F1 news LIVE: Mercedes explain Lewis Hamilton’s radio message as Sebastian Vettel urged to retire

Sebastian Vettel should retire, says ex-F1 boss. Full story:

Ex-Formula 1 driver David Coulthard says Charles Leclerc’s drive at the Australia Grand Prix gave him “flashbacks” of Michael Schumacher.

Schumacher won seven world titles for Ferrari and Leclerc was close to equalling the F1 legend’s achievement in the opening three races. Leclerc has had the best opening to a season for Ferrari since Schumacher in 2004, the German got a perfect 30 points from three races while Leclerc has recorded 71 from 78 points available.

“I had a little bit of a shiver actually, a flashback to when Michael was dominant in the Ferrari,” Coulthard told Channel 4. “All my fears came back again! We’ve got to acknowledge he [Leclerc] is a quality driver, a great human being.

“Ferrari has worked hard, and Mattia Binotto, what a cool character he’s been under all the pressure of the lack of performance over the last two years. That [Leclerc’s drive] was dominant. That really was an impressive display.”

The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is now “crucial” to Red Bull’s hopes of fighting for the drivers’ championship this season, according to Dutch racer Tom Coronel.

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen’s victory in Saudi Arabia was sandwiched in between reliability problems in Bahrain and Australia which saw him fail to finish both races.

Teammate Sergio Perez also suffered an issue in Bahrain as his hopes of a podium place evaporated on a turgid opening weekend for Red Bull.

As a result, after three races Perez sits fourth in the drivers’ standings and Verstappen down in sixth. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has already built up a 34-point advantage over second place George Russell as he has benefited from the inconsistency of his rivals.

And Coronel believes the Emilia Romagna GP, which takes place at the Imola circuit on 24 April, could be key in Red Bull’s pursuit of a second successive drivers’ title.

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Former Formula 1 driver Christian Klien believes Charles Leclerc has shown himself to be on the same level as Max Verstappen.

The Monegasque driver has claimed wins in Bahrain and Melbourne already this season as Ferrari have set the benchmark with their pace under the new regulations.

Leclerc already holds a 34-point advantage over second place George Russell in the drivers’ standings, with Verstappen down in sixth after failing to finish two of the three races so far.

And Klien feels Leclerc’s performances at the start of the 2022 season are showing his supreme talent as a driver.

Speaking to Servus TV, he said: “Leclerc already showed what he can do against Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari at the beginning of his career.”

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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, per GP Fans.

“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.”

Mercedes have moved to back lewis Hamilton’s claim that his mysterious radio message during the Australian Grand Prix was not directed at his teammate George Russell. Hamilton could be heard telling his team: “You guys put me in a really difficult position,” which was interpreted by many to be because he was stuck behind Russell on track.

However, Hamilton claims it was because his engine was overheating and Mercedes added that Hamilton’s complaints were about engine cooling, not about battling his teammate.

“I couldn’t fight for third because the engine was overheating. So I had to back off, just had to sit behind,” Hamilton said afterwards.

James Vowles, Mercedes’ motorsport strategy director, added: “That was all about engine cooling and keeping the PU [power unit] cool during the course of the race. We push everything to the limit, as you would imagine, and one of those is engine cooling, and you do that by closing up the bodywork or changing the louvre design at the back of the car.

“That decision is made on Saturday but obviously we were racing on Sunday, 24 hours later, and in this particular circumstance the ambient was one, maybe two degrees warmer than we had expected.

“As a result of that, ourselves, and not just ourselves, you would have heard it from teams up and down the grid, were right on the limit of what the engine and the PU can take in terms of cooling requirements.

“During the course of the race, when you are following a car it meant Lewis had to compromise what he was doing. He had to move out of the dirty air of the car in front of him and make sure he got cool, clean air through the radiators to drop the PU temperatures down.

“But doing that makes racing the car in front incredibly difficult and that’s why his message came out.”

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 squared Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to another victory.

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

“It’s certainly a concern,” Perez said per Planet F1. “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.”

Sebastian Vettel shoudl retire from Formula One because he will never win races again, according to former team boss Giancarlo Minardi.

The four-time world champion has endured a nightmare start to the season after contracting Covid-19 and missing the first two races, before a disastrous Australian Grand Prix in which he crashed out on lap 23.

And Minardi thinks enough is enough for the 34-year-old German driver.

“He was unlucky to have missed two grands prix because of Covid,” Minardi said in Milan newspaper Corriere della Sera. “But he should retire. He has a lot of money, he has won titles and he will never win again.”

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says the team are in a “better state” after the Australian Grand Prix following a disappointing start to the season.

George Russell bagged his first podium for Mercedes in Melbourne and Lewis Hamilton finished fourth, meaning the team are second in the constructors’ standings. Carlos Sainz’s retirement in the race for Ferrari, meanwhile, has put Russell second in the drivers’ standings.

“We are leaving Melbourne in a better state than when we arrived – more lessons learned, more data to analyse and more points on the board,” Wolff told the official Formula 1 site on Sunday. “Clearly we haven’t got the pace yet to challenge Ferrari and Red Bull, but we know where we need to seek performance.

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, per GP Fans.

“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.