Motorsport

SIR LEWIS HAMILTON was left red-faced after he came close to crashing his Mercedes during Formula One’s official launch party for the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday.The seven-time World Champion, 37, took to the track shortly after his teammate George Russell and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.
Hamilton almost crashed his car into a barrier during the Las Vegas GP launch partyCredit: Twitter.com/@F1
His car was submerged in smokeCredit: Twitter.com/@F1
The seven-time World Champion joked about the mishap with Perez (L) and Russell (R)Credit: AP
After driving down the iconic strip – which runs past world-renowned venues such as Caesars Palace and the Bellagio – he decided to entertain the crowds even more by attempting numerous doughnuts.
However, the dark conditions, along with the large clouds of smoke from the burning tires, made it difficult for Hamilton to see where he was positioning the car.
At one point, he even came close to crashing into the barrier.
Hamilton saw the funny side of it though as he joked about the mishap on stage later that evening.
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He said: “I nearly crashed. There was so much smoke and I had no idea where I was.
“I couldn’t figure out where the buildings were. I tried to pull up on the side and there was a barrier!”
He then turned to Perez and asked: “Was there too much grip?”
To which the Red Bull man replied: “That car is too good!”
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The inaugural Las Vegas GP will take place next year from November 16 to November 18.
It will mark F1’s first-ever Saturday race, taking place at night against the iconic Las Vegas backdrop.
The street circuit features a 14-turn, 3.8 mile track where cars are expected to reach speeds of 212mph.
After getting a feel for the track during the official Las Vegas launch party, Hamilton suggested that it’ll be a calendar highlight.
The Brit added: “Just driving down the strip under the light was like the movies. It’s going to be one the best races of the year.” More

MAX VERSTAPPEN and Christian Horner slammed Mercedes for trying to ‘take the shine off’ the Dutchman’s maiden Formula One title win.The 24-year-old won the world championship in dramatic fashion on the final lap of the 2021 season when he overtook Lewis Hamilton following a safety car fiasco.
Max Verstappen won the 2021 F1 title in controversial fashionCredit: Reuters
Red Bull boss Christian Horner is confident in his driver’s ability and mental strengthCredit: BBC
And this season, Verstappen has been equally as phenomenal – securing a second world title in successive years.
But last season, Hamilton and Mercedes were left furious as the strict rules were thrown out of the window to allow a blockbuster finale in front of the Netflix cameras.
A protest was turned down before Mercedes withdrew an appeal and Verstappen kept the victory – although an FIA investigation did result in race director Michael Masi’s sacking.
Before this campaign, Verstappen hit out at his rivals and insisted he ‘doesn’t care’ about the Mercedes reaction.
He told De Telegraaf back in March: “If they [people] know me well, they know I don’t care.
“At the end of the day, it was a crazy and epic Formula 1 season.
“The losing team will try to take the shine off it a bit. But on the winning side, it still feels good, I can assure you.
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“A championship is won over a whole season, not by one decision in the last race. I also think I deserved the title, absolutely.
“There might be people who only watched the last Grand Prix. They might think I was lucky.
“But normally the championship would have been decided in my favour.”
Verstappen’s boss Horner reiterated the champ’s comments and insisted his driver has not been affected by all the talk surrounding the controversy.
Instead, he predicted his man to challenge for the title once again. A prediction that came true.
Appearing on BBC Breakfast, the Red Bull team principal said: “I think it’s gone completely over his head. He doesn’t watch the BBC.
“He was delighted to get that first world championship, against such a strong opponent. I think that’s what made it so intense.
‘RIVALRY SO INTENSE’
“I think the rivalry between those two [Max and Lewis] has been so intense. I think you might see a couple of other drivers come into that fray as well.
“It was epic last year and if that continues I think there’s going to be some fantastic races next season.
“The sport has never had so much coverage and so much support – it’s great to see.”
Verstappen signed a fresh contract in March worth a whopping £37million per year.
However, he trails Hamilton financially – who rakes in around £47million-per-annum. More

LEWIS HAMILTON may find a brand new Mercedes contract waiting for him under the Christmas tree this year. Team chief Toto Wolff has suggested Hamilton will be offered a new deal when the team “find some quiet time” over the winter.
Lewis Hamilton is set to sign a new deal with MercedesCredit: Reuters
Team Principal Toto Wolff has confirmed talks will get underway over the winter breakCredit: AP
Hamilton’s current contract runs until the end of the 2023 campaign.
But the 37-year-old F1 icon is planning on extending his career behind the wheel.
Hamilton confirmed last month that he is wants to pen a new deal that would likely see him carry on racing into his forties.
Despite suggestions discussions had already begun, Wolff confirmed a new contract has not been spoken about yet.
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Although the Austrian said Hamilton is now “much more than a driver” to Mercedes, after the seven-time world champion called the team his “family” in October.
And talks are set to get underway at the end of the campaign and during the winter period.
Wolff said, as per Motorsport: “We haven’t started having talks.
“We want to definitely finish the season and then find some quiet time over the winter like we have done last time around, that literally started in the winter holidays and lasted over two months.
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“We haven’t done that. But he’s much more than a driver to us now.
“Although we’re not talking about a career end, it’s also important to speak about his role as an ambassador for Mercedes and the many sponsors that we have, and the implication he can have in our wider audience.”
Hamilton is yet to register a race win this season, and has just two more bites at the cherry before the campaign comes to a close.
The Brit has won at least one race in all of his 15 years in F1, but is in danger of losing that record with just two more circuits left on the calendar.
Mercedes though still see him as their man going forward.
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And, after a horror start to this season, results have improved in recent weeks.
Hamilton has finished second in the last two races, showing signs that he could challenge back-to-back world champion Max Verstappen for top spot on the podium before the campaign comes to an end. More

EX-FORMULA One driver Martin Brundle says Lewis Hamilton didn’t give Mercedes team-mate George Russell the “same courtesy” during their opening-lap battle at the Mexico Grand Prix.Russell afforded seven-time F1 world champion Hamilton room through Turns 1 and 2, only to be pushed out wide through Turn 3.
Hamilton forced Russell wide at Turn 3Credit: Getty
Hamilton came home in second while Russell finished fourthCredit: AP
Brundle says Hamilton didn’t show Merc team-mate Russell the ‘same courtesy’Credit: Alamy
Hamilton then powered onto the back straight while Merc team-mate Russell was left dealing with the threat of home racer Sergio Perez.
The Mexican quickly passed Russell, demoting him to P4, the position where he would eventually cross the finish line in.
Russell said after the race that if it was anyone other than Hamilton, he’d have got his elbows out more – but Brundle says Hamilton didn’t show the same courtesy.
Brundle wrote in his column for Sky F1: “Verstappen was very smart away from pole position in heading to the dusty but more easily defended right-hand side of the track.
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“This played nicely into the hands of second-placed qualifier George Russell, who gladly accepted the slipstream until he was obliged to move left and partly alongside.
“Having had a few skirmishes recently, not least seven days earlier in Austin, George was generous with space on the inside of Turn 1 for his team-mate Lewis Hamilton and again in Turn 2, but didn’t receive the same courtesy swinging right through Turn 3 as he was squeezed wide and bounced over the kerb.
“The Ferrari boys were flying in side-by-side formation behind trying to scavenge some places, but in reality those first few corners decided the running order for the rest of the day – Verstappen, Hamilton, Perez, Russell, [Carlos] Sainz and [Charles] Leclerc.
“The 800-metre run to, and through, the first chicane defined the race.”
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A shoving match in the early stages of the race is as exciting as it got at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Brundle highlighted the three on the podium this year finished in the same order in 2021.
He continued: “There’s a lot of hype and energy around the Mexican GP and there’s always a festival atmosphere created by the fiercely partisan crowd willing Sergio Perez along.
“If you took away that, along with the 55,000-seat stadium area and dramatic podium, we have to concede the racing has not been especially good at this track of late.
“In fact, the top three finishers of Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez were identical to last year with very similar and unexciting gaps.
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“To further underline that, Ferrari were once again a distant fifth and sixth, albeit with Sainz ahead of Leclerc this time.
“With the six fastest cars in the top six having disposed of Valtteri Bottas’ impressively qualified Alfa Romeo early doors, it promised to be quite something – but major excitement sadly failed to materialise.” More

LEWIS HAMILTON has appeared to defend Max Verstappen after the Dutchman confirmed he was boycotting Sky Sports indefinitely.World champion Verstappen, 25, and the rest of his Red Bull team are refusing interviews with Sky after reporter Ted Kravitz implied he “robbed” Hamilton of the F1 title last year.
Hamilton supported Verstappen’s criticism of social mediaCredit: Rex
Verstappen passed Hamilton in Abu Dhabi to dramatically win his first title last yearCredit: Getty
On the last lap of the final race of the 2021 season, Verstappen passed Hamilton in controversial circumstances to claim a dramatic first title of his career.
Now, just weeks on from securing a second championship in much more straightforward fashion, he has begun a war of words with Sky Sports, accusing them of fuelling negativity online.
He said: “At the moment, social media is a very toxic place. And if you are constantly being like that, live on TV, you make it only worse instead of trying to make it better in the world.
“You keep being… You keep disrespecting me, and one point I’m not tolerating it any more, so that’s why I decided to stop answering.”
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In response, Hamilton, who many felt was unfairly treated during the 2021 finale, has surprisingly supported Verstappen’s point.
As reported by The Express, he said: “Yeah, I think social media is getting more and more toxic as the years go on.
“I think we should probably get off it, ultimately. So many people… mental health is such a prominent thing right now.
“I know so many people reading their comments and the stuff that people say and it is hurtful.
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“Fortunately, I don’t read that stuff but the media platforms definitely need to do more to protect people, particularly young kids and women.
“But at the moment, they’re not doing that so I think it will just continue.”
Kravitz’s comments came after Verstappen passed Hamilton late on to win the United States Grand Prix in Texas.
It denied the seven-time champion a first win of 2022, with Verstappen then going on to break the season record for most victories at the Mexican GP seven days later – where he claimed a 14th win of the year.
After the American race, Kravitz said: “[Hamilton] doesn’t win a race all year, and then finally comes back at a track where he could win the first race all year, battling the same guy who won the race he was robbed in the previous year, and manages to finish ahead of him.”
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He then went on to add: “What a script and a story that would have been. But that’s not the way the script turned out today, was it?
“Because the guy that beat him after being robbed actually overtook him, because he’s got a quicker car, because of engineering and Formula 1 and design, and pretty much because of [Adrian Newey, Red Bull’s Chief Technical Officer] over there.” More

LEWIS HAMILTON is confident Mercedes will win an F1 race this season following a “huge” result in Mexico.The Brackley-based team, spearheaded by Hamilton and team-mate George Russell, experienced countless issues with the 2022 car earlier in the year, including relentless bouncing.
Lewis Hamilton is determined to get at least one race win this seasonCredit: Getty
It left them way behind rivals Red Bull and Ferrari for speed as the Austrian and Italian teams dominated.
Neither Hamilton nor Russell have claimed a chequered flag yet – with just two races left of the season.
This could be the seven-time world champion’s first-ever season without a single race win in 16 years in F1.
But after a steady improvement in results – Hamilton finished second in the United States and Mexico GP with Russell fifth and fourth after qualifying in third and second respectively – the Stevenage star believes Mercedes will have something to celebrate before the end of the campaign.
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That is despite the team relinquishing their eight-year grip on the constructors’ title.
Hamilton, who sits fifth in the F1 drivers’ championship 200 points behind champion Max Verstappen, said: “I’m really happy to be up here and to be able to split the Red Bulls is a huge result for us.
“We brought an upgrade into the last race and that seems to have kind of closed the gap a little bit – they still have the edge – but it was amazing for us to be fighting in qualifying and have the second and third.
“I was speaking about in strategy about us taking a risk with one of the cars at least doing something different.
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“I had a gut feeling that they will be on the soft to start with and when everyone took their blankets off, everyone around us was on the softs and we’re on the mediums.
“At that moment, I thought that we may be in trouble.
“But then again, it’s a long, long race, so I thought maybe they’ll be on a two-stop. But that medium tyre just had no drop-off.
“So ultimately, I think they were on the right tyre strategy.
“But I am grateful I was able to just about keep up within that first stint. That’s huge, to be able to keep up with a Red Bull.”
The drivers have this weekend off and then head to Brazil for the penultimate race of the season.
Hamilton has enjoyed plenty of success in Sao Paulo including one of the best race wins of his career in 2021 to set up the dramatic finale in Abu Dhabi, where the 2022 season also culminates.
Hamilton and George Russell have made steady improvements over the yearCredit: Splash More