Yahoo News F1 LIVE: Lewis Hamilton reacts to Michael Masi presence at Australian GP
Lewis Hamilton said he will not speak to Michael Masi – the sacked Formula One referee accused of costing him a record eighth world championship – because “there is nothing to say”.
Masi is back at an F1 paddock for the first time since his mishandling of the 2021 season decider in Abu Dhabi which provided Max Verstappen with the chance to beat Hamilton in a final-lap shootout and win the title. The deeply contentious race cost Masi his job as F1 race director. He left the FIA last summer before moving home to Australia and being appointed chairman of the V8 Supercars Commission.
The presence of Masi, 44, at this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix could evoke bad memories for Hamilton. The 38-year-old has not won a race since he lost to Verstappen in Abu Dhabi, and he has already ruled himself out of this season’s championship battle with his Mercedes machinery unable to compete against Verstappen’s superior Red Bull.
Elsewhere, Max Verstappen has revealed details about a virus he is yet to shake, George Russell spoke to the media in Melbourne and Oscar Piastri targets his first points finish at his home race in Australia.
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Lewis Hamilton insists he will not speak to Michael Masi in Australia
SPECIAL REPORT - Mayhem, mischief and Masi: The story of Abu Dhabi 2021
Max Verstappen says he is not fully fit after contracting a virus
F1 news: Daniel Ricciardo exit theory offered by former F1 world champion
10:30 , Kieran Jackson
Daniel Ricciardo’s downturn in form last year was due to spending “too much time on activities out of the cockpit rather than it” according to 1980 Formula 1 world champion Alan Jones.
Having made his F1 debut in 2011, popular Australian driver Ricciardo lost his seat at McLaren last year after a sudden drop in form, particularly compared to team-mate Lando Norris.
The 33-year-old’s place at McLaren was taken by compatriot and 2021 F2 champion Oscar Piastri.
While Piastri will be racing in the Australian Grand Prix this weekend at Albert Park for the first time, Ricciardo will be watching on from the sidelines having joined Red Bull as a third driver after his McLaren exit.
Yet Jones, Australia’s last F1 world champion, has his own theory as to why Ricciardo’s results dipped.
“I don’t think he even knows himself [why his form disappeared],” Jones told the Herald Sun. “I just think he went off the boil.”
“Really, in my own opinion, I think he concentrated and spent a bit too much time for his activities out of the cockpit rather than in it. That’s my opinion.”
F1 news: Fans react to F1 CEO’s desire to cancel practice sessions
10:11 , Kieran Jackson
Formula 1 fans have reacted with mostly dismay after the prospect of practice sessions being cancelled in the future was raised by F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.
A normal race weekend consists of three one-hour practice sessions, two on Friday and one on Saturday prior to qualifying, with the race on Sunday.
But Domenicali, with a view to attracting more competition when cars are on track, says he supports the cancellation of free practice and “a lot of things are on the table” with a view to change the race weekend schedule in the future.
Six of the 23 race meets this season are sprint weekends where the schedule will consist of one hour of practice on Friday, followed by qualifying, with a second practice on Saturday prior to the sprint race – a race one-third the distance of the usual number of laps for that circuit – and the normal grand prix on Sunday.
“I am a supporter of the cancellation of free practice sessions which are of great use to the engineers, but that the public doesn’t like,” Domenicali told Portuguese outlet SportTV at the opening event of the MotoGP season on Sunday.
F1 fans ‘devastated’ by plan to change grand prix weekends
F1 news - ‘My last days’: Lewis Hamilton gives revealing update on F1 future
09:59 , Kieran Jackson
Lewis Hamilton has said that he hopes to be at Mercedes until his “last days” in the clearest indication yet of the British driver’s future plans.
Significant speculation about the seven-time world champion’s future has dominated the start of the season with Mercedes again struggling to match Red Bull and any hopes of a title challenge distant.
Hamilton is believed to have not yet signed an extension to his current contract with the team, which expires at the end of the season and is worth a reported £40 million a year.
That has led some to suggest he could seek a move elsewhere in search of an eighth title that would take him beyond Michael Schumacher as the outright most successful driver in F1 history.
But describing Mercedes, where has won six of his seven titles, as his “family”, Hamilton has strongly hinted that he does not see his future anywhere else.
‘My last days’: Lewis Hamilton gives revealing update on F1 future
F1 news: What is the race schedule?
09:42 , Kieran Jackson
(All times BST)
Friday 31 March
Free Practice 1: 2:30am
Free Practice 2: 6am
Saturday 1 April
Free Practice 3: 2:30am
Qualifying: 6am
Sunday 2 April
Race: 6am
F1 news: Max Verstappen still not fully fit after virus ahead of Australian GP
09:37 , Kieran Jackson
Max Verstappen said he felt like he was racing with one lung in Saudi Arabia and is still not match-fit for this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.
Verstappen delayed his arrival at the last round in Jeddah a fortnight ago by 24 hours as he battled a virus. He finished second behind Sergio Perez.
The Dutchman holds a slender one-point championship lead over his Red Bull team-mate ahead of the third race in Melbourne, and is planning to use the three-week break between the races here at Melbourne’s Albert Park and Azerbaijan on April 30 to return to good health.
“I was not looking forward to the break but then I got really ill and I have just been struggling since that time,” said Verstappen, 25.
“I refused to believe in myself for a long time because, at home, I was really ill. I could barely walk around and I felt like I was missing a lot.”
‘Felt like I was missing a lung’: Max Verstappen still not fully fit after virus
F1 news: Lewis Hamilton reacts to Michael Masi presence at Australian GP
09:35 , Kieran Jackson
Lewis Hamilton said he will not speak to Michael Masi – the sacked Formula One referee accused of costing him a record eighth world championship – because “there is nothing to say”.
Masi is back at an F1 paddock for the first time since his mishandling of the 2021 season decider in Abu Dhabi which provided Max Verstappen with the chance to beat Hamilton in a final-lap shootout and win the title.
The deeply contentious race cost Masi his job as F1 race director. He left the FIA last summer before moving home to Australia and being appointed chairman of the V8 Supercars Commission.
The presence of Masi, 44, at this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix could evoke bad memories for Hamilton.
The 38-year-old has not won a race since he lost to Verstappen in Abu Dhabi, and he has already ruled himself out of this season’s championship battle with his Mercedes machinery unable to compete against Verstappen’s superior Red Bull.
But asked if he plans to speak to Masi in Melbourne, and seek an explanation for what happened in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton replied: “I don’t. I am just focussed on my future.
“I am focussed on trying to get back to winning. There is nothing to say.”
