Formula One: Large and smaller issues for some drivers

Will Lewis Hamilton be sulking about his car, jewellery or underwear? Photo Don / Kennedy

Melbourne has played host to a successful return of the Australian Grand Prix after the 2020 event was cancelled before practice began due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

It also missed out last year as pandemic numbers escalated in the Victorian state and the borders were closed.

The Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC) was determined to put on a successful event when the race was added as the third event to the 2022 calendar and what a success it was, with a great race for the first half at least, and record crowds.

A total of 419,114 fans attended across the four days of the event, with a race day crowd of 128,294, indicating F1 is back as numbers tuning in globally increase.

Undoubtedly the Netflix series, Drive To Survive, now in its fourth season, has raised the profile of F1 as an entertaining sport. Added to that was the drama of last year's title battle between eventual winner Max Verstappen, and Lewis Hamilton, who was seeking an unprecedented eighth title. The entertainment value of the sport is overriding the previously held view in some circles that it is a business outlet for car manufacturers.

Already this season is looking like matching the popularity of last year's title race and the controversial finish in Abu Dhabi when Hamilton was denied that eighth title because of the decision of FIA race director Michael Masi to have a last lap dash to the line instead of finishing under the safety-car only added to the mystique.

Masi has subsequently been removed from his position thanks largely to the influence of Mercedes and team boss Toto Wolff, who put incredible pressure on the FIA during the break between seasons, to ensure what Masi, whom Wolff labelled "a liability", did could not be repeated.

There was even an orchestrated publicity campaign suggesting Hamilton might retire if Masi was not sacked, even though when he did return to racing, Hamilton denied ever having considered retiring.

Whatever Hamilton's real thoughts were throughout the winter break, his return has so far been relatively unsuccessful.

He is currently trailing championship leader Charles Leclerc by 41 points, after just one podium for third place in the season opener in Bahrain, and that was only because the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Sergio Perez both retired with mechanical issues on the penultimate lap.

Hamilton's new teammate, George Russell, who enjoyed his first podium for Mercedes with third place in Australia, is second in the championship, 9 points ahead of Hamilton.

But the points haul of the Mercedes drivers tends to flatter their performances, because in reality Ferrari is well ahead on pace, and Red Bull is also much quicker than Mercedes, even though the points table doesn't reflect that. Of course, Mercedes can use the old adage that to finish first, first you have to finish, but it is a worry for the eight-time consecutive Constructors champions to be so far behind, albeit after just three races.

Two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen says Hamilton is likely to be having doubts about his future with Mercedes, after finishing fourth in Melbourne, behind Russell.

"The last race in Australia was a tough spot for Lewis-really tough," Hakkinen says. "They got a good result - not the result they hoped for but still good points for the team. But I'm sure Lewis is still annoyed by the situation. It's hard to be beaten by George.

"I'm afraid this will be a really difficult season for Lewis. It's already difficult for Mercedes but especially for Lewis.

"George comes from a team with little or no success. He had some good results in qualifying but not in races. All these achievements with Mercedes are new to him. Everything feels super-good.

"For Lewis, this is a disaster. And with George being ahead, it's even worse. I wonder how Lewis behaves in the team meetings - I bet he's sulking. I can imagine this sulking. There's lots of complaining and whining. And now starts the natural though process of drivers. 'Should I go somewhere else?'

"He's been at Mercedes for years and won multiple championships. Now that things are not going well, he'll start thinking of switching teams."

Former Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine, who battled Hakkinen for the 1999 championship, losing it by four points, has suggested that it might already be time for Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotti to consider giving championship leader Leclerc preferential treatment by asking Carlos Sainz to work for him.

Sainz has been frustrated by his start to the season, crashing out in Australia, yet Irvine thinks Sainz's ambition to win the title could be a problem for Leclerc even though the two get on very well.

"This is a problem for Charles because Sainz, who is number two, can occasionally find himself in front of him," Irvine told La Gazzetta della Sport.

"If I were Mattia I would give precise orders, as in my day, because beating Verstappen is already tough. If you then have also a teammate who can snatch points away from you. As for Perez, in normal circumstances he can't beat Max."

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner understands the frustration of his world champion, with one win but two DNF's in three races, when without mechanical issues, he would at least have been second to Leclerc in the other two races.

"It was totally understandable, his frustration," Horner said. "That was a really disappointing result not to finish the race. We don't know what the issue is yet, I don't think it was actually engine-related. I think it might be a fuel issue, but we need to get the car back, we need to look at what's exactly happened."

Alex Albon was able to get his Williams into P10 by doing 30 laps on the hard tyre, a strategy that also worked initially for Alpine driver Fernando Alonso, but on the soft tyre, and with an untimely safety-car intervention, his race was spoilt.

In qualifying, Alonso looked like he might put his car in the top three at least, until a hydraulics problem meant he couldn't change gears and he hit the wall at Turn 11. Team boss Otmer Szafnauer says his aim is to give Alonso a fast car.

"Because he is 40 years old? I hope so," Szafnauer said. "I remember when I was 40 and I didn't get tired. Now I'm 57 and I do get tired. This year, what we have to do with Fernando, and also with Esteban [Ocon] is to improve the car more than others."

"We will give Fernando the car he needs," he added.

He has also said he wants to make sure that Australian driver Oscar Piastri, the F3 and F2 champion and now the reserve Alpine driver, gets an F1 drive in 2023.

That doesn't mean Alonso will lose his drive, even though his Alpine contract runs out at the end of the year, as Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi is prepared to loan Piastri out to another team if Alonso stays next year, while Ocon's contract is good for 2023. Piastri was almost as popular as Daniel Ricciardo with the fans in Melbourne.

Not popular was the two-hour meeting the new FIA race director, Niela Wittich, put the drivers through in Melbourne, when driver underwear and jewellery seem to have been the main issues.

"From what I understand, the drivers on Friday in Australia spent more time discussing the underwear thing than actually anything about the track," Sky F1 presenter and former F1 driver Karun Chandhok, reported.

Drivers must wear protective gloves, a balaclava, long underwear, socks and shoes approved by the FIA, who have been stricter in enforcing the rules since Romain Grosjean's fiery accident in Bahrain in 2020. But it seems the crackdown on the type of underwear became a controversial issue.

"You have to question whether it was really of incremental benefit. Conversely, how much of a disadvantage is it to just allow their normal pants underneath? If a fire has got to that point, there's a lot of other things to consider," Chandhok added.

Horner said he wouldn't be checking out his driver's underwear.

"I'm reliably informed my drivers go commando! Hopefully it won't be an issue for them," Horner quipped.

Alpha Tauri driver Pierre Gasly went further.

"If they want to check out my arse, feel free. I've got nothing to hide."

The issue of driver jewellery was also discussed. Since 2005 the sporting code has mentioned that wearing jewellery in the form of body piercings or metal neck chains have been prohibited. Clearly the rule hasn't been enforced, because Hamilton, who has plenty of bling, only joined F1 in 2007 and has won seven titles and 103 races wearing jewellery, as well as body piercings.

In the Friday press conference, Hamilton was in a defiant, mischievous mood.

"It was the longest driver's briefing of my life," Hamilton said.

"I really don't understand the small things they are picking up, like the underwear. Are we really talking about that?"

As for the jewellery, Hamilton has earrings and necklaces he doesn't intend to remove.

"I feel they are personal things. I don't have any plans of removing them. There's stuff that I can't remove. I've got several piercings that I really can't take out, that not a lot of people know of," he joked.

This weekend F1 returns to Imola for the Romagna Emilia GP. Championship leader Leclerc attended the Monte Carlo tennis open last Sunday and although he won't have too far to travel for the race, it will be an emotional trip because as a Ferrari driver leading the championship, he will be racing at the track named after Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari.

The tifosi won't care if Leclerc is wearing FIA approved underwear or hiding any body piercings. They just want another Ferrari victory.

Sources: F1.com,; AGPC; FIA.