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The denials came from all angles on media day in Monaco. Speculation that Lewis Hamilton could move to Ferrari next year, in a £40m deal no less, has ramped up this week but was quickly quashed on Thursday by both Hamilton and Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur. In fact, Hamilton went further, revealing his representatives are “almost there” in agreeing a new deal with Mercedes. The 38-year-old’s current contract with the Silver Arrows – where he has won six of his seven world titles since joining in an inspired decision a decade ago – expires at the end of this season. Despite the wait, the noise from both the Brit and team boss Toto Wolff has been that an extension is a simple inevitability. Not a case of if, but when. “My team is working closely behind the scenes with Toto and we are almost at the end of having a contract ready,” Hamilton stated, affirmatively. These fresh revelations come – coincidentally? – ahead of a huge fortnight for the Brackley-based team. Highly-anticipated upgrades have been long in the making, ever since Wolff finally dismissed the no-sidepod philosophy at the season opener in Bahrain. While the unique streets of Monaco this weekend, due to last week’s cancellation of the race in Imola, represent a somewhat unideal debut for new sidepods, a new floor and a new front suspension, next week in Barcelona will give a genuine representation of any progress made. And, more pertinently, how much the gap is reduced to Red Bull, presently a good distance down the road. Hamilton is, undeniably, reaching the twilight of his career with a record-breaking eighth world championship further away than ever. Links to Ferrari have popped up throughout his 16 years in the sport and Hamilton himself has spoken with confusion, at times, as to why a move has never materialised. The sport’s most prestigious team working in tandem with the sport’s joint-most successful driver? Not now, it seems. But if not now… when? Previous flirtations have been just that. There was no need for Hamilton to broaden his horizons when sat comfortably on his throne. Mercedes were the top dogs for eight years, with Hamilton personally collecting the season gong six times and missing out in the final race twice. Ferrari, meanwhile, have not won a drivers’ title since Hamilton was pipped as a rookie by Kimi Räikkönen way back in 2007. However, now the landscape of the sport is different. Red Bull are the clear frontrunners – perhaps to a level that even surpasses the Mercedes juggernaut. Ferrari and Mercedes are scrapping away to catch up, with Aston Martin this year joining the party. The parallels between now and 11 years ago, when Hamilton shocked the paddock by ditching his boyhood McLaren team to join Mercedes, are comparable. The Brit, as McLaren started their downward spiral, took a Niki Lauda-directed gamble to join the Silver Arrows. “Isn’t that not a bit like moving from Manchester United to West Ham?” asked a jovial Jeremy Clarkson on Hamilton’s second appearance on Top Gear, in 2012. Yet after a season of transition, Hamilton won six world championships in seven years – a streak only split by team-mate Nico Rosberg. His instinct to change paths was justified. To jump at something new. To break with convention. While Ferrari are perhaps on a par with Mercedes currently, they have shown greater potential than their rivals in this new ground-effect era. A 2022 campaign that started with such promise fell away, but the fundamentals of the car seem present. Converting qualifying pace to Sundays seem their current predicament. Hamilton shifting to Maranello next year – which now seems improbable – should not be as unfeasible as it may seem. It would be a plunge in the dark, for sure. A more comfortable decision would be to trust the process at Mercedes, for sure. But these upgrades and their effectiveness in Monaco and Spain, and by extension in Canada, Austria and Silverstone thereafter, will be the clincher. It just depends which way. The likelihood is that improvement will be made, triggering Hamilton signing on the silver dotted line. The man himself has said as much. But until such transformations are made, the driver who made his name by boldly switching sides should not rule out the prancing horse. Has he, perhaps, spoken a little too soon? Not least because, should Ferrari speed away from Mercedes in the coming months, the underlying taste of what if would deny him, and us, of a concluding career narrative as dazzling as it now seems fantasy. Read More Lewis Hamilton provides Mercedes contract latest amid Ferrari links Ferrari boss gives Lewis Hamilton update after reports of shock move Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes are the biggest losers from Imola Grand Prix cancellation F1 Monaco Grand Prix: Why is practice no longer on a Thursday? Bernie Ecclestone would be surprised if Lewis Hamilton wanted to leave Mercedes

Formula 1 heads back to one of its most famous sites as Silverstone hosts the 2023 British Grand Prix this weekend. Last time out in Austria, Max Verstappen continued his dominant form with a fifth straight win this season, extending his lead in the world championship to 81 points, with team-mate Sergio Perez in second. EXCLUSIVE: 20 years since Irish ‘lunatic’ invaded the track at Silverstone Lewis Hamilton endured a mixed weekend in Spielberg, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished on the podium. Hamilton, George Russell and Lando Norris will be eyeing strong results this weekend at their home race, with recent upgrades for both Mercedes and McLaren renewing optimism in both camps. On Friday at a bright and sunny Silverstone, Max Verstappen was quickest in first and second practice. Carlos Sainz won last year’s action-packed race for Ferrari, his first and only win in F1. Follow British Grand Prix live updates with The Independent this weekend - qualifying started at 3pm (BST). Read More Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes struggle as British Grand Prix gets Hollywood sprinkling Why is Brad Pitt filming at Silverstone during the British Grand Prix? Jackie Stewart suffers stroke and falls ‘unconscious’ in frightening health scare

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An advert by fast fashion retailer Warehouse has been banned after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that its model was “unhealthily thin”. The watchdog concluded that the advert, which showed the model wearing a bodysuit and an oversized leather jacket, was “irresponsible”. It received a complaint about the image which appeared in a product listing on Warehouse’s website in February. In it, the model was wearing the jacket draped off her left shoulder, with a high-cut bodysuit underneath that exposed her legs. Warehouse told the ASA that it believed the image did not present the model as appearing “unhealthily thin”. The company said the model was a UK size eight and had a BMI which fell withi the NHS standard of a “healthy weight”. The retailer argued that it was “wrong to suggest that the image presented her in an irresponsible manner”. According to the ASA, Warehouse further argued that “due to prevailing standards in society around the perception of body types, it would be insensitive to label the model as promoting an ‘unhealthy’ and ‘thin’ body type.” It said it promoted body inclusivity and worked closely with model agencies to hire a range of models who “represent women of all body types across the UK”. But the ASA said in its ruling that the model’s visible shoulder and upper arm “appeared small and narrow”, and her “collar bone and torso… appeared very thin”. The watchdog added that the way the model was posed gave her knee and thigh “the appearance of being very narrow” and also made her hip bone “appear particularly pronounced. “We considered that the pose and styling of her legs emphasised her slimness in a manner which made her appear unhealthily thin,” it said, concluding that the ad was “irresponsible” and “must not appear again in its current form”. The Independent has contacted Warehouse for comment. The issue of body image in the modelling industry has shifted over the years, but appearing thin is still a priority for many fashion brands and modelling agencies. Most recently, former model Esmeralda Seay-Reynolds told Variety that when she was 16, she received some unsafe advice from her agent about how to stay slim. She claimed that her agent at the time, from NEXT Management, told her: “Cotton balls are organic, so it’s fine if you just swallow them to make yourself feel full.” Joel Wilkenfeld, co-founder of the agency, told the publication: “If a model would have brought that to our attention, that agent would have been fired right there on the spot.” Read More Glastonbury festival fashion isn’t just about ripping off Kate Moss… it might not even exist anymore ‘What in the wingardium leviosa?’: Emma Watson stuns fans with ‘levitating’ dress John Goodman reveals he’s lost 200 pounds as he makes red carpet appearance Glastonbury festival fashion might not even exist anymore 5 sandal trends that will be huge this summer Royal Ascot attendees bring colour and vibrancy to big race day

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