Lewis Hamilton has been accused of undermining Ferrari's leadership, while Valtteri Bottas has revealed drivers' tax worries ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Hamilton's Relationship with Ferrari Leadership Questioned
Hamilton is set to speak at around 8.10am on Thursday, October 1, and could be probed on claims regarding his relationship with Frederic Vasseur. Sky Sports' David Croft recently questioned whether the 41-year-old is undermining Ferrari's leadership.
Croft said: "I'm not criticising Lewis here, but when he says 'I've got a great relationship with John Elkann, we're very close'. Is that actually undermining Fred just a little bit as well? If John Elkann takes such a hands-on role, which I believe he does, then how do you expect your team principal to exert authority?"
Bottas Highlights Drivers' Tax Concerns
Tax officials in Italy are thought to be tightening their regulations, with claims that they are looking to collect from F1 drivers who have competed at the country's Grand Prix in recent years. The F1 season could wrap up at Imola in December, with the Abu Dhabi and Qatar GPs in question due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Bottas claims that drivers will not want to race in Italy due to the new tax reports. He explained: "Not a big fan because, yeah, I've heard about the the weather normally around that time of the year. The fog in the mornings, the early, early sunset temperature. And, also, I don't know if you've heard about the Italian tax? No driver wants to really race in Italy because of recent events, what happened."
The Bahrain Grand Prix is just a matter of days away, with a number of press conferences set to take place looking toward the event at the Sepang Circuit.
