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The prospect of Max Verstappen joining Mercedes in 2025 may seem improbable, but amidst the turmoil at Red Bull, Toto Wolff sees an opportunity too good to ignore. Despite the conclusion of the investigation into Christian Horner, internal conflicts persist, leaving Verstappen’s future uncertain and opening a window for Wolff to make a move, nearly a decade after a missed opportunity. Now, he’s ready to leave no stone unturned.

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Verstappen burst into the F1 scene at the age of just 17 with Toro Rosso, backed by Red Bull’s Helmut Marko, who secured him despite Mercedes’ interest. Now, with Verstappen widely recognized as one of the sport’s best, Wolff acknowledges the allure of having him in the Mercedes camp.

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In a recent interview with oe24, Wolff admired Verstappen’s skills and hinted at Mercedes’ readiness to provide a competitive car to further add to a potential deal.

“The driver will always try to sit in the strongest car. That’s why we have to do our homework first so that the car performs. So Mercedes could become a real alternative for Max,” said Wolff.

While the idea of Max Verstappen bringing Adrian Newey along may seem far-fetched, Wolff doesn’t rule out anything in the unpredictable world of F1. As for Helmut Marko potentially shifting sides, Wolff remains focused on Verstappen’s prospects, understanding the dynamics between the two within Red Bull’s hierarchy.

Amid speculation and uncertainty, the possibility of Verstappen donning the Mercedes colors adds an intriguing layer to the driver market. After Hamilton’s shift to Ferrari, there is no telling what can happen.

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Helmut Marko clears the air on Max Verstappen moving to Mercedes

Helmut Marko has made it clear that he and Max Verstappen won’t be making a joint move to their rival’s garage, despite Toto Wolff’s job offer to both key figures from the Red Bull team.

Marko, who initially faced the threats of suspension but ultimately decided to stay on as Red Bull’s advisor after discussions with team higher-ups, received backing from Verstappen himself. The Red Bull golden boy expressed his support for Marko, indicating that he too would be out of the door should Marko be ousted.

Wolff, seizing the moment, expressed his interest in having Verstappen but also offering Marko a “mascot” role. However, Marko’s commitment to Red Bull, at least for now, has thwarted any plans of departure.

In an interview with De Telegraaf, Marko made it clear: “We are not going to Mercedes together at the moment.” He also hinted at the uncertainty of Verstappen’s contract, which extends until the end of the 2028 season, emphasizing the team’s collective goal of winning championships and the necessity of hard work.

Verstappen, echoing the sentiment of unity, emphasized the importance of teamwork and peace within the Red Bull camp, urging the team to focus on their on-track performance amidst the drama.

Credits: IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

The fandom of pop icon Taylor Swift continues to grow multitudes and is encapsulating a range of celebrities. The F1 grid is no stranger to the same, and some of the drivers are also ‘Swifties’. Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson stands as the latest driver to reveal that he is a fan of Swift. In a video uploaded by Lawson on his YouTube channel, he was asked to choose between Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, and Lawson went with the latter.

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“Travis Kelce or Taylor Swift?”

Lawson: “Taylor Swift.”

Kelce and Swift are one of the most influential power couples in the US at the moment. Thanks to her incredibly successful Eras Tour, Swift garnered hundreds of thousands of new fans. Meanwhile, Kelce is widely regarded as one of the best in NFL, and recently won the Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs. As the two entities came together, their influence grew multifold. All the cameras are on them wherever they go, and fans cannot get enough.

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The couple’s most viral moment came at Super Bowl LVIII as Kelce and his team fought for the title. Swift was in the audience with Kelce’s mother as they looked on in anticipation of what would happen. Once the Chiefs won, Swift was over the moon. Kelce and Swift’s kiss and interaction after the match became a global talking point.

The video where Lawson chose between Kelce and Swift was part of a special video for Lawson. The New Zealand driver had a camera crew follow him around in the build-up to the screening of his documentary. It shows an exclusive sneak peek into the life of Lawson as the 22-year-old makes his journey to the F1 grid.

Red Bull going the extra mile for Liam Lawson

Red Bull had a specific camera crew follow Liam Lawson around once they realized he was something special. Last year, when he suddenly got into an F1 car, Red Bull had more reasons to have cameras follow him for a documentary. Titled ‘In The Wings,’ the documentary encapsulates Lawson’s journey to the F1 grid. It also captures the highs and lows of his Super Formula campaign. The documentary could also focus on the reactions of his close friends and family when they heard the news of him driving in F1.

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Given everything that Red Bull is doing for Lawson, it looks like the Austrian team has big plans for him. Lawson was impressive during his time with (formerly) AlphaTauri. There were a lot of calls to make him a full-time F1 driver, but the team decided against it. For now, Lawson remains on the sidelines, but fans hope it won’t be this way for long. Should Red Bull not bring Lawson to F1, other teams might look to poach the driver, as he has a lot of talent to offer.

Credits: IMAGO Motorsport Images

Daniel Ricciardo has received immense criticism for his performances in the opening two races of the 2024 season. In both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Yuki Tsunoda outqualified him. Since the Australian has been struggling, his future in F1 continues to remain uncertain. Amid such uncertainty, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has added further pressure on Ricciardo by explaining how the 34-year-old has to do more to match Tsunoda.

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While writing for the Speedweek column, Marko wrote, “A word about the Racing Bulls. There’s a lot at stake this season for both Yuki and Daniel. Yuki’s qualifying performance was very good and Ricciardo has to come up with something soon.”

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The pressure is on Ricciardo indeed because if Tsunoda continues to perform well in the races and qualifying rounds, then Red Bull might favor him rather than the Honey Badger for a future seat on the senior team. Moreover, with Red Bull also having Liam Lawson as their reserve driver, Ricciardo cannot afford to make any slip-ups.

Since Ricciardo has been struggling, fans have already begun speculating about the possibility of Red Bull replacing him with the highly impressive Lawson. In the process of explaining how Lawson may soon replace Ricciardo, fans also suggested how there is a possibility that the Australian faces a situation similar to that of Nyck de Vries.

F1 fans believe Red Bull could sack Daniel Ricciardo

Last year, Daniel Ricciardo replaced an underperforming Nyck de Vries. Unfortunately, following just two races, the#3 driver sustained a wrist injury, forcing Liam Lawson to step in for him for five races. The New Zealander made the most of this opportunity and impressed everyone.

Now that Ricciardo hasn’t performed well in the first two races of the 2024 season, supporters are suggesting it’s time for Lawson to take over Ricciardo’s seat permanently. One of the fans with Twitter handle, @fiagirlboss even wrote, ” Lawson will be in the car soon enough.” 

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Other supporters, meanwhile, expressed their worries over Ricciardo’s form. Nonetheless, they continue to believe that before getting sacked like De Vries, Ricciardo will have more of an opportunity to display his true abilities.

Credits: IMAGO NurPhoto

The first two races of the 2024 season continued to showcase to the F1 community that Red Bull remains the strongest team. In both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, the Austrian outfit finished 1-2. Moreover, on both occasions, Max Verstappen defeated Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez to win the race. Hence, looking at how things have panned out so far, the possibility of a team challenging Red Bull at the moment seems bleak. However, despite knowing this fact, Charles Leclerc has recently painted a realistic picture of challenging Verstappen and Red Bull.

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While taking to Motorsport.com, Leclerc said, “I’m sure our time will come. I don’t know what Red Bull has in store in terms of upgrades, but this will define when we will be able to match them.”

The Monegasque is optimistic that the SF24 will at some point surpass the RB20 in speed because, in his view, Ferrari has improved the most since last year’s campaign. Similar to Frederic Vasseur, the 26-year-old feels that Red Bull’s lead over Ferrari currently stands at three to four-tenths of a second every lap.

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Charles Leclerc believes this is a smaller gap compared to the previous season. However, the Monegasque does believe that it’s still a significant margin in Formula 1.

Moreover, Leclerc has revealed that the SF-24 wouldn’t undergo any significant changes in Melbourne. While wrapping up, Leclerc mentioned that although there is still a significant gap between the two teams, if his team keeps improving, he is confident that Ferrari will eventually ‘put more pressure on Red Bull.’

What did Frederic Vasseur say about Ferrari’s pace?

The way Ferrari handles the Pirelli tires has improved significantly this season. Since the previous year, the team has improved the setup window for both their drivers, which has helped them clinch two podium finishes in a row.

Given these advancements, Frederic Vasseur thinks his team will eventually overtake Red Bull in the battle for the top spot. According to GP Fans, the Frenchman said that the feeling about Ferrari’s current position is ‘quite positive.’

While elaborating on it, Vasseur said that Red Bull is maybe two or three-tenths ahead of them in the single-lap race. However, later he also pointed out that the margin widens during the race, and that he is unsure about whether Red Bull is exerting maximum effort.

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After stating the same, Vasseur finally said, “The feeling is more positive that, if you come back in this region, you know if you do a step, you can put some pressure on them. When we were at one second [behind], it was useless, but now with a good start we can be there, we can fight.”

At the Australian Grand Prix, Ferrari will hope to battle Red Bull and will most likely have the best opportunity to take on them. This is because the Albert Park track has a lot of medium-speed turns and a few lengthy straights that could potentially favor Ferrari.

However, the primary concern for the Prancing Horse at the moment is the availability of Carlos Sainz, who missed the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last weekend due to appendicitis surgery. If the Spaniard is not fit in time, then Ferrari could be forced to once again feature Ollie Bearman for the Australian GP.

Credits: Imago & Twitter

Charles Leclerc is a huge fan of luxurious cars and owns several of them in his garage. Having always been a Ferrari fan, the Monegasque has now added a $2.2 million worth beast from the Italian company to his supercar garage. Although the 26-year-old has made no social media post to confirm the same, videos going viral have shown that the former Sauber driver is himself picking up his Daytona SP3.

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As seen in the video below, Leclerc is taking the delivery of his new Ferrari beast himself. Soon after this video emerged, another Instagram handle posted images of Leclerc’s car being parked at a gas station.

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According to caranddriver.com, Leclerc’s new beast, the Daytona SP3, is the third model in Ferrari’s Icona series of ultra-limited edition cars. This new beast takes inspiration from the trio of Ferrari’s 330 P4 sports racing cars that finished in the top three of the 1967 24 Hours of Daytona race.

Since the SP3 has taken inspiration from a car built in 1967, it has several vintage elements. However, at the same time, the SP3 also has quite a modern bodywork that optimizes the aerodynamics and cooling of the car.

The SP3 is one of Ferrari’s limited-edition cars as the Italian company only plans to build 599 of them. As per the report, Ferrari has sold all their pieces. They have sold 499 of the 599 pieces to customers who already have purchased one of the previous Icona series cars.

The SP3 has a naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V-12 engine and 829 horsepower. This car has a top speed of 211 mph and can reach 60 mph in less than three seconds. The SP3 is one of the seven Ferrari cars that Charles Leclerc owns.

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Which other Ferraris does Charles Leclerc own?

According to planetf1.com, Charles Leclerc also owns the Ferrari SF90 Stradale. This has a 4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine that produces 986 horsepower.

Another car from the Italian company that the Monegasque owns is the 488 Pista Spider which costs approximately $350,000. This has a twin-turbocharged 3.9-liter V8 engine that produces 710 horsepower.

Leclerc also owns an 812 Superfast that has a 6.5L V12 engine, the Ferrari Roma, and an SF90. Meanwhile, other than his most recently bought SP3, Leclerc’s perhaps most astonishing car is the 812 Competizione Aperta which approximately costs $730,000. This car has a 6.5L V12 engine that can produce 800bhp. Leclerc has one of the convertible editions of the car that has a matte white finish.

Credits: IMAGO / Motorsport Images

Lewis Hamilton had a strong take on the Christian Horner controversy as he asked for more transparency from the governing bodies. Hamilton did not shy away from sharing his thoughts on such a grave situation, and it led to F1 experts lauding him. At the same time, they made sure to call out other ‘disappointing’ drivers for being on the sidelines.

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Hamilton has always been outspoken, about both on and off track issues. He stated that the investigation against Horner for the alleged inappropriate behavior is a really important moment for F1. Other big entities, however, decided to refrain from commenting on the situation, because of how sensitive the topic is.

Max Verstappen, for example, refused to take any sides on the controversy surrounding Horner. However, he did not stay quiet when Helmut Marko got involved in the saga. The likes of Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez and George Russell too, have not made any comments.

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Brian and Matt from The Red Flags Podcast mentioned this as they called the drivers out for their ignorance. Matt said, “They live in a bubble. If you ask them about anything that’s going on in the world, I’m sure they would disappoint, because they’re not up on it, they don’t read about it.”

The duo added how Hamilton has been a totally different person. They lauded the Mercedes star, who pointed out that the Horner situation is affecting everybody, as a force for good and a more ”well-rounded, full” human.

Red Bull and Christian Horner saga

The controversy surrounding Christian Horner began in early February when a female co-worker from Red Bull Racing made ‘‘inappropriate behavior’‘ allegations against the Red Bull boss. Red Bull GmbH, the parent company in Austria did not waste any time in investigating the matter.

However, the grievances against Horner were dismissed right before the season went underway. The saga, however, was far from over. A Google drive link containing evidence from Horner’s investigation was leaked to the public, adding fuel to the fire.

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As the leaked chats reached the top officials and journalists, fellow team principals Toto Wolff and Zak Brown showed their concern over the situation. Brown and Wolff, like Hamilton, wanted the governing bodies to show more transparency.

As of now, Christian Horner is still Red Bull’s team principal. Marko, Jos Verstappen, Adrian Newey are some of the other figures who are now directly involved in this saga. Whether Horner remains in his role despite all the backlash, remains to be seen.

Credits: IMAGO / PanoramiC

Mercedes driver Doriane Pin delivered an outstanding performance at the F1 Academy season opener in Bahrain on Thursday as she recorded a double pole position. With two stunning laps, she got the better of Abbi Pulling and PREMA Racing teammate Maya Weug. After Pin’s fantastic display, a fan has dug into how she studied Lewis Hamilton’s pole position lap at the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP to deliver such a performance.

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Hamilton himself has been a great role model for all the young women aspiring to make it big in motorsport. Despite witnessing a lack of diversity in most of the teams he has competed for over the years, the Briton has made it his mission to promote more inclusivity via his different initiatives.

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As a result, he is also one of the first drivers to congratulate others when they put in the effort to promote more diversity and inclusivity. Hamilton once expressed pride for the efforts F1 Academy managing director Susie Wolff has been putting in to promote more female racers.

Speaking of the same, Hamilton said, “I just spent some time with her in the garage. It is really impressive to see the growth within that organization and then to see the other teams in the sport actually really embracing it”.

After lauding Wolff, Hamilton then also praised Doriane Pin. He explained how impressed he was to see a young driver like her perform and revealed some of the suggestions he gave to her.

Hamilton had advised Pin to carry out notetaking, something which she presumably did to grab the double pole for the race in Jeddah. Even expert Ted Kravitz has appreciated Hamilton for being one of the only F1 drivers who has genuinely wanted to encourage more young female racers to take up motorsports.

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Ted Kravitz once praised Lewis Hamilton for his efforts to promote female racers

While speaking on one of the episodes of Sky F1’s podcast last year, Ted Kravitz revealed how Lewis Hamilton was the only driver who ever visited the W Series (now F1 Academy) paddock. Since W Series were facing financial difficulties to carry on, Hamilton contacted several companies to reach out for funds to support the initiative.

Speaking of the efforts Hamilton put in, Kravitz added, “There wasn’t too much money that was still needed. Lewis was talking about that – there just needs to be this commitment, ‘put your money where your mouth is’, all these people who want to carry on the cause of female drivers in F1. Maybe it’ll take five years, maybe it’ll take 10, but we will get a female Formula 1 driver”.

Hamilton’s efforts do indeed seem to have paid off as F1 have taken the female racing series under their own wing, with the launch of the F1 Academy. Moreover, with all 10 F1 teams having signed a female driver for the F1 Academy, there is a clear sign that more efforts have been put in recently to promote women racers.

SAKHIR, Bahrain (AP) — Lewis Hamilton will continue to push for more diversity within Formula 1 when the seven-time champion moves to Ferrari next year.

Hamilton, the only Black driver in F1, said Friday at preseason testing that he was proud of the legacy he would leave with Mercedes after he and the team developed diversity initiatives together, and that it would be a priority in his work with Ferrari.

“I’m immensely proud of the work that we’ve done within Mercedes. Since 2020 we’ve made some really great strides in improving diversity within the team,” he said.

“I think we are ahead of every other team in that respect, and there’s still a huge amount of work within the whole sport. I’m speaking to (F1 chief executive) Stefano (Domenicali) constantly and looking to work more with F1.”

“And of course you look at Ferrari, they have a lot of work to do, so I’ve already made that a priority in speaking with (Ferrari executive chairman) John (Elkann) and they’re super excited to get on and work on it also.”

Hamilton won six of his seven world titles with the Mercedes team after joining in 2013, and his decision to leave Ferrari — a move he’s said will be a “childhood dream” come true — shocked the sport.

During his time at Mercedes, Hamilton set up a commission to investigate ways to improve diversity in the motorsports industry and in the STEM subjects — science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Hamilton and Mercedes also jointly created the Ignite partnership, which provides financial grants to organizations which promote diversity and inclusivity in motorsports and STEM.

A still-unresolved investigation into the boss of Formula 1’s champion team is overshadowing the start of the new season this week at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

It’s been three weeks since Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was confirmed to be under investigation over alleged misconduct toward a team employee. No timeline has been given for a decision on his future.

The team’s parent company is facing calls from senior F1 figures such as Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and McLaren counterpart Zak Brown for the investigation — conducted by an external lawyer — to be handled transparently.

In a letter to the team, Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley insisted on a resolution and said Ford was “frustrated by the lack of full transparency surrounding this matter.” Ford is set to become Red Bull’s engine supplier in 2026.

The Red Bull drinks company said on Feb. 5 it was investigating Horner but didn’t give any details. Horner denies any wrongdoing and has not been suspended from his role. He has continued to be the face of the F1 team, declaring “business as normal.”

Horner has led Red Bull since its 2005 debut in F1, and had a prominent role at the team’s car launch — far more visible than three-time defending champion driver Max Verstappen or his teammate Sergio Perez. Horner was on site for three days of preseason testing in Bahrain last week.

“For everyone, it’s nice, of course, when things are resolved,” Verstappen said Friday at testing.

On the track, Red Bull again seems to be the team to beat after a season in which Verstappen and Perez won all but one race. Verstappen finished with a record 19 wins. While most teams seem to have used the 2023 Red Bull as inspiration for their new cars, Red Bull has evolved, using a slim sidepod design that Mercedes previously tried with little success.

Red Bull was strong throughout the three days of testing, though Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc posted the fastest times on the second and third days. Times set in testing are generally considered a poor guide for racing.

HAMILTON’S SWITCH

Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton is going into his last season with Mercedes ahead of joining Ferrari next year.

For the 39-year-old Hamilton, there’s the hope that Ferrari allow him to fight for an eighth title after Mercedes was uncompetitive in the last two years. It’s also making a childhood dream come true. At testing in Bahrain, Hamilton reminisced about driving Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari in a video game as a child.

“We’ve had an absolutely incredible journey together, we’ve created history within the sport, and I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved,” Hamilton said of his time with Mercedes. “I’m writing my story and I felt like it was time to start a new chapter.”

The sudden announcement shook up F1 and leaves some leading drivers unsure of their places for next year. Sainz was expecting a contract extension at Ferrari but is making way for Hamilton to partner Leclerc.

The open seat at Mercedes has fueled speculation about drivers ranging from 41-year-old two-time champion Fernando Alonso, still at Aston Martin, to the 17-year-old Mercedes junior driver Kimi Antonelli, who is making his Formula 2 debut this week.

ANDRETTI’S FIGHT

Michael Andretti and General Motors are still developing a car for F1 but they don’t have a spot on the grid yet.

The governing body, the FIA, has approved Andretti’s application to become the 11th team but F1 rejected the proposed U.S. team for 2025 and 2026, arguing it would not be competitive — something Andretti and GM dispute.

In GM and its Cadillac brand, Andretti has the backing of one of the world’s leading auto manufacturers, and GM has applied to be an F1 engine supplier from 2028. “Our joint teams are continuing to develop our car at pace,” GM Racing director Jim Campbell said this month.

The series’ existing American team, Haas, looks to be headed for a difficult season, its first since Guenther Steiner — a star of the “Drive To Survive” series on Netflix — was dropped as team principal last month. Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg were consistently among the slowest over the three days of testing.

SATURDAY START

Don’t tune in on a Sunday to watch the race. The Bahrain GP and the following week’s race in Saudi Arabia are being held on Saturday, with qualifying on Friday.

That’s because the Muslim holy month of Ramadan starts on March 10, the Sunday of the race week in Saudi Arabia, and that race was moved forward a day. F1 rules stipulate there has to be a week between races, so the Bahrain Grand Prix had to move up, too.

Last year’s race in Las Vegas set a precedent when it was held on a Saturday to maximize the audience in the U.S. and around the world. That was the first F1 race held on a day other than Sunday since 1985.

SAKHIR, Bahrain (AP) — Red Bull team principal Christian Horner indicated on Thursday he hopes the ongoing investigation into alleged misconduct by him will be resolved “as soon as possible” as the Formula 1 season nears.

The Red Bull parent company said on Feb. 5 it was investigating allegations of misconduct toward a team employee. Horner denies any wrongdoing and has continued to work. No timeline for the investigation to conclude has been made public.

“Everybody would like a conclusion as soon as possible, but I’m really not at liberty to comment about the process,” Horner said during the second of three days of preseason testing in Bahrain. The first race is next week.

F1 and governing body FIA have previously issued statements urging a quick resolution to the investigation. McLaren chief executive Zak Brown said on Thursday he hoped the investigation would be “handled in a very transparent way” following a similar call for transparency the day before from Mercedes’ Toto Wolff.

On the track, Carlos Sainz Jr. led the way for Ferrari with a time that was quickest by .758 seconds from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, with Lewis Hamilton third-fastest for Mercedes. Hamilton was driving in an official F1 event for Mercedes for the first time since his move to Ferrari for next season was announced. He will replace Sainz at the Italian team.

Teams can only have one driver on track per testing session. Defending champion Max Verstappen, who was fastest on Wednesday, did not drive for Red Bull on Thursday.

The morning session of testing was cut short after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Hamilton ran over a loose drain cover on a curb. That left debris on the circuit and led to an inspection of the track.

The reduced session cut into Perez’s track time, so Red Bull changed its plans and gave him the car for the evening session too.

Perez’s day was briefly disrupted again when his car seemed to suffer a technical fault and he had to crawl back to the pits in first gear, though he was soon underway again.

The third and last day of testing is Friday before the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix next week at the same venue.