Mick Schumacher’s second appearance in the Alpine Hypercar wasn’t exactly a happy one. Even before he got into the car

Mick Schumacher’s second appearance in the Alpine Hypercar wasn’t exactly a happy one. Even before he got into the car, everything was running smoothly.

In his second race in the WEC endurance series, Mick Schumacher suffered a bitter setback. With the Alpine Hypercar, the 24-year-old and his teammates couldn’t get past 16th place.

Mick Schumacher could n’t really do much because a collision at the start threw Schumi Jr. and his teammates far back. The Alpine trio therefore remained without points in Imola.

Mick Schumacher: Hopes in Imola are quickly gone
The 6h of Imola started very badly for Mick Schumacher and his colleagues Matthieu Vaxiviere and Nicolas Lapierre. The Alpine trio only landed in 18th place in qualifying. Things got even worse at the start.

+++ Mick Schumacher: New option opens up – change to another racing series? +++

Vaxiviere, who took over the start, caused an accident in the first corner. This not only gave the team a 60-second penalty, but also damaged the car. It took two laps before the car could get back on the track. Everything was already over long ago.

So it wasn’t anything more than a test drive under racing conditions for Mick Schumacher when he got into the car. In total, he sat in the Alpine Hypercar for three hours and completed a total of 102 laps.

Two highlights: First Spa, then Le Mans
Mick Schumacher also missed out on the points in the Alpine in the second race. At the start in Qatar, the Alpine trio ended up in eleventh place. The WEC continues on May 11th with a six-hour race on the legendary track in Spa-Francorchamps. The big highlight follows on the 15th-16th. June is when the 24 Hours of Le Mans is on the agenda.

Mick Schumacher is still hoping for a cockpit in Formula 1. He actually wanted to get himself back into the game through good performances in the WEC. This has not yet been achieved.

The Toto Wolf-Hamilton marriage appears destined for a messy divorce

Lewis Hamilton has endured a difficult start to his final Formula 1 season within the Mercedes organisation – and it could get even worse as the campaign tapers on.

Lewis Hamilton’s start to his final season with the Mercedes squad could not have commenced in a worse way and it seems to be ever clearer that there will be no successful swan song to see out arguably the greatest driver/team pairing in Formula 1 history.

Mercedes has endured various struggles across the last two seasons and it appears no closer to reeling in Red Bull after the opening rounds of the current campaign.

Hamilton’s best grand prix result came at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, where he crossed the finish line in seventh.

The following four rounds have consisted of a trio of ninth-place results and a non-finish in Australia, adding up to the Briton’s worst start to a season in his entire career.

And it could get even worse from here.

Bump back down to reality
Hamilton’s gloomy start to the season was given a hint of a breather during last weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix as he qualified on the front row for the sprint race, before finishing the shorter outing in second place.

But the brief glimmer was not enough to diminish what has been a dismal few weeks, and the seven-time world champion was bumped back down to reality soon after he crossed the line in second, as he qualified towards the back of the grid for the grand prix.

Hamilton’s issues over one-lap this year have been apparent in the fact he has out-qualified team-mate George Russell just once this season, while he is yet to take the chequered flag ahead of his compatriot.

There was a strange exchange in China when Hamilton commented that his set-up went in a very different direction to Russell’s – a claim that the latter refuted.

Whatever truly occurred and whatever is behind Hamilton’s ongoing woes behind the wheel, nothing has swayed Hamilton from voicing his desire to see out his Mercedes tenure on a high note and provide his maximum effort until the very end – but just how realistic is such a scenario?

Phasing out
Should Hamilton be confined to competing at the lower end of the top 10, a sense of resignation and a switch in focus could soon become a reality for him.

While there is no reason to question his commitment, Hamilton is moving to pastures new next year with a lucrative move to the Ferrari squad to pair himself alongside Charles Leclerc in what is one of the biggest driver transfers in F1 history.

Very soon, the realities of the decision will kick in and Hamilton will start to feel like something an outsider when he is phased out of meetings over the 2025 car.

Such policies are traditional when any driver is leaving a team for a rival, but Mercedes has been his home, his nature even, for so long that it will create an unnatural scenario for him when he is not central to discussions.

Throw in the prospect of circulating far away from the front-running competition and the situation could soon get uncomfortable for Hamilton.

The circumstance will soon turn into a frighteningly unfamiliar one for the 39-year-old.

It could very well be the case that Hamiton hopes his final Mercedes outing comes sooner rather than later – as emotional as it will be, it will bring an end to the agonising period that looks set to lie ahead.

Humiliating moment for Toyota as Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin as another NASCAR story unveiled

Toyota’s Tyler Reddick secured the team their fourth win of the 2024 season at Talladega after surviving a multi-car wreck on the final lap. But the victory was the only positive thing for Toyota on the day as four of their drivers were involved in a big wreck, with three of them doing it to themselves.

The final stage of the race witnessed a really embarrassing moment for the Toyota teams. The team after pitting together, formed a single file and started producing a massive run. Tyler Reddick led the pack with Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace, John Hunter Nemechek , Martins Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs following them in the respective order.

A caution on Lap 157 for this incident in Turn 3. pic.twitter.com/t1I5uEen0L

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 21, 2024
Coming into Turn 3, Jones lost control of his No:43 car after slightly lifting up and Wallace’s No:23 Camry bumped him. Jones crashed hard onto the wall alongside Wallace. Hamlin, who was behind them wasn’t able to avoid the chaos and was caught in the incident, while other two JGR driver was able to get out without any damages.

Replays of the incident suggest that three drivers played major role in the incident. Jones’s car suddenly moving to the left and slowing down started it all. Wallace wasn’t able to keep control of his car and Nemechek aggressive pushing of the 23XI Racing car was vital as well. No one can be predominantly blamed for the chaos.

Denny Hamlin gives his perspective of the incident
The No:11 Toyota driver was the innocent by stander in the incident. He pointed out that he is unsure what happened, and hinted that a bad push towards the front was the reason for their crash. He sees the incident as poetic considering their strategy.

I just saw the No. 43 get turned and then I got turned. I’m really not sure which one happened first. Obviously, there was a bad push towards the front and wiped us all out. It’s just poetic. Denny Hamlin said.
It was fortunate that a Toyota driver was able to come out victorious, otherwise the incident would’ve hunt them for long. The three TRD team has to have a discussion over what happened and needs t find solution before the Daytona race towards the end of the regular season.