Ferrari was thought to be his ideal destination with a move to Red Bull highly unlikely. However, ex-F1 star Gerhard Berger has stressed Hamilton may shun the Scuderia because of the team's inability to win.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen has been told to quit F1 by former world champion Damon Hill. Hill said Verstappen should walk away if he was not enjoying competing after the Dutchman hinted a simple change to the race format could be enough to tip him into retirement.
Goodbye
That's all we've got time for this evening.
Thanks for joining us to follow the biggest stories from the world of F1 throughout the day as the build-up to this month's Azerbaijan Grand Prix continues to gather pace.
We'll be back for more of the same tomorrow - catch you then!
Max Verstappen takes another swipe at sprints
Max Verstappen has made yet another complaint about having sprint races in F1 by insisting that such tweaks to the established weekend format go against the DNA of the sport.
"For me, a sprint race is all about surviving, it’s not about racing," said the Dutchman.
"For me, when you have a quick car, there’s nothing to [gain by taking a] risk. I prefer to just keep my car alive and make sure that you have a good race car for Sunday.
"Even if you change the format, I just do not think it’s the DNA of Formula One to do these kinds of sprint races. F1 is about getting the most out of qualifying and then having an amazing Sunday, good long races. That’s the DNA of the sport.
"I don’t understand or I don’t know why we should change that. Because I think the action has been good and how we get even more action is by getting the cars close or getting more teams able to fight for the win."
Toto Wolff urged to 'be a man'
Eddie Jordan has told Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff to stand up and 'be a man' by accepting responsibility for the team's recent shortcomings rather than blaming other factors.
"When I was the boss of Jordan, if the car was good, I took all the acclaim and of course if the car was bad you tried to put it on somebody else," Jordan told the Formula For Success podcast.
"But actually, you've got to stand up and take it, you've got to be a man. It happened under his watch. He's the chief executive of the team.
"And my message to Toto was that I would much just me, I would much prefer if he stood up and said, 'Look, we at Mercedes are a team, will always be a team, and we got this wrong’."
George Russell issues defiant Mercedes verdict
George Russell has declared that Mercedes are still a stronger team than Red Bull in spite of current gulf in outright pace between the two bitter rivals.
"Clearly, we aren’t where we want to be as a team," said Russell in an interview with Square Mile.
"We’ve made some big gains off the back of 2022 in many regards, but ultimately our lap time isn’t quite reflecting the efforts and the work that has been put in."So we need to understand further and I think almost trust in the process, the amount of brilliant people within that team, just doing what they do best to find the performance, understanding what will make a car go faster, believing in themselves.
"I truly believe Mercedes are the best in the business. It’s all about coming together to push forward."
George Russell believes that Mercedes are still 'the best in the business' (Image: GETTY)
Mercedes hoping for Melbourne repeat
Mercedes technical director James Allison has insisted that he is hoping their strong performance at the Australian Grand Prix was not track-specific as the Silver Arrows ramp up their preparations to return to Baku later this month.
"How much of the overall good results of the weekend was track specific and how much came from things we did? Time will tell," said Allison.
"We’ll go to some more very different tracks in the next few weeks, and we’ll see whether this was the sort of initial bellwether of general uptick in our performance which we hope for, or whether it was related to the quite unusual track conditions that we saw this weekend in Melbourne."
FIA to review Ferrari appeal
Ferrari’s right of review request over Carlos Sainz’s penalty at the Australian Grand Prix will be heard by the FIA on Tuesday.
The governing body have said that stewards will meet with a Ferrari representative and Sainz himself in a virtual hearing after the Italian team lodged an official review of the punishment.
Ferrari will need to provide significant, new and relevant evidence for the stewards to re-open the case, which resulted in Sainz being dropped from fourth position to 12th place after crossing the finish line at Albert Park.
Mick Schumacher opens up on life at Mercedes
Mercedes reserve driver Mick Schumacher believes that he has already come on leaps and bounds in terms of his own development since joining the Silver Arrows following his exit from Haas at the end of last season.
"I’ve learned a lot about what’s important in terms of approaching race weekends, I feel like I’ve already gained so much knowledge to add to my skillset," Schumacher told the F1 website.
"I didn’t think I would have learned and gained so much so early into my role. As a driver, you usually do not get to hear what is going on between all the engineers while you are out on the track, so listening in during the sessions has been extremely interesting.
"I was quite shocked at the season opener in Bahrain, I did not expect the sheer amount of exchange that happens."
Mick Schumacher joined Mercedes in a reserve capacity earlier this year (Image: GETTY)
Archie Griggs
Carlos Sainz hits out at Ferrari critics
Carlos Sainz has aired his frustrations with the widespread media criticism of Ferrari in recent weeks amid the team's disastrous start to the new F1 season.
"You have to realise that nobody is more upset or angry or unhappy about the situation than every single [team member] here," said the Spaniard.
"We’re the ones who aren’t happy. We’re the first to not like the situation. And we’re the ones who are going full throttle to turn [the situation] around because it’s also about our egos, our performance.
"We’re proud to be Ferrari and we want to take Ferrari forward. And sometimes the comments [in the media] are more of a distraction and drag us down rather than helping us."
Nelson Piquet breaks silence as Hamilton faces threat of legal action
Nelson Piquet has revealed he was treated “like a dog” at Renault as he opens up about the Crashgate scandal which could see Lewis Hamilton stripped of his maiden title.
Piquet has accepted he would not be part of a race-fixing scenario again but stressed he was bullied and put under pressure by bosses.
Breaking his silence, Piquet told the Pelas Pistas podcast: "Many people ask me if I would do it again, and of course, the answer is no.
“But to be at that age, under that pressure and having nobody there with you, with the bullying, complaining, pressure and always being told: 'this is your last chance’.
"You see your dream, which you spent your whole life going wrong, and I was the teammate who wasn't as strong as Alonso, after Kovalainen."
READ MORE
Piquet has broke his silence on the incident (Image: Getty)
Christian Horner reminds Verstappen and Perez of Red Bull 'rules'
Christian Horner has told Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez they must follow strict rules.
The pair are free to battle for the world championship with both drivers winning races so far this season.
However, the team boss stressed the focus needed to be on the team and scoring as many points as possible while they are on top.
He said: "Both drivers are competitive beasts and at the end of the day they are just drivers, but they know exactly what our rules are.
"The team is always ahead, especially at this point in the season. We know we have less development time.
"We need to score as many points as we can and build up a lead in the championship."
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Horner has reminded his drivers of Red Bull's rules (Image: Getty)
Lance Stroll told to end Fernando Alonso's F1 career
Lance Stroll has been told to end Fernando Alonso's career to secure his F1 future.
Stroll has struggled to match Alonso despite Aston Martin's surge from midfield runners to contenders.
Alonso has secured three podiums so far while Stroll has yet to taste champagne in 2023.
Hill told the F1 Nation Podcast: "It [form] has to be maintained, sustained over time – it’s no good, just a blip, a one-off event.
"So he’d have to make it his ambition this year. He’d have to set his goal as ending Fernando Alonso’s career. Now that sounds brutal, but that’s what George Russell is trying to do [against Lewis Hamilton]."
READ MORE
Lance Stroll has been told to end Fernando Alonso's career (Image: Getty)
Martin Brundle laughs Hamilton is 'easy to forget'
Martin Brundle has delivered a playful dig at Lewis Hamilton as he branded the seven-time champion “easy to forget”.
The Sky Sports commentator made the revelation as he sat down with Natalie Pinkham to face a series of challenges for a YouTube video.
Pinkham was tasked with having to list all 20 F1 drivers in just 30 seconds and staggeringly missed Hamilton and George Russell.
Instead, she named drivers struggling at the back of the field such as Logan Sargeant and Zhou Guanyu.
Brundle commented: “Mercedes, Lewis and George. It’s easy to forget isn’t it.”
Martin Brundle has issued a playful dig at Lewis Hamilton (Image: Sky Sports F1)
British driver calls out Hamilton survey calling for Verstappen to lose crown
Former British F1 driver Tiff Needell has suggested a poll demanding Lewis Hamilton be awarded the 2021 title is pointless.
The ex-Fifth Gear host explained F1 bosses would not listen to the survey and alter the result almost 18 months on.
Over 90,000 people have backed a Change.org poll calling for Max Verstappen to be stripped of the crown.
However, when asked if fan action could lead to F1 bosses altering the result, Needell told Express Sport: “No. No.
“We can’t change those as much as anyone might want to. They can’t do. I think if you cancel the race Max is still leading the championship."
Fans are calling for Max Verstappen to lose the title (Image: Getty)
Lewis Hamilton reveals details on drunken escapade
Lewis Hamilton has revealed he once got “hammered” at a pub with dad Anthony having to visit the boozer to pick him up.
The Mercedes star admitted he was left intoxicated when he tried “everything” behind the bar after a shift as a teenager.
It came after Hamilton left his job as a bartender aged 17 when his racing career was in its infancy.
He told Fox Sports: "On the last day, I cleaned up the bar and I was like, 'what are these drinks that I've been giving everyone?'
"I tried everything, and my dad had to come and pick me up! I was absolutely hammered. I tried a little bit of everything."
Lewis Hamilton has opened up on a drunken incident (Image: Getty)
Max Verstappen faces fresh opposition after quit threat
Max Verstappen faces fresh opposition over F1’s new rules changes after new Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur supported the move.
Verstappen threatened to quit F1 if officials pushed ahead with new updates to freshen up the race format.
But, any hope of overthrowing the changes has hit another brick wall after Vasseur backed the new concept.
He said: "I like the format. I'm not a big fan of the regular practice format, which is sometimes pretty boring.
"Not for us, because the teams collect a lot of data, but for the audience. If you don't know what the teams are doing, how much fuel someone has and so on, it can be really boring."
Max Verstappen faces fresh opposition after he threatened to leave F1 (Image: Getty)
Sergio Perez hits out at Red Bull 'lies'
Sergio Perez’s father has called out fan suggestions that Red Bull have sabotaged their car to favour Max Verstappen.
Antonio Perez Garibay blasted supporters for their “lies” and passionately defended Red Bull bosses.
He described the team as the “best in the world” and reiterated there was “no favouritism” aimed at one driver.
He said:
Lies, lies, lies,
“It is the best team in the world and there is no favouritism to anyone. Everything you hear is pure speculation."
Sergio Perez's father has defended Red Bull (Image: Getty)
Hamilton’s Ferrari future in doubt
Gerhard Berger has suggested Hamilton may snub Ferrari for the same reason Ayrton Senna never joined the iconic team.
The Austrian suggested the team was still uncompetitive having not won a Drivers' Championship since 2007.
Berger told Kronen Zeitung newspaper: "Every racing driver wants to drive for Ferrari at least once. And almost all the good ones have been there.
"Ayrton Senna didn't go because he knew he couldn't win there. It may be that Lewis thinks that too.
"But if he can't get a competitive car at Mercedes, and he doesn't see a place at Red Bull, it could be that he thinks 'I don't want to stop just yet so I'll give Ferrari a try. Maybe I can fix it'.”
Lewis Hamilton may snub Ferrari, warns Berger (Image: Getty)
Verstappen told to quit F1
Max Verstappen has been urged to retire from F1 if he no longer enjoys the sport.
It comes after Verstappen suggested F1 bosses tampering with the format could push him into retirement.
Martin Brundle stressed he would be “surprised” if Verstappen did actually leave but Hill had another theory.
The ex-champion explained: "Max’s retirement threat is very unusual. It is kind of strange to hear, isn’t it? I mean, what’s he gonna do with himself?
“He should stop now, really. Stop now – he’s done it! You mentioned fun – I think that’s a very important point.”
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