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      Moto 3 ace Jason Dupasquier airlifted to hospital after 19-year-old is struck by another bike in horror Italian GP crash

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      MOTO 3 driver Jason Dupasquier was airlifted to hospital and remains in a ‘very serious’ condition following a horror crash. The Swiss 19-year-old lost control of his bike towards the end of the qualifying session in the Italian GP.
      Jason Dupasquier terrifyingly lost control of his bike at the Italian GP
      He appeared to be hit by Ayumu Sasaki on the track
      Dupasquier first appeared to fall before being hit by his own bike.
      Fellow rider Ayumu Sasaki then reportedly hit Dupasquier before Jeremy Alcoba was also believed to have run over his legs.
      The red flag was immediately raised and Dupasquier received treatment on the track for 30 minutes.
      A helicopter then landed and lifted him to a hospital in Florence where his condition continues to be assessed.
      After the race, medical officer Giancarlo de Filippo provided an update on his welfare and said: “Dupasquier was involved in a very serious crash during the qualifying two for Moto3.
      “The FIM medical intervention team in the vehicles arrived immediately on the site of the accident and after that he was transferred to the Careggi hospital in a hemodynamically stable way to the Careggi hospital in Florence and we will wait for updates from the hospital.
      “At the moment we know that for sure he’s in a very serious condition and as I said we are waiting for updates by them.”
      Sasaki and Alcoba walked away from the incident but Dupasquier’s condition is proving to be hugely concerning.
      Ayumu Sasaki fell off his bike but managed to walk away unhurt
      Jason Dupasquier, 19, was treated on the track for 30 minutes in totalCredit: EPA
      The Swiss ace was then airlifted to a hospital in FlorenceCredit: AFP

      According to Motorsport, doctors in The Careggi hospital will assess his injuries before determining whether he will need surgery.
      Fabio Quartararo finished qualifying in pole position and dedicated his performance to Dupasquier.
      He said: “I want to dedicate this one to Jason who had a really bad crash I hope he is okay.”
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      Lewis Hamilton contract extension talks ‘stall’ amid claims of ‘cracks starting to appear’ with Mercedes bosses

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      MERCEDES bosses have calmed talk of Lewis Hamilton earning a new contract this summer, according to reports.Motorsport.com’s Italian edition has claimed there is increased tension among the German marque’s senior decision makers following the F1 Monaco Grand Prix.
      Lewis Hamilton is in talks over a new Mercedes contractCredit: Getty
      Hamilton, 36, voiced his discontent having qualified seventh on the Principality grid.
      And he failed to climb any places during the race – despite Charles Leclerc and Valtteri Bottas retiring from in front of him.
      The result allowed Max Verstappen to snatch first place in the drivers’ championship with Red Bull also jumping to top spot in the constructors’.
      Before the race, Hamilton had been set to sign on the dotted line for another year with Mercedes by the summer.
      It had taken the team and driver until the eve of the 2021 season to finally tie him down for the defence of his world title.
      But this latest report suggests there is uncertainty within the Merc camp, although the final decision rests with team principal Toto Wolff.
      The salary package is said to have already been agreed, leaving only Hamilton’s potential post-F1 role with the car manufacturer up for discussion.
      Earlier this month, the driver had insisted that he wants to settle the matter before August’s summer break.
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      It’s never a super simple procedure and so hopefully soon we can start, as long as it doesn’t interfere the actual job.Lewis Hamilton

      He said: “We never want to be in the position in January, February.
      “It ruined my whole winter and I’m sure it wasn’t helpful for Toto’s, in terms of being off and relaxed, so it felt like we didn’t really have much of a break.
      “I think we have to be sensible. Naturally we don’t have to rush anything but I think we have to be sensible and start conversations.
      “They’re very complex. It’s never a super simple procedure and so hopefully soon we can start, as long as it doesn’t interfere the actual job.
      “It would be great to get something in place before the break so then we could be in that break and have a clear picture of the future.”
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      Lewis Hamilton not interested in ‘childish’ mind games with Max Verstappen in F1 title battle

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      LEWIS HAMILTON has hit back at suggestions he is indulging in mind games to get an edge over Max Verstappen.Red Bull boss Christian Horner had remarked about the Formula One champion loving ‘all that rubbish’ amid a brewing title fight.
      Lewis Hamilton has fallen to second place in the Formula One championshipCredit: Getty
      Mercedes are receiving a considerable challenge to their crown from Verstappen’s team, who have taken the lead in the drivers and constructors championship.
      But Hamilton has quashed the notion of a ‘war of words’ between the teams.
      He said: “I’m not playing mind games.
      “It is interesting what Christian comes out with, but I couldn’t care less.
      “They did a great job this weekend and that is that. We have had some good races also, but as I said there are 17 races to go.
      “So it starts to get a bit childish when you get into a war of words.”
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      🏁 F1 2021 calendar: practice times, dates and racetrack info
      Horner, 47, had claimed that Hamilton, 36, was letting his title rival get inside his mind ahead of the weekend following Mercedes complaints over Red Bull’s ‘floppy wing’.
      He said: “The fact that Lewis feels he needs to do that means that actually, Max is probably getting under his skin a little.
      “Lewis loves all that rubbish, so just let him get on with it. I think Max does his own thing and is his own man.
      “We’re not even anywhere near halfway yet, so can you imagine what it’d be like, if they’re that close going into the last few races?
      “They bring out the best in each other. Lewis is operating at a phenomenal level. Max is right there, and they’ve been the two standout drivers of the championship so far.
      “If the two guys are starting at the front of the race in the championship and it keeps very tight between them, it’s inevitable that at some point there’s going to be a touch.”
      Red Bull boss Christian Horner (left) has not been afraid to level a dig at HamiltonCredit: Getty

      Verstappen, 23, also aimed a small dig at Hamilton after romping to his maiden Monaco win while the reigning champ was stuck in seventh – insisting that ‘actions speak louder than words’.
      He stated: “You have to talk on the track and that is what I like.
      “We as a team so far made the smallest mistakes and that is why we are ahead. I hope we can keep that going for the rest of the season.”
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      Lewis Hamilton uploads stunning moving art to instagram to celebrate taking 100th F1 pole More

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      Mercedes ‘to sign George Russell to replace Valtteri Bottas on two-year deal’ alongside Hamilton, claims F1 commentator

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      MERCEDES are preparing to drop Valtteri Bottas for George Russell, according to reports.Alexey Popov, a renowned Formula One commentator, has asserted that a move is afoot after the Finn’s tough start to the season.
      Valtteri Bottas is under pressure to keep his Mercedes seatCredit: Splash
      Three third-place finishes have seen him labour behind Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton while his two retirements have underlined his poor luck of late.
      Last weekend’s bid to win the Monaco Grand Prix ended early due to a botched pit stop from second place and he tangled with Williams ace Russell in a nasty crash at Imola.
      Russian pundit Popov told Match TV, via GPBlog: “I will not disclose the source, but there is always a lot of talk in the paddock in Monaco.
      “They told me that Russell’s move to Mercedes for at least two years, and not in Hamilton’s place, is already practically done.”
      Lewis Hamilton sits four points behind championship leader Verstappen after coming home seventh in Monaco.
      Merc academy talent Russell matched his best finish of 14th and is yet to score a point despite his impressive qualifying form.

      🏁 F1 2021 calendar: practice times, dates and racetrack info
      Popov also reported on the potential for Bottas to take his old seat at Williams in a straight swap with the Brit.
      He described: “That’s just my guess, but the fact that Russell will be in the Mercedes is almost certain.
      “[Bottas] is hopelessly behind both Hamilton and Verstappen already. He’s out of the title fight completely. Even [Lando] Norris is ahead of him now.”
      The man with the decision to make is Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who has praised Bottas’ spirit during the early weeks of the season.
      He stated: “Valtteri led our fight all weekend.
      “He was set for a strong podium finish if it wasn’t for the wheel nut problem which forced him to DNF.
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      Sometimes, you just wonder when he will catch a break but Valtteri always comes back stronger and more determined.Toto Wolff

      “I’ve never seen something like that before in my years in racing, and it must have felt awful in the cockpit as his rivals went by.
      “Sometimes, you just wonder when he will catch a break but Valtteri always comes back stronger and more determined. I admire his Finnish resilience so much.
      “I know we will emerge stronger as a team, to give him the results he deserves.”
      The 31-year-old’s next shot at a pushback against Hamilton and Verstappen will come on June 6 and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix – which he won in 2019.
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      Lando Norris slams F1 fans for creating ‘absolute c**p’ after he waved to Daniel Ricciardo at Monaco Grand Prix

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      LANDO NORRIS has lashed out at Formula One fans for making up ‘absolute c**p’ after he waved at Daniel Ricciardo at the Monaco Grand Prix.At last weekend’s race, the British star stormed to his second podium place of the season, coming in third behind winner Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz.
      Norris has slammed fans for making up ‘c**p’ after he waved at team-mate Ricciardo as he passed him in MonacoCredit: Getty
      McLaren team-mate Ricciardo, though, endured a trickier afternoon – ending up 12th.
      At one stage, the Australian was shown the blue flag, forcing him to let Norris through.
      The British F1 ace waved as he passed, with fans quick to speculate he was taking the mick of his team-mate.
      But Norris has launched a passionate defence on Twitch, claiming supporters are ‘making up c**p’ and he was simply being polite and thanking Ricciardo for giving way.
      Norris explained: “Alright, so I see so many of you make up absolute c**p and nonsense as usual.
      “By the way, any time someone lets me pass for a blue flag, anyone, if they get out of the way properly and they should, I put my hand up and say thanks, alright?”
      Norris continued by saying those who were watching closely would have seen he waved at all backmarkers, including Haas duo Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher.
      The furious Brit added: “I did it to freaking everyone; Mazepin, Schumacher, Danny…
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      “Whoever I passed and they got out of the way, I put my hand up and say thanks.
      “So, don’t just notice one when I passed Danny and think I’m doing something that is not right.
      “Let me just get that point across because I see a lot of stories that people make up.”
      Norris – who recently signed a new, £6million-a-year contract at McLaren – is currently third in the driver standings this year.
      The Brit sits behind only Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in the charts amid his stellar season.
      Ricciardo, meanwhile, sits eighth – 32 points behind Norris.
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      Lewis Hamilton told by Mercedes it WAS their fault over wrong call that caused Monaco Grand Prix flop in F1 title blow

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      MERCEDES have admitted they messed up Lewis Hamilton’s race strategy at the Monaco Grand Prix.The defending F1 champ finished in a disappointing seventh and would have probably placed two places higher if the team made the right call.
      Lewis Hamilton, 36, is now behind Max Verstappen, 23, in the Drivers’ ChampionshipCredit: Getty
      It is difficult to overtake at the Monaco GPCredit: Getty
      Hamilton made a nightmare start to his race weekend in Monaco, qualifying in a below-par seventh.
      Overtaking is notoriously difficult at the Circuit de Monaco, placing extra emphasis on starting positions.
      The 36-year-old was handed a reprieve when Charles Leclerc, who had qualified on pole, was forced to retire due to a gearbox issue and team-mate Valtteri Bottas quit the race after a faulty pit stop.
      But Hamilton dropped two places back when Mercedes called him in for a tactical pit, allowing Sergio Perez and Sebastian Vettel to jump ahead.
      And with title rival Max Verstappen winning the GP, the Brit now finds himself four points behind the 23-year-old in the Drivers’ Championship.
      The seven-time world champion demanded answers from his team after the disappointing race and technical director James Allison has responded, admitting fault.
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      According to GP Fans, Allison said: “I can understand why he is unhappy because effectively we lost a chunk of places with the strategy call we made.
      “You come up to the stop, your options are undercut to try and get ahead of the person who is blocking you, or go longer than the person and overcut them.
      “It’s always a finely balanced call and we picked the wrong one of those two options.
      “Lewis still had some rubber left on the tyre for what would have been a few decent laps but the chances are Gasly probably wouldn’t have stopped any time soon and our fear was that he was simply going to just stay out there as a road blocker forever.

      “We had a window behind where we could do an attempted undercut and unfortunately we weren’t able to get enough lap time in our out lap to get past Gasly on the track when he subsequently made his stop to protect against it.
      “Then Gasly’s pace after the stop was so slow that that effectively allowed Vettel, and in turn Perez, to leapfrog the pair of us.”
      Hamilton’s Monaco result shouldn’t cause him too much worry at this early stage in the campaign, winning three of the first five races.
      But Mercedes will need to ensure poor race weekends are few and far between, with Verstappen’s team Red Bull now leading the Constructors’ Championship.
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      Lewis Hamilton to demand answers in showdown Mercedes talks after disastrous Monaco GP handed Verstappen F1 title edge

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      LEWIS HAMILTON will demand answers from his Mercedes team after his miserable Monaco GP.The world champion lost his grip at the top of the championship as Max Verstappen took the chequered flag while Hamilton languished in seventh place.
      Lewis Hamilton was left dismayed by his Monaco nightmareCredit: Getty
      Max Verstappen took both the race win and first place in the championshipCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      It means that not only does the Dutchman now lead the drivers’ championship for the first time in his career, but also his Red Bull team replace Mercedes at the top of the team’s championship.
      And Hamilton, 36, wants answers and will push his team to ensure they don’t make the same mistakes next out in the Azerbaijan GP in Baku.
      He said: “I don’t really feel any pain but of course it was not a great weekend.
      “There’s a lot that we could have done better in terms of how we prepared coming into that weekend.
      “We had some good conversations throughout the weekend but it’s not good enough for all of us.
      “We don’t take it lightly but there’s no point getting all depressed, we’ve got to start looking at the data and figuring out why we’re in this position.

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      “Naturally we all want answers within the team, so I know everyone will be working flat-out to make sure that hopefully this sort of weekend doesn’t happen again.
      “We’ve shown in the past that we can bounce back from these weekends. Hence why I’m not the most stressed.
      “The guys will be back in the factory and I’ll be invited into a meeting on Tuesday, and then one later on in the week to analyse and then plan for the next one.”
      Hamilton wants to discover why his Mercedes was off the pace all weekend, as he struggled to qualify and started the race in seventh.
      He also wants to find out why the team called him in on lap 30 for tyres when the plan had been for him to run longer.
      Hamilton feels that early pit stop prevented him from getting past three other drivers, which would have seen him mount a late push for the podium places.
      There are 17 races to go. I’m not going to get into a war of words. It’s childish.Lewis Hamilton

      Verstappen claimed after the race that “actions speak louder than words” in relation to his simmering relationship with Hamilton as they tussle for the title.
      But Hamilton says he will not be drawn into a “childish” row, saying: “I’m not playing mind games.
      “Red Bull did a great job and that’s that. There are 17 races to go. I’m not going to get into a war of words. It’s childish.”
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      Michael Schumacher’s family buy £2.4million plot for stables in Majorca as F1 legend recovers from ski trauma

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      MICHAEL Schumacher’s family have reportedly splashed out £2.4million on a huge plot of land in Majorca to build stables on.The Formula One legend’s daughter and wife are said to have bought the 13-acre plot to “raise and ride horses on” as he continues his recovery from a devastating ski accident in 2013.
      Michael Schumacher and his wife Corinna pictured in 2004Credit: Getty Images – Getty
      Michael’s wife and daughter, Corinna and Gina-Maria, have reportedly bought land in Majorca to build stables onCredit: Splash News
      The land is reportedly in Puerto Andratx – near to the £27million mansion the driver’s devoted spouse Corinna is thought to have bought from Real Madrid president Florentino Perez in 2017.
      It was reported last month that Corinna was selling the family’s £6.4million mansion on Lake Geneva in Switzerland.
      Schumacher’s daughter Gina-Maria, 24, is a non-professional horse rider and equestrian while Corinna won the European Championship in western-style horse riding in 2010.
      Gina-Maria’s boyfriend, Iain Bethke, is also a show jumper.
      According to island newspaper Diario de Mallorca, the intention of buying the new plot of land is to allow “Gina-Maria to practice her favourite sport” in Majorca.
      Diario de Mallorca reported: “The objective is to raise and ride around 20 horses on it, as Michael Schumacher ’s daughter is a keen equestrian.
      “Stables for the horses, that will be transferred from Switzerland, will be built on it.
      Michael suffered a catastrophic head injury while skiing in 2013Credit: EPA
      Corinna reportedly bought an estate in Majorca from Real Madrid president Florentino Perez in 2017
      Michael retired from F1 in 2012 – a year before his horrific ski accidentCredit: AFP
      “The intention is for Gina Maria to practice her favourite sport in Majorca, as the idea is that the family will increase their number of trips to the island, especially in winter.”
      Schumacher, 52, was put into a medically induced coma for six months after suffering a catastrophic brain injury in December 2013 while skiing with son Mick – who was 14 at the time.
      He fell and hit his head on a rock while crossing an off-piste area on the slopes above Méribel in the French Alps – suffering a serious head injury despite wearing a ski helmet.
      Doctors said he would most likely have died had he not been wearing the safety gear, and the world champ was airlifted to Grenoble Hospital.
      The German racing legend, who had 91 Grand Prix wins, is believed to be receiving full-time care at the sweeping 161,000 sq ft estate in southwest Majorca wife Corinna bought in 2017.
      The huge property near Andratx features two swimming pools, a large garden, a helipad, a guest villa and stunning sea views.
      Schumacher’s family has remained private about his life since the seven-time F1 champion devastating accident while skiing more than seven years ago.
      Michael and Corinna, who married in 1995, previously holidayed on the island of Majorca before his horrific ski incident.

      Corinna reportedly put their Lake Geneva home up for sale for £5million last month.
      In November, F1 boss Jean Todt again said he visits Schumacher regularly, during which the two watch TV together.
      “His fight continues, along with his family and doctors,” Todt told De Telegraaf newspaper.
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