Lewis Hamilton has been handed a major Ferrari lift, Max Verstappen is facing fresh pressure at Red Bull, and the Miami Grand Prix weekend has already been hit by FIA changes and weather fears. Here are the biggest F1 stories on Thursday April 30.

Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari title push has suddenly come alive

Lewis Hamilton has been backed to launch a real bid for an eighth world title, with the Miami Grand Prix a key weekend for Ferrari’s momentum.

The Scuderia are expected to bring major upgrades to south Florida and that could be good news for the seven-time world champion.

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Max Verstappen heads into Miami with Red Bull under pressure

Max Verstappen arrives at the Miami Grand Prix with growing questions around Red Bull’s recovery and whether the team can still match expectations.

That uncertainty means Verstappen is again one of the biggest talking points of the weekend before a wheel has even turned.

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Kelly Piquet spills the beans on Max Verstappen relationship

Kelly Piquet has opened up about living in the F1 pressure cooker with world champion Max Verstappen.

The Brazilian model and influencer went deep about her life and her family in an interview with a Mexican magazine.

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Hamilton reveals dating nightmare: Calling Mum and ‘should I run?’

Hamilton has opened up about his worst dating nightmare, and we can confirm it came long before any rumoured relationship with Kim Kardashian.

The 41-year-old dropped the details during a dinner with lifelong friends which was filmed for water giant San Pellegrino.

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Miami weather threat leaves F1 facing a tense wait

Lightning and storm fears have put potential race disruption on the radar ahead of Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix.

With the event already dealing with schedule changes, the weather threat has added a fresh layer of uncertainty.

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FIA trial could create new trouble for Hamilton and Ferrari

An FIA trial in Miami is a possible threat to Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari at exactly the wrong moment in their season.

It could blunt what has been Ferrari’s biggest weapon so far this season.

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One F1 star has supported Lando Norris after his interview with The Guardian went viral on social media.

The Guardian’s Donald McRae’s sit-down interview with Norris raised eyebrows online after the reigning champion’s management allegedly censored his responses during the exchange.

McRae claimed that at one stage Norris told him he ‘was not the boss’, and that he had allegedly been sent a message beforehand, specifically asking him not to ask questions about Norris’ friendship and rivalry with Max Verstappen and George Russell, or about the new 2026 regulations.

When McRae did bring up these topics, Norris’ management company apparently stepped in and said ‘we’re done with time’.

McRae also alleged that the management team gave a generic quote to be used in a line about Verstappen on behalf of Norris: “He’s an amazing guy, Max is the best person ever and we love him. Quote.”

Now, former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has defended Norris and his management following the exchange, and claimed the interview was designed to catch the champion out.

READ MORE: McLaren F1 boss accuses Red Bull of having ‘unhealthy’ setup

Montoya defends Norris

Speaking on the AS Columbia podcast, Montoya said: “Of course, but Lando handled it very well and pretended he was going to answer, even though he knew he wasn’t allowed to and that they would stop him.

“But the journalist did indeed handle it poorly.”

“If you are told: we have an exclusive interview with Lando, but you are not allowed to ask this, and you do it anyway, then I will never speak to you again. Do you know what happens?

“Journalists never ask those questions with good intentions, there is never a good purpose behind it, they try to trip the person up or get them to say something wrong to use it as a headline, and they attack someone with those questions.”

READ MORE: ‘F1 has no problems’ – Why Stefano Domenicali was right to deny issues in controversial interview

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A former McLaren F1 chief who worked closely with James Hunt has slammed the blockbuster film Rush, despite starring in it himself.

Rush was released in 2013, and depicted the fierce on-track rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt during the late 1970s.

Lauda went into the 1976 season as the F1 champion having claimed the 1975 title with Ferrari.

But 1976 saw the emergence of a familiar foe, with his rival from the junior series Hunt having joined McLaren after performing well with Hesketh in 1975.

Hunt and Lauda were then involved in a closely fought championship battle in 1976, in which Hunt was the victor following a near-fatal incident for Lauda at the 1976 German Grand Prix.

Lauda almost lost his life in the days following the incident having suffered some serious burns, but remarkably made a full recovery, and was back racing in F1 by the 1976 Italian GP, before claiming the title in 1977.

Now, Hunt’s former technical director at McLaren – Alastair Caldwell – has described the Rush film depicting their rivalry as a ‘joke’, claiming that the pair always remained good friends away from the track.

Caldwell actually starred in the film back in 2013, having a cameo role as a race official.

“Well, if you watch the film Rush, which is a bit of a joke, really, because it doesn’t actually tell the story, but it’s ‘a story’,” Caldwell told Goodwood’s YouTube channel.

“You’ll see that they crash at Brands Hatch in their early days, in their Formula 3 days, and they shout at each other and blah blah. And this is true, but they came to Brands Hatch in James’s Mini, and they went home in James’s Mini, and they lived together in a Knightsbridge flat. So they were the best of friends, and they always were.

“On the racetrack, they gave no quarter, because that’s the way it was. But in real life, the opposite of the film Rush was true. James and Niki were the best of friends.”

READ MORE: Ferrari F1 engineer speaks out over ‘arrogant’ Lewis Hamilton claims

Lauda’s 1976 crash

The 1976 German Grand Prix is one of the most infamous events in F1 history, and Lauda was fortunate to survive the incident.

Lauda lost control of his Ferrari before the right-hand Bergwerk curve at the Nurburgring track, and crashed into an earth bank, before the car bounced back onto the track, engulfed in flames.

Brett Lunger hit Lauda’s stricken car, while Harald Ertl then hit into the back of Lunger’s car. Lauda’s rivals stopped and helped him out of his burning Ferrari car, but Lauda had suffered serious burns and was rushed by helicopter to the Bundeswehr hospital in Koblenz.

The Austrian racer was left scarred for the rest of his life, but didn’t let it stop him, going on to claim two more championships in 1977 and 1984 and go down in history as one of the greatest ever F1 racers.

Lauda retired in 1985, and in later years worked as a non-executive chairman for Mercedes during their dominant period in the sport led by Lewis Hamilton.

The F1 legend unfortunately passed away in 2019 aged 70 after suffering kidney issues following a lung transplant.

READ MORE: The F1 driver kidnapped and ransomed for $5million

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