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Lewis Hamilton may have to give way if Mercedes employ team orders | Giles Richards

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...

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Lewis Hamilton’s battle with Sebastian Vettel could match F1’s great rivalries | Giles Richards

The Mercedes and Ferrari drivers continue their Formula One duel in China on Sunday and Hamilton is relishing the challenge of Vettel having a competitive carIn 2011, Lewis Hamilton took second place at the Korean Grand Prix in what was a remarkable drive in an underperforming McLaren. Sebastian Vettel was the winner but Hamilton, a second a lap slower than the two Red Bulls and suffering from understeer owing to debris stuck in the front wing, held off Mark Webber for 34 laps to secure the place.The McLaren team principal, Martin Whitmarsh, said: “I can’t speak more highly of the drive he did in those circumstances,” and it really was a striking achievement. Hamilton, much to everyone’s surprise, saw it...

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Toto Wolff: 'Hamilton and Rosberg was more intense than we thought beneficial'

While Lewis Hamilton and his F1 team appear closer than ever, the Mercedes executive director accepts ‘the way the best ones are calibrated can cause bumps on the way’“Still I Rise” is the motto Lewis Hamilton wears proudly tattooed on his back and emblazoned across his helmet. Inspiration for resilience in adversity adopted from Maya Angelou’s poem via Tupac Shakur that he had good reason to look to last year when, in the wake of consecutive Formula One world championships, an emotional and mental rollercoaster of a season left him ultimately beaten by his team-mate, Nico Rosberg. Worse still, by the close, the title gone, his fractured relationship with his former friend extended to the team. The formidable partnership forged...

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Nico Rosberg praises F1 cars as monstrous but looks can be deceiving | Giles Richards

New season’s cars not as easy to drive as they look, the verdict is still out on the shark fins while Christian Horner says move to social media is instant successConsensus was reached by F1 drivers regarding what a physical challenge handling the new cars represents. The word “beast” was bandied about with abandon by several and to their credit they were using it positively and revelling in the task of having to properly manhandle their drives around the Circuit de Catalunya.Mechanical grip was up, as was downforce, as had been the plan for the new regulations, and the resultant grip led to cornering speeds and g-force increases that are a new experience for almost all of the current crop...

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