The Australian Grand Prix last weekend saw Max Verstappen win yet again, Lewis Hamilton on the podium and more red flags than Pete Davidson’s Tinder profile. But in the week following we’ve seen a whole lot of news flowing out of the sport. Here’s everything you might have missed.
Massa wants 2008 title
A remarkable story has developed this week as Felipe Massa has claimed he is looking into legal options to overturn the result of the 2008 World Championship - Lewis Hamilton’s first title. He missed out by just one point on a dramatic final lap in his homeland of Brazil, but ‘Crashgate’ in Singapore, saw a six point swing towards the Brit.
In Singapore, Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed so his teammate Fernardo Alonso could win for Renault. He did and Alonso won the race, while Ferrari messed up the subsequent pit stop for Massa, as he finished 13th.
Hamilton responded to the story saying: "I think all we can say is that it was a tough season, things happened and there were lots of 'what-ifs' throughout the season. We had quite a fair battle throughout and I've always found him to be a fair driver. So I'm a bit surprised and shocked to hear him say that, to be honest."
Hamilton ready for eighth title
Instead of worrying about the first title he won, Hamilton is instead focusing on his eightH. After a second placed finish in Australia he has claimed he is ready to win again, and has put the pressure on his engineers to provide him with a car that can compete with the rocket ship Red Bull.
Hamilton told Fox Sports Australia: “I’m ready to win a world championship, I've prepared the best way I can this year. I think it’s the best I've ever prepared."
Norris makes blunder on stream
We’ll let the video do the talking on this one…
We love to see it.
Mark Webber on Aussie chaos
Former Red Bull driver Mark Webber feels the sport “cashed in” on the drama at the Australian Grand Prix as he called out race officials for “rolling the jeopardy card”.
Sunday’s race was littered with incidents as three red flags were shown during Sunday's race. He told the F1 Nation podcast: “It was a frustrating finish, even though we cashed in well on it… You’re right on that bubble of having a [question of] ‘do we need a restart? Can we finish the race at that point?’
“So yeah, I don’t know. I don’t like rolling the jeopardy card too much because these are the best guys in the world, and I think for them to go down there, we saw the result on cold tyres."
Leclerc chases thieves
Footage has been released of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc chasing criminals who stole his £265,000 Richard Mille 67-02 watch last year. The authorities released the footage, which showed Leclerc chasing them in his Ferrari 488 Pista.
Police have confirmed they had arrested four people in connection to the crime, which occurred in Viareggio last April. The thieves ask Leclerc for a photograph, before grabbing his watch and scarpering.
