Lewis Hamilton’s hopes of reclaiming the world championship are already over just four races into the 2022 Formula 1 season. That’s according to Lewis Hamilton, who has fallen 50 points adrift of the championship lead after another disappointing showing at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, defending champion Max Verstappen led a Red Bull one-two – their first in six years – as he closed in on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who admitted he was at fault for the costly error that saw his lead cut.
Read on below as SBOTOP lists down the latest news and updates in Formula 1.
Lewis Hamilton writes off title hopes for 2022
Lewis Hamilton believes his Formula 1 2022 odds of reclaiming his title are now nil after a disappointing 13th-place finish at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
The result leaves Hamilton 50 points behind championship leader Charles Leclerc after a poor run of Formula 1 2022 results.
“We’re obviously not fighting for this championship,” Hamilton told Sky Sports. “But we’re fighting to understand the car and improve and progress through the year. That’s all we can hope for right now.”
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff echoed Hamilton’s disappointment, saying the Silver Arrows hit a ‘new low’ this season. Wolff admitted Hamilton’s car has not been up to the standard needed to compete for a championship.
“Yeah, really bad,” Wolff said. “He got squeezed by the Alpine [at the start], the other two cars undercut and there’s just no overtaking when you’re in a DRS train. We saw from George what the car can do in free air but we are not good enough for a world champion, not worthy for a world champion. We just need to fix the car.”
Leclerc got ‘too greedy’ at Imola
Ferrari failed to shine on their home race at Imola. Championship leader Charles Leclerc looked set for at least a podium finish with 10 laps to go, but he spun out while trying to take second place from Sergio Perez, causing him to drop from third to sixth.
Leclerc admitted after the race that he was completely at fault for the costly error as his greed got the better of him.
“It is a big shame,” he said. “The spin should not have happened today. I mean, P3 was the best I could do, we didn’t have the pace for much more and I was too greedy and I paid the price for it and lost seven potential points compared to my third place I was before.
“It is a shame, it’s seven points that are valuable at the end of the championship. For sure, this shouldn’t happen again.”
Despite the disappointing result at Imola, Leclerc still holds a healthy 27-point lead over Verstappen. But with Red Bull likely to come charging back at some point, Leclerc must be careful not to throw away more precious points.
Horner hails first Red Bull 1-2 in six years
Red Bull dominated the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez recorded the team’s first 1-2 finish in six years.
Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner was understandable full of praise for his two drivers after their performance at Imola.
“It was quite a stressful race on the pit wall because of changing condition, and there’s a lot that can go wrong in those situations, but I thought both Max and Checo did an unbelievable job today,” said Horner.
Heading to Miami, Red Bull are now just 11 points behind Ferrari in the teams’ standings – while Verstappen is up to second in the drivers’.
Thanks to their 1-2 finish, Red Bull are now just 11 points behind Ferrari in the constructors’ standings heading into the next race in Miami.
George Russell dealing with back, chest pains due to ‘porpoising’
While Hamilton struggled at Imola, his Mercedes teammate George Russell shone as he finished an impressive fourth to keep his excellent start to the season alive.
Russell’s performance was even more impressive given the physical challenges he’s had to overcome while driving. The young Brit admits he’s suffering back and chest pains due to car’s ‘porpoising’ problems that have him bouncing in the car.
“When the car is in the right window and the tyres are in the right window, except for the bouncing, it feels really good to drive,” Russell said.
“But the bouncing really takes your breath away, it’s the most extreme I’ve ever felt it.
“This is the first weekend where I’ve truly been struggling with my back, and almost like chest pains from the severity of the bouncing, but it’s what we have to do to get the fastest lap times out of the car.”
Despite Mercedes’ ongoing porpoising problem, Russell is still having a fine debut season with Mercedes, finishing in the top five in the first four races. He is currently in fourth on the drivers’ standings with 49 points.
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