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Credits: IMAGO / BSR Agency

Lewis Hamilton once again grabbed the limelight because of his fashion choices, after he was spotted flaunting one of IWC’s unreleased watches at the Monaco GP last weekend. Thanks to Mercedes’ partnership with the Swiss watchmakers, Hamilton got early access to this exclusive piece.

According to IWC Watches’ Instagram handle, Hamilton wore one of the company’s timepieces that feature the latest Ceralume technology. This enabled IWC to create luminous ceramic watch cases for the first time.

A unique feature of this watch is that it has a ‘glow in the dark’ effect. It is achieved by adding high-grade super LumiNova pigments to the ceramic raw materials. Its price, however, remains unknown because IWC has not released its latest creation to the public as of yet.

2024 will be the last year Hamilton will enjoy early access to IWC’s special watches. Since he is moving to Ferrari next season, he may receive the benefit of acquiring special timepieces from another famous brand.

Lewis Hamilton could be seen wearing Richard Mille watches in 2025

Almost all F1 teams have a partnership with a famous watch brand. For Mercedes, it is IWC Schaffhausen. Ferrari, on the other hand, have Richard Mille as its sponsor. It is for the same reason that both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz get their hands on Richard Mille’s exclusive watches beforehand. 

Richard Mille has been Ferrari’s partner since the start of the 2021 season. Since then, both Leclerc and Sainz have worn some of the company’s most exquisite timepieces.

For example, Leclerc owns the RM UP-01 Ferrari. This is a limited edition timepiece that Richard Mille produced in 2022. What is most unique about this watch is that it is the thinnest the company has ever produced.

It has a thickness of just 1.75 mm and costs a whopping $1.88 million. Furthermore, Leclerc also wore a watch from Richard Mille to the Monaco Grand Prix last weekend. The Monegasque was spotted wearing the RM 72-01 Chronograph, which costs $525,000.

Lewis Hamilton will likely get access to similar limited edition watches from Richard Mille in the future that the likes of Leclerc have been enjoying access to since the start of 2021.

IMAGO / Nordphoto

Kelly Piquet features heavily in the news because of her relationship with Red Bull star Max Verstappen. But they began dating after she had a daughter with former Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat. This often brought her under the limelight for the wrong reasons, and the 35-year-old is under scrutiny once again, with a former F1 WAG accusing her of being involved in an extra-marital affair.

Natalie Sifferman, ex-wife of former F1 driver Jerome D’Ambrosio, revealed that Piquet tried stealing her husband away, back when they were married.

Commenting under a post, she wrote that Piquet is an “awful human being.” She added Piquet got together with D’Ambrosio while he was still married to her. Furthermore, Sifferman also claimed that the Brazilian was responsible for affecting one of her friend’s careers, out of sheer jealousy.

Sifferman and D’Ambrosio met each other in 2011 and dated for two years before getting married. However, they divorced each other just two years later. On the post, however, Sifferman didn’t comment on whether Piquet’s involvement with her former spouse ended their marriage.

Sifferman’s comment under the post was a scathing attack on Piquet. For the latter’s partner Max Verstappen, however, there seems to be no issue. She is a valuable part of his life, as is her daughter Penelope.

Max Verstappen’s relationship with Kelly Piquet’s daughter

Verstappen often spoke about having a family of his own someday. And currently, he has a small and happy family of his own, all of whom live together in Monaco.

Kelly Piquet moved in with the Red Bull driver a few years ago, and along with her came Penelope. For Verstappen, who is just 26 years old, it wasn’t too easy to have her in his house. In fact, there was a ban on her entering his room when he was streaming or on the simulator. That, however, has changed.

Today, Verstappen claims that having Penelope with him makes things a “lot more fun”. The duo has won the hearts of fans, and Penelope has also started traveling to races to support the three-time World Champion as of late.

Credits: IMAGO / MAXPPP

For the first time in the ground-effect era, Red Bull looks to be in disarray. Max Verstappen is struggling with the handling of the car and Sergio Perez is struggling to match his teammate, adding to the problems for the Milton-Keynes-based outfit. After the team’s qualifying disaster class in Monaco, Verstappen points out one factor that shows just how weak the team was.

The Dutchman reminds Viaplay of how good Perez usually is in street circuits. Perez, a previous winner of the Monaco GP (2022) couldn’t even make it out of Q1 and finished P18 in the lap-timing chart. “When you are P18 and P6, that just shows we performed disastrously.”

Verstappen was referring to his starting position, which will be from the third row (P6). On any other circuit, the #1 driver would have been bullish about the RB20’s race pace bailing him out.

However, he has already accepted the fact that there isn’t much he can do on Sunday, owing to Monaco being a track extremely difficult to overtake.

Perez, on the other hand, may find it difficult to even get into the points. Thanks to the Haas cars’ disqualifications in Monaco, Perez will get to start from P16. But, making six places in a circuit like Monte Carlo, will need outside factors to play a major role.

Red Bull’s biggest problems in Monaco

Red Bull never appeared to be confident of their chances in the Principality. Team Principal Christian Horner admitted that Ferrari would be the favorite, and Helmut Marko predicted Max Verstappen’s run of eight consecutive pole positions to come to an end.

From the very get-go, Verstappen and Perez were struggling with the handling of the car. It was difficult for the Red Bull drivers to use the kerbs to their advantage, and the bumps were hindering their pace. The second and third sectors of this famous circuit in particular, affected Verstappen and Perez.

The Dutchman, however, insists that he wasn’t in his off-game on Saturday. After the session, when reporters asked him, if it was his first ‘mistake’ of the season, Verstappen replied, “I would happily invite everyone in this paddock to drive that car and try to go faster.”

Safety cars and red flags aren’t uncommon in Monaco. And to have a glimmer of hope of making it into the top three come the end of the Grand Prix, the 26-year-old will be praying for the same.

Mick Schumacher could be in line for a return to Formula 1 from the start of next season.

Mick, son of legendary seven-time world champion Michael, followed in his father’s footsteps by competing in F1 when he drove for Haas in 2021 and 2022, finishing 19th and 16th respectively in the drivers’ standings.

However, he was dropped for the 2023 season in favour of veteran Nico Hulkenberg and is the current reserve driver for Mercedes.

He is yet to have an opportunity to compete for the British-based team but signed up to the Alpine World Endurance Championship (WEC) programme ahead of this year, with the 25-year-old set to race at the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans next month.

The French team could offer Schumacher a route back into the sport due to unrest between their current drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, who are both out of contract at the end of the campaign.

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Mick Schumacher could be in line for a return to F1 from the start of next season with Alpine

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Mick is the son of legendary F1 driver Michael Schumacher, who won seven world titles

The French pair have endured an indifferent relationship, and tensions flared up again at the Monaco Grand Prix last weekend.

On the first lap of the race, Ocon recklessly tried to overtake Gasly on the inside and the pair made contact, with the former’s car being knocked into the air before landing.

However, the collision caused too much damage and Ocon was forced to retire, while Gasly was left fuming by his team-mate’s antics.

Ocon was subsequently punished by stewards and later took to social media to apologise.

‘Today’s incident was my fault,’ he reflected. ‘The gap was too small in the end and I apologise to the team on this one. Hoping for a deserved points-finish for the team today.’

Team boss Bruno Famin was similarly angry and warned Ocon there would be consequences when speaking to French broadcasters.

‘It’s sad to see this kind of incident,’ he told Canal+. ‘It’s exactly what we didn’t want to see. Esteban’s attack was totally out of circumstances.

‘It was exactly what we didn’t want to see and we’re going to draw the consequences. We’re going to make a tough decision.

‘If we were fighting for a podium finish at the end of the race, why not, and still… But there, on the first lap, at Le Portier, frankly, it wasn’t the place to make an attack, leaving zero room for his teammate.’

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Alpine boss Bruno Famin said ‘it would be a mistake’ not to consider Mick (left, with Michael)

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Schumacher (right) drove for Haas for two seasons but was dropped for the 2023 season

The fact that Gasly and Ocon will be out of contract at the end of this year potentially opens the door to Schumacher and Famin admitted the Swiss-born German is a candidate to join the team.

‘I’m very happy with Mick,’ he told Sky Germany. ‘He’s super fast. But that’s not the main thing in the WEC, you have to drive at a consistently high level and have a good team spirit.

‘I’m very impressed with him because he adapted his attitude to the long-distance races from day one.

‘He has a very good relationship with his teammates. Everything is open for 2025, everyone talks to everyone. It would be a mistake not to have Mick on the list.’

When pressed on the subject in Monte Carlo, Schumacher remained tight-lipped on the rumours but outlined how he ‘dreams’ of returning to the sport as a main driver.

‘My goal and my dream is to drive in Formula 1,’ he said. ‘It has always been like that and it will always be like that. That’s why we have to make sure that the dominoes fall in my direction and hopefully I end up with a seat.

‘What I can do is to simply give my best performance in the WEC and also in Formula 1 and continue to perform well for the team as a reserve driver and continue to lead the discussions.’

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Schumacher (pictured driving for Haas) finished 19th and 16th in the drivers’ standings

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Alpine pairing Pierre Gasly (left) and Esteban Ocon (right) are both out of contract this year

If he does return, Mick will hope to emulate some of the achievements of his father, who is one of the most successful F1 drivers of all time.

Having claimed the world title in 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, Michael also added 71 fastest laps and 155 podiums to his name during his iconic racing career.

However, he was tragically involved in a skiing accident in December 2013 that left him in a medically induced coma. He hasn’t appeared publicly since.

The German is cared for by a team of medical staff and his wife Corinna at their Lake Geneva home, but little has been made public about his condition.

Adrian Newey’s departure from Red Bull was officially confirmed on Wednesday in a major blow to the Formula One world champions.

The team confirmed their chief technical officer will leave the Red Bull group in the first quarter of 2025.

Newey has spent nearly two decades with the team and is viewed as the mastermind behind the cars that have taken them to seven drivers’ titles in two stints, through Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.

Red Bull confirmed that Newey will be stepping back from his F1 duties, with his final months at the group set to focus on the development and delivery of Red Bull’s first hypercar.

The RB17 was officially announced 2022, with Newey and Red Bull Advanced Technologies behind the creation of the car.

Red Bull have confirmed the imminent departure of F1’s most successful designer Adrian Newey

Newey pictured with Christian Horner, left, and Max Verstappen, centre, will step back from his F1 duties

The group said two seat hypercar will deliver the ‘ultimate on-track driving experience’.

When announcing the development of the car, Red Bull said it will be powered by a hybrid engine developing over 1,100bhp and will be designed around a carbon composite tub.

The RB17, which takes its name from cars produced by Red Bull for Formula One, is claimed will have the ‘most advanced ground effect package available in a series production car.’

The development of the hypercar, of which only 50 will be made, is viewed as a passion of Newey’s with the designer spearheading the project.

‘The RB17 distills everything we know about creating championship-winning Formula One cars into a package that delivers extreme levels of performance in a two-seat track car,’ he said in February.

‘Driven by our passion for performance at every level, the RB17 pushes design and technical boundaries far beyond what has been previously available to enthusiasts and collectors.’

Newey is set to fully focus on the development of the car, which is due to go into production in 2025, in his final months with the team.

He is understood to be wanted by Ferrari to act as their ‘super consultant’. He currently earns £15million a year at Red Bull and could double his salary with the potential switch.

Newey, left, will instead focus on the development of Red Bull’s hypercar before leaving in the first quarter of 2025

Red Bull Advanced Technologies released a concept photo of the RB17 hypercar in February

A move to Italy would bring F1’s most successful designer into partnership with Lewis Hamilton, who is joining the Scuderia next year.

Newey will continue to attend races this season, including in Miami this weekend.

His departure is a blow to the world champion team and embattled boss Christian Horner, the team principal who brought Newey from McLaren to Red Bull nearly 20 years ago.

Red Bull insist Newey’s departure is not directly linked to the allegations that have engulfed the team since news of allegations of coercive behaviour were made against Horner in February, but driven by growing resentment at how he has been less than fully credited for the team’s success.

Twelve members of US Congress penned a letter to Formula 1’s parent company, Liberty Media, demanding answers about Andretti Global’s rejected bid to join the grid. 

The bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by Rep. John James, claimed the mass media conglomerate was engaging in ‘cartel-like behavior’ by preventing the Indiana-based team from entering the sport.

‘[We have] concerns with the apparent anti-competitive actions that could prevent two American companies, Andretti Global and General Motors (GM), from producing and competing in Formula 1,’ the letter read.

They also noted that the decision to bar Andretti, along with its partners GM and Cadillac, could ‘violate American anti-trust laws.’

F1’s governing body, the FIA, accepted Andretti’s entry last year, agreeing that they had met the necessary criteria.

12 members of congress are demanding answers about Andretti Global’s rejected F1 bid

Former F1 world champion Mario Andretti said his team is ready to join the grid as of 2025

However, the sport’s commercial arm, Formula One Management, denied the team’s bid after discussing the matter with the 10 teams currently on the grid, claiming it would not be competitive by 2025 or 2026.

In a press conference held outside the US Capitol Wednesday, former F1 world champion, Mario Andretti said his team has ‘all the passion and resolve necessary’ to join the grid.

‘We’re ready with everything that’s needed. Give us a green light and let us do our thing,’ the 84-year-old motorsport legend said.

‘Our team, Andretti Global, is part of every major racing discipline in the world. Formula 1 is the one that’s left. And we want to be part of that.’

James, who also appeared at the press conference, suggested Liberty Media could be ‘kicking the can down the road’ as a ‘cash grab’ to extract more money from Andretti should their bid be accepted in 2028, when F1 said it would reconsider the bid.

Rep. John James of Michigan claimed Liberty Media was engaging in ‘cartel-like behavior’

Formula One Management denied Andretti’s bid after discussing it with the teams on the grid

‘Give us a green light and let us do our thing,’ the motorsport legend said in a press conference

‘The commitment has been shown by Andretti-Cadillac, I think, to the tune of millions of dollars a month in preparing for the standards of complying with everything,’ the Michigan representative said.

‘We hope that we can resolve this to do business together for our mutual benefit. But if not, we will have our questions answered,’ he went on.

‘Because we have an obligation to protect the American consumer, to protect American companies, and that is our first allegiance. And those who are seeking to take advantage will be held accountable.’

F1 will return to the US this weekend for the Miami Grand Prix, held at Hard Rock Stadium.

Max Verstappen and Kelly Piquet going off-road together with Mark Cox.

Prince William brings home ‘thoughtful’ present for Princess Kate at Adelaide Cottage following Harry ‘snub’

Prince William brought home a “thoughtful” present for Princess Kate at Adelaide Cottage following his “snub” towards Prince Harry.

The Prince of Wales performed his first engagement as Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps today, where he was gifted presents for his wife and three children.

William, 41, received an AAC tartan wrap for the Princess of Wales, a scarf for himself and three wooden helicopters for their children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six.

Kate, 42, is currently recuperating at Adelaide Cottage where she is undergoing a course of preventative chemotherapy for cancer.

William brings home ‘thoughtful’ present for Kate following Harry ‘snub’

One royal fan wrote on social media: “Nice of them to think of our Princess of Wales. Our gallant men in uniform.”

Another said: “Such thoughtful gestures.”

Similarly, one commented: “I love all of the pictures and videos! Those are thoughtful gifts!

“Prince William looks very handsome in his uniform! That’s so cool that he flew off in a helicopter!”

Prince William received gifts for Kate and his children today

Monday’s engagement was significant as King Charles handed over a prestigious honour in a special ceremony at the Army Aviation Centre to his eldest son.

However, royal fans were surprised Prince Harry had been overlooked by his father, which many saw as a “snub”.

The monarch gave William the prestigious role of colonel-in-chief of the Army Air Corps during a ceremony at the Army Aviation Centre in Stockbridge.

This meant the Prince of Wales would succeed his father Charles, who became colonel-in-chief of the Army Air Corps 32 years ago.

King Charles and Prince William stepped out on a joint engagement today

However, there was no mention of Charles’s youngest son Prince Harry, who served in the Army Air Corps and flew Apache helicopters during two tours of Afghanistan.

The role of colonel-in-chief was widely expected to go to the 39-year-old.

But after he stepped down as a senior member of the Royal Family in January 2020, Harry has become estranged from his family and stripped of his military roles.

Pictures from the event were shared on the official Instagram accounts of the Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as the main Royal Family page.

Harry and Meghan have just undertaken a three-day tour of Nigeria

But the post was inundated with furious comments from fans upset about the “snub” towards Harry.

One wrote: “And Harry? How can you forget him?” Another added: “I think this should have been given to Harry!”

One fan commented: “This would have been a nice honorary role for Harry.”

Meanwhile, another chimed in: “It’s a shame to punish Harry like this, he who committed himself and fought on the field!”

Lewis Hamilton said 12th place on the grid accurately reflected Mercedes’ performance in Miami, where they were seven-tenths of a second behind the pace.

He and teammate George Russell both finished outside the top ten in qualifying for tomorrow’s sprint race. As has happened multiple times this year, Hamilton stated that the car felt better before they began attempting to alter it.

“The car felt really good during [first practice],” he told the official F1 station. “And then in [sprint race qualifying], it didn’t feel horrible, but we were seven-tenths off. That’s merely, I believe, the speed of our vehicle.”

Hamilton has made some radical adjustments to his car in previous races that haven’t always succeeded, but he claims that isn’t the case this weekend.

“This weekend we’ve just been [doing] no more experiments, just trying to make the car work,” he went on to say. “So I feel like we extracted everything from the car and that’s just our pace, we just have to accept it for the moment that we’re seven-tenths off.”

Mercedes introduced an upgrade package for their vehicle this weekend. However, with points available only to the top eight in tomorrow’s race, Hamilton was pessimistic about his chances of scoring.

“The sprint race is going to be tough,” he told reporters. “We’re in 12th place, so I’m not expecting much from there.

“It is not an easy circuit to overtake or follow. So [I’ll] attempt to get into the points somehow, if we can.”

Russell stated that the W15 felt better on soft tyres earlier in the day, but battled for pace on the medium compounds used in the first two phases of qualifying.

“During practice, the soft tyre felt great on our car. The pace was good; it was P4. On the medium, we couldn’t find the sweet spot, and I ended up on the wrong side of it.

“It was tight out there. We shouldn’t have been so close to the cutoff. We need to work overnight and improve for the main qualifier.”

Adrian Newey on Friday night admitted he is flattered that Lewis Hamilton is trying to woo him to Ferrari.

Hamilton is leaving Mercedes for the Scuderia next season and Newey, Formula One’s leading designer, is on the market after announcing this week that he will be leaving Red Bull before his contract was due to expire.

Ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, Hamilton was asked if he would welcome the chance to work with Newey, 65. ‘Very much,’ he replied. ‘He’s top of my wish list.’

Newey, speaking for the first time since news of his impending departure was made public, responded by saying: ‘It was very kind of Lewis to say that, but at the moment I’m just taking a bit of a break and we’ll see what happens next.’

Mail Sport understands Ferrari have definitely spoken to Newey about moving there, but have yet to close the deal.

Adrian Newey (pictured) admitted that Lewis Hamilton’s compliments were very flattering

The seven-time world champion said that working with the designer was ‘top of his wish list’

Newey flew out to Miami to join team principal Christian Horner (right) after confirmation of his impending Red Bull exit

READ MORE: How Red Bull’s departing mastermind can reignite Lewis Hamilton’s career at Ferrari… PLUS why a Grand Prix in ‘woke’ Los Angeles is off the agenda, writes JONATHAN MCEVOY

Newey’s exit is a further bump for Red Bull following the scandal that engulfed team principal Christian Horner over allegedly sending coercive texts to a female colleague. He was cleared in an internal investigation, a verdict that is now subject to an ongoing appeal.

‘I’ve been thinking about this a little while now – over the winter and then as events unfolded this year,’ explained Newey, who earns £15million.

‘I’m in the very lucky position where I don’t need to work to live. I work because I enjoy it and felt now was a good time to step back and take stock of life. Maybe at some point, I’ll be standing in the shower and say, “Right, this is going to be the next adventure.”

‘Formula One’s all consuming. I’ve been at it for a long time now. There comes a point, as Forrest Gump said, “I’m feeling a little bit tired.”

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen, who drives Newey’s rocket ship, handed Red Bull a boost by insisting he couldn’t be lured away to Mercedes even for £150m a year.

The reigning world champion put himself beyond price as rumours swirl that he is disgruntled by recent shenanigans.

‘My future is within Red Bull at the moment,’ he said.

Max Verstappen doubled down on his seat at Red Bull after another rampant day’s qualifying

Hamilton was only 12th-best in qualifying for the sprint, with team-mate George Russell 11th

‘Even if there was an offer of 150million, money is not going to be the differentiator. I am happy with what I am earning already. If I knew I was driving for fifth or sixth, I’d get quite grumpy.

‘Everyone knows it is about performance and Toto (Wolff, the Mercedes team principal) knows that.’

Verstappen, 26, took pole for Saturday’s sprint race despite a less than perfect lap. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc starts second and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez third.

Hamilton was only 12th best, team-mate George Russell 11th. So much for Mercedes’ upgrades! Again.