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Tag: Lewis Hamilton
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Lando Norris wins incident-packed Miami Sprint: F1
Miami (USA), 3 May 2025: Lando Norris benefited from a late Safety Car to jump ahead of McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri and his first Sprint win of 2025 ahead of McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri at the end of an incident packed wet-dry Sprint in Miami that saw Lewis Hamilton take third place for Ferrari after an early switch to slick tyres.
Steady rain in the hours before the race, led to a delayed start but when the lights at last went out on a drying track, Piastri reacted quickest, and he was able to attack pole sitter Kimi Antonelli on the inside into Turn 1. The teenage Mercedes driver tried to fight for position, but with Piastri holding a robust line, Antonelli was forced to go off track and he was passed by both Norris and Verstappen. The Mercedes driver dropped to fourth.
With a clear road ahead, Piastri began to pull away and after five laps the Australian had eked out a two-second gap back to Norris who was 1.8s ahead of Verstappen, whose start had briefly been examined for possibly being out of position but was soon deemed legal.
As the race headed towards the halfway mark, the track began to dry out more quickly and a number of teams began to consider a switch to slicks.
It was Red Bull Racing who made the first move, with Tsunoda pitting for Medium tyres at the end of lap 11. He rejoined in P19. Hamilton then pitted at the end of the following lap, for Softs.
At the front, Norris began to close on Piastri as DRS was enabled, but with Tsunoda going two seconds quicker than the field through the first sector it became clear that it was time for slick tyres and the field began to make the switch.
Verstappen was one of the first in at the end of lap 13, but after fitting a set of Softs the Dutchman was released into the pit lane too quickly and he collided with the incoming Antonelli. The Italian was forced to back out of his own stop and continue, while Verstappen lost his left front wing endplate. The Dutchman was quickly hit with a 10-second penalty for the unsafe release, dropping him all the way to P17 at the flag.
At the front, as the leading McLaren, Piastri had the opportunity to pit ahead of his team-mate and he switched to Softs at the end of lap 14. Norris, on worn inters should have been disadvantaged ahead of his lap 15 stop, but when Williams’ Carlos Sainz hit the wall and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was spun into the barriers by Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson the Safety Car was deployed and Norris lucked in. He was already in the pit lane, and with the on-track pace slowed massively he was able to get back on track in first place.
With debris strewn across the track in several places, the SC stayed on track until the final lap and Norris took his first Sprint victory of the season ahead of his team-mate. Hamilton’s early stop for slicks also paid off and the Ferrari passed Verstappen ahead of the SC to take third place at the flag.
Fourth place went to Alex Albon, but after the flag the Williams driver was place under investigation for a possible infringement of Safety Car procedure. Russell took fifth for Mercedes ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, with Liam Lawson seventh, though the New Zealander was also under investigation for the collision with Alonso.
At the flag, the final point went to Haas’ Oliver Bearman, with Tsunoda just missing out in P9, but with plenty for the Race Stewards to unpick after the race, the final classification was likely to change.
2025 FIA Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix – Sprint
1 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 18 36’37.647
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 18 36’38.319 0.672
3 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 18 36’38.720 1.073
4 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 18 36’40.169 2.522
5 George Russell Mercedes 18 36’40.774 3.127
6 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 18 36’41.059 3.412
7 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 18 36’41.671 4.024
8 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 18 36’41.865 4.218
9 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 18 36’42.800 5.153
10 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 18 36’43.282 5.635
11 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 18 36’43.620 5.973
12 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 18 36’43.800 6.153
13 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 18 36’45.149 7.502
14 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 18 36’46.645 8.998
15 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 18 36’47.322 9.675
16 Jack Doohan Alpine/Renault 18 36’47.556 9.909
17 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 18 36’49.706 12.059
Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 13 25’21.904 Acciden
Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 12 24’55.152 Accident damage
Charles Leclerc Ferrari 0 – Not started -
Lewis Hamilton takes Sprint pole at Shanghai: F1 Round 2
Shanghai, 21 March 2025: Lewis Hamilton took a stunning first pole position with Ferrari in qualifying for the Sprint at the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, narrowly beating Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, as early championship leader Lando Norris qualified in sixth place. Hamilton’s pole of 1:30.849 also sets a new lap record for the Shanghai International Circuit, beating Sebastian Vette’s 2018 Q3 time by almost a quarter of a second.
Verstappen set the early benchmark in SQ1 with a 1:32.329 that put him in half a second clear of Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar. Lewis Hamilton then took over at the top, exactly a tenth clear of Verstappen as Leclerc moved to second a hundredth off his team-mate.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was going much quicker, however, and the Australian took over in P1 with a time of 1:31.723, half a second clear of Hamilton. The free practice session’s quickest man Lando Norris put in a scruffy opening flyer, however and his 1:32.248 left him in fifth as Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso went second, just under four tenths off Piastri.
In the final runs of the segment, Norris corrected his earlier errors, and the championship leader vaulted to the top of the order with a lap of 1:31.396, but Hamilton was finding more pace, and the Ferrari drive topped the session with a time of 1:31.212. Leclerc took third in the other Ferrari ahead of Piastri, while defending champion Max Verstappen eased through in fifth.
There was disappointment for Verstappen’s new Red Bull team-mate Liam Lawson, however. The New Zealander had his final lap deleted for a track limits infringement at Turn 9 and he exited the session in last place.
Also ruled out at the end of SQ1 were Alpine’s Jack Doohan who had his final time deleted and dropped out in P16 ahead of team-mate Pierre Gasly, Haas’ Esteban Ocon, Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg and the unfortunate Lawson.
In the middle segment it was Norris who led the way, with the Briton setting the pace at 1:31.174, 0.188s ahead of team-mate Piastri and a little under four tenths ahead of Verstappen.
The top three sat out the final minutes of the session and that allowed Mercedes’s George Russell to sneak ahead of Piastri 0.172 off Norris. Hamilton also improved, taking fourth ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli who relegated Verstappen to sixth ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon and Leclerc.
The last two through to top 10 shootout were Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Racing Bulls’ Yiuki Tsunoda, which meant there was no place in SQ3 for Alonso who slipped out in P11, two hundredths of a second off Tsunoda. Haas’ Oliver Bearman went out in P12, and the Briton was followed to the exit by Williams’ Carlos Sainz, Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar.
After Norris’ pacesetting efforts in the middle segment, it was Piastri who grabbed provisional pole in their first runs of SQ3, ahead of Russell, while Norris had a snap heading onto the back straight and lost time all the way down the straight to slip to third.
But while the McLarens would go again, it was Hamilton who found the most time on the Shanghai track and the seven-time champion took his first Sprint pole for Ferrari with a time of 1:30.849.
Verstappen almost pipped the Ferrari driver but lost fractions of time in the final sector to cross the line in P2 just 0.018s behind. Piastri was left with third on 1:30.929 and Leclerc took fourth place ahead of Russell. Norris, meanwhile, finished sixth after locking up into Turn 14 on his final flyer. Antonelli took a solid seventh in his second qualifying session with Mercedes ahead of Tsunoda, Albon and Stroll.
2025 FIA Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix – Sprint Qualifying
1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:30.849 – –
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:30.867 0.018
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:30.929 0.080
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:31.057 0.208
5 George Russell Mercedes 1:31.169 0.320
6 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:31.393 0.544
7 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:31.738 0.889
8 Yuki Tsunoda Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:31.773 0.924
9 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:31.852 1.003
10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:31.982 1.133
11 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:31.815 0.966
12 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:31.978 1.129
13 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:32.325 1.476
14 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:32.564 1.715
15 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT – – –
16 Jack Doohan Alpine/Renault 1:32.575 1.726
17 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:32.640 1.791
18 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:32.651 1.802
19 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:32.675 1.826
20 Liam Lawson Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:32.729 1.880 -
Lando Norris takes pole ahead of Verstappen; Hamilton takes p3
Singapore, 21 Sept. 2024: Lando Norris took his fifth pole of 2024 in Singapore, beating championship leader Max Verstappen by just over two tenths of a second as Ferrari endured a tough outing with Carlos Sainz crashing at the start of Q3 and Charles Leclerc having his final lap time deleted for a track limits infringement. Lewis Hamilton was third for Mercedes.
“It was tough,” said Norris afterwards. “Especially through qualifying, I was finding it a little difficult to progress much and to get a lot of lap time and all the guys around seemed to get quicker and quicker, so it put me under a little bit more pressure, and especially with just one lap at the end. But it was good enough for pole. I’m happy with that, especially here in Singapore. So a good feeling. I felt good all weekend. I felt confident. Maybe not so much in quali, but we got the job done.”
In Q1, Norris took top spot with a lap of 1:30.724 ahead of Leclerc. Oscar Piastri took third ahead of Sainz and Alex Albon. With 12 minutes left in the session, Verstappen at last joined the action but it proved worth the wait as he jumped from the bottom of the table to P2 thanks to a lap of 1:30.854, 0.130s off Norris. Leclerc then found slightly more time on his second run to demote the Dutchman to third.
With three minutes left the final runs got underway and Norris immediately tightened his grip on P1 with a lap of 1:30.002 on used tyres. Verstappen also bolted on a new set of C5s and he lit up the timing screens as he jumped from P8 to P2 at the flag. The Dutchman went through to Q2 just 0.155s behind Norris. Piastri took third ahead of Hamilton.
There was no place in the second session for RB’s Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian was eliminated in P16, just over a tenth off Alpine’s Esteban Ocon. Behind Ricciardo, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll exited in P17 ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and the Sauber’s of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.
At the start of Q2 Verstappen took P1 with a lap of 1:30.371, but a snap in the final corner sent him over the kerbs and his time was subsequently deleted for track limits. It was left to Hamilton to lead the way with a lap of 1:29.929, 0.078 ahead of Norris and with George Russell in third place in the other Mercedes.
With six minutes left on the clock, Verstappen headed out for a final run on a largely clear track and thanks to a strong lap of 1:29.680 and a purple middle sector the Dutchman jumped to top spot, 0.289s clear of Hamilton. Piastri had pace in hand, however, and he bumped the Dutchman back to P2 as he claimed top spot with a lap of 1:29.640. Leclerc slotted into third ahead of Hamilton and Norris, who backed out of his final run.
Outside the top 10, Williams pair Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto were eliminated in P11 and P12 respectively, ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. Haas’ Kevin Magnussen dropped out in P14 ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.
At the start of the top-10 shootout, Verstappen was one of the first out on track and the Dutchman posted a lap of 1:29.791. However, just as he was coming to final corners, ahead of him on track Carlos Sainz lost control in the final corner and slid backwards into the wall. Verstappen slowed and crossed the line before the red flag, but with double yellows already in place, his time was deleted.
The red flag for Sainz meant that the only drivers to put times on board were Piastri, who took P1 on 1:30.037 and Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg, who was eight tenths off the McLaren. The rest were faced with a single run for glory.
And in the final runs Norris was imperious. The McLaren drivers were first on track and Norris established what became an unbeatable benchmark of 1:29.525 ahead of Piastri. Behind them, Leclerc had his lap time deleted as Hülkenberg took P3, and then Hamilton vaulted to the front row on a time of 1:29.841.
It was left to Verstappen to challenge Norris’ time but though the Red Bull driver gave it his all his 1:29.728 was only good enough to hand him a first front row since his home race at Zandvoort.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:29.525 – –
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:29.728 0.203
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:29.841 0.316
4 George Russell Mercedes 1:29.867 0.342
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:29.953 0.428
6 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1:30.115 0.590
7 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:30.214 0.689
8 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 1:30.354 0.829
9 Charles Leclerc Ferrari – – –
10 Carlos Sainz Ferrari – – –
11 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:30.474 0.949
12 Franco Colapinto Williams/Mercedes 1:30.481 0.956
13 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:30.579 1.054
14 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:30.653 1.128
15 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:30.769 1.244
16 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 1:31.085 1.560
17 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:31.094 1.569
18 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:31.312 1.787
19 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 1:31.572 2.047
20 24 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 1:32.054 2.529 -
Hamilton takes victory after Russell was disqualified: F1
Spa, 28 July 2024: George Russell has been disqualified from the Belgian Grand Prix after his Mercedes W15 was below the 798kg minimum weight, handing victory to team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Russell took a sensational win at Spa with a well-worked one-stop strategy, but following the race the FIA Technical Delegate reported that while Russell’s car was initially weighted it met the minimum weight of 798.0 kg. However, when “fuel was drained out of the car and 2.8 litres of fuel were removed” to get the required sample, the car was weighed again and “the weight was 796.5 kg… 1.5 kg below the minimum weight requested in TR Article 4.1”.
The matter was referred to the Race Stewards and after hearing from a Mercedes team representative that there were no mitigating circumstances and that it was a genuine error by the team, the Stewards determined that Article 4.1 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations had been breached and Russell was disqualified from the race result.
The ruling means that Lewis Hamilton inherits his 105th win in Formula 1, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri moving up to second place. Charles Leclerc claims a 36th career podium finish with P3. With the rest of the field also moving up a place, RB’s Daniel Ricciardo claims his third points finish of the season with 10th place.
Surprise by Russell
Earlier, George Russell springs a strategic surprise at Spa, making a one-stop strategy work to snatch a third career grand prix victory from under the nose of long time race leader Lewis Hamilton who finished a little over half a second ahead behind his Mercedes team-mate and 0.6s clear of third-placed McLaren driver Oscar Piastri.
At the start of the race, Ferrari polesitter Charles Leclerc got away well to take the lead. Behind him fellow front-row starter Sergio Pérez was slower off the line and into La Source he was passed by Hamilton. Behind them McLaren’s Lando Norris took a wide line and on the exit of Turn 1 dipped a wheel onto the gravel. That allowed Piastri, Russell and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz to power past as the quartet went into Eau Rouge.
Further back, from P11 on the grid, Max Verstappen got away well and on lap one the Dutchman kicked off what was expected to be a rapid charge through the field by passing Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Williams’ Alex Albon and then on lap 2 he picked off Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso to close in on Norris who was now seventh.
On the next lap, with DRS in play, Hamilton closed up to Leclerc through Eau Rouge and on the long Kemmel straight the Mercedes driver powered past the Ferrari to take the lead. Behind them Pérez held on to third under pressure from Piastri with Russell in fifth ahead of Sainz.
Behind them, Verstappen was bottled up behind Norris and Red Bull opted to pit the Dutchman on lap 10 hoping for an undercut. That sparked a flood of stops among the frontrunners and after the pit visits had played out, Hard tyre starter Sainz rose to P1 ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc. Pérez, though, emerged from his stop behind the slower Aston Martin of Lance Stroll and that allowed Piastri to close in. Stroll exited the picture when Aston called him to the pits, but Piastri was now right behind Pérez and on the run to Les Combes, aided by DRS, the Australian flew past to take P4.
Norris was the last of the frontrunners to pit, five laps after Max, and when the McLaren driver rejoined on Hard tyres, Verstappen was well ahead and beginning to close on Russell and Pérez who was now fifth.
The Mexican was struggling for pace on the straights, however, and he was soon passed by Russell. That put the Pérez directly in the path of Verstappen and with the Dutch driver bottled up, Norris on fresher tyres began to close on both. That prompted Red Bull to put Pérez early and the Mexican faced a long, hard slog on Hard tyres to the end of the race.
Leclerc sparked the final round of stop at the end of lap 25 and when the tyre changes had played out, Russell, who had eschewed new rubber and had suddenly decided that a one-stop was viable, led the race ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc, with Piastri in fourth. Verstappen was now in P5, under a second clear of Norris and behind them Pérez lay seventh.
On lap 36 Piastri, after one failed attempt at passing Leclerc, closed up to the Ferrari on the exit of La Source. Leclerc defended hard as the pair entered the braking zone for Les Combes but Piastri hung on around the outside and then firmly shut the door on Leclerc as they exited the chicane to take third place, 5.6s behind Hamilton.
On lap 39, Pérez came under pressure from Sainz and though the Mexican defended as best he could on ageing tyres, Sainz muscled his way past on the Kemmel straight to demote the Red Bull driver to P8.
Over the final five laps, all of the frontrunners closed in on Russell but remarkably the Mercedes driver was able to keep his fading Hard tyres alive to keep Hamilton and Piastri at bay and at the end of the 44 laps Russell took his third career win just half a second ahead of Hamilton with Piastri a tenth further back in third.
Leclerc clung on behind them, just six tenths ahead of Verstappen who took fifth place, another half second ahead of Norris. Sainz finished in seventh and Pérez ended the race in eighth. However, with more than half a minute in hand over Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, the Mexican made a late stop for Soft tyres and banked an extra point with a fastest lap of 1:44.701 in the final laps. Tenth place went to Ocon who edged RB’s Daniel Ricciardo out of the points-paying positions in the closing stages.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix – Race
1 George Russell Mercedes 44 1:19’57.040
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 44 1:19’57.566 0.526
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 44 1:19’58.213 1.173
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 44 1:20’05.589 8.549
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 44 1:20’06.266 9.226
6 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 44 1:20’06.890 9.850
7 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 44 1:20’16.835 19.795
8 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 44 1:20’40.235 43.195
9 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 44 1:20’47.003 49.963
10 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 44 1:20’49.592 52.552
11 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 44 1:20’51.966 54.926
12 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 44 1:21’00.051 1’03.011
13 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 44 1:21’00.691 1’03.651
14 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 44 1:21’01.405 1’04.365
15 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 44 1:21’03.671 1’06.631
16 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 44 1:21’07.678 1’10.638
17 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 44 1:21’13.777 1’16.737
18 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 44 1:21’23.097 1’26.057
19 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 44 1:21’25.873 1’28.833
Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 5 11’00.351 Hydraulics -
Oscar Piastri claims maiden F1 win in a McLaren 1-2 finish ahead of Hamilton:F1
Oscar Piastri claimed his first Formula 1 victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix, with team-mate Lando Norris finishing second to hand McLaren its first 1-2 finish for three years, as Lewis Hamilton took the final podium spot for Mercedes.
Piastri’s win was set up at the start when he overtook Norris in Turn 1, but the Australian’s first victory was thrown into doubt late on when a strategic decision to pit Norris ahead of his team-mate in the final stops handed the British driver an undercut that put him in the lead. A lengthy team orders discussion followed, but eventually Norris ceded first place back to Piastri who led McLaren to its first one-two finish since the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.
At the start of the race, polesitter Norris got away well but on the run to the first corner Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen drew level with the Briton and they went three abreast into Turn 1. Verstappen went off track and with Norris also battling to stay on track, Piastri snuck through on the inside to take the lead.
Verstappen rejoined in second but with the incident being investigated, he was told to give back the place back to Norris and did so soon after. and soon after the start the championship leader handed the place back into Turn 1.
At the end of a tight first stint, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was the first of the frontrunners to pit, from fourth place, followed by Norris and Piastri. Verstappen stayed on track, however, waiting until lap 21 to make his first stop and as the first round of tyre changes played out, Piastri returned to P1, three seconds ahead of Norris, but Hamilton had made the undercut work and he was now third ahead of Verstappen.
Verstappen, with fresher tyres, closed up to Hamilton over the following laps and at the start of lap 35 he attacked into Turn 1. The Mercedes driver locked up and went wide, giving Verstappen the chance to pass on the outside into Turn 3, but on his second attempt it was the Dutchman who went off track and Hamilton held on.
With Verstappen continuing to press, Mercedes eventually pitted Hamilton and the Red Bull driver began to eat into the gap to Norris ahead.
Meanwhile, at the front, Piastri suffered a brief off on lap 33 and that allowed Norris to close the gap at the front to just 1.5s. On lap 45, with both Verstappen and Hamilton threatening, McLaren pitted Norris ahead of leader Piastri to cover the charge. And with Piastri staying out for two more laps, Norris’ undercut promoted him to the race lead.
The strategy decision set up an increasingly techy finish for McLaren as Norris questioned the need to cede the position to Piastri and his race engineer talked the Briton into letting Piastri past.
Verstappen pitted at the end of lap 49, but even though the Dutchman’s stop of 2.3s good, he emerged in fifth place behind Hamilton and Leclerc with the task of passing both in the final 20 laps.
Leclerc’s defence was solid, but with Verstappen carrying more pace on fresh tyres, it was also brief. But after dismissing the Ferrari driver at the start of lap 56, Verstappen’s attempts to pass Hamilton proved frustrating and eventually debilitating.
The Dutchman attacked on lap 62 but Hamilton defended well. Max went for it again on the following lap but his lunge down the inside was too late. As Hamilton turned in, Verstappen locked up and there was contact.
The Red Bull driver was pitched into the air and then off track. Hamilton powered off into third and as Verstappen rejoined, Leclerc swept past to demote the Red Bull driver to fifth.
At the front, Norris eventually gave way to Piastri on lap 69 and two laps later the Australian took the flag to score his maiden F1 victory. Norris completed the 1-2 for McLaren and Hamilton took the remaining podium place ahead of Leclerc.
That left fifth place for a frustrated Max, who was also summoned to the stewards to review the Hamilton incident. Sainz took sixth place while another trademark Checo charge brought the team six hugely valuable points at the end of a difficult afternoon. Russell was left with eighth ahead of Tsunoda and the final point went to Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix – Race
1 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 70 1:38’01.989
2 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 70 1:38’04.130 2.141
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 70 1:38’16.869 14.880
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 70 1:38’21.675 19.686
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 70 1:38’23.338 21.349
6 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 70 1:38’25.062 23.073
7 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 70 1:38’41.781 39.792
8 George Russell Mercedes 70 1:38’44.357 42.368
9 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 70 1:39’19.248 1’17.259
10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 70 1:39’19.965 1’17.976
11 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 70 1:39’24.449 1’22.460
12 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 69 1:38’19.913 1 lap /17.924
13 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 69 1:38’35.173 1 lap /33.184
14 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 69 1:38’38.758 1 lap /36.769
15 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 69 1:38’47.291 1 lap /45.302
16 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 69 1:38’47.398 1 lap /45.409
17 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 69 1:38’54.580 1 lap /52.591
18 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 69 1:39’02.918 1 lap /1’00.929
19 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 69 1:39’05.587 1 lap /1’03.598
Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 33 47’39.255 Retirement -
Hamilton takes emotional, record ninth win at Silverstone ahead of Verstappen: F1
Silverstone, 7 July 2024: After two and a half years away, Lewis Hamilton returned to the top step of the podium to win a remarkable ninth British Grand Prix and to set a new record for the most victories at a single event. In tricky, mixed conditions at Silverstone, seven-time champion Hamilton put in a finely judged driver to navigate rain showers, critical tyre choices and to hold off a later charge by Max Verstappen to take his 104th win in Formula 1 and his first since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
“I can’t stop crying,” said a visibly emotional Hamilton afterwards. “I think, it’s been since 2021, just, every day getting up, trying to fight, to train… I’m very grateful to everyone in this team, everyone at Mercedes, and all of our partners. And I just want to say thank you to all of you for being here with us today. And then otherwise to all our incredible fans. I could see you lap by lap as I was coming around, and there’s just no greater feeling than to finish at the front here.”
When the lights went out at the start, polesitter George Russell got away well to take the lead ahead of Hamilton. Verstappen also made a good start and as Norris struggled for grip off the front row, the Dutchman snatched third as they swept through Turns 3 and 4. Behind the top four, Mclaren’s Oscar Piastri held fifth but Nico Hülkenberg dropped from sixth down to ninth as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc jumped up to P8 from 11th on the grid.
With rain on the horizon and with drivers carefully managing the life of their starting tyres in case they needed a long stint ahead of the wet weather, the order at the front froze. By lap 14 Russell was 1.5 seconds clear of Hamilton, while Verstappen, struggling for pace, had allowed the gap to the Mercedes cars to grow to 4.5s. Norris was just under a second behind the Red Bull with Piastri still in fifth ahead of the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Leclerc.
On lap 15 Norris closed in and on the run to Stowe he powered past Verstappen to retake third place. The Red Bull driver’s pace was now flagging and on lap 17 Piastri made the same move into Stowe and Verstappen slid to fifth as the rain began to fall across Silverstone.
At the front, Russell was beginning to struggle in the increasingly treacherous conditions and on lap 18 Hamilton roared past his team-mate to take the lead. Russell tried to fight back with the result that at the start of lap 19 both went off at Turn 1. That allowed Norris to slip past Russell and on the following lap the McLaren driver muscled past Hamilton on the pit straight to take the lead.
The McLarens now appeared to have huge amounts of grip in hand and as Norris began to stretch ahead, Piastri powered past both Mercedes to rise to second place.
Further back, Ferrari gambled on heavier rain arriving sooner than expected and they pitted Leclerc for Intermediate tyres. It was replicated by Red Bull, who fancied the idea of heavy rain vaulting 16th-placed Sergio Pérez up the order, but as the rain abated both were severely hindered by the slower Inters, and their chances of major points disappeared.
As second, heavier shower eventually arrived and Verstappen and Sainz seized the moment, pitting for Intermediate tyres ahead of the pack. Norris then pitted from the lead at the end of lap 27, followed by both Mercedes. That briefly propelled Piastri into the lead on Medium tyres, but the Australian pitted on the following lap and when he came out he dropped back to sixth place.
Russell, slowed by being the second car in a stacked Mercedes stop also lost time and after the changes, Norris led ahead of Hamilton with Verstappen in third with Russell now in fourth ahead of Sainz. However, Russell’s race went from annoyance to furious exit soon after. On lap 34 the Mercedes was given the message to box and retire his car due to a water system issue. The Briton’s exit boosted Sainz to fourth, nine seconds behind Verstappen
As the race entered its final third, the conditions began to improve and that sparked a move back to slick tyres.
On lap 38, Hamilton and Verstappen made their moves with the Mercedes driver taking Softs and Max moving to Hard tyres. Norris, though, stayed out, and the delay cost the McLaren driver dearly. Slower on his in-lap and then slow in the pits as he overshot his marks, Norris rejoined just as Hamilton swept through to take the lead once more.
It was Verstappen, though, who appeared to have made the best call. With 11 laps to go the champion was just 2.7s behind Norris but surprisingly lapping much quicker than the Sof-tyre pair ahead of him.
Over the next seven laps, the Red Bull driver stalked Norris and on lap 48 he outdragged Norris down the Hangar Straight before sweeping past the McLaren around the outside through Stowe.
Verstappen began to chase down Hamilton and with three laps to go he was just three seconds off the leader. However, although the Red Bull driver managed to halve the gap, Hamilton held on to take a stunning ninth British Grand Prix win and the new record for most wins at a single circuit.
“It’s so tough, but I think the important thing is just how you continue to get up and you’ve got to continue to dig deep even when you feel like you’re at the bottom of the barrel,” said Hamilton afterwards. “I mean, there’s definitely been days between 2021 and here where I didn’t feel like I was good enough or whether I was going to get back to where I am today. But the important thing is I had great people around me continuing to support me. And my team, every time I turn up and see them putting in the effort that really encouraged me to do the same thing.”
Behind Norris, Piastri took fourth ahead of Sainz and Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg, while Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso took seventh and eighth respectively. Alex Albon took ninth place for Williams and the final point on offer went to RB’s Yuki Tsunoda.
2024 FIA Formula 1 British Grand Prix – Race
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 52 1:22’27.059
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 52 1:22’28.524 1.465
3 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 52 1:22’34.606 7.547
4 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 52 1:22’39.488 12.429
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 52 1:23’14.377 47.318
6 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 52 1:23’22.781 55.722
7 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 52 1:23’23.628 56.569
8 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 52 1:23’30.636 1’03.577
9 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 52 1:23’35.446 1’08.387
10 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 52 1:23’46.362 1’19.303
11 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 52 1:23’56.019 1’28.960
12 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 52 1:23’57.212 1’30.153
13 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 51 1:22’36.996 1 lap /9.937
14 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 51 1:23’07.532 1 lap /40.473
15 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 51 1:23’08.880 1 lap /41.821
16 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 50 1:22’37.741 2 laps /10.682
17 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 50 1:22’45.064 2 laps /18.005
18 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 50 1:23’21.535 2 laps /54.476
George Russell Mercedes 33 52’51.677 Retirement
Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 0 – Not started -
George Russell takes pole at home Grand Prix ahead of Hamilton: F1
Silverstone, 6 July 2024: George Russell led an all-British top three in qualifying for the British Grand Prix with the Mercedes driver beating team-mate Lewis Hamilton by just under two tenths of a second as Lando Norris took third for McLaren. Drivers’ Championship leader Max Verstappen will start fourth after his qualifying was compromised by floor damage sustained in an early off.
At the start of Q1, on a damp track and on Intermediate tyres, Verstappen took top spot with a lap of 1:37.518, with Norris a tenth off in P2. They were soon shuffled back by Mercedes George Russell who took top spot with his second flyer, but the track was rapidly drying and Charles Leclerc quickly headed back to the pits for a set of slick Soft tyres.
That prompted Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez to make the same switch but on a still slippery track he suffered a snap of oversteer going into Copse corner and though he managed to save that he lost control in the run-off and slid backwards into the gravel where he exited the session and the red flags came out.
After a nine-minute halt the session resumed with all drivers on Softs. But as McLaren’s Oscar Piastri took P1 with a lap of 1:30.895, Verstappen almost suffered the same fate as his team-mate. A snap in Copse sent the Red Bull driver off track and though he was able to keep going, a thumping trip through the gravel trap caused floor damage that would have a major impact on the rest of his session.
With improvements flooding in elsewhere, the Dutch driver sank down the order and with the clock counting down he had to immediately make another attempt and as Hamilton took top spot ahead of Russell, Leclerc and Sainz, the world champion limped through in a relatively lowly P11 thanks to a lap of 1:31.242.
Out, though went Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas in P11 ahead of Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Checo, in P19, and last placed Pierre Gasly in the second Alpine.
In the early exchanges of Q2 it was Norris who took top spot, with the McLaren driver posting a lap of 1:27.432 to sit a tenth clear of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. Verstappen, meanwhile, was again suffering and after claiming fourth with a time of 1:27.799 he soon slid back to 10th as drivers stayed out and improved. It was a similar story after his second flyer and after initially rising to third he dropped to an eventual sixth as Norris took P1 ahead of Russell and Alonso.
However, while Verstappen avoided becoming the major casualty of Q2, Leclerc was unable to avoid that fate and battling porpoising in his Ferrari, the Monegasque driver was ruled out in P11 ahead of Williams’ Logan Sargeant, RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu and the second RB of Daniel Ricciardo.
In the opening runs of Q3 Russell led the way by just 0.006s over Norris, as Hamilton and Piastri were both within touching distance in the battle for pole and with Verstappen down in fifth it was shaping up to be a duel between Mercedes and McLaren.
Neither Hamilton nor Russell improved on their first sectors, but both improved later in the lap and, first across the line, Hamilton jumped to top spot with 1:25.990s. Russell was finding more time, however, and when Norris made a mistake in Turn 14, Russell’s improved time of 1:25.819 was enough to clinch his third F1 pole.
Norris preserved his place in that top three, but couldn’t improve on his final run and ceded one position to Hamilton to lead the second row alongside Verstappen. Behind the Red Bull man, Piastri qualified fifth ahead of Hülkenberg, while Sainz took seventh ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Williams’ Alex Albon and the second Aston of Fernando Alonso.
2024 FIA Formula 1 British Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 George Russell Mercedes 1:25.819 – –
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:25.990 0.171
3 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:26.030 0.211
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:26.203 0.384
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:26.237 0.418
6 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1:26.338 0.519
7 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:26.509 0.690
8 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:26.585 0.766
9 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:26.640 0.821
10 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:26.917 1.098
11 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:27.097 1.278
12 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 1:27.175 1.356
13 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 1:27.269 1.450
14 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 1:27.867 2.048
15 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 1:27.949 2.130
16 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 1:32.431 6.612
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:32.905 7.086
18 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:34.557 8.738
19 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:38.348 12.529
20 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:39.804 -
Max Verstappen wins first Sprint race of the season ahead of Hamilton
Shanghai (China) 20 April 2024: Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen won the first Sprint of the 2024 F1 season, powering through from fourth on the grid to beat Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, with Sergio Pérez third in the other Red Bull in the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix, the fifth round of the F1 World Championship at the Shanghai International Circuit here on Saturday.
When the lights went out at the start of the 19 lap, 100-km dash to the flag, it was Hamilton who got away best and he immediately attacked polesitter Lando Norris of McLaren as they went into the long loop of the first two corners. Norris, on the outside, tried to resist, but he was forced out wide on the dirty side of the track and slid wide. He tumbled down to P7 as Hamilton took the lead.
Behind them, Aston Martin’s Fernand Alonso was in third ahead of Verstappen, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, P´rez and the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. Verstappen wasn’t happy, however, and as Hamilton began to build a gap at the front the Dutchman was on the radio complaining that he had a flat battery. He was given instructions to change settings on his steering wheel and during his phase dropped almost two seconds away from Hamilton and Alonso.
Just over a third of the way into the race, Hamilton had carved out a gap of 1.5s to Alonso, but Verstappen, with his battery issues fixed, was charging towards both. At the end of Lap 7, Verstappen closed in on Alonso and passed the Aston Martin driver into the hairpin to take P2.
On lap eight Hamilton ran wide at the hairpin and that was all the incentive Verstappen needed. He closed the gap to half a second as they crossed the start/finish line and then began to apply the pressure through the first sector of lap nine before getting the pass done into the hairpin. With the lead secured, Verstappen raced into the distance, quickly opening a sizable gap to the rest of the pack.
While Hamilton remained a comfortable second, Alonso began to fall back towards Sainz, Perez, Leclerc and Norris, and an exciting tussle developed.
On Lap 14, Leclerc attacked Perez around the outside of the final hairpin, but failed to pass. He tried again on the following lap but locked up and fell back slightly.
On lap 16, Sainz attacked Alonso heading into Turn 6. The pair went side-by-side into Turn 7 and the two Spaniards made contact, allowing Perez to sneak past both at Turn 8.
Alonso dropped back with a puncture and eventually retired. With Pérez in third, the battle for fourth was left to the two Ferraris who almost collided at the final hairpin – prompting an angry radio message from Leclerc – before Sainz ran wide at Turn 2 allowing his team mate to ease past.
From there, the lead positions remained unchanged, with Verstappen taking victory over Hamilton and Pérez, as Leclerc, Sainz, Norris, Piastri and Russell completed the top-eight positions and secured the points on offer.2024 FIA Chinese Grand Prix – Sprint
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing19 32’04.660
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 19 32’17.703 13.043
3 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 19 32’19.918 15.258
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 19 32’22.146 17.486
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 19 32’25.356 20.696
6 Lando Norris McLaren 19 32’26.748 22.088
7 Oscar Piastri McLaren 19 32’29.373 24.713
8 George Russell Mercedes 19 32’30.356 25.696
9 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber 19 32’36.611 31.951
10 Kevin Magnussen Haas 19 32’42.058 37.398
11 Daniel Ricciardo RB19 32’42.500 37.840
12 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber 19 32’42.955 38.295
13 Esteban Ocon Alpine 19 32’44.501 39.841
14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 19 32’44.959 40.299
15 Pierre Gasly Alpine 19 32’45.498 40.838
16 Yuki Tsunoda RB 19 32’46.530 41.870
17 Alexander Albon Williams 19 32’47.658 42.998
18 Logan Sargeant Williams 19 32’51.012 46.352
19 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 19 32’54.290 49.630
20 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 17 29’39.513 Not running -
Hamilton leads free practice time sheets in Bahrain: F1
Bahrain, 29 February 2024: The opening weekend of the longest season in Formula 1 history saw Mercedes write the first headline. The Toto Wolff-run team had both its drivers at the top of the time sheet come the end of the second free practice session, the one that is most relevant as it was held in similar conditions to those found in tomorrow’s qualifying and Saturday’s race. Quickest was Lewis Hamilton (1:30.374) while team-mate George Russell was just 206 thousandths of a second slower. Behind the Mercedes duo came five drivers from five different teams in the following order: Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), all within 286 thousandths, the German’s time 510 thousandths slower than Hamilton’s.
Quite strong winds were the order of the day, as well as much cooler temperatures than usual for the Bahrain Grand Prix and to a lesser extent to those experienced at last week’s test, with the mercury dropping below 20° for air temperature in FP2. It should be noted that this event is taking place a bit earlier in the year than usual. Hamilton’s time was just under six tenths faster than the best FP2 time from last year, when Alonso posted a 1:30.907 and 666 thousandths off the 2023 pole time set by Verstappen.
Max, 6th in Free Practice
Lewis Hamilton set the pace in the second practice session for this weekend’s season-opening FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix, with the Mercedes driver finishing two tenths of a second clear of team-mate George and with defending World Champion Max Verstappen in sixth place.
At the start of the session, drivers went out on a mix of Soft and medium tyres, with many of the expected frontrunners opting for the red-walled C3 compound. Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez was quicker to the fore with a time of 1:31.629 but that was soon beaten by Charles Leclerc who logged a lap of 131.578 in the Ferrari SF-24. However, both were easily bypassed by Hamilton who posted a lap of 1:30.751 to take top spot. Alonso then split the top two with a 1m31.035s. Hamilton though was improving all the time and the seven-time champion eventually worked his way to 1:30.374 to seal first place for good.
Further down the order, Verstappen’s opening lap was half a second down on Hamilton’s P1 time and, although he later improved on the same set of tyres, he failed to make a serious move up the order and eventually had to settle for the sixth place earned by his best time of 1:30.851.
Behind Hamilton, Russell slotted in behind to sit second, posting a best time of 1:30.580 on his second set of Softs to finish 0.206 behind his team-mate. Fernando Alonso ended up in third place, eight hundredths of a second behind Russell and fourth place went to Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz on 1:30.769, a time that put him 0.015s ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and with Verstappen 0.477s off Hamilton in P6.
These performance runs of the first half hour then gave way to longer running, which meant that Nico Hülkenberg finished in P7 for Haas, just three hundredths of a second off Verstappen, while Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was eighth, 0.007s behind the German. Leclerc and Pérez rounded out the top 10, ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon, with RB’s Daniel Ricciardo in P12 ahead of the second Williams of Logan Sargeant.2024 FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes !:30.374 25 215.584
2 George Russell Mercedes !:30.580 0.206 23 215.093
3 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes !:30.660 0.286 22 214.904
4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari !:30.769 0.395 25 214.645
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes !:30.784 0.410 27 214.610
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT !:30.851 0.477 25 214.452
7 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari !:30.884 0.510 23 214.374
8 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes !:30.891 0.517 26 214.357
9 Charles Leclerc Ferrari !:31.113 0.739 26 213.835
10 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT !:31.115 0.741 26 213.830
11 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes !:31.333 0.959 26 213.320
12 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT !:31.516 1.142 26 212.893
13 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes !:31.715 1.341 27 212.431
14 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari !:31.764 1.390 27 212.318
15 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT !:31.881 1.507 29 212.048
16 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault !:31.951 1.577 25 211.886
17 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari !:32.001 1.627 24 211.771
18 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault !:32.027 1.653 25 211.711
19 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari !:32.048 1.674 28 211.663
20 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes !:32.608 2.234 25 210.383 -
Part II: Hamilton, the Last Dance
New Delhi, 2 February 2024: In the words of famous TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson, “And on that Bombshell”, Sir Lewis Hamilton has kickstarted the 2024 Formula 1 season with the announcement that he will be driving for Ferrari from 2025 onwards. This is the biggest driver transfer in Formula 1, since Hamilton himself announced he would leave McLaren for Mercedes in 2013, sending shockwaves throughout the paddock.
Part II (You can read Part I here)
The Ferrari Element
John Elkann, Stellantis and Ferrari Chairman has said to have a key role in persuading Hamilton to join the Scuderia. Vasseur already being the Team Principal means Hamilton already has people at Ferrari that he trusts. Further, a marriage between arguably the greatest driver in Formula 1 and the greatest team in Formula 1 is too enticing. When the opportunity came Ferrari jumped at signing the Briton. Just the magnitude of this announcement is a commercial dream. It also coincides with Sainz’s contract finishing at the end of 2024 and Leclerc signing a multi-year deal to continue with Ferrari.
Sweeping power unit and technical regulations give a clean sheet where Ferrari could be best placed to capitalise and leap forward of the field. This is what attracted Hamilton to join them. 2025 would be a season where he can bed in and 2026 go all out for the title. Ferrari have not won a drivers’ championship since 2007 and constructors’ championship since 2008. If Hamilton can get one or both, that too with Ferrari his status will undoubtedly be cemented as the greatest.
One could say it is a match made in heaven as both have the immense hunger to not only win again but get their dominant glory days back, especially for Ferrari as it has been long overdue. Since the Maranello squad last won, it has been plagued by mismanagement, bad strategy calls, dirty politics and mediocre engineering given the facilities they have. This is concurred by the failure of great drivers like Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso’s inability to win a title with them. Ferrari’s motivation to bring Hamilton would be to get these processes right. It has already started with Vasseur in charge and bringing positive changes in the technical departments. There is no doubt in Hamilton’s abilities, give him a car and he will deliver. Hamilton is being brought in to push and extract the best out of every single team member. His experience and knowledge will be invaluable to the team. The onus is on Ferrari then to help Hamilton and themselves to reach the summit.
Lastly, there is Sainz who is out of contract after 2024 and will not continue with Ferrari. For the Italian squad it is a no brainer, if a driver of Hamilton’s stature is available, they will make him a priority. Sainz was able to match Leclerc throughout his time at Ferrari but was never clearly faster than the Monegasque. Leclerc is the Scuderia’s golden boy but remains to be seen how the dynamic will evolve once Hamilton is there in 2025. Make no mistake Sainz is immensely talented and will land a drive for 2025 somewhere, Mercedes being one of the options. The Spaniard has been heavily linked with Stake F1 team Kick Sauber, which will be rebranded as Audi in 2026. Remains to be seen what plans Sainz has.
The Conundrum facing Mercedes
Mercedes and specifically Toto Wolff have been caught off guard by this bombshell news. Wolff said that he got to know about the news only a day before and that before going in the winter break Mercedes and Hamilton’s ambitions were aligned. Turns out the contract Hamilton signed was a 1+1 year contract which had an exit clause at the end of the first year, which Hamilton used.
A week ago, the future at Mercedes looked very different with Hamilton and George Russell embedded to bring Mercedes to the front again. That is all up in the air as Hamilton has decided agree terms with Ferrari for his future. With Hamilton being there, the team had a clear direction for development which now might be out of the window. This might backtrack Mercedes’ plans to get to the front in the short term.
This agreement between Hamilton and Ferrari has a twofold impact on the German squad. Firstly, Hamilton is still part of Mercedes for 2024. This means that Hamilton will be excluded from certain parts of the team which plan their long-term development. On track strategy and planning will also be affected by this somewhat. Wolff has commented that both drivers will be treated equally throughout the season but clearly Russell is the future for the Silver Arrows. It is a positive situation for Russell as he becomes the de facto leader of the team once Hamilton departs. Secondly, this announcement means Mercedes have to look for a driver to fill their vacant seat. Mercedes is not the formidable team they used tobe; their seat was the most coveted till 2021. Still, they are one of the big names in Formula 1 and a works team so drivers would undoubtedly want to sign for them.
There are multiple candidates for this seat. Sainz will be out of contract and could technically swap with Hamilton. But Mercedes have already been hurt by their man leaving for Ferrari and hence, they may not want Sainz as he is a former Ferrari man. They may look towards Fernando Alonso, but he may not be the right choice for long term future in the eyes of Mercedes. Alex Albon of Williams is a sound choice considering he gets along with Russell and has shown that he can be consistent. Further vacating the Williams seat means Mercedes young driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli could be placed in the Williams who share a good working relationship with Mercedes. Antonelli will be in F2 for 2024, and depending on his performances could make the jump to F1 in 2025. Esteban Ocon is another name that comes to mind as he is managed Gwen Lagrue, Mercedes’ Driver Development Advisor. Factors against Ocon might be that he was beaten by fellow Frenchman Pierre Gasly in their first season as teammates. Daniel Ricciardo is another name linked with Mercedes in the past but there are questions if Mercedes would want him due to his age and whether he would be willing to leave the Red Bull family a second time.Drivers such as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have already signed long term deals with McLaren. Max Verstappen would not move as he is long term contracted to Red Bull and is in the fastest car on the grid currently.
If Mercedes move in too quickly for a driver, they may end up losing an opportunity to sign a driver of a higher caliber later. Make their move too late and all their targets may be locked down to their respective teams.
Hamilton and Ferrari will be hoping for a fruitful outcome of their union from 2025 onwards whereas Mercedes will be hoping to get their new driver and development cards right for the future.
