F1 news LIVE: Emilia Romagna GP build-up as Red Bull try to catch Ferrari

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is confident Max Verstappen will ‘come back strong’ this weekend after the disappointment of retiring from the Australian Grand Prix a fortnight ago.

The reigning world champion suffered a second DNF in three races after his car overheated while sitting in second place in Melbourne.

As a result, Verstappen’s only points finish so far this season came in his victory at the Saudi Arabian GP. It means he is already playing catch up to drivers’ championship leader Charles Leclerc who is 46 points ahead of the Dutchman.

But Horner is confident both Verstappen and the team will respond in a positive manner at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - which includes the first sprint race of 2022.

Speaking to GP Fans, he said: “He was obviously frustrated when he initially got out of the car [in Melbourne], but he knows that we’re all in it together as a team and we’ll bounce back.

“I am sure he will be coming back strong in Imola.”

Full report:

The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix will take place this Sunday with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc looking to extend his lead at the top of the driver standings.

So far the star has won two of the opening three races and is currently 34 points ahead of second place George Russell. Defending champion Max Verstappen will bid to get his season back on track after having to retire from two races. He did bag a win in Saudi Arabia but the disappointing ends in Bahrain and Australia sees him in fifth.

And though Leclerc holds a commanding lead, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto says they aren’t ready to give team orders to Carlos Sainz to play second fiddle.

Here is the race schedule, how to watch and all fans need to know.

Nikita Mazepin has questioned the ‘values’ of Formula One while discussing a potential return to the sport.

The Russian’s position became increasingly uncertain following his country’s continued invasion of Ukraine, even after the FIA ruled that the 23-year-old would be allowed to continue racing under a neutral flag.

Mazepin’s father, Dmitry, a Russian oligarch who is the majority shareholder in chemical company Uralchem and one of Haas’ major sponsors, was pictured with Vladimir Putin as recently as January.

Haas removed Uralkali branding from its car during pre-season testing in Barcelona as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine accelerated and the team then confirmed they had terminated its contract with Mazepin and the company.

Opening up about the situation, Mazepin told Motorsport.com: “Everybody has a right to speak or not to speak and the FIA, the highest governing body, has enabled me to compete as long as I’m neutral.

“But I would say the biggest issue here is coming back to the sport where teams are allowed to be keeping sponsorship money without fulfilling the contract. And even asking for more, even though they say they don’t want money from Russia. So I’m not sure, but the sport’s values need to be evaluated for me after this.”

Lewis Hamilton remains hopeful Mercedes can challenge for the drivers’ championship this season despite a difficult start to 2022.

The reigning constructors champions have been playing catch up behind pace setters Ferrari and Red Bull in the opening three races.

And while Red Bull’s reliability issues have left George Russell a surprising second in the standings, many feel Mercedes do not have the car to compete for the title.

However, Hamilton is still optimistic that they can improve and begin to fight for victories as the season progresses.

Speaking to GP Fans, the seven-time world champion said: “I prefer to stay optimistic. There are 20 races to go.

“If you think realistically in terms of the way the sport goes in terms of development, the top teams often develop at a similar pace. Will that be the case with this new car? Who knows.”

More here:

Who remembers the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix last year?

It was a chaotic start and ended with a victory for Max Verstappen, with Lewis Hamilton second and Lando Norris third.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says the “picture is still very unclear” regarding Volkswagen’s potential entry into Formula One.

There are suggestions that Porsche and Audi, both companies part of the VW group, are joining Formula One, with reports indicating Red Bull are looking to partner with Porsche and Audi potentially joining forces with McLaren in 2026.

However, Wolff currently thinks that the plan is far from agreed and there remains questions on what VW’s entry could potentially look like.

As quoted by Motorsport.com, Wolff said: “It’s great if the Volkswagen Group joins F1. Fantastic brand, it increases the credibility of what we do. And they are racers. But as far as I understand, there is no firm commitment yet.

“They’ve been sitting on the table for the regulations, but [while] that commitment isn’t actually confirmed, we can’t really know what the plans are.

“I think that it’s not clear yet who actually enters as a power unit supplier. And who declares themselves as newcomers. It could well be that there are three companies from the same group that are entering as newcomers. How can I say? The picture is still very unclear.”

Carlos Sainz is ‘angry’ about Ferrari prioritising Charles Leclerc ahead of him, according to former driver Ralf Schumacher.

Leclerc has won two of the first three races of the season in Bahrain and Australia and also came second to Max Verstappen in Saudi Arabia.

As a result of his impressive start to 2022, the Monegasque driver leads the championship by a huge 34 points from George Russell.

Meanwhile, Sainz is a further four points behind Russell after two podiums and a DNF last time out in Melbourne.

And Schumacher believes the Spaniard is not reacting well to Ferrari putting Leclerc’s interests ahead of his own.

Speaking to F1 Insider, he said: “The pecking order at Ferrari is already established. Carlos Sainz knows that too and is correspondingly angry. There was a time when someone [brother, Michael] was very successful and it was also the case that you knew relatively early on which driver you were concentrating on.”

The Formula One sprint race returns this weekend for the first time in the 2022 season.

Qualifying will now take place on Friday, with the sprint race on Saturday and then the official Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday.

In the sprint race these are the points on offer.

1st - 8 points, 2nd - 7 points, 3rd - 6 points, 4th - 5 points, 5th - 4 points, 6th - 3 points, 7th - 2 points, 8th - 1 point.

Mercedes are ready and focussed on the job in hand at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix this weekend.

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton will be hoping their cars can bridge the gap to pacesetters Ferrari and Red Bull in Italy.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says his team are ready to bring “improvements” into the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola this weekend but has admitted it “will take time” for the team to turn their early season struggles around.

“We know we haven’t got the pace of the Ferrari and Red Bull right now,” Wolff told the Mercedes website. “But we’re working hard to reduce their advantage, and it’s been brilliant to see everyone across the factories pulling together to achieve this.

“There’s been a lot of hard work over the Easter weekend in the factory to bring improvements to the car and get it ready to head to the next race, and that shows the team’s dedication to turning the situation around.

“Of course, we must be realistic, it will take time to make the gains we want, but we’re learning as much as we can from each race and finding avenues to push us forward.

“Now we look ahead to Imola and the first Sprint event of the season. It’s an historic, old-school circuit with a challenging layout that the drivers really enjoy.

“Qualifying is important owing to the narrow track, while its sweeping nature really puts the cars to the test. We’re looking forward to seeing how 2022 machinery tackles Imola.”