Lewis Hamilton Ends Speculation by Signing a New Contract with Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton has finally decided on his future in Formula One. Hamilton has reportedly signed a contract extension that would see him with Mercedes through the 2025 season. the same can also be said for his teammate George Russell. The contract announcement has come after season long speculation as to whether Hamilton would retire this year or possibly take on an ambassador role with Mercedes. It is now clear that neither of those things are happening and Hamilton will be in F1 for 2 more years.

Hamilton stated: “We dream every day of being the best and we have dedicated the past decade together to achieving that goal. Being at the top does not happen overnight or over a short period of time, it takes commitment, hard work and dedication and it’s been an honor to earn our way into the history books with this incredible team. We have never been hungrier to win. We have learnt from every success but also every setback.

Hamilton continued, “We continue to chase our dreams, we continue to fight no matter the challenge and we will win again. I’m grateful to the team who have supported me both on and off the track. Our story isn’t finished, we are determined to achieve more together and we won’t stop until we do.”

Team Principal Toto Wolff had the Following Words After the Announcement

“Continuing with our current driver line-up was a straightforward decision. We have the strongest pairing on the grid and both drivers are playing a crucial role in the team to move us forward. The strength and stability they provide will be key building blocks for our future success.”

“Our partnership with Lewis is one of the most successful in the sport’s history. It was always a formality that we would continue together – and it’s energising for us all to be confirming that publicly. His qualities as a pure racing driver are illustrated by his remarkable track record; but over our years together, he has grown to become a pillar and leader of our team.

“Those leadership qualities are crucial as we focus on fighting for world championships again. As F1’s biggest global star, he has also played a key role in shaping our commitments to diversity, inclusion and sustainability, that will be foundations for our success in the years ahead.”

Max Verstappen (Red Bull) makes it three Dutch Grand Prix wins in a row after securing yet another win at Zandvoort in mixed weather conditions. The race began in dry conditions but that soon changed by lap 2 as the rain came pouring down. Multiple drivers opted to jump from slicks to intermediate tires which proved to be the dominant strategy. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) was one of the first to pit which ultimately handed him the lead position after the pit stops were completed.

Come lap 11 the track started to dry again triggering multiple drivers to pit again for their second stop to go back on slicks. In a seemingly odd turn of events Logan Sargeant (Williams) lost the rear as the track dried up crashing in turn 7 triggering a safety car. The race remained under a safety car until lap 21.

At the restart Verstappen and Perez pulled away ahead of Fernando Alonso in third place. The three held these positions for about 20 laps. Unfortunately Ferrari was forced to retire Charles Leclerc’s car on Lap 41. The car has suffered floor damage which we severely hindering the car’s performance. Verstappen and Perez continued to hold the top 2 positions in the race.

The Rain Returns and Intesifies

By Lap 60 reports of heavy rain were on the forecast. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) was on soft tires behind teammate George Russell (Mercedes) who was on hard tires. In an effort to make up as much time as possible before the race went wet again Mercedes made a team call to allow Hamilton to pass Russell. The call didn’t have a lasting effect because the rain only held out until the end of lap 60. In anticipation for the coming heavy rain all drivers had entered the pits for intermediate tires except for Esteban Ocon (Alpine). Ocon opted for the full wets. Initially Ocon was skeptical on the call to go on full wets but it ultimately proved to be the best choice as the rain intensified.

Perez suffered from a very poor pit stop but because he was one of the first to pit for intermediates he was able to make up the lost time in the pits to regain P2 while the other drivers were in the pits. Unfortunately, Perez had a spin out at turn 1 which saw him lose track position to Fernando Alonso. The race continued until on lap 64 Zhou Guanyu (Alpha Romeo) crashed triggering a Virtual Safety Car. The rain was very heavy at this point.

Verstappen was able to come in for full wets. Perez came in to follow suit but unfortunately before Perez could exit the pit lane the race was red flagged and Perez ended up losing 3 positions due to the timing of his stop. The strategy call was very questionable as a safety car or red flag was likely given the conditions.

The Race was Red Flagged

The race stewards decided that the race would be restarted. Because Perez was in third at the time of the red flag his decision to pit was no longer detrimental and he was able to reclaim the position on the restart. Conditions started to improve and the teams switched the cars to intermediate tires across the board for the restart.

The race was restarted with a rolling start procedure. The lap went green on lap 66. Verstappen put the pedal down and didn’t look back. By lap 67 Verstappen had already built a 1.3 second lead. Sergio Perez held third place but it was announced that Perez would be handed a 5 second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane. The call came very late but it effectively removed Perez’s chance at a podium.

Russell Suffers a Late Puncture, Perez Penalized

On lap 68 George Russell suffered from a puncture which dropped him to the back of the grid essentially ending his race. In the closing laps Pierre Gasly charged after Perez. Perez was not able to maintain a 5+ second delta and thus would lose the position due to his penalty. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) claimed P3 and Fernando Alonso held on to second place. Perez ultimately settled for P4 after his penalty was applied. Behind, Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) had a last lap scuffle but Sainz was able to hold his ground and keep P5.

Verstappen crossed the finish line for his 9th consecutive victory in 2023. Red Bull continued their streak having won every race this year. Verstappen extended his championship lead to 138 points ahead of teammate Sergio Perez.

Liam Lawson finishes P13 in his first Grand Prix appearance. Lawson finished ahead of teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

Full Dutch Grand Prix Race Results are Below

Max Verstappen secured pole once again for the Dutch Grand Prix in wet conditions at Zandvoort. Verstappen stated, “Just try to keep on doing the same thing – that would be nice. But, of course, after a break, you never know how you get back into things. Also [with] the track, and the weather that is forecast, I think it’s always a bit more tricky. We’ll see. We have a quick car, but it’s again about putting everything together to have a really strong weekend.”

It’s clear that the summer break only gave Verstappen more time to recoup and he’s come back in full swing. Now that Verstappen has kept his pole position streak alive, Red Bull will be looking to do the same thing in the win column. Red Bull have won every single race this season and have not shown any signs of slowing down. The team will be pushing to extending their streak to 13 wins in a row tomorrow in the grand prix.

Elsewhere on the Grid

After it was announced that both Haas drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen would be returning in 2024 having recently signed new contracts. Qualifying for the pair did not go as planned as both drivers failed to make it to Q3. In unfortunate fashion, 7 time world champion Lewis Hamilton failed to make it into Q3 after getting caught out on rain tires as the track dried rapidly. His pace suffered and he was not able to set a good enough lap to make it into Q3.

At the start of Q3 teams took a gamble between staying on intermediates or switching to the soft compound tires as the track was drying with every passing minute. Logan Sergeant’s (Williams) gamble on slick tires did not pay off with him crashing in turn 2 at high speed. It was confirmed that he was unharmed in the wreck.

Norris Impresses Again

Lando Norris had yet another flying qualifying session finished P2; just 6 tenths behind Verstappen. Norris had the following words, “P2 was a good result in these conditions. Every now and again you hope Max makes a mistake and he doesn’t. Frustrating in a little way but I’m very happy! The team’s done a good job. It was a chaotic qualifying but another P2, so a good start to being back in the car.”

“The first half of the lap was mega, the second half was probably one of the worst second halves of a lap that I’ve done! I’ve always enjoyed these conditions, it’s when we do well. So, I’ll take P2. I think there’s quite a bit of tire degradation here and not our forte when it comes into play: we start to struggle quite a bit in certain corners. But we’ve improved the car quite a bit since Friday, so I want to be a little bit more hopeful. There are opportunities, but it’s going to be tough.” Rounding out the top 3 was George Russell (Mercedes).

Tsunoda Handed a 3 Place Grid Penalty for Impeding, Ferrari Fined

Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri) was handed a three place grid penalty for impeding Lewis Hamilton during Q2 ultimately costing Hamilton a shot at Q3. The penalty effectively drops Tsunoda to P17 after the penalty. Tsunoda will have his work cut out for him if he wants to score points. Alpha Tauri teammate Liam Lawson made his debut for the finishing P20.

Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) was reprimanded for an incident involving he and Piastri in Turn 2 resulting in a €5000 fine for Ferrari. No grid penalties were issues for the scuffle.

Full Qualifying Results for the Dutch Grand Prix

F1 returns this weekend for the Dutch Grand Prix. FP1 took place earlier this morning with Max Verstappen (Red Bull) finishing on top of the session along side Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes). However, the tides turned in FP2 when Lando Norris (McLaren) ran fastest by 0.023 seconds. Verstappen did not seem bothered when ask how he thought the session went, “Pretty good.” he said. “Tried some things on the car. I think FP2 was a little bit more difficult. But I think overall FP2 was really difficult to get a clean lap, there were a lot of cars always around. It was fine, but we have a few things that we want to improve, but even on the long runs the car was handling quite well, so overall I think it was quite a good day.”

Piastri and Ricciardo Crash

FP2 did not end with out incident. Both Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and Daniel Ricciardo (Alpha Tauri) crashed out of the session at Turn 3. Piastri lost the rear and spun around into the wall. Ricciardo locked up after not seeing Piastri parked in the turn and locked up sending him into the wall as well. The Alpha Tauri of Ricciardo was also heavily damaged as Ricciardo wasn’t able to slow the car down in time to prevent the contact. Ricciardo was taken to thew hospital for further evaluation after the crash. It was later announced that Ricciardo broke his hand in the accident and will be replace by reserve driver Liam Lawson for the remainder of the weekend.

It is an unfortunate outcome for Ricciardo after making his return to F1 and finally getting acclimated with the car only to sustain an injury before the grand prix. There do no appear to be any obvious reasons why he can’t make a speedy recovery.

Full Dutch Grand Prix FP2 Results

Ferrari have had a tough year with multiple poor finishes and almost no ability to answer the might of Red Bull to challenge for a championship run in 2023. The campaign has mostly been a reflection of the last two years. Ferrari has struggled to have any continued success to bring the team back into title fighting contention. After firing Mattia Binotto at the end of last season. The move led many to believe he was the issue. What fans soon found was that this was not the case.

The same issues that plagued Ferrari last year still seem to linger. Lack of performance, reliability issues and questionable strategy calls all seem to be playing a role. However, one man does not seem to be wavered by any of that. That man is team principal Frédéric Vasseur.

With Formula 1 teams enjoying some down time during the mid season break Leclerc took the opportunity to speak on the recent status at Ferrari and how the manufacturer needed to reset before their more recent return to the podium. Driver Charles Leclerc finished second in Austria, and third in Spa in the final Grand Prix before the summer break. Is this late success indicative of a turnaround point for Ferrari?

Frédéric Vasseur Speaks on the Status at Ferrari

In an interview with F1.com, Vasseur stated, ” “What we have to keep in mind is the whole pack is very tight. But if you have a look at McLaren, [in Hungary] they were at the top, [in Belgium] they were at the bottom, and it was the opposite for us. It means we have to continue to develop the car, continue to pay attention to details. Because for one or two tenths you can move from the bottom to the top and it’s a good lesson from the first part of the season.”

Also speaking to F1.com was Charles Leclerc. He stated, “Before the first race, the target was to do a step better compared to last year, which was to win the world championship. If we look at the first half of the year, we are very far from where we put our expectations before the season. So, on the other hand, as soon as we understood that we reset it and there was an incredible reaction from the team. They brought upgrades, sometimes a month and a half earlier, and this requires a lot of effort from everybody at Maranello. It helped us have great results.”

Leclerc Continued

“I think we still need to try to understand, because if I do a step back in the last two races, I think we expected to be much more competitive in Budapest than on a track like here [at Spa] and at the end, it’s the opposite…these are things that we need to look at because maybe we haven’t optimized the package in races like Budapest, and maybe we’ve done something that was surprisingly good on a track like [at Spa]. It’s good, anyway, to finish on a positive note the first part of the season and now we will take the time of the summer break, or at least whenever the guys can work again, to try to analyze those two last races and hopefully maximize the package at all races for the second half of the season.”

Red Bull Racing has been the talk of a variety of issues this season across the internet. Tts no surprise that there is a gossip spreading like wildfire. Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing) has had a both productive but alos underwhelming season thus far in 2023. Despite still holding second place in the drivers championship race the talks never seems to end regarding Perez and his future at Red Bull. The latest rumor links Lando Norris (McLaren) to the frenzy. From a logistical stand point such a move wouldn’t be possible without some level of contract buyout/penalty. Currently Norris is contracted with McLaren through the 2025 season. Perez is only contracted through 2024. This leaves a one year gap between free agency for the two drivers which makes it unlikely that Norris was ever a real candidate for a Red Bull move.

Helmut Marko, Advisor for Red Bull Racing contributed to the controversy by stating, “Having Verstappen and Norris on the same team would be perfect for fans, as well as for television and all journalists. Of course, for the success of the team, we want to win the World Cup and the best thing for this is to have a clear hierarchy. You have to be clear, I don’t want to say the first driver, but know who is the fastest driver.”

Do Red Bull Need a Change?

Makro has had mixed feelings on Sergio Perez and his stent with Red Bull. From the outside in one might wonder what more they could be looking for. Currently they hold first and second in the drivers championship and a commanding lead in the constructors. The points advantage at this point of the season has prompted discussions on whether Red Bull needs to continue anymore development on this years car. When the championship is eventually statically won Red Bull could theoretically focus all efforts on the 2024 car which would give them a hefty advantage in development ahead of their competitors.

At this point this is all speculation. It’s clear that there are no official talks of Lando Norris making a move for Red Bull. Quite honestly Red Bull have a well oiled machine that is working perfectly in terms of team outcomes. Why would they change that? We call this speculation rubbish.

Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Perez seemingly had himself setup for the season of his career at the beginning of the 2023 campaign. However, he has gone through a rough patch this year from Monaco to the British Grand Prix. In any normal circumstance one might say he would be fine but his teammate Max Verstappen has been completely dominant this season. Verstappen has won 8 races in a row and has shown no signs of slowing down.

While Perez has improve in form recently it may be too little too late. Team principal Christian Horner stated the following to F1.com: “I think he’ll take a lot of confidence from this performance. He qualified on the front row, he led the Grand Prix, he finished second, so yeah, he goes into the break a clear second in the drivers’ championship and he’ll take some confidence out of that.”

Horner Continued on Perez and His Championship Race

“I think Checo knows that, barring a disaster for Max, this championship is out of reach, so it’s about him maximizing his own performance, not losing out to any of the drivers behind and trying to pick up a few wins between now and the end of the year.” Max currently leads the championship by 125 points. A margin equivalent to 5 race wins without fastest lap. To say the championship is still within grasps for Perez would take some catastrophic finishes from the reigning champion. Statistically, Verstappen could seal the championship as soon as Singapore. If at the time Verstappen has at least a 207 point lead over second place no one would be able to catch him.

While this is speculative. It’s not entirely unreasonable to believe. Verstappen has won all but two races this season and there is no indication that he has fallen off of form. If he keeps winning the championship will be called long before the final race of the season.

Red Bull Racing has won every race in the 2023 season. Max Verstappen made it 8 wins in a row and 10 overall in his 2023 campaign which has all but sealed his path to the drivers championship. Verstappen started from P6 due to a 5 place grid penalty after securing pole position. The penalty proved to be futile and Verstappen did what he does best; win.

Verstappen was elated with the vistory stating, ““I knew that we had a great car, it was just all about surviving Turn 1,” said Verstappen. “I could see it was all getting pretty tight. I’ve been in that position before myself, so I was just like, ‘I’m going to stay out of that’, so it worked out. I think we all made the right overtakes, moves, I just got a little bit stuck in the beginning in a DRS train. Once that [was] clear I could do my own pace. Again, really enjoyable!”

Teammate Sergio Perez bounced back after a disappointing last 5 races. Perez had struggled with making into Q3 in the last few races. However, he would not be denied at the Belgian Grand Prix. Perez crashed out of the Sprint Race and thus tensions in the garage were high. However, the best response is to bounce back and he helped deliver Red Bull near maximum points on the weekend. Verstappen sits 125 points ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez in the drivers championship. Red Bull sits 256 points ahead of Mercedes.

Perez Praised his Teammate’s Success

Perez stated the following to F1.com after the race, “There’s nothing to be taken away from Max, certainly. He did a tremendous a race, and he’s done a tremendous season…the gap looked bigger today, because we had to make sure we brought it home once the result was settled. But certainly he’s done a tremendous job, he’s very talented, around his team they’re getting the maximum out of the weekends, weekend after weekend, which is really impressive.”

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) snatched away the fastest lap from the Red Bulls to accompany his P4 finish in the race. Charles Leclerc also returned to form claiming his 3rd podium of the year for Ferrari.

Elsewhere on the Grid

Aston Martin secured yet another double points finish in their quest to overtake Mercedes again in the constructors championship. At McLaren Lando Norris had a very disappointing race that eliminated his chances at three podiums in a row. McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri made contact with the wall into turn 1 on lap 1 after Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) closed the door on Piastri leaving Piastri no where to go which resulted in the contact. No action was taken by the stewards and both cars were forced into retirement. Sainz stated the following, “I was on the attack with Lewis and I think I pretty much had the move done into Turn 1, made the apex cleanly and everything, but unfortunately I think Oscar was trying to do a bit of an optimistic move on me.”

Intermittent light rain triggered a variety of tire strategies across the grid. Some opting for longer stints than others. The majority pitted for intermediates as the rain picked up in intensity and then quickly went away triggering a frenzy int he pit lane to get the cars back on slicks. Due to the number of pit stops the margins between cars started to increase. Surprisingly there we no other major on track incidents for the remainder of the race and the Red Bulls sailed away to take the win.

Max Verstappen won the Belgian Grand Prix Sprint from Pole position. The wet race prompted various strategy calls form the team. Red Bull seemed to be on the wrong side of the strategy calls in the early stages of the sprint race. Verstappen lost position to Lando Norris’ McLaren. However, Max Verstappen fought back to retake the lead after Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) crashed out of the race triggering a safety car.

Due to the conditions race control mandated full wet tires to be used by all drivers. Almost immediately Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Sergio Perez (Red Bull), Daniel Ricciardo (Alpha Tauri), Alex Albon (Williams), Lance Stroll (McLaren), Valtteri Bottas (Alpha Romeo) and Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) all pitted to opt for intermediates. Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Lando Norris (McLaren), Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and George Russell (Mercedes) all stayed out on full wets until they completed one lap.

Red Bull’s Verstappen Spoke to the Media After the Race

Verstappen started to gain on Norris and it appeared that Norris was suffering form some premature tire degradation. After the race Verstappen commented on strategy, “I think [staying out on wets at the start] was just a safer call. I could come in first, but then I might be blocked by other cars. There might be a Safety Car and then you lose out massively. I didn’t to stay out, we lost one position, but we know that we are quick. I think you could see that when we put the inter tires on we were flying, so it was OK!”

Lewis Hamilton was given a five-second penalty for causing a collision with Perez and dropped to seventh. Perez did not finish the race. In the end Oscar Piastri finished P2 ahead of Pierre Gasly in an unexpected podium for the Belgian Sprint Race. The Grand Prix is tomorrow and there is mixed weather on the forecast.

Full Sprint Race Results are Below

The rain continued to fall at Spa Franchorchamps during the Sprint Shootout. The drivers took to the track despite early rumors that the Belgian Grand Prix could be cancelled due to safety concerns. The session had mixed conditions. Max Verstappen finished his pole claiming lap with just 4 seconds left on the clock for the session. He set a 1m 49.056s which was 0.011 seconds faster than Oscar Piastri who’s McLaren has come to life in the last few race weekends.

Verstappen stated the following to F1.com, “It was good enough. Just tricky conditions, you don’t want to make big mistakes so I think the lap was okay – I just didn’t risk too much in the second sector where it was still a bit damp, and it was just enough for first so that’s good. If it’s going to be wet, dry, also if it’s wet, how you’re going to survive with the wet tires or the intermediates. So a lot of question marks still but we’ll figure it out along the way.”

Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) claimed third place ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc in fourth. Lando Norris finished fifth to round out the top 5. The Sprint race will take place later today and will be the first opportunity of the weekend to score championship points.

Elsewhere on the Grid

It was a nightmare of a qualifying for the Aston Martins as both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll failed to make it to Q3 and finished behind both Williams cars. Lance Stroll crashed out of Q2 and Alsonso did not start the session.

Daniel Ricciardo (Alpha Tauri) once again out qualified his teammate Yuki Tsunoda. His pace appears to be improving as he gets more acclimated with the car. Second place driver’s championship sitter Sergio Perez has his work cut out for him as he will start from P8. Perez finished nine tenths behind his teammate Verstappen. Below are the results from the shootout that will set the grid for the sprint race later this afternoon.

2023 Belgian Grand Prix Sprint Shootout Results