Sebastian Vettel will retire at the end of the 2022 season, sparking speculation on who could replace the four-time world champion at Aston Martin.
You can count Daniel Ricciardo out though after the Australian delivered a defiant message to reporters.
Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton is already among the upper echelons of the spot in terms of headline success, but last weekend he joined a rare six-member club of drivers to start 300 grands prix.
He’ll move past Jenson Button and Michael Schumacher to rank outright fourth at the United States Grand Prix, and he’ll beat Ruben Barrichello’s 322 races to take third in round 13 next season.
Kimi Raikkonen holds the record for most starts, with 349, but Fernando Alonso, the only active driver with more starts than Hamilton, will claim it at the Singapore Grand Prix in October.
So he’s among esteemed company — but, also, reaching the upper limits of historical longevity in Formula 1.
And with a record-equalling seven titles under his belt plus outright records for wins, poles and podiums, one might imagine he’s preparing to call it a day at the end of his contract next December.
Yet Hamilton says he’s not done yet, with his next mission to help Mercedes return to championship contention.
Suddenly 400 races may not seem so far away.
In other news, Ricciardo has reflected on his key weakness at the French Grand Prix ahead of this weekend’s race in Hungary, where he’s enjoyed much success in the past, while Sergio Perez is set to become a team principal in a nascent electric racing series.
RICCIARDO’S CLEAR MESSAGE AFTER VETTEL RETIREMENT CALL
Daniel Ricciardo is adamant his “future is clear” and that he will be staying put at McLaren amid links to Aston Martin after Sebastian Vettel announced he will retire at the end of the year.
The Australian is under contract at McLaren for 2023 and has been the subject of constant speculation surrounding his future, with Vettel’s impending retirement only ramping that up.
Ricciardo though had a clear message for reporters when asked if he would consider switching seats next year.
“Did you hear any of my interviews last week?” he asked.
“Obviously, it’s nothing against that [Aston Martin] but as I said last week, my future is clear and it’s here.”
Ricciardo was not the only driver to rule out a move to Aston Martin, at least for the time being.
Alex Albon did not completely shut down a potential switch in the future but was clear that his current focus is on Williams.
“Obviously, Aston Martin are a great team,” Albon said.
“They’re clearly expanding as a team as well, but the focus right now has to be on this year.”
Esteban Ocon, meanwhile, said he was “good” at Alpgine, where he is contracted until 2024, while Valtteri Bottas said: “I have a contract, so I’m good.
Kevin Magnussen also played it very straight, telling reporters: “I’m contracted for next year, and very happy at Haas”.
HAMILTON HAS ‘PLENTY LEFT IN THE TANK’ AFTER 300 RACES
Lewis Hamilton has hinted that a contract extension could be on the cards at the expiry of his current deal at the end of next year, saying he’s enjoying the sport “more than ever” despite Mercedes’s struggles.
Hamilton is enduring the least successful season of his career, having never gone more than 10 races without a victory. After 12 rounds this season his best finish is second place, taken just last weekend in France. He’s also facing the prospect of the first winless season of his entire racing career.
At 37 years old, Hamilton has talked openly about his eventual retirement, and some thought the stipulations of his current contract, which commits him and Mercedes to significant charitable work in the social justice and equality space, was positioning him to transition to post-F1 life.
But Mercedes’s step backwards this season appears to have energised the Briton, particularly as signs of modest progress have become evident in recent rounds, coinciding with his 300th race, and the seven-time champion suggested instead that he was eyeing a new deal.
“I firstly just want to be grateful to get to this point,” he said. “But I still feel fresh and still feel like I’ve got plenty of fuel left in the tank.
“I’m enjoying what I’m doing.
“I’m really, really proud and enjoying arriving every day and working with this incredible group of people.
“I’m also enjoying working with the sport more than ever. We’ve got some great people leading the sport and having great conversations about the direction we’re going as a sport, so I’m enjoying it more than ever. I would say, in that space.”
Hamilton singled out the challenge of rebuilding Mercedes — having played only a relatively small part it in turning it into a winner in 2014 despite his significant contributions to keeping the team at the top subsequently — was motivating him to continue.
“Of course I want to get back to winning ways, and that’s going to take time, but I’m sure we’ll sit down at some stage and talk about the future,” he said.
“But again, just with our team, I always want to continue to be building. It’s one thing having races, but it’s also continuing the work that we do outside and doing more, which I think Mercedes and us can always do more, and we will.”
RICCIARDO IDENTIFIES TYRES AS KEY DEFICIT TO TEAMMATE
Daniel Ricciardo says improving his management of the tyres is a key challenge for him in getting on terms with teammate Lando Norris.
Ricciardo had a decent weekend in France, starting and finishing ninth and within sight of Norris, who took the flag eight seconds up the road after a long second stint of tyre management owing to the early safety car.
It made it two pointscoring races in a row after his solid recovery from a hampered qualifying in Austria, the first time he’s finished in the top 10 at two consecutive rounds since Italy and Russia last September.
But seventh and ninth was a disappointing return for McLaren overall. While Norris and Ricciardo outqualified Alpine rivals Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon respectively, their positions were swapped by Sunday afternoon, with Alonso finishing sixth and Ocon eighth, giving the French team control of fourth in the constructors standings.
Ricciardo said not only that the tyres were a key difference between McLaren and Alpine in the race but also that rubber management was a major weakness of his relative to Norris.
“I had a bit of pace early in the stint and tried to get more out of it, but then it fell away a little too quickly,” Ricciardo said. “I definitely struggled from mid-stint onwards and didn’t have the pace to run with the Alpines and Lando.
“In the first part of the stint I was able just to kind of hang on, but then the second part, when they’re able to stretch their legs, I’m just missing that extra grip and that extra little bit of speed.
“If I put in a good lap time, then the next lap I lose quite a lot, so still some work to do.
“I don’t feel like I’m progressing with the tyre. I feel like I’m always trying to manage [and] still don’t seem to get the grip that they have.”
“I felt like I did the best that I could, but it’s not enough to make me happy.
“Double-points, but we’ll keep working.”
PEREZ BECOMES TEAM BOSS IN POWERBOAT SERIES
Sergio Perez has developed a recent history of taking orders in Formula 1, but he’s set to flip the script by becoming a team boss in a new racing series.
Perez will helm Team Mexico in the upcoming E1 electric racing boat series, the latest brainchild of racing mogul Alejandro Agag, who masterminded electric racing series Formula E and Extreme E.
Agag was previously the principal of GP2 title-winning team Addax, for which Perez raced in 2010 and finished second, which earnt him his promotion to Formula 1 with Sauber the following season.
I’m really excited at the prospect of becoming a new team owner in E1 and having a team representing Mexico,” Perez said. “Given my relationship with Alejandro, I’ve kept a close eye on what he’s been doing and his various championships, and I think what he’s achieved with promoting more sustainable forms of motorsport is commendable.”
The E1 series will race ‘RaceBird’ hydrofoil boats, which the sport says will reach speeds of 93 kilometres per hour via an outboard electric motor producing 150kW via a 35kWh battery.
“I’ve heard lots of positive stories about the boat and the exciting sporting product E1 is trying to create for fans with city events,” said Perez. “Seeing a racing team flying the flag for Mexico on a global stage will be amazing, and I cannot wait to watch the RaceBird in action for the first time.”
Team Mexico is the second team to join the series after the Venice Racing Team
The E1 series will set sail in 2023, though no dates or locations have yet been announced.
