Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel has hinted he could be tempted to make a Formula One comeback after revealing he has been talking to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.

Mercedes are searching for a new driver for 2025 and beyond after Lewis Hamilton announced in February he was quitting for Ferrari after 11 years with the Silver Arrows.

Vettel, who won his four drivers’ titles with Red Bull between 2010 and 2013, left F1 at the end of the 2022 campaign after six years at Ferrari and two with Aston Martin.

Now, though, the 36-year-old has suggested he could return to the sport after speaking to a number of team bosses up and down the paddock.

“I am speaking to Toto. I don’t know if that qualifies as Mercedes, but about other things,” the German told Sky Sports News.

“I’m talking to a lot of people because I know them, but not very specific. I mean obviously it does cross my mind, I do think about it, but it’s not the main thought.

“I have three kids at home, it’s busy every day, so there’s a lot of other thoughts I have. There’s ideas that I have.

“Events that I’m planning going forwards, so I did speak to a lot of other team principals as well, and not only about racing. There’s thoughts, but nothing concrete at the minute.”

A seat at a top team could help Vettel make a decision to return to the grid and he admits he was caught out by Hamilton’s decision to swap Mercedes for Ferrari after winning six world championships with the team.

“I was surprised, like I guess most of us were,” he said.

“But it is exciting. Obviously he’s looking for a new challenge and it will be different to see him in red, in a different colour.”

Meanwhile, Vettel has been testing a different kind of race car having spent time in the Porsche contender for the Le Mans 24 Hours.

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“Maybe, I don’t know yet,” he replied when asked if he could make his first appearance in the famous endurance race this year.

“I’ve been testing. I was curious, so I wanted to see how it feels. It’s obviously a different discipline. It’s still racing, but it’s a different car, different discipline.

“I am (tempted) and I’m not. I am obviously also looking for lots of other things and there’s lots of other things that do interest me outside of racing.”

Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel has hinted he could be tempted to make a Formula One comeback after revealing he has been talking to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.

Mercedes are searching for a new driver for 2025 and beyond after Lewis Hamilton announced in February he was quitting for Ferrari after 11 years with the Silver Arrows.

Vettel, who won his four drivers’ titles with Red Bull between 2010 and 2013, left F1 at the end of the 2022 campaign after six years at Ferrari and two with Aston Martin.

Now, though, the 36-year-old has suggested he could return to the sport after speaking to a number of team bosses up and down the paddock.

“I am speaking to Toto. I don’t know if that qualifies as Mercedes, but about other things,” the German told Sky Sports News.

“I’m talking to a lot of people because I know them, but not very specific. I mean obviously it does cross my mind, I do think about it, but it’s not the main thought.

“I have three kids at home, it’s busy every day, so there’s a lot of other thoughts I have. There’s ideas that I have.

“Events that I’m planning going forwards, so I did speak to a lot of other team principals as well, and not only about racing. There’s thoughts, but nothing concrete at the minute.”

A seat at a top team could help Vettel make a decision to return to the grid and he admits he was caught out by Hamilton’s decision to swap Mercedes for Ferrari after winning six world championships with the team.

“I was surprised, like I guess most of us were,” he said.

“But it is exciting. Obviously he’s looking for a new challenge and it will be different to see him in red, in a different colour.”

Meanwhile, Vettel has been testing a different kind of race car having spent time in the Porsche contender for the Le Mans 24 Hours.

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A post shared by Home of Porsche Motorsport (@porsche.motorsport)

“Maybe, I don’t know yet,” he replied when asked if he could make his first appearance in the famous endurance race this year.

“I’ve been testing. I was curious, so I wanted to see how it feels. It’s obviously a different discipline. It’s still racing, but it’s a different car, different discipline.

“I am (tempted) and I’m not. I am obviously also looking for lots of other things and there’s lots of other things that do interest me outside of racing.”

Guenther Steiner has warned Red Bull their dominance of Formula One will end just as Mercedes’ did.

Red Bull have won the last three constructors’ championships with Max Verstappen completing a hat-trick of drivers’ titles, in the process breaking the strangleholds imposed by Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton in previous years.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton has endured a miserable start to the new season with his car lasting just 17 laps of Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix as team-mate George Russell crashed out to leave the Brackley and Brixworth-based team 71 points adrift of Red Bull after just three races and pile the pressure on boss Toto Wolff.

But asked about their difficulties, former Haas team principal Steiner said: “Obviously they are struggling a little bit at the moment. For me, they are a good team, I think they’re a good team. It’s just like it’s competition.

“Mercedes was dominating for a long time and you cannot always be dominating, you shouldn’t expect that. Now we say Red Bull is dominating – it will come to an end, like Mercedes came to an end.

“A lot of people are saying, ‘Mercedes is not doing well’ – Mercedes is still in the top four at the moment or top five, they just need to do a little bit better. But it’s how competitive this sport is and you cannot take anything for granted.

“Obviously Toto would love to dominate the sport forever, but nothing is forever. I think it’s good for the sport and shows also how quickly it goes up and down.

“Mercedes is still doing OK, they’re still scoring points. Sometimes you forget there are 10 teams and not only three which are allowed to win. I think all 10 should be allowed to win and those are the things you learn when you are outside of the sport like I am now.”

Hamilton, who is in the midst of his worst start to a campaign, will join Ferrari ahead of the 2025 campaign, leaving a huge gap to plug.

Steiner, speaking after being announced as an ambassador for May’s Miami Grand Prix, was asked if Carlos Sainz – winner in Australia just 16 days after undergoing surgery for appendicitis – would be at the top of his list if he was in charge at Red Bull or Mercedes.

He replied: “Toto has no urgency to sign anybody because everybody is waiting until that seat is filled, but I’m sure a lot of people are speaking to Carlos at the moment.”

Barbadian driving sensation Zane Maloney is focused on consistently improving his performances, as he seeks to continue building on his sweep of the Formula Two season-opening events.

Maloney’s comments followed another positive weekend in Melbourne, Australia, where he again made the podium after finishing third in the feature race, on the heels of a 10th place finish in the sprint a day earlier.

This latest podium adds to the 20-year-old’s sprint race and feature race victories on the opening weekend of the season in Bahrain.

“Satisfied but of course we just need to keep making steps forward. I think we have showed the last three rounds that Bahrain wasn’t a fluke. We have had the pace each round. We just need to keep working on it,” Maloney said in a post-race press conference.

“I think qualifying from my side is much better than last year. I just need to keep improving that. We have always been fast in the race and made good moves, so we just need to keep going. Everyone is catching up, so we need to keep performing well,” he added.

In the feature race in Melbourne, Maloney, who drives for British team Rodin Motorsport, finished third behind 19-year-old French-Algerian driver Isack Hadjar and 20-year-old Estonian Paul Aron.

Two weeks ago in Jeddah, Maloney trailed in seventh in the feature and just missed out on a podium place in the sprint race when he ended fourth.

He was left ruing his luck again last Saturday when a costly error left him down the field instead of near the podium.

“Should have been a podium. From my side, I made a big mistake which lost me lots of places. But the second half of the race was really good from my side, so I am pleased with that. Happy to be back on (the podium after a) bit of a chaotic race. For sure the pace has been good all year so far. I think we have proved that each round. It is cool to have a clean Feature Race,” Maloney reasoned.

The Bajan sensation’s next assignment will be the May 16-18 Grand Prix at Imola.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff will be absent from the next Formula One race in Japan, the PA news agency has learned.

It is understood that Wolff’s decision to miss the race in Suzuka on April 7 was taken before the start of the new season and is not connected to the team’s performance in Australia.

Wolff admitted after Sunday’s race at Melbourne’s Albert Park that it is “fair” to question his future as team principal following Mercedes’ troubling weekend.

Lewis Hamilton qualified only 11th and the worst start to his 18-season career was confirmed when his engine expired on lap 17, while team-mate George Russell was seventh when he crashed out.

Wolff, who lives in Monaco, will be on the intercom remotely throughout the race weekend in Japan – with his duties at the circuit to be divided between senior members of the Brackley team.

The Austrian also missed last year’s Japanese GP and the ensuing round in Qatar, following knee surgery. On those occasions the team’s driver development director Jerome d’Ambrosio was handed the effective on-site team principal baton.

But it emerged earlier this month that D’Ambrosio is set to end his association with the team when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Wolff admitted in an interview with the PA news agency last year that he intends to scale back his on-track presence in the coming years.

The 52-year-old, who has been in charge of Mercedes since 2013, recently signed a new three-year deal to remain as chief executive and team principal of the F1 operation he co-owns with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ola Kallenius.

Mercedes won an unprecedented eight consecutive constructors’ titles between 2014 and 2021 but they have tasted just one victory from their last 48 outings.

Fresh from his harrowing accident in Melbourne, Russell is expected to be at the team’s HQ in Northamptonshire later this week as Mercedes search for solutions to their underwhelming start to the season.

Russell failed to make it to the end of Sunday’s race after hitting the wall on the penultimate lap in his pursuit of Fernando Alonso.

The double world champion was adjudged to have driven dangerously by the stewards and was demoted from sixth to eighth following a post-race 20-second penalty.

However, the 42-year-old protested his innocence in a message posted on social media.

Alonso wrote: “A bit surprised by a penalty at the end of the race regarding how we should approach the corners or how we should drive the race cars. At no point do we want to do anything wrong at these speeds.

“I believe that without gravel on that corner, on any other corner in the world we will never be even investigated.

“In F1, with over 20 years of experience, changing racing lines, sacrificing entry speed to have good exits from corners is part of the art of motorsport.

“We never drive at 100 per cent every race lap and every corner, we save fuel, tyres, brakes, so being responsible for not making every lap the same is a bit surprising. We have to accept it and think about Japan, to have more pace and fight for positions further up the field.”

Toto Wolff admitted it was a “fair question” whether he remained the right person to lead Mercedes – after Lewis Hamilton’s worst ever start to a season was confirmed at the Australian Grand Prix.

Carlos Sainz delivered the best drive of his career, just 16 days after surgery for appendicitis, to take advantage of Max Verstappen’s shock first retirement in two years to lead home a Ferrari one-two finish from Charles Leclerc.

But over at Mercedes, Hamilton’s afternoon ended on the 17th lap when his engine expired as team-mate George Russell crashed out.

Hamilton, who qualified 11th, has taken just eight points from the opening three rounds. His previous worst start to a season had been in 2009 when he was disqualified at the first round before finishing sixth and seventh.

Before Sunday’s retirement, Hamilton had begun the year by crossing the line only seventh and ninth in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia respectively.

Mercedes carried Hamilton – who is heading to Ferrari next year – to six of his seven world championships, but the British driver has not won a race since the penultimate round of the 2021 campaign, 58 rounds ago.

Last year, Hamilton finished second in Melbourne, but Russell, who was the fastest Mercedes driver in Melbourne this weekend, was only seventh when he crashed.

Wolff, who has been team principal at Mercedes since 2013, was asked if he should remain in his role.

“As a corner of this business, I need to make sure my contribution is positive and creative so I would be the first one to say if somebody has a better idea, tell me because I am invested to turn this team around as quickly as possible,” the 52-year-old replied.

“We have not swallowed a dumb pill since 2021. We don’t understand some of the behaviours of the car and in the past we would.

“I look at myself in the mirror every single day about everything I do and it is a fair question. But it (leaving) is not what I feel that I should do at the moment.

“But if you have any ideas as to who could turn this round, I would happily listen to that.

“The big difference is, this is my job and if you ask the manager question, I cannot go to Chelsea or Liverpool or over to Ferrari.

“I have not got that choice (as a co-owner of Mercedes) which is also unfortunate. I am not a contractor or an employee, who has said I have had enough of this. My hamster wheel keeps spinning and I cannot jump out.

“We always need to look at ourselves. I need to look at myself. And we are all humans. Data doesn’t take decisions; humans do.

“I would be lying if I said I feel positive and optimistic about the situation. You need to overcome the negative thoughts and say ‘we will turn it around’, but today it feels very, very, very brutal.”

Mercedes arrived for the new season armed with a car that they thought would enable them to return to the front. But the Silver Arrows are now behind not just Red Bull, but Ferrari and McLaren in the pecking order, too.

An honest Wolff continued: “We started this season in the belief that this car was better than last year.

“Everything I have done before, in finance and investment, you know which screws to turn and you know sometimes it takes time.

“Here, I don’t think we are missing things. It is just a complication that is happening with the car that we cannot see, and it is like an on-off switch.

“You see the progress that McLaren and Ferrari have made, so on one side, I want to punch myself on the nose. We have got to really dig deep because it is brutally painful.”

Despite his poor weekend in Melbourne, Hamilton was upbeat. His pain perhaps soothed by Ferrari’s impressive display at Albert Park.

“Surprisingly I feel pretty good,” said Hamilton, with Wolff also admitting his soon-to-be-departing driver “is looking over the fence” at Ferrari’s impressive performances.

“I’m trying to keep things in perspective because things could be so much worse.

“I’m still enjoying working with the team. Of course I’d like to be (competing for wins) but we will bounce back. We will eventually get there.

“It’s easy to get caught up in the moment and be focused on this one thing. But the bigger picture is definitely the focus. And also, just realising that you can’t control everything.

“It’s not great. I’m not happy. But I’m going to have a great day tomorrow.”

Despite the brake failure on lap four which ended his bid for a record-equalling 10 straight wins, Verstappen still remains in charge of the championship with a four-point lead over Leclerc, ahead of the next round in Japan on April 7.

Max Verstappen’s bid to win a record-equalling 10 consecutive races went up in smoke as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz returned from surgery just 16 days ago to win in Australia.

Verstappen suffered a brake failure after just four laps of Sunday’s 58-lap race at Melbourne’s sun-cooked Albert Park to end his winning streak which stretched back to September’s Japanese Grand Prix.

Sainz took advantage of Verstappen’s first retirement in 43 races to claim just the third win of his career a fortnight after he was ruled out of the previous round in Saudi Arabia with appendicitis.

Charles Leclerc finished second to complete a Ferrari one-two with Lando Norris next up as the British driver landed his first podium of the year.

Lewis Hamilton’s miserable start to his final season with Mercedes continued after he retired on lap 17 with an engine failure.

Hamilton, who is leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari at the end of the season, has taken just eight points from the opening three rounds – the worst start of his 18-season career.

Both Mercedes cars failed to make it to the end in Melbourne after George Russell crashed out on the penultimate lap. Russell’s Mercedes ended up on his side but the Englishman was able to walk away from the accident.

More than 132,000 spectators were crammed into Albert Park anticipating another Verstappen victory after the Dutch driver took pole position here on Saturday.

And when the 26-year-old held off Sainz at the start, and ended the opening lap one second clear of the Spaniard, Verstappen looked on course to take his third victory from the opening three rounds.

But to the amazement of the record crowd in Australia, Sainz sailed past Verstappen on lap two before smoke began pouring out the back of his Red Bull machine.

“I have smoke,” he said over the radio “Fire, fire, brake, my brake.”

Verstappen was falling back through the pack and the crowd cheered his demise. He managed to get his wounded machine back to the pits before his right-rear brake temporarily caught fire.

Verstappen remonstrated with performance director, Tom Hart at the back of the garage – appearing to say “that is f***** stupid” – before heading to his changing room and putting on his Red Bull civvies and taking the long walk through the paddock to the media pen.

“The brake stuck on from when the lights went off,” said Verstappen. “The temperatures kept on increasing until the point where it caught on fire.

“Having one brake caliper on was like driving with the handbrake on. I didn’t know at the time but I could feel the balance in the car was off.”

Asked about his exchange with Hart, he replied: “That was related to us doing a pit stop while the car was on fire!”

It was a bad day for the winners of the past seven world championships after Hamilton’s miserable weekend here ended with him stopping on track as his engine expired.

Hamilton started 11th and was running in ninth before his Mercedes gave up the ghost.

Hamilton’s previous worst start to a season had been back in 2009 when he was disqualified at the first round before finishing sixth and seventh. Before today’s retirement, Hamilton had started the season with a seventh and ninth in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

But for Sainz, the man making way for Hamilton at Ferrari next year, he had an afternoon to remember by leading home a Ferrari one-two from Charles Leclerc with Lando Norris completing the podium.

Sainz took his win under the virtual safety car after Russell’s Mercedes dramatically ended up 90 degrees to the floor after he thudded into the wall in his pursuit of Fernando Alonso.

Russell reported over the radio that he was “OK” and was able to walk away from the crash. Oscar Piastri took fourth for McLaren ahead of Sergio Perez’s Red Bull with Alonso sixth.

Lewis Hamilton said the inconsistency of his Mercedes “messes with the mind” following his worst qualifying performance in Australia for 14 years.

Hamilton, who boasts a record eight pole positions at Melbourne’s Albert Park, will start Sunday’s 58-lap race from a disappointing 11th after he was eliminated in Q2.

Max Verstappen took pole – his third in as many races – as he bids to complete a record-equalling 10 victories, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz joining him on the front row.

Hamilton qualified eighth in Saudi Arabia a fortnight ago, and ninth the week before in Bahrain.

He trails team-mate George Russell, who will line up in seventh on Sunday, 3-0 over one lap this season, and after finishing only seventh and ninth at the opening two rounds, he has scored just eight points to Russell’s 18 so far.

“The inconsistency in the car really messes with the mind,” said Hamilton, who had finished fourth in final practice, less than a tenth off the pace.

“There is a long list of things to fix. Our car is on a knife edge. In the afternoon the wind picks up and the car becomes unstable. But the others can pick their pace up in qualifying and I am not sure why.

“It didn’t feel the same in qualifying from practice even though we had lighter fuel. It is not a great feeling for everyone in the team but we will keep working away.”

Hamilton has not won a race since the penultimate fixture of the 2021 campaign in Saudi Arabia, 57 rounds ago.

Mercedes have adopted a different design philosophy this season, but Hamilton is low on confidence in the last Silver Arrows he will drive before he heads to Ferrari in 2025.

“It is three years in a row where I have had a similar feeling,” continued the seven-time world champion.

“There are spikes like this morning in practice where I think it can be good, and then it disappears.

“If we can make the car more consistent maybe we can be more competitive but there is a lot of work to do and everyone is pushing as hard as they can.”

Hamilton’s Mercedes boss Toto Wolff pulled no punches with his assessment of his team’s performance.

“It’s especially underwhelming because we were within a tenth in final practice,” he said. “The conditions were a little bit different but there is no excuse.

“We have a car that is difficult, and as much as I am annoyed at myself for saying this for a long time, we just need to continue working on it and trying to get better.

“It is not because of a lack of trying that we are where we are, but it’s not good enough.”

At the sharp end of the grid, Verstappen’s third pole in as many races appeared under threat with Ferrari threatening to knock the all-conquering Dutchman off his perch.

But Verstappen upped the ante in front of a record Saturday crowd at a sun-cooked Albert Park of just shy of 131,000, to see off Sainz by 0.270 seconds.

After winning the last nine rounds, stretching back to his victory at September’s race in Japan, Verstappen heads into Sunday’s main event as the overwhelming favourite to take another triumph and match his own record.

“It was a bit unexpected today, but I am very happy with Q3,” said Verstappen. “Both of my laps felt nice and enjoyable. It has been a tricky weekend so far but we managed to be there at the end.”

Sainz, who had emergency surgery in Jeddah to remove his appendix just 15 days ago, added: “It has been a tough couple of weeks, a lot of days in bed, waiting to see if I would be here today, and to make it to this weekend and then to put it on the front row, I almost didn’t believe it.

“I was rusty yesterday but I got up to speed and found the pace and I feel good with the car. I am not going to lie, I am not in my most comfortable state when I am driving out there but I can get it done.”

Max Verstappen is on course to take a record-equalling 10 consecutive victories after putting his Red Bull on pole position for the Australian Grand Prix.

Verstappen’s third pole in as many races appeared under threat with Ferrari threatening to knock the all-conquering Dutchman off his perch.

But Verstappen upped the ante in front of a record Saturday crowd at Melbourne’s Albert Park of just shy of 131,000, to see off Carlos Sainz, who missed the last round in Saudi Arabia with appendicitis, by 0.270 seconds.

Lewis Hamilton holds a record eight pole positions here, but the British driver was eliminated in Q2, leaving him a disappointing 11th on the grid – his lowest starting position in Melbourne for 14 years.

Hamilton failed to progress to Q3 after he finished 0.059 seconds behind George Russell in the other Mercedes.

Russell, who will start seventh, holds a 3-0 qualifying lead over Hamilton who will leave the Silver Arrows at the end of the season to join Ferrari.

Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez qualified third, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who aborted his last lap after he made a mistake.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc saw off Max Verstappen in practice for the Australian Grand Prix – as Lewis Hamilton claimed “something was wrong” with his Mercedes after he finished only 18th.

Verstappen is bidding to match his record of 10 consecutive wins at this weekend’s race in Melbourne.

But Leclerc could pose a threat to the all-conquering Dutchman, following an impressive practice lap that put him nearly four-tenths clear.

Leclerc’s Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz – back in his cockpit following British teenager Ollie Bearman’s stand-in drive in Saudi Arabia a fortnight ago – ended the running in third, with Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso fourth and fifth, respectively, for Aston Martin.

George Russell took sixth for Mercedes, 0.674 seconds behind Leclerc, but team-mate Hamilton finished ahead of only Haas’ Kevin Magnussen on a troubling day for the seven-time world champion.

Hamilton, 39, ran off the road in the first running at a sun-cooked Albert Park, and his struggles continued into the day’s concluding session, with a best lap that put him 1.5 sec off the pace and nearly a second behind Russell.

“What times are people doing?” Hamilton asked over the radio. After he was informed of leader Leclerc’s pace, he replied, “Yeah, something is wrong.”

Only 19 drivers took part in the second session following Alex Albon’s high-speed crash in the opening session.

The London-born Thai driver lost control of his Williams on the exit of Turn 6 before smashing into the wall on the inside of the track and rebounding across the circuit.

Albon’s right-front wheel tore off his machine under impact, with debris from his Williams littering the track.

Albon came to a standstill and was able to get out of his cockpit. “Sorry,” he said over the radio before he was taken away in the medical car.

“Muchos debris,” said Lando Norris. “Is he alright? It looked pretty large.”

Albon, 27, was taken to the medical centre for precautionary checks as the session was red-flagged to clear his destroyed machine.

Williams said he would not participate in the second practice due to the damage to his car, and it is uncertain if he will be able to take part in the remainder of the weekend with spare parts limited to the British team.

Elsewhere, home favourite Oscar Piastri finished seventh, two positions ahead of Norris in the other McLaren who had topped the time charts earlier in the day in front of a record 124,000-strong crowd.

Alex Albon walked away from a high-speed crash in opening practice for the Australian Grand Prix.

The London-born Thai driver lost control of his Williams on the exit of Turn 6 before smashing into the wall on the inside of the track and rebounding across the circuit.

Albon’s right-front wheel tore off his machine under impact, with debris from his Williams littering the track.

Albon came to a standstill and was able to get out of his cockpit. “Sorry,” he said over the radio before he was taken away in the medical car.

“Muchos debris,” said Lando Norris. “Is he alright? It looked pretty large.”

The one-hour running was suspended for 10 minutes, with McLaren’s Norris topping the time charts.

The British driver finished just 0.018 seconds clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with George Russell third for Mercedes and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc fourth. The top four were separated by less than half-a-tenth.

Russell hauled his Mercedes towards the front of the order in the closing moments, but team-mate Lewis Hamilton struggled with the handling of his Silver Arrows.

The seven-time world champion ran off the road at the opening bend on his first lap on the speediest soft tyres and ended the session only ninth.

Carlos Sainz, back in his Ferrari after missing the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with appendicitis, was eighth.

The second practice session at Melbourne’s Albert Park will begin at 4pm local time (5am GMT).

Max Verstappen said he can understand why Toto Wolff wants to take him to Mercedes – but the triple world champion insists it his “intention” to see out his contract with Red Bull.

Following Verstappen’s ninth consecutive victory in Saudi Arabia earlier this month, Wolff revealed for the first time that he would “love” to sign Verstappen as a replacement for the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen, 26, is under contract with Red Bull until 2028, but his future is in the spotlight amid the in-fighting at Formula One’s dominant team.

And responding to Wolff’s comments ahead of Sunday’s third round of the season in Australia, Verstappen replied with a smile: “I can understand (why).

“It is always nice to hear that. Toto and I have had our moments. That is normal between two teams battling for the championship but the respect has always been there.

“From my side it doesn’t change anything. I don’t know what will happen after 2028, if I will stay in F1, or continue, or sign a new deal (with Red Bull).

“But that is why I signed the deal in the first place. I am happy within the team and it is my intention to be here in the end.”

Verstappen, who will equal his record of 10 straight wins with another victory this weekend, opened the door to sensationally quitting Red Bull if motorsport adviser Helmut Marko is forced out on the eve of the race in Saudi Arabia a fortnight ago.

Verstappen continued: “It is very important that we try to keep the key players in the team for a longer period of time because that is where the performance is and if I didn’t perform I wouldn’t be sitting here.

“For me, it is a second family. In a family there might some times be disagreements. You cannot choose your family but you can choose friends.

“A lot of people have contributed to the success of this team from the start and that has to be respected. It is important to keep them together, happy and in the same roles.

“But we just focus on the performance. I would like the chat to be about the great car that we have. Hopefully that will come slowly.”

Lewis Hamilton said he has never supported Formula One’s ruler Mohammed ben Sulayem – and believes the sport is sending out a “message that if you file a complaint, you will be fired” amid the Christian Horner controversy.

Ben Sulayem, elected as FIA president in December 2021, was cleared by his own organisation’s ethics committee on Wednesday after he was accused of meddling with the result of last year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and attempting to block the certification of F1’s £500m Las Vegas Grand Prix on the Strip in November.

But four hours later, on another whirlwind day in the controversy-hit world of F1, Susie Wolff announced she has filed a criminal complaint against the FIA following the sporting federation’s conflict of interest inquiry into her and husband Toto, the team principal of Hamilton’s Mercedes team, in December.

Earlier this month, Christian Horner’s accuser was suspended on full pay in the wake of Red Bull’s investigation into alleged “inappropriate behaviour” by the F1 team principal. The employee of the Milton Keynes team has since appealed against the decision to exonerate Horner.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, Hamilton was asked if 62-year-old Emirati Ben Sulayem remains the right person in charge of the FIA and if he still has his backing.

“He never has,” said Hamilton. The seven-time world champion was then asked for his thoughts on Wolff’s decision to launch legal action.

“Firstly, I’m incredibly proud of Susie,” said the seven-time world champion. “I think she is so brave, and she stands for such great values.

“She’s such a leader and in a world where often people are silenced, for her to be standing up sends such a great message.

“There is a real lack of accountability here, within this sport, within the FIA.

“There are things that are happening behind closed doors, there is no transparency, there is really no accountability and we need that. The fans need that. How can you trust the sport and what is happening here if you don’t have that?

“So, hopefully this stand that she’s taking now will create change, will have a positive impact, and especially for women. It is still a male-dominated sport, and we’re living in a time where the message is if you file a complaint, you will be fired, and that is a terrible narrative to be projecting to the world, especially when we’re talking about inclusivity here in the sport. We need to make sure we stay true to the core values.”

The probe into the Wolffs arose at the end of last year after a report in Business F1 magazine claimed that other team principals were concerned Susie’s husband Toto was benefiting from information shared by his wife, who runs the all-female F1 Academy series.

Two days after the FIA announced its compliance department was “looking into” the allegations, the federation said it “can confirm that there is no ongoing investigation in terms of ethical or disciplinary inquiries involving any individual”. At the time, Susie, 41, described the allegations as “intimidatory and misogynistic”.

And on Wednesday, she wrote on social media: “I can confirm that I personally filed a criminal complaint in the French courts on the 4th of March in relation to the statements made about me by the FIA last December.

“There has still not been any transparency or accountability in relation to the conduct of the FIA and its personnel in this matter.

“I feel more than ever it is important to stand up, call out improper behaviour and make sure people are held to account. Whilst some may think silence absolves them from responsibility – it does not.”

The FIA has been approached for a comment.

Susie Wolff has filed a criminal complaint against the FIA over a controversial inquiry into her last year.

The F1 Academy boss and her husband, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, were the subject of an investigation into claims of an alleged conflict of interest.

The probe arose in December after a report in Business F1 magazine claimed that other team principals were concerned Toto Wolff was benefiting from information shared by his wife.

Two days after the FIA announced its compliance department was “looking into” the allegations, the federation said it “can confirm that there is no ongoing investigation in terms of ethical or disciplinary inquiries involving any individual”.

At the time, Susie Wolff vehemently denied the allegations – calling them “intimidatory and misogynistic”.

And on Wednesday, Wolff wrote on social media: “I can confirm that I personally filed a criminal complaint in the French courts on the 4th of March in relation to the statements made about me by the FIA last December.

“There has still not been any transparency or accountability in relation to the conduct of the FIA and its personnel in this matter.

“I feel more than ever it is important to stand up, call out improper behaviour and make sure people are held to account. Whilst some may think silence absolves them from responsibility – it does not.”

The FIA has been approached for a comment.

The female employee suspended by Red Bull has appealed against the decision to clear team principal Christian Horner of controlling behaviour, the PA news agency understands.

Red Bull’s investigation dismissed the complainant’s grievance earlier this month but she has lodged a formal appeal with the Formula One team’s parent company GmbH.

The employee is understood to have been suspended on full pay as a direct result of Red Bull’s inquiry, which concluded at the end of last month.

The complainant was told she had acted dishonestly and received a legal letter, which gave her five working days on receipt of the letter, to appeal against the outcome of the investigation.

Horner, 50, who has always denied the claims made against him, was allowed to continue in his role when GmbH cleared him of any wrongdoing.

When asked about the matter before the recent Bahrain Grand Prix, Horner said: “There was a grievance that was raised, it was dealt with in the most professional manner by the group – not by Red Bull Racing but by the owners of Red Bull Racing, Red Bull GmbH – that appointed an independent KC, that is one of the most reputable KCs in the land, and he took time to investigate fully all of the facts.

“He interviewed all of the people involved as well as others of interest. He looked at everything and he came to the conclusion where he dismissed the grievance.

“As far as I am concerned, and as far as Red Bull are concerned, we moved on and we look to the future. The time now is to draw a line under it.”

The PA news agency has approached Red Bull Racing and its parent company GmbH for comment.