Mercedes-Benz

MERCEDES bagged yet another Formula One record with a seventh consecutive Constructors’ title at Imola on Sunday.
Michael Schumacher’s wins record has already been poached by Lewis Hamilton and the Brit’s Emilia-Romagna win snagged another honour for the Brackley outfit.

Lewis Hamilton drove Mercedes to yet another victory in the Emilia-Romagna Grand PrixCredit: EPA

The championship leader indulged in a shoey after Daniel Ricciardo secured the final podium positionCredit: Reuters

No team had ever won more consecutive Constructors’ Championships than the six that Ferrari and Schumacher put together between 1999 and 2004.
F1’s return to Imola was predicted to be ‘boring’ by a pessimistic Hamilton after he failed to take pole on Saturday.
But a late flurry of activity catapulted the championship leader to victory, leaving Valtteri Bottas cursing his luck.
The Finn backed up his pole position by leading through Turn 1 while Max Verstappen overtook Hamilton.

Some things only go for you when you are the best in the world though, as proved when the Brit’s longer first stint on the medium tyres combined with Esteban Ocon’s retirement.
Able to pit under the Virtual Safety Car, Hamilton had been gifted the lead.

Hamilton can secure his seventh world title in Turkey later this monthCredit: Getty – Pool

Ricciardo took third place after Renault decided not to pit during the late safety carCredit: Getty Images – Getty
And Bottas’ nightmare afternoon began when he picked up damage from track debris.
He later ran wide and was jumped by Verstappen for second place on lap 43.

The race appeared to be heading for an obvious conclusion until an apparent tyre failure sent the Dutchman spinning into the gravel.
A safety car shook down the pack and Williams youngster George Russell looked set for a run at a maiden point in F1.
Yet he managed to lose control of his car while warming his tyres and crashed into the barrier.
It was a huge missed opportunity for the Brit, who furiously punched the ground as he sat on the roadside.

Hamilton cruised home after the safety car ended, followed by Bottas and Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo.
The Aussie’s second podium of the year was greeted with a trademark shoey – even getting the championship leader in on the act.
A record-equalling drivers title will be secured in a fortnight’s time, unless Bottas can outscore Hamilton by eight points in Turkey.

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LEWIS HAMILTON has stated that he DOES want to continue in Formula One as he hunts down another of Michael Schumacher’s records.
A 77-point lead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship looks to be unassailable in his pursuit of a seventh world title.

Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes contract expires at the end of the yearCredit: Splash News

That would draw the Brit level with Ferrari legend Schumacher, whose 91 race wins Hamilton topped with victory in Portugal last weekend.
After that race, Hamilton insisted Mercedes’ dominance of the sport can continue – with himself behind the wheel.
The six-time champ told Sky Sports: “I definitely don’t think it’s over.
“I want to continue.

“I think once we get the job done and the stress of the bubble and everything passes on, we can get to whatever comfortable or uncomfortable position we need to be in and we’ll get it done so we can continue.”
Hamilton, 35, has admitted that it is ‘not going to be a long time’ before he hangs up his steering wheel.
With his current £40million-a-year contract up at the end of the season, the star admitted he was not previously in the right headspace to sit down with Merc boss Toto Wolff and thrash out a deal.
Yet, with the hindsight of the coronavirus pandemic, he does acknowledge that it may have been a good idea to sign on a year ago.

Hamilton noted: “Naturally I think already last year, in Hungary last year I think Toto was talking about signing a contract.
“Of course the pandemic wasn’t then and you look back and you’re like maybe I should have signed it then.
“But the thing is I just think things happen at the right time and I definitely wasn’t ready mentally at the time.
“I wanted to give myself the space mentally to really think about what I want to do, think if there’s any adjustments for me and for the team, how can we get more out of each other – how can I give them an easier time.” More

LEWIS HAMILTON is used to life in the fast lane – but now he has had a taste of what it’s like in the pit lane.
Getting tyres changed in a matter of seconds is par for the course for F1 world champ Hamilton.

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Hamilton had to help out changing the tyre after suffering a blow outCredit: Instagram / @lewishamilton

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The six-time F1 world champ is used to having a crew on hand to change his tyresCredit: Instagram / @lewishamilton

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Hamilton was out driving his new £70,000 electric Mercedes when suffering the tyre blow outCredit: Instagram / @lewishamilton

The Brit hero – whose victory in this month’s Eifel GP meant he equalled Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 race wins – has everything put on a plate for him by Mercedes in his day job.
But he had to get his hands dirty like the pit lane mechanics he relies on after suffering a tyre blow out.
Hamilton, 35, was cruising in his new £70,000 electric Mercedes EQC when one of the wheels went boom.
The six-time world champion – who in his new music sings about drinking too much and sleeping with women – posted photos of himself at a garage with the spare tyre in hand as he and pals sought to fix the mess.

And he wrote alongside the snaps: “We had a tyre blow out on the motorway and had to stop at the station.
“Took a minute to change the wheel but once done, I was back on the road in the EQC.
“It’s the best not having to refuel.”
One fan joked in response to Hamilton’s tweet: “Where’s the Mercedes pit crew when you need them?”

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Another quipped: “A minute? What happened to 2.4 seconds?!”
A fellow fan said: “Maybe when you retire from racing you might get a job with the crew who change tyres during F1.”
Hamilton has a £13million car collection which includes a £4m Shelby and £1.6m Pagani Zonda 760 LH.
He could top Schumacher’s race win record at this weekend’s Portugal GP.
But longtime rival Sebastian Vettel believes Schumacher is still the GOAT because he had more ‘natural’ talent.
Vettel said: “I think he [Schumacher] was better than anybody else I’ve ever seen so far. I think he had a natural talent that is very difficult to explain.”

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VALTTERI BOTTAS has reaffirmed his belief that he is BETTER than Lewis Hamilton – as he looks to claw back a massive championship deficit.
For the second time this season, the Finn failed to translate a pole position into a win as he retired from the Eifel Grand Prix.

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Lewis Hamilton (left) holds a comfortable lead over Valtteri Bottas (right) in the drivers’ standingsCredit: EPA

With Hamilton sweeping to victory, he boasts a 69-point lead in pursuit of his record-equaling seventh Formula One world title.
But Bottas still believes he can better the Brit, on his day.
He said after the race: “Of course I believe that, when I’m at my best I know I can be better than him.
“But obviously there are days that he’s better, no doubt, and overall in the last few years being his team-mate, overall he has been better.

“But I don’t do politics, I just love driving, I love racing, I like fair but hard racing and that’s what I do, that’s how I’ve always raced and that’s how I’ll go on.”
Bottas, 31, is set to finish behind his team-mate for the fourth-straight year of his time with Mercedes.

And he is yet to put up a stern fight to grab Hamilton’s title, bagging a personal best second place last year – but ending up 87 points off his colleague.
Sunday’s DNF came after an impressive race in Russia for Bottas, who explained his emotional response to that victory.

He noted: “As an athlete and a guy who really puts everything always out there, when you feel like you’re not getting to your goals and not getting the results that you’re aiming for a long enough period of time, it just builds up.
“People always judge you even though they don’t know you.
“They don’t know you personally and how you are actually, no one knows what goes on inside people’s heads and that’s why it’s a bit silly to judge people based on what they see from outside.”
F1 pundit Martin Brundle likened Hamilton’s latest triumph to that of Michael Schumacher.

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Bottas and Hamilton battled for the early lead in Germany before the Finn fell awayCredit: AP:Associated Press

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The Brit now sits alongside Michael Schumacher for race wins in F1Credit: AFP
The Brit levelled Schumacher’s 91 career race wins and his performance was described as ‘aggressive and precise’.
Brundle wrote in his Sky Sports column: “Michael was a pure winning machine in and out of the car.
“All the right people wanted to be in his team and be part of the success because he was so fast, so good. He largely dominated his team-mates in and out of the car, whether he was using his right foot or his streetwise mental capacity and guile.
“Lewis is the same. A classic comment of his on Sunday post-race was that he could see Bottas was graining his front tyres and so he pushed.

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“He was driving TWO Mercedes at that point, and sure enough under braking and also with a few spots of rain Valtteri locked his front wheel and ran wide.
“Valtteri made the comment that this gave Lewis advance warning of less grip, but whatever the circumstances Hamilton seized a lead he would not remotely relinquish despite ensuing safety cars.
“He threw Bottas a consolation prize after the race by complimenting his determination to regain the lead in turn two of the opening lap, which was indeed a fine piece of aggressive and precision driving.”

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MERCEDES say a member of its Formula One team has tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of this weekend’s Eifel Grand Prix.
But the Brackley-base team are trying not to let it disrupt Lewis Hamilton’s bid to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 victories.

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Mercedes have confirmed a case of coronavirus within the team ahead of this weekend’s race

SunSport understands that the team member is not well known to the public – and that would rule out key personnel such as Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, and team boss Toto Wolff.
A spokesperson said: “We can confirm that a team member has tested positive.
“This has been handled and is being handled in line with FIA protocols, working closely with the FIA.
“We ask for your understanding that we won’t be offering additional details.”

F1’s rules include strict testing protocols during the pandemic with staff being tested every five days.
Anyone who does test positive is immediately placed into self isolation with those who have come into contact with them also isolated until tested.

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Racing Point’s Sergio Perez was the last person to test positive inside the paddock ahead of the British GP at Silverstone in July.
Last week, F1 announced the highest number of positive tests in a week since the season resumed, with 10 personnel contracting the virus in the wake of the Russian Grand Prix.

However, F1 chiefs reckon that number will drop for the Eifel GP at the Nurburgring, given the tougher restrictions concerning social distancing and wearing masks.

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Sergio Perez remains the most high-profile F1 figure to have contracted coronavirus this seasonCredit: xpbimages.com

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