F1 LIVE: Hamilton 'difficult to stop' as FIA consider rule change

Mercedes have pressed home their advantage in the first double-header of the season with consecutive one-two finishes. In Shanghai, it was Kimi Antonelli's turn to enjoy some time on the top step of the podium as Formula 1's second youngest Grand Prix winner ever, though George Russell remains narrowly ahead in the drivers' standings.

But, as we know, car performance is a huge factor in F1, and so the leaderboard never truly reflects the individual displays of each driver relative to the machinery they have under them. That's why we've created our driver power rankings, in which we grade the performance of all 22 drivers relative to their cars across qualifying and races, including Sprints.

And, because things move fast in F1, each driver's power rating will be based on the five most recent Grand Prix weekends – to ensure a racer who performs well in the latter stages of the season is not penalised for a poor start, and vice versa.

After the second round of the year, our first average scores are in, and there are a couple of clear stand-out performers from Australia and China.

F1 power rankings: Oliver Bearman superb as Lando Norris' title defence faltering already

Audi boss Jonathan Wheatley believes Max Verstappen is only unhappy with the controversial new F1 regulations because Red Bull are struggling. Verstappen endured a DNF at the Chinese GP and proceeded to lash out at the new regulations, once again comparing F1 to video game Mario Kart.

However, Wheatley had little sympathy for the four-time winner. He told the media: “I tell you what I would say. I think if you spoke to the two Ferrari drivers, they’d say they had a brilliant day.

“If you can’t win, then if you can just race cleanly, I have to say it didn’t look like any kind of false racing to me. Each driver had a go at each other.

“They raced beautifully, cleanly. I enjoyed watching it. There are battles going on in the field that I think are hugely encouraging. I think you can understand Max’s comments perhaps because of where he finds himself.”

Aston Martin chief track officer Mike Krack believes McLaren are enduring the same issues as his team. Oscar Piastri and defending champion Lando Norris both endured DNS finishes at the Chinese Grand Prix after enduring separate power unit issues

While they took the headlines, Fernando Alonso endured vibration issues throughout the GP before he suffered a DNF. When addressing his team's issues, Krack believes there are similar problems in the McLaren camp.

Krack said: “Vibrations fundamentally affect reliability. We have to lift in several areas, but we are not talking about seconds of loss. In some adjustments, we are more conservative, but we don’t miss many benefits.

“I have a lot of respect for rivals; they all work hard, and we all have the same problems. I don’t want anyone to take cars off the grid. Without knowing the specific problem, it shows that this can also happen to a team like McLaren”.

Max Verstappen has been told by Toto Wolff that his "horror show" at Red Bull is contributing to his criticism of Formula 1's new 2026 regulations.

Verstappen has been deeply critical about the regulations which place an onus on drivers managing battery power as well as using a boost button to overtake.

But Mercedes team principal Wolff hit back saying: "Max is in a horror show. When you look at the onboard that he has in qualifying, it's just horrendous to drive. You can see that. But it's not the same with many other teams.

"From an entertainment perspective, I believe that what we've seen between Ferrari and Mercedes was good racing. Many overtakes. We were all part of Formula 1, where there was no overtake, literally.

"Sometimes we're too nostalgic about the good old years. But I think the product is good in itself. We saw quite some racing in the midfield also.

"Now, from a driver's standpoint, when it comes to the qualifying lap, that is different. Clearly, lifting and coasting in qualifying – I'm sure for someone like Max, who is a full-attack guy, it's difficult to cope and digest.

"But it's more, I would say, a car-specific issue that magnifies the problem that it is because if you sit in front of a TV or in front of a screen, even Max would say that was interesting racing in the front."

Toto Wolff is confident Mercedes will avoid a repeat of Lewis Hamilton’s toxic rivalry with Nico Rosberg after Kimi Antonelli emerged as a serious threat to team-mate George Russell’s world championship bid.

He said: “The relationship between Lewis and Nico was completely different. Nico and Lewis knew each other from their early karting days, being friends but also having this social fight that was always engrained within them.

“It was a friendship that then became a rivalry and then animosity. They were two different drivers. But having said that, you need to appreciate that drivers are here to win races and championships, and the moment you sniff that, obviously then the elbows come out. That’s something that the team needs to manage.

“But both Kimi and George are Mercedes juniors, and we’ve been responsible for the trajectory since single-seaters. So, I feel at this stage – and maybe I’m going to bite my tongue one day – that we are in a totally different situation.”

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has insisted the new compression ratio regulations will not effect the 2026 F1 campaign. The FIA decided to alter compression ratio regulations from June 1 onwards, which will mean power units will undergo extra testing procedures.

However, Vasseur expects little to change when these changes come into place. He said: "I'm not convinced that the new compression ratio rule will be a game changer or a huge game changer.

"It's more that you will have the ADUO at one stage, that the introduction of the ADUO will be an opportunity for us to close the gap.

"But once again, it's not just about pure performance. I think you have a lot in energy management, a lot in the chassis. It would be a mistake from our side to be just focused on one parameter."

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have contrasting thoughts on F1's new power unit regulations. The Red Bull driver tore into the news rules shortly after his DNF at the Chinese GP.

Verstappen said: "It's not fun at all, no. It's playing Mario Kart. This is not racing. I mean we were slower this weekend, so we were fighting Haas and Alpine the whole race. Of course some other cars yes. Look at the racing, you are boosting past and then you run out of battery the next straight, they boost past you again. For me it's just a joke."

However, Hamilton feels a lot happier with the regulations, saying it's now easier to follow cars, making the racing experience "the best" he's had. The Ferrari ace said:

"Yeah, the cars are easier to follow, much better than past years. You can get very close. There’s not a bad wake where you’re losing too much downforce.

"I think it’s the best racing that I’ve ever experienced in Formula 1. Of course, these guys are pulling past us at crazy speeds, but to be able to all be so close… It’s great that we have the good start at the moment and hopefully that stays the same through the year.

"Given that they’ve gone for a different option where they have more power, we’ve got to figure out how we can improve our straight-line speed. But hopefully it was an exciting race to watch for you guys because it was awesome in the car.

"It felt like go-karting, back and forth, back and forth, and you could really position your car in a nice way where there was a thin piece of paper between us sometimes, but we didn’t exchange any paint. I think that’s down to great drivers and respect."

Ferrari removed its new halo mini wings at the Chinese Grand Priz after holding discussions with the FIA. In free practice, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton both trialled its new 'flip-flop' upside down concept on the rear wing, which enables the upper rear wing element to run upside down during straight mode.

Moreover, as a "minor update" the winglett had also been added to the central aero pillar. As part of their official submissions to the FIA, it said this addition was: "Not event specific, it simply returns a small aerodynamic load benefit."

But between the sprint race and qualifying, they were removed and not taken into the GP itself. According to 'The Race' this decision was taken because there was a debate between the Scuderia and the FIA about the wings being "borderline" in the regulations.

Ferrari then decided the wings were not worth the trouble of any post-match protests and debate being lodged against them by either the FIA or rival teams.

Tennis star Jannik Sinner has given a shoutout to his fellow countryman Kimi Antonelli during his Indian Wells title acceptance speech.

Antonelli became the second-youngest F1 grand prix winner in Shanghai on Sunday and Sinner made sure he gave Antonelli the credit he deserves.

"It has nothing to do with tennis, but it has been a special day for Italy because I'm a huge Formula 1 fan and having a very, very young Italian Kimi, bringing Italy back home on the top," the 24-year-old tennis player said.

"It's amazing, so thanks. Thanks Kimi. Thanks Formula 1 and see you all next year."

Ex-F1 1 driver Jacques Villeneuve has accused Lewis Hamltilon of “destroying” Ferrari’s Chinese Grand Prix after his battle with teammate Charles Leclerc.

The race run by the seven-time world champion has been described as “extreme” with the suggestion that the antics damaged Ferrari’s chances in Shanghai. Hamilton was third fastest in the sprint and finished third behind the Mercedes one-two of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, the 41-year-old is now facing claims that the battle with his teammate aided their rivals.

Villeneuve said: “Well, it was fair because he finished third, and he managed to beat his teammate. So, yes, it turned out okay, but it was a little bit extreme, and it destroyed Ferrari’s race.

“They were running second and third. Then they were fighting so hard, destroying their tyres. And in those two laps, they lost five seconds to Antonelli.”

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Ralf Schumacher has told Max Verstappen to focus on helping Red Bull improve rather than complain about the 2026 regulations.

The four-time world champion did not hold back in his criticism at the new rules, claiming that "it's not fun at all, it's like playing Mario Kart" and that "this is not racing".

Speaking to Sky Deutschland, former German driver Schumacher has told the Dutchman to focus on the racing. "Max has proven that he is the fastest driver. Now he needs to help his team, which is having problems and stop whining. The fact that he then simply wants to drive in a different racing series... you can do that, but you don't have to."

"These new rules were decided four years ago. Back then, everyone only wanted electric vehicles, you mustn't forget that. Many teams invested an incredible amount of money here."

The FIA are reportedly considering altering their rules around power unit development this season.

The new regulations in 2026 include a pathway for power unit manufacturers to improve their engines at different points in the season to avoid a team running away with the championship.

Journalist Jon Noble has insisted that the FIA could alter the timings associated with programme. "I think the other important element is the engine or power unit upgrade," he said on The Race F1 Podcast.

"There are metrics in the rules for this additional development and upgrade opportunities, ADUO, a classic F1 phrase now. Which was originally going to be after race six, which was Miami. Now we’ve lost Bahrain and Saudi [Arabia], race six is Monaco, I think I’m right.

“But from what we understand, the FIA are going to change the wording of the regulations so it will either become a set date or will be an earlier race to divide the season into four.

“So, it’s still likely to be around Miami time. It’s if your power unit’s deemed to be 2% behind the benchmark, and I think I am correct in saying that Fred Vasseur said tonight on current performance, he expects them to get an ADUO uplift.”

Max Verstappen has delivered his most scathing attack yet on this year's regulations and has warned that they will "eventually ruin the sport".

“It is terrible, and if someone likes this, then you really don’t know what racing is about,” Verstappen said.

“It is not fun at all. It is Mario Kart. This is not racing. We are boosting past, then you run out of battery, and they boost back past you again. For me, it is just a joke (i.e. fake passing).

“I would say the same if I was winning because I care about the racing product. It is fundamentally flawed. It is painful. It will eventually ruin the sport, and it is going to come back to bite them.”

Ferrari reportedly decided to remove their new halo wings from the cars for the Chinese Grand Prix. The new elements were used in both practice and the sprint element, but were nowhere to be seen in qualifying and the race on Saturday and Sunday.

The Race report that the decision was made after holding discussions with the FIA regarding their legality. It's reported that it was felt it was 'borderline', with Ferrari not willing to take the risk of any possible repercussions if the FIA or a rival team decided to protest, with the wings only providing a benefit of a few hundredths of a second.

Tennis star Jannik Sinner has claimed that he wanted to watch the F1, but was stopped by he preparations for the Indian Wells final.

The Italian then sent a message of congratulations to his fellow countryman Kimi Antonelli.

Sinner came out as 7-6, 7-6 winner over Daniil Medvedev in California. Speaking after the match, he told Sky Sports:

"I wanted to watch the Formula One but it was midnight. I'm not capable of going to sleep very late and playing tennis the next day so very good discipline. Congrats Kimi."

F1 fans were left amused when a mistake on Kimi Antonelli's podium moment was noticed.

Shared by Mercedes on their official X account. As Antonelli makes his way to the podium, he is announced as Kimi Raikkonen.

The Italian smiles and looks slightly confused before making his way to the top of the podium.

In reply to the post, fans showed their amusement: "That’s why he looked so confused. When I watched the race, I thought he had lost or something, like why would he be surprised about Lewis and George had already there," one said.

A second added: "Didn't know Kimi Raikkonen was Italian."

As well as the Chinese Grand Prix, Sunday also saw the Oscars taking place, with more success for Lewis Hamilton.

His F1 movie was nominated for four awards, including Best Picture and Visual Effects. While missing out on those, it still took one award from the evening, taking the Best Sound Oscar.

Hamilton was unable to attend the awards due to competing in China, but did receive a shoutout during the acceptance speech.

The film, starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris, was released in June last year and has also claimed a Grammy and BAFTA.

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