Motorsport

MCLAREN star Lando Norris was forced to return to the UK after suffering internal bruising during the opening rounds of the Formula 1 season.
In racing to a first-ever podium in Austria, followed by a stirring rally to fifth last weekend, the young Brit was bashed around by the severe G forces experienced at 200 miles per hour.

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Norris put the problem down to going so long out of his F1 car during the lockdownCredit: AFP or licensors
Despite being under strict coronavirus “bubble” protocols, Norris saw a specialist back home during the week before jetting off to this weekend’s race in Hungary.
And he explained that being away from his F1 car for so long, during the lockdown period, was behind his troubles.
The 20-year-old told reporters: “I went back to the UK in the last few days, remaining in my bubble, to go and see some specialists and get scans and so on.
“It’s not something that’s going to heal completely overnight but I’m much better than what I was last weekend.

“It’s just bruising from being out of the car for so long basically, being out of a Formula 1 car for so long, and then getting back into it and going straight into a race weekend, doing so many laps.
“It wasn’t something I could really prepare for or know about until after we did the first weekend.

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“Having a few days off in between, it then hit my body a few days later and I was a bit bruised.”
There had been paddock rumours that a rib-rattling bear hug from McLaren boss Zak Brown was behind the pain Norris was suffering.

However, after remarking that it was due to a broken heart in a joke about being dumped, the racer insisted he should be fine for the upcoming Hungarian GP.
He added: “I’m alright for now. It’s hard to know until I’m in the car and I’m pushing it to the limit again, but for now everything is good.”

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A RUSSIAN Instagram model has claimed she had a “romantic” relationship with Lewis Hamilton.
Viktoria Odintcova, 26, claims the F1 world champion pursued her after he broke up with pop star Nicole Scherzinger.

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Russian model Odintcova claims she and Hamilton had a romantic relationship

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The Instagram model says their relationship now is purely platonic

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Odintcova has more than 5 million Instagram followers

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She claims she and Hamilton remain good friends

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The TV host says she knows Neymar through her friendship with Hamilton

Odintcova, who also says Cristiano Ronaldo messaged her on the photo-sharing app, claims she and Hamilton, 35, are now just friends.
She is quoted by RT as claiming: “We had different types of relationship.
“At a certain period of time it was romantic. He was courting me.
“But then this relationship evolved into friendship.

“I live in Russia and he lives abroad. We just became friends who can message each other and send holiday greetings.”
Odintcova, a TV host with 5.1 million Instagram followers, claims she met the Mercedes driver – Britain’s richest sports star – in Barcelona four years ago.
She says they then started exchanging messages on the social media site but now things are purely platonic between them.

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Odintcova claims she and Hamilton still message each other

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She said she couldn’t speak English when she first met the F1 world champ

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Odintcova says she gets bombarded with messages from sports stars

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Ronaldo apparently messaged the Instagram beauty but she never replied

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Odintcova claims Hamilton is the ‘most famous’ person in her phone book

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The Russian influencer says she and Hamilton became close after his relationship with Scherzinger endedCredit: Getty – Contributor
Speaking of their friendship, Odintcova claimed: “It was after Nicole Scherzinger.

“We met in Barcelona three or four years ago. We have been on good terms since then, he’s my friend.
“We don’t have any romantic [relations].
“We can call each other asking, ‘how are you doing? Let’s drink coffee someday’. That’s it.”
Odintcoa previously spoke of Hamilton – who has been warned he faces prison if he breaks quarantine rules in Hungary – being the “most famous person in my phone book”.
She said last year: “The most famous person in my phonebook is Lewis Hamilton.

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The brunette stunner is a mega hit on social media

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It is easy to see how she has attracted more than 5 million followers

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Odintcova is not shy about showing off her curves on social media
“The last time he messaged me was November 15, to congratulate me on my birthday.
“We’re friends, we just write to each other and call sometimes. He’s in the friend zone…
“I go to his races occasionally, the last time was in Sochi (at the Russian Grand Prix). We’ve been friends for three years. When I met him, I could barely speak English, I could only understand it.
“I’m in touch with Neymar, because he’s friends with Lewis, I know him through Lewis.

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“I understand that he’s a normal guy, we message each other on Instagram.”
If that is the case then it would appear Hamilton and Brazil superstar Neymar drew more of a response than Ronaldo.
Odintcova said last year: “Ronaldo wrote to me. It was a long time ago. He wrote, ‘hi, how are you?’
“I deleted the message and didn’t reply.”
The Portuguese superstar should not be too disheartened though.
Odintcova said she gets bombarded with messages from sports stars and never opens them.

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She said: “I often receive messages from professional athletes, especially from European footballers.
“I don’t even remember these names. I just see, ‘oh, one more message from some player’.
“I don’t even open them.”

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LEWIS HAMILTON says he will never forget making the “Black Power” salute after his victory in last weekend’s Styrian Grand Prix.
The F1 world champion was in sensational form at the Red Bull Ring and made the poignant gesture made famous by American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympic Games.

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Lewis Hamilton will ‘never forget’ his Black Power salute on the podium after winning the Styrian GPCredit: Getty

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Lewis Hamilton was visibly overwhelmed after the podium ceremonyCredit: Getty
Hamilton, 35, has been outspoken on his support for the Black Lives Matter movement and has also created his own commission to increase diversity in F1.
He said: “I remember seeing and reading about their experience and seeing the iconic image of their salute.
“And that was inspiring for me.
“Racism is something that has been around for hundreds of years and currently continues.

“When you’ve got icons, people like that who’ve stood up against this battle, I just find it inspiring.
“I just took a page out of their book, realising that I have this platform, I have this opportunity to continue to raise awareness and try and unite people, to try and educate myself but also educate other people and that was really where it came from.
“It felt like the right moment, it felt an important moment for me. I’ll never forget that moment.”
Hamilton and some of his fellow F1 drivers are expected to again take a knee before this weekend’s Hungarian GP.

He will again raise the subject in a Zoom video call on Friday with his fellow F1 stars hoping for a more-unified display compared with last weekend’s ramshackled attempt.

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Sebastian Vettel is in talks with Aston Martin after being dumped by FerrariCredit: Reuters
Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel has confirmed he is having talks with Racing Point, who will become Aston Martin F1 team next season.
The four-time world champion is staying tight-lipped over his plans after being unexpectedly dumped by Ferrari.
He added: “At a later stage with anyone, then it would get a bit more concrete.
“But at this stage the truth is that there’s nothing to announce and nothing more concrete than just loose talks.
“If you ask about Racing Point, I think everybody’s talking about Racing Point. I think the first two races have been impressive, the performance on track.
“But when it comes to myself then as I said, there’s no news, nothing that has changed within a week.
“It will probably take some time, most importantly for myself to make the right decision for myself. But anything at this stage is still open.”
McLaren’s Lando Norris has revealed he flew back to the UK after the Styrian GP to undergo tests on his chest injury.
The Brit has been given the all-clear to race this weekend and says it was just to internal bruising caused by being in the car.
He said: “I’m feeling better for this week which is a very good thing. I went back to the UK in the last few days, remaining in my bubble to go and see some specialists and get scans.
“We diagnosed what the problem was, I’m feeling better.

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Lando Norris flew back to the UK for checks on his chest injuryCredit: Splash News

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“It’s not something that’s going to completely heal overnight but I’m much better than I was on the weekend so that’s a good thing.
“It’s just bruising from being out of a Formula One car for so long and getting back into it straight into a race weekend and doing so many laps.
“It wasn’t something I could really prepare for or know about.
“After we did the first weekend I had a few days off and it then hit my body a few days after.”

Formula One legend Sir Jackie Stewart denies claims of diversity issue in F1 despite Lewis Hamilton’s protests More

SIR JACKIE STEWART has denied suggestions there is a distinct lack of diversity in Formula One – despite Lewis Hamilton’s protests.
Hamilton, 35, recently spoke out about the lack of diversity in the sport and vowed to help spark change.

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Sir Jackie Stewart doesn’t believe the diversity issue in F1 is that bigCredit: Rex Features

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Lewis Hamilton has been fighting for diversity and against racism since the F1 season startedCredit: Getty
The British racer has taken a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement before both Grands Prix this year.
Hamilton has been joined by a handful of other drivers, with some opting to stay standing.
But Stewart reckons the diversity problem is “not as big” as is being made out – saying everyone is accepted in F1 if they’re qualified.
Stewart told Good Morning Britain: “I think Lewis has been a great example to lots of people.

“He’s quite vocal about these elements, [but] I don’t think there’s as big a problem as there might seem.
“There is no resistance for change if someone is clever and good at what they do.
“They will be accepted in Formula One.
“What we need to do is be sure whatever colour, man or women, they have to be educated in that particular area of engineering.

“And if we had different races wanting to get into Formula One they have to do it through education.”
Last month, Mercedes star Hamilton spoke out about the lack of diversity in F1.
‘BARRIERS’
The six-time world champion said: “Despite my success in the sport, the institutional barriers that have kept F1 highly exclusive persist.
“It is not enough to point to me, or to a single new black hire, as a meaningful example of progress.
“Thousands of people are employed across this industry and that group needs to be more representative of society. 
“For this reason, I have been working with the Royal Academy of Engineering to create The Hamilton Commission…
“[It is] a research partnership dedicated to exploring how motorsport can be used as a vehicle to engage more young people from black backgrounds with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects…
“[We can then], ultimately, employ them on our teams or in other engineering sectors.”
And after the Styrian GP at the weekend, Hamilton continued: “Formula One, yes they have taken a step forward.
“But ultimately there is more they can do. And the governing body, who dictate what these teams do.
“I asked on a Zoom video call, ‘look, F1 has come forward in supporting end racism and it is amazing to see Mercedes doing the same thing.
“But no other team has said a single thing. Whilst we have seen the Red Bull mechanics take a knee, which I think is great, but publicly, as businesses and teams…
“If you look at Ferrari, who have thousands of people working with them, I have heard no word from Ferrari saying they hold themselves accountable and this is what they are going to do for their future.
“We need the teams to do that. And F1 and the FIA to be the leaders in those scenarios and say ‘hey guys, everyone needs to pull together and fight for this so we can improve’.
“A lot of people don’t know what the problem is. Some people deny there is a problem and that’s why I put this commission together.
“Everyone has their opinion but I want to get to the bottom of it and so when we are putting money in to it, we know the cause and that is the root goal.”

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Since Hamilton’s comments, Mercedes have turned their cars and racers’ bodysuits black instead of silver.
And F1 as a whole has expanded its “We Race As One” initiative, pledging to spend £800,000 on unearthing talent from BAME backgrounds.
Force India have also kickstarted a scheme to find engineers of BAME backgrounds for the future, by teaming up with RoKit.

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