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LEWIS HAMILTON’S new Mercedes F1 car is at the centre of a paddock row as his rivals were left dumbstruck by the radical design.Mercedes unveiled the updated version of their challenger for 2022 – featuring cut-down sidepods creating a sleek design.
Lewis Hamilton’s new Mercedes during F1 testing in BahrainCredit: Getty
The car has a new designCredit: Getty
This new design is at the centre of an F1 row days before the new seasonCredit: Splash
Hamilton’s Mercedes has attracted plenty of interest in Bahrain at pre season testing.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner was quoted by a German publication questioning whether the design was legal.
The team later issued a statement: “Christian Horner has not given any interviews regarding Mercedes’ car. Any quotes being attributed to him this morning are incorrect.”
However, the publication insisted their quotes from Horner were right, prompting Red Bull to clarify their remark by stating no official comment had been made.
Horner and Merc boss Toto Wolff have a long history of questioning the legality of each other’s cars with previous focus being on engines and front and rear wings.
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Horner later distanced himself from the comments saying: “I was slightly surprised to be reading comments that I’m supposed to have been making but there we go.
“To be honest with you, I haven’t paid a great deal of attention to it [the Mercedes]. It’s obviously a fairly different concept but that’s for the aero guys and designers to get into.”
Formula One’s managing director Ross Brawn, who come up with this year’s rule book, said he was caught out by the Mercedes design.
He said: “Some of the solutions honestly we never anticipated, and I think we will go back and investigate those solutions and make sure they maintain the objectives of the new rules.
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“I think they do. Our initial impressions are there’s nothing here we would be overly concerned about in terms of those objectives of the regulations, so it’s just fascinating to see a wide range of solutions.
“There’s no doubt that the Mercedes concept, we didn’t anticipate. It’s a very extreme interpretation of the regulation.
“I think there’s going to be, inevitably, a lot of debate about their interpretation and that’s what happens with new regs.
“From our perspective, it’s largely about does it affect the objective of the regs?
“But for the teams, they want to be sure no one has taken an interpretation they don’t feel is correct, so I think there’s going to be a lot of debate in the next few days.”
While Horner was being coy on what he said – or didn’t say about the Mercedes, world champion Max Verstappen says he has “no concerns”.
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Speaking at the test in Bahrain, he said: “No, I’m not concerned. We can only focus on ourselves.
“I said this so many times last year, and we have to do it again this year, even if the cars look a bit different.
“There are so many unknown things, what we need to learn about, so I’m not worried at all.” More

LEWIS HAMILTON and Max Verstappen have both been spotted in Bahrain ahead of F1 official testing.The drivers are preparing for another season where they are set to battle it out for the F1 world championship.
Lewis Hamilton (right) and Max Verstappen are set for another championship battleCredit: Splash
Verstappen is ready to defend his world titleCredit: Splash
Hamilton has warned that his best is yet to comeCredit: Splash
Official testing in Bahrain will give drivers a better indication of the state of their carsCredit: AFP
Early signs look promising for Mercedes after Hamilton and new driver George Russell posted the fastest two laps in Barcelona at the end of last month.
But Russell does have some concerns over the new car and puts his fast time down to the soft tyres he used in Spain.
Red Bull also looked strong in the first stage of testing but Bahrain should provide a better indication of how the teams match up heading into the season.
The first Grand Prix of the season in Bahrain is a little over a week away but both Hamilton and Verstappen looked cool and composed.
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And the Mercedes man has already fired a warning shot to Verstappen and Red Bull.
He declared: “If you think what you saw at the end of last year was my best, wait until you see this year.”
Hamilton finished the stronger out of the two in the last campaign despite losing in Abu Dhabi.
The Brit won three of the last four races and would have claimed victory at Yas Marina had disgraced race director Michael Masi not broken his own safety rules.
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Hamilton is probably not over that fiasco, which will be relived on Netflix’s Drive to Survive series when it airs on Friday.
Former F1 star Anthony Davidson believes a ‘hurt’ Hamilton is ready to bounce back after hearing his warning to Verstappen.
Davidson said: “When Lewis Hamilton comes out with a sentence like that, you have to take notice.
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Sebastian Vettel shared his desire for peace in UkraineCredit: Splash
Red Bull looked fast at testing in BarcelonaCredit: AFP
Hamilton trumps rival Verstappen in almost every category
“He sure is fired up to win this thing once and for all and I think he’ll be hard to beat.
“He’s certainly coming into this season with a very bullish mentality.
“There will be nothing more than Lewis wants from this season than to destroy Max Verstappen.
“Let’s not beat around a bush, he feels absolutely robbed as to what happened last year in Abu Dhabi, he wants to come out with a dominant car and he doesn’t even want to see Max on track, I’m sure.”
Meanwhile, F1 is set to line up without Nikita Mazepin after he was sacked by Haas and replaced by Kevin Magnussen.
And Russian driver Mazepin and his father Dmitry were hit by EU sanctions this week due to the latter’s close ties with Vladimir Putin. More

NIKITA MAZEPIN and his father Dmitry have been hit by EU sanctions on Russian oligarchs in the wake of the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Dmitry reportedly met with Russian president Vladimir Putin on February 24 to “Discuss the impact of the course of action in the wake of Western sanction.”
The Mazepin family have been hit by EU sanctionsCredit: Rex
Nikita was sacked by F1 team Haas last week with his father having close ties to Putin.
And now the EU have announced sanctions on a number of Russian oligarchs in the wake of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
An EU statement said: “Mazepin, along with other 36 business people, met with President Vladimir Putin and other members of the Russian government to discuss the impact of the course of action in the wake of Western sanctions.
“The fact that he was invited to attend this meeting shows that he is a member of the closest circle of Vladimir Putin and that he is supporting or implementing actions or policies which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, as well as stability and security in Ukraine.”
Dmitry’s meeting with Putin came on the same day F1 team Haas removed Russian sponsor Uralkali and ditched their Russian inspired livery from their vehicles at pre-season testing in Barcelona.
Uralkali is a Russian chemical company, owned by Dmitry.
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Since then they’ve announced Nikita would no longer be racing for them, and also confirmed they would be ending their partnership with Uralkali.
And now Kevin Magnussen has rejoined the team as a replacement for the axed Nikita.
The Dane, previously raced for Haas between 2017 and 2020 before being replaced.
But the 29-year-old has been drafted in and will take part in the second test in Bahrain this weekend ahead of the first race of the season on March 20th. 
Team Principal Guenther Steiner said: “I’m delighted to welcome Kevin Magnussen back to Haas F1 Team.
“When looking for a driver who could bring value to the team, not to mention a wealth of Formula One experience, Kevin was a straightforward decision for us.”
Kevin Magnussen will replace the axed Nikita Mazepin at HaasCredit: Getty Images – Getty
He added: “Kevin was a key component in our previous successes – not least when we both scored our best finishes in Formula One back in 2018. 
“He continued to show last year that he’s an elite race car driver adding wins and podiums to his resume. 
“As a veteran presence in both the garage and the engineering room, he’ll provide a solid benchmark for us with the on-going development of the VF-22. We’re all looking forward to welcoming Kevin back this week in Bahrain.”
Magnussen, who has also had stints at McLaren and Renault, was poised to continue to racing in the USA.
He said: “I was very surprised but equally very excited to receive the call from Haas F1 Team.
“I was looking in a different direction regarding my commitments for 2022 but the opportunity to return to compete in Formula One, and with a team I know extremely well, was simply too appealing.” More

LEWIS HAMILTON feels he was ‘robbed’ in Abu Dhabi and is desperate to ‘destroy’ Max Verstappen this season, according to a former F1 driver.The British superstar looked on course to claim his eighth world title on the final day of the 2021 campaign.
Lewis Hamilton is desperate to bounce back from last year’s disappointment in 2022Credit: Getty
Max Verstappen overtook his title rival on the final lap to claim the 2021 crownCredit: AFP
Lewis Hamilton trumps his rival Max Verstappen in almost every category
But race director Michael Masi ripped up the rulebook surrounding safety cars to set up a final-lap showdown between title rivals Hamilton and Verstappen.
The Dutchman was on brand new soft tyres and overtook the reigning champ to claim his maiden crown in controversial fashion.
But after a winter of speculation surrounding his future, Hamilton is preparing for a fresh bid at history.
And the Mercedes man has already fired a warning shot to Verstappen and Red Bull.
He declared: “If you think what you saw at the end of last year was my best, wait until you see this year.”
Former F1 star Anthony Davidson, who raced 24 times and is a simulator driver for Mercedes, believes that was a powerful statement of intent from hurting Hamilton – and is backing him to bounce back in style this year.
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Davidson told Sky Sports: “When Lewis Hamilton comes out with a sentence like that, you have to take notice.
“He sure is fired up to win this thing once and for all and I think he’ll be hard to beat.
“He’s certainly coming into this season with a very bullish mentality.
“There will be nothing more than Lewis wants from this season than to destroy Max Verstappen.
“Let’s not beat around a bush, he feels absolutely robbed as to what happened last year in Abu Dhabi, he wants to come out with a dominant car and he doesn’t even want to see Max on track, I’m sure.
“He just wants to show him a clean pair of heels, disappear off into the distance and win his eighth world championship.”
Verstappen goes into his title defence on the back of signing a fresh £37million-a-year contract with Red Bull.
And he will be desperate to get the new 2022 campaign off to a flying start by claiming the chequered flag at the first race – in Bahrain on March 20. More