Toto Wolff told to reverse Mercedes decision as ‘urgent’ Red Bull issue raised

Lewis Hamilton commits to Mercedes until 2025

Another fruitful weekend for Max Verstappen has decided the Drivers’ Championship but there is plenty left to fight for among the rest of F1’s stars. The battle for second place, both in the individual and team standings, is still alive and kicking ahead of the United States Grand Prix later this month.

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Verstappen’s 2023 triumph was mathematically sealed after he took second place in the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint on Saturday. The Red Bull ace kicked on and won Sunday’s main event, taking his season total to a staggering 14 victories.

That was far from the only talking point, however, as Mercedes team-mates Lewis Hamilton and George Russell set tongues wagging by colliding at the first corner in Losail. McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri also raised eyebrows by winning the sprint and taking P2 in Sunday’s Grand Prix, leaving Lando Norris in his wake.

With all this to delve into and more, follow Express Sport‘s live F1 updates below…

Don’t miss… Mercedes ‘have lost control’ of Lewis Hamilton and Russell as Toto Wolff blamed

Horner raises ‘urgent’ Red Bull issue

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has stated that Sergio Perez’s performances need to improve as a matter of ‘urgency’.

The Mexican endured a torrid weekend in Qatar last time out, with team-mate Max Verstappen impressing across the board to seal his third consecutive world title.

“He had a tough race and a very tough weekend and we will continue to give him our full support,” said Horner. “He’s still second in the drivers’ standings, but he urgently needs to get back into shape.”

Wolff told to reverse Mercedes decision

Former Williams chief Peter Windsor has suggested that Toto Wolff would be better off binning George Russell at Mercedes.

The 25-year-old was snapped up at the start of the 2022 season to replace Valtteri Bottas as Lewis Hamilton’s team-mate.

But Windsor believes that Russell’s apparent reluctance to play second fiddle is working against the seven-time world champion, and Wolff would be better off turning back to Bottas.

Speaking after Russell and Hamilton’s collision in Qatar, he said: “This comes back right back to the choice of George Russell as the other driver in the Mercedes.

“Because in this situation, when you’ve got Lewis Hamilton, who’s never going to be anything other than the seven times world champion, who wants to win a Grand Prix if the car is capable of letting him win it.

“If you’ve got Lewis in that car, you definitely need to have somebody like a Valtteri Bottas or a Sergio Perez in the other car, if you’re going to have them next to one another on the grid.”

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Set up camp right here for the day ahead as we keep you up to date with all the latest fallout from the Qatar Grand Prix, as well as casting an eye forward to Austin in just under two weeks’ time.

Updates to follow…

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