Red Bull is on a roll this season. They won the driver’s championship with Max Verstappen, clinched the constructor’s title, and ended Mercedes’ 8-year reign at the top. Moreover, after their involvement in the budget cap saga, Helmut Marko opens up about the FIA’s punishment for the team, while taking a subtle dig at Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton has been in great form since the end of F1’s summer break. Only Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc have scored more points than the Mercedes driver. Any of one of his successive second-place finishes would have been Mercedes’ maiden win of the season.

On the other hand, Red Bull’s fantastic season was arguably marred after the FIA found them guilty of breaching the $145m budget cap last year. The FIA handed them a $7m fine and docked 10% of their aerodynamic testing time for the next 12 months. Helmut Marko explained what went wrong while also taking a dig at Lewis Hamilton.

Marko said, “It was the first year of the budget cap. The rules were vague. They reacted late with clarifications. We had Ernst & Young check everything. You have to rely on something.”

He further continued, “We thought we had a safety net of three million. In the end there was only $400,000 left. With the money, Hamilton constructs a front wing (grins). The Haas makes a whole new car.” [Translated using Google]

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Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes will certainly welcome the FIA’s punishment for Red Bull. They’ll be hoping to bridge the gap between their rivals and challenge for the title next year.

Former teammate Valtteri Bottas believes Lewis Hamilton is finding his mojo back

Lewis and Valtteri Bottas shared five wonderful years together in Mercedes. The Finn helped Mercedes win 5 constructors titles. Now, the Alfa Romeo driver believes that Lewis Hamilton is slowly finding his form after the events that took place in Abu Dhabi last year.

Bottas told the media including RacingNews365.com, “I think he’s not satisfied with obviously the end of last year, and also this year. He seems like he is still enjoying it, and I think recently he’s been back at his level again. Why not [stay]? He loves racing.”

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Should Hamilton extend his contract, he might end up racing in his 40s. Valtteri believes that drivers are very much capable of achieving things at different ages in F1. He said, “Obviously, every driver’s individual. I think it’s a lot up to you; if you still want it, if you still want to be competitive, you can.”

Hamilton has previously expressed that Valtteri Bottas was his best-ever teammate. The Finnish driver helped Lewis win 4 titles during his stint with Mercedes. Bottas won 10 races and stood on the podium 58 times with the Brackley-based constructors.

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Lewis will return to action in the Brazilian Grand Prix this week. Brazil is one of Hamilton’s favorite places and the 103-times race winner will hope to add 104th to his tally. Can Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes stand on the top spot at the podium in Sao Paulo?