Lewis Hamilton may have to open the door for junior partner Valtteri Bottas if Mercedes decide to employ team orders some time soonLewis Hamilton might have thanked his team-mate Valtteri Bottas for being a “gentleman” during the Bahrain Grand Prix, in moving aside to allow the British driver through, but afterwards the look on the Finn’s face betrayed his real feelings. Having been ordered by Mercedes to concede second place to Hamilton, he was clearly not happy about it, yet it is highly unlikely to be the last time the team employ orders and both drivers may have to suck it up. Testing times leave little room for compromise and there is no mistaking that, for the first time since...
All three start-up teams who joined F1 in 2010 have gone but Haas may provide the template to realise Ross Brawn’s dream of a grid where anyone can winChange is coming to Formula One and the sport, which has evolved in an awkward, disjointed and unsatisfactory fashion in recent years, badly needs to get it right.In the short term the new 2017 regulations seem to have at least worked in the sense of having two teams – Mercedes and Ferrari – competing at the front, with a good chance Red Bull will be joining them as the season progresses. It is a step forward from the dominance Mercedes have enjoyed for the past three years. However, the big three being...
McLaren reap the rewards of clever PR but Fernando Alonso punctures the team’s bonhomie; Bernie back in the spotlight; Ferrari have race paceMcLaren’s decision to allow Fernando Alonso to race in the Indy 500 rather than at Monaco was greeted almost universally as a welcome move. Certainly it generated more positive press than the team have enjoyed in a long time. It was clever PR and they followed it by bringing back Jenson Button to replace Alonso in Monte Carlo. Related: Mercedes consider team orders to stop F1 threat of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel I have never raced with less power in my life Continue reading...
The former F1 world champion has ambitions to complete motorsport’s triple crown but the decision is also revealing about his relationship with the teamSo Fernando Alonso is to miss the Monaco Grand Prix to compete in this year’s Indy 500. After McLaren’s shock at the start of this season, when discovering their Honda power unit was woefully underperforming for the third year in succession, the team have turned the tables with a surprise of their own that has rather knocked those travails into a cocked hat. Perhaps that was partly the point but it also informs as to where the team are now, about Alonso, his future and relationship with McLaren. Equally, whatever the motives, it is a decision for...
Max Verstappen shows he can sing in the rain; long live overtaking – it’s now better than ever; Niki Lauda should know better than bet against Mercedes Related: Lewis Hamilton out to make it a friendly F1 title battle with Sebastian Vettel Related: Lewis Hamilton leads from start to finish to win Chinese F1 GP Continue reading...