Mercedes-Benz

CHRISTIAN HORNER has spoken about the time Red Bull Racing first signed Max Verstappen – to stop him joining Mercedes.The Dutchman has opened up a 32-point lead over Lewis Hamilton and is edging closer to earning his first world title.
Christian Horner pulled off a real coup by signing a young Max VerstappenCredit: AFP
He is still only 23, but was already touted as a world champ in waiting when he made his F1 debut in 2015 at the age of 17.
Back then, he was not even old enough to drive himself to the track or drink the Champagne on the podium, if he achieved one.
Verstappen has since proved he is the real deal. He’s matured, cut out the mistakes and is mighty quick.
No wonder then, Merc have been cursing the time he slipped through their fingers – and have been trying to sign him ever since.
Horner said: “I first became aware of Max after hearing his name through the karting jungle drums and through contacts who I communicated with.
“But it was only when he got into Formula 3 that suddenly his talent really started to stand out.
“It was at Silverstone and his first race, here was a guy who had done no junior racing at all and had jumped straight into Formula 3, which in those days was considered a big step up, and suddenly he is running at the front and winning races.
“He was also doing it in a car that did not belong to a traditional front-running team.
“So it became obvious he was a potential star of the future and it was at that point Red Bull’s advisor, Helmut Marko, really started to pay closer attention to what he was doing.
“It was at Hockenheim in 2014 and I went for dinner with Helmut. He was saying how Niki Lauda was trying to sign Max for Mercedes and he was asking me my thoughts.
The moment he first got in the car to drive in first practice at the Japanese GP, he was sensational.Christian Horner
“Once I knew that, I said, ‘sure, let’s go for it. It is something Mercedes cannot offer him’.
“Niki was pushing hard and it was a bit of Austrian pride between Niki and Helmut who was going to get him!
“The advantage we had was the cockpit we had available at Toro Rosso and taking that risk.
“So we agreed the deal, and the moment he first got in the car later that year to drive in first practice at the Japanese GP at Suzuka, he was sensational.”
Horner has watched his star driver compete alongside Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat.
Such was his meteoric rise, he quickly attributed the reputation of a teammate killer, as he blitzed his rivals.
He is now doing the same to Hamilton, who admittedly has been hamstrung in his title defence by his Mercedes car.
Horner has watched Verstappen develop and says his father Jos Verstappen’s tough-love upbringing turned him into a tenacious racer.
He added: “I was first struck by Max’s confidence and his car control, plus his lack of imitation of the car and the other drivers.
“Very quickly you could see from his first race in Melbourne in 2015, he was right there and he had huge confidence and commitment and belief in himself.
“It is very easy to underestimate what he has done and what he has achieved and he has done it in a very grounded way.
“Success has not gone to his head. He still lives in the same way and does not live a flashy lifestyle and he is genuinely a nice young man who is living his dream driving the best cars in the world.
“His father was pretty firm on him and that has helped to shape him into the driver he is today.”
MANSELL MANTLE
It will be Hamilton who enjoys the home support of a capacity crowd of 140,000 at Silverstone today and tomorrow.
But Red Bull boss Horner says there are driving qualities in his driver that resemble that of another celebrated Brit, Nigel Mansell.
He said: “It has taken 70 years for these records to be achieved by Lewis, and Max has his career in front of him.
“He is very happy in the environment of the team, he trusts the brand and we have faith in him and that’s how it works.

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

“He doesn’t seem to be shaken in his fight with Lewis. He is a racer and loves going wheel to wheel.
“He is Mansell-like in his bravery and his commitment. You know he is going to give it 110 percent every lap – but without the drama afterwards!
“But in terms of his driving style you know he will give it everything – his size of endowment is similar to Nigel!”
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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.
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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

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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