F1 LIVE – Lewis Hamilton contract call, Verstappen’s bold Alonso claim
Lewis Hamilton on difficult season for Mercedes in November
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Red Bull star Max Verstappen made his intentions clear on Sunday with a dominant win at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The team’s one-two to kick off the new season sent out a warning to the chasing pack, with Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton well off the pace.
The Silver Arrows have effectively written off the current season as they work on a radical new design in the hope of making it back to the top. All efforts have been poured into the process, with even the issue of Hamilton’s new contract taking a back seat.
A P5 for Hamilton and a P7 for team-mate George Russell made for a disappointing weekend’s work at Mercedes, while Aston Martin announced themselves among the race leaders in emphatic fashion as Fernando Alonso took a superb third place in Sakhir.
With plenty to chew on after an intriguing first Grand Prix weekend, follow Express Sport’s live updates below…
Verstappen makes bold Alonso claims
Max Verstappen has suggested that Fernando Alonso has the pace with Aston Martin to win ‘two or three races’ this season.
The Spaniard started the year with a bang by clinching third spot in Bahrain, behind only Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
“I’ve been in the same position where some races I’m finishing 20 to 40 seconds behind the winners and you still win two or three races a year because sometimes they are some tracks which really suit your car and everything just comes together and you can win a race with maybe sometimes a bit of help or luck,” Verstappen told Sky Sports. “But for sure they have a really strong package. And now of course it’s all about developing it further.
“I think for this year, difficult to say if they’re going to challenge for the championship, but race wins are definitely on the table.”
Mercedes make Hamilton contract call
Mercedes have taken the decision to put Lewis Hamilton’s contract negotiations on the back burner as they try to resolve their miserable start to the season.
Having gained momentum towards the end of last year, fans hoped that the Silver Arrows had turned things around, but the Bahrain Grand Prix exposed how far they remain behind Red Bull and Ferrari.
According to The Independent, Mercedes are shifting all their efforts into fixing their current issues which is set to delay the process of Hamilton signing a new deal.
“You heard Lewis on the radio. He is an integral part of the team, picking the team up, and we’re all sticking together,” said Wolff in Bahrain. “I don’t think that’s going to change just because we had another start that was really bad.”
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Good morning and a warm welcome to Express Sport’s F1 LIVE!
Amid the continued fallout from Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix, we’ll keep you up to date on the latest developments involving the biggest names on the grid.
Stay tuned right here throughout the day…
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