F1 news LIVE: Lewis Hamilton to change name as Christian Horner raises concerns over ‘mirror war’

• 3.5 hour window for team track walks
• FIA will carry out their systems checks and track inspections
• Teams will complete their engineering meetings.

• Pre-race driver press conference – runs over two hours and finishes at latest 90 minutes before first practice
• One-hour free practice session
• Second practice two hours after the conclusion of FP1
• Drivers briefing 90 minutes after chequered flag falls for FP2

• Team Principals’ press conference 1.5 hours before FP3
• Final practice with qualifying to follow a couple of hours later

• Bahrain Grand Prix

Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner has provided an update after former team sponsor demanded money back after the Formula 1 team severed their ties with the title sponsor which belongs to Nikita Mazepin’s father.

“It’s a very complex matter, even for legal experts,” Steiner told RTL. “Certainly lose some money.

“But the team is financially stable. You don’t have to worry about the team. That’s the most important thing for me.”

Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner has confirmed he told Nikita Mazepin he was sacked from the team in writing instead of calling the Russian driver.

The Italian boss has not heard back from the driver, who was ousted due to events occurring in eastern Europe, with Kevin Magnussen brought back to replace Mazepin just weeks before the 2022 F1 season.

“I only did it in writing. I didn’t talk to him,” Steiner told RTL. “You are always sorry when you have to do something like that.

“[But it is] difficult to say [if Mazepin is a victim], he added when asked if he felt sympathy for him.

Ferrari star Charles Leclerc has tipped Red Bull to showcase a brand new design of their RB18 car for this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

“I think Red Bull will have another grade coming before the race. We’ve seen Mercedes that’s arrived with a completely different car here so yes, we cannot relax.

“They haven’t pushed at all and on our side, we are just trying to get to know these cars as much as we can to be as ready as possible for the first race.”

Charles Leclerc is thrilled at the progress Ferrari have made in combatting the porpoising effect in Bahrain testing as the Scuderia plot a title charge ahead of Sunday’s 2022 F1 season opener.

“I think porpoising, as we call it now, it’s not gone, but much better compared to our pace in Barcelona, and it was one of our priorities after the Barcelona testing, so it looks good,” he said in Bahrain.

“We are working well, and any time we find ourselves in a difficult place, we have managed to work and get out so it’s positive, for now.”

George Russell insists Mercedes’ rivals for the 2022 F1 season are “not exceptional” despite the perceived struggles with the W13 during Bahrain testing.

“I don’t think they’re exceptional,” Russell said about Mercedes’ rivals.

“I think we’re probably not as competitive as we would like.

“I believe the guys are going get to the bottom of it; there is potential there, we just need to figure out a way to unlock that performance.”

George Russell is adamant the Mercedes W13 is not dramatically different despite emerging with a drastic new sign and slimmed down sidepods during Bahrain testing.

“From the outside it looks drastically different but looks aren’t everything, is what many people say. It’s still the same fundamental car underneath its skin, and it still has the same fundamental issues that we faced in Barcelona.

“As I said, I think we probably optimised the performance a bit more in Barcelona than we did in Bahrain, but nevertheless we are struggling to find how to unlock a bit more. As it stands, Red Bull are looking incredibly strong, Ferrari are looking really solid, and we have some work to do.

George Russell has bemoaned the level of performance currently experienced in the Mercedes W13 just days out from the Bahrain Grand Prix and the start of the 2022 F1 season.

“I think it’s been pretty productive but very intriguing at the same time. Obviously so much to learn about these 2022 cars, with the tyres. It’s pretty clear some of the issues that a lot of the teams faced with the bouncing, just trying to get on top of that really.

“Yes, it’s definitely bouncing around a lot from within, it’s not the comfiest in all honesty. I don’t really care about comfort if the performance is there but at the moment the performance isn’t there. We are a step behind our rivals, and we do have a lot of work to do between now and next week to understand, because in every condition the Red Bull and the Ferrari seem a step ahead of us.”

Lewis Hamilton has confirmed Mercedes continue to work on ways to improve the W13 throughout the race week leading up to the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday.

“The testing was tough, but the great thing is, right now after this I have a conference call with all the guys in Brixworth [Mercedes High Performance Powertrains’ HQ in the UK], talking about the engine, the driveability, about how we can get more power out for this week.

“Then I have another conference call with all the engineers up in Brackley [Mercedes’ factory] and just [discussing] how we can push this car forward, how we can stop it from jumping, how we can extract all the performance from it. So everyone’s hyped, everyone’s excited. And these engineers, they love the challenge. So it’s good.”

“The testing’s been difficult,” Lewis Hamilton said. “There were a lot of cars that were looking quite fast.

“The Alfa Romeo was looking fast, Valtteri [Bottas] was looking quick. Obviously the Red Bull looks ridiculously fast at the moment, and the Ferraris.

“But we are the best team,” Hamilton added defiantly. “Undoubtedly.”