F1 news: Lewis Hamilton vents fury at Mercedes over radio as Sky host rushed to hospital

Oliver Bearman has explained how much he enjoyed battling Lewis Hamilton during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

“Well, you know when you go around the outside that he’s going to leave you space, which is a nice feeling,” Bearman said.

“Like in Turn 1, I knew that he wasn’t going to put me in a wall, which is a bit less sure with some other drivers. That’s a nice feeling and it’s always very clean but hard when I was racing him.”

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has warned his team they have to wait until after the Singapore Grand Prix to claw back McLaren's lead in the constructors' race.

The race in Singapore is up next, and Marko was asked if it would be difficult to respond after the British team moved 20 points ahead. “To be honest, yes,” he replied.

“We believe from Austin onwards that we have a package which should make us more or even really competitive. But we have to wait until Austin.”

Max Verstappen has remained upbeat despite labouring to fifth place at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

He's taken to social media with a vow to do better in Singapore next weekend, posting: "Tough weekend. I know we can do much better, let’s go for it next week! Keep pushing."

F1 stewards have announced that no further action will be taken against Carlos Sainz or Sergio Perez over their collision at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The pair made contact on the penultimate lap as Sainz attempted an overtake, both drivers careering into the barriers at Turn 3. Red Bull driver Perez was fuming with Sainz, saying on team radio that the Spaniard was a “f****** idiot.”

But the FIA have now confirmed there will be no punishment to either driver.

Oscar Piastri has expressed his delight at the move that saw him overtake Charles Leclerc before hanging on to win in Baku.

“I think for me it has to be one of the best races I’ve done,” Piastri said. “It the overtake was a high-risk, high-commitment move but that’s what I needed to do to try and win the race because I wasn’t really going to be that keen to finish second. So I had to try.

“If I didn’t take that opportunity then I was never going to have another one I think."

Max Verstappen, Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly have all escaped punishment from the FIA for overtaking under safety car conditions during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

After a meeting of race stewards, the quartet have received a warning.

Red Bull team principal has blamed Carlos Sainz for the late crash that forced the Ferrari man and Sergio Perez out of the race.

“He deserved a lot more. Carlos drifts across the circuit," he told Sky Sports. “Very disappointing. He should have, at least, been on the podium. It destroyed the race for Checo, it did a lot of damage, and cost us vital points in the constructors’ championship.”

So against all the odds, Lando Norris has cut Max Verstappen's Championship lead down to 59 points.

And in the Constructors' race, it's suddenly McLaren in control. The late Sergio Perez crash leaved them 20 points ahead of Red Bull with just seven races remaining.

George Russell was left surprised by how long it took for the virtual safety car to be deployed after Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz crashed.

It did not happen until over a minute after the incident had taken place, though double yellow flags were being waved almost instantly.

"That was pretty crazy," said Russell. "The sun was coming down. You couldn’t see anything.

"I was shocked the safety car or virtual safety car obviously didn’t come out sooner. The car could have been anywhere.

"Glad to see everybody was okay. It was a long old race and glad to be on the podium."

Max Verstappen, who finished fifth, has been placed under investigation for a potential virtual safety car infringement.

It appears to relate to the Dutchman overtaking cars under VSC conditions after the chequered flag had dropped.

If he is found to have been at fault, he could be hit with a retrospective penalty.

Sky Sports presenter Rachel Brookes was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery ahead of today's race.

She was left unable to fulfil her duties when it became apparent that she needed to have her appendix removed.

Taking to Instagram, she explained: "I thought it was just nasty food poisoning but yesterday found out that I had appendicitis and needed surgery.

"I've had the appendectomy and all good. Just want to say a massive thanks to all my colleagues at Sky Sports F1 for stepping up, stepping in to cover and sending me so many messages.

"And also to Sky as a company for pulling out all the stops to get me the best care and flying out my sister for support. So, basically, that's why I wasn't on the coverage this weekend."

Oscar Piastri wins a thrilling race under virtual safety car conditions following a last-lap crash involving Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz.

The two drivers were battling for a podium spot but took each other out in dramatic fashion.

Charles Leclerc, who started from pole, comes home in second place with George Russell sneaking into third.

Lando Norris is fourth with Max Verstappen fifth ahead of Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto.

Catch up on the full story HERE.

Lewis Hamilton remains outside the points and does not appear to be enjoying himself very much.

Earlier in the race, he sent a frustrated message over team radio while struggling to find the right balance.

He asked his race engineer: "Are you seeing how I have to drive this thing?"

"I understand, Lewis, but it’s effective," was the reply.

Oscar Piastri moves into the lead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with a fine move on Charles Leclerc.

The McLaren driver sweeps up the inside of his Ferrari rival with DRS assistance on the home straight.

The race is far from over, though, with Sergio Perez also in with a chance of winning if he can keep up with the leading two drivers.

We are just moments away from the start of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc hoping to convert his pole position into victory.

Here's a reminder of the grid order...

A horrific crash during the Formula Two feature race earlier today delayed proceedings by around 30 minutes.

The pile-up was caused by Kush Maini appearing to stall his car on the starting grid, with the drivers behind him flying past at speed while he remained stationary.

Eventually, he was hit from behind by several cars with debris flying all over the circuit.

Pepe Marti's car was dramatically overturned, while Oliver Goethe was also left unable to continue after picking up heavy damage.

Remarkably, there were no injuries.

Toto Wolff has blamed Alex Albon for what proved to be a disappointing qualifying session for Mercedes.

The Mercedes team principal was frustrated with the performance and suggested that cooler tyre temperatures were caused by Albon stopping at the end of the pit lane.

"It's actually disappointing," said Wolff. "I think we could have been second or third. It was so close.

"And with the way Alex Albon came to a halt at the exit of the pits, our tyre temperature went down and that's why the first sector was so bad."

Lewis Hamilton will be forced to start the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from the pit lane despite qualifying in seventh place.

After the session, a fifth power unit of the season was installed into Hamilton's car, exceeding his allocated limit.

An extended DRS zone on the home straight will provide plenty of overtaking opportunities during the race.

George Russell has admitted that he is not impressed with Mercedes reverting back to their old floor design in Baku.

"I qualified third last week on the new floor, qualified fourth in Zandvoort on the new floor, and I've qualified fifth today," he said.

"It was a team decision and we were substantially off the pace in the race, but clearly, there was some performance in the car in qualifying the last two races.

"I think [it's] probably validation that it's not the floor that's making the difference."

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko believes a rare mistake from Max Verstappen cost him in qualifying.

The Dutchman will start from sixth on the grid and will line up behind team-mate Sergio Perez for the first time in 33 races.

"The positive is that we found speed again, although Max made a rare mistake at Turn 16," reflected Marko.

"He lost six-tenths as a result, but without that mistake, a second place would have been really possible."

Lewis Hamilton hit out at the tyre temperature issue which has plagued his season after qualifying seventh in Baku.

The Brit has struggled to keep his tyres within the optimum window on several occasions and it was the case again yesterday.

"That was 100 per cent the issue," he said.

"I think we have a car that could have been on the front row, whether or not it could be. Maybe the Ferraris might be too strong but at least third or fourth today.

"But the tyres weren’t working the whole day for me. We’ve seen that the car seems to be very strong on the straights."

Christian Horner was impressed with Sergio Perez after the Mexican beat team-mate Max Verstappen in qualifying for the first time this season.

“I have no idea. It makes no logical sense in that it’s high-speed, straights with armcos, barriers, 90-degree corners," Horner said of Perez.

“But he’s always been magic around here and I think that if we had a 24-race championship in Azerbaijan, he’d be pretty tough to beat.

“But it’s good to see him finding his confidence. In every session, he’s been on it.”

Max Verstappen has backed Adrian Newey in hitting out at the British media.

The Red Bull star said he agreed with the departing car designed "one hundred per cent".

Newey said: "Maybe that's also a little bit of the British media, if I'm honest. Sky have a huge influence around the world. Their viewing is truly international. But their coverage is quite nationalistic, dare I say.

"That can have an influence. It's this thing that now with journalism, don't take this personally, but there is that trend to either put people on a pedestal or knock them down."

Oscar Piastri, who starts second on the grid, is not too confident of challenging Charles Leclerc for the win.

He said: "I think from where we're starting, yes. But I think following around here is going to be really tough.

"We saw yesterday that it was pretty tough once you get behind someone. So hopefully I can get some clean air and that would be good. But yeah, we'll see what we can do. I think our race pace is good. But again, the Ferrari is certainly not slow."

Toto Wolff has blamed Alex Albon for George Russell not starting higher up the grid.

He feels Mercedes would have been starting the race from the second row had Albon not forced Russell to cool his tyres.

"It's actually disappointing," Wolff told Sky DE. "This is a Charles Leclerc circuit, but I think we could have been second or third, probably third.

"It was so close. And with the way Alex Albon came to a halt at the exit of the pits, our tyre temperature went down and that's why the first sector was so bad."

Carlos Sainz is not too disheartened to start the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in third place.

The Spaniard says he never expected to match his team-mate Charles Leclerc, who has four consecutive pole positions in Baku.

“I don't know, because I’ve always been quick in city tracks - Monaco and Singapore are tracks that I'm always very quick at,” he said.

“Maybe there's something with low downforce. I don’t know if it’s the Tarmac, it’s a very peaky, very slippery Tarmac with the rears moving around a lot, maybe that makes Charles a bit more comfortable.

“I think it's a combination of me never being quick here, and him being the master of Baku. And then the gap, it gets a bit [too] big around around here for my liking.”

George Russell has avoided a penalty after failing to brake sufficiently under a yellow flag situation.

The stewards investigated the incident after qualifying in Baku and issued the Mercedes man with a reprimand.

An FIA statement read: "The Stewards consider that there was no reasonable way for Russell to have seen that flag and even if he had, he could not have changed his braking. Once he rounded the corner, Russell accelerated normally. Unlike Leclerc, however, the illuminated green light panel between turn 2 and turn 3, was a significant distance further down the track and harder to see at the point of acceleration than in the case of Leclerc."

Pierre Gasly has been disqualified from Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying due to a fuel flow violation in his Alpine machine.

The Frenchman qualified in P13 but will now be sent to the back of the pack on the grid.

Charles Leclerc has no explanation for his immense qualifying form in Baku. The Monegasque driver notched a fourth successive pole position around the circuit on Saturday.

“For some reason, there's not that much scatter between my laps on this track,” he said. “It looks like I'm very consistent. I don't really have the magic answer, but I just like the rhythm of this track.

“I've been thinking about it and obviously, whenever you have a good weekend, you try to analyse. But I don't really have a strong answer to it. I guess it just goes with my driving style very naturally, because most of the time, you have to work a lot to try and gain lap time.

“But there, I just feel good with the rhythm of this track for some reason. And yeah, that makes it a particularly good track for me.”

Jacques Villeneuve has criticised Lando Norris’ final qualifying lap in Baku, suggesting that the Brit’s time ‘wouldn’t have even been that good’ even if he finished his final Q1 run.

The championship contender will line up 17th on the grid after suffering a frustrating Q1 elimination when a yellow flag caused by Esteban Ocon ended his lap early.

“It will be frustrating,” Villeneuve said on the Sky Sports F1 broadcast. “I don't remember, I don't think you have to slow down until the yellow flag. And by the time you reach the post, the yellow flag was off. He actually did not need to slow down. So that's a little mistake. He also went off wide in the last corner. So it's not even sure his lap time would have been that good.”

Max Verstappen has revealed that he was ‘not totally comfortable’ with the RB20 after qualifying in 6th place, two spots behind Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez in Baku.

"In my first run I made a mistake in the last turn, where the car broke out of the turn,” he told his official website.

“In the run after I had so too many problems with bouncing. If you're not totally comfortable, you can't attack. We changed some things, and know what the problem is. This is a bummer.”

Pierre Gasly could be disqualified from qualifying at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The French racer is under investigation by the FIA after post-race inspections unearthed an unusual fuel mass flow from his Alpine machine.

The matter has been referred to the stewards and if their investigations correlate to those of F1 technical delegate Jo Bauer then the Frenchman will be disqualified and sent to the back of the grid.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has revealed that he is seeking clarification over the yellow flag which ruined Lando Norris' lap in Q1.

A slow-moving Esteban Ocon forced the marshals into action, with Norris backing off his flying lap as a result.

"It’s one of my favourite tracks of the season, I really like it," says pole-sitter Charles Leclerc on Sky Sports F1.

"It hasn’t been an easy weekend because of the crash in FP1. It didn’t make me lose confidence as I knew that the pace was there, but you’ve got to get back up to speed.

"In Q3 and qualifying, it was all about trying to stay as far as possible from the walls and on the last lap I went for it a bit more and the lap time came very nicely.

"The car felt really good and everything felt great, so it’s amazing to be on pole."

Charles Leclerc cruises to pole position at the end of Q3, with the Ferrari driver in a league of his own.

Oscar Piastri, who came home in second, was nearly four-tenths behind his Ferrari rival.

Carlos Sainz will start tomorrow's race from third on the grid ahead of Sergio Perez, George Russell, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

READ MORE

Lando Norris has been knocked out in Q1 in a hammer blow to his hopes of beating Max Verstappen!

The McLaren driver backs out of his final lap due to a yellow flag and is made to pay the price, coming home in 17th place.

He is joined in the bottom five by Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu and Esteban Ocon.

Logan Sargeant has made his first public appearance since he was unceremoniously ditched by Williams.

The American driver was spotted watching IndyCar at the Music City Grand Prix in Nashville.

Sargeant, who was replaced at Williams by Franco Colapinto, took time to pose for pictures with fans.

Zhou Guanyu will start tomorrow's Azerbaijan Grand Prix from the very back of the grid.

The Chinese driver has been hit with a 20-place grid penalty due to power unit changes between practice sessions.

Mechanics fitted a third energy store and third control electronics to his car, exceeding the limit of two for the season.

The use of each additional element carries a 10-place grid penalty, provisionally meaning 20 places overall.

George Russell finishes FP3 as the quickest driver on track with a lap time of 1:42.514.

Charles Leclerc comes home in second place with Lando Norris in third.

Max Verstappen is only quick enough for fifth place behind the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri.

Lewis Hamilton is all the way down in 10th and will be looking to unlock some extra pace in qualifying.

Oliver Bearman loses control at Turn One and is unable to prevent his Haas car from skidding into the wall.

He appears to be just fine but is clearly frustrated with himself.

Bearman's mechanics will now be tasked with repairing his damaged car ahead of qualifying in Baku later today.

This morning's FP3 session has been red-flagged after less than 15 minutes due to Esteban Ocon stopping on track.

He appeared to suffer a mechanical issue heading towards the final chicane and was unable to make it back to the pit lane.

No lap times are on the board just yet.

George Russell's strong form against Lewis Hamilton will have dealt the 39-year-old a psychological blow ahead of his move to Ferrari.

That is the view of Jacques Villeneuve, who believes Hamilton is at risk of making a slow start when he joins the Italian team next year.

"He’s been seen as winning when the car was easily winning and when it became hard, Russell was a little bit ahead," said Villeneuve.

"That’s not baggage he wants to bring with him to Ferrari, who are a little bit of a chaotic team. It’s not an easy team to work in. You want to arrive there as a winner."

Jacques Villeneuve has lambasted McLaren over their team orders philosophy, suggesting that 'it doesn’t sound like they want to win'.

McLaren have confirmed they will prioritise Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri from now on despite previously sticking to their 'papaya rules' of fair racing.

Villeneuve told Sky Sports: "I guess it starts with ‘papaya’ - that doesn’t sound very tough, does it?

"I don’t want to be demeaning, I am trying to find the right words, but I find it a little bit pathetic. This is F1, it’s the pinnacle.

"If I was a McLaren fan, I’d be upset. Do they really want to win? Do they care? It doesn’t sound like they want to win. It’s beautiful but that’s not F1.

"You are here to win, that’s all that matters. Lando got the better of Piastri for the first half of the season, he’s the one with a chance to win. You play it by that rule.

"I really fail to understand this concept of 'this is how we work, we are happier to finish second than to win'. It is weird."

Charles Leclerc was quick to ease expectations at Ferrari after topping the standings in FP2 yesterday.

"It’s very tight [at the front] but it’s very difficult to see also with different engine modes of everybody," he said.

"It’s one of the tracks that I quite like and we’ve been pretty quick in the past, but that doesn’t mean it will be the case for tomorrow.

"We still have to work on the car, there’s plenty to do to improve. There’s the driving to be improved quite a bit.

"I was still taking a little bit my references in FP2, but again, we are fast, so that’s a good sign. Hopefully just more to come tomorrow."

Christian Horner says Red Bull will pursue the route of running similar front wings to rival teams if the FIA deems them acceptable.

Red Bull and Ferrari recently complained about the flexilbility of Mercedes' front wing, with McLaren's design also coming under scrutiny.

However, the governing body did not find fault with either team.

Discussing the topic, Horner said: "We went through a little more recently than a decade ago, I think three years ago.

"But I think what’s crucial for any team, as with all these things, is always for clarity. Is something acceptable or is it not?

"If it’s deemed to be acceptable, then obviously that encourages you to pursue similar solutions yourself.

"The regulator, obviously, they have all the information. They have all the analysis that they’ve recently put cameras on many cars, so I guess they’re collecting that data."

Lando Norris has fired back at suggestions that his friendship with Max Verstappen is harming his title chances.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, he said: "The way I get on with Max off the track has nothing to do with on track.

"Normally the drivers I get on with better are those I want to beat more and vice versa. There is nothing in it.

"People can say what they like. I don’t honestly care, but it is clear he wants to beat me, and I want to beat him. We are fighting for a world championship.

"On and off track are two completely different worlds. This has nothing to do with my mentality, how I work with my engineers, my approach to the weekend."

Christian Horner used a football analogy to describe how Red Bull will not suffer too much from the departure of Adrian Newey next year.

Quizzed on the news of Newey's impending move to Aston Martin, Horner said: "Life carries on. We have a great team. We have great strength and depth.

"Manchester United didn't stop winning when Eric Cantona left. Everything has to evolve."

When it was put to Horner that Cantona retired rather than joining another team, he replied: "OK, Ronaldo. I'm not a football analogy specialist."

Franco Colapinto has taken full responsibility for crashing into the wall during FP1.

The Williams youngster lost control of his car through Turn Four, resulting in a collision that ruled him out for the rest of the session.

"I had never crashed into a wall like that, it was a slow crash," he said afterwards.

"It was an experience. I didn’t know the track and everything was very new. It was a rookie mistake in Baku.

"Taking that apart, it was a very good second session. The heroes of the day are the mechanics, they have done an amazing job.

"The amount of work they had to do, they were pushing, pushing, pushing and they put the car out in FP2. I was really impressed about it."

Oliver Bearman was delighted with his first two practice sessions in Baku after getting the nod to drive for Haas.

The British teenager, who will join the team on a full-time basis next year, is replacing Kevin Magnussen after the Dane was handed a one-race ban.

"I was really happy with how we finished," he said. "The main thing was that I completed all the laps we could.

"A lot of red flags, a lot of interruptions, but I was pretty happy with how things went. I was building up step-by-step and at the end I found good confidence with the car.

"So, yeah, good way to go to sleep and start fresh start tomorrow. This whole weekend is a dry run for next year. I’m learning so much."

Lewis Hamilton is yet to draw any firm conclusions from the first two practice sessions in Baku ahead of Sunday's race.

Speaking after FP2, he said: "I don’t know how my long run is compared to others but we didn’t get a huge amount of laps.

"I think Red Bull seem pretty quick, as do Ferrari, but we’re there or thereabouts.

"On this day you don’t know what fuel loads everyone is on. Often when we get to FP3 or qualfiying, everyone takes a step and we haven’t always.

"We’ll just stay cautious and just try to do the best we can with what we have. I hope we are closer to the front than it seems."

Carlos Sainz has been spared a penalty for impeding Sergio Perez during FP2 earlier today.

During a hearing, he told the stewards that he saw Perez behind him but misjudged his speed because he was 'distracted by a variety of alarms on the car'.

It was determined that the incident was not dangerous, meaning Sainz got away with a warning as opposed to a sporting sanction.

Carlos Sainz have been summoned to the stewards after an incident with Sergio Perez in FP2.

In the closing stages of the session, Perez approached at full speed and almost drove into the back of Sainz's car.

The Red Bull driver complained over his team radio, suggesting that Sainz had impeded him.

The Spaniard will need to explain his side of the story to the stewards later this evening.

Charles Leclerc finishes FP2 as the quickest driver on track with a fastest lap time of 1:43.484.

He was initially frustrated with the setup of his car following his crash in FP1 but eventually managed to find the right balance.

Sergio Perez comes home in second place, with the Mexican driver just 0.006 seconds off the pace.

Lewis Hamilton is third ahead of Carlos Sainz, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen.

That was close!

The McLaren of Lando Norris goes fastest in the opening sector but as he heads for adecent lap time, the Alpine of Pierre Gasly gets in the way and he has to abort. He avoids a collision though.

Gasly has since said over radio: "I had a problem with the battery, I'm sorry."

We're off again.

And Max Verstappen, who went quickest this morning, is one of the first out....

Not sure we'll top the carnage of FP1 this morning, but the drivers and teams are back in the pits preparing for the second session in around 25 minutes' time.

Pressure now on Lando Norris and McLaren with Red Bull seemingly back up to speed....literally.

Helmut Marko believes that ‘everything fits’ for Max Verstappen to join Aston Martin.

“Max drives where he can win,” the Red Bull advisor told Kleine Zeitung. “Aston Martin has the most modern factory, the wind tunnel will be commissioned next year and then there will be Honda engines.

“Everything fits basically. And if you look at history, it is clear that everywhere Newey has been, there has been an upward trend. I don't see why that would be different at Aston Martin.”

READ MORE HERE.

A very interesting radio message between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso at the end of FP1 there, after the Spaniard appeared to hold up his own team-mate.

"Of course Alonso was on another lap," said the British driver. "No surprise," replied Wolff.

Williams have confirmed that driver Franco Colapinto has been taken to a medical centre after his crash in FP1. After the 'precautionary measure', a social media post said "he is fine and has been released."

Well that was eventful.... and it's Max Verstappen who tops FP1, 0.313 seconds quicker than the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez finishes third, with Lando Norris fourth ahead of Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri.

This is getting silly now.

For the third time, FP1 is halted as Williams driver Franco Colapinto goes into the wall. The team are reporting he's ok.

By the way, Lewis Hamilton has gone quickest from Lando Norris.

After going quickest, Charles Leclerc has hit the wall at T15.

The Ferrari driver is climbing out safely but has seemed to damage the front of his car and now, we have another red flag.

Chaos.

The session has been stopped due to reported debris at T12.

Max Verstappen had got off to a flier and was quickest when the red flag came out, two tenths ahead of Charles Leclerc.

FP1 is underway!

A reminder, over the next hour teams and drivers will have two sets of the hard tyre (white, C3), three sets of the medium tyre (yellow, C4), and eight sets of the soft tyre (red, C5).

The green intermediate compound and the blue full wets are also on hand if required.

It's warm conditions though....

The FIA have confirmed that engine manufacturers Honda and Alpine have both committed a "procedural breach" of the F1 cost-cap regulations.

Honda is the partner of Red Bull while Alpine is the supplier for the Renault-owned team of the same name.

A statement from the FIA didn't specify the breach, but said neither had exceeded the spending limit.

So here are the timings for FP1 and FP2 today, with teams and drivers currently in the pit lanes preparing.

First practice (FP1) 10.30-11.30am (UK time); Second practice (FP2) 2-3pm.

Oscar Piastri has hit back at suggestions he will be 'pulling over' for Lando Norris despite admitting he will be trying to help his team-mate with the drivers' title.

“The main point is that it’s not purely going to be me pulling over for Lando at every single race because that’s how none of us, including Lando, want to go racing,” he said.

“If we feel that someone has done a much better job on a weekend, we want that person to be rewarded. It’s not a blanket ‘I am going to be behind Lando in every single race, in every decision taken from here’ because I still have things I want to achieve."

It's gearing up to be a fascinating weekend at McLaren...

Max Verstappen has not ruled out leaving Red Bull for Aston Martin and reuniting with F1 car designer Adrian Newey.

Speaking in Baku on speculation he would be following Adrian Newey, the Dutchman said: "That is something maybe for the future that I think about, but not now.

"Adrian and I have a very good understanding. I sent him a message after the news came out so I am happy for him. I always said I would have loved him to stay but you cannot overturn these things. I am just excited for people seeking new challenges.

"I know Lawrence Stroll is pushing flat out to make it a success at Aston Martin."

Welcome to our live coverage as a huge F1 weekend gets underway!

Sit back, grab a coffee, and enjoy all the race build-up, latest news, and FP1 updates here.