In the round-up: Lewis Hamilton says he is looking forward to the winter break after another frustrating day in the Mercedes.
In brief
Hamilton ‘just wants to get through next races’
Asked after yesterday’s sprint race if he believes his struggles in 2024 will end when he moves to Ferrari in 2025, Hamilton replied: “I have no clue and I don’t have an answer for you.”
“It’s not been great,” he told the official F1 channel. “At this point I really don’t care. I just want to get through these next couple of races and do my job, turn up and then I’m looking forward to the winter break.”
Hamilton has two grands prix left as a Mercedes driver before moving to Ferrari. “I woke up this morning and the most important thing is to live with gratitude,” he said. “So I’m really grateful that I get to do what I love doing, even when there are days that I don’t love it as much.
“I’m really so lucky to be here amidst all these other amazing athletes. I know it’s painful when it doesn’t go well, no one likes losing, but that’s a part of the journey.”
Aron becomes Alpine reserve
Alpine has announced Formula 2 racer Paul Aron will take over from Jack Doohan as their F1 reserve driver in 2025.
With Doohan promoted to a race seat next season, Aron will join the team now run by former Hitech team principal Oliver Oakes – the team Aron has raced with this season in F2.
Aron currently sits third in the F2 standings having passed Zane Maloney with a fifth place finish in yesterday’s sprint race. He will start today’s feature race from pole position.
Ferrari fined for unsafe release
Ferrari has been hit with a €5,000 (£4,153) fine after Carlos Sainz Jnr was released in front of Hamilton during yesterday’s qualifying session.
The team admitted that Ferrari’s mechanic responsible for releasing Sainz from the garage gave the driver the signal before he was ready to pull away, with the resulting delay meaning he emerged just in front of Hamilton.
Sainz will start today’s race from seventh on the grid, one place behind Hamilton.
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Links
Drugovich to participate in Abu Dhabi practice and end-of-season test (Aston Martin)
‘Felipe will take the place of Lance Stroll for the hour-long session at Yas Marina Circuit before Lance returns to the AMR24 for FP2. Aston Martin can also confirm that Felipe will drive during the end-of-season test held at Yas Marina Circuit. The announcement finalises the team’s testing line-up, with Felipe and Jak Crawford each behind the wheel of an AMR24 for the season’s final day of running. ’
Bottas’s huge net worth, Red Bull comments and relationship with Olympian (Mirror)
‘Like most F1 stars, Bottas has a base in Monaco. But unlike his rivals, Bottas boasts a home in Lapland, which is presumably getting rather busy at this time of year. The luxurious lodge, on the edge of a lake in northern Finland, is said to boast a floor-to-ceiling glass bar, sauna facilities and a spacious garage. As you would expect, there’s a racing simulator too.’
Sagrera and Nael secure steps up to F3 for 2025 (Formula Scout)
‘Eurocup-3 champion Javier Sagrera and Formula Regional Europe race-winner Theophile Nael are the latest drivers to seal a step up to FIA Formula 3 for 2025. Sagrera has signed to compete with AIX Racing after spending the last four years at the sub-F3 level. Nael was Spanish F4 champion in 2023 in what was his first full year of car racing after he debuted together with Sainteloc Racing midway through the previous season. He stepped up to Sainteloc’s Formula Regional squad for 2024 and came ninth in the European championship after a strong end to the year that included a maiden win at the Red Bull Ring.’
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