Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin admits after reviewing its race strategy the team should have pitted Lewis Hamilton earlier during his first stint to pull off an undercut on Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel to secure a 1-2 at the Japanese Grand Prix.
MotoGP’s traditional late-season surge with the triple-header of flyaways begins at Motegi for the Japanese Grand Prix and despite Marc Marquez wrapping up the riders’ world title there’s still plenty to play for.
Lewis Hamilton has said he feels “like giving up on everything” in a series of social media posts to raise awareness about climate change as he urges his followers to become vegan.
Valtteri Bottas feels his only major worry during his charge to victory at the Japanese Grand Prix came when Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton had the opportunity to switch his strategy to a one-stop while leading.
Robert Kubica has vented his frustration at Williams for “decisions taken before qualifying without even letting me know” as his time at the British squad begins to end on a bitter note.
Sebastian Vettel has avoided a penalty from the FIA for allegedly jump starting the Japanese Grand Prix due to staying “within the acceptable tolerance of the F1 jump start system”.
Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan has dismissed the idea the team deliberately took on extra power unit parts in order to avoid penalties for the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix which represents Red Bull’s first home race with engine partners Honda.
Ferrari is confident Sebastian Vettel will not need to take a grid penalty for the Japanese Grand Prix as it can rotate between his current power unit parts still in use following his mechanical retirement in Russia.
Kimi Raikkonen says damage sustained in his opening-lap clash with Max Verstappen effectively ended his charge with an unbalanced Ferrari car which saw him fade to an underwhelming fifth place at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Valtteri Bottas says Mercedes team orders kicked in after the start of the Japanese Grand Prix as ‘we had to bring one-two home’ but has reaffirmed he is able to fight Lewis Hamilton for race wins for the remainder of the year.
Daniel Ricciardo feels the high rate of overtaking during the Japanese Grand Prix came as a pleasant surprise to fuel his charge to fourth place for Red Bull.
Current Formula 1 world championship standings after the Japanese Grand Prix, the round 17 of the 2018 F1 season at Suzuka, Japan. 1. Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport 331 points 2. Sebastian Vettel GER Scuderia Ferrari 264 points
Esteban Ocon says he has no complaints over being handed a three-place grid penalty for speeding under red flags in the final practice session triggered by confusion with his Force India delta time system.
Esteban Ocon has been demoted three places on the Japanese Grand Prix starting grid after failing to slow sufficiently under the red flag during the final practice session at Suzuka.
Max Verstappen has already dismissed his chances of fighting for victory at the Japanese Grand Prix against the Mercedes pair despite qualifying in third directly behind Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.
Lewis Hamilton says all parties in the Mercedes team orders controversy must ‘accept it and move forwards’ ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix as he feels the conflict will always remain in Formula 1.