F1 LIVE – Hamilton to risk FIA penalty, Mercedes chief honest on hopes

Red Bull designer Newey admits 2023 looks 'tough' amid testing restrictions

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The 2023 Formula One season grows ever closer with just 17 days to go until lights out in Bahrain. By the end of today, we will have seen every teams car for the year ahead as Alpine show the A523 to the public for the first time following on from the launches of Mercedes and Ferrari over the past couple of days. 

It wouldn’t be Formula One without a little bit of controversy and the 2023 off-season has been no different. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is not the most popular person in the paddock at the moment after a public intervention into the sale price of the sport while the governing bodies rules on free speech have annoyed drivers with some including Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris prepared to defy them. 

We will get a better feel for the season when pre-season testing gets underway in Bahrain next week as manufacturers are able to test their cars for the first time. Max Verstappen and Red Bull will be the team to beat after their dominance in 2022 but the likes of Hamilton, George Russell and Charles Leclerc will be doing everything in their power to ensure that does not happen.

Stick with us as we bring you all the latest updates from the world of Formula One today as we all start to get excited for the year ahead… 

Mercedes chief gives honest answer on Mercedes hopes

Mercedes technical director Mike Elliott has given an unconfident answer after being asked if his team have solved all their porpoising issues. 

The problem plagued much of their 2022 campaign with Lewis Hamilton suffering more than George Russell. 

“The easy answer is I hope not,” he explained when asked at the car launch if porpoising would still be an issue. “I think when you look at the sort of the learning we took from last year, you look at the tools that we put together, hopefully.

“We’ve got all the right metrics in place to understand what we need to do to the car so it doesn’t bounce but fingers crossed.”

Hamilton to risk FIA penalty

Lewis Hamilton has admitted that he is willing to risk FIA sanctions by breaching the governing body’s free speech ban. 

The Mercedes champions a number of causes most notably black rights and representation while he is also a prominent supporter of the LGBTQ+ community.

“Nothing will stop me from speaking on the things I am passionate about,” Hamilton explained. “The sport has a responsibility to speak out and create awareness on important topics, particularly as we are travelling to different places. So nothing changes.” 

It is unclear what penalties could be passed down for breaking the rules but the FIA would have the power to hand out race bans if they saw fit. 

Good morning!

Hello and welcome to Express Sport’s live coverage of Formula One today. 

Grab a cup of tea and a biscuit as we take your through all the latest developments as the teams enter the final development phase before lights out in Bahrain on March 5. 

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