A dejected Lewis Hamilton said yesterday that nothing being done to his under-performing Mercedes was making a difference after he managed just 13th in second practice for the Australian Grand Prix. The British seven-time world champion has had a tough time so far this season, with his car alarmingly adrift of pace-setters Red Bull and Ferrari.
The German manufacturer’s problems with porpoising — bouncing at high speed — are still an issue and he is frustrated. “It’s just nothing we change on the car makes a difference at the moment,” he said, after finishing nearly two seconds behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who topped the timesheets.
“So that’s the difficult thing. You’re getting very optimistic, and then you make changes, and then it doesn’t seem to be wanting to improve. We made some changes going into P2. P1 was better. P2 ended up being a bit harder for me. So I don’t know, it’s just a tricky car.”
Hamilton, who finished third at the season-opening race in Bahrain then 10th in Jeddah, said he was resigned to not being competitive around the revamped Albert Park circuit this weekend. “It’s frustrating because you’re pushing and pushing, and even when you pull off a good lap, you look at the times and we’re over a second down,” he said. “We’ve got lots of work to do to close the gap.” His teammate George Russell didn’t fare much better, ending 11th.

Vettel fined 5,000 euros for moped ride
Sebastian Vettel was fined 5,000 euros (US$5,437) yesterday after riding a moped on the track at the Australian Grand Prix in violation of the rules, as his season went from bad to worse. The four-time world champion jumped on a scooter to make his way back to the paddock after abandoning his broken down Aston Martin, which had smoke belching from the rear, in the first practice session at Albert Park.
The 34-year-old German was seen casually driving around the track, smiling and waving to fans, after the other cars had returned to the pits. At one point he took his hands off the handlebars. However, governing body the FIA took a dim view and found him in breach of sporting regulations “which prohibit anyone from being on the track in the five-minute period after the end of a session, with the exception of specifically identified personnel.”
It was not the start to the weekend that Vettel wanted after missing the opening two races of the season with Covid-19.
Vettel then failed to appear for the second practice, with his team tweeting that his “car will not be ready to run”, in a fresh setback for the three-time Melbourne champion.
F1’s youngest world champion is now in his 15th full season. He first won at Albert Park in 2011 driving a Red Bull, then did so in 2017 and 2018 when at Ferrari.

Drivers hail ‘very exciting’ prospect of Audi, Porsche in F1
Top drivers led by Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen welcomed the “very exciting” news that Porsche and Audi could be lining up on the Formula One grid in 2026. Their Volkswagen parent group said on Thursday that they were in the “final phase” of a study to assess the possibility.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton said that he “knew about it a long time ago already”. “I think it’s great that we’re going to get new manufacturers in the sport, especially as you see there are a lot of teams that have the potential to be tough teams. So I think it is going to be great moving forward and I welcome it,” added the Mercedes star.
Porsche chief Oliver Blume said last month that a study of entering F1 was under way, with media reports suggesting “negotiations” with Red Bull, the team of current world champion Verstappen. The Dutchman was enthusiastic about their potential entry, calling it “very exciting”.
“And it’s very important for Formula One as well. We have 10 great teams, but also to have the really big brands behind them, it’s really nice to see that commitment. “I’m looking forward to what the future will bring to the teams,” he added, speaking in Melbourne.
Hamilton’s former Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, who is now racing with Alfa Romeo, called it “great news”.