Ricciardo loath to keep biting lip after surgery

Reuters: Australian Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo has never been known for ‘biting his lip’ when it comes to expressing his opinion, but one of the few times he did he ended up having minor surgery.

The 28-year-old won the China Grand Prix two weeks ago and was photographed with a lump on his lower lip, which was more noticeable when he celebrated his victory by drinking the winner’s champagne from his racing shoe.

“I had to get some minor surgery (OK, so that’s overstating it, but you know what blokes are like),” Ricciardo wrote in a column for the Red Bull website of how he had spent the two weeks since winning in Shanghai.

“I had this weird thing with my lip happen in Bahrain the weekend before where I bit it. It must have got infected or something because I kept biting it over and over.

“So I had to get that taken out and stitched back up in London.”

Ricciardo said he had precious little time to relax after the Shanghai win as he prepared for Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku.

The Perth-born driver’s contract with Red Bull expires at the end of the season and his future has been the subject of frenzied speculation.

He has been linked to a possible move to Ferrari or Mercedes but told reporters on Thursday that he had only spoken to his Red Bull team about his racing future.

Hamilton says Wenger invited him to train with Arsenal

BAKU (Reuters): Arsenal fan Lewis Hamilton has spoken of his admiration for outgoing manager Arsene Wenger and revealed that the Frenchman invited the four-times Formula One world champion to train with the Premier League team.

“I’ve had the privilege of meeting him a couple of times,” the Briton told Sky Sports television at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

“He asked me to go and train with the team, which I have not managed to do yet, but he was always really welcoming and it was cool to meet ‘our team’s’ boss.”

Hamilton, who said he had supported Arsenal since he was five, admired Wenger’s commitment to the North London club over more than two decades.

“The loyalty which he has shown through all the ups and downs, through outside individuals saying positives and negatives, but to stay true to your values and continue to strive for what you believe in I think has really been awesome,” he said.

Wenger is leaving Arsenal at the end of the season, with the club yet to name a replacement.

Hamilton is out of contract with Mercedes at year end but has said that he and the team remain committed to each other although a new deal, expected for months, has yet to be announced.

“I’ve made it very clear, and they’ve made it very clear that they want to continue so it’s quite an easy thing,” he said in Baku.

“I don’t... have that personality to say ‘I’m definitely going to be with them next year’ and then not be with them next year so it is just about finalising and signing off.”