F1 news - latest: Sergio Perez faces Red Bull decision and Abu Dhabi test updates including Carlos Sainz
F1 updates with post-season testing in Abu Dhabi giving Carlos Sainz and Williams valuable time on track
F1 post-season testing is here in Abu Dhabi as the dust settles on the 2024 season.
Lando Norris secured a dominant victory at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to win McLaren their first constructors’ championship since 1998, with Max Verstappen already secure of the drivers’ championship following a tough year for Red Bull.
As Lewis Hamilton prepares to join Ferrari and says his farewells at Mercedes, teams and drivers will be dialling in pace and experimenting ahead of the 2025 season.
Including Carlos Sainz and Williams, with the Spaniard determined to carry over late-season momentum from his own performance after calling time on his spell with the Scuderia. Yuki Tsunoda is also driving for Red Bull, with Esteban Ocon testing for new team Haas.
Follow live updates from the Abu Dhabi post-season test below:
Who could replace Sergio Perez in 2025 F1 seat at Red Bull?
Sergio Perez looks set to be on the way out from Formula One and Red Bull after a torrid 2024 campaign.
The Mexican’s seat has been shrouded in uncertainty for some time. His poor form means Red Bull are guaranteed to finish third in the constructors’ championship, despite Verstappen’s drivers’ title triumph.
But who is the leading candidate to replace Perez at Red Bull? Will Christian Horner look within the team’s wider ecosystem or further afield on the grid?
The Independent takes a look at the candidates to replace Perez at Red Bull:
Who will replace Sergio Perez in 2025 F1 seat at Red Bull?
Perez looks to be on his way out of Red Bull ahead of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this weekend
Lewis Hamilton receives heartfelt message from Toto Wolff ahead of Ferrari move: ‘You should win’
Toto Wolff sent a heartfelt message to Lewis Hamilton after the Brit’s final race for Mercedes, saying ahead of his move to Ferrari: “If we can’t win, you should win.”
Hamilton, who started 16th in his final race for the Silver Arrows in Abu Dhabi, surged through the field and with a last-lap overtake on teammate George Russell, the 39-year-old finished just outside the podium in fourth.
Full story below:
Lewis Hamilton receives heartfelt message from Toto Wolff ahead of Ferrari
Hamilton finished fourth in his final race for Mercedes as he heads to Ferrari for 2025
Valtteri Bottas on F1 swansong: ‘This year has been the toughest of rides’
Exclusive interview:
Valtteri Bottas on F1 swansong: ‘This year has been the toughest of rides’
Bottas, who is Lewis Hamilton’s favourite ever teammate, will take to the start line for potentially the final time in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, after 12 years in F1. But, as he tells Kieran Jackson, he has no regrets
Lewis Hamilton’s farewell at Mercedes ends the greatest era in F1 history – but not in the way you think
The bemusement reverberated across the paddock. It is difficult not to overemphasise the brutal reaction the cut-throat Formula One circus – whether it be media, ex-drivers or fans – had in September 2012 when, to the astonishment of everyone, Lewis Hamilton decided to leave McLaren for Mercedes.
Even the wishes of his father and manager, Anthony, were ignored. As Jeremy Clarkson put it so tactlessly on a 2012 episode of Top Gear: “Is that not a bit like moving from Manchester United to West Ham?” And sorry Hammers fans – it was not a compliment.
Yet six world championships, 12 years and 84 grand prix victories later, Hamilton’s bold plunge into unchartered waters was his best-ever decision.
Full piece below:
Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes farewell ends the greatest F1 era – but not how you think
Hamilton races his final grand prix for Mercedes this weekend after six world championships, 12 years and 84 grand prix victories. But his Silver Arrows legacy goes beyond those numbers, as Kieran Jackson explains
Max Verstappen apologises to Oscar Piastri after Abu Dhabi GP:
“Launch was good, and then I tried to grab the inside and I quickly realised, once I committed to it, that the gap was closing and I wanted to try and get out of it, because I didn’t want to, naturally, of course, crash with Oscar,” Verstappen explained to media including PlanetF1.com.
“But unfortunately, we still clipped each other – but I already apologised to Oscar.
“It’s not what you want to happen, and especially not with him. He’s a great guy, but it happened. It’s just bit unfortunate.
“Honestly, I don’t want to talk about it. I’m just happy that the season is over. For me, the most important thing that I had to do was just apologise to Oscar, because I have nothing to gain, nothing to lose – I went for it, it didn’t work out.
“Especially also for him, you know that we both spun. It’s not nice. He’s a friend of mine, so I don’t want to have any, like, weird feelings or whatever going into the break.”
WATCH: George Russell’s eight-word takedown of Max Verstappen in furious F1 feud
Christian Horner hits back at Toto Wolff: ‘I’d rather be a terrier than a wolf’
Christian Horner has responded to Toto Wolff’s insult amid a feud between their drivers Max Verstappen and George Russell.
The Red Bull Team Principal hit out at the Mercedes driver for being “hysterical” at the Qatar Grand Prix, with Verstappen hit with a one-place demotion on the grid for blocking the Briton during qualifying.
And Wolff was left incensed by the remark and criticism of his driver, hitting back on a fiery Thursday at Yas Marina Circuit to label his colleague “a yapping little terrier”.
But Horner has laughed off the comment and claimed he would rather be a terrier than a wolf.
Christian Horner hits back at Toto Wolff: ‘I’d rather be a terrier than a wolf’
The Red Bull team principal came under fire from his Mercedes colleague over his remarks directed at George Russell after the Qatar Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton receives heartfelt message from Toto Wolff ahead of Ferrari move: ‘You should win’
Toto Wolff sent a heartfelt message to Lewis Hamilton after the Brit’s final race for Mercedes, saying ahead of his move to Ferrari: “If we can’t win, you should win.”
Hamilton, who started 16th in his final race for the Silver Arrows in Abu Dhabi, surged through the field and with a last-lap overtake on teammate George Russell, the 39-year-old finished just outside the podium in fourth.
Full story below:
Lewis Hamilton receives heartfelt message from Toto Wolff ahead of Ferrari
Hamilton finished fourth in his final race for Mercedes as he heads to Ferrari for 2025
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