F1 LIVE: Lewis Hamilton on track in free practice at Bahrain Grand Prix - follow lap times, stream and update

Lewis Hamilton has hit back at Damon Hill and Jenson Button by telling them he is a “fighter” – and insists he will not retire from Formula 1.

Speaking on the eve of the opening round in Bahrain on Sunday – where Hamilton has already conceded Mercedes will start on the back foot – the seven-time world champion scoffed at suggestions this could be his 17th and final campaign on the grid.

Elsewhere, Aston Martin have confirmed that Lance Stroll will participate in this weekend’s Formula 1 season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix having missed testing last week due to a wrist injury.

First practice started on Friday at 11:30am (GMT), with FP2 later at 3:00pm (GMT) as the first race weekend of the 2023 season begins - see race weekend times here.

Follow live updates from practice at the Bahrain GP with The Independent

F1 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX - PRACTICE

• The 2023 F1 season gets underway with the Bahrain Grand Prix

• First practice started at 11:30am (GMT); FP2 is at 3pm - Click HERE for full weekend timings

• ‘I will still be here’: Lewis Hamilton defiant in response to retirement talk

• George Russell gives honest assessment of Mercedes’ chances at Bahrain Grand Prix

• F1 2023 season predictions: World champion, surprise star, best race and more

• Guenther Steiner exclusive interview: What makes star of Drive to Survive tick?

F1 practice - Bahrain Grand Prix: 45:00 LEFT!

11:44 , Kieran Jackson

15 minutes into first practice and Sergio Perez is the early pacesetter in the Red Bull with a 1:34:343.

Fernando Alonso in his quick Aston Martin is second, seven-tenths down, with Max Verstappen third.

Lewis Hamilton is in fourth, 1.119 seconds behind Perez.

5-10: Gasly, Sainz, Piastri, Leclerc, Norris, Sargeant. All on medium tyres so far.

Oscar Piastri, meanwhile, just snapped his McLaren and went off track at turn 7. All OK though.

F1 practice - Bahrain Grand Prix: We’re underway with first practice!

11:30 , Kieran Jackson

The cars are out on track for first practice at the Bahrain Grand Prix - the first non-test action of the 2023 season!

The Williams drivers of Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant are the first drivers out on track as the last team in the pit lane and closest to the pit exit!

Plenty of cars out on track from the off here...

F1 practice - Bahrain Grand Prix: George Russell gives honest assessment of Mercedes’ chances at Bahrain Grand Prix

11:25 , Kieran Jackson

George Russell fears Max Verstappen’s Red Bull will be in a “league of their own” at Formula One’s opening race of the season in Bahrain.

Verstappen will start the new campaign on Sunday as the overwhelming favourite to take his third consecutive world crown after he and Red Bull impressed in testing.

Mercedes finished third in the constructors’ standings last year, but despite solving their porpoising woes, there are low expectations they will be in a position to battle at the front this weekend, and possibly this season.

Indeed, Russell, who is gearing up for his second year with Mercedes, believes his team might even have slipped behind a rejuvenated Aston Martin in the pecking order. However, the Englishman, 25, has not given up hope that the Silver Arrows will be able to haul themselves back into contention as the year progresses.

“It’s going to be a challenging weekend if we want to try and fight for that victory,” said Russell.

“It’s definitely fair to say Red Bull are in a league of their own this weekend. It will be a nice fight for second place, probably between Ferrari and Aston Martin.”

George Russell gives honest assessment of Mercedes’ chances at Bahrain GP

F1 practice - Bahrain Grand Prix:

11:20 , Kieran Jackson

Martin Brundle, speaking to Sky Sports, on the support of teams in F1 nowadays: “The teams have stablised, been around a long time now. Over 150 teams in the 72-year history have changed names or gone out of business.

“The drivers are very media savvy and social media friendly. Drive to Survive and everything we do at Sky.

“The fans get to know the drivers and team bosses much better than in the past so they can really get behind somebody.”

F1 practice - Bahrain Grand Prix: F1 2023 season predictions - World champion, surprise star, best race and more

11:15 , Kieran Jackson

The 2023 F1 season gets underway this weekend with the Bahrain Grand Prix the first of a record 23 races this year.

Max Verstappen is the favourite after his runaway success last year, while both Ferrari and Mercedes will be hoping to haul in the hefty deficit to Red Bull in 2023.

There are three rookies this year – in Oscar Piastri, Nyck de Vries and Logan Sargeant – as well as a new race in Las Vegas, the penultimate meet of the season which ends in Abu Dhabi on 26 November.

Here are some season predictions from Formula 1 Correspondent Kieran Jackson - do you agree?

F1 2023 season predictions: World champion, surprise star, best race and more

F1 practice - Bahrain Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton defiant in response to retirement talk

11:11 , Kieran Jackson

Lewis Hamilton has hit back at Damon Hill and Jenson Button by telling them he is a “fighter” – and insists he will not retire from Formula One.

Former world champions Hill and Button have cast doubt over Hamilton’s future as the Mercedes driver enters the final season of his £40million-a-year contract.

But speaking on the eve of the opening round in Bahrain on Sunday – where Hamilton has already conceded Mercedes will start on the back foot – the seven-time world champion scoffed at suggestions this could be his 17th and final campaign on the grid.

“Not at all,” said Hamilton when asked if he heads into the new season thinking it might be his last.

“It is ultimately people creating rumours without facts, and it is never helpful. You would have thought that they (Hill and Button) would both know me by now. I have been with Mercedes since I was 13, and last year we had a difficult year, but I am still here, and whether or not we have a difficult year this year, I will still be here.”

‘I will still be here’: Lewis Hamilton defiant in response to retirement talk

F1 practice - Bahrain Grand Prix: What are the weekend timings?

11:06 , Kieran Jackson

What is the race schedule?

(All times GMT)

Friday 3 March

• Free Practice 1: 11:30am

• Free Practice 2: 3pm

Saturday 4 March

• Free Practice 3: 11:30am

• Qualifying: 3pm

Sunday 5 March

• Race: 3pm

How can I watch it online and on TV?

The entire race schedule from Friday to Sunday will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with qualifying live on Sky Sports Main Event too, as is most of the race on Sunday.

Highlights will be aired on Channel 4; for qualifying at at 7:30pm (GMT) on Saturday and for the race at 9pm on Sunday.

If you’re not a Sky customer you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.

F1 practice - Bahrain Grand Prix

11:00 , Kieran Jackson

The drivers have arrived at the Bahrain International Circuit ahead of free practice today!

How will Max Verstappen fare after a strong testing period? And can Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes surprise a few people with a strong showing?

The action gets underway in 30 minutes time!

F1 practice - Bahrain Grand Prix: Jenson Button delivers Lewis Hamilton retirement theory

10:44 , Kieran Jackson

Exclusive by Kieran Jackson

Jenson Button believes Lewis Hamilton may be tempted to retire if Mercedes once again fail to produce a car capable of race victories on a consistent basis.

After an eight-year period where Hamilton won six of his seven world titles from 2014-2021, Mercedes languished behind Red Bull and Ferrari last year after a change in regulations and the Silver Arrows’ unusual philosophical approach to the design of their car.

Hamilton failed to win a race in 2022 – the first time he has gone a season without standing on top of the podium – and concerns over the 38-year-old’s long-term future continue to linger with his £40m-a-year contract due to expire at the end of the season.

Speaking to The Independent, 2009 F1 world champion Button – who was team-mates with Hamilton for three years at McLaren – speculated that the Brit may well be having doubts while Mercedes languish behind their rivals.

Jenson Button reveals the one thing that could make Lewis Hamilton retire from F1

F1 2023 calendar: When and where are all the races taking places this season?

10:29 , Kieran Jackson

The 2023 Formula 1 season is almost upon us and preparation is already well underway for the new campaign.

This year sees 23 races held in a record-breaking calendar, as Max Verstappen looks to make it three in a row following back-to-back World Championship triumphs.

Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team will be targeting improvement following a disappointing 2022 season, while Ferrari will be looking to learn from last year’s mishaps and errors as they eye their first Drivers title in 16 years.

There are new faces on the grid too - such as Oscar Piastri and Nyck de Vries - and all 20 drivers will be itching to get back on track after a three-month break with the official pre-season test in Bahrain before the first race of the season a week later.

Here is everything you need to know:

F1 calendar: Every race in 2023

F1 practice - Bahrain Grand Prix: Sergio Perez sends Red Bull warning over Max Verstappen treatment

10:19 , Kieran Jackson

Sergio Perez has fired a warning to Red Bull and insists he won’t help Max Verstappen on track if he doesn’t receive any “support when I need it.”

Mexican star Perez has received plaudits for being a team player at Red Bull and has helped double world champion Verstappen in various races, most memorably defending from Lewis Hamilton at the controversial season finale of the 2021 season in Abu Dhabi.

Yet at the penultimate race of last season in Brazil, with Verstappen’s second title long secured and Perez vying for second place in the Championship, the Dutchman defied orders from the pit wall and refused to let Perez pass him.

Verstappen insisted afterwards he “had his reasons” for ignoring team orders - rumoured to be linked to Perez crashing in qualifying at the Monaco Grand Prix, a race the Mexican went onto win - but has refused to elaborate any further.

Sergio Perez sends Red Bull warning over Max Verstappen treatment

F1 practice - Bahrain Grand Prix: Mattia Binotto ‘thrown under the bus’ by Ferrari, says Damon Hill

10:00 , Kieran Jackson

Ex-Formula 1 driver Damon Hill believes former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto was “thrown under the bus” by the team.

Binotto resigned from his position after the 2022 season following a disappointing campaign for the team. Ferrari started the season well with Charles Leclerc topping the drivers championship but mechanical failures and tactics meant the Scuderia came away with nothing.

Max Verstappen took the drivers’ crown and his Red Bull team claimed the constructors’ title.

But Hill - who won 22 races during his eight-season professional career and was world champion in 1996 - believes Binotto was the scapegoat for the team’s failings.

Mattia Binotto ‘thrown under the bus’ by Ferrari, says Damon Hill

F1 practice - Bahrain Grand Prix: What makes Drive to Survive star Guenther Steiner tick?

09:44 , Kieran Jackson

Exclusive interview by Kieran Jackson

When Netflix first premiered Drive to Survive in 2019, an attempt by Formula 1’s new owners Liberty to broaden the sport’s murky horizon, the onus was on your Hamiltons, your Vettels and your Verstappens to haul in that untapped audience. Like any serial drama, you need a protagonist. But there can only be one star of the show.

Little did people think it’d be Guenther Steiner.

“It’s all about the underdog story,” the 57-year-old tells The Independent, when asked why the Haas-centred episodes have the viewers at peak excitement upon the release of each show. A show, he is eager to add, he does not watch.

More below:

Guenther Steiner interview: What makes star of Drive to Survive tick?

F1 practice - Bahrain Grand Prix: F1 2023 season predictions - World champion, surprise star, best race and more

09:29 , Kieran Jackson

The 2023 F1 season gets underway this weekend with the Bahrain Grand Prix the first of a record 23 races this year.

Max Verstappen is the favourite after his runaway success last year, while both Ferrari and Mercedes will be hoping to haul in the hefty deficit to Red Bull in 2023.

There are three rookies this year – in Oscar Piastri, Nyck de Vries and Logan Sargeant – as well as a new race in Las Vegas, the penultimate meet of the season which ends in Abu Dhabi on 26 November.

Here are some season predictions from Formula 1 Correspondent Kieran Jackson - do you agree?

F1 2023 season predictions: World champion, surprise star, best race and more

F1 practice - Bahrain Grand Prix: What are the weekend timings?

09:14 , Kieran Jackson

What is the race schedule?

(All times GMT)

Friday 3 March

• Free Practice 1: 11:30am

• Free Practice 2: 3pm

Saturday 4 March

• Free Practice 3: 11:30am

• Qualifying: 3pm

Sunday 5 March

• Race: 3pm

How can I watch it online and on TV?

The entire race schedule from Friday to Sunday will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with qualifying live on Sky Sports Main Event too, as is most of the race on Sunday.

Highlights will be aired on Channel 4; for qualifying at at 7:30pm (GMT) on Saturday and for the race at 9pm on Sunday.

If you’re not a Sky customer you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.

F1 news: Lewis Hamilton defiant in response to retirement talk

08:59 , Kieran Jackson

Lewis Hamilton has hit back at Damon Hill and Jenson Button by telling them he is a “fighter” – and insists he will not retire from Formula One.

Former world champions Hill and Button have cast doubt over Hamilton’s future as the Mercedes driver enters the final season of his £40million-a-year contract.

But speaking on the eve of the opening round in Bahrain on Sunday – where Hamilton has already conceded Mercedes will start on the back foot – the seven-time world champion scoffed at suggestions this could be his 17th and final campaign on the grid.

“Not at all,” said Hamilton when asked if he heads into the new season thinking it might be his last.

“It is ultimately people creating rumours without facts, and it is never helpful. You would have thought that they (Hill and Button) would both know me by now. I have been with Mercedes since I was 13, and last year we had a difficult year, but I am still here, and whether or not we have a difficult year this year, I will still be here.

“I am a fighter and we fight as a team. I love the challenge of finding solutions and I still believe I am able to put the car in places that perhaps others are not able to. I love that challenge.”

‘I will still be here’: Lewis Hamilton defiant in response to retirement talk

F1 LIVE: George Russell gives honest assessment of Mercedes’ chances at Bahrain Grand Prix

08:53 , Kieran Jackson

George Russell fears Max Verstappen’s Red Bull will be in a “league of their own” at Formula One’s opening race of the season in Bahrain.

Verstappen will start the new campaign on Sunday as the overwhelming favourite to take his third consecutive world crown after he and Red Bull impressed in testing.

Mercedes finished third in the constructors’ standings last year, but despite solving their porpoising woes, there are low expectations they will be in a position to battle at the front this weekend, and possibly this season.

Indeed, Russell, who is gearing up for his second year with Mercedes, believes his team might even have slipped behind a rejuvenated Aston Martin in the pecking order. However, the Englishman, 25, has not given up hope that the Silver Arrows will be able to haul themselves back into contention as the year progresses.

“It’s going to be a challenging weekend if we want to try and fight for that victory,” said Russell.

“It’s definitely fair to say Red Bull are in a league of their own this weekend. It will be a nice fight for second place, probably between Ferrari and Aston Martin.”

George Russell gives honest assessment of Mercedes’ chances at Bahrain GP

F1 LIVE: Good morning!

08:50 , Kieran Jackson

So, have you missed it?

Welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of practice on Friday at the Bahrain Grand Prix - the first race of the 2023 F1 season!

The excitement is palpable as - after a three-day test last weekend at the Bahrain International Circuit - we see the 2023 cars for the first time on a race weekend. Will Max Verstappen be as strong as last year? How about Ferrari’s challenge? Can Mercedes be right back up there? And are Aston Martin now in with a shout too?!

First practice today starts at 11:30am (GMT) before FP2 begins at 3pm - and you can follow in-depth build-up and coverage right here!