F1 news LIVE: Lewis Hamilton set to change name and Mercedes’ ‘spaceship’ mirrors scrutinised

Lewis Hamilton has announced that he will change his name to honour his mother’s surname Larbalestier.

And the Mercedes star confirmed he is now in the process of changing his name as he does not believe a woman should lose her surname after marriage.

“I’m really proud of my family’s name: Hamilton,” said the seven-time world champion at the 2022 Dubai Expo.

“Actually none of you might know that my mum’s [sur]name is Larbalestier. And I’m just about to put that in my name.”

Mercedes’ so-called ‘spaceship’ mirrors are set to be one of the topics under discussion when the FIA meets this week ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

The 2022 campaign brings with a raft of new regulations and car designs, with each team unveiling their new-look vehicles which will debut competitively at the Bahrain International Circuit, following weeks of testing, data analysis and further design tweaking.

That goes against the spirit of the sport and the intended use, some have suggested, and the design will be spoken about even if it doesn’t directly contravene legislation.

Nikolas Tombazis, a technical director at the FIA, said that any “discrepancy” from the rules as the governing body had envisaged them when written down would be discussed, but he was not expecting a dramatic fallout.

“We always assess rules for following years, and we assess whether things are clear,” he said, per the-race.com. “And when there are new rules, sometimes certain things may not have been phrased as well as we intended and so on.

“By and large, the level of discrepancy is quite low from what was intended. But there are a few little areas and we’ve discussed that with the teams. We’ll have another TAC meeting Tuesday to discuss these matters.”

Max Verstappen believes that the new Red Bull car for the 2022 F1 season is “better” than the one he secured his maiden world title in.

The Dutchman overtook Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the 2021 season to secure his first Drivers’ Championship crown.

However teams were forced to overhaul the design of their cars during the offseason with significant regulation changes.

Afforded a first chance on track in Red Bull’s RB18 car for 2022 in two rounds of preseason testing in Barcelona and Bahrain, Verstappen was pleased with how the car felt.

“I do think it is better,” Verstappen said on Saturday in Bahrain. “It’s at least better than last year, when if you got behind someone, you suddenly got understeer or a lot of oversteer. It was uncontrollable.

“When I’m behind a car now, I do notice that I’m losing downforce, but that happens front and rear. So that makes it more predictable and controllable for drivers.”

Being controversially beaten to the 2021 Drivers’ title by Max Verstappen left the beaten Mercedes driver “disillusioned” with the sport, with the 37-year-old silent publicly and on social media for several months as he supposedly considered his future.

Having now committed to a return, Hamilton is again gearing up for a potential duel with Verstappen, while Ferrari’s performance in preseason testing suggests Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc could also thrust themselves into the title mix.

Brundle, who started more than 150 races as an F1 driver and is now a prominent pundit and commentator, has predicted that Hamilton will be a “force of nature”.

“I can understand why he went on the missing list for a while on social media but I do think he’s back, he’s 37 years old but from what I saw of his driving last year, he was driving as well as I’ve ever seen him. He is physically in great shape and I think he’ll be a force of nature when he comes back.”

Lewis Hamilton fears he will not be in contention to battle for a record-breaking eighth world championship.

Just one week out from the season-opening race in Bahrain, a downbeat Hamilton said Mercedes are behind Max Verstappen’s Red Bull team and Ferrari in the pecking order.

The 37-year-old was speaking just moments after his final action in testing before next Sunday’s curtain-raiser.

“It is too early to have those kind of thoughts about the world championship, but at the moment I don’t think we will be competing for wins,” said Hamilton.

“I am sure everyone can figure out that we are not the quickest. Ferrari look to be the fastest, and perhaps Red Bull and then maybe us, or McLaren. We are currently not at the top.”

The new Formula One season is here, and that means F1 Fantasy is back.

The game will see millions of motor sport fans pick their fantasy selection of drivers for an imaginary $100m budget.

F1 Fantasy began four years ago and it has grown rapidly in popularity. The 2022 season will reward those players who are able to spot the early trends as F1’s fresh regulations shake up the grid.

Reigning champion Verstappen, who secured his maiden world title in controversial circumstances on the final lap of last season, has renewed his Red Bull contract, and is again alongside Sergio Perez.

Hamilton, meanwhile, has been joined at Mercedes by compatriot George Russell as the German team look to maintain their place as the dominant constructor on the grid and the 37-year-old again seeks a record eighth Drivers’ Championship.

Here’s everything thing you need to know ahead of the first race of the 2022 F1 season.

Lewis Hamilton has announced that he will change his name to honour his mother’s surname Larbalestier.

And the Mercedes star confirmed he is now in the process of changing his name as he does not believe a woman should lose her surname after marriage.

“I’m really proud of my family’s name: Hamilton,” said the seven-time world champion at the 2022 Dubai Expo.

“Actually none of you might know that my mum’s [sur]name is Larbalestier. And I’m just about to put that in my name.”

The 2022 Formula 1 season is here with the Bahrain Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit on Sunday, 20 March.

Each team has completed their testing and has their driver line-up set with the uncertainty surrounding the new rules and regulations adding an extra layer of intrigue.

The buzz and hype of F1 could not be higher after the tremendous 2021 season, which saw Max Verstappen edge out Lewis Hamilton to land a maiden world title.

Ferrari appear to have elevated their status heading into the new season, which could mean a more open constructors’ title race alongside Red Bull and champions Mercedes.

Here is every team’s line-up, their new car and livery ahead of the season opener this week.

Mercedes have been unbeatable in the Constructors’ Championship for the past eight years but new driver George Russell is adamant they will face a battle to start the new season at the top of the pile.

Lewis Hamilton and Russell might have more work than envisaged, given how pre-season testing went this week. Red Bull and Ferrari appeared quicker, as Mercedes struggled with “porpoising” — a new F1 term describing how cars bounce around on the track.

Mercedes have won eight constructors’ titles in a row, so it seems absurd to consider them panicking but there is genuine concern.

“We do seem a step behind our rivals and we do have a lot of work to do,” Russell said. “Red Bull are looking incredibly strong, Ferrari looking really solid.”

That’s precisely the kind of honesty Hamilton appreciates in Russell.

“He seems very genuine and he’s just focused on being the best team player he can,” Hamilton said. “It’s been seamless and we’re communicating a lot.”

Mercedes is a different world for Russell compared with his previous team, the modest Williams. But the meticulous-minded Englishman is in sponge-mode and absorbing all he can.

“They’re absolutely on top of every single detail,” he said. “It’s so impressive, from the simplest of things to the most technical. I really do feel like I’m at home.”