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

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff insists he has a huge amount of respect for “mature and intelligent” Formula One world champion Max Verstappen.

Wolff and the rest of the Mercedes team were embroiled in a fierce battle with Verstappen last year as the Dutchman fought until the final lap of the season against seven-time winner Lewis Hamilton.

In one of the most dramatic scenes in the sport’s history, Verstappen passed Hamilton on the last lap of the season finale in Abu Dhabi as he claimed his first world championship in dramatic fashion.

Yet despite the incredible circumstances surrounding their 2021 rivalry, Wolff has now insisted he has a tremendous amount of admiration for Verstappen.

Sergio Perez says he is “certainly concerned” with the fragility of Red Bull’s car in the 2022 season.

The driver had to retire from the Bahrain Grand Prix, as did teammate Max Verstappen, due to issues with the car. Defending champion Verstappen also had to pull out of the Australian race which allowed Charles Leclerc to extend his lead in the championship.

Perez says the entire Red Bull team have been working on the problems in order to secure more points going forward.

“It’s certainly a concern,” Perez said. “We’ve lost a lot of points already in these first three races that in the end can make a huge difference in the championship. So we are obviously aware of it.

“All the team back home in Milton Keynes, here, are working flat out to try to come up with solutions.

“We don’t know exactly the issue on Max’s car. So yeah, we will see and I’m sure we will turn things around and hopefully we can start again from zero when we go back to Europe.”

Former F1 team boss Giancarlo Minardi has urged Sebastian Vettel to retire from the sport because he ‘won’t win any more races’.

The four-time world champion missed the first two races of the 2022 season after testing positive for coronavirus.

He then returned at the Australian Grand Prix but only qualified in 18th place, before then retiring from the race on the Sunday.

And Minardi, who was in charge of his self-named team from 1985 until 2006 when it was bought by Red Bull and renamed Toro Rosso, feels Vettel should call it a day.

Speaking to Corriere della Sera, he said: “He was unlucky to have missed two GPs with Covid, in the third one he went out.

“But he should retire. He has a lot of money, he’s won a lot of titles and he won’t win any more [races].”

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff insists he has a huge amount of respect for “mature and intelligent” Formula One world champion Max Verstappen.

Wolff and the rest of the Mercedes team were embroiled in a fierce battle with Verstappen last year as the Dutchman fought until the final lap of the season against seven-time winner Lewis Hamilton.

In one of the most dramatic scenes in the sport’s history, Verstappen passed Hamilton on the last lap of the season finale in Abu Dhabi as he claimed his first world championship in dramatic fashion.

Yet despite the incredible circumstances surrounding their 2021 rivalry, Wolff has now insisted he has a tremendous amount of admiration for Verstappen.

Speaking to De Telegraaf, he said: “[Last season’s success] was not Max’s last title. He is a brilliant driver. It’s completely normal that the battle was so intense last year. It’s part of racing.

“If the situation had been reversed, we would have claimed the trophy and been happy about it. Max performed strongly all last year and he missed out on a lot of points. He deserved to be world champion.”

He then went on to add: “Often, the truth lies in the middle. But if you ask me personally, I think Max is very mature and intelligent, quite apart from his qualities as a driver at his age.

“I have a lot of respect for him and for his father, Jos. That will never change, regardless of the discussions that have been going on.”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc is happy to be back fighting for the drivers’ championship after a sensational start to the 2022 season.

The Monegasque driver has already picked up victories in Bahrain and Australia to go with his second place in Saudi Arabia.

Leclerc’s impressive opening three races have left him with a huge 34-point lead in the standings as his title rivals have suffered various pace and reliability issues.

And the 24-year-old was in a positive headspace while discussing his championship credentials ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix this weekend.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “Obviously we only had the third race, so it’s difficult to think about the championship, but to be honest, we’ve got a very strong car, a very reliable car too.

“We’ve always been there, so I hope it continues like this and if it does, then we probably have chances for the championship, which obviously makes me smile after the last two years that have been difficult for the team and obviously for myself. It’s great to be back in this position.”

Mercedes chief strategist James Vowles says an “enormous” amount of work is being done on the team’s car ahead of Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Despite the sluggish start, Mercedes are second in the constructors’ title with Hamilton’s teammate George Russell runner-up in the driver standings. And Vowles says the team are dedicated to improving the car ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna GP.

“I think often people see the race team on TV and think that’s the entire team. It’s not,” he said. “We are fortunate to have a base in Brackley, and in Brixworth, with hundreds of people working every hour they possibly can to make this racing car fast, competitive and a championship winner.”

Williams’ head of vehicle performance Dave Robson says the team are close to solving their porpoising issues.

The team have been struggling this year but they bagged their first points of the season when Alex Albon managed to fight through the field and finish 10th at the Australian GP>

“In terms of the ride height and the set-up, the porpoising, we are getting pretty close to operating in the right kind of window now,” he said.

“If we get it a little bit wrong we risk damaging the floor so that is probably our limit, we are pretty close to where we want to run it.

“I think the rest of it, other than that one little balance issue we are trying to sort out, we just need a bit more load, that will help get the tyres in the window and make us quicker everywhere.”

Mercedes driver George Russell says he doesn’t get hyped up before a Formula 1 race and likes instead to feel chilled.

Russell, who joined Mercedes at the start of the season, is second in the driver standings after bagging his first podium at the Australian Grand Prix. He has spoken about all he pre-race rituals.

“I’m not one of these guys who likes to hype it up,” he said on the IWC ‘Partners In Time’ Podcast.

“I’m not one of those ‘I need to listen to this, I need to get in the zone’, because I feel like your body is in this excited, almost angry state when you’re hyping yourself up and you’re almost anxious I feel.

“So I’ve almost got the opposite approach, I like to be calm, I like to be relaxed, I like to go about it as if it’s any other day, I feel like I perform best when I’m calm and I’m relaxed and I don’t put any pressure on myself.

“I listen to a bit of music in the morning on the way into the track, nothing crazy, say hello to everyone, have a coffee, chill out and to be really honest, that’s about it.”

AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly would be shocked if the Monaco Grand Prix was removed from the Formula 1 calendar as it’s an “iconic” track.

The circuit has been a permanant fixture of the F1 season since 1955 but there have been calls to get rid of the street track as the qualifying order usually determines the race result. But Gasly has defended the circuit and wants it to remain on the billing.

“That would be a bit of a shocker if Monaco gets taken out of the calendar,” Gasly said as per Motorsport.com. “It’s probably the most iconic race in the world.

“Talking to non-F1 fans, everyone had heard about Monaco for various reasons, whether it’s racing, whether it’s party-related, whether it’s all of the action that happens around the grand prix. It’s a very iconic weekend.

“I think, and I really hope, we get to experience it as drivers because it’s probably the toughest track of the season, the most challenging, and is my favourite one.”

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz has added his voice to the number of drivers saying F1 must keep their European races with “heritage” and has suggested a rotation policy could work out, if finances dictate other cities end up as Grand Prix hosts instead.

“I think there needs to be a limit for the number of races that we keep adding, so in the end some other races are going to pay the price of having to stay out,” said Sainz.

“Obviously big fan of having to go to Miami and Vegas, but at the same time, big loss having to lose classic European races, I think.

“Hopefully, for the future, we can find a compromise where maybe races that cannot afford to be in the calendar every year, year-in, year-out, can be in the calendar once every two years, once every three years, you know?”

Sainz acknowledged that while there must be an eventual limit on race weekends, “business is business” and an increase was likely.