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      Lewis Hamilton takes cheeky swipe at F1 rivals Verstappen and Perez with ‘if I was in Sergio’s car’ comment

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      LEWIS HAMILTON has taken a cheeky dig at F1 rivals Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.That’s after claiming that Verstappen would not be dominating F1 this season if he was driving Perez’s Red Bull.
      Hamilton takes cheeky jibe at his Red Bull rivalsCredit: Rex
      Verstappen is currently enjoying utter dominance over his own teammate Perez on the F1 gridCredit: Rex
      Verstappen,25, is on course to break his own record of 15 wins in a single season.
      He now has 10 wins from 12 races in the 2023 campaign- and 45 in his F1 career.
      The Dutch champion boasts a huge 125-point lead over his team-mate Perez – with Fernando Alonso a further 40 points adrift.
      But Hamilton reckons that if he were Verstappen’s team-mate then the Dutchman wouldn’t be enjoying such an easy ride.

      Speaking after the Belgian GP, the seven-time world champion said: “Do I want to be as fast as Max? Of course! Would I like to have a car that’s as fast as him? Of course!
      “If I was in Sergio’s car, Max would not be having the same [good] time he’s having now.”
      Verstappen finished 22 seconds ahead of second-placed Perez in Belgium.
      To add to his frustrations, Hamilton was hit with a five-second penalty for bashing into Perez during the sprint race.
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      The Mercedes driver’s suggestion is certainly justifiable considering his breath-taking title rivalry with Verstappen in 2021.
      With near-equal cars, the duo portrayed one of the greatest rivalries in the history of Formula 1, as Verstappen emerged controversially victorious at Abu Dhabi.
      In a recent interview, the Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko suggested that Hamilton is one of the two F1 drivers who could get near Verstappen.
      Marko declared: “For Checo, a second place is like a victory at the moment.
      “Max is hardly beatable. I think maybe only Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso could be slightly closer to him”.
      But the current situation clearly plagues the British legend, as Mercedes are unable to keep pace with Red Bull.
      The Briton is out of contract at the end of the season, but is set to sign a new £100million deal.
      Verstappen achieved his tenth win at the Belgium GPCredit: Rex More

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      Lewis Hamilton gives prediction for second half of F1 season and expects ‘movement’ on grid

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      LEWIS HAMILTON is predicting a few surprises in the second half of the F1 season. Red Bull have won all 12 races so far in the 2023 F1 season, leaving Mercedes fighting to be the best of the rest.
      Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton predicts change after the summer breakCredit: Getty
      The seven-time world champ finished fourth behind the Red Bulls and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at the Belgium Grand Prix, as F1 now stops for the summer break.
      The pause in the season will give teams the chance to work on upgrading their cars.
      And Hamilton expects those upgrades to cause some ‘movement’ among the top teams.
      Speaking to PlanetF1.com Hamilton said: “I don’t know how much development people will be doing in the second part of the season, but I think there will be movement.
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      “I mean, I don’t know what happened to Aston [Martin], they’ve taken a step back.
      “The McLarens will be strong in the second phase, Ferrari and us, we’re all very very close.
      “So depending on the track, I’m sure there’ll be some movement of positions for us all.”
      The Stevenage speedster lies fourth on the drivers’ championship leaderboard, just one point behind Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
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      But the Brit expects Ferrari and McLaren to put up more of a fight after the summer break.
      Charles Leclerc is 49-points behind Hamilton and Lando Norris 79-points adrift.
      Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff acknowledges some technical issues need to be addressed during the summer break.
      The latest upgrade of the Mercedes W14 has been caught out by the bouncing saga known as porpoising during the first half of the season.
      He said to PlanetF1.com after the Belgian Grand Prix: “The main limiting factor today and yesterday was the bouncing, the car is just bouncing literally on every straight.
      “Even Blanchimont was a corner that Lewis had to lift, which is an easy flat normally, and you’re bouncing on the straight, you overheat the tyres on the braking.
      “So that is a vicious circle and was the main limiting factor this weekend and it’s frustrating to check out on the holidays like this.”
      Mercedes W14 has proved to have technical difficulties in the 2023 F1 seasonCredit: Getty More

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      F1 chief Toto Wolff reveals that he has the same meal every day for lunch and dinner while travelling

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      TOTO WOLFF has revealed that he has the same meal every day while travelling during the Formula One calendar.The Mercedes team principal will eat and drink the same thing for lunch and dinner during the season.
      Toto Wolff eats the same meal for lunch and dinner every dayCredit: Getty
      Wolff has overseen tremendous success during his time with Mercedes, winning eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships between 2014 and 2021.
      However, the stress of his job has seen him reduce the variables in other aspects of his life during the racing calendar.
      During an appearance on Desert Island Discs, he revealed his routine to the BBC.
      “For me it is really reducing trivial things,” explained the 51-year-old.
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      “I’m wearing the same clothes, I’m eating the same food – even to the point that my assistants book the same hotel room for me every single year.”
      As for the exact meal he has each day, he added: “The same dark bread – a pumpernickel with butter and some ham.
      “Small cappuccino – because I take half a cappuccino because I want to have another half an hour later – and then it’s chicken breast with tomato salad. And I have the same for dinner also!”
      Wolff has previously opened up on the motivations behind his successful career in motorsport.
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      Earlier this year he pinpointed overcoming the tragic death of his father as crucial in driving him to succeed.
      The Austrian is also an outspoken figure in the F1 paddock and did not hold back after this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.
      Wolff had an amusing altercation with his rival Christian Horner for in the paddock over the weekend, criticising him for “harassment”.
      Toto Wolff has enjoyed tremendous success with MercedesCredit: EPA
      Horner and Red Bull enjoyed another victory at Spa as Max Verstappen won his eighth race in a row.
      As for Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished fourth and sixth, respectively. More

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      F1 steward at centre of social media storm as fans have theory about Lewis Hamilton’s Belgian GP penalty

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      FORMER F1 driver Derek Warwick is at the centre of a social media storm involving Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.Warwick, who is now an FIA steward, is being targeted by fans upset after Hamilton was penalised at the Belgian GP.
      Derek Warwick called Max Verstappen the “next great white hope”Credit: Getty
      Max Verstappen is a two-time world championCredit: Rex
      Hamilton was hit with a five-second time penalty for making contact with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez during the sprint race.
      The Brit felt the penalty was harsh while 2009 world champion Jenson Button said: “Lewis penalty is totally wrong”.
      Fans have been quick to point out that Warwick is one of the F1 stewards in Belgium and was also an official in 2021 Abu Dhabi GP where Verstappen controversially won the F1 title at the expense of Hamilton on the final lap.
      He is also heard on a BBC radio interview calling Verstappen “the next great white hope”, a statement he clarified on Twitter in December, 2021.
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      He wrote: “I’ve seen many tweets recently quoting that I said: ‘Max Verstappen is the next great white hope’.
      “I might have said he’s the next great thing, but whether he white, black, green or yellow makes no difference to me. Just greatness.”
      FIA rules state that there are four stewards at each race, and these are rotated throughout the season, so no steward can have complete control on the decision making.
      The FIA also have a strict Code of Ethics, which employees adhere to.
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      F1’s governing body have also joined forces with the MotoGP counterparts [FIM] to sign a charter for collaboration to combat online abuse.
      Mohammed Ben Sulayem, FIA president said: “The signing of the Charter by FIM is part of our mission to build a global coalition to stop hate speech in sport.
      “We are grateful for the support of Jorge Viegas and his team as we take steps to drive out online abuse which has become a blight on all sport.
      “Sustained toxicity has reached deplorable levels and we must take collaborative action. Only through collaborative action, can we bring about behavioural and regulatory change.” More

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      Lewis Hamilton slapped with FIVE-SECOND time penalty after shambolic Belgian GP sprint race

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      LEWIS HAMILTON was slapped with a five-second penalty for bashing into Sergio Perez, as Max Verstappen’s win increased his lead in the championship.The Mercedes man battled with Sergio Perez for fourth place in the 30-minute sprint race.

      Lewis Hamilton was handed a five-second time penalty for his collision with Sergio PerezCredit: Getty
      The smash saw him tumble down the order from P4 to P7Credit: Rex
      Max Verstappen took the sprint race win with Oscar Piastri, left, and Pierre Gasly, right in P2 and P3Credit: AFP
      But Hamilton was hit with a penalty by the stewards for causing damage to the Mexican’s Red Bull, which ultimately forced him to retire.
      It was hard on the Brit given the wet track and marked the only real on-track excitement in the rain-delayed race.
      It was frustrating to watch another shambles at Spa – for the second time in three years.
      In the sprint shootout, which is used to determine the grid for the sprint race, the FIA failed to make any meaningful attempt to clear the rain.
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      It was not until 20 minutes after the rain stopped that they deployed two vehicles on track to clear the 7km circuit.
      The rain delay saw them move the start of the sprint race back 30 minutes – but that only meant it coincided with another downpour – causing another setback.
      When the short 30-minute race did get going after a break in the weather, we had FIVE laps behind the safety car to clear the standing water before a rolling start.
      It denied the soggy fans hopes of an explosive start, as Verstappen led the pack.
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      Rain led to another FIA mess in BelgiumCredit: Reuters
      But at the end of the first lap, Oscar Piastri pitted for intermediate tyres while the Dutchman stayed out for another lap.
      An unusually slow pitstop for Verstappen saw Piastri take the lead – but it was short-lived as the Red Bull soon powered past the McLaren.
      On the sixth lap, Perez and Hamilton had a battle for fourth place where the two made contact.
      While it looked as though Hamilton was blocked by the Mexican, the stewards decided otherwise and did not wait to issue the sanction.
      Verstappen’s win means he now has a 118-point lead in the championship while Piastri was second and Pierre Gasly was third after a difficult week for Alpine.
      Hamilton was demoted to seventh due to his time penalty, having finished in fourth. Lando Norris was sixth and George Russell eighth.
      Regardless, Saturday’s sprint does not impact tomorrow’s race.
      Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc inherited pole after Verstappen’s five-spot grid penalty for using too many gearbox parts was applied.
      He is joined on the front row by Perez, while Hamilton will be ready to duke it out with him again tomorrow from P3.
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      Carlos Sainz then completes the second row, with Piastri lining up alongside the demoted Verstappen at Spa.
      Norris lines up in P7, with Russell, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll completing the top 10.
      Complete F1 2023 race calendar – details on every Grand Prix this year More

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      I’m an F1 champ who could have won eight races in a row if it wasn’t for Lewis Hamilton’s Spanish GP shunt

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      NICO ROSBERG is a Formula One champion who could have won eight races in a row.The retired driver has joked that Lewis Hamilton denied him the feat with his shunt at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.
      Lewis Hamilton denied Nico Rosberg an eighth win in a rowCredit: AP:Associated Press
      The pair collided in Spain in 2016Credit: Getty
      Rosberg had won seven consecutive races ahead of their infamous collision in Barcelona.
      Having won the last three races of 2015 and the first four in 2016, Rosberg was on the brink of history.
      Hamilton had started ahead of Rosberg in pole position, but was overtaken by his Mercedes team-mate on turn one.
      In his attempts to re-take the lead, the Brit collided with Rosberg on turn four, ending the race for both drivers.
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      Recalling his run of wins, Rosberg told the Sky Sports F1 Podcast: “Yeah, that was quite cool.”
      The German also joked: “I would have had eight if Lewis hadn’t have shunted me off in Barcelona, for those of you who remember that race in 2016.
      “I’m laughing by the way for those of you who can’t see me now, because that was a joke. That was a joke.”
      Rosberg would still go on to win the 2016 Drivers’ Championship, the only world title of his career.
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      He then abruptly retired aged 31 after winning the title, having claimed nine of his 23 career race wins during the season.
      Despite being denied an eighth win in a row, Rosberg is one of just five drivers to win seven or more straight races.
      Max Verstappen equalled the feats of Rosberg, Michael Schumacher and Alberto Ascari with his seventh win in Hungary on Sunday.
      Wins in Belgium and the Netherlands in the next two races will take his streak to nine and equal Fernando Alonso’s record from 2013.
      Nico Rosberg jokingly blamed his collision with Lewis Hamilton for denying him the featCredit: AP:Associated Press More

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      Lewis Hamilton forced to admit defeat in apology to F1 team after disastrous start to Hungarian Grand Prix

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      LEWIS HAMILTON was forced to admit defeat in the Hungary Grand Prix after getting off to a disastrous start at the Hungaroring.Hamilton started first on the grid after securing pole in qualifying yesterday.
      It was a frustrating day for Hamilton at the HungaroringCredit: Reuters
      But he was overtaken by a rampant Max Verstappen on the first corner.
      Matters were compounded by Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris also overtaking Hamilton during the first lap – which saw Hamilton drop to fourth.
      Hamilton apologised to his team over the radio after the poor start, simply saying: “sorry about that guys”.
      Race engineer Peter Bonnington was keen to keep Hamilton’s spirits up however, and said: “Don’t sweat it, Lewis. It’s going to be a long, hot race.”
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      He was unable to match the race pace of the two McLaren’s in front of them as they began to build a formidable gap as the race went on.
      Hamilton was becoming increasingly frustrated before admitting he could not compete with the two cars in front of him.
      He said: “Definitely don’t have the pace to overtake these guys.”
      His frustration continued later in the race, saying: “How have they got nine seconds all of a sudden. That’s a crazy amount.”
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      Hamilton then questioned the performance of his hardware as Verstappen opened a 20 second lead on his Mercedes.
      He asked his team over the radio: “Are you turning the engine down?”
      To which the reply over the radio was: “Negative, Lewis. Just managing the temp situation.”
      Hamilton would go on to finish fourth in Hungary in what was quite a frustrating race for the Brit. More

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      Lewis Hamilton on pole for first time in 595 DAYS after stunning qualifying lap at F1 Hungarian Grand Prix

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      LEWIS HAMILTON took a sensational pole position for the Hungarian GP – beating Max Verstappen by 0.003 seconds.Verstappen, who has dominated this season to open up a 99 point lead in the championship, will start in second place.
      Lewis Hamilton is on pole for the Hungarian Grand PrixCredit: Getty
      Max Verstappen and Red Bull were pipped to pole position by Lewis HamiltonCredit: Rex
      It is the 104th pole position of the Brit’s career – and an emotional one – as there are now signs that Mercedes are back in the mix after a terrible 18 months.
      Hamilton, who has won this race eight times before, scored his first pole since Saudi Arabia 2021.
      Lando Norris extended McLaren’s upward trajectory by qualifying in third place and his teammate, Oscar Piastri will line up in fourth.
      Daniel Ricciardo had a successful return to F1 after qualifying in 13th place – comfortably ahead of his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda.
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      Ricciardo has been handed his way back by Red Bull after being dumped by McLaren at the end of last year.
      The Aussie replaced Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri – Red Bull’s sister team – and scored their best qualifying result since the Monaco GP in May.
      Meanwhile, George Russell suffered a miserable qualifying – leaving Merc boss Toto Wolff furious.
      The Austrian slammed his fist into the desk as he watched Russell eliminated at Q1 – a result that will see him start in 18th on the grid.
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      Russell was waiting in line to start his final flying lap but as the clock counted down, he was leapfrogged in the queue of cars by THREE other drivers.
      Not only had he lost time and track position but the extra delay to create a gap to the cars ahead also punished his tyres as the temperature dropped off.
      As a result, his first sector was slow and he was unable to improve meaning he was dumped out of qualifying at the first hurdle. More