F1 2022 news LIVE: Lewis Hamilton shuts down retirement talk as Sergio Perez apologises to his wife

* Lewis Hamilton’s F1 Records

F1 is looking ahead to this weekend’s the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with more intrigue than ever surrounding the 2022 season.

Lewis Hamilton has moved to shut down any talk of him retiring from F1, which has emerged on the back of Mercedes’ struggles and the fact that teammate George Russell is currently outperforming him. “Why should I stop?” Hamilton told Corriere della Ser. “Let’s take this season: I probably won’t win the title, but I feel the same pleasure of competing as when I started. Maybe one day I won’t be able to take the pressure anymore, I’ll be tired, but that day hasn’t come yet.”

Meanwhile, struggling Mick Schumacher has been warned he could face the sack from Haas unless he cuts down on the number of expensive crashes and starts improving to outperform teammate Kevin Magnussen. “He simply has far too many accidents at the moment, all of which cost a lot, a lot of money. If nothing comes, they won’t keep going indefinitely. Formula 1 is brutal and cold,” mused two-time World Rally champion Walter Röhrl.

Sergio Perez is one of the most fascinating characters in the sport, triumphing in a chaotic and thrilling race in Monaco last time out, before immediately extending his Red Bull contract to 202. The good news kept coming for Red Bull when the FIA ​​dismissed complaints against both drivers, Perez and Max Verstappen, from Ferrari. But there is potential conflict in the air if Perez can keep his resurgence going to challenge the world champion’s superiority.

Follow all the latest news, rumors and build-up to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix:

F1 news

Show latest update
1654542011

Red Bull expecting grid to go in ‘one particular direction’ at Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan has said the team are “open-minded to change” as they look to evolve their RB18 car over the season and get the edge on championship rivals Ferrari.

Perez delivered Red Bull’s fourth consecutive victory when he beat Carlos Sainz to win the Monaco Grand Prix, with Verstappen taking the previous three races to build a points lead over Charles Leclerc in the driver standings.

The teams have still been close in some areas of performance, however, with Red Bull excellent in straight line speed and Ferrari having the advantage in slow corners.

Michael Jones6 June 2022 20:00

1654541111

Mick Schumacher could become a victim of ‘brutal and cold’ F1, says two-time World Rally champion

Mick Schumacher will be cast aside by “brutal and cold” F1 unless he reduces his number of crashes and starts to outperform Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen, warns two-time World Rally champion Walter Röhrl.

Schumacher is yet to score a point this season – with Nicholas Latifi of Williams the only other regular driver to suffer that ignominy – whereas his fellow Haas driver Magnussen has impressed to rack up 15 points.

The German has also suffered a number of crashes during practice sessions, qualifying and most recently during the Monaco Grand Prix when he plowed into the barrier at the Swimming Pool section after running wide.

Those high-speed and expensive crashes have left Haas with a hefty repair bill and all those factors mean Schumacher needs to quickly up his game, according to Röhrl.

Michael Jones6 June 2022 19:45

1654540211

Lewis Hamilton sets Silverstone target for Mercedes to fix car issues and challenge for victory

Lewis Hamilton has urged his Mercedes F1 team to find the solutions to the problems they have faced this season – within the month.

Neither he nor new teammate George Russell have managed a victory this season, despite Hamilton and former partner Valtteri Bottas winning nine between them last year.

That’s as a result of Mercedes’ new car design and subequent analysis and fixes failing to combat the porpoising and handling issues which have affected them.

While the team have remained largely bullish on the prospects of the car being a front-runner once fixes are found, the fact remains that after seven rounds of the 2022 season, a single third-place finish for Hamilton and a pair of them for Russell is as good as it has got for Mercedes.

Michael Jones6 June 2022 19:30

1654539311

‘Why should I stop?’: Lewis Hamilton shuts down F1 retirement talk

Lewis Hamilton has again rejected suggestions he could walk away from Mercedes and retire during or after this season.

The seven-time world champion has been unable to recapture form and consistency to engage in another title fight with Max Verstappen, with his team not yet ensuring the new car design for the 2022 season is in perfect working order.

A series of finishes low down the leaderboard has Hamilton only sixth after seven races, with just 50 points accumulated so far – and teammate George Russell 34 ahead of him in fourth.

Michael Jones6 June 2022 19:15

1654538411

When and where is the next F1 2022 race?

The Formula One season is in full swing as the drivers prepare for the eighth race of the most extensive calendar in the sport’s history.

The good news kept coming for Red Bull when the FIA ​​dismissed complaints against both drivers, Perez and Max Verstappen, from Ferrari. But there is potential internal conflict in the air if Perez can keep his resurgence going to challenge the world champion’s superiority.

Elsewhere on the grid, Mercedes continue to strive for solutions to their performance issues after making a degree of progress, while Lando Norris continues to vastly outperform his McLaren teammate Daniel Ricciardo.

Here is everything you need to know:

Michael Jones6 June 2022 19:00

1654537511

‘Mechanisms’ in place to end Ricciardo’s contract with McLaren

Daniel Ricciardo is adamant he has a contract in place until 2023 with McLaren but the team’s management say there are “mechanisms” which could see Ricciardo’s contract cut short as rumors increase about the Australian’s future with the team.

Ricciardo joined McLaren as a high-profile signing in 2021 and was expected to lead the team and younger team-mate Lando Norris, but has struggled to make an impact with during his time at the British outfit.

Norris has outqualified Ricciardo in every race this season with the Austrailian scoring just 11 points compared to the Briton’s 48 and Ricciardo’s form has led to questions about his future.

The eight-time race winner affirmed in Monaco that he does indeed have a three-year contract until 2023 saying: “I have a contract in place. But I don’t want to be 14th. That’s not why I race, let’s put it like that.”

McLaren boss, Zak Brown, previously told Sky Sports F1 that Ricciardo had not hit expectations at McLaren and explained that there were provisions in the contract which could see Ricciardo let go earlier than expected:

“There are mechanisms in which we’re committed to each other and then there’s mechanisms in which we’re not. I’ve spoken with Daniel about it, we’re not getting the results that we both hoped for. But we’re both going to continue to push.

“He showed at Monza [2021 Italian GP] he can win races. We also need to continue to develop our car, it’s not capable of winning races, but we’d like to see him further up the grid.

“We’ll just play it… I don’t want to say ‘one race at a time’ because we’re not going to one race at a time – but we’ll just see how things develop.”

Michael Jones6 June 2022 18:45

1654536611

Lando Norris disagrees with Lewis Hamilton assessment of Monaco Grand Prix start

The race was delayed by more than an hour due to heavy rain showers in Monte Carlo, a decision that has since been criticized by Mercedes’ Hamilton.

The seven-time world champion suggested that weather was not reason enough for such a lengthy delay to proceedings getting under way.

Norris, however, believes the right approach was taken, and the race could not have gotten under the way on time.

Michael Jones6 June 2022 18:30

1654535711

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton ‘insurance policy’ backed by Williams boss

Mercedes reserve driver Nyck De Vries has been praised by Williams chief Dave Robson following his outing at the Barcelona Grand Prix amid talk that the Dutchman could be an “insurance policy” for Toto Wolff should Lewis Hamilton retire.

Former Formula E champion De Vries took Alex Albon’s Williams seat in FP1 at the Circuit de Catalunya and Robson was left impressed by the 27-year-old’s performance. De Vries has been on the books at Mercedes since 2020.

“His pace was there. His ability to understand the tire and do the out-lap correctly, was really impressive,” Williams head of performance Robson told the Formula One website.

Michael Jones6 June 2022 18:15

1654534931

F1 expected to stand firm over Russian involvement after axing Sochi Grand Prix

Formula One bosses are expected to stand firm over any future involvement with Russia after taking the decision to ax the Sochi Grand Prix following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Along with canceling its contract with Russia, Formula One has also cut the transmission of races from the country’s TV networks and blocked the streaming of content on the internet in the country.

The canceled contract with Russia was set to expire in 2025 and according to Alexey Popov, a Russian journalist and F1 commentator, the sport looks set to continue to distance itself from the country for the foreseeable future.

Michael Jones6 June 2022 18:02

1654534451

Perez apologises to wife after dancing with mystery women at Monaco Grand Prix victory party

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez has issued a public apology to his wife after being caught on camera dancing with women during a ‘bad party’ after winning the Monaco Grand Prix.

Videos emerged showing the Formula 1 driver celebrating his victory at the Monaco Grand Prix last month with the 32-year-old seen dancing with his arms around two women.

In an Instagram post he said: “I have seen the videos that have been circulating about me and I take responsibility for it.

“It was a bad party that I didn’t know how to control at the height of the person that I am, but it was just that, a very bad party. People close to me know my values ​​and the type of person that I am.

“For those who ask me, we are more united than ever, me and my wife. And for those who just want to hurt us, I wish you the best.

“Thank you all for your love and I apologise to all the people who love me because those videos don’t represent me, not at all. We will not talk about this topic anymore, which only makes us forget the great moment we are living as a family. Thank you.”

Michael Jones6 June 2022 17:54