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      Lewis Hamilton spending extra time in Mercedes garage with engineers attempting to save their faltering F1 season

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      LEWIS HAMILTON has been spending extra time working in the team’s factory to help save his season.The Brit has seen Red Bull’s Max Verstappen open up an 18 point lead in the championship after the Dutchman’s last victory at the Red Bull Ring.
      Lewis Hamilton has been spending extra time working in garage to help save his seasonCredit: Getty
      The Brit has taken on is driving the team’s simulator at Merc’s Brackley HQCredit: Splash
      Verstappen is aiming to increase that gap at this weekend’s Austrian GP, at the same track, and with Hamilton bemoaning the lack of upgrades, he has gone back to Merc’s Brackley HQ to try and help out.
      One of the duties he has taken on is driving the team’s simulator – a task he has hated in the past.
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      He said: “I can’t say that I’ve enjoyed it, particularly after those few difficult races we had.
      “I just went in to try and see if there’s any way I could try and help the team just be better prepared.
      “There’s been a couple of good things from it, but not life changing.
      “I’ll continue to work with them, we’ve got drivers on there that do a lot of work, just working on the processes of how we communicate with them on their programme, so we’re getting the right things tested.
      I just went in to try and see if there’s any way I could try and help the team just be better preparedLewis Hamilton
      “Overall, it’s been positive.
      “I hardly ever drive on the simulator. I maybe do 20 laps a year. I have no interest in the simulator.”
      Meanwhile, Verstappen has laughed off his criticism from the FIA Race Director, Michael Masi, for doing a burnout after his win last Sunday.
      Masi took a dim view of the stunt and gave Verstappen a ticking off, however, the 23-year-old joked he will do a donut instead!

      He said: “I’ll try to do a donut next time! I understand, of course, about safety but I looked at my mirrors, went all the way to the right, took it easy.
      “Everyone was on the left. I just did a burnout and OK if it’s not allowed, I won’t do it again. But at the time, I thought it was really funny and safe.
      “But of course, I understand that you don’t want to see this happening again which is fine for me.”
      Lewis Hamilton says winning a record-breaking eighth world championship will not determine whether he quits Formula One at the end of the year More

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      Lewis Hamilton wears £890 see-through Burberry ‘Sea Maiden’ T-shirt as F1 star walks through Austrian Grand Prix paddock

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      LEWIS HAMILTON rocked up to the Austrian Grand Prix paddock turning heads by wearing a see-through T-shirt.The Formula One world champion completed the outfit with some bright orange trousers and black platform shoes.
      Lewis Hamilton walked around the Austria GP paddock wearing this outfitCredit: Reuters
      Hamilton complemented his snazzy T-shirt with orange trousers and black platformsCredit: Getty
      The T-Shirt retails at £890 from Burberry and is their ‘Sea Maiden’ design.
      Hamilton, trailing Max Verstappen by 18 points in the 2021 championship, didn’t look as though it was playing on his mind as he strolled around the track.
      This weekend offers the seven-time F1 world champ the chance to close the gap on his Red Bull rival Verstappen.
      But Hamilton will be hoping to perform better than last year.
      Valtteri Bottas won with Hamilton back in fourth. Verstappen didn’t even finish the race after retiring on lap 11.
      In order to get back into the title race Hamilton has called on Mercedes to change tack and deliver an upgrade to make his title fight with Verstappen more ‘exciting’.
      The Mercs have utterly dominated Formula One in the hybrid era but look set to lose their 100 per cent championship record in its final year.
      Many teams are turning their attention to the 2022 rule change that will see a complete overhaul of many aspects of the car.

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      Burberry are selling the see-through T-shirt for £890Credit: Burberry
      the seven-time F1 champ is trailing Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ ChampionshipCredit: Reuters
      Hamilton makes his way inside ahead of the press conferenceCredit: Getty
      The ten greatest F1 drivers of all-time – according to SunSport’s motorsport correspondent Ben Hunt

      Among them are Mercedes, who have slipped behind Red Bull while allowing their 2021 car to go without serious development since the season began.
      Max Verstappen’s 18-point title lead has grown with back-to-back wins and Hamilton has asked his team for a rethink.
      He said after Sunday’s Styrian Grand Prix: “I won’t question the team’s logic and how they got through with their process.
      “I would love to have … an upgrade. We would love an upgrade, but I don’t think it’s in the pipeline at the moment.
      “We are down on a few areas. It was close at the beginning of the season and if we both – Red Bull and us – had the same performance as we did in those first four races then perhaps it would be a little more exciting.”
      Hamilton was back in the team T-shirts for the pre-GP press conferenceCredit: AP
      Lewis Hamilton says winning a record-breaking eighth world championship will not determine whether he quits Formula One at the end of the year More

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      Red Bull troll Mercedes by copying F1 rivals’ tweet after Max Verstappen’s Styrian Grand Prix win

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      RED BULL continued their quest to become Formula One top dogs by cheekily copying a Mercedes tweet to mark their Austria win.Max Verstappen romped home in the Styrian Grand Prix on Sunday with barely a challenge from runner-up Lewis Hamilton.

      It was a complete role reversal from the 2020 race at Red Bull Ring, which saw the Mercedes star finish first and 33 seconds clear of his rival.
      The Anglo-German team heralded that win with a celebratory tweet expressing their love for the Spielberg circuit owned by their rivals.
      And Sunday’s victory for Verstappen, by a 35-second margin over Hamilton, saw Red Bull pull out the exact same tweet.
      On both occasions, it read: “What can we say… We ❤️️ coming to the Red Bull Ring! 😜”
      Both were accompanied by images of the winning team’s pit crew leaning over the barrier to cheer home their man.
      Red Bull have now won four races in a row, three for Verstappen alongside the Baku triumph for Sergio Perez after the Dutchman’s tyre failure.
      The streak has put the Mercs on the back foot, behind in the constructors’ standings by 40 points with Hamilton 18 off Verstappen.
      The seven-time champion called on his team to ditch their plan of focusing on the 2022 rule overhaul and deliver him an upgrade this season.

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      🏁 F1 2021 calendar: practice times, dates and racetrack info

      Formula One does it all again around Spielberg next weekend to round off a triple-header.
      But Verstappen has been warned of his conduct ahead of the race officially known as the Austrian Grand Prix.
      The 23-year-old’s ‘burnout’ celebration as he crossed the chequered flag earned a rebuke from the stewards, who will punish the move if done again.
      Lewis Hamilton says winning a record-breaking eighth world championship will not determine whether he quits Formula One at the end of the year More

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      Lewis Hamilton fears his calls for Mercedes upgrade will be ignored despite falling behind F1 leader Max Verstappen

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      LEWIS HAMILTON has called on Mercedes to change tack and deliver an upgrade to make his title fight with Max Verstappen more ‘exciting’.The Mercs have utterly dominated Formula One in the hybrid era but look set to lose their 100 per cent championship record in its final year.
      Lewis Hamilton is hoping for a boost in his bid to win the F1 world titleCredit: Splash
      Many teams are turning their attention to the 2022 rule change that will see a complete overhaul of many aspects of the car.
      Among them are Mercedes, who have slipped behind Red Bull while allowing their 2021 car to go without serious development since the season began.
      Max Verstappen’s 18-point title lead has grown with back-to-back wins and Hamilton has asked his team for a rethink.
      He said after Sunday’s Styrian Grand Prix: “I won’t question the team’s logic and how they got through with their process.
      “I would love to have … an upgrade. We would love an upgrade, but I don’t think it’s in the pipeline at the moment.
      “We are down on a few areas. It was close at the beginning of the season and if we both – Red Bull and us – had the same performance as we did in those first four races then perhaps it would be a little more exciting.

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      🏁 F1 2021 calendar: practice times, dates and racetrack info
      “They have taken a decent step forwards and we will work as hard as we can to manoeuvre around it, but in terms of baseline performance this is what we’ve got.”
      Hamilton admitted it was ‘impossible’ to keep up with Verstappen as he came home a distant second at Red Bull Ring.
      With plenty of the season still to run, the 36-year-old has vowed not to give up despite four consecutive victories for his rival’s team.
      But Red Bull boss Christian Horner has outlined his belief that the tide has turned against Hamilton as Verstappen is simply a better driver.

      The 47-year-old told RacingNews365: “I think Verstappen is the best, and George Russell’s performance at Mercedes confirmed that for me.
      “Max and Lewis stand out for me but, while we should definitely not be blind to what Hamilton has achieved, he does have a good package at his disposal.
      “Max has to get more out of his car. At Mercedes, a Williams driver can qualify himself directly on the front row and Russell almost won the race. 
      “However, if at Red Bull someone has to get into Verstappen’s car, for example if Max had corona, then nobody will reach his level.”
      Lewis Hamilton says winning a record-breaking eighth world championship will not determine whether he quits Formula One at the end of the year More

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      Lewis Hamilton set to sign new Mercedes deal – on £10m less a year than current contract – after ‘hot phase’ of talks

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      LEWIS HAMILTON is expected to sign a new deal with Mercedes within weeks after boss Toto Wolff declared they were entering the ‘hot phase’ of negotiations.Hamilton was quizzed by SunSport last week about negotiations with Wolff over a new deal – believed to be a two-year contract.
      Toto Wolff is in talks to seal Lewis Hamilton’s future with MercedesCredit: Splash
      The world champion confirmed that ‘positive’ discussions had started about extending his stay with the team.
      And now in an interview with German paper Bild, Wolff revealed they are ‘closer to an agreement’.
      He said: “We have such a close relationship and we talk to each other again and again when traveling or off the racetrack.
      “Of course, also about what an agreement could look like for the years to come.
      “If I were to say that the contract has already been signed, that would not be correct. But we are beyond the status of exploratory talks.
      “Now it’s the hot phase. I think we are way closer to an agreement than a separation. Because we also agreed that it is better not to negotiate until February, as was the case this year.”

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      🏁 F1 2021 calendar: practice times, dates and racetrack info
      Hamilton, 36, only signed a 10-month deal earlier this year, worth around £40million, yet his new contract is set to dip down to around £30m per year.
      The deal is likely to form an extension to the joint foundation between the two that strives to support diversity and inclusion in all Merc’s motorsport programmes.
      Once Hamilton’s future is tied up, Mercedes will switch their attention to lining up his team-mate.
      George Russell is increasingly likely to get the nod to replace Valtteri Bottas, despite the Finn’s partnership with Hamilton.
      Meanwhile, former Mercedes boss Ross Brawn has accused the team of ‘trying too hard’ as they have ‘stumbled a bit’ in their title fight with Red Bull.
      He added: “This is the fascinating thing about F1. Sometimes you win races you shouldn’t win. Sometimes you don’t win races you should win.
      Lewis Hamilton was once again second to Max Verstappen last time outCredit: AFP

      “It did feel at the beginning of the year that Red Bull, who were a very slick operation, fumbled a bit.
      “But now they are back up to speed. What looked to be the better car is now showing it in the results.
      “At the beginning of the year, Mercedes outraced them. That is not the case now.
      “It’s been the opposite in the last couple of races. Mercedes are trying too hard, and they’ve stumbled a bit.”
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      Lewis Hamilton says winning a record-breaking eighth world championship will not determine whether he quits Formula One at the end of the year More

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      Eagle-eyed F1 fans spot Daniel Ricciardo wearing £5k X-rated ‘let’s f***’ signet ring in McLaren social media video

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      DANIEL RICCIARDO showed his cheeky nature with a ring bearing the words ‘let’s f***’ for a McLaren social media clip.Eagled-eyed viewers noticed the inscription on an otherwise family-friendly video for the Formula One team’s channel.
      Daniel Ricciardo wore a cheeky X-rated ring for a McLaren filmCredit: Reddit
      The YouTube video saw Ricciardo, 31, try out Australian and British snacks alongside team-mate Lando Norris.
      However one screenshot of the Perth native pointing at a vegemite bun revealed his X-rated signet.
      Fans found it hilarious but the clip appears to have been edited to avoid alerting the YouTube moderators.
      It was also discovered that the ring looks like the £5,000 design by American brand Good Art.
      One Ricciardo fan wrote: “DANIEL RICCIARDO WHAT THE ACTUAL F***, YOU PAYED 7.5 THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THIS RING?!?”
      Another tweeted: “Hahahahahaha don’t change Danny!”
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      🏁 F1 2021 calendar: practice times, dates and racetrack info
      Gail remarked: “That’s subtle.”
      Vishruti joked: “I thought he got engaged ffs I’m soo relieved.”
      And Eric replied: “Can’t wait for an Etsy version.”
      Ricciardo currently sits ninth in the drivers’ championship after a miserable Styrian Grand Prix.
      Ricciardo could only finish 13th in Sunday’s Styrian Grand PrixCredit: Alamy

      Fighting into the points after a poor qualifying run, his McLaren momentarily lost power to undo his good work – finishing 13th.
      He said: “When it’s low, it’s really low, the sport.
      “This was one of those days I really didn’t love it.
      “The weekend went from bad to worse, and it’s just one of those ones.”
      Watch Daniel Ricciardo pull off incredible basketball trickshot as he says hello to his new F1 team McLaren in style More

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      Defiant Lewis Hamilton refusing to give up on record F1 world title dream and vows to fight Max Verstappen until the end

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      LEWIS HAMILTON is defiant and says he will not give up his Formula One crown to Max Verstappen without a fight.The world champion was reeling after Verstappen’s stonking victory last weekend and the bombshell that his Mercedes team would NOT be upgrading his car.
      Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is currently top of the Drivers ChampionshipCredit: Getty
      But defending champion Lewis Hamilton has vowed not to give up his title without a fightCredit: Splash
      Instead, while Red Bull continue to refine and improve the Dutchman’s car, Merc are focussing all their efforts on next year’s challenger.
      However, when quizzed about his title defence, defiant Hamilton says he will not surrender that easily.
      He said: “I don’t accept anything. I think we’ve still got many races ahead of us and we’ve got to keep pushing.
      “We are the world champions and we can definitely improve if we have put our minds to it.
      “If we’re not going to develop and improve our car for the rest of the year, this is the result you’re going to see.
      “Because Red Bull have really eked our performance in these last few races, wherever it’s been in France with the engine or the new wing, whichever it is.

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      The ten greatest F1 drivers of all-time – according to SunSport’s motorsport correspondent Ben Hunt
      “But there’s another TD (technical directive) coming out for the wings. I don’t know if they’re stopping the bendiness or not but maybe that will level the playing field.”
      Meanwhile, Red Bull boss Christian Horner does not believe Merc boss Toto Wolff will throw in the towel that easily.
      He added: “What Mercedes do is very much their business, so we’re just focused on ourselves.
      “We know Toto loves to throw the light somewhere else, so I cannot believe they’ll go through the rest of this year without putting a single component on the car.
      “All we can do is focus on our own job.
      Red Bull chief Christian Horner expects Mercedes to put up a fight right until the endCredit: Splash

      “Of course it is a balancing act between this year and next year, but if that means we’ve got to work a bit harder than the other teams, we’re fully up for it.
      “For the first time in quite a while we’ve come out of the blocks this year with a competitive car and we’ve managed to optimise that and tune it.
      “When you look at the new car for next year, every time it goes through a development cycle it’s significant steps.
      “It’s getting the balance right between marginal gains for this year and big steps for next year. But that’s no different to how it’s been in the past.
      “We’ve just got to keep turning the screw, keep our heads down, keep doing what we’re doing, keep doing the basics well.”
      Lewis Hamilton says winning a record-breaking eighth world championship will not determine whether he quits Formula One at the end of the year More

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      Red Bull boss claims Max Verstappen is a better driver than Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes ace would struggle in his car

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      MAX VERSTAPPEN is better than Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes champ would struggle if they had to swap cars, claims Red Bull boss Christian Horner. Brit chief Horner – married to former Spice Girl Geri – reckons fellow Englishman George Russell’s outing in Hamilton’s car last season proved Verstappen, 23, is superior.
      Christian Horner (left) thinks Max Verstappen is a better driver than Lewis HamiltonCredit: Reuters
      Hamilton is yet to sign a new deal at MercedesCredit: Getty – Pool
      Seven-time world champion Hamilton, 36, was KO’d by coronavirus for the Sakhir Grand Prix and Williams driver Russell deputised.
      Russell qualified in second place just 0.026s behind the other Mercedes driven by Valtteri Bottas and was leading the race by ten seconds before problems in the pit and with his tyres cost him a maiden win.
      Horner, 47, told RacingNews365: “I think Verstappen is the best, and George Russell’s performance at Mercedes confirmed that for me.
      “Max and Lewis stand out for me but, while we should definitely not be blind to what Hamilton has achieved, he does have a good package at his disposal.
      “While Max has to get more out of his car.
      “At Mercedes, a Williams driver can qualify himself directly on the front row and Russell almost won the race. 
      “However, if at Red Bull someone has to get into Verstappen’s car, for example if Max had corona, then nobody will reach his level.”
      Red Bulls’s Verstappen is hoping to challenge Brit Hamilton’s F1 supremacyCredit: Getty Images – Getty
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      Hamilton was knighted by the Queen in the New Year’s Honours list and also picked up the BBC Sports Personality of the Year gong for 2020.
      The Stevenage-born icon eclipsed Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 wins last year to fuel the GOAT debate.
      Rival Sebastian Vettel insisted Schumacher is the greatest while Hamilton slammed critics ‘with a bee in their bonnet’.
      Verstappen finished third behind the two Mercedes in 2020 and Horner thinks there is plenty more to come from the Dutch star after confirming he hasn’t reached his full potential yet.
      He added: “The others have a hard time compared to Max’s performance.
      “If you look at his performance in Abu Dhabi: his pole was phenomenal and then he controlled the race in a very mature way from start to finish.
      “His racing craft is excellent, as is his tyre management.
      “Max has become better at ‘reading’ the race, giving feedback to the team, but also, for example, in dealing with disappointment. He has matured very much in those areas.”
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