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

George Russell admits it is a “crazy” feeling to be second in the drivers’ standings but is aware there’s a long way to go this season.

Despite Mercedes’ difficult start to the new campaign, Russell was able to snatch third at the Australian Grand Prix after Carlos Sainz was forced to retire from the race and the British driver claimed he was shocked when found out that he was the closest challenger to Charles Leclerc in the championship.

“Somebody told me that and I didn’t believe them,” he said. “It’s pretty crazy to think but this is a championship based on results and not necessarily based on pace.”

Mercedes engineers are said to be doing “enormous” work on their cars ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in a bid to catch up with the pace of Ferrari and Red Bull.

Russell admitted the solution won’t be found overnight but insisted Mercedes can continue to get good results in the meantime.

“We know if we want to keep that position we need to find more performance in the car and I believe in my team back at base to be able to bring more performance but it’s going to take a lot of time,” he added. “For the time being, let’s just keep capitalising.”

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner says Formula 1 has the luxury of choosing where they race due to how in demand the sport has become.

Las Vegas has been added to the race calendar from the 2023 season while many other locations have expressed an interest in hosting a race.

“I think in general, Las Vegas, a lot of people cannot wait to go there, we all like Sin City,” Steiner said. “I think with the sponsors coming in, it will help.

“In general, Formula 1 is in a good place commercially. There are a lot of places that want a race, we can almost choose where we want to go.

“I think Stefano [Domenicali, F1 CEO] and his team are doing a great job to organise it all and get the best out and getting into the American market is very good.”

Haas are an American team and Steiner was asked if the Las Vegas circuit will present more sponsorship opportunities for them.

“As we all know, it is the biggest economy in the world and there is a really good potential of growth,” he said. “I think it is very good to go there, hopefully we can pick up some of these great sponsors.”

F1 Insider report that negotiations over the length of Carlos Sainz’s new contract with Ferrari are causing a delay to any agreement.

The report claims that Sainz wants to sign a two-year deal to remain with the Scuderia, however, the team are pushing for him to sign a one-year extension with the option of a second year. Such a clause would provide the Spaniard with less security over his future on the grid if Ferrari decided to go in a different direction.

That sticking point may explain the hold-up in the deal being announced after Sainz said in February that he and Ferrari “are both happy with the situation and want to continue working together”.

Sebastian Vettel has called on Formula 1 to do more to help Ukraine amid its ongoing invasion by Russia.

Four-time champion Vettel, who drives for Aston Martin, has been seen sporting a helmet this season that bears the colours of Ukraine’s flag and the words “No War.”

Drivers gathered around a banner carrying the same message ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, while teams have donated to Unicef’s fundraising appeal to help victims of the war.

“I think a lot of the things that are required to help people are basic,” Vettel said.

“Basic things, other than shelter: making sure they have got food, they have got blankets, nappies, whatever you can think of. And to supply all these things in the end, you need money, so I think we should set up something and collect money.”

Ex-Formula 1 driver Mika Hakkinen believes Lewis Hamilton may be looking to leave Mercedes after a bad start to the 2022 season.

Hamilton has been on the podium once this campaign, a third-place finish in Bahrain, leaving him in fifth in the driver standings. The British driver would have been targeting a record eighth title this season but he is currently 43 points behind leader Charles Leclerc.

The same can’t be said for Hamilton’s teammate George Russell who slid into second after a podium finish at the Australian Grand Prix.

“George comes from a team with little or no success. He had some good results in qualifying but not in races. All these achievements with Mercedes are new to him. Everything feels super-good,” Hakkinen said.

“For Lewis, this is a disaster. And with George being ahead, it’s even worse. I wonder how Lewis behaves in the team meetings – I bet he’s sulking. I can imagine the sulking. There’s lots of complaining and whining.

“And now starts the natural thought process of drivers. ‘Should I go somewhere else?’

“It’s a fact. He’s been at Mercedes for years and won multiple championships. Now that things are not going well, he’ll start thinking of switching teams.”

Welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of all the latest news as the world of F1 builds up towards this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Red Bull have endured a nightmare start to the 2022 season, with engine issues causing Max Verstappen to retire from both the Bahrain Grand Prix and the Australian Grand Prix. Those DNFs have left the reigning world champion way adrift of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ standings after just three races.

However, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has said he is confident there will be no more reliability issues with the car at this weekend’s race.

“We had to take a lot of punishment and we are now well behind Charles Leclerc. However, we have dealt with things quickly,” he said.

“The problems we had in Bahrain were different to the problems we had in Australia and also different to the problems we had during the winter tests. But according to Honda, we can count on the problems being fixed before the next race.”