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      Verstappen spotted on rare track-walk ahead of pivotal Qatar GP as he sweats on update from Hamilton tussle in Brazil

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      MAX VERSTAPPEN took a rare track-walk ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix as he awaits the result of Lewis Hamilton’s appeal.Verstappen is not known for having a look around before the big race as he previously stated that he “can’t be a***d” and prefers “a few more minutes in bed”.
      Red Bull star Max Verstappen took a rare track-walk ahead of the Qatar Grand PrixCredit: Getty
      Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton had a little tussle at the Brazilian Grand PrixCredit: Getty
      Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have appealed the incident in Sao Paulo ahead of the Qatar GPCredit: Rex
      Verstappen said in June: “I haven’t done [a track-walk] since 2017.
      “I’ll have a few more minutes in bed, and if I want to know the track, I will drive my out lap a bit slower, look around, you know?”
      However, Verstappen made an exception this time as he took a walk with his Red Bull team on Thursday morning.
      Track-walks are a chance for drivers to get to know the track and discuss strategy with their engineers.
      It seems like the Dutchman also wanted to get his mind off Mercedes’ appeal after his tussle with Hamilton in the Brazilian Grand Prix.
      The two title rivals nearly collided in Sao Paulo when the British superstar tried to pass the Red Bull driver and was forced wide, having to go off-track to avoid hitting the Dutchman.
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      Stewards deemed no investigation was necessary at the time but had no access to forward-facing on-board footage from Verstappen’s car.
      Such footage later emerged and Mercedes requested a review hoping that would lead to a time-penalty that would see the 24-year-old drop behind Valtteri Bottas, who finished three seconds behind him in third.
      Hamilton still won the race but a potential sanction could have a significant impact on the title race.
      The 36-year-old is after his eighth title but is 14 points adrift of his Red Bull rival.
      Hamilton still has much to do to rein in the Dutchman with three rounds left on the Formula One calendar.
      Lewis Hamilton celebrates his F1 victory at Brazil Grand Prix More

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      Mercedes will FAIL with bid to have Verstappen punished for running Hamilton off the road, predicts Martin Brundle

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      MERCEDES will be unsuccessful in their review of the incident between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen in Brazil.That is according to former British Formula One driver Martin Brundle, who predicts Hamilton’s team will fail to get Verstappen punished for running their driver off the road in Sao Paulo.
      Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen almost collided during the Brazilian Grand PrixCredit: Sky Sports
      Martin Brundle doesn’t expect Mercedes will get Max Verstappen punished for that incidentCredit: Getty
      The two title rivals nearly collided when the British superstar tried to pass the Red Bull driver and was forced wide, having to go off-track to avoid hitting the Dutchman.
      Stewards deemed no investigation was necessary at the time but had no access to forward-facing on-board footage from Verstappen’s car.
      Such footage later emerged and Mercedes requested a review hoping that would lead to a time-penalty that would see the 24-year-old drop him behind Valtteri Bottas, who finished three seconds behind him in third.
      Brundle wrote in his column for Sky Sports: “Mercedes may still ask for a stewards’ review but those claims rarely get a change of decision.
      “In any event, Red Bull will say they cruised at the end and so any five-second penalty putting them behind Bottas would be unfair – Max would have just driven faster, to which Mercedes will say so would have Valtteri.
      “Hamilton remained very calm about the incident and the subsequent radio call to tell him no further action from the stewards. I strongly suspect his determination to pass Max soared at that point.”

      Brundle added: “On the grid, Merc boss Toto Wolff was visibly angry that among the many changes throughout the grid under the parc ferme rules (including both Mercedes), Red Bull had changed rear wing elements on Verstappen’s car.
      “So why weren’t Mercedes allowed to address whatever had gone wrong on Hamilton’s rear wing during qualifying and causing his disqualification, he reasoned?
      “A fair question, the main answer being that those replaced parts were approved changes under FIA inspection and control and had not failed a legality check.
      “Furthermore, he wondered ‘and how about the glue and tape which had been applied to the Red Bull rear wings a week earlier in Mexico qualifying when they were managing a critical issue, only for it to be taken off for the race?’ Harder to argue against.”
      Lewis Hamilton celebrates his F1 victory at Brazil Grand Prix More

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      Lewis Hamilton lauded by Pele as football icon thanks Brit for hoisting Brazilian flag after ‘glorious’ Sao Paulo GP win

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      FOOTBALL legend Pele thanked British Formula One superstar Lewis Hamilton for hoisting Brazil’s flag after his Brazilian Grand Prix triumph.Hamilton started in Sao Paulo from 10th place and put together a sensational performance that saw him finishing first and setting his title battle with Max Verstappen on fire.
      British star Lewis Hamilton hoisted the Brazilian flag after winning the Grand Prix in Sao PauloCredit: Rex
      Football legend Pele thanked Lewis Hamilton for paying tribute to Brazil after his triumphCredit: Instagram @pele
      Pele watched the race and was moved by the Mercedes driver’s decision to borrow the Brazilian flag from a marshal and wave it as he stood at the top of the podium.
      The Santos and Brazil legend shared a post on Instagram in which he posed with a Selecao shirt dedicated to the 36-year-old ‘world champion’ from his ‘amigo’.
      The 81-year-old also shared a snap of Hamilton paying tribute to the most recent Grand Prix’s host nation.
      Pele posted on his personal social media page: “A wonderful performance.
      “A day as glorious for you [Hamilton] as it is for us Brazilians.
      “It’s great to see an [F1] driver raise our flag on the podium. Thank you for being who you are.”
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      Hamilton saw the legendary footballer’s post on social media and issued the following response: “Thank you sir.”
      The Mercedes driver is after his eighth title but is 14 points adrift of Red Bull rival Verstappen.
      Hamilton needs at least one more win to equal the Dutchman or grab the lead with three rounds left on the F1 calendar.
      The next race is scheduled to take place in Qatar from Friday and much is expected from both title foes.
      Lewis Hamilton celebrates his F1 victory at Brazil Grand Prix More

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      Red Bull fear Hamilton will overturn 14-point Verstappen deficit to win F1 title due to ‘unbelievable rocket engine’

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      LEWIS HAMILTON has the advantage over Max Verstappen heading into the final three races of the season, according to Red Bull chief Helmut Marko.The seven-time champion reignited his hopes of a record-breaking eighth drivers’ title with a sensational victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday as he recovered from 10th to take his sixth win of 2021.
      Hamilton produced one of his greatest ever drives to win in Brazil on SundayCredit: Getty
      Verstappen still leads the championship but Red Bull fear they will be caught by MercedesCredit: Rex
      Hamilton’s victory reduced Verstappen’s lead to just 14 points with races in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi closing out the season.
      And Marko, who is the head of Red Bull’s driver development programme, believes Mercedes now have the upper hand heading into the final few races.
      Speaking to AMuS, he said: “There were not two rockets, but one.
      “Only the Hamilton [car] has such an unbelievable surplus on the straights.
      “Despite the lead, I see us at a disadvantage if Hamilton maintains this engine advantage.”
      With three races remaining in the calendar, 78 points remain up for grabs for the drivers – 25 for a win plus the additional point for the fastest lap.

      Hamilton will win the championship if he wins all three.
      In fact, if the Brit takes the chequered flag ahead of Verstappen in Qatar and Saudi Arabia – and they split the two fastest lap points – the title rivals could be absolutely level on 368.5 points with one race to go.
      Should Verstappen win in Qatar, though, he would be 21 points clear with two races to go and therefore finishing second behind Hamilton in both would be enough.
      Should the pair finish level on points at the end of the season, the championship will be decided on race wins.
      In which case Verstappen, who leads 9 victories to 6, would be crowned world champion.

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      Max Verstappen fined £43k for TOUCHING F1 title rival Lewis Hamilton’s rear wing after qualifying for Brazil GP

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      MAX VERSTAPPEN was slapped with a £43,000 fine for touching title rival Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes car after qualifying at the Brazilian Grand Prix.Verstappen was caught examining the rear wing of Hamilton’s Mercedes in a fan video which circulated on social media after finishing second to the Brit in Friday’s session.
      Red Bull star Max Verstappen was caught touching Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes carCredit: Twitter
      Fan footage was released showing Max Verstappen examining Lewis Hamilton’s rear wingCredit: Twitter
      Hamilton’s car was ultimately seemed to have broken technical regulations concerning DRS, leading to him being forced to start Saturday’s sprint race from the pits.
      But that did not spare Verstappen, who copped a hefty fine for breaching Parc Ferme rules.
      Rules state that under Parc Ferme, only the officials assigned may enter the paddock and ‘no operation, checking, tuning or repair is allowed unless authorised by the same officials or by the applicable regulations’.
      Verstappen was called to see stewards on Saturday morning in Sao Paulo and was joined by Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley.
      The meeting lasted less than half an hour and it was confirmed later that the Dutchman has been fined.
      Verstappen could not take full advantage of Hamilton’s disqualification as he was beaten by Valtteri Bottas in Saturday’s 23-lap sprint race – despite being bumped up to pole.

      But two extra world championship points means the Red Bull whizkid now has a 21 point lead over his closest rival in the title standings, with four races left.
      Hamilton, who was forced to start in the pit lane, recovered with a stunning surge through the field to finish an astonishing fifth, keeping his hopes alive.
      Britain’s seven-time world champ will start tenth on the grid for Sunday’s 71-lap race due to a separate five-place penalty for taking a new engine.
      Max Verstappen saw title rival Lewis Hamilton getting disqualified soon afterCredit: Reuters
      Lewis Hamilton enjoys action packed break as F1 ace gets pelted by bugs in jeep in wild ride More

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      Lewis Hamilton title woe as Brit faces DISQUALIFICATION after trouncing Max Verstappen for Brazilian GP sprint pole

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      LEWIS HAMILTON’S hopes of a record-breaking eighth F1 world title could be up in smoke after a potential breach of the regulations during qualifying in Brazil.The Brit trounced championship rival Max Verstappen in Sao Paolo to earn pole position for Saturday’s sprint race – and a chance to claw back two points.
      Lewis Hamilton crushed Friday qualifying to get pole for the sprint in Brazil but could now start lastCredit: Getty
      Max Verstappen was not too disappointed to come in second ahead of the weekendCredit: Getty
      But Hamilton’s joy was short-lived after news his Mercedes is pending an FIA investigation after it opened more than it should when DRS was activated, giving him an extra burst of speed.
      If Hamilton’s Silver Arrow has breached the technical regulations he could be disqualified.
      This would see him start at the back of the grid for sprint qualifying, which will determine the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
      Hamilton already trails Verstappen by 19 points and the Dutchman could open up a bigger gap on the defending champion if Hamilton is to start the Brazilian Grand Prix from the back of the field.
      The FIA have summoned a representative of Mercedes to the stewards to discuss the incident.
      To add salt to the wounds, Hamilton will also be met with a five-place grid penalty on Sunday after taking on a new engine.

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      Meaning any ground he makes up in the 100km sprint qualifying race will all be undone for the Grand Prix.
      It has overshadowed what appeared to be a turning point for Mercedes in the championship, after Hamilton showed incredible pace to beat Verstappen by 0.4 seconds.
      Before the rear wing was reported to the FIA, Hamilton was amazed to see how much Mercedes had improved since the Mexico GP.
      He said: “We’ve been working so hard to get this car right, it’s been tough.
      “So to finally get the car feeling like it did today, it feels great and it’s just a testament to all the hard work in the garage and at home to try and pull out everything we have in the car.
      “The last two poles I’ve had, I’ve had a penalty. So it’s a bit unfortunate to have the penalty but it is what it is.
      “I don’t know if the pace will translate to the race, but I’ve been going from P3 and I sit there for the whole hour trying to make the right set up changes in practice and the anxiety you get is crazy.
      “A lot of times I get it wrong and today I got it right and the car was really nice to drive.
      “It was everything I wanted and then that enabled me to keep pushing and you could just see purple, purple, purple and I was just gaining each time.
      “I don’t know how we can go from one track where they are half a second ahead to then being behind, but anyway they will be very strong in the race tomorrow and I hope Valtteri [Bottas] gets a good start.”
      Although Verstappen wasn’t shocked to see his rival thriving with his fresh Mercedes-powered engine.
      Verstappen said: “Naturally when they take a new engine they have more power for the weekend.
      “For me it’s not a big shock, I am just happy to be second, that’s a good position to start from.
      “Of course you want to be closer but sometimes you just have to be realistic and there wasn’t much more in it.”
      Hamilton’s ex-team-mate Rosberg reveals why he couldn’t drive two laps in F1 car More

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      Lewis Hamilton in huge F1 world title blow as Mercedes star takes five-place grid penalty for engine change at Brazil GP

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      SEVEN-TIME world champion Lewis Hamilton WILL take a five-place grid penalty in Sao Paolo.The Brit’s car requires an engine change for this weekend’s Brazilian GP.
      Hamilton faces yet another setback in his quest for an eighth world titleCredit: AFP
      It makes his task of overhauling Max Verstappen’s 19 point lead in the standings even more challenging.
      The penalty comes into force after the Sprint race, meaning he will start that in the place that he qualifies on Friday.
      Qualifying is on Friday evening after Practice One, followed by Practice Two and the Sprint Race on Saturday night.
      So the best possible place Hamilton can start from on Sunday’s race is fifth on the grid.
      It’s the fifth time Hamilton has had an engine change this season – two over the three allowed swaps.
      He previously changed his engine unit at the Turkish GP last month and eventually finished in fifth place.
      But with SunSport predicting a Max Verstappen win even before the penalty Hamilton can’t afford to finish that low down and lose yet more ground on the Dutchman.

      When asked on Thursday about a possible penalty Hamilton remained coy, saying: “I can’t really comment at the moment.
      “I don’t think the engines have even arrived. As far as I am aware currently my engine is fine.
      “I will find out obviously later on. We’ve not even done an engineering [meeting] yet.”
      But now the engine change has been confirmed and the Brit will have to take a penalty.
      It comes as a blow to the seven-time world champ with just four races left on the calendar.
      Abu Dhabi hosts the season finale on December 12 after races in Brazil, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
      But the title may well already be decided by the time the circuit touches down at Yas Marina.
      Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen react to dangerous crash More

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      Final four F1 races predicted – can Lewis Hamilton claw back 19 points on Max Verstappen and win an eighth world title?

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      WE are into the final four races of this epic F1 season. A total of 19-points separate championship leader Max Verstappen from title holder, Lewis Hamilton.
      A steely-eyed Hamilton with Verstappen in the backgroundCredit: PA
      The pair have been going back-and-forth all seasonCredit: EPA
      Hamilton, who has won the title a joint-record seven times, has never overturned such a points deficit to land the world crown.
      And in what would offer another first, incredibly, Verstappen has never won ANY car-racing title before.
      Here SunSport looks at the four races and tries to predict where both the drivers’ and constructor’s championship titles will be heading.

      CURRENT STANDINGS
      Driver Championship

      Verstappen 312.5
      Hamilton 293.5

      Constructors Championship

      Mercedes 478.5
      Red Bull Racing 477.5

      BRAZIL
      THINK of Brazil, and you think of Ayrton Senna.
      The wonderful Sao Paulo track really is a special place that has served up some thrilling races.
      Hamilton finished third in Brazil last time out after knocking Red Bull’s Alex Albon off the trackCredit: AFP or licensors
      In recent years, it has been a happy hunting ground for Mercedes, however, in 2019, the last time it held a GP, Verstappen was the winner.
      Worth noting also, that Hamilton has only won twice in Brazil.
      This year it would appear to suit the Red Bull car, or more importantly their Honda engine.
      However, weather can change things in Sao Paulo and a bit of rain would redraw the form book.
      That said, it is due to be sunny and dry on Sunday and that would suit Verstappen and Red Bull down to the ground.

      VERDICT: VERSTAPPEN WIN

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      QATAR
      NEW track for 2021, the Moto GP circuit was the last race to be bolted on to the end of the calendar to take the tally to 22 races.
      Little is known about how F1 cars will perform in Doha.
      Sure, they have all done simulations and the top teams have all sent representatives to make a personal check, but there is nothing that will be guaranteed until practice starts.
      With that unknown comes uncertainty and in that case, it is always best to look towards experience.
      Hamilton has bags of it, and if he was looking to stop the rot and keep the title race interesting, this could be his best chance of doing just that.

      VERDICT: VERSTAPPEN WIN

      SAUDI ARABIA
      ANOTHER new track, and another tight one to call.
      Interestingly, this circuit – built in 12 months – promises to be the second quickest (after Monza) of the year and has been designed to mirror the fast-flowing corners of Silverstone, home of the British GP.
      Look back to both those races this year and one thing sticks out.
      Crashes involving Hamilton and Verstappen.
      Could there be a repeat in Saudi Arabia? You’d not bet against it.
      That said, if it is kept clean, the Red Bull top speed could be too much for Hamilton and Merc to overturn.

      VERDICT: VERSTAPPEN WIN

      This season’s title race could go down to the wireCredit: EPA
      ABU DHABI
      THE final race of the year, but will it hold the decider?
      Not based on the above predictions, but if it did, then this offers Hamilton another chance.
      The Brit has won there five times before, including victory at Yas Marina in 2019.
      Tight to call, as the power advantage will not count for much for Red Bull.
      Downforce, experience and technique will be key, in which case, it could be Hamilton’s.
      Even if the title is won by Abu Dhabi, it would be a good marker for either driver to set down as they head into 2022.

      VERDICT: HAMILTON WIN

      Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen react to dangerous crash More