Lewis Hamilton thinks the Shanghai circuit will make it hard for him to take his first win of the year at Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix. He gingerly nursed his vehicle back on to the circuit and escaped without damage. Obviously Australia was a different race and if you compare these two races, here we had the pace and won on our own.
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Verstappen got it wrong, touched wheels, got a puncture and was out of the race.
Asked if he’d be more conservative in China, Verstappen said “there won’t be a change”.
The Dutchman, who spun during the Australian Grand Prix, crashed out of qualifying in Bahrain and then collided with Hamilton during the race, lost control of his Red Bull again here.
Verstappen’s clash with Hamilton in Bahrain came as the result of a charge through the field that was needed after a qualifying crash caused by an unspecified problem with his Renault engine.
He revealed his new logo, which will feature on Hamilton-branded Tommy Hilfiger apparel.
“One track might suit them more than us”.
Kimi Raikkonen: “It was a pretty good Friday and I’m quite happy with the feeling of the auto”.
“I support all the points that Liberty Media presented, and I hope that they will realize it”, said Tost, the Toro Rosso principal. I obviously know what doesn’t feel right in the auto, but now we need to find the answers and change that for tomorrow.
He can also draw encouragement from the speed and reliability of his Mercedes, with the Briton poised to set a record on Sunday of 28 straight races in the points.
“Regardless if it is his fault or my fault, it’s in the past. It’s in the past”.
However, he is convinced that his approach to racing will not be altered by the incident that ultimately put him out of the race. But, overall, I think we are quite close.
Hamilton, meanwhile, is likely to be focusing on getting back to winning ways with the reigning champion yet to win a race this season.
Wins in the Australian season-opener and Bahrain means the momentum for the moment is with Vettel, the first Ferrari driver since Michael Schumacher in 2004 to start the year with successive wins.
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Red Bull misery, a Mercedes performance that was equal parts masterclass and confusing, a safety scandal and a rookie relishing the spotlight – after the mundane affair in Australia, Bahrain had it all. Hamilton has had plenty of success in China having started on pole there six times and claiming victory on five occasions but it’s now been five races since his last win – his second longest winless drought since the beginning of 2014.
