F1 news: Lewis Hamilton in 'secret Ferrari meeting' as cryptic Max Verstappen message sent

That's all from us tonight.

We'll be back for more of the same in the morning as we begin to look ahead to next weekend's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Catch you then!

Canadian racing driver James Hinchcliffe believes Kimi Antonelli needs to improve his long-run pace to establish himself as one of the grid's best drivers.

"This area of his game is more in line with what you’d expect from a rookie," Hinchcliffe told the F1 website.

"Especially considering George Russell is performing at an exceptional level at present.

“While he has shown a decent ability to manage his tyres, a skill set that is absolutely crucial in this generation of Formula One, his ability to maintain front-running pace is somewhat lacking."

George Russell has admitted that he feels sorry for Lewis Hamilton after the 40-year-old's turbulent start to life at Ferrari.

"He’s a champion, he’s a winner, and he’s in a position where he can’t achieve that and it's not easy to accept," said Russell.

"If he was beaming with a big smile, you’d be questioning why he’s beaming with a big smile.

"I’ve got a lot of respect for him and I like him personally. It’s not nice to see somebody who’s not enjoying it, but why should he be enjoying it?

"Because for him it’s not about the money, it’s about the results and it’s not clicking for him at the moment, but I’m sure it will click at one point."

Mercedes technical director James Allison has revealed that several important upgrades are due to be implemented over the next few races.

"We've already introduced a few upgrades," he began.

"They're not particularly extensive or spectacular, but they come at regular intervals.

"Some of these will be more clearly visible to outsiders in the next races. Hopefully they will improve our results.

"We're already a quarter of the way through the season. It's been a tough and fast time for all the teams.

"It's quite difficult to get upgrades for the car when the races are so close together."

Sebastian Vettel believes Mick Schumacher is an ideal candidate to drive for Cadillac when they join the F1 grid next season.

"He is much more mature [than before] and I think he’s doing a very good job at Alpine in the World Endurance Championship," said Vettel.

"It would be nice if he gets a second chance in the Cadillac. I wish him the best.

"We are obviously in contact and I also heard how things ended for him in Formula One.

"I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he gets another chance, because I believe he can absolutely keep up with the others."

Honda Racing president Koji Watanabe has insisted that he wants to keep working with Max Verstappen beyond the end of the season.

Starting from 2026 onwards, the Japanese company will be leaving Red Bull and supplying power units to Aston Martin.

Verstappen has been tentatively linked with a future move to the British outfit, where he could reunite with Adrian Newey.

"We will do everything we can to help him win his fifth world title this year," Watanabe told Dutch media.

"And then we will focus on our partnership with Aston Martin. But I honestly have to say that I hope there will be another opportunity for Honda to work with Max Verstappen.

"I hope it happens. I have talked to Max many times and he has always been positive about our attitude and mentality."

Lewis Hamilton called a private meeting with Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur just before the start of the Miami Grand Prix.

That's according to insider Frederic Ferret, who revealed all during an appearance on the F1 Nation podcast.

"Lewis went to speak with Fred while we were having a coffee," said Ferret.

"He said: 'I want to speak with you about the tyres'.

It was 9am on the morning of the race. He wasn’t complaining. He was trying to help.

"There is not at all a problem. We heard Lewis speak tough on Bono when they had problems.

"It’s easy for journalists to write: 'Ferrari, big problems'. It’s more complicated than that."

Fernando Alonso has paid an emotional tribute to his former physio, Fabrizio Borra, who died this morning at the age of 64.

Borra was a familiar face in the paddock, having worked with Alonso for the majority of his career.

Taking to Instagram, the Spaniard wrote: "I will miss you, Fabri. Every day.

"Thank you for teaching me so much and for making me a better person and athlete. My whole career with you has been the greatest luck I could have.

"Rest in peace, brother."

Max Verstappen thinks he will only be able to challenge McLaren at circuits where it is difficult to overtake due to the dominance of the Woking team.

The Dutchman has been cut 32 points adrift of F1 leader Oscar Piastri in the Drivers' Championship standings following the opening six races.

“I’m looking forward to some tracks that I enjoy driving but with the gap that they have, realistically, you don’t really have a big chance,” Verstappen explained.

“But maybe on tracks where you can’t pass, you do have a chance. We’ll see Monaco, maybe will be.

“Monaco has not been our strongest track in the past, multiple times. Sometimes it all comes together, that’s for sure. But of course you can’t bank on it the whole time.”

Helmut Marko has insisted that Yuki Tsunoda is the only driver Red Bull have had who is on the same level as Max Verstappen since the Dutchman was handed an F1 seat.

Tsunoda made the step up from Racing Bulls to Red Bull after Liam Lawson was demoted earlier this season.

“Yuki is getting better and better,” Marko told OE24 at the Miami International Autodrome. “He is the first team-mate of Verstappen who is actually at the level of Max. Unfortunately, he still makes too many mistakes as soon as the pressure increases.”

Liam Lawson has admitted it’s “shocking” that he has failed to pick up any points since he returned to Racing Bulls.

The 23-year-old was given a seat with Red Bull at the start of the season but was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda after just two races.

He has since struggled while driving for Racing Bulls and explained after the Miami Grand Prix: “Pretty shocking, we have no points. Obviously, Formula 1 is a lot of variables and to put a full race together could be quite tough. The speed’s been there for most of it, just unfortunately it hasn’t worked out for us so far.”

Former F1 world champion Damon Hill has given a worrying verdict on Lando Norris’ capability to win the title after tipping McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri to get the better of him.

Piastri has had the upper hand on the Briton over the first six races this season and leads his colleague by 16 points at the top of the Drivers’ Championship standings.

“Lando is now in a situation where he’s lost more points to his title rival in effect, which is his team-mate Oscar,” Hill told the BBC‘s Chequered Flag podcast.

“Oscar is inching ahead, and it’s a long way to go yet, and it’s not over and done, but you get the sense that in a battle, in a wheel-to-wheel battle, Oscar will come out ahead in a wheel-to-wheel race over Lando.”

Liam Lawson has been warned he could be sacked for a second time this season if his results behind the wheel don’t improve. The New Zealander was dumped by Red Bull after just two races earlier in the campaign.

He dropped down to sister constructor Racing Bulls but his form hasn’t been much better, with Lawson having failed to finish above 12th in the four races since. As such, there’s a fear that Lawson could drop out of the Formula One picture altogether, with talented youngster Arvid Lindblad waiting in the wings.

Ex-F1 ace Pablo Montoya has warned that could be the case, telling AS: “I’ll tell you the truth. If Liam doesn’t improve any further, I wouldn’t be surprised if they put Lindblad in at some point. Not at all. I wouldn’t be a little surprised."

Sebastian Vettel has hinted that he could be in line to replace Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, with the 82-year-old recently speaking out in favour of appointing the German as his successor.

Discussing a return to Red Bull, Vettel told Austrian outlet ORF: “I still get on really well with Helmut and we are also in dialogue.

“As far as the topic of succession is concerned, it’s not yet as intensive or as in depth, but that is perhaps something that could play a role.

“It remains to be seen in what form, but of course it will continue inexorably at some point and I think Helmut knows that too.

“He is a brutal realist and can assess things very well and very genuinely. I think he will realise when the time is right.

“I think I know the position very well from my time when I was very close to it. But to be fair, I have to admit that I haven’t been that close to him in recent years.”

Jack Doohan reportedly hired security in the USA after fearing for his safety at the Miami Grand Prix. The Australian is said to have lost sleep ahead of the race after being sent email threats.

Doohan went on to lose his Alpine seat after the race and has been replaced by Argentine driver Franco Colapinto.

Leading F1 photographer Kym Illman confirmed the story on Instagram as he wrote: “He was receiving all sorts of threats online....so much so that he had round-the-clock security in Miami and was planning on keeping that security for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

“Out of all the drivers, it's really only Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri that have full-time security. It was plain to see by those close to the Aussie that those threats weighed heavily on him.

“People had discovered his personal email address and were sending email threats which resulted in Jack, his girlfriend and even his father holding real concerns for their safety in Miami and on top of that, Jack's sleep was affected.

“I'm certain Franco wouldn't be endorsing any of that behaviour from what is a minority of his fanbase.”

Max Verstappen took up a seat in a Ferrari 296 GT3 for a test at the Nurburgring ahead of the weekend. The outing was part of the GT3 test and setup sessions of the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie.

The four-time F1 world champion initially attempted to keep his appearance a secret and decided to attend under the pseudonym of Franz Hermann. But he later posted about his experience on social media.

Good morning and welcome to the Express Sport F1 live blog.

Drivers and teams are enjoying a break from action this weekend but will already have their thoughts on next Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

We’ll have plenty of updates for you throughout the day, so stick around.