Ferrari driver’s quiet confidence is ominous going into the Azerbaijan GP and it will only grow if he can win at a Mercedes-friendly track where the red mist came down last yearLast season the Azerbaijan Grand Prix produced a dramatic end to what had been a good-natured rivalry in battle for the championship between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.When Vettel lost his temper and barged the British driver his lack of control exposed a weakness from which Hamilton emerged psychologically with the upper hand. A year on in Baku, however, the German could not be exhibiting a calmer, more controlled disposition and his quiet confidence is ominous for Hamilton. Related: Max Verstappen will need to learn fast from Shanghai overtaking...
The driver’s poorly judged attempt at overtaking Sebastian Vettel in China suggests it is time for the youngster to add a more considered approach to his undoubted raw talentAt the opening of the Formula One season, Max Verstappen was as confident in his own abilities as he ever had been. The young Dutchman has carried this self-assurance since he began in karting and it has been part and parcel of his career in F1.With the new season about to begin, he told my colleague Donald McRae that he felt no need to overthink his craft. “I never even think of the mental side of things because I never had any issues,” he said. But his poorly judged attempt at overtaking...
It was a fine race for Sebastian Vettel but in different ways Lewis Hamilton and Pierre Gasly also made their markThe Scuderia might have been fortunate to win in Melbourne but victory in Bahrain was anything but a fluke. The team had the pace all weekend and their car proved, at the Sakhir circuit at least, to be superior to Mercedes. But they also had to be willing to take a risk and trust their driver. Switching to a one-stop mid race was a bold move and Vettel had to put in a superlative performance to turn it into a win. He made his tyres last 39 laps when Pirelli’s predicted lifespan was just 30 and did so without going...
Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen showed Red Bull can be a force while Fernando Alonso gave McLaren reason to be cheerful Related: Australian Grand Prix: Sebastian Vettel wins F1 opener with Lewis Hamilton second Continue reading...
Mercedes look like being the team to beat again, while Ferrari and McLaren both have much work to doThe dominant force in F1 for the past four years, Mercedes appear to show no sign of relinquishing their stranglehold. Last year’s championship-winning car, which was quick but temperamental, has undergone an evolution over the winter that looks alarming for their rivals. They clocked the most laps with 1,040 and, although only seventh on the time sheets, their pace in race simulations was relentlessly good, half a second a lap up on Ferrari and eight-tenths on Red Bull. The team chose not to run the car on the fastest hyper‑soft rubber, unconcerned about setting a single lap marker, and Lewis Hamilton, who...