‘Things in the background are not great': Lewis Hamilton fuels talk of Ferrari split
On Saturday, Hamilton watched his teammate Charles Leclerc take pole position as he slumped to 12th. On Sunday, he finished the Hungarian Grand Prix exactly where he started and said his mindset had not changed from the day before.
Hamilton joined Ferrari with the hopes of winning a record eighth world drivers' title. But the Italian team have trailed well behind pacesetters McLaren, and Hamilton is being comfortably beaten by his teammate. His comments on Sunday suggest all is not well at Maranello.
'When you have a feeling, you have a feeling. There's a lot going on in the background that is not great,' he told Sky Sports F1 after finishing the race a lap down from McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
His struggles at the Hungaroring follow a troubled weekend in Belgium, where he qualified 18th and 16th for the sprint race and grand prix respectively. In Budapest he watched his teammate take pole position while he was eliminated in Q2. Fourteen rounds into his first season at Ferrari, he trails Leclerc 109 points to 151. The Monegasque has taken five podiums but Hamilton none.
Hamilton's demeanour after the race was of a man who looked desperate to embrace time away from F1, with nearly a month off until racing resumes at Zandvoort. 'I'm glad it's over. I'm looking forward to going away,' Hamilton said.
When pressed on whether he would 'definitely' be back for the next race in the Netherlands, he said: 'I look forward to coming back … hopefully I will be back, yeah.'
The signs of an unhappy driver were there from early on in Hungary. At a press conference on Thursday, Hamilton was word-shy, as he sometimes is. That theme continued throughout the weekend, evidently worsened by the effects of two dreadful races in a row. It is possible that Hamilton has hit the lowest point of a staggeringly successful career.
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Perth Now
16 hours ago
- Perth Now
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The Advertiser
18 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Ferrari's first EV may be benchmarked against a Chinese electric super sedan
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MORE: Everything Ferrari Content originally sourced from: Ferrari may have pushed back the launch of its second electric vehicle (EV) due to "zero" demand, but that should give the famed Italian brand plenty of time to benchmark it against the world's latest and greatest EVs. At the top of that list is the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, the Chinese-made battery-electric super sedan which recently topped the Rimac Nevera to set a new Nurburgring lap record for a production EV, and the Porsche Taycan to claim a new four-door lap record at the infamous German circuit. The high-performance Chinese EV recorded a time of just 7:04.957 seconds around the 20.8km Nordschleife public road course. It's unclear whether Ferrari has actually purchased an Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, as some commenters have stated, but a bright yellow example of the battery-powered super sedan has been spotted leaving Ferrari's Maranello headquarters, as you can see in these images posted to Instagram and Chinese social media website Weibo. CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. The SU7 isn't sold in Italy and this particular vehicle appears to be wearing Italian trade plates, suggesting Ferrari has imported the Chinese EV for research and development purposes. If so, it would be the first time in Ferrari's history that a Chinese vehicle has entered Maranello for either R&D or benchmarking purposes. That makes sense, given the Xiaomi only commenced deliveries of the SU7 Ultra in March and Ferrari is preparing to launch the first EV in its 80-year history. Tentatively named 'Elettrica', the first electric Ferrari will be a limited-edition EV that will debut a new four-door Ferrari body style that looks more like a liftback or shooting brake wagon than the Purosangue SUV. Already seen in spy shots, Ferrari's first EV has reportedly been designed in conjunction with Apple's former chief designer Jony Ive and will be larger than other Ferrari models. Pricing will apparently start from US$500,000 ($A770,000), and Ferrari expects to sell roughly 700 to 800 per year. Its powertrain will be revealed in Maranello on October 9, as part of a three-stage global launch for the mould-breaking EV, first customer deliveries of which are due to commence from October 2026. But Ferrari's second EV, which has now been delayed by at least two years, is expected to be a higher-volume, high-performance model that will need to offer stratospheric performance to match the SU7 Ultra. The SU7 Ultra packs a tri-motor powertrain that produces no less than 1138kW of power and 1770Nm of torque – and a claimed 0-100km/h acceleration time of just 1.98 seconds. It also features an advanced thermal management system to cope with sustained high-speed driving, which could be a particular focus for Ferrari. While Xiaomi plans to sell 10,000 examples of the SU7 Ultra this year alone, Ferrari's first two EVs will be much more limited. Following its inaugural limited-edition EV, Ferrari's subsequent battery-electric vehicle is planned to be a core model that will find 5000 to 6000 buyers during its five-year lifespan. However, sources at Maranello have told Reuters this second EV, which was initially due to be unveiled at the end of 2026, has been pushed back for a second time and will not make its public debut until 2028 at the earliest. One of the newswire's informants said this was due to "zero" long-term, sustained demand for a high-performance EV from Ferrari. Ferrari isn't the first Italian performance car brand to change its EV plans, with Maserati axing the electric MC20 supercar before its launch, and Lamborghini delaying its first EV until 2029, when it may actually launch as a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) rather than a fully electric vehicle. MORE: Everything Ferrari Content originally sourced from: Ferrari may have pushed back the launch of its second electric vehicle (EV) due to "zero" demand, but that should give the famed Italian brand plenty of time to benchmark it against the world's latest and greatest EVs. At the top of that list is the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, the Chinese-made battery-electric super sedan which recently topped the Rimac Nevera to set a new Nurburgring lap record for a production EV, and the Porsche Taycan to claim a new four-door lap record at the infamous German circuit. The high-performance Chinese EV recorded a time of just 7:04.957 seconds around the 20.8km Nordschleife public road course. It's unclear whether Ferrari has actually purchased an Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, as some commenters have stated, but a bright yellow example of the battery-powered super sedan has been spotted leaving Ferrari's Maranello headquarters, as you can see in these images posted to Instagram and Chinese social media website Weibo. CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. The SU7 isn't sold in Italy and this particular vehicle appears to be wearing Italian trade plates, suggesting Ferrari has imported the Chinese EV for research and development purposes. If so, it would be the first time in Ferrari's history that a Chinese vehicle has entered Maranello for either R&D or benchmarking purposes. That makes sense, given the Xiaomi only commenced deliveries of the SU7 Ultra in March and Ferrari is preparing to launch the first EV in its 80-year history. Tentatively named 'Elettrica', the first electric Ferrari will be a limited-edition EV that will debut a new four-door Ferrari body style that looks more like a liftback or shooting brake wagon than the Purosangue SUV. Already seen in spy shots, Ferrari's first EV has reportedly been designed in conjunction with Apple's former chief designer Jony Ive and will be larger than other Ferrari models. Pricing will apparently start from US$500,000 ($A770,000), and Ferrari expects to sell roughly 700 to 800 per year. Its powertrain will be revealed in Maranello on October 9, as part of a three-stage global launch for the mould-breaking EV, first customer deliveries of which are due to commence from October 2026. But Ferrari's second EV, which has now been delayed by at least two years, is expected to be a higher-volume, high-performance model that will need to offer stratospheric performance to match the SU7 Ultra. The SU7 Ultra packs a tri-motor powertrain that produces no less than 1138kW of power and 1770Nm of torque – and a claimed 0-100km/h acceleration time of just 1.98 seconds. It also features an advanced thermal management system to cope with sustained high-speed driving, which could be a particular focus for Ferrari. While Xiaomi plans to sell 10,000 examples of the SU7 Ultra this year alone, Ferrari's first two EVs will be much more limited. Following its inaugural limited-edition EV, Ferrari's subsequent battery-electric vehicle is planned to be a core model that will find 5000 to 6000 buyers during its five-year lifespan. However, sources at Maranello have told Reuters this second EV, which was initially due to be unveiled at the end of 2026, has been pushed back for a second time and will not make its public debut until 2028 at the earliest. One of the newswire's informants said this was due to "zero" long-term, sustained demand for a high-performance EV from Ferrari. Ferrari isn't the first Italian performance car brand to change its EV plans, with Maserati axing the electric MC20 supercar before its launch, and Lamborghini delaying its first EV until 2029, when it may actually launch as a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) rather than a fully electric vehicle. MORE: Everything Ferrari Content originally sourced from: Ferrari may have pushed back the launch of its second electric vehicle (EV) due to "zero" demand, but that should give the famed Italian brand plenty of time to benchmark it against the world's latest and greatest EVs. At the top of that list is the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, the Chinese-made battery-electric super sedan which recently topped the Rimac Nevera to set a new Nurburgring lap record for a production EV, and the Porsche Taycan to claim a new four-door lap record at the infamous German circuit. The high-performance Chinese EV recorded a time of just 7:04.957 seconds around the 20.8km Nordschleife public road course. It's unclear whether Ferrari has actually purchased an Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, as some commenters have stated, but a bright yellow example of the battery-powered super sedan has been spotted leaving Ferrari's Maranello headquarters, as you can see in these images posted to Instagram and Chinese social media website Weibo. CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. The SU7 isn't sold in Italy and this particular vehicle appears to be wearing Italian trade plates, suggesting Ferrari has imported the Chinese EV for research and development purposes. If so, it would be the first time in Ferrari's history that a Chinese vehicle has entered Maranello for either R&D or benchmarking purposes. That makes sense, given the Xiaomi only commenced deliveries of the SU7 Ultra in March and Ferrari is preparing to launch the first EV in its 80-year history. Tentatively named 'Elettrica', the first electric Ferrari will be a limited-edition EV that will debut a new four-door Ferrari body style that looks more like a liftback or shooting brake wagon than the Purosangue SUV. Already seen in spy shots, Ferrari's first EV has reportedly been designed in conjunction with Apple's former chief designer Jony Ive and will be larger than other Ferrari models. Pricing will apparently start from US$500,000 ($A770,000), and Ferrari expects to sell roughly 700 to 800 per year. Its powertrain will be revealed in Maranello on October 9, as part of a three-stage global launch for the mould-breaking EV, first customer deliveries of which are due to commence from October 2026. But Ferrari's second EV, which has now been delayed by at least two years, is expected to be a higher-volume, high-performance model that will need to offer stratospheric performance to match the SU7 Ultra. The SU7 Ultra packs a tri-motor powertrain that produces no less than 1138kW of power and 1770Nm of torque – and a claimed 0-100km/h acceleration time of just 1.98 seconds. It also features an advanced thermal management system to cope with sustained high-speed driving, which could be a particular focus for Ferrari. While Xiaomi plans to sell 10,000 examples of the SU7 Ultra this year alone, Ferrari's first two EVs will be much more limited. Following its inaugural limited-edition EV, Ferrari's subsequent battery-electric vehicle is planned to be a core model that will find 5000 to 6000 buyers during its five-year lifespan. However, sources at Maranello have told Reuters this second EV, which was initially due to be unveiled at the end of 2026, has been pushed back for a second time and will not make its public debut until 2028 at the earliest. One of the newswire's informants said this was due to "zero" long-term, sustained demand for a high-performance EV from Ferrari. Ferrari isn't the first Italian performance car brand to change its EV plans, with Maserati axing the electric MC20 supercar before its launch, and Lamborghini delaying its first EV until 2029, when it may actually launch as a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) rather than a fully electric vehicle. MORE: Everything Ferrari Content originally sourced from:
News.com.au
20 hours ago
- News.com.au
Lando Norris' eye-opening Piastri remark after Hungarian Grand Prix
Lando Norris has made a rather eye-opening remark regarding his rivalry with teammate Oscar Piastri. The two McLaren drivers appear set to duke it out for their maiden F1 world title with the championship fight looking like it will go down to the wire. Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every practice, qualifying session and race in the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship™ LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. Piastri currently holds a nine-point advantage over Norris after the first 14 races of the 2025 season with 10 races to go after the summer break. Norris, 25, has turned up the heat on his Australian counterpart by winning three of the past four races. Despite the pair being locked in a tense battle for the championship, the Brit says he isn't planning on getting aggressive with his teammate as the title fight heats up. 'I don't enjoy that. In 200 years, no one is going to care. We'll all be dead. am trying to have a good time. I still care about it, and that's why I get upset sometimes and I get disappointed and I get angry at myself,' Norris said. 'And I think that shows just how much I care about winning and losing. But that doesn't mean I need to take it out on Oscar.' While Norris' remarks may be considered great sportsmanship, history shows it's often athletes with a cut-throat approach to winning and their rivals that prevail in such scenarios. Many were quick to praise Norris for his candid remarks, but many were also quick to state that the British star's mindset would prove pivotal in deciding the championship. Hard Compound podcast host Brian Hall wrote on X: 'Spoken like a true champion' alongside the side-eye emoji. A second added: 'Not a racing driver mindset but I respect that (and even like it as a human).' A third posted: 'You can go on and on about championship mentality but it's still a job and just a sport at the end of the day and he doesn't have to be a d*ck to win.' Norris' comments are in stark contrast to an ice cold radio message from the 24-year-old Melburnian during the Hungarian Grand Prix. As Piastri was preparing for his final pit stop, he was asked by race engineer Tom Stallard if his intent was to extinguish any glimmer of hope Charles Leclerc had of winning the race — or simply beating his teammate. As recorded by the @radiomessages profile on X, Piastri was asked: 'Leclerc is going to be four or five seconds ahead of our pit window. We suggest to box this lap'. Piastri's blunt response was telling: 'I don't really care about Leclerc. I just want the best chance to try and beat Lando. 'That's the most important thing at the moment.' With the two men hoping to capture their first F1 world championship title, McLaren team boss Zak Brown knows tension within the garage will amplify as the season goes on. 'There's competitiveness brewing... as the championship builds, I'm sure that tension will grow,' Brown said. 'We're fully anticipating them 'swapping paint' again at some point. I'm very confident it won't be deliberate, which is where you then get into the problems. 'They will have racing incidents in their further time here at McLaren, we know that and they know that, so we're not afraid of that. 'I'm positive they're never going to run each other off the track, and that's where you get into bad blood. So they're free to race ... there are rules around our racing, which is respect your teammate, they know that.' With McLaren on track to secure their first drivers' championship since 2008, Brown is leaving the championship door open and refusing to back just one of the two. 'I think Oscar was a little disappointed with qualifying in Belgium. Lando was very happy. I'm sure he'll be a little bummed that he didn't win today, but it's coming off two wins. I think it's going to be a coin toss every weekend,' he told Sky Sports following the Belgian Grand Prix. 'Oscar is a machine. And what's impressive is how aggressive he is, and yet he always brings the car home. That's quite a talent.' Despite Red Bull's Max Verstappen being 88 points behind in third place on the standings, Brown is refusing to rule the four-time champion out of the equation. 'I think it's too early. It's looking good, but Max … there's a lot of racing left to go. We've got a nice gap, but I wouldn't say we're there,' he said. 'We've all been around this sport too long. To start dancing before you're in the end zone is a very dangerous thing to do.' McLaren now lead Ferrari by 299 points in the constructors' championship with the grid not set to return to action until the Dutch Grand Prix on August 31.
