Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team - The African Mirror

Sep

2021

Verstappen delights home Dutch crowd

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen absorbed the pressure from both Mercedes cars and won his first Grand Prix in front of the Dutch “Orange army ”. Verstappen took his seventh win of the season from pole, producing a magnificently controlled performance at the whirlwind Zandvoort circuit. A delightful display of fireworks and an orange haze greeted Verstappen as he crossed the line 20 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton and teammate Valterri Bottas, who finished second and third. The lead Red Bull driver now leads the Drivers' Championship standings with 224.5 points to Hamilton's 221.5 though - interestingly - Mercedes leads the constructors'…

Aug

2021

By The African Mirror

Ocon claws to maiden win

SPORT

BOITUMELO RANTAO FRENCH driver Esteban Ocon survived a wet, frantic start to the Hungarian Grand Prix to shockingly win his first Formula One race. The Alpine Racing driver, who signed a contract extension with Alpine for the foreseeable future, held off former World Champion Sebastian Vettel to take the chequered flag for the first time. Lewis Hamilton led the GP after a great start from the front of the grid. Hamilton’s teammate Valterri Bottas was not as fortunate - swamped by cars left and right - the Finn lost grip towards the first corner - colliding with the rear of…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Sprint qualifying claims first victim

OTHER

FORMULA One’s newly revised sprint qualifying race provided late Saturday entertainment - to the benefit of pole-sitter Max Verstappen. The fiery Red Bull shot through a cannon off the start line to lead championship rival Lewis Hamilton into turn 1. The flying Dutchman retained position after a nervous first lap and will start the British Grand Pirx from the start of the grid. Verstappen’s teammate Perez, after being passed by Norris on lap one, spun out later in the race. Perez, a disappointed figure, earned the title of biggest loser from the inaugural event with the one of fastest cars…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Red Bull outpace Mercedes in Austria

SPORT

BOITUMELO RANTAO A thrilling display in Austria went down for pole position, with Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen taking the top spot ahead of the main event on Sunday. Verstappen managed to clock his fastest time for Q3 in his first run at 1:03.84, following a successful practice where he led in practices one and two. “It’s been a very good weekend,” said pole-sitter Verstappen. “Again in qualifying the car was really good to drive. “It was not easy to deal with the traffic in the last few corners to get a clean run but I think that first lap…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Romain Grosjean’s special return to F1

SPORT

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER ROMAIN Grosjean’s dream of ending his Formula 1 career the way he wanted is coming true. Grosjean and Mercedes-AMG Petronas announced that Grosjean would return to the F1 cockpit to complete a once-off test for the six-time winning champions in France. In seven months to the day since his crash, Grosjean will drive Lewis Hamilton’s 2019 championship-winning W10 in a full-day test at French Grand Prix venue Circuit Paul Ricard on June 29. He will also pilot the car for a series of demonstration laps ahead of his home race at the same venue two days earlier.…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

World champ Hamilton supports Russell’s apology

SPORT

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER REIGNING Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has come out in support of George Russell after the McLaren driver tendered an apology following a dramatic high speed crash with Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas. This is what Hamilton said to Russell: " Strength comes from vulnerability. If you don't make mistake you can never learn the lesson. Respect for taking responsibility. On to the next one." Twenty four hours after the crash at the 2021 Emilia Romagna F1 race at Imola, which took both drivers after the race, Russell said he had time to reflect. In a statement,…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

Electric Imola qualifying

SPORT

DEFENDING World champion Lewis Hamilton stormed through the final qualifying session claiming his 99th pole position of his illustrious career. Hamilton laid down a tough marker in the opening runs of the qualifying shootout with a provisional pole time of 1:14.411. Hamilton failed to improve on his final run, but the benchmark he set would be enough. Red Bull driver Sergio Perez put together a blistering final run in Q3 to qualify in second for his first-ever front row start. Perez qualified ahead of teammate Max Verstappen, who was out-qualified by a team mate for the first time since Malaysia…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Lewis Hamilton tests positive for COVID-19

NEWS

7TH time world Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss this weekend's Grand Prix in Bahrain. His team Mercedes has revealed that Hamilton, who won last weekend’s race at a different circuit in Bahrain, had three tests which returned negative results. However, he woke up with mild symptoms on Monday and was informed that a contact he had met before last weekend’s race had tested positive. “Lewis, therefore, took a further test and returned a positive result. This has since been confirmed by a retest. Lewis is now isolating in accordance with COVID-19 protocols…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

World champ Hamilton wins 98th pole in Bahrain

SPORT

BOITUMELO RANTAO LEWIS Hamilton, with the 2020 Formula 1 world championship already won, has registered his 98th pole position as Mercedes locked the front row ahead of today’s race in Bahrain. Hamilton kept his practice form, outperforming teammate Valtteri Bottas who qualified in 2nd ahead of a charging Max Verstappen from Red Bull. The perfomance by Hamilton and Bottas reflected Mercedes’ dominance on the circuit this year. Hamilton has won his record 7th world championship and Mercedes bagged the constructors trophy. Hamilton paid tribute to the technical team behind his success: “The continuation of what we do as a team…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Mercedes make history as Hamilton steals sensational win at Emilia Romagna GP

SPORT

BOITUMELO RANTAO MERCEDES driver Lewis Hamilton stormed to his 92nd career race win at the historic Imola track in Italy. Hamilton predicted a boring race, due to tough overtaking conditions, but to his surprise was left in third position behind teammate Valterri Bottas and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The defending world champion held his composure to seal a Mercedes 1-2 finish, ahead of Bottas. The win sealed Mercedes’ seventh constructors championship, the most all-time, breaking the tie with rivals Ferrari. https://twitter.com/MercedesAMGF1/status/1322905725455245318 “People watching at home might think we are used to this but to be part of breaking a record…