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Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff believes George Russell potentially had "a year too long" at Williams. Russell claimed his first victory in Formula 1 with Mercedes at the Brazilian Grand Prix, ending a 23-race win drought for the team. Wolff, who managed Russell during his years in the Mercedes Junior Programme, recalls the Briton's journey through the ranks competing in F1 feeder series GP3 and F2. "I thought about it at the end of the race, when he walked in as a 16-year-old with his suit, his tie, his PowerPoint presentation," said Wolff to media, including TheFOXposts.Com . "He's the first of our new Junior Programme that has won the race. "Obviously, Lewis [Hamilton] has been the most successful of the ones that has graduated [with Mercedes Benz backing]. "But six years later he [Russell] is the Grand Prix race winner." Viewed by...

Red Bull Racing head into the season finale having amassed 16 wins from 21 races in a dominant 2022 season. Max Verstappen wrapped up the Drivers' title at the Japanese Grand Prix, while the Constructors' Championship was secured in the United States - Red Bull's first championship 'double' since the 2013 season. However, for all the dominance shown by the team this year, there is one Mercedes record from the turbo-hybrid era that Red Bull will fall just short of nicking for themselves. Red Bull to miss Mercedes' points record In 2016, Mercedes scored a record 765 points in the Constructors' Championship - winning 19 races from 21 as Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg enjoyed a tussle for the Drivers' title. That was an average of 36.42 points per race in an era without sprint races or bonus points for fastest lap. The maximum number of points available f...

Toto Wolff says Mercedes need to hope for another 'surprise' from its 2022 Formula 1 car to be in contention for Abu Dhabi Grand Prix victory. Reigning Constructors' champions Mercedes were winless going into last weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix, however, George Russell snapped the winless streak with a commanding maiden win. However, Wolff believes that the performance in Sao Paulo was a one-off and it will be tricky to repeat at Yas Marina, with the long straights and draggy nature of the W13 machine not likely to be compatible. Viewed by others: Haas F1 Team Steiner 'doesn't regret' previously disposing of experienced drivers ...

Lewis Hamilton says he has no regrets about the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as he return s nearly one year later for the Formula 1 season-finale. Hamilton was locked level on points with title rival Max Verstappen heading into the final race last season, on the cusp of winning a record-breaking eighth World Championship. He was seemingly all set to do that, holding an 11-second lead over Verstappen with a handful of laps to run, until Nicholas Latifi's crash brought out the Safety Car. Race Director Michael Masi allowed some, but not all cars to overtake, clearing those between the two rivals for a one lap shootout many felt should not have counted as the Safety Car should have stayed out an extra lap. In any case, Verstappen overtook Hamilton on much fresher tyres to snatch the title on the final lap. One year later, Hamilton says he has no qualms about returning to Yas Marina. ...

It's the final weekend of the 2022 season as F1 returns to the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. After several drivers handed their cars over to rookies in Free Practice 1, those names will be back in action for Free Practice 2 as preparations begin for the weekend ahead. Below you will find our dedicated live blog and live timing hub; the times refresh automatically during the session, so you are always up to date. In the blog, we will provide you with the latest developments during FP2 in Abu Dhabi. You can easily switch between live timing and the live blog via the tabs. Free practice 2 - Abu Dhabi Live blog Live timing ...

Lewis Hamilton has revealed how a self-inflicted "limitation" cost him performance in the second Abu Dhabi Grand Prix F1 practice session. The Mercedes topped a 1-2 in the opening session, but could only manage fourth place in the second, more representative session at Yas Marina. Hamilton ended up behind Max Verstappen, George Russell and Charles Leclerc but was within half-a-second, with the long run pace looking strong. However, the seven-time World Champion believes some set-up changes he requested between the two was the reason for his slipping back down the order. Viewed by others: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2022 Verstappen fastest after jumping back in for Abu Dhabi FP2 ...

George Russell believes Mercedes are a "little bit behind" Red Bull after Abu Dhabi practice as they go for their second win of the season. Russell was second fastest in both practice sessions on Friday, with teammate Lewis Hamilton topping the times in FP1. Max Verstappen – who stepped aside to allow Liam Lawson to drive his RB18 – then topped the timesheets in FP2, going 0.341 seconds quicker than Russell. Mercedes elected to do a lot of testing of 2023 components before focusing on their race runs towards the end of the session. "We had a very strong day in terms of what we've learned, we did quite a lot of test items in FP1 looking ahead to 2023 and this is one of our last opportunities to test," Russell told media after the session, including TheFOXposts.Com . "FP2 was obviously cooler track temperature and it changed completely, but it felt fast out there. "But I think Red Bull just have the legs on us on a single lap, probably...

It's the final weekend of the 2022 season as F1 returns to the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. Mercedes led a 1-2 in Friday's opening practice session, while Max Verstappen topped the timesheets in Free Practice 2. Who will have the momentum today ahead of qualifying? Below you will find our dedicated live blog and live timing hub; the times refresh automatically during the session, so you are always up to date. In the blog, we will provide you with the latest developments during FP3 in Abu Dhabi. You can easily switch between live timing and the live blog via the tabs. Free practice 3 - Abu Dhabi Live blog Live timing ...

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has said that he does not want Sergio Perez's crash at Monaco to be investigated . The crash was put under renewed focus following the Brazilian Grand Prix, where it was claimed that Max Verstappen did not follow team orders because of the incident. Verstappen appeared to believe that his teammate crash ed deliberately to secure pole position while he was on a better lap. FIA President Mohammed ben Sulayem said the governing body were open to investigating the crash, if a formal complaint was put through by teams. But the Mercedes boss said that it would be difficult to prove given the limited GPS around the track, and also would not like to see any further "PR crisis" around the matter. "We haven't got the data, Monaco is always pretty bad on GPS [data]," said Wolff to media, including TheFOXposts.Com . "I've known Sergio for a long time, would a driver really put his car in the wall and risk hi...

Sergio Perez was the quickest driver in final practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, ahead of teammate Max Verstappen . The Red Bull driver was 0.152 seconds faster than Verstappen after setting a lap time late in the session on a set of Soft tyres. Lewis Hamilton was third quickest and a further 0.240s back, but faces a potential grid drop after failing to slow under red flag conditions. Both Mercedes drivers set the early pace on the Soft tyres, while Ferrari sent their drivers out on Medium tyres for their initial laps. By the end of the session they were slower than Lando Norris, with both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc six tenths off the pace in P6 and P7. Leclerc reported that he was suffering a lot from poor tyre grip, saying to the team over the radio: "The front [tyres] are gone after four corners." Alex Albon put in a late lap on the Softs to round out the top 10, in a strong showing for the Williams driver ahead of qualifying. ...

Lewis Hamilton has escaped a penalty for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, after being put under investigation following FP3. Third practice at Abu Dhabi was red flagged after Pierre Gasly suffered a puncture when his front right wheel guard sheared off, causing debris to be strewn across the exit kerb at Turn 10. The Mercedes driver was at the start of his timed lap when the red flag came out, and subsequently passed Lando Norris and Kevin Magnussen as the light panel showed the red indicator. As a result Hamilton was investigated for breaching Article 2.5.4.1 b) of Appendix H of the International Sporting Code, which states “during practice, all cars shall immediately reduce speed and proceed slowly back to their respective pits.” The stewards ruled that Hamilton "took every reasonable action to comply with the regulations" in that he immediately reduced speed at the earliest opportunity upon the first indication of the red light panel. ...

Lewis Hamilton blamed " track specific " issues with the W13 for the reason why he couldn't challenge for pole and maintain his career record in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The seven-time World Champion had achieved a pole in every season he's participated in prior to the session, with this one being the last opportunity of 2022 to maintain that record . But after qualifying in fifth – nearly seven tenths off the pace – Hamilton blamed the issues with the W13, including porpoising, for why the team are so far off despite leading the way in practice on Friday. "[I] definitely wasn't expecting to see such a big gap, but we're losing six tenths on the straights," Hamilton told media, including TheFOXposts.Com . "It's kind of reminiscent of some of the previous races before Austin, [and the] bouncing is back, which is costing us time." Hamilton also noted the issues they've had with their brakes, which h...

Toto Wolff has explained why Mercedes "went backwards " in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after looking stronger earlier in the weekend. The team set the pace during Friday's opening practice session, having arrived at the Yas Marina Circuit off the back of their 1-2 victory last time out in Brazil. However, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell slipped behind both Red Bull and Ferrari in Saturday's qualifying , with the pair set to line up in P5 and P6 respectively. Wolff couldn't hide his disappointment following the session, having told Sky Sports F1 : "I think that's one to put in the toilet." Wolff: We didn't get the job done Wolff feels that – as well as Ferrari appearing to make progress – the direction that the Silver Arrows took for the session may not have been the right one. "We didn't get the job done," the tea...

Lewis Hamilton says he is "looking forward" to not driving the Mercedes W13 again after losing his pole position record in Formula 1 qualifying at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. His other record of at least one Grand Prix win is also under serious threat as Red Bull look to have a pace advantage in the UAE, with the 103-time winner previously saying it doesn't mean a lot to him if he loses the accolade. Speaking after losing the qualifying record, Hamilton admitted he couldn't wait to see the back of the W13 machine. Viewed by others: Toto Wolff Wolff explains why Mercedes went 'backwards' in qualifying F1 44294c7be7a8.webp 1x, https://cdn.thefoxposts...

Unlike 2021, it's been pretty clear where the Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship would be heading in 2022. Max Verstappen has been in a class of one this season, breaking records for most wins and most points in a single season (14 and 429 and counting for those keeping score.) Attention has thus turned onto who will finish as runner-up: Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez or Charles Leclerc of Ferrari. It will go down to the final race with nothing separating the two - and only 0.040s advantage in Perez's favour in qualifying at Yas Marina as they line up second and third. Should Perez claim it, he will secure Red Bull's first ever one-two in the Drivers', which is just about the only thing they haven't achieved in F1. Below is how P2 in the standings will be won - or indeed lost. Runner-up in the standings Heading into the finale in Abu Dhabi, Leclerc ...

Max Verstappen admits he was slightly surprised to see Mercedes struggle to match Red Bull and Ferrari in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Despite achieiving their first win of the 2022 F1 season last time out in Brazil, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell could only finish P5 and P6 respectively in Saturday's session, with Verstappen and Sergio Perez securing the front row while Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz claimed third and fourth. In terms of whether Mercedes or Ferrari will be Red Bull's main threat in the race, Verstappen voiced his hope that they can simply stay ahead of both teams, with Perez battling Leclerc to claim P2 in the World Championship. "It's difficult to tell at the moment," Verstappen told media, including TheFOXposts.Com , when asked which team posed the greater challenge. "I think, from our side, we looked good in FP2 with the long runs, and it seemed like both Ferrari and Mercedes seemed to struggle a little ...