F1 news LIVE: Mercedes warned over ‘crazy’ car fixes as Max Verstappen faces ‘big task’ after ‘terrible race’

Formula 1 latest news, rumours and updates plus all the reaction from Melbourne

Hamilton Admits To Struggling Mentally

Follow all the latest news and reaction from the world of F1 as the fallout continues from another chaotic race in Melbournce, before heading to Imola for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is convinced the team are “in a better state” than before the Australian GP, where George Russell claimed a podium spot and Lewis Hamilton placed fourth, but both drivers have sounded warnings about ensuring everybody in the team is pushing as hard as possible for improvements required to the car.

Meanwhile, reigning champion Max Verstappen has followed up his comments suggesting there are “two or three” problems for the new Red Bull car by acknowledging he had a “terrible race” in Melbourne, where he couldn’t find the pace to keep up with the leaders and ended up failing to complete the day for the second time in three races this season. He has also been warned about going “over the limit” by team advisor Helmut Marko, who wants more calmness from the driver. With Ferrari going clear at the top thanks to another Charles Leclerc win, there’s also talk over Carlos Sainz being reduced to a support driver for the team.

Follow all the latest F1 news and reaction after a thrilling start to the 2022 season.

F1 latest news

• George Russell warns against ‘crazy’ car fixes after podium spot
• Max Verstappen slams ‘horrible race’ and admits he faces ‘big task’ in title defence
• Toto Wolff claims Mercedes in a ‘better’ place after Australian GP

[13 April 2022 18:12 · Luke Baker]

Max Verstappen has ‘no reason to believe’ he can defend his F1 title

Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen admits he has ‘no reason to believe’ he can defend his title in 2022.

The Dutchman, who dramatically pipped Lewis Hamilton to the 2021 championship in Abu Dhabi last year, has suffered reliability problems in both Bahrain and Melbourne which have seen him fail to finish.

He did clinch victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix but two DNFs have left him sixth in the drivers’ championship, a huge 46 points off runaway leader Charles Leclerc just three races into the season.

And Verstappen, who has been left extremely frustrated by his team’s inability to provide him with a car which can make it to the finish, insists the championship is not even on his mind at this moment in time.

[13 April 2022 17:59 · Luke Baker]

Red Bull have ‘two or three’ problems, says Marko

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has admitted Red Bull have “two or three” problems to solve before F1 heads to Imola for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen was forced to retire for the second time in three races after a suspected problem with his fueling system in Melbourne, already leaving the world champion a huge 46 points behind leader Charles Leclerc.

“There are two or maybe three different things at play,” Marko told Servus TV. “Firstly, the reliability problems, which we hardly had last year, but the lag behind Ferrari was also alarming.

“We were negatively surprised by the speed of Ferrari. They had almost no graining and we already had after a few laps. Ferrari can find a good balance with the car more easily.”

“We are clearly heavier than the Ferrari. I think we have a weight handicap of about 10 kilograms. Converted to lap time, that equates to about three tenths per lap. But lowering the weight is expensive. It’s, to start with, a financial issue and secondly it is also related to reliability, so it is a difficult split due to the budget ceiling. We are facing difficult times.”

[13 April 2022 17:42 · Luke Baker]

A ‘liability’ who was ‘disrespectful’ to the drivers - Toto Wolff slams ex-F1 race director Michael Masi

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has slammed former F1 race director Michael Masi, calling him a ‘liability’ who was ‘disrespectful’ to the drivers.

Masi’s handling of last season’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix cost Lewis Hamilton an eighth world title and led to his dismissal from the role in the off-season by the FIA for breaking the rules - something that Wolff won’t be losing any sleep over.

Wolff said: “It is quite interesting because I had lunch with him [Masi] on the Wednesday before the race [Abu Dhabi], and I said to him that ‘I really want to tell you, without patronising you, that you need to take criticism on board and develop from there. Lewis does it every day, but you are guy who always seems to know better’.

“It wasn’t about influencing him but really giving my honest feedback that he shouldn’t block outside opinion as simply being wrong.

“You hear from the drivers and how the drivers’ briefings were conducted [by Masi] and some of the guys said it was almost disrespectful how he treated some of them.

“There is a promoter of one of the races in the Middle East who said he was so relieved he had gone because he got so much abuse from him. He was just immune to any feedback and even today he has not properly reflected that he did something wrong.

“He was a liability for the sport because everybody kept talking about Abu Dhabi and the race director, and the race director should not be somebody that people talk about, but someone who does the job and makes sure the race is run according to the regulations.”

[13 April 2022 17:26 · Luke Baker]

Martin Brundle praises George Russell’s ‘classy, fault-free driving’ in battle with Lewis Hamilton

Martin Brundle has praised George Russell for his “classy” and “fault-free” early season performances after the Mercedes driver climbed to second in the Drivers’ Championship standings.

Russell secured his first podium at Mercedes at the Australian Grand Prix, beating teammate Lewis Hamilton to third after a timely pit stop during a safety car enabled him to gain race position.

The 24-year-old has finished in the top five at each of the three races to start the season despite significant performance issues for the German outfit.

The British driver arrived to partner compatriot Hamilton at the start of the season from Williams, and has thus far out-performed the seven-time world champion.

[13 April 2022 17:13 · Luke Baker]

Lewis Hamilton clarifies radio rant that Mercedes put him in ‘difficult position’ in Australian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has praised the performance of Mercedes teammate George Russell and clarified an apparent complaint about team strategy made during the Australian Grand Prix.

Hamilton finished fourth in Melbourne, one place behind Russell, as Mercedes produced a solid showing despite continued performance issues with their car.

It leaves the German team second in the Constructors’ Championship standings, ahead of Red Bull, with defending champion Max Verstappen forced to retire for a second time in the opening three races of the season.

That allowed Hamilton and, particularly, Russell to take advantage, with the 24-year-old recording his first podium at Mercedes to climb to second in the Drivers’ Championship.

Hamilton had appeared angry at his team’s strategy during the race, claiming they had put him in a “difficult position” after Russell moved ahead of him after pitting during a safety car period, but the seven-time world champion explained afterwards that he was instead frustrated at an engine issue that prevented him challenging his colleague.

[13 April 2022 16:57 · Luke Baker]

Toto Wolff reveals why he is ‘very optimistic’ about Mercedes’ prospects this season

Toto Wolff believes there is reason to be “very optimistic” about Mercedes after an encouraging performance at the Australian Grand Prix.

Despite again struggling to match Red Bull and Ferrari’s pure speed, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were able to capitalise on the struggles of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz to record third and fourth-placed finishes respectively.

Both drivers, and team principal Wolff, have spoken openly of their lack of belief in the car, which has struggled with “porpoising” amid wider performance problems in the opening skirmishes of the 2022 Formula 1 season.

Yet Mercedes are second in the Constructors’ Championship after three races, and new recruit Russell is the closest challenger to Charles Leclerc, who leads the chase for the world title by 34 points after taking his second victory of the season in Melbourne.

[13 April 2022 16:42 · Luke Baker]

Charles Leclerc: Ferrari’s unassuming F1 star shaped by tragedy

Charles Leclerc considers himself a “real Monegasque”; not the sort that arrives in Monaco with a bulging bank account and a significantly lower tax bill but the natives who were born and schooled there, writes Lawrence Ostlere.

His parents, Hervé and Pascale, were not poor but he did not grow up accustomed to the flash Monte Carlo lifestyle many might imagine. He is proud of his beginnings, and jokes that the typical Monegasque is “like the French, but maybe more polite”.

Leclerc is certainly that. The laid back Ferrari driver and current leader of the F1 world championship gets on with everybody and has only love for his rivals – “I have no enemies in the paddock,” he says. His name, which sounds like a sweet delicacy in French, is regularly botched by the English-speaking world with a hard “z” on the end of Charles and a firm “erk” at the end of Leclerc, but he never corrects the mispronunciation. “I like both,” he says with a smile.

The unassuming 24-year-old was immersed in motor sport from a young age. Hervé was a Formula 3 driver in the 1980s and 1990s, and later he would take Charles and his two siblings (older brother Lorenzo and younger brother Arthur, now a Formula 3 driver himself) to a local karting track owned by his best friend and fellow racer Philippe Bianchi.

[13 April 2022 16:28 · Luke Baker]

Max Verstappen fumes at speed of ‘turtle’ Aston Martin safety car

Max Verstappen complained that Formula 1’s safety car was “like a turtle” during the Australian Grand Prix after it caused Charles Leclerc to understeer at the final corner moments before the restart.

The mistake gave Verstappen the opportunity to snatch the lead from Leclerc but the Red Bull was unable to rival the Ferrari’s raw pace and the reigning world champion was later forced to retire from the race due to reliability issues with his car.

Asked about the restart, Verstappen criticised the speed of the Aston Martin Vantage safety car and said he preferred the Mercedes version.

[13 April 2022 16:14 · Luke Baker]

Toto Wolff questions F1’s new race boss as Lewis Hamilton defies jewellery ban

Toto Wolff has questioned new Formula One race boss Niels Wittich’s jewellery ban by asking: “Is that a battle he needs to have?”

Lewis Hamilton defied the FIA’s clampdown as he competed with piercings in both ears and a nose stud at the Australian Grand Prix – and said afterwards that he has no plans to remove them in future outings.

Wittich was hired by the FIA following Michael Masi’s dismissal for breaking the rules at last season’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – an event which denied Hamilton a record eighth championship.

“How he has run the first few races has been respectful, solid and he hasn’t put a single foot wrong,” Mercedes team principal Wolff said of Wittich.

“But is that [jewellery ban] a battle he needs to have at this stage? However, if it turns out to be the biggest unfortunate misstep of a race director, I would take it a thousand times over.”

[13 April 2022 15:58 · Luke Baker]

Pristine poise of Charles Leclerc provides championship platform amid F1 chaos

The 2022 Formula 1 season was supposed to bring with it a new era of unpredictability. In plenty of ways, it has, writes Dan Austin.

The biggest regulation change the sport has undergone in a generation has changed things forever, dramatically altering the ways cars race one another, shaking up the establishing running order, rendering old masters also-rans, and characters who were previously mere extras into show stopping leads.

The racing in the first three rounds of the season has been ceaseless and breathless, with drivers unable to take progress through the field for granted anymore. Once an overtake is done, ground effect aerodynamics mean the man who has dropped down a place is able to stake a claim to take his position back once again almost instantly.

Formula 1 will be delighted with the entertainment value its new-age form of structured chaos is providing fans and sponsors, as it looks to take advantage of its booming popularity among young people around the world.

How strange, then, that this brave new world is being so overwhelmingly defined by one far less anarchic constant thus far – the pristine poise of Charles Leclerc’s driving.