market is making things to go a lot earlier with Lewis joining Ferrari early in the year.
“It meant that everyone is looking for the best possible option they can get, but I believe it’s just a matter of time.
“Obviously right now the priority is on the season, it’s on the races, it’s preparing the races with the team and the rest will take care of itself.”
Max Verstappen given reason to be fearful of McLaren
Damon Hill believes that McLaren’s strong turnaround in form should be a worry for Max Verstappen ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
He told the F1 Nation podcast: “They did something really bold, which was they threw their original car in the bin and went: ‘Okay, this is not the way. We need to revert to the way we think has got more potential’.
“Since they’ve done that, they’ve built on that time and time again and actually caught up. Their rate of progress has to be the fastest in F1.
“Since maybe the middle of last year, their rate of progress in development in terms of lap time gained, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re the one on the steepest curve going forward.
“That has to be a little bit concerning for Red Bull. Obviously it gets more difficult the closer you get to the optimum, but their rate of progress has been phenomenal.”
8 hours ago07:36 Archie Griggs
Lewis Hamilton tipped to sting Mercedes when he joins Ferrari
Former McLaren mechanic Marc Priestley has warned Mercedes about the possibility of the Brit taking his race engineer Pete Bonnington with him to Ferrari.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Priestley said: “As Lewis Hamilton moves to Ferrari later this year, [it’s] still undecided as to whether or not he will take his own engineer Pete Bonnington with him.
“That would be a blow for Mercedes. Not only is he Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer, but he’s also a key member of that Mercedes team in the wider engineering layout, the landscape there, he’s a key member who would be missed if he were to leave.
“But from a relationship perspective, it’s going to be much, much easier for Lewis Hamilton to transition to Ferrari if he’s got the familiar face, if he’s got the relationship that’s already been built over years with Bono.
“If he can take that with him, and they can keep that going, there’s a much greater chance of success straight out the blocks.”
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