The 2022 F1 season is creeping up on us with car launches and practice next up in the weeks ahead after an exhilarating season battled out between world champion Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.
The Briton is yet to confirm his status for the upcoming season with Mercedes, as George Russell prepares to team up with the seven-time world champion after succeeding Valtteri Bottas, who left the Silver Arrows after five seasons to join Alfa Romeo.
Under the radar Verstappen’s long-term future is high on Red Bull’s to-do list, with the Belgian-Dutch driver’s salary demands likely to rocket after claiming his maiden world title.
But there is also uncertainty surrounding the future of race director Michael Masi, whose decisions in Abu Dhabi will be debated for many years to come, and his status in the sport may influence Hamilton’s decision to return. Opinions are divided, with Karun Chandhok claiming Masi was “screwed over”: “I think what happened was Latifi crashed and Masi had a choice, at that point you do a Safety Car or red flag. He looked at the incident and thought, ‘that should be relatively quick to clear up’. I think where he got a bit screwed over really is that the brakes caught fire on the car as they were trying to take it off the track.
Here’s the very latest news as the new season prepares for the opening weekend in Bahrain on 20 March. Follow all the F1 news updates below:
