F1: Red Bull could walk away from sport, could Lewis Hamilton do the same?

F1 must 'deliver' for Red Bull

Red Bull has been tipped as a team that could challenge Mercedes and Ferrari for F1 glory this season, but its long-term future in the sport could be in doubt.

Team principal Christian Horner has told Motorsport.com that F1’s new owners must “deliver” on their promises if it is to remain involved beyond 2021.

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“Teams are not committed yet as no new Concorde Agreement has been signed, and F1's new management has made it clear that those who had preferential deals under Bernie Ecclestone – including Red Bull – will have to accept a level playing field, with payments based on performance,” explains the website.

“Red Bull is also concerned about budget caps, as it is the only one of the top three teams not linked to a car manufacturer and engine supply, and it has doubts about how equitable any restrictions could be.”

Horner warned that Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz would not hesitate to pull the plug if he is not happy with the shape of F1 in 2021.

He said: “It needs to be exciting, it needs to be cost effective, the racing’s got to be great, and we need to be able to play on an equal and level playing field with OEM [original equipment manufacturers] and manufacturer teams.”

Meanwhile former ringleader Ecclestone says that a new Concorde is important for the sport’s new owners, Liberty Media.

“The longer they leave it, the more chance there is of some of the teams stopping” he told Motorsport.com.

Can Red Bull Honda keep up?

Red Bull will be using Honda engines for the first time this season and there has been a lot of speculation about how well they will perform.

The team performed well in pre-season testing but former champion Mika Hakkinen “doesn’t believe Honda can take the fight to Ferrari or Mercedes”, says Planet F1.

The Flying Finn told Unibet’s inside Formula 1: “Honda had a long, really hard learning curve in Formula One and had really tough years with McLaren. They had a hard road.

“I think now they are in a position that they can start bringing in the performance.

“But I really don’t think they’re still in a level on the performance with Ferrari or Mercedes in power terms.

“If you don’t have that, if you have less horsepower in a straight line, it’s difficult to overtake other cars. That’s a fact.”

Lewis Hamilton has MotoGP dream

Could Lewis Hamilton be preparing to walk away from F1 and join MotoGP? That’s the scenario proposed by the Daily Express, which says the British driver has been considering a “shock career twist”.

The 33-year-old watched the season-opening MotoGP in Qatar at the weekend and spoke of his love of motorbikes.

He told the official MotoGP website: “One hundred percent I’m going to ride one, I’m building up to it.”

However, the Express says Hamilton believes he is now too old to carve out a career on two wheels. “I'm too old to change, there would be a too big gap from the current MotoGP riders," he said.

"I think about it, but it's very different. I tried the go-kart when I was eight, while these guys got on the two wheels at eight.

“Surely I'll ride a MotoGP bike on some occasion. Being on the same track with Valentino [Rossi] on the bike would be crazy because I'm a huge fan of him, a real honour, but it should teach me everything.”

Kubica ready for comeback

Williams driver Robert Kubica has spoken about his incredible return to F1 eight years after he almost severed his right arm in a dreadful rally crash.

“The 34-year-old, a contemporary of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, was the first Polish driver in F1 when he made his debut for BMW Sauber in 2006. Next weekend he will climb behind the wheel for Williams in Melbourne for his first F1 race since that horrific accident,” says The Observer.

“The period straight after the accident was probably most difficult physically,” he told the paper.

“The period where you have to adapt mentally, this was even more difficult. Physical things you can solve. But then many times after surgery to improve things, you discover you have not moved forwards but backwards. Dealing with that is a mental task. You have to be strong. I do not have an easy character, definitely, and in those days this character helped me quite a lot.”

However, he says he “felt amazing” when he did get back behind the wheel six years after the crash. “Those laps did not feel like it had been a six‑year break. It felt like I had missed a couple of months. This opened up and unlocked my mind to see that maybe I can do it.”