Mercedes f1 team

The Mercedes drivers were running together on track as Ferrari's Carlos Sainz closed in. With Hamilton on fresher tyres and potentially faster than one-stopper Russell, the team agreed to a request from the seven-time world champion to get him in front, leaving Russell to fend off Sainz for as long as he could. Russell initially queried the decision, suggesting that the team wait until the last lap, but he complied after being told it was an instruction. He in turn asked for Hamilton to help his defence by giving him DRS, noting that it was the "least he can do" after "he pushed me off the track earlier". Hamilton agreed to help, but nevertheless, Sainz soon got past. However, the Spaniard was unable to do anything about Hamilton. After the flag, Russell said he had no issue with the team orders as the intention was to boost the overall result for Mercedes. "Yeah, of course," he said when asked by Motorsport if he accepted the place swap. "You use the radio as a … [Read more...] about Russell has “zero hard feelings” about Mercedes F1 team orders

European F3 and FIA F2 champion Schumacher was dropped by the Haas F1 team at the end of 2022 owing to a brace of seven-figure car-splitting crashes that forced the team to abandon upgrades to meet its budgets. The German subsequently rekindled his Mercedes relationship, the manufacturer having backed his junior career, for 2023 with Schumacher serving as reserve driver. But Schumacher is now linked with an LMDh drive with Alpine in 2024. Motorsport.com understands that the French sportscar marque wants a big-name signing to lead its fledgling programme, although an announcement on the driver line-up is unlikely to land until October. Mercedes motorsport boss Wolff said that Schumacher signing for Alpine would not have to end his relationship with the team since he is “part of the family” and “will always have a home.” Wolff said: “Mick has a place here as our reserve driver and is part of the family. “We hope that he stays with us in that role. We will give him … [Read more...] about Schumacher can remain Mercedes F1 reserve amid Alpine WEC links

Andretti Autosport boss Michael Andretti has responded to suggestions that his team should buy out an existing outfit in Formula 1 if they want to join the world championship. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The paperwork to lodge interest in entering F1 in 2026 has already been submitted to the FIA by Andretti and other applicants. The governing body and F1 are considering whether to accept any of the submissions. Many of the current 10 teams have opposed calls to expand the grid by adding an 11th or further entries. Last week Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said anyone wishing to join F1 should “buy a team” . However Andretti made it clear that is not an option at the moment. “We’ve tried. Nobody’s interested,” he told media at the Sardinia X-Prix, an event of the off-road Extreme E series his team competes in. “We’ve been to every single team. They keep saying ‘well, buy a team’, and nobody wants to sell! You go there, and they’re not even … [Read more...] about Andretti has ‘been to every F1 team’ about a buyout and ‘nobody wants to sell’

As things stand, Red Bull are on pole position in the race to reveal the first car which will contest the 2022 Formula 1 season . Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Anticipation is high for the new machines, which are the first built to F1’s heavily revised 2022 technical regulations. These are a vital element of Liberty Media’s plan to improve the standard of competition in a sport where wheel-to-wheel racing has always been difficult, and in which a small number of teams have monopolised success in recent years. But as eager as fans (and journalists!) may be to lay their eyes upon the new designs, teams will be just as anxious to give away as little as possible of them. This is always the case, but the arrival of such drastically new regulations has raised the stakes. An early hint about the design direction a team has taken could provide valuable information for a rival who has done something different. The teams have built this thinking into their … [Read more...] about How much will F1 teams dare to reveal at their 2022 car launches?

While Toto Wolff had said this year’s Mercedes will be thrown ‘in the bin’ for 2024, Lewis Hamilton has said there are plenty of positives to carry over. While this year’s W14 is not yet a race-winner, the car has proven a more adaptable and versatile competitor than last year’s W13, with both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finding it easier to join in the fight for podium finishes. Mercedes were in the battle for the win in Singapore last weekend, thanks to a canny strategy gamble during a Virtual Safety Car, but ultimately fell short of victory. Speaking after the race, team boss Toto Wolff had been firm in his assertion next year’s Mercedes will be from a blank sheet of paper. Toto Wolff: Mercedes have answer to questions With the 2024 car’s development now in full swing as focus has shifted away from ’23, Toto Wolff was asked about the fact Mercedes appear to be getting more and more on top of the W14 after introducing a big concept change at this year’s Monaco Grand … [Read more...] about Lewis Hamilton refutes Toto Wolff: We’re not throwing Mercedes W14 ‘in the bin’

Friday's qualifying will start at midnight and Saturday's race will start at 10pm Nevada time, with the latter potentially running until after midnight if there is a red flag delay and restart. Records suggest that in mid-November, ambient temperature is likely to dip below 10 degrees Celsius, and it could go as low as five degrees. Those sorts of numbers will clearly put a premium on getting the tyres into the right window, especially for qualifying laps, at the start, and after safety car restarts. "It'll just depend on exactly how cold it is," said Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin when asked by Motorsport.com about the challenge. "Because if the track is down in single figures, that's often a region where you go winter testing. "You do a run, it's very difficult for the tyres to either get them switched on, or there may be graining and things. And then sometimes you just wait until it warms up a bit. So actually having to sort of race and … [Read more...] about F1 teams concerned by low temperatures in Las Vegas

Sargeant suffered a couple of costly shunts since the summer break, starting with an off in Zandvoort. The American rookie also had a huge crash on his first lap of qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix, running out of track to catch oversteer out of the final corner, and then losing control on the grass as he thumped the wall with both ends of his car. Williams faced a full rebuild around a spare chassis, which forced Sargeant to start from the pitlane with a 10-second time penalty for using a third car. In the race he also became involved in an incident, colliding with Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas into the hairpin, with the resulting damage forcing both drivers to retire. Speaking before Sunday's race, Williams' head of vehicle performance Dave Robson felt Sargeant's high-profile crashes have taken the shine off his otherwise improving form, with Sargeant getting close to team-mate Alex Albon's lap times in Suzuka practice. "I guess inevitably, they catch the … [Read more...] about Williams: Costly F1 crashes masking Sargeant’s “steady improvement”

After a disappointing Japanese Grand Prix weekend, where Mercedes found itself appearing to have only the fourth-quickest car, it is aware of just how far ahead Red Bull remains right now. And Hamilton, who has been pushing hard for Mercedes to totally revamp its concept approach, says that there should be no shying away from accepting the size of the gap that needs to be closed before the start of the 2024 season. “I have no idea where the car is going to be next year, but we’re a long, long way away,” he told Sky . “We’ve got to hope for the next six months to be the greatest six months of development that we’ve ever had to close that gap and to be really banging on the door.” While the time gap to the front looks sizeable, Hamilton thinks that the example of McLaren – which changed car approach to help it emerge as Red Bull’s main rival now – is proof of the leap that his team can make. “The evidence is there at McLaren, and we can’t turn a blind eye to that … [Read more...] about Hamilton: Mercedes needs best ever six months of F1 development to catch Red Bull

One of the teams that participated in the FIA process to enter F1 has confirmed they haven’t succeeded, but have let the cat out of the bag as to who has… Rodin Cars, one of the confirmed applicants to the FIA to enter Formula 1 as a new team, have confirmed their bid to enter the sport has not been successful. However, the company has let slip that they understand the Andretti Global entry has succeeded, and will enter Formula 1. Rodin Cars issue statement confirming F1 bid has failed Along with Formula Equal, LKYSUNZ, and Hitech, Rodin Cars and Andretti are believed to be all the names that submitted formal bids of interest with the FIA when the governing body invited expressions of interest from prospective parties earlier this year. While the FIA are yet to confirm the outcome in the process, with the entry window now closed, Rodin have confirmed their bid has not been successful, and have issued a full statement clarifying the reasons why they believe they should have … [Read more...] about Andretti ‘successful’ with one 11th F1 team bid officially rejected