F1 LIVE: Mercedes upgrades confirmed with Fernando Alonso ‘open’ to joining top team

Charles Leclerc insists there were still plenty of positives to take from the Spanish Grand Prix despite the Ferrari driver recording his first DNF of the 2022 season.

Leclerc had dominated practice, took pole in Barcelona and looked to be on course for victory in Sunday’s race until an engine failure forced him to retire.

Max Verstappen took full advantage and a third consecutive race win for the reigning world champion saw him take a six-point lead at the top of the drivers’ standings.

Despite that, Leclerc said he was encouraged by the pace of his car and its superior tyre management.

The Formula One season is in full swing as the drivers prepare for the seventh race of the most extensive calendar in the sport’s history.

So far, Max Verstappen has secured four wins and sits atop the Driver’s Championship after a retirement issue to Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari in Spain.

Red Bull and Ferrari’s rivalry continues to bubble away nicely, with the two teams separated by a small number of points in the Constructors’ Championship.

Elsewhere on the grid, Mercedes look to be making progress after an extremely strong weekend in Catalunya.

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Lewis Hamilton says his brilliant comeback drive at Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix has resurrected his dream of fighting for an eighth world championship.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen raced to his third victory in as many outings after Charles Leclerc was cruelly eliminated from the lead when engine gremlins struck his Ferrari on lap 27 of a sizzling race at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya.

Hamilton’s race seemed doomed after just four corners when he collided with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and sustained a puncture.

The seven-time world champion stopped for repairs and emerged last but one – 30 seconds behind his nearest competitor and more than one minute off the lead. So gloomy was Hamilton’s apparent fate that he wanted to retire his car.

Verstappen eventually took his third consecutive win in Spain, capitalising on Charles Leclerc’s retirement after engine trouble to lead home a Red Bull one-two.

The 24-year-old was not happy, however, with a faulty DRS that worked only intermittently during the race, having also lost out on a chance at pole in qualifying due to a loss of power on his final lap.

Hamilton suffered a puncture after a collision with Haas driver Kavin Magnussen and he told his team he wanted to bow out of the race. But Mercedes asked him to carry on and the British driver managed to finish the race in fifth.

“Lewis’ contact with Kevin Magnussen on the opening lap surely cost him a chance of a spectacular result,” pundit Brundle wrote for Sky Sports. “He was 50 seconds behind the leader on lap two and 54 seconds at the end despite backing off by four seconds on the final tour.”

Having been forced to pit after an early collision with Kevin Magnussen, the Mercedes driver dropped to 19th, more than half-a-minute behind the pack.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton stirred, however, producing a superb drive to work his way up through the field to be running fourth late on.

Mercedes‘ trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has said there are “new parts in the pipeline” after an impressive showing at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Mercedes have grown into the new F1 season after a slow start, and although they remain off the pace of Ferrari and Red Bull, there were signs in Barcelona that George Russell and Lewis Hamilton could be getting back into contention.

Russell battled to a third-place finish while Hamilton fought from the back of the pack after a disatrous start to finish fifth, and Mercedes now plan to improve the car further before the next race in Monaco.

Canadian rapper Drake was left particularly disappointed by Charles Leclerc’s retirement from the Spanish Grand Prix, revealing that he had bet £185,000 on the Ferrari driver to win the race in Barcelona.

Drake claimed ahead of the race that he had placed a bet on F1 for the first time, placing a wager of CA$300,000 (£185,000) with a potential return of CA$750,000 (£467,000) if Leclerc claimed victory.

Hamilton delivered his best performance of the season at Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix after fighting back from an opening-lap collision with Kevin Magnussen to finish fifth.

Hamilton might be 64 points behind new championship leader Max Verstappen following the Dutchman’s third triumph in as many rounds at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya.

Sebastian Vettel has been subjected to a robbery after a bag belonging to the four-time Formula One world champion was taken in Barcelona on Monday morning.

Vettel, who was unharmed in the incident, set off in pursuit of the stolen property by using the Find My iPhone application connected to his AirPods.

But although the 34-year-old German managed to track down his earphones, the bag and other items inside have not been found.