F1 news: Lewis Hamilton's mum refuses Toto Wolff offer as Ferrari secret leaked
Updates from Express Sport's F1 blog as the Japanese Grand Prix moves ever closer
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the latest Formula 1 news as reaction to last weekend's Chinese Grand Prix continues.
Kimi Antonelli clamed an impressive victory in Shanghai after finishing qualifying on pole position, ahead of championship favourite and Mercedes teammate George Russell. Lewis Hamilton got his first podium after finshing third in the second race of the season.
Russell still leads the World Driver's Championship standings by four points ahead of Antonelli thanks to his victory in Australia in the first race of the year. It's been a much more challenging start to the season for reigning champions McLaren and Lando Norris.
Both Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri were forced to retire in China. Four-time former World Champion Max Verstappen has also had a tough time having seen his Chinese Grand Prix end early after finishing a distant sixth in Australia.
Attention will now turn towards the Japanese Grand Prix, which will take place on March 29 at the Suzuka Circuit. Russell still leads the World Drivers' Championship standings by four points ahead of Antonelli, thanks to his victory in Australia in the first race of the year.
Follow along below for updates throughout the day...
KEY EVENTS
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Bach on Alonso
F1 Insider Ralf Bach has claimed that Fernando Alonso has openly expressed his frustrations even at the risk of 'demotivating' the rest of the Aston Martin team.
Alonso has retired in each of the first two races of the Formula 1 season, having recorded a Did Not Finish (DNF) at the Australian Grand Prix and Chinese Grand Prix.
Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll has also not finished in the first two races - and it has been a disappointing start for the team who have endured serious engine issues.
"What’s really hurting is his soul," Bach said of Alonso. "I’ve heard that he’s causing trouble again within the team. Outwardly, he still comes across quite well, protecting the team a bit, but apparently he really lays it on thick when it comes to internal matters, and that can very quickly have a demotivating effect, but Alonso is just the way he is.
"He’s probably only a two-time world champion partly because he’s often gone too far with internal team politics. It is what it is, and I think that’s the case with Aston Martin too, as we’ve heard."
Current standings
Here's the current standings following the weekend's Chinese Grand Prix.
1: George Russell (Mercedes) - 51 points
2. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 47 points
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 34 points
4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 33 points
5. Oliver Bearman (Haas) - 17 points
6. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 15 points
7. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) - 9 points
8. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 8 points
9. Liam Lawson (RB) - 8 points
10. Arvid Linblad (RB) - 4 points
Antonelli's message to Hamilton
Kimi Antonelli has thanked Lewis Hamilton for his support following his maiden F1 win.
Hamilton has shown his enthusiasm for the Italian taking the spot at the top of the podium, sharing a selfie of the two on his Instagram page.
speaking upon his return from China, Antonelli said:
"Honestly I think that’s the photo of the year, the one with Lewis. First of all, it was the enthusiasm he showed towards me after the victory. It was really nice of him.
“He has always supported me, ever since he moved to Ferrari and I joined Mercedes, so we have a really great relationship. It’s special, especially with a champion like him.”
Ferrari boss slams race-start complaints
Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur has slammed complaints over Formula 1's race-start procedure.
Speaking after Sunday's race, which saw Hamilton go from third to first by Turn One ahead of the front row-starting Mercedes', Vasseur said he felt Ferrari had already compromised in that area enough after complaints from George Russell.
He said: "We already changed massively the rule of the start with the five-second story.
"One year ago, I went to the FIA. I raised the hand on the starting procedure to say 'guys it will be difficult'. The reply was clear that we have to design the car fitting with the regulation and not to change the regulation fitting with the car.
"We designed the car fitting with the regulation, the change of the five seconds, the blue light story, didn't help us at all, but I think at one stage enough is enough."
F1 'cancel team boss meeting'
A meeting between Formula 1 bosses to review the sport's new changes has reportedly been cancelled. The decision is likely to further frustrate four-time World Champion Max Verstappen, who has expressed annoyance at the new F1 rules in 2026.
The Red Bull driver launched a fresh attack on the new generation of Formula 1 cars after being forced to retire from Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix. The 28-year-old has claimed they will "eventually ruin the sport".
Verstappen has been a vocal critic of the 2026 rules and the cars which are powered by hybrid engines and rely on more electrical energy than ever before. DRS has also been replaced by 'overtake mode', and battery management has become a crucial part of racing, leading to far more overtaking; however, critics say it is artificial.
Wolff addresses Mercedes rivalry
Toto Wolff has no doubt that a rivalry will play out between George Russell and Kimi Antonelli in the battle for the F1 title this season.
However, the Mercedes chief has admited there will be no repeat of the rivalry that engulfed Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
The friendship between the pair turned sour when Hamilton moved to Mercedes in 2014. Concerns that the same could materialse this year have been played down.
"Nico and Lewis knew each other from karting, from the early days being friends, but also having this social fight that was always ingrained in there," Wolff told reporters.
"Then, what was a friendship became a healthy rivalry; then a rivalry, and then animosity, and it was two very different characters.
"Having said that, you need to appreciate that drivers are like they are to win races and championships, and the moment you sniff that, then the elbows come out. That's something that the team needs to manage.
"But both of them are Mercedes juniors. We've been responsible for their trajectory since they came into single-seaters, even in karting. I feel at this stage, and maybe I'm going to bite my tongue one day, that we're in a totally different situation."
Sergio Perez apology
Cadillac's Sergio Perez has apologised and has taken responsibility for contact between him and teammate Valtteri Bottas in the Chinese Grand Prix.
Trying to overtake on the outside, Perez move caused Bottas to be sandwiched between him and Nico Hulkenberg. It led to Perez spinning, but he was able to regain contact with the rest of the field.
Perez finished the race in 15th with Bottas in 13th.
After the race, Perez held his hands up on the incident.
“That was fully on me, I saw the gap and I went for it, Valtteri didn’t have anywhere to go," he said. "It was very optimistic, so full apologies on that one to Valtteri and the team.
“Unhappily it ended up costing me the race, I spun, I lost a lot of track time. I came back and was back in the race and I was about to overtake Valtteri on the back straight and then I had deployment issues, losing about five seconds the first time and then the second time, another 15 seconds. So, a bit of tidy up to do in that regard.”
Leclerc defends F1 regulations
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc has jumped to the defence of this season's new regulations after the likes of Max Verstappen criticised them.
"I enjoy it, and it doesn't feel so artificial from inside the car," Motorsport quote him saying. "Of course, you’ve got those overtakes where it’s artificial – whenever someone is doing a mistake with the battery and completely drains it and then, there’s a massive speed difference.
"But I feel like we are all converging a little bit, towards knowing where shouldn’t we go and where can we try and take the risk.
“So that creates very interesting overtaking places. I think today was the showing of that.”
Ferrari plan
Ferrari will reportedly hold a filming day with its current car, the SF-26, during the upcoming break. F1 will have a considerable gap in the schedule after races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were cancelled amid the conflict in the Middle East.
And PlanetF1 claim that Ferrari is keen to hold a filming day during the April break to produce more content for its commercial partners.
Hamilton's mum opts against travel offer
Lewis Hamilton's mum, Carmen Larbalestier, reportedly decided against flying home with F1 drivers and Toto Wolff after the Chinese Grand Prix.
In the Up To Speed podcast, Coulthard revealed why that was the case. He said: "Hamilton's mom was on the flight back. I was talking to her this morning coming off the plane.
"I was asking have you got far to go? All that kind of usual stuff. And she said, 'Well actually, I could have flown back with some of the drivers, but I've had enough of the kids."
Russell aghast as radio message emerges
A radio message from George Russell to his Mercedes team, which was not picked up by television, has shown his surprise at Charles Leclerc’s driving during the Chinese Grand Prix.
It comes after there seemed to be an ongoing battle between Ferrari teammates Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton throughout the race. It was Hamilton who eventually came out on top with the Brit claiming his first podium finish for the team.
Horner 'not an option' for Aston Martin
Aston Martin are reportedly looking into replacing Adrian Newey as Team Principal after just two races of the 2026 Formula 1 season. However, it is said that former Red Bull boss Christian Horner is not an option to replace him.
Reports in SoyMotor claim that Newey's position at Aston Martin is now under-threat after their poor start to the season.
But an Aston Martin source has denied this.
Japanese Grand Prix
There is still more than a week to go until the Formula 1 season resumes with the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Suzuka Circuit will host the race on March 29 for the third event of the F1 season, where George Russell will look to extend his lead at the top of the World Driver's Championship standings.
Russell leads the standings ahead of Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli, who won the Chinese Grand Prix last week.
Max Verstappen told to 'stop whining'
Max Verstappen has been told to ‘stop whining’ and help his Red Bull teammates.
Verstappen has won just eight points across the first two races of the year, and has been critical of the current format after recent regulations were introduced for the 2026 season.
Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has now delivered a clear message to Verstappen.
Schumacher told Sky Germany:
Max has proven that he is the fastest driver.
Now, however, he has to help his team, a team that is having problems, and stop whining.
Lewis Hamilton message sent
Former Formula One driver Jacques Villeneuve has accused Lewis Hamltilon of “destroying” Ferrari’s Chinese Grand Prix after his battle with teammate Charles Leclerc, reports Stephen Killen.
The Brit finished third, grabbing himself a place on the podium ahead of the Monaco driver, who finished fourth.
Verdict from ex-F1 team boss
Ex-Williams Racing boss Claire Williams has explained why she believes drivers should be given more time to adjust to new regulations that have been introduced this season.
Williams told City AM:
In my experience, when we’ve had such major upheaval in the regulations, there is always quite a lot of noise about the racing that those new regulations have produced. And that’s what has happened here.
It probably has affected the drivers more than anybody else and they’re getting to grips with it. We’ve got to give it a bit more time to understand where this will all come out because from experience, there’s always a lot of noise and then a few races in and everyone quietens down.
Christian Horner update
Aston Martin are reportedly looking into replacing Adrian Newey as Team Principal after just two races of the 2026 Formula 1 season, reports Isaac Seelochan.
However, it is said that former Red Bull boss Christian Horner is not an option to replace him.
Horner has been out of work since leaving Red Bull in September last year.
Ferrari stance clear
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has made the team’s stance clear after suggestions of potentially more changes to the start procedure for Formula 1 races.
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have enjoyed fast starts to races in the first two races of the year in Melbourne and Shanghai, which have come after new power unit regulations were introduced for the 2026 season.
This has led to a five-second procedure before the start of races, and Vasseur has given Ferrari’s stance on the possibility of more changes.
Vasseur told Sky Sports:
We already changed massively the rule of the start with the five-second story.
One year ago, I went to the FIA. I raised the hand on the starting procedure to say 'guys it will be difficult'. The reply was clear that we have to design the car fitting with the regulation and not to change the regulation fitting with the car.
We designed the car fitting with the regulation, the change of the five seconds, the blue light story, didn't help us at all, but I think at one stage enough is enough.
Untelevised radio message emerges
A radio message from George Russell to his Mercedes team, which was not picked up by television, has shown his surprise at Charles Leclerc’s driving during the Chinese Grand Prix, reports Amie Wilson.
It comes after there seemed to be an ongoing battle between Ferrari teammates Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton throughout the race. It was Hamilton who eventually came out on top with the Brit claiming his first podium finish for the team.
Welcome
Greetings and welcome to the latest Formula 1 LIVE blog, brought to you by Express Sport.
We'll be on hand throughout the day to provide the latest F1 news and views that emerge.
There will still be plenty of reaction to the Chinese Grand Prix, as well as build-up towards the Japanese Grand Prix next week.
Make sure you stay tuned.
