Formula One teams are preparing for the final race of the calendar at the Qatar Grand Prix (Image: Getty)
Formula One teams are preparing for the penultimate race of the season at the Qatar Grand Prix. There is still plenty to play for despite winning a fourth consecutive world title last weekend.
The star ensured his lead over in the World Drivers’ Championship was unassailable by extending it to 63 points at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Verstappen can now race without the pressure of trying to fend off competition from the driver.
Saturday’s action will see drivers take part in the final sprint race of the season in Qatar. You can follow it all with Express Sport.
See our LIVE blog below for the latest updates…
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Lewis Hamilton’s heart-breaking confession
confessed that he is no longer as fast as he used to be in Formula One.
The driver will line up seventh in the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race. He was underwhelmed by his performance and lambasted his qualifying woes.
“Same as every other qualifying, not that great,” Hamilton said.
“I’m just slow. Same every weekend. Car felt relatively decent. You know, no issues. Not really much more to say.”
Lewis Hamilton is frustrated by his Mercedes performances (Image: Getty)
Sergio Perez blames Charles Leclerc for latest qualifying horror
has blamed a tussle with Charles Leclerc for another underwhelming qualifying display.
The driver, who is facing mounting pressure to keep his seat, fell in the first part of qualifying for today’s Qatar Grand Prix sprint race.
He reflected afterwards: “Unfortunately, we left [the garage] a little bit late. We had an issue with one of the anti-roll bars.
“And then to get my final lap, we were all opening gaps And then Charles came.
“We were fighting into Turn 1 and so on, lost a couple of tenths there, enough to be knocked out unfortunately.
“It was a shame because I felt like we really progressed with the car from FP1 to qualifying.
“We had a lot more potential, and it’s a shame that we just ended up here.”
Max Verstappen lashes out at rivals
has lashed out at his rivals, telling them they do not have a ‘championship-winning mentality’.
The Dutchman sealed a fourth consecutive world title last weekend, beating to the top of the leaderboard.
Debate has raged over whether Verstappen would have achieved the feat in another car. The 27-year-old suggested he would have won the title sooner had he been in Norris’ , and the British driver responded by telling his rival he should take up comedy.
In comments that were not explicitly aimed at Norris but certainly felt like a dig at the man who heaped plenty of pressure on Verstappen over the course of the season, ’s star man says his competitors do not have the mentality to win the championship.
“On the track I will put it all on the line. I am not going to back out. I want to win,” Verstappen said ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix.
“That needs to be the end result. Some people criticise me for that. But most of them don’t have a championship-winning mentality so they don’t understand and they will never understand that kind of approach.”
Max Verstappen has criticised his Formula One rivals (Image: Getty)
Good morning!
Hello and welcome to Express Sport’s LIVE Formula One blog.
We’ll have all the latest from Qatar and beyond as drivers head onto the track for the penultimate time this season.
Stay tuned…