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Jul 15, 2023

F1 news: Angry boss swears live on TV, Verstappen needed 'counselling'

The return of Formula 1 after a three-week summer hiatus has already brought its fair share of drama as the teams and drivers gear up for Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix. Max Verstappen is hoping to clinch

The return of Formula 1 after a three-week summer hiatus has already brought its fair share of drama as the teams and drivers gear up for Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix. Max Verstappen is hoping to clinch his ninth straight win at his home race and 11th this season, but Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris hinted at enough in Friday's practice sessions to suggest they could spoil his celebrations at Circuit Zandvoort.

Hamilton may be distracted by the persistent speculation surrounding his future, with the 38-year-old still waiting to sign his new contract with Mercedes. But the seven-time world champion is desperate to end his winless run, which stretches back to Saudi Arabia in December 2021.

Red Bull's plans have been thrown into disarray after Daniel Ricciardo crashed in FP2, injuring his hand in the process. The Australian was seen wearing a sling before going to hospital, where further examinations showed he had broken a bone in his hand, ruling him out of qualifying and the race.

Liam Lawson will therefore make his debut this weekend in the Netherlands after stepping up as reserve driver for AlphaTauri, but it is hardly ideal preparation for the championship leaders as they look to continue their perfect winning run with a 13th consecutive race victory.

Scroll down for the latest F1 news and updates from Express Sport

Follow all of the build-up to today's race with our dedicated live coverage HERE.

F1 star Lance Stroll is reportedly considering a switch from motorsport to tennis, it has been claimed.

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Felipe Massa has slammed Fernando Alonso over 'crashgate'.

He said: "I spoke to Alonso on a few occasions about the 'Crashgate', when we were teammates, and logically, Fernando always insinuated that it wasn't his fault, but he always changed the subject.

"I never had a clear conversation, when a person accepts and speaks is when that person is clear about things.

"When the person does not want to speak in the right way, we know that maybe he knew everything. I'm sure he knew it."

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Yuki Tsunoda has been handed a three-place grid penalty ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix.

Tsunoda impeded Lewis Hamilton during qualifying on Saturday.

Toto Wolff has blamed Yuki Tsunoda for Lewis Hamilton's poor qualifying performance.

Wolff said: "It's shame because the pace was there all weekend and we would have had two cars competing right at the front.

"Overall the session... it was a mixture between being too close to Norris but that's not the main thing.

"The ipeding is just a disaster in Q2 and I think on his quickest lap he was impeded by Tsunoda on the straight and that cost the position."

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Lewis Hamilton will start the Dutch GP in 13th on Sunday after a disappointing qualifying session.

Hamilton went out in Q2.

Meanwhile, George Russell finished third behind Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.

Max Verstappen has taken pole position ahead of his home race.

The Dutchman fought off competition from Briton Lando Norris to take first place in qualifying.

Lewis Hamilton will start the Dutch Grand Prix in 13th position after being knocked out of qualifying.

The Briton produced a disappointing drive in the Q2 session and was knocked out as cars crossed the line with the drying track ramping up.

He will start behind the likes of Logan Sargeant and Pierre Gasly after matching his worst qualifying performance of the year - having also qualified an unlucky 13th in Miami.

Max Verstappen was not best pleased with the balance of his car as he unleashed a foul-mouthed rant on the radio.

The Red Bull star was sent hurtling off at the first turn and narrowly avoided hitting the wall after losing the rear end.

And the Dutchman let his team know exactly how he felt with an expletive summing up his frustration.

He said: "Mate what the f**k is going on with the car? I have no grip. I'm spinning everything everywhere."

McLaren boss Zak Brown has confirmed the team are taking legal action against Alex Palou after the IndyCar driver informed them of his decision not to honour his contract with the team.

Palou had been due to make the switch to the Arrow McLaren IndyCar team in 2024 before it emerged he wanted to renege on his agreement and sign with Chip Ganassi.

Brown has announced that the Spaniard has opted against taking up McLaren's offer and they are pursuing legal action against the driver, who had been lined up for a potential future seat in F1.

“Alex informed us that he has no intention of honouring his contract with us in IndyCar or Formula 1,” Brown told reporters at the Dutch Grand Prix.

“We have a contract so now in the legal process. We filed in London courts last week against him both as a person and his business entity. We’ll just let the legal proceedings carry the situation forward.”

Former Red Bull driver David Coulthard made a tongue-in-cheek request to his former boss Christian Horner to replace Daniel Ricciardo at the Dutch Grand Prix this weekend.

Ricciardo is having to skip the race after breaking his arm in the second qualifying session on Friday.

AlphaTauri reserve driver Liam Lawson is set to make his F1 debut in place of the injured Aussie.

But 13-time Grand Prix winner Coulthard took to social media to offer his experience to the team bottom of the Constructors' Championship.

Ferrari chief Enzo Cardile has confessed the Italian team recognise their major mistakes with their 2023 design and vowed to fix them in time for next season.

“For us, it is crystal clear what we did wrong with the car,” he said. “Which are the weaknesses is clear. It’s not a matter of understanding what we should do.

“Now, for the future, it’s a matter of delivering a good product which will cope with the targets we have. So, we are not in nowhere land.

“We know what we have to do. It’s a matter of doing. It’s a matter of finding the right contents of the car, the right architecture or the car to achieve the target."

Max Verstappen posted the fastest lap time in front his adoring fanbase as the Red Bull star gave an ominous warning to his rivals.

The 25-year-old looked in his groove, posting quick laps on the slippery surface at Circuit Zandvoort, and is surely best-placed to secure pole position in qualifying later today.

George Russell improved after a disappointing FP2 to record the second-fastest time, albeit four tenths behind Verstappen, with Sergio Perez third and Lewis Hamilton fourth.

Angry Haas boss Gunther Steiner made a foul-mouthed remark live on TV after watching Kevin Magnussen crash in the final practice session.

Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft was forced to apologise for Steiner's language after the Austrian spoke to him live from the pitwall.

Steiner, having seen Magnussen cause a red flag to stop the session after crashing out, said he was "pretty p***** off" after watching the Dane spin in the wet at Zandvoort.

It follows Nico Hulkenberg's crash in FP1 on Friday, just days after the pair signed a deal to continue racing for 2024 with the American team.

F1 fans will not able to drive to the Circuit Zandvoort for qualifying or Sunday's race after race organisers agreed to ban cars to limit the environmental impact on the circuit.

The event, taking place in the remote coastal town, has locked down cars for the race weekend, according to the BBC.

Instead, spectators have been arriving by train and riding by bicycle to the circuit instead.

It marks a huge shift in focus towards a greener future for F1, although the cars will still be burning thousands of litres of fuel on Saturday and Sunday.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has joked Max Verstappen and his engineer Gianpiero Lambiase required a 'counselling' session over the summer break to clear the air between the two.

Verstappen and Lambiase were involved in a number of tense exchanges over the radio, which were later played down by the two-time world champion and his boss.

When addressing their relationship at the Dutch Grand Prix, Horner confirmed they had sat down for a chat to iron out any issues.

“They are like an old married couple,” Horner said. “You hear them b******* at each other and having a go," he told reporters.

"They’ve done a bit of counselling over the summer break. They’re back together, they look happy, and it’s a great partnership."

Daniel Ricciardo could require surgery on his broken wrist after crashing during the Dutch Grand Prix practice, AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost has claimed.

The 34-year-old was taken to hospital after the crash on Friday and was seen sporting a cast on his wrist, with the injury ruling him out of Sunday's race. And the Aussie could be ruled for an extended period as surgery could be required, according to Tost.

“He was laughing, but not much,” the Austrian said. “He’s in a lot of pain because it’s a serious injury. “I hope he can sleep tonight and he will probably see another doctor tomorrow. They will decide how to proceed.”

“We’ll see how it goes next week in Monza,” Tost added. “Maybe he needs surgery. The doctors will decide on that in the coming days."

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has explained the reasons behind Lewis Hamilton's delayed new contract, insisting he is not concerned about the hold up as there are only a few 'tiny details' to iron out.

The 38-year-old will be free to leave the team at the end of the season when his deal expires, but the Silver Arrows boss says there are only small issues left to resolve.

“No, it’s just tiny details like marketing stuff. Nothing I’m worried about,” Wolff said to Sky Sport Italia, when asked about the delay.

Hamilton also moved to calm fears that he could leave, indicating that he and Wolff are on the same wavelength in negotiations.

“I don’t think there is particularly stress between us," he told Sky Sports F1. "We trust each other. We have the same goals, and we know that we can do that together.”

Daniel Ricciardo has revealed he drove into the barrier to avoid hitting Oscar Piastri after noticing the stranded McLaren ahead of him.

The Australian will miss Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix after breaking his hand in the crash. And the 33-year-old said he wanted to avoid colliding with his compatriot.

"I remember coming into Turn 3. I had already got into the corner and then saw Piastri, so it was either hit him or the wall," Ricciardo said.

"When I hit the wall, I didn't have enough time to take my hands off the steering wheel, so the wheel came and hit my hand."

Hello and welcome to Express Sport's rolling coverage of the latest F1 news ahead of today's qualifying session for the Dutch Grand Prix.

We will see cars on track for the final practice session, with FP3 set to begin at 10.30am, with qualifying pencilled in for a 3pm start.

We'll be on hand to keep you updated with the biggest stories throughout the day, so grab a fresh cup of coffee and stay tuned.

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