F1 LIVE: Lewis Hamilton won’t receive any favours to maintain record at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The Briton was speaking following Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team’s Sky boycott at the Mexican Grand Prix, which came a week after pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz said Hamilton was “robbed” of an eighth world championship at last year’s much-debated season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Confronting the issue after claiming victory in Mexico, Verstappen said: “You cannot live in the past and you have to move on. Social media is a very toxic place and if you are constantly being like that live on TV then you are making it worse instead of trying to make it better.”

Former race director Michael Masi said he received death threats following his decision to let lapped cars pass the safety car on the final lap in Abu Dhabi, meaning Verstappen had a clear run at Hamilton on much faster tyres.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton has won at least one race in every season he’s competed in F1, dating all the way back to his rookie season of 2007, but he is yet to finish top of the podium in 2022.

This weekend’s season-finale in Abu Dhabi – where Hamilton was denied a record-breaking eighth title in dramatic and controversial fashion last year – represents the 37-year-old’s final opportunity to maintain his year-on-year record.

Should he claim victory at Yas Marina, he would be out on his own for consecutive seasons with a victory – he currently ties with Michael Schumacher’s streak from 1992 to 2006.

Yet Mercedes boss Wolff insisted that Hamilton won’t be prioritised due to the record, adding that Hamilton himself admitted the streak is not at the forefront of his mind.

“I think Lewis doesn’t need any prioritisation, and it’s not what he ever would want,” said Wolff. “I think that he mentioned before that this record of winning a race in every single season, that is less of a priority for him.”

Lewis Hamilton, targeting a record-breaking eighth world title, was leading comfortably in the closing stages of the winner-takes-all race as Verstappen’s first World Championship seemed to be slipping away.

But Nicholas Latifi’s crash with five laps to go triggered a safety car, Verstappen pitted for soft tyres and a botched lapped cars procedure gave the Dutchman one final opportunity on the final lap.

Asked if he allowed himself to accept that all was lost, Verstappen said: “Yeah, I was like, it might not happen. But I just kept on pushing till the end, you know? And even if it wouldn’t have worked out, it would’ve still been an amazing season.”

After the chaotic finale, Verstappen adds that he was unusually emotional on his celebratory lap around Yas Marina Circuit.

Another week in Formula 1, another week where the spotlight is on this year’s double world champions for all the wrong reasons. After the cost-cap saga and Sky Sports boycott that has overshadowed Red Bull’s imperious march to Drivers and Constructors glory in the past month, Christian Horner’s team have now completed an unwanted hat-trick. That spotlight shows no sign of dimming.

First, let’s analyse Verstappen’s potential reasoning, a point of contention he refused to reveal when speaking to the media afterwards. Over team radio, he bluntly stated he “has his reasons” for not allowing Perez – fighting for second in the World Championship against Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc – to take sixth place. More to the point, Red Bull are fighting to secure their first-ever one-two finish in the standings.

Quite inevitably, the discussion quickly turned to why: what was Verstappen’s motive to hold position and secure an extra two points? No race win, or podium, was in the pipeline this time, with George Russell dominant in leading home a Mercedes one-two.

One possible answer is lingering distaste in the Verstappen camp surrounding Perez’s victory in Monaco in May. That’s right, more than five months ago.

The Mexican claimed victory at the tightest circuit on the F1 calendar, but only after crashing his car in qualifying. A shunt that resulted in a red flag and Perez starting in third, a spot ahead of Verstappen. A foul-up at Ferrari a day later with their strategy saw Perez claim his third victory in F1; Verstappen came home third.

Yet reports have emerged since that Perez has admitted to Horner and Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko that he deliberately crashed his car, with telemetry supposedly to match that claim.

Whether this is the primary reason Verstappen acted in such a manner in Sao Paulo is actually irrelevant. Because either it was out of spite for an incident that did not cost him on his charge to the world title, or it was an indication that there are no team orders at Red Bull.

Lewis Hamilton hinted he is a collision magnet for Max Verstappen because the Dutch driver is envious of his record-breaking career. Hamilton and Verstappen – who last year were involved in a toxic fight for the world championship – tangled on the seventh lap of Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix.

Verstappen’s march to a second title has passed off without a notable accident. But, with Hamilton back in the frame following Mercedes’ resurgence in Sao Paulo, Verstappen re-opened old wounds with his rival when he thudded into the seven-time world champion’s Mercedes. Verstappen was penalised by the stewards, who found him “predominantly at fault” for the accident.

And, when asked if he felt singled out by the Red Bull driver, 37-year-old Hamilton, who has won more races than any driver in the sport’s history, replied: “It is natural when you have the success and the numbers on your chest, that you become a bit of a target.

“But that’s okay. It’s nothing that I have not dealt with before.”

McLaren have struggled to match the speed of Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes this season though, yet Norris is the best of the rest and currently positioned seventh in the Driver Standings.

But before the weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix, Norris divulged that he had indeed spoken to Christian Horner’s team before signing his extension, as well as “a few other people.”

“It’s more just I was coming to the end of my contract, and it wasn’t like we (Red Bull and I) were talking heavily,” Norris said.

“I literally said, it was just, everyone always tries to speak to all teams at some point, so I spoke to them, I spoke to a few other people. A chat’s a chat, it’s not like, ‘what we can do straight away?’ Just keeping in touch, things like that, it’s as simple as that sometimes.

“It was just coming to the end of the contract, you see what options are available, you just kind of find out what’s possible, what might be possible over the next few years.”

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner refused to reveal why Max Verstappen ignored team orders during the final stages of Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix.

Verstappen, who secured his second world title last month in Japan, was running in sixth place having overtaken a struggling Perez in the closing stages of an entertaining race at Interlagos.

However, with Fernando Alonso in fifth too far out in front, Red Bull ordered Verstappen to let Perez by – with the Mexican in a fight with Charles Leclerc to secure second in the World Championship.

Yet the Dutchman refused, saying over team radio he “has his reasons” for now obeying the pit wall instruction. And after a fiery team meeting in the paddock afterwards, Horner did not elaborate on Verstappen’s reasoning, insisting that the discussions will remain “behind closed doors.”

“We discuss these things internally,” Horner told Sky. “The drivers have spoken about it, they’re very clear. For us, Checo is now tied on points with Charles. Ferrari didn’t swap their cars round.

“I’m not going to go into what we discuss behind closed doors. The drivers discussed it, shook hands. We work as a team, our priority is to get Checo runner-up in the Championship. It’s a straight fight between Checo and Charles.”

A report by Italian outlet Gazzette dello Sport stated Binotto – who has been under intense scrutiny this year after a number of high-profile strategic errors from the Ferrari pit wall – would be replaced by Alfa Romeo team principal Fred Vasseur for the 2023 season.

It added that Vasseur was highly regarded by Ferrari, who supply engines to the Alfa Romeo team – which are the Sauber operation to be supplied by Audi from 2026. However, Ferrari have moved to dismiss the speculation in a short statement online.

It read: “In relation to speculation in certain media regarding Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto’s position, Ferrari states that these rumours are totally without foundation.”

Binotto, who was formerly head of Ferrari’s engine department and chief technical officer, has been team principal since the start of the 2019 season, replacing Maurizio Arrivabene, and oversaw Charles Leclerc’s memorable win in Monza in 2019.

After two years without a win, Ferrari produced a car capable of matching the might of Red Bull and Mercedes this season amid new regulations – with Leclerc winning two out of the first three races.

Yet Sky F1 pundit and ex-Formula 1 driver Brundle says the evidence suggests the Dutchman competes differently with seven-time world champion Hamilton compared to anyone else on the grid.

“I have no doubt that Max has a different set of limits when in combat with Lewis, and Lewis has similarly decided to fight fire with fire,” Brundle said, in his Sky Sports column.

“And so inevitably they hit [in Brazil] but continued. The stewards said Lewis could have given ‘a little more space’, and in my view Max could have taken even more kerb, or indeed lifted off the throttle but that’s not racing.

“The stewards decided it was predominantly Max’s fault and he got a five-second penalty and a pit stop for a new nose. I thought it was a racing incident. Lewis’ car was a bit scruffy but all the fast bits were intact and he set off in spectacular recovery mode.”

The Briton was speaking following Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team’s Sky boycott at the Mexican Grand Prix, which came a week after pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz said Hamilton was “robbed” of an eighth world championship at last year’s much-debated season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Confronting the issue after claiming victory in Mexico, Verstappen said: “You cannot live in the past and you have to move on. Social media is a very toxic place and if you are constantly being like that live on TV then you are making it worse instead of trying to make it better.”

Former race director Michael Masi said he received death threats following his decision to let lapped cars pass the safety car on the final lap in Abu Dhabi, meaning Verstappen had a clear run at Hamilton on much faster tyres.