F1: Lewis Hamilton’s ‘quite average’ start - 137 points and four wins from six races

Hamilton plays down season start

Lewis Hamilton may have won four of the opening six races in the 2019 Formula 1 season but the Mercedes driver has described his performances as “quite average”.

After victory at the Monaco Grand Prix on 26 May the reigning world champion extended his lead at the top of the drivers’ standings. The Briton has won 137 points so far in 2019 and is 17 ahead of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

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Five-time title winner Hamilton told Sky Sports in Monaco: “I definitely feel that it’s been quite an average performance from myself, maybe above average, but generally quite average for the first six races.

“I feel like I’ve got the best I could get. I’ve arrived prepared - the best prepared I could be - but in terms of extracting the true performance from the car, I feel like I’ve struggled a little bit in these six races.”

The next F1 grand prix will be held in Montreal, Canada, on Sunday 9 June. The Canadian GP at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve starts at 7.10pm (BST).

Will Merc and Ferrari ‘Drive to Survive’?

GPFans.com reports that Mercedes and Ferrari will feature in the second season of F1’s Netflix series Drive to Survive.

The two teams did not participate in season one, but according to Radio Monte Carlo drivers Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc will be made available for series two.

Horner: F1 2021 talks are like Brexit

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner has compared the F1 2021 negotiations to Brexit.

New rule changes and regulations will be brought into the sport in 2021 and currently teams, stakeholders and owners Liberty Media are thrashing out an agreement.

“A bit like Brexit,” Horner said on the talks. “Things are put on the table and then taken off the table. We need to get something done because time is running out.”

F1 news headlines

What the media is writing about in the world of Formula 1:

• Why the next three Grands Prix offer Ferrari hope (Formula1.com)
• Porsche built and tested F1 2021 engine before opting against entry (Autosport)
• Williams plots major F1 upgrade to bring ‘significant performance’ (Autosport)
• Pierre Gasly: No need to stress over 2019 start (Motorsport Week)
• Lauda wanted Red Bull to have Mercedes power (Planet F1)