So, without further ado, let the track take it away!

⭐️ Time to shine:

When Lewis Hamilton announced his departure from Mercedes in 2024, it seemed like George Russell was inevitably going to become the team’s star leader. Being a part of the Mercedes Junior team back in 2017, he gradually rose through the ranks and was inevitably promoted to a Formula 1 Mercedes driver in 2022.

Throughout the three seasons racing alongside Lewis Hamilton, Russell proved multiple times that he belonged in Mercedes, beating Hamilton in the 2022 standings, along with securing multiple race wins throughout his career.

So, when the chance came to step out and shine away from the seven-time world championship, along came another driver to challenge the number 1 spot.

Whilst George Russell is an established driver and team player, ultimately all eyes were set on the young 18-year-old Italian, Kimi Andrea Antonelli.

🏎️ New addition:

Kimi Antonelli joined Mercedes ahead of the 2025 Formula 1 season, taking on the empty seat left by Hamilton. This wasn’t a random choice made by the team, yet a carefully curated driver that they have been investing in since his early go-karting career, dominating the junior categories. In 2019, Mercedes scouted the Italian at just 12 years old, and since then the team have backed his progress and growth from karting straight into single-seaters (European FR & Italian F4), skipping F3 and heading for F2 before joining F1!

His quick adaptation to the W16 was impressive, showcasing a skillset that was visible amongst the competitors upfront despite the challenging first season, which resulted in a 7th place standing finish.

Rather than allowing the struggles to take over and define him, he learnt from those past mistakes and gained confidence during wheel-to-wheel situations in the 2026 season, which may’ve been more difficult earlier, as seen during the 2025 Austrian GP where a double DNF occurred following a braking error, resulting in wheel contact between Kimi Antonelli & Max Verstappen.

Formula 1 is a quick-chase sport. You either adapt in the ever so little time received or you fall behind.

Slowly it’s become clear that Antonelli and Russell are ever-so-close skill-wise, being tenths of a second away from each other during race weekends, gaining significant advantages over each other within the standings, and much more as they both become teammates with an eye for the same thing, winning the WDC…

However, is that a good thing in the end?

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💥 Teammates to strangers:

The infamous rivalry that shaped friendships forever: Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.

Teammates don’t always stay harmonious, some turn to rivalry. From childhood karting teammates to four seasons together at Mercedes in F1. That’s when the dynamic took a turn.

It went from supporting & helping each other out during race weekends, securing high-placed victories, to battling and fighting for P1 without a care at the other teammates’ finishing positions.

Every practice, qualifying, race, point - it all mattered.

There were times on track that shifted the dynamic even more, as we can recall the infamous 2016 Spanish Grand Prix dramatic collision on the opening lap as they both eliminated themselves from the race.

It’s simply what having a competitive mindset can do to drivers.

Toto Wolff has recently expressed and warned the team what would happen if tensions and ‘toxic relationships’ were to arise, one driver would be let go. He spoke out, saying,

“I will not allow it. That’s never going to happen to me again. That’s never going to happen to the team again. Simple. I’m just taking a driver out if he does that.”

Rightfully so! Wolff isn’t looking for trouble and friction that may once again stray apart the dynamic between the team, especially when winning the Championship is getting ever-so-close!

🇨🇦 On track battle:

During the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix sprint race & Sunday race, both Russell’s and Antonelli’s determination were hard to ignore following their feisty battle on track.

We watched how evident their fire and momentum were through wheel-to- wheel action, yo-yoing back and forth for P1 and extremely close calls and exchanges, which could’ve resulted in one of the Silver Arrow drivers a DNF.

💭 Two mindset, same goal:

There’s also a small psychological element to consider.

George Russell has been with Mercedes for the long run, establishing himself alongside Hamilton and the Junior Programme. Now, after years of experience, Russell is ready to prove himself as the team’s lead driver. For George, having the experience provides confidence, yet a greater pressure to perform well.

For Kimi Antonelli, it’s almost the opposite.

He’s joined the team with huge expectations from everyone, being one of the youngest drivers on the grid with the least experience. Antonelli is aiming to prove that he can beat the more experienced and competitive drivers and show that Mercedes’ heavy investment was worth it. For him, having a set of strong results each race week reinforces the team’s choice in him.

Both drivers are aiming to prove themselves, just in different ways.

George Russell is establishing himself as the present Mercedes’ leader, whilst Kimi Antonelli is showcasing himself as the future choice.

Russell and Antonelli are acting as rivals because they have to be in the fight for the golden prize of the WDC, but that doesn’t mean they’ll have to become enemies.

🛠️ In the end:

So, what now?

Well, in my humble opinion, I truly don’t see a ‘fiesty’ or toxic rivalry occurring between both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. Yes, Russell has endured the ups and downs of Mercedes and gained valuable experience from it, whilst Antonelli has received the good and fresh which has provided a strong momentum.

Obviously both drivers can’t win the World Championship, and one may end up being prioritised for the better of the team, no matter how hard the decision may be. But as it seems now, Mercedes are letting it play out, to fight for themselves.

The competition is no longer between a young driver vs an experienced veteran, yet it’s a harmless fight to prove themselves. Both drivers know this, and as it seems now, Mercedes are letting it play out, watching the outcome of a potentially defining season story.

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The final race before Formula 1’s annual summer break, as we return in a month for the Dutch Grand Prix! Before we dive into today’s race debrief, let’s discuss a recent announcement made during race weekend!

The news are complete and announced, so, without further ado, let the track take it away!

🥇 #1:

From thriving and winning the World Championship last season, to enduring a few struggles and challenges in grasping podiums this season. Nevertheless, Lando Norris showcased the MCL40 true potential and drove it to P1 at the Hungaroring!

His return to the top right before summer break provides a renewed sense of confidence for both Norris and McLaren! Will we see a new side of the team in a month’s time as they hopefully regain their momentum?

💥 Win some, lose some:

It was a feisty opening lap between the two Papaya drivers, with Norris’s early mistake of running wide into turn 2 handed Piastri the lead. The race continued smoothly for both drivers, with Lando Norris mentioning many-a-time that he’s ‘faster than Piastri’ and wanted to pit before the Australian. However, as Piastri was the lead McLaren driver, he essentially got first dibs on pits.

The team battle flipped upside down, as following Oscar Piastri’s second pit stop, he encountered traffic in the first sector and made contact with Carlos Sainz!

Following on-screen footage, it’s clearly shown that Sainz was repeatedly shown blue flags, seven to be specific, yet hadn’t come to abide by them until contact was made at turn 2. As expected, Carlos Sainz received a 5-second time penalty for the collision.

Following the incident, Sainz commented on the radio saying, “I had no idea Piastri was there. No idea.” Yet even William’s pit wall made him aware of Piastri’s presence & the blue flags, “Blue flag of Piastri.”

It was only a few laps later on lap 56 that Piastri had retired following a gearbox problem.

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🏎️ Another race, another issue:

George Russell had a dramatic race start after the anti-stall was triggered as the lights went out. This caused him to plummet down the order, from P6 to P21!

At the moment, Mercedes didn’t have many answers as to what the issue was, however recently Deputy Team Principal and Chief Communications Officer, Bradley Lord, debriefed on the problem, saying,

“As the drivers wait for the start, they hold what are called their wait revs, which is holding the engine’s RPM at a specific level. As George was doing that, the revs actually rose out of proportion to what he was asking for from the throttle. The revs hit the rev limiter at the maximum RPM that the engine allows at that point, and then George tried to get it back under control to optimise and control his start. He wasn’t able to do so, and as he was lifting right off the throttle to under 10% of throttle demand, the lights went out. And so he made a start with effectively much too little throttle through no fault of his own. That meant the anti-stall kicked in so he dropped to the back of the field.”

Despite the drastic 15-place drop, Russell managed to make it way back up the field to finish the race in P7. Just last weekend in Belgium, Russell had to overcome a technical setback with his battery & lack of power deployment!

Hopefully after summer break, we’ll see Russell thriving and gaining some more valuable points!

❌ Team down:

A double Cadillac DNF of the season, marking it two now with the last occurring in Austria!

• Valtteri Bottas was the first to go following a reported brake failure on lap 16, which caught on fire. The team had wished for him to pull over safely on track, however Bottas drove the MAC-26 into the pits, using the side walls to slow down.

• Sergio Perez endured a mechanical issue which also caused his retirement at the Hungaroring.

🛠️ Eyes on the prize:

All eyes were on Aston Martin this weekend following 16 upgrades made to the AMR26, and oh did they not disappoint!

Both drivers were ever-so-close to finishing in the points, with Lance Stroll finishing in P13 and Fernando Alonso in P14. After a disappointing past six months, Hungary’s results must’ve put a major relief on both the team and Managing Technical Partner and Team Principal, Adrian Newey, who’d come to join the team and guide them in a positive development direction!

We can only hope that they keep getting better and better, especially once we return to racing after summer break!

Newey shared his thoughts on the package and results, saying,

“It’s very early days in terms of understanding it. The provisional results are promising. It’s only part of the package. We’ll have some more steps in [Zandvoort], and then further steps in Monza and Baku. It’s the first part of our planned upgrade.”

🇭🇺 Mini mentions:

As we near the end of yet another ‘Tracksidetalks’ race debrief, let’s quickly cover the mini mentions:

• Oliver Bearman received a 5-second time penalty for ignoring blue flags.

• Lewis Hamilton received a 5-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

• Before race began, Hamilton received a 3-place grid penalty for impeding in Q3.

• Before race began, Kimi Antonelli received a 3-place grid penalty for failing to slow sufficiently for yellow flags.

• Racing Bulls achieved the fastest pit stop of the season, with a time of 1:99!

A shorter post this week! Thank you for reading ‘Tracksidetalks’. I hope you all enjoyed reading this post as much! Be sure to click the like button to support, and let me know if you have any suggestions or improvements for me!

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Welcome back to ‘Tracksidetalks’, where I’ll be discussing my short noted Belgian GP!

So, without further-ado, let the track take it away!

🥇 Back on track:

After a few difficult rounds, hindering his progress in points development, Kimi Antonelli has once again gone on to win the race! This marks his sixth race win, out of 10 this season! Very impressive considering it’s only his second season in F1!

As the lights went out, Antonelli’s position appeared to be under threat with Max Verstappen diving down the inside and overtaking approaching Eau Rouge, with Charles Leclerc quickly following behind.

Their glorious lead and overtakes didn’t last long, with the young Italian regaining P1 following a brief safety car on lap 4. Following that, it was a breeze to the chequered flag through the remaining 40 laps!

💥 Car’s to blame:

Unluckiness seems to come in waves at Mercedes. One race it’s Kimi Antonelli, and at the next race it’s George Russell.

George Russell spun out on the opening lap following a collision with Lewis Hamilton. The W17 ended up being beached into the gravel at turn 6, causing the release of an early safety car, as Hamilton received a 5-second time penalty for causing a collision.

Following the crash, Russell’s radio messages were relayed, saying, “I’m out. What the f*** happened with the SoC [State of Charge] down the straight? I had no f***ing battery down the straight! Guys, unacceptable. Un-f***ing-acceptable this whole weekend.”

Essentially, he’s blamed the lack of power deployment he’s had this weekend, rather than Lewis Hamilton, as he further on said,

“I made a good start, I made a great first corner and I was choked up right behind [Max] Verstappen. But for whatever reason, the battery decided not to recharge at Turn One. So I went round the first corner, the battery didn’t charge and I exited the first corner 35% down [on electrical energy]. Because it didn’t charge, I also had a boost problem. The turbo didn’t sort itself out, so I had no power. I got to the top of Eau Rouge with 0% on the battery. Quite frankly, it was dangerous. I got swamped by three cars. I shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place. That’s why I’m most angry. The incident with Lewis, honestly, I think was a racing incident.

It seems as though Russell’s top speed was capped at different points, with various speed ranges, limiting his ability to safely avoid potential incidents. Le Raidillon de l’eau rouge has a 17% steep maximum gradient, and to lose power at the top whilst all the cars are swarming up behind you isn’t a cup of tea anybody would want!

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🏎️ Advantages, or waste of time:

For some drivers during Sunday’s race, they benefitted from battery deployment to showcase skillful moves, for example, Franco Colapinto & Oscar Piastri!

• Franco Colapinto started in P11, and finished in P10. That may not be the most impressive set of results, however we’re here to focus on his race moves instead! He pulled off an impressive double overtake on Pierre Gasly and Liam Lawson down the Kemmel Straight!

• Oscar Piastri began in P6, finishing in P5. He committed to a bold inside move on Hamilton approaching Eau Rouge, a strikingly similar move Mark Webber - Piastri’s manager - pulled off at Spa in 2011!

These are only just overtakes at the end of the day, showcasing a small section of what power deployment they’re enabling. But how about at a wider scale?

🏁 Climb to the top:

Isack Hadjar began at the back of the grid in P21, following power unit changes, yet managed to climb his way back up the charts to end in P6! The early safety car granted him two quick pit stops, the first time for a set of medium tyres and a lap later for hard tyres.

A little confusing, but it did the job!

As the race continued, he climbed to P6 by lap 17! Overall, it was Hadjar’s good pace maintenance, pitstop strategy and overtakes which granted him the ability to finish with 8 points!

His consistent overtakes through the midfield highlighted his skillset, as during post-race interviews he discussed how his overtakes didn’t necessarily come down to energy deployment,

“To be fair, getting the overtakes done was a bit harder than I thought, because, like I said, we all have the same deployment strategies. It’s hard to pass going into Turn 5 and going into Turn 18, because you’re not very much faster, so you need to find somewhere else in Sector 2. I think when you have the pace advantage, I think last year’s cars were probably easier to make it through. But yeah, it doesn’t really matter.”

🛠️ Team incident:

Alongside Lewis Hamilton’s earlier 5-second time penalty, he also received a fine for an unsafe release from a pit stop.

On lap 20, Hamilton pitted to serve his time penalty and for a fresh set of tyres. A mechanic moved into the path of the front-right tyre, going to operate on the front wing just as the green lights went for Hamilton’s release.

As a result, the Mechanic was hit, yet luckily not injured!

Lewis Hamilton had ensured the mechanic was alright before he continued the race. As a result of the incident, Hamilton received a €30,000 fine, of which €10,000 is suspended for 12 months.

⏱️ Penalties :

5 different drivers received multiple grid place penalties following changes to the electrical components in their cars.

• Isack Hadjar - 30-place grid drop for a 5th ICE/TC/EXH

• Fernando Alonso - 20-place grid drop for a 5th ES/PU-CE & 7th PU-ANC

• Carlos Sainz - 10-place grid drop for a 4th PU-CE fitted under Parc Fermé

• Lando Norris - 10-place grid drop for a 4th PU-CE

• Lance Stroll - 10-place grid drop for 4th MGU-K

🇧🇪 Mini mentions:

As we round up this week’s ‘Tracksidetalks’ race debrief, let’s quickly go over the mini mentions:

• Lance Stroll retired on lap 25 following a suspected gearbox issue.

• Sergio Perez retired on lap 13 following issues on his rear suspension.

• Audi is becoming more noticeable on track with Gabriel Bortolleto finishing in the points in P8!

Thank you for reading ‘Tracksidetalks’. I hope you all enjoyed reading this post as much! Be sure to click the like button to support, and let me know if you have any suggestions or improvements for me!

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Welcome back to another ‘Tracksidetalks’ race debrief, where I discuss all the main events that occurred during Sunday’s race, along with any mini events.

So, without further ado, let the track take it away!

🥇 Forza Ferrari:

The Monegasque has endured recent bad luck with two DNFs back-to-back, one in Monaco along with Barcelona-Catalunya, yet that was finally put to rest as Charles Leclerc took P1 at Silverstone, securing win number 250 for Ferrari!

Right as the lights went out, Leclerc dived down the inside of pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli to claim the lead going into turn 1. Lewis Hamilton followed shortly behind, summoning loud cheers from the Tifosi’s in the grandstands! From there, I’d say it was a relatively smooth and calm race for Leclerc as he held off the Mercedes drivers brilliantly to keep his position and secure victory!

“Tough times never last, only tough people last”, a quote used by both his engineer and Charles Leclerc himself.

A reminder that patience is key, you’ll get back on track eventually!

Hopefully, Leclerc passed on his motivational words to teammate Lewis Hamilton, whose race results were hindered by issues with the car’s balance, a penalty, and a late safety car.

Let’s dive into what happened!

🥉 Win-loss situation:

It was a 1-2 for Ferrari until lap 7, where Lewis Hamilton received a 5-second time penalty for moving before signal.

During the race start, Hamilton let go of the clutch briefly, causing his SF-26 to move a fraction before he swiftly caught on. He later completed the penalty on lap 24 despite repeatedly insisting that his tyres were still in good condition, saying, “My tyres are still good, my tyres are still good.”

Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari Team Principal, shared his thoughts on the somewhat ‘harsh’ penalty, saying,

“From the sensors, we don’t see the car moving on the grid. It’s true that on the video you see the sticker of the tyres moving a little bit, but it’s not me judging if it’s a false start or not. I think it’s a bit harsh when the sensors are not moving, but, once again, I don’t want to comment on the decisions, or I will spend my life [doing that].”

Unfortunately, any minor movement of the vehicle before the lights go off is classified as ‘moving under signal’. Luckily, Hamilton hadn’t moved too drastically forward, or it may’ve resulted in a harsher penalty.

Throughout the race, Hamilton vividly expressed concerns over the car’s balance and the understeer too. His ‘magic’ had disappeared throughout the weekend in comparison to previous race weekends.

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Adding a cherry on top of Sunday’s race, yet another safety car incident & controversy!

Silverstone ended with the safety car leading all 19 drivers down through the chequered flag following Max Verstappen’s earlier spin on lap 48 (explanation in the ‘future awaits’ section). It was expected for the drivers to have one final lap of racing. Yet despite the ’Safety Car In This Lap’ message appearing on screens, the safety car stayed out, leaving both the fans & teams confused.

Now, George Russell hadn’t pitted under the safety car, whilst Lewis Hamilton did, ultimately losing P2 to Russell and settling for a P3 finish!

The FIA had put out an explanation on why the race hadn’t resumed, saying,

“The Safety Car period regulation, Article B5. 13.5, states that one lap must be completed following the unlapping procedure. This process was followed by Race Operations. The ‘Safety Car In This Lap’ message was displayed erroneously due to a software error.”

A deja-vu moment for both Hamilton and the Mercedes team, who’d infamously lost their chance at an 8th driver WDC in 2021 following a similar safety car restart!

Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff shared his thoughts on Sunday’s finale, saying,

“I would have preferred for this to happen in 2021! That was more important. But it’s good that the regulations have been followed. Sometimes it doesn’t give for the most exciting final [part of the race], certainly from a spectacle standpoint, everybody would have loved to see Lewis on a soft [tyre] against us and maybe fighting with Leclerc. But this is a show for the sport. Show for the sport and not the other way around, so it’s good that the FIA did that.”

🕰️ Future awaits:

With just 4 laps left of the British Grand Prix, Max Verstappen plummeted down the leaderboard from P3 after beaching his RB22 into the gravel at Stowe! This incident caused the release of the late safety car whilst Marshalls recovered the car.

Verstappen’s DNF is suspected to be caused by a rear wing failure, a similar issue as in Austria. Verstappen commented & reflected on the incident, saying,

“When the rear wing doesn’t close fully, you lose a lot of downforce and you spin off the track. So, yeah. One time, okay, but two times… this is becoming dangerous for myself. It’s just painful, frustrating. The whole weekend I’m not happy with the car balance. I’m down on top speed on my side of the garage. If it was up to me, I would have started from the pit lane, but at the moment, I’m honestly just looking forward to going home and not thinking about Formula 1.”

It’s a shame that a recurring issue was unable to be fixed ahead of the Grand Prix, especially after Verstappen asked the team for a ‘pit lane start’.

🏎️ Rumour this, rumour that:

Recently, motorsport journalist and broadcaster Will Buxton - famously known for his ‘Drive to Survive’ commentating - had teased a big announcement on X.

Many fans immediately believed it’s to do with Formula 1, but with Will Buxton currently acting as the lead commentator for the IndyCar Series, the announcement was most likely referring to IndyCar driver Scott Dixon completing a move to McLaren, as confirmed by many.

The cryptic message had finally been uncovered, yet what about Thomas Maher, who’s an F1 journalist for PlanetF1?

Rumour has it that Max Verstappen will be moving to McLaren to replace Oscar Piastri! To me, this seems a little bit too far-fetched, but as shown time and time again, anything is truly possible in Formula 1!

As it stands, Verstappen is able to leave Red Bull following the clause in his contract: if Verstappen placed outside the top three before summer break, he’d be allowed to leave the team. Highly unlikely to occur considering he’s P7 in the standings at this moment!

Max Verstappen commented on his future, along with the McLaren rumours saying, “I’m not going to say anything about that. It’s not fair to say anything about that right now.”

Oscar Piastri too spoke out, describing the situation as “purely speculative”. He further said,

“I’ve got a contract in place. I’ve had multiple reassurances that the team are very happy with me, and I’m very happy with the team. So for me, I’m very happy where I am, happy with the situation I’m in, and I’m just trying to continue the success that we’ve had in the last few years.”

Personally, I don’t think Max Verstappen would swap to McLaren, as it wouldn’t be overly beneficial to him! If anything, I much more see him leaving at the end of the season to further pursue his career in WEC!

💥 Underestimation:

Oscar Piastri suffered front wing damage on the opening lap, following a collision with Liam Lawson. Once Piastri pitted to swap out his front wing, he dropped from P8 to P21, eventually missing out on points to finish in P11.

Essentially, Piastri had found himself sandwiched between the Racing Bulls. The close contact between the trio broke Piastri’s front wing, as he went on later to blame the new power units and energy deployments rather than a driver.

“Lap 1 one on these kind of circuits is just carnage. It’s almost like a multi-pass race start. I was trying to overtake Lindblad, and I seemed like I had more power than him. Lawson then passed me and seemed like he had even more power than me. It’s just a mess. You’re trying to judge your speed to the car in front of you, look at the car behind you, but to be honest, I’m surprised that doesn’t happen more often.”

This isn’t the first time speed has come to blame for an incident. Do we all remember Oliver Bearmans Japanese Grand Prix crash? It’s a good thing that as of next season, engine rules will change.

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🛠️ Another day, another problem:

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli has found himself in some race troubles once again. All seemed to be going great for the young Italian as he was battling Leclerc for the win, when all of a sudden on lap 41, Antonelli’s front-left wheel shield had become detached after Copse Corner! This created a turning issue, with Mercedes pitting him for a new set of tyres in hope of some ease!

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case as Antonelli continued wrestling the car, going off the track multiple times due to that. It was clear the issue wasn’t going to end, as Antonelli pleaded with the team to carry on, in hopes of at least bringing some points home!

Antonelli later received a 5-second time penalty for track limits, despite it essentially not being his fault, as he was unable to keep control of the car’s direction! If not for the late safety car, Antonelli would’ve been able to score a point or two due to the drivers being spread out. Yet, once the field bunched up, our current championship leader was left to finish disappointingly in P16.

Toto Wolff discussed the W17 issues, along with potentially removing the penalty, saying,

“It’s on us. A car should not break… He couldn’t turn any more… We’re definitely looking at a situation where we can avoid that penalty for track limits. He was basically surviving from lap to lap… In the end, if we’re able to get rid of that penalty, these points would be decisive in the championship.”

🇬🇧 Mini mentions:

This post may feel like it’s never-ending, but don’t fret, it’s time for mini mentions!

• Alex Albon received a 10-second time penalty after colliding into the rear of Oliver Bearman’s Haas.

• George Russell suffered a mid-race slow puncture which luckily didn’t halter his race too much.

• Lance Stroll received a trio of 5-second time penalty for exceeding track limits!

• Nico Hulkenberg retired following gearbox issues.

If you have made it to the end, major props to you! I honestly did not expect this post to be this long, yet I had so much fun writing it that it’d be a shame to cut it early!

Thank you for reading ‘Tracksidetalks’. I hope you all enjoyed reading this post as much! Be sure to click the like button to support, and let me know if you have any suggestions or improvements for me!

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A much beloved track by the drivers, along with providing perfect entertainment and drama for the fans.

Welcome to this week’s ‘Tracksidetalks’ debrief, where I’ll be discussing how dreams came true for some and less so for others.

So, without further ado, let the track take it away!

🥇 Worth the wait:

Not all beginnings can start out smooth. Some can start out rocky, creating uncertainty whether you’ve chosen the right path. This could be said for Lewis Hamilton move to Ferrari in 2025.

His first season was difficult to say the least, with Hamilton struggling to extract the SF-25 full potential out on track, along with moments of personal self-doubts.

Overall, 2025 was a ‘nightmare’ of a season for Ferrari. Yet, they’ve managed to flip it around for 2026.

So, for the first time since leaving Mercedes and joining Ferrari to sport red, Lewis Hamilton stood proudly in P1 at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, claiming his 106th win!

It was such a special moment to watch on TV, and I can’t even imagine the atmosphere and energy trackside too! Following the race, Hamilton took to social media to thank his fans who’ve helped him remember ‘who he is’. He said,

“I really wanted to say a huge thank you -- I wouldn’t be standing here today without the support you have given me. You really saved my life last year and helped me pick up from a dark place and difficult moment in my life and dedicate this win to you.”

One win doesn’t automatically make him the title favourite, however if he continues advancing at the pace he currently is along with consistently working with the SF-26, it’d be difficult to rule him out of the chances!

🛠️ Strategy behind:

How did Lewis Hamilton manage to get P1?

It was a battle between Hamilton and his former team, Mercedes. George Russell began from pole position, followed by Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli.

Russell defended his starting position perfectly, most likely knowing his former teammates’ tricks. Yet as the race continued unfolding, it became clear that perhaps he didn’t know all of them.

Hamilton pitted early on lap 12 for hard tyres in an attempt to last him for a much longer stint and create a gap from the others. He was ready to give it his all, with race engineer Carlo Santi sporting him on, “This is the critical moment, give everything, we have our chance.”.

Then came a perfect moment for a final pit stop, during Fernando Alonso’s VSC moment on lap 42 (reasoning for VSC explained in ‘The End’ section). The team pitted Hamilton, releasing him back out just as the VSC ended.

Perfection!

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🏎️ Bad luck next door:

A stark contrast of weekends between the two teammates, with it being the second race in a row where Charles Leclerc DNF’d!

He began in P10, swiftly climbing to P6 during the opening lap. Everything appeared to be going smoothly up until lap 63, when Leclerc’s SF-26 slowed down, reportingly losing his ‘power steering’. He gradually made it back to the pits to retire.

During post-race interviews, Charles Leclerc discussed the issues, saying,

“It’s not only power steering, in general I had no brakes, no power steering, no shifts, so I guess it’s something with the hydraulic there. I don’t know yet exactly what happened.”

After back-to-back DNFs, can Austria be his lucky race? The Tifosi can only hope so, especially with Leclerc’s recent contract extension!

⭐️ Setback for the Champion:

Charles Leclerc wasn’t the only one with issues, as Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was too nursing his own set of problems!

On lap 61, Antonelli was battling Russell for P2, pulling off smooth yet feisty overtakes! However, the rest wasn’t all fun and sparkles, as on lap 62 Antonelli stopped on track, on the exit of turn 5! This released a VSC whilst his car was cleared off the track, and he was forced to retire.

The reasoning for his retirement was due to an ‘electrical shutdown’. Far from what you’d want to hear with only four laps remaining!

Antonelli debriefed on the troubles, saying,

“I didn’t see it coming. All of a sudden, I was at the apex of Turn 5 and the car gave up. It is what it is: part of racing. Nothing we can do about it.Of course, there’s a bit of concern because we’ve had several issues so far in the year. It’s a point that we need to work on because losing so many points in this kind of races, it hurts. But, of course, I feel very empty emotionally right now, because we’re trying to soak in what has just happened. So, I need to travel with a head high because the pace was good and I think, you know, I’m already looking forward to Austria because I think we can do really well.”

⏱️ The end:

Is Fernando Alonso hinting that either 2026 or 2027 could be his last years in Formula 1?

Barcelona-Catalunya is set to rotate off the calendar next season as part of an alternating deal with Spa-Francorchamps, and this weekend Alonso dropped a firm few hints during interviews regarding retiring.

“It’s probably my last Barcelona race in Formula 1. So, I want to say thanks to everyone. I will try to enjoy the weekend. I don’t have anything in mind. After summer I will take the decision to continue or not. But Barcelona obviously is not happening next year, so if I don’t know what I will do next year, it’s nearly impossible to be sure what I will do in two years’ time. But I consider every race that I go this year that potentially could be my last time. In Australia, my last time; in China, my last time; in Monaco. And here in Barcelona there is a little bit more of that chance, as it’s not happening next year as well.”

It was most definitely not an ideal end to the weekend for Alonso!

On lap 40, he came to a halt at turn 9, which caused the release of a VSC. Later, it was revealed that the Spaniard suffered ‘battery failure’!

One more ‘Spanish’ GP to go, which is at Madring later this season! Hopefully, Fernando Alonso will receive some better results!

❌ Retirees:

Is it an F1 race without a few retirees?

• Oliver Bearman retired due to reliability issues!

• Alex Albon came to the pits following a T-cam becoming loose! He resumed back on track, 11 laps behind everyone which left him unclassified!

• Nico Hulkenberg retired following a ‘shutdown’ of his R26, after gravel hit the car’s safety fire switch!

• Valtteri Bottas retired due to brake issues!

• Lance Stroll retired due to a gearbox problem!

I’ve aimed to keep today’s debrief short & sweet, covering the key and main events of Barcelona-Catalunya!

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Welcome back to ‘Tracksidetalks’, as in today’s shorter post, I’ll be debriefing the 2026 Monaco GP, which was full of unexpected DNFs, exciting podiums & plenty of drama.

So, without further ado, let the track take it away!

🥇 Creating history:

He’s only gone and done it again, Kimi Antonelli wins his fifth race in a row at Monte Carlo!

His successes and achievements are breaking, and setting, new Formula 1 records, such as becoming the youngest driver in F1 history , at just 19 years old, to achieve a Grand Slam, taking pole, fastest lap, leading every lap, & winning this weekend!

There’s truly no stopping him!

Antonelli led the race with ease, gaining a 20-second advantage ahead of P2, which was Lewis Hamitlon who joined him on the podium along with Isack Hadjar in P3!

All three teammates from the podium hadn’t had such amazing luck with…

Max Verstappen:

He stalled at the starting line, having to swerve out of the way to avoid anyone colliding into the rear of his RB22. He was forced to retire, and bring his car back into the pits just after lap 1 following engine issues.

During interviews, Verstappen spoke about what occurred, saying to Sky Sports,

“Already the formation lap was not going very well and then after that the pre-start was terrible. There was just no consistency and then the engine just dropped dead. I only got a little bit of power back after the first corner and then the engine sounded really awful. I could not go full throttle, so we brought it back and that was it.”

The Dutchman was having a great weekend, scoring P3 in FP1 & 2, along with P2 for qualifying! An unfortunate start to the race, yet luckily Isack Hadjar brought home 15 points for Red Bull, despite harbouring similar issues with engine braking throughout the race!

George Russell:

Turning P6 into P3, and then dropping to P12 right near the end of the race was a frustrating and unideal situation to be in.

Russel was left serving penalty after penalty this Sunday. He received a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, yet it wasn’t served during his next pit stop. This resulted in the FIA handing the Brit a drive-through penalty for failing to serve the earlier penalty correctly, costing him a chance of a strong points finish!

Charles Leclerc:

Following a great weekend, Monaco’s home hero was ever-so-close to securing a P2 podium, yet a painfully late retirement set those hopes & dreams aside.

During a Safety Car moment on lap 66, Charles Leclerc went straight into the barriers at the final corner, damaging the Ferrari, and being unable to rejoin the race. The reasoning for the incident was down to tarmac damage on track.

Funnily enough, Lance Stroll crashed in that exact same place moments before on lap 60, causing the release of a Safety Car. On lap 25, Sergio Perez noticed the track breaking up, saying, “They need to clean the tarmac the final corner.”

📝 Partnership discussions:

Rightfully so, Leclerc was fuming following his DNF, and ended up blaming the SF-26 brakes, saying,

“I’m not even going to take the blame! These brakes!” Along wth post race interviews, “That’s why I’m always bluntly honest whenever I’m in front of cameras, but I’m not going to take any of it [responsibility for the crash] today. It’s not even braking. I touch the brakes and there’s just something with those brakes that… on the front brakes, it just broke a lot more than what I thought, and in the rear brakes, it had no deceleration at all. It was like I had no rear brakes at all.

These comments prompted a response from Ferrari’s brake supplier, Brembo.

“Brembo Group is really surprised by the statements made by Charles Leclerc after F1’s Monaco Grand Prix.

The partnership between Brembo and Scuderia Ferrari has continued for more than 50 years and also extends to other brands within the group, including AP Racing clutches and Ohlins dampers, confirming the strength and breadth of this long-standing collaboration.

At present, the company does not know the causes of the issues experienced by Charles Leclerc and therefore considers it premature to draw definitive technical conclusions before the available data has been analysed. In cases such as this, it is necessary to examine the telemetry data together with the team’s engineers in order to accurately determine the origin of the incident.

Brembo is a benchmark in F1 and is present on every car on the grid through its braking technologies. Over the years, F1 teams have continued to choose Brembo solutions, recognising their reliability, innovation and world-class performance.The group will continue to invest in innovation, reliability and performance, while continuing its collaboration with Scuderia Ferrari and all other F1 teams.”

🏎️ Celebration time… maybe not:

This weekend, McLaren celebrated their 1000th Grand Prix!

Oscar Piastri managed to land P4 after a long race, whilst Lando Norris was forced into an early retirement following another set of power unit issues!

First Canada, and now Monaco? Definitely not the luck McLaren were hoping to have on their side this weekend.

Andrea Stella, Team Principal, discussed how it’s become a ‘reality check’ for them, saying,

“And the reality check is first of all looking at the facts, we have not been fast enough, especially in terms of race pace in both Canada and here. And we have not been reliable enough, and when we look at reliability, we have had issues pretty much in all areas of the car. It’s not like it’s a specific area. Today was power unit, we have had other issues with power unit. I would say this has probably been the most important area for reliability, but for Lando in Canada, it was the gearbox. There’s a performance assessment and there is a reliability assessment that we are doing, looking at Canada and looking at Monaco. We understand these reliability issues in isolation; we can fix them.”

📚 Pit lane explained:

Let’s address the elephant in the room, the constant penalties the drivers were receiving on Sunday!

It seemed like at least half the grid had either been noted, or received a penalty regarding speeding in the pitlane. What was going on? Was there a problem with the sensors?

Well here’s what actually caused the wave of penalties!

The FIA hadn’t found any issues in its measurement systems, yet believe the penalties are linked to drivers cutting the pitlane entry line.

The speed of an F1 car is measured by FIA transponders and electronic timing loops, measuring the average speed across timing beams in the pitlane, which calculate the time taken to pass between the loops.

Monaco’s pit lane peels off to the right before the final corner, requiring a left turn after the pit entry line, and before the pit exit.

So, if a driver cuts across the turn, their time taken to pass between the loops will be shortened & differentiate to what it should be!

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⏱️ Penalties :

On the topic of penalties, I’ll briefly mention all the other drivers who received penalties during Sunday’s race:

• Lewis Hamilton - 5-second time penalty for pit-lane speeding

• Sergio Perez - drive-through penalty for being out of position at the start + a 10-second time penalty for being out of position during race restart

• Pierre Gasly - 2x 5-second time penalty for pit-lane speeding, causing a P3 drop to P7

• Nico Hulkenberg – 10-second time penalty for causing a collision

• Oscar Piastri - 5-second time penalty for pit-lane speeding

• Lance Stroll - 5-second time penalty for exceeding track limits

• Franco Colapinto - 5-second time penalty for pit-lane speeding

❌ Retirees:

Another obvious thing to discuss today are the rest of our retirees / DNF’s! Will there be a race this 2026 season without any retirements?

• Valtteri Bottas retired on lap 15 following brake issues

• Oliver Bearman retired on lap 28 following extensive damage to his car. This follows after contact with his teammate during the beginning.

• Carlos Sainz retired following the race restart, after being hit by Nico Hulkenberg and Franco Colapinto along with hairpin.

A shorter race debrief this weekend compared to usual, yet I’ve aimed to cover all the main highlights during this weekend’s Monte Carlo race, along with key comments from teams!

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Welcome back to ‘Tracksidetalks’, as today I’ll be debriefing the feisty on-track rivalries and unexpected Canadian Grand Prix.

So, without further ado, let the track take it away!

🥇 Creating history:

Kimi Antonelli won the Canadian Grand Prix, as he added his name to the list of drivers who’ve won four consecutive races! The young Italian stood proud on the podium, alongside 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and 4-time world champion Max Verstappen.

Statistics now show that every F1 driver who’s ever won four consecutive races has gone on to become a World Champion.

Keeping a hold of the lead was anything but easy, as teammate George Russell was proving to put his all into the grand prix.

By lap 6 the battle seemed to be getting more real and alive, as Antonelli locked up going into the final chicane, going off track and being dangerously close to Russell’s rear wing, nearly taking him out!

Plenty of further wheel-to-wheel action between the two, along with the occasional lock-up as they yo-yoed back and forth for P1. Momentum and fire was evident between the Silver Arrow drivers, as they both pushed to their limits. Team Principal Toto Wolff reflected on the battle, saying,

“It was just acceptable. I think probably 10% less battling would have made us all happier but it’s okay,”

❌ Good things come to an end:

Yet the thrilling battle came to a halt as, on lap 30, George Russell stopped on track following an engine failure. Understandably angry at the sudden retirement, the Brit threw his headrest out of the vehicle, resulting in a €5000 fine that’s suspended for 12 months.

The stewards ruled that George Russell violated article 12.2.1.h of the International Sporting Code, which forbids “any unsafe act or failure to take reasonable measures, thus resulting in an unsafe situation.”

🤷‍♀️ 2021 part 2:

Did we have a small trip down memory lane between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen? As the pair reignited their old rivalry flame during the fight for P2, it reminded many fans of their intense title fight during the infamous 2021 season.

Verstappen held position up until lap 62, where Hamilton swooped in round the outside of the last corner to claim P2!

Lewis Hamilton was thrilled with the race, having his best finish at Ferrari so far. He expressed his happiness to be back in a wheel-to-wheel contest saying,

“To have a good battle with Max finally, I’m really, really grateful. I am so, so happy. It’s good day of racing, overall, a solid weekend. I felt the whole team have done an amazing job.”

This was Max Verstappen’s first podium of the season. It was the first time since 2018 that the Dutchman required 5 rounds before his first podium! Nevertheless, he too seems as pleased as he can be with the results, saying,

“But for us, it’s still a great result. We’re battling with the Ferrari, not too far off the Mercedes, it’s just on the second stint on the medium we were just lacking a bit of grip. It was just not really working for us so that’s something that we need to understand but nevertheless, on the podium is positive.”

For Verstappen to be back on the podium, it helps ease renewed quitting threats that were brought up during qualifying.

“If it stays like this, it’s going to be a long year next year that I don’t want. It’s just mentally not doable for me to stay like this. It’s really not.”

This is a direct reference to the new 2026 regulations changes that flipped the sport upside down.

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⚖️ Position vs penalty:

Isack Hadjar marked his best finish of this season, finishing in P5 in Sunday’s race! A superb finish for him, yet he was left with ‘mixed feelings’ regarding the weekend as he recalled a few mistakes made.

Hadjar received two major penalties.

1. 10-second time penalty for changing direction too many times whilst defending against Charles Leclerc. This resulted in a few near-miss collisions along the back straight.

2. 10-second stop/go penalty for failing to slow under yellow flags.

The Frenchman spoke regarding the race, saying,

“I didn’t mean to send [Leclerc] in the grass obviously, he’s a very clean driver, so I think I just apologised because it was a bit stupid,” “I don’t have the same feeling as [Saturday], I didn’t feel comfortable at all in the car. [Saturday] in the Sprint, Qualifying, I had very good pace, I knew what was going on. Today, I couldn’t make it happen. This causes then – I have to focus very hard on keeping it on the track and making mistakes so yeah…”

🏁 Delaying beginnings:

Sunday’s starting procedure was swiftly aborted following Arvid Lindblad’s unavailability to begin the race. The remaining 21 drivers went on an extra 2 formation laps, shortening the race to 68 laps, whilst Lindblad was wheeled back into the pits.

The reasoning for his retirement was a problem with the gearbox, as he was unable to select gears.

📞 Strategy calls:

McLaren. Respectfully, what was going on with their strategy?

Both papaya drivers began the race on intermediate tyres, a choice which quickly backfired. During the formation lap, Oscar Piastri voiced his concerns about the tyres chosen, saying, “It feels like I’m floating around quite a bit on these tyres already.”

Luckily for both drivers, by lap 2, they promptly changed out the intermediates, allowing them to focus on the race at hand. After the race ended, the intriguing strategy was discussed, with Piastri saying,

“It was a group call. I was one of the people that said yes to the inters. Between the anthem and getting in the car, it had gotten significantly wetter on the ground, and given how difficult getting to the grid was, I thought that the inters, if you could get temperature into them, would be faster. That was our whole thinking and then the rain stopped. So yeah, it was a bit of a shame. We thought we were doing the safer thing, and the right thing, and it wasn’t.”

Audi, Cadillac (both cars) and Williams (one car) too began on intermediate tyres, yet none of those drivers began in the top 10, meaning they had less to lose compared to McLaren.

🚩 Penalties and retirements:

Further adding onto McLaren’s race troubles, Oscar Piastri received a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision with Alex Albon, which unfortunately led to the Williams driver retirement.

Piastri went too deep during a move and ran into the side of the FW28. This caused Albon to sustain significant damage to the car’s side, evident with Piastri making a stop for a new front wing.

Lando Norris’ race came to a short end, as he was asked to box and retire after a possible gearbox issue. Despite the unfortunate end, Norris seemed optimistic with how the weekend went, along with the cars progress, saying,

“It’s hard to just look at positives now, but I was positive. The car was performing well. It still felt like a horrible car to drive at times, today mainly in these cold conditions, but I’m sure it’s probably similar for everyone. We still have to take the positives and there were plenty of them – we were in a fight with the Mercedes.

🇨🇦 Mini mentions:

It feels like this post shall go on forever, however, it’s time for the Canadian GP mini mentions!

• Fernando Alonso retired following a power unit issue.

• Nico Hulkenberg received a suspended stop/go penalty, along with his first reprimand, after a formation lap breach. If he receives 4 more reprimands, a 10-place grid penalty will be handed.

• Sergio Perez retired following a suspension failure as his front right wheel dramatically ‘popped’ off.

• Valtteri Bottas received a 5-second time penalty for speeding in the pitlane. He was only 0.1 km/h too fast!

• Gabriel Bortoleto received a 5-second time penalty for driving too slow under the VSC.

• Lance Stroll began in the pit lane following a power unit element change.

Finally, the Canadian Grand Prix debrief is over! It sure was an eventful & fun race to watch, and hopefully the rest of the season provides the same entertainment!

Thank you for reading ‘Tracksidetalks’. I hope you all enjoyed reading this post as much! Be sure to click the like button to support, and let me know if you have any suggestions or improvements for me!

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In today’s ‘Tracksidetalks’ post, I’ll be taking a look at the top 5 funniest & most memorable adverts in Formula 1 history!

These picks come through fan favourite suggestions, along with a few of my personal favourites. This will be a shorter post, as I’m currently working through college coursework that’s focused on analysing advertisements… I’m using this post as an opportunity to A) take a short break from coursework duties, and B), of course, talk about Formula 1!

So, without further ado, let the track take it away!

HM: Heineken | The Best Driver (2023)

Heineken | The Best Driver

An honourable mention here for Heineken’s 2023 “The Best Driver” campaign featuring Max Verstappen. At first glance, many may view the advert as Verstappen being chosen to be the designated driver due to his years of experience, along with having 4 world championship titles.

However, the real meaning is to promote responsible drinking, essentially saying that the best drivers are the ones who haven’t consumed any % of alcohol.

Skills don’t matter; sobriety does.

It further leads on from Heineken’s long standing campaign, ‘When You Drive, Never Drink.’, reinforcing its clear and strong message!

5) UPS “Special Delivery” - Ferrari (2017)

UPS commercial with Sebastian Vettel & Kimi Raikkonen

UPS was the official logistics and shipping partner for Ferrari, which was reflected in the advert. This advert features Kimi Räikkönen gifting his Ferrari teammate, Sebastian Vettel, a birthday gift - yet, it’s not anything ordinary, or even car-related.

Instead, it’s an ice sculpture of the ‘ice man’ himself, Kimi Räikkönen!

The advert plays on Räikkönen’s personality and nickname, along with presenting the gift as extraordinary, urgent and important that needs to be delivered in time. This allows UPS to showcase its reliability and timing, as Vettel was discussing he hadn’t received anything from Kimi just yet, building anticipation around the humorous twist on a present!

4) “Compliments” - Mercedes (2011)

Compliments - Nico Rosberg, Michael Schumacher and Mika Häkkinen

Mercedes once again created an entertaining advert featuring Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher, to promote the beginning of the 2011 Formula 1 season.

Both drivers were attempting to out-do each other, trading extravagant champagne bottles. It wasn’t until Rosberg received a ‘Red Bull’ can when Mika Häkkinen, once again, made a cameo appearance!

The cheeky gesture nudged at where everyone’s focus should be on that season, Red Bull. This hinted at where the real competition may lie, rather than between themselves in-house.

The iconic and well-known closing line ‘Racing is a mindset’ further showcases its psychological side. Even during their off time during the season, drivers’ competitive mindset never switches off, as seen through the playful one-up competition between Rosberg and Schumacher.

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3) Shell “Circuit” - Ferrari (2007)

Shell - Ferrari commercial

To celebrate 60 years of collaborations between Shell and Ferrari, the advert showcases a range of historical Ferrari cars throughout multiple eras whilst being driven through some iconic city streets, such as Rome, Rio, and New York.

London was planned to be included, yet the plans were blocked on the grounds of ‘public safety’.

The cars featured in the advert include:

• 1952/53 Ferrari Tip 500

• 1967/68 312

• 1971 312 B

• 1996/97 F310

• F2003-GA

• F2007

  

2) Mercedes-Benz - Hamilton & Alonso (2007)

F1 Mclaren Mercedes Benz Alonso, Hamilton, Häkkinen Commercial

In 2007, Lewis Hamilton entered Formula 1, and became teammates with Fernando Alonso at McLaren-Mercedes. This advert is a parody of their rivalry relationship, in which driver can ultimately do things better & faster.

It sets a humorous tone through the chosen song, “Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)” from the 1946 hit Broadway musical ‘Annie’. A brief cameo of Mika Häkkinen, who at the time was a partner ambassador for the team, had jokingly highlighted his Finnish expertise in saunas, which are an integral part of Finnish culture.

The closing line, “Racing is a state of mind” once again, presents the drivers as always being in a ‘Grand Prix’ mindset, challenging and aiming to become better every day, even at ordinary daily things.

1) Pizza Hut - Damon Hill & Murray Walker (1996)

Murray Walker & Damon Hill - Pizza Hut Commercial

Definitely one of the most iconic adverts, promoting Pizza Hut’s pepperoni and cheese stuffed crust whilst featuring Williams-Renault driver Damon Hill, and commentator Murray Walker.

It plays on Walker’s infamous excitable commentary style, treating the casual pizza dinner as a Grand Prix. The ending plays on from Damon Hill’s runner-up position to Michael Schumacher in the years 1994 & 1995, with Murray saying, “And Hill finishes second… again!”

Top tier casting, creating a fun and exciting atmosphere whilst watching!

Thank you for reading ‘Tracksidetalks’, and I hope you all enjoyed reading this post! Let me know in the comments if you have any top 5 favourite Formula 1 ads!

As I sadly make a return to completing my coursework, be sure to click the like button to support me, and let me know if you have any suggestions or improvements for me!

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In today’s ‘Tracksidetalks’ post, I’ll be discussing how performance has declined, key departures have caused instability and how rivals are taking over.

So, without further ado, let the track take it away!

🏎️ Signs to tell:

Red Bull created unmatched dominance statistics in Formula 1, writing new records:

• Longest Consecutive Team Wins = 14

• Most Wins in a Single Season = 21 / 22

• Consecutive wins by a driver = 10 wins from Max Verstappen

• Over 100 race wins across their history

The list just keeps on going! So, what changed? How is the team barely scraping points this year?

Their performance decline has been gradual. At the start of the 2024 season, Verstappen was often seen being on a 20-second advantage. However, as the season progressed, Red Bull were stuck mingling with McLaren & Mercedes on track rather than being in control!

The 2026 pre-season testing offered some hope, as we frequently spotted Verstappen reaching P2 & P3, whilst Isack Hadjar also finished near the top & middle of the leaderboard.

These results were providing some great encouragement for the team, yet expectations quickly fell through flat.

The season opener in Australia suggested some difficulty for the team, experiencing a messy qualifying along with a frustrating race as both drivers retired. As we progressed through to Shanghai & Suzuka, issues & troubles continued to arise within the car despite the semi-stable race finishes.

📉 Performance:

A combination of issues rather than one appears to be hindering Red Bull’s potential.

The new 2026 regulations meant that power units are a 50/50 split between ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) and electrical power. Changes to rules don’t just reset the cars but the whole competitiveness order. Some teams appear to have adapted to the changes better, e.g., Mercedes, whilst some still need time for adjustments, such as Red Bull.

Red Bull’s new in-house power unit, developed in partnership with Ford, is still relatively new. So, as a result of this, early-on problems and reliability issues can be expected.

We have seen suggestions that the team is experiencing ERS (Energy Recovery System) cooling-related issues, vibrations and power cuts. After the Chinese GP, Laurent Mekies spoke about Verstappen’s retirement, along with suggesting that the PU issues are to be expected, highlighting that the team are in the development stages. He said,

“We knew that just getting onto the grid in Melbourne with our own PU [Power Unit] was a major achievement in itself, and it would have been naive not to expect we would encounter reliability issues.”

Another key problem appears to be regarding balance and aerodynamics.

The car has shown signs of poor rear-end stability multiple times, which can force both drivers to run lower apex speeds through high-speed corners, just to maintain competitive speed on the straights. This makes it difficult to maintain a consistent pace across the full race distance when the car’s not wanting to collaborate with the driver!

If the poor handling persists, it can create even bigger issues such as excessive tyre wear.

The instability can cause both drivers to experience understeer / or oversteer, leading to larger steering angles. This will cause the tyres to rise in temperature and degrade faster, which over time will cause a lack of grip and downforce. The longer the stint on the tyres, the more overheating and excessive sliding are caused, which’ll reduce overall race performance.

Max Verstappen has been very vocal regarding the problems, stating the vehicle is “completely undriveable” and a “survival experience”.

Not the most comforting of words!

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⚙️ Key personnel:

People leave, new personnel join.

It’s pretty normal in Formula 1, yet when it happens at Red Bull, it seems like it hits them the hardest.

During recent seasons, we have seen the leave of some notable and key personnel that were a part of the Red Bull team. The people were:

• Adrian Newey ‘Einstein of F1’- The Chief Technical Officer, and mastermind behind the development of some of Red Bull’s most dominant car designs.

He created some of the most impressive aerodynamics seen, allowing the Red Bull drivers to have over 20-second advantage ahead of competition! During his time with the team, he played a key role in creating multiple championship-winning cars

• Christian Horner - Chief Executive Officer and Formula 1’s youngest Team Principal. Under his guidance, he helped lead and secure 124 race wins, 287 podiums, six constructors’ titles and eight drivers’ titles!

• Jonathan Wheatley - Sporting Director & Team Manager. A vital figure during Sebastian Vettel’s and Max Verstappen’s dominance era, helping lead the team and drivers to success and ensuring regulations were being followed.

Wheatley is known for helping develop the pit crew that broke the world record of fastest pit stop - 1.82 seconds!

• Will Courtenay - Head of Race Strategy. His experience led to some excellent race strategy decisions, helping secure valuable wins through his tactical calls.

• Rob Marshall - Chief Designer & Chief Engineering Officer. A crucial member in the design team, working alongside with Adrian Newey and helped contribute significantly in designing championship winning cars!

• Gianpiero Lambiase - Max Verstappen’s race engineer. He’ll be leaving the team in 2027, and has worked with the Dutch ever since he joined Red Bull. He’s helped guide him through successful races, building a strong and dynamic duo.

Many of the people mentioned have mainly moved onto another team, such as McLaren, Audi & Aston Martin, in hopes for some more and an overall change of environment. With each departure, stability and dynamics can slowly be lost, which is vital to hold onto, especially during a regulation reset.

❌ Rivals & competition:

Whilst Red Bull deal with challenges, other teams seem to be capitalising on their struggles!

• Mercedes are showing consistent results this season, essentially scoring points in every race along with leading both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships. They appear to be the strongest and quickest team this season, following the reset.

• McLaren have carried on their momentum from the 2025 season, continuing to be the ‘stars of the show’, and are aiming to become stronger. They’ve been acquiring previous Red Bull personnel as their own, strengthening themselves in certain areas that’ll further help boost the team.

• Ferrari, a team who have been struggling in recent years, are roaring in 2026! Their PU under the new regulations seems to be doing them good, providing good energy deployment when needed.

The competition doesn’t stop for anyone in Formula 1.

At the rate some of the teams mentioned are performing, it may be difficult for Red Bull to bounce back and make-up for their lost performance.

It’s still too early to claim Red Bull are going through a ‘downfall’. However, with the combination of performance issues, new regulation resets, personnel changes and rivals making larger progress, it’s created uncertainty and worry for the team.

Everyone expects a team’s dominance period to not last long, yet when you’ve made such large and impressive Formula 1 records, it’s strange and worrying when you begin dropping back, reducing the gap you once created to others.

It is possible that the FIA will be changing certain bits of the rules and regulations following Oliver Bearman’s incident in Suzuka. This may allow Red Bull to get back into tune with things.

Do you think the RB22 problems will be mended, allowing the team to regain their competitiveness? When we returning to racing in Miami, hopefully we’ll see a ‘refresh’ on Red Bull!

Thank you for reading ‘Tracksidetalks’, and I hope you all enjoyed reading this post! Be sure to click the like button to support, and let me know if you have any suggestions or improvements for me!

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Thank you all for the support, and if you’d like me to create a post on how ‘Tracksidetalks’ began, then let me know!

Alright, this will definitely be a shorter post, as not too many events occurred. So, without further ado, let the track take it away!

🥇 Making history:

Second season in Formula 1, and he’s already making major impressions and history.

Kimi Antonelli won the Japanese Grand Prix – with a 13.7-second advantage! He also became the first Italian driver to win consecutive races since Alberto Ascari in 1953. Along with that, he’s become F1’s youngest championship leader ever, currently leading with 72 points.

❓ What other achievements can he add to his name this season? ❓

It was a shaky start to the race for the Italian, as he had plenty of wheel spin, resulting in him losing 5 positions! As the race progressed, he gained the places back with a lucky timed safety car (reasoning explained in the ‘Time for a change’ section).

Teammate George Russell frustratedly finished the race in P4, as the chances of P2 or P3 slipped away from him after missing a perfect pit-stop window one lap too late. His race was further hindered following a software glitch.

“Unbelievable. Wow, f***, our luck in these last two races” - reflected both the frustrating race weekend at hand and also the previous round in China, where he was forced to stop during the Q3 session, missing out on pole, which ultimately went to Antonelli.

Mercedes are the favoured team this season, so undoubtedly, any issues that they currently may be having will hopefully be speedily sorted once we get back racing at Miami in a month’s time!

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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff discussed the issues the team are experiencing and what prevented Russell from finishing higher.

“I think the race went against him starting with the Qualifying set-up decisions. With the set-up decision that put the car in a spot that was literally from FP3 to Qualifying much worse. And then the start, certainly we don’t give the two drivers the best of tools for the starts, but then it was also driver mistakes today on the start.And then we had to make the call for the Safety Car because we were risking the position to [Charles] Leclerc and then luck fell on to Kimi’s side, who was very quick at that stage and bad luck for George that he lost these positions there.And then on top of that, we had a software glitch that gave him a super clip and he got overtaken by Leclerc. So, this is literally everything that went wrong for him in the last 24 hours.”

I love when team principles are so open regarding the errors occurring, owning up to the fact they can’t always have a perfect car.

🔮 What the future holds:

If I told you a season or two ago that Max Verstappen was battling with an Alpine for P7, you probably wouldn’t believe me.

Verstappen began in P11, following a difficult qualifying with a car that wasn’t up to top-notch! Throughout the race, he expressed his frustrations, calling his car “undriveable”, as balancing issues persisted and hindered both Red Bull drivers’ weekend.

The new 2026 regulations mustn’t be to everyone’s taste, especially if some top-tier teams are stuck within the mid-field. It benefits some and is a drawback for others.

The rumours loom amongst the paddock about Verstappen potentially leaving at the end of the 2026 season. During an interview, he spoke out about this prospect, saying,

“Privately I’m very happy. You also wait for 24 races. This time it’s 22. But normally 24. And then you just think about is it worth it? Or do I enjoy being more at home with my family? Seeing my friends more when you’re not enjoying your sport?”

His decision lies amongst the rules, ending the interview off with 5 simple words that many other drivers are thinking, “They know what to do.” A short and simple message to the FIA regarding changes to the rules.

❓ Do you think the 2026 regulations should be revised and changed? ❓

A while back, I published a post discussing Verstappen’s future beyond F1. I’ll leave a link here, and another at the end of the post if you’d like to read it!

🚩 Time for a change:

Lap 22 called for a safety car following Oliver Bearmans’ incident. Approaching the Spoon Curve, Bearman had ran onto the grass and spun at over 190 mph to avoid Franco Colapinto’s Alpine that was just ahead of him.

Bearman hit the barriers hard with a 50G impact, limping out of the car. He suffered a right knee contusion, but was cleared by the Medical Centre of any other injuries and is all right!

The high-impact crash was caused by the significant difference in speed from both drivers. Colapinto was driving at a consistent pace, whilst Bearman had a 20km/h advantage. When using ‘boost mode’, it created a 50 km/h difference.

It’s difficult for drivers to expect such a speed difference at a click of a button as the Alpine driver discussed this, saying,

“It was really strange to be honest, I was a little sitting duck. I think the speed difference is so big and so large. It’s almost like you’re in an out-lap and another guy is in a push. It’s really odd. It’s a corner that we are doing flat and he was like more than 50km/h quicker than me.”

Following the incident, the FIA has put out a statement to “clarify” the speculations regarding potential rule changes.

Many drivers are speaking out regarding how dangerous this crash was, with Carlos Sainz making a key point.

“We have been warning this kind of accident will always happen. In Suzuka, we were lucky there was an escape road. Imagine going to Baku or Singapore, or Las Vegas and having these kind of closing speeds.”

Reaching such high speeds at a street circuit creates unimaginable scenarios. I’m hoping that during the month’s break, the FIA will bring some changes to the rules!

Safety over entertainment all day, any day.

🏎️ Unlucky… once again:

An unlucky start to the season for Alex Albon, scoring 0 points so far! Essentially, the race turned into a test session for Williams following struggles and issues on his FW48.

The team completed 4 pit stop practices, as hydraulic & reliability issues persisted, preventing him from making progress up the ranks. Albon remarked,

“Realistically we are achieving what we can achieve and executing our races as best as we can but we just need to get on top of some issues and get a bit more speed in the car. We have a lot of work to do but we have about five weeks now as a team so there’s a lot that we can improve and I think this is going to benefit us so that we can come back stronger in Miami.”

Over the seasons, Williams have definitely become one of my favourite teams, so I can’t wait to see them battling it out on track… hopefully soon!

🇯🇵 Mini mentions:

A shorter post this weekend; however, as always, let’s begin the mini mentions:

• Lance Stroll retired the race following a suspected water pressure issue.

• For the first time this season, Oscar Piastri finished a race! He managed to place second!

• Liam Lawson experienced technical issues with his car’s transponder failing, disrupting the live tracking during the race.

• A delayed start to the grand prix following damage to barriers in a support race.

Thank you for reading ‘Tracksidetalks’! I hope you all enjoyed reading this post as much as I loved writing it! I’m proud of how far I’ve developed in both my writing and posting throughout the year, and I can’t wait to grow even more!

Be sure to click the like button to support, and let me know if you have any suggestions or improvements for me!

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So without further ado, let the track take it away!

🥇 On top of the world:

Kimi Antonelli took pole position on Saturday, becoming F 1’s youngest pole sitter at just 19Y 06M 17D. On Sunday, he won his first Grand Prix - marking it 20 years since an Italian driver last won, along with becoming F1’s second youngest race winner!

It was such a heartfelt moment watching Mercedes and other teams celebrating his success. On the podium, Antonelli had his teammate by his side, along with former Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton! Toto Wolff made a funny & remarkable comment this week, saying,

“I actually thought for a moment that we had three cars. First, second and third. Need to get used to it.”

Antonelli did have a poor getaway at the start, with lots of wheel spin causing him to drop positions and lose the lead to Hamilton. However, after a perfectly timed pitstop during a safety car period on lap 11 (SC explanation in the ‘Safety first‘ section), he had the right time margin to boost & stay in P1 until the very end, with a 5.5-second advantage!

🏎️ Forza Ferrari:

Lewis Hamilton is back on the podium since Las Vegas 2024! This time around, he’s claimed P3 in red!

He made a fantastic start, leading the race going down into turn 1, however he stood no chance to Mercedes who were ever-so-much more powerful, quickly reclaiming the lead. Hamilton & Charles Leclerc enjoyed a friendly team battle for P3, creating an almost ‘yo-yo’ effect as they bounced between positions! Charles Leclerc commented on the situation, saying, “That is actually quite a fun battle.”

It’s good to hear these comments, as it shows the SF-26 is up to scratch - allowing for some fun between racing! George Russell further confirms this, saying during the grand prix, “Man they’re just fast in all the right places.”

Although, that being said, let’s remember that this is Ferrari! One small issue did occur which was regarding power. Hamilton spoke on the radio, saying,

“I have no power... I come out of the last corner, I have no power!”

It didn’t seem too troubling, causing no major issue for the Brit, but it’s something to be aware of going ahead into the season!

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🚩 Safety first:

Lap 10 saw a full safety car release following Lance Stroll’s stop at turn 1 due to a suspected “battery issue”. The marshals speedily helped return the AMR26 back into the garage.

If you were hoping for a successful race for Aston Martin, well, unfortunately, you’d be wrong.

On lap 35, Fernando Alonso gradually made his way back into the garage to retire following “discomfort due to the vibrations of the car”. Footage can be seen of the driver removing his hands from the wheel various times during the race. Alonso spoke about the issue, saying,

“Physically, I could not continue much longer. I started to lose the feeling in my hands and feet. It was not a nice feeling.”

It certainly doesn’t make the situation nicer following Adrian Newey’s words in Australia that the drivers may be running the risk of “permanent nerve damage”.

Honda’s chief engineer, Shintaro Orihara, released a statement following the race. It reads,

“We cannot be satisfied with the double DNF in the Chinese Grand Prix today. However, if we focus on the more favourable areas, we ran more miles than in Melbourne which is encouraging. We also increased our reliability throughout the Sprint weekend, but this isn’t yet enough to complete the full race distance. We have improved the vibrations on the systems side, but it’s still an issue for driver comfort. This is a key area to address as we look ahead to the next race in Japan. As for Lance’s DNF, we are currently investigating the root cause and work will continue with HRC Sakura, together with Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team, to understand what happened on the ninth lap. The 2026 regulations are far from simple, as shown by the number of DNFs and DNSs today. We know this isn’t an excuse for our reliability and performance, and we will strive to improve. We have more work ahead of us, and that is our priority right now.”

⭐️ Double trouble:

A double DNS for McLaren! Both cars suffered with electrical problems on the power unit, however the team has confirmed them to be two separate issues. The team put out a statement that reads,

“Following investigations into the issues on each car, it was two different electrical problems on the power unit side which caused the double DNS today. We are racers and naturally gutted we were unable to race, but we will continue to work together as one as we look ahead to Japan. Thanks to the team, and to the fans for your support.”

A statistic I saw the other day on Instagram read that the safety car has done more laps than Oscar Piastri this season! I hope that the team rekindles any issues, and gets back on track!

❓Concerns for the Bulls:

Max Verstappen was driving in P6 before the team instructed him to retire.

During the onboard camera, it was visible that his whole dashboard had gone completely blank for a few seconds before returning - suggesting a potential electrical issue. However, this wasn’t the reasoning behind the DNF, yet it ended up being an ERS (energy recovery system) coolant failure. Laurent Mekies, Red Bull team principal, discussed the issue, saying,

“We had to retire Max because of a coolant fault. This was not our only issue as overall, performance wise, our package showed some significant shortcomings.”

🛠️ Minor racing incident:

A mini collision occurred with no major damage between Esteban Ocon and Franco Colapinto! Approaching turn 2, Colapinto had emerged from the pit lane just as Ocon was approaching the corner. They both went into the turn together, Colapinto merely a few seconds ahead on the racing line. Ocon was unable to back out in time, clashing with the Alpine driver.

As expected, the incident was noted by race control, with Esteban Ocon receiving a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision. Ocon did further go on to say, “Yeah, that was my fault,” admitting to the collision.

🇨🇳 Mini mentions:

Alright, the main events of the race are done! Time for the mini mentions:

• Gabriel Bortoleto DNS following technical issues

• Alex Albon DNS following hydraulic failure

• At one point in the race, Franco Colapinto was in P3! In the end, he finished in P10 and scored his first points in F1.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this race debrief! Click the like button to support, and let me know if you have any suggestions or improvements for me!

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I hope you enjoy this post, and without further ado, let the track take it away!

🥇 Winner, winner:

George Russell won the Australian Grand Prix from pole position! It’s an important statistic, as the last three pole positions here have been taken by the driver who has gone on to win the World Championship! Many are predicting that the Brit may achieve his first WDC this season!

❓ Who would you like to see take the glorious World Championship crown at the end?❓

It was a feisty battle for P1, with Charles Leclerc snatching the position going down into turn 1! Russell wasted no time in aiming to reclaim the lost position, as both drivers ‘danced’ around each other, exchanging between P1 & 2.

During the heat of the moment, Russell lost the lead with a small wobble, and a later lock-up as Leclerc boldly struck for P1! It sure didn’t help with the threat of having Lewis Hamilton right on his rear wing! Following a VSC on lap 12 (reasoning written in ‘First of the season‘ section) both Mercedes had lost a few positions due to pitting, yet returned to the top of the leaderboard by lap 28!

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Second season in Formula 1, with Kimi Antonelli losing 2 positions at the beginning! The cause for such a poor getaway was due to a battery-deployment issue.

The issue further stems from the new 2026 power unit regulations, which requires drivers to manage their revs, along with energy deployment at the beginning of each race.

Nevertheless, Antonelli finished the race in P2, standing proud with his teammate on the podium that evening!

🏎️ First of the season:

The first virtual safety car of the season was triggered by Isack Hadjar on lap 12. This calls for his 2nd DNF at Australia, meaning he’s yet to complete the full race in Melbourne as an F1 driver.

After dropping down from P3 to P5 at the start due to a lack of battery, smoke began emitting from the back of his RB22, forcing him to retire following a mechanical failure. Isack Hadjar spoke about the race, saying,

“The start was amazing, I mean, I started the race with no battery, so the launch, very good launch. I was taking the lead easily, so that was, at least that’s a good point of the day, we had very good starts, and once I thought, oh, I’m going to take the lead, no more power, so that was great. You can imagine for a couple of laps I’m spending time to just recover, engine sounded terrible, so I knew I was not going to finish the race. So, yeah, it was just a shame.

“It’s not a technical issue, it’s just, we need to do better to avoid this from happening. We didn’t manage to simulate it in the whole six days of testing, in Free Practice as well, so, honestly, it’s just new scenarios, you know, race scenarios are different, so, yeah, it’s a good experience at least.”

🎉 Celebration time, come on:

Tifosi’s!

It’s time for some early celebrations, with Charles Leclerc finishing in P3 and Lewis Hamilton in P4! I’d hate to jinx this… however, I’m sensing a fabulous season for the Prancing Horses! Let’s just hope those words don’t prove to be wrong!

An overall fabulous race, apart from some interesting strategies! During the VSC, none of the Ferraris were pitted, causing confusion and questions on what they’re planning. Even Lewis Hamilton found the situation peculiar, saying, “At least one of us should’ve come in.”

Fred Vasseur, Ferrari Team Principal, spoke about the plan, saying,

“When they pitted they were three, four tenths faster than us, and they kept this pace, all the stint. Okay, we were able to fight a little bit more at the beginning, but perhaps pushing a bit more on the tyres. I have no regret on the strategy, no regret on the pace of today. We did a decent step compared to yesterday. Let’s be focused on China now.”

❓ Question: If Ferrari had pitted, would they have been ahead of Mercedes or kept their position? ❓

Regardless of pitting later, Ferrari’s chances were slim of catching up to Mercedes due to the 15-second gap created!

❌ Never back down, never give up:

Aston Martin doesn’t seem to be improving majorly! \

Fernando Alonso ended up retiring on lap 15, following issues with the Honda power-unit. However, he returned back out on lap 36 to run some adjustments before ultimately retiring on lap 37.

Lance Stroll endured similar issues, retiring a few laps after Alonso, before rejoining with less than 10 laps left. Stroll managed to cross the chequered flag being 15 laps behind the pack!

At this point, it seems like Aston Martin are aiming to gather as much data as they possibly can, following the low lapped shakedown, testing, and now race. The determination and motivation within the team remain high as Alonso spoke out saying,

“Everybody is convinced, is motivated, is determined to improve the situation and this weekend, we saw a kind of progress from where we arrived from Bahrain to here. So hopefully China, another step.” Hopefully we’ll begin to see some more improvements as the season progresses. Sooner rather than later!

⭐️ Issues for the champs:

McLaren, the 2025 season’s golden team!

An unlucky start for home hero Oscar Piastri, who was unable to participate following a pre-race crash! As Piastri began making his way to his P5 starting position, he lost control, resulting in the McLaren spinning and hitting the wall at turn 4. The damage was too severe for him to continue, resulting in his retirement. Oscar Piastri spoke about the incident, saying,

“When I shifted, it went into wheelspin, and given that I was on the kerb already, it was a combination of bad factors… Obviously it’s just very disappointing. It’s a shame. Things like that shouldn’t be happening anywhere, especially at my home race. It’s obviously even more disappointing.”

Teammate & current reigning WDC, Lando Norris, didn’t seem pleased with the race’s outcome. He began in P6, finishing the race in P5, unable to close the 40-second gap to Lewis Hamilton, who was in P4! From being arguably one of the fastest cars last season, what’s happened?

Well, Norris spoke about the race, along with the overall feel of the new car and regulations. He called them ‘artificial’, further going on to say,

“It’s a shame, it’s very artificial. Depending on what the power unit decides to do and randomly does at times, you just get overtaken by five cars or you can just do nothing about it sometimes.” Definitely a mix of opinions circling the paddock. You either love ‘em or hate it!

🚩 DNFs & Safety Cars:

Alright! The main topics have been covered, onto the remaining DNFs and SC releases of the race:

• Nico Hulkenberg suffered a technical issue, failing to take part in the race

• Valtteri Bottas also suffered a technical issue, stopping his car by the pit lane entrance, causing closure. He retired on lap 19.

• Franco Colapinto was noted for a starting procedure infringement, receiving a stop-and-go penalty, or as the graphics on TV said, Colapinto-and-go penalty!

• A VSC was released on lap 34 following debris on track that came off Sergio Perez’s car. The marshals were out on track, collecting the fallen car piece yet it wasn’t at the safest corner! Turn 8 is a blind corner, providing poor visibility for the drivers to see what’s ahead. Luckily, the drivers were racing at a moderate pace!

🇦🇺 Mini mentions:

Now onto my mini mentions of the race! These are small mentions of scenes at the Grand Prix:

• Max Verstappen started the race in P20 after crashing out in Q1. He climbed his way through the pack speedily, managing to finish the race in P6!

• Franco Colapinto has some speedy reflexes! As the lights went out, Colapinto merely avoided a Racing Bull that’d failed to get off his starting position quick enough!

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the first race debrief of the season! Click the like button to support, and let me know if you have any suggestions or improvements for me!

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Media has become a crucial part of motorsport, and today on TrackSideTalks, I’m here to discuss how it’s shaped Formula 1, including key media impact moments such as Drive to Survive & F1: The Movie.

So, without further ado, let the track take it away!

📺 Welcome onboard 📺

🏁 Premier time on TV

Formula 1 was first broadcast on television during the early 1950s by the BBC, showcasing segments of the 1953 British Grand Prix. Throughout the years, coverage of a race was limited to short snippets, and it wasn’t until the late 1970s when coverage started ramping up, televising longer periods of the race along with international race coverage.

The 1978 Monaco Grand Prix was the first broadcast programme, featuring one of the most iconic theme tunes to date, “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac! More and more races were being covered such as Belgium, Spain, Germany, Canada, etc.

ITV held broadcasting rights for Formula 1 between the years 1997 - 2008. An often criticised network due to frequently showcasing ads, causing viewers to miss key elements of the race! However, the channel received a positive response to camera angles, along with the in-depth coverage of interviews and reporting.

The fan favourite Martin Brundle gridwalk was introduced by ITV, a segment still seen to this day!

💵 Accessibility + pricing:

Within the UK, it’s widely accessible to watch Formula 1 live, through many broadcasting options such as Sky Sports, NOW & Channel 4.

These options do provide monthly or daily subscriptions. I’ll admit, it may not be the cheapest, with NOW costing approximately £34.99 a month! Yep… that’s not the cheapest!

F1 TV doesn’t offer live coverage in the UK, yet it provides highlights, technical analysis, live timings and more. A downside to watching Formula 1 through UK streaming platforms is that it’s restricted by location! Pretty difficult to write a race post with no access to it!

🌍 Globality:

As of late 2025, Formula 1 has an estimated fanbase of over 827 million, averaging around 70 million viewers each race weekend! Year-on-year, the fanbase increases around 12%, with female fans making up around 42% of the fanbase! The increase comes through social media, Netflix & TV series, word of mouth, branding, culture and many more! I’ll be diving into a few of these later on, so stay tuned!

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🏎️ Drive to survive 🏎️

The infamous Netflix series first released in 2019, showcasing behind-the-scenes footage as it follows team principles, drivers, rivalries, drama, etc. It’s a great way for new fans to introduce themselves to the sport, learning quick facts & battles; however, if you’re looking for 100% accuracy without any staging or overexaggeration, this may not be for you

❓ Truth or false:

Drive to Survive carries the controversy of dismissing true representation of what the sport is about, fabricating storylines along with creating unnecessary rivalries & narratives between drivers. Max Verstappen has frequently called out the show for being ‘fake’, as during the 2025 Miami Grand Prix, the show had made him seem upset due to Lando Norris’s win. Verstappen spoke about this, saying,

“Apparently I was very upset after Miami. I literally had the best time ever Sunday night, so I don’t know what I was upset about. Of course, I understand when you create a show, there needs to be drama, it needs to be exciting. But I’m a guy who finds it also very important that you’re portrayed well, and that they do not start to copy comments on the different kinds of footage while it didn’t happen like that.”

📈 Rise in popularity:

Let’s shine a light at the positivity the series has brought into the sport. Drive to Survive created a massive U.S. growth, leading to a 70% increase in U.S. viewership since 2018! Due to the growth, it led to major success in the expansion of US races, such as the addition of Las Vegas and Miami.

The series has attracted a younger audience, along with a significant rise in female viewers! Major sponsorships have been brought in too, e.g., Crypto & Google. Importantly, it highlighted and gave team exposure to the backmarker teams, such as Haas, whose struggles were often showcased throughout the series.

🎥 F1: The Movie 🎥

Motorsport fan or not, we’ve all heard about F1: The Movie starring Brad Pitt as Sonny Hayes & Damon Idris as Joshua Pearce. The film was directed by Joseph Kosinski, following a veteran driver’s comeback to the sport. It was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and the one and only, Lewis Hamilton!

What made the movie such a hit has to be authentic visuals, with scenes being shot live during Grand Prix weekends, allowing for many cameos of drivers! Whilst many of us tune into races to support our favourite driver, others watch movies for their favourite actors! The star power in this film was large, allowing for a strong crossover between sport & Hollywood, creating new F1 fans.

💬 For the plot:

As always, not everything can be perfect! F1: The Movie faced controversy regarding the inaccurate portrayal of FIA rules, character backstory with Brad Pitt being 61, which was considered too old for a realistic active F1 driver.

Simone Ashley was cast as a love interest of Joshua Pearce, however many of her scenes were cut from the final film, only appearing briefly. Criticism over gender representation was huge, with fans agreeing that a romantic plot was highly unnecessary. A love story between Sonny Hayes & Kate, the team’s technical director, brought little to nothing to the plot, undermining Kate’s prominent role in F1. Her expertise was often diminished, and it was a true missed opportunity to showcase female importance.

⭐️ 5 stars:

Nevertheless, the film was a huge hit, grossing over $633 million at the Box Office and surpassing Brad Pitt’s highest-grossing film which was World War Z. The awards and nominations were piling in, recently winning Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement & Best Original Score - Motion Picture at the 2025 Golden Globes. It’s received four Oscar nominations ahead of the 98th Academy Awards:

• Best Picture

• Best Film Editing

• Best Sound

• Best Visual Effects

Considering the huge success, a buzz for future sequels has begun! Would you want to see a part two of the film?

✉️ Opportunities ✉️

Media coverage has granted sponsorships and brand deals for F1 itself, but also the drivers. Some top sponsors vary from Aramco, Oracle, DHL & Rolex. These sponsors aren’t coincidental yet carefully chosen to align with Formula 1’s image. From advanced technology to high-end luxury, it helps F1 brand itself as a top-tier sport. Drivers receive their separate sponsors, with the most notable ones being:

• Max Verstappen partners with Heineken & EA Sport = as he’s such an influential person, it helps bring the importance of not drinking & driving, whilst also connecting to the youth through gaming.

• Charles Leclerc partners with Richard Mille & APM Monaco = showcasing luxury & prestige status and being instantly recognisable due to his value as the brand ambassador.

• Lewis Hamilton partners with Lululemon & Monster Energy = fitness & lifestyle, blending fashion and extreme sport, whilst keeping both sides cohesive.

👋 Early on recognition:

Coverage of other series creates early on opportunities for drivers to start building a strong identity. By showcasing a strong talent, brands will want to sponsor younger drivers early on, which will majorly help them fund their racing career and allow them to get more notices by other teams!

❌ Downside to media ❌

When there’s good, there’s always bad.

Social media hasn’t always shown respect to drivers, with hate often circulating. Live broadcasting intensifies the constant pressure on drivers to perform perfectly, to avoid any backlash that may come their way. A recent incident involved Kimi Antonelli, following the Qatar Grand Prix. Antonelli had a small wobble, which allowed Lando Norris to swoop in and overtake him for P4, an important standing in terms of the WDC. Helmut Marko had insinuated that Antonelli let Norris through, resulting in a domino effect of hate piling onto the young Italian.

Due to this, both Red Bull & the FIA had to release a statement following the major online abuse and threats being thrown at him, providing major mental health risks.

I wrote about this situation more in-depth during the Qatar debrief, click here if you’d like to read it!

🙌🏼 Fan’s & Stan’s:

Fanbases & stan culture can have a serious downside to them. Becoming overly obsessed with a single driver and targeting their rivals in an attempt to diminish their successes can be extremely mentally straining and create a negative atmosphere. It reduces healthy debates, echoes negativity and brings forward misinformation, whilst dividing the sports community rather than strengthening it.

A driver who has openly spoken out about social media abuse is Lewis Hamilton, speaking on how the environment has become “more intense” for drivers.

“The times have changed. I would say the racing space has probably got a lot busier with the fame of the sport, so it’s probably more intense. Maybe the media is more reactive, maybe.”

🚨 Rookies & veterans:

New vs old fans. Tension between long-year lovers of the sport versus recent entries can create tension, leading to gatekeeping of the sport.

Long-term viewers often prioritise track performance, tactics, strategies, etc, whilst it’s viewed that newer fans are only watching for the drivers, drama & rivalries. We can’t judge someone’s knowledge based on how long they’ve been watching the sport. In fact, it’s the newer generation helping bring change to Formula 1, being vocal about the key issues occurring. Not only that, they’ve also contributed to expanding F1’s global reach, helping bring in sponsors & brands.

At the end of the day, let’s remember that we are all there to watch 22 drivers do their absolute best on track!

- Fan or not, new or long-term, we’re part of one community.-

Thank you for reading Tracksidetalks! I hope I’ve been able to cover the major media parts of Formula 1. If I’ve missed any that you’d like to see, please let me know! Click the like & subscribe button for more content along, and let me know if you have any suggestions or improvements for me!

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Today on Tracksidetalks, I’ll be discussing Ostałowski’s renowned racing portfolio, his career incident along with his recent collaboration with a well-known Korean actor & driver - no spoilers around here!

So, without further ado, let the track take it away!

🏎️ The beginning:

Bartosz Ostalowski grew up with a passion for motorsport, dreaming of one day becoming a racing driver. The years he spent working & building his career came to a halt in 2006 when he was involved in a horrendous motorcycle accident, resulting in the loss of both arms.

At this moment, many would cancel their dreams and hopes of becoming a driver - yet Ostałowski refused too. His passion was at large, and nothing was stopping him.

Following recovery, he got straight into modifying his current sport vehicle (Nissan Skyline), allowing him to fully control it using only his feet. The modifications include:

• ZF automatic gearbox with shift paddles controlled by his right shoulder

• Lowered steering wheel, allowing for easier reach

• Additional pedal installed above the accelerator for braking

Ostałowski steers with his left foot, whilst the right foot operates the pedal controls. His heel operates the gas & brake, as his right toes operate the e-brake.

A car finally suited for him, ready to hit the track! Now, it was time to obtain his licence. By 2010, Ostałowski secured his FIA International Racing Licence, allowing him to compete in various championships & series.

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🥇 Achievements & successes:

Media attention was brought to Ostałowski when he appeared on Season 1, Episode 13 of The Grand Tour, competing against Richard Hammond in a drifting competition. As expected, he won against the Brit. Other key moments & highlights of his career include:

• 2015 debut in the Driftingowych Mistrzostwach Polski, managing a podium finish for P3 in 2024.

• 2022 Guinness World Record for the fastest drift while steering with a foot - 231.66 km/h in his BMW E92 nicknamed ‘Furia’.

• Brand Ambassador for Monster Energy & Inter Cars

• P3 in DMP PRO2 class in 2019, earning a vice-championship title

• Collaboration with Ken Block

• Several Drift Kings appearances

💨 Fast & Furious spirit:

In early February 2026, Bartosz Ostałowski collaborated with Sung Kang, whom many may know him for playing Han in The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift - one of my favourite films from the franchise!

Ironically, despite his character being a ‘drifter’, Kang didn’t know how to drift! So, Kang visited Poland to learn how to from the one and only, Ostałowski. Sung Kang was beyond thrilled with the experience! He took on his role as student seriously, listening and learning the new techniques Ostałowski was showcasing. He thoroughly enjoyed the experience, as seen by not only his facial expressions but also the words he said post-drive.

Kang said,

“Bart is the teacher that I’ve been waiting for, teach me how to drift.”

We heard many, many, ‘wow’s’, along with heartwarming words,

“Thank you for this amazing day, you have been such an inspiration.”

The words are true, Bartosz Ostałowski has become an inspiration for many people around the world, proving that you can follow your dreams no matter the limitations! If this isn’t a sign for you to go after your dreams, then I don’t know what is!

I’m planning on writing more about drivers who don’t get spoken about too often, despite their incredible achievements! Feel free to put a few in the comment section!

Bartosz Ostałowski has been a major inspiration for me, not only also being from Poland but also showcasing that goals can be achieved no matter what!

Thank you for reading Tracksidetalks! I hope that Bartosz Ostałowski’s story has been able to inspire at least one of you! If you enjoyed this post, click the like & subscribe button for more content along with letting me know if you have any suggestions or improvements for me!

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I’m here to debrief the main events that occurred during the 3 days of testing, along with drivers + teams opinions. I’ve already posted Part 1 of the testing where I discuss week one - click here if you’d like to read it.

Without further ado, let the track take it away!

🥇 Day 1:

1. George Russell topped the charts, with a fastest lap time of 1:33.459, completing 76 laps!

2. Oscar Piastri finished in P2, with a lap time of 1:33.469, only +0.010 away from P1! He managed to complete 70 laps!

3. Charles Leclerc finished in P3, with a lap time of 1:33.739, completing 70 laps!

🚩 First of the week:

The first red-flag of the week was brought out by Lance Stroll! His AMR26 appeared to lose drive whilst downshifting into turn 11, snapping left and beaching into the gravel. His car was briskly recovered by the marshals and recovery crane, allowing for the session to resume after 7 minutes.

🔵 Speedy team, debatable machinery:

Mercedes are once again proving to be a strong & impressive team to watch out for this season, with Russell in P1 and Antonelli in P5! Obviously, each team is running a different setup, testing a variety of parts, etc. Yet, whatever Mercedes has been working on during testing, they’re nailing it!

Alright, since we are on the topic of Mercedes, let’s discuss the ongoing controversy regarding their engines! On Wednesday, it was said that the FIA will vote on a mid-season rule change amid Mercedes engine design. The issue concerns the legality of the new compression ratios that were introduced under the new regulations. I’ve already uploaded a post covering everything related to the new compression ratio, so click here if you’d like to learn more and catch up on the issue!

- In order for a change to happen, a supermajority would be required - meaning 6/7 votes from the seven voters, which are the 5 power unit manufacturers, F1 & FIA. If the supermajority happens, an outcome should be expected before the Australian GP. -

What are your thoughts regarding the engine ‘loophole’? Will the FIA call for a change?

⚫️ Early setbacks, strong confidence:

Sergio Perez’s session was interrupted due to a sensor issue on his Cadillac, as he eventually returned to the track to complete a total of 24 laps, the lowest number of the day! Valtteri Bottas only managed to complete 35 laps during his session.

On Thursday morning, Graeme Lowdon, Cadillac Team Principal, has told the viewers to not “read too much” into the team’s issues, saying,

“I wouldn’t read too much into yesterday – yesterday was day nine of running a Formula 1 car and today’s day 10. We’re up against teams who have been doing this for a very, very long time.”

He’s not wrong! As the team progresses, these early issues will become miniscule!

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🥈 Day 2:

• Kimi Antonelli topped the timesheet for P1 with a fastest lap time of 1:32.803, completing 79 laps!

• Oscar Piastri once again finished in P2 with a lap time of 1:32.861, completing 86 laps!

• Max Verstappen finished in P3 with a lap time of 1:33.162, completing 139 laps!

🔴 Innovations & beyond:

Ferrari were showing off their skills and innovations today, showcasing a brand new rotating rear wing! We’ve seen other teams introducing a variety of rear wing designs recently, such as Alpine and Audi opting for front-mounted hinges, yet nothing as unusual as what Ferrari has done.

Ferrari’s rear wing rotates 180°, activating via a central pivot point to run upside down in straight-line mode. The team are only ‘testing’ the new item and are yet to confirm its use later in the season. So far, all seems to be going positively for Ferrari! Will the Tifosi have a cause to celebrate this season?

❌ Trouble, once again:

Mercedes are yet again going through some frustrating allegations, this time it being their ‘illegal fuel’. Mercedes fuel manufacturer Petronas has yet to obtain certification and homologation for their products. If Petronas are unable to obtain this before the start of the season, a ‘provisional’ fuel will be supplied to teams who use the brand - Mercedes, McLaren, Williams and Alpine.

Toto Wolff isn’t catching a break anytime soon! Unhappy with these reports, he said,

“You know this is another of these stories. We were told compression ratio is something that we were illegal, which is total bulls---. Utter bulls--- and now the next story comes up that our fuel is illegal? I don’t know where that comes from and it starts spinning again. Maybe tomorrow we’re inventing something else?”

👎🏻 No luck:

Aston Martin is still going through some troubles with the new AMR26. Approaching turn 4, Fernando Alonso came to a halt following some troubles under braking. As expected, this brought out red flags whilst the car was transported back to the garage.

The team identified a problem with the power unit, resulting in the stop on track. Fernando Alonso commented on the day, saying,

“It was important to get some mileage in, but it wasn’t enough, and we couldn’t complete our run plan due to a PU-related issue that caused an early finish to the afternoon session. There are many things we need to fix, but I know everyone at the track and at the campus is working at 100% capacity to find solutions.”

🥉 Day 3:

• Charles Leclerc finished the final day of testing in P1! He set a fastest lap time of 1:31.992, completing 132 laps!

• Lando Norris finished in P2 with a lap time of 1:32.871, completing 47 laps!

• Max Verstappen finished in P3 with a lap time of 1:33.109, completing 65 laps!

⭐️ Rising up:

Haas have been doing amazingly these past two weeks, gradually rising in positions on the timesheets. In the last two days of week 2 testing, at least one Haas driver has been in the top 10! Oliver Bearman is pleased with the progress the team has made, saying,

“Final day complete in Bahrain and I’m really proud of the hard work that the whole team has put in over pre-season testing. The steps that we’ve made have been super impressive, and today was by far the most productive of the test.”

💬 Unhappy partner:

Following the troublesome week for Aston Martin, Honda have issued a statement responding to the issues. The statement reads,

“Our last run with Fernando Alonso yesterday showed a battery-related issue that impacted our test plan with the Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team. Since then, we have been carrying out simulations on the test bench in HRC Sakura. Due to this and the shortage of power unit parts, we have adapted today’s run plan to be very limited and consist only of short stints.”

🏎️ The end:

Week two seemed to be quieter compared to week one, with most teams analysing existing data and trying out new items & parts. The top three teams that have impressed me during these 2 weeks are:

• Haas = I spoke about them in Part 1, commenting on the team ‘glow-up’. I’m excited to see their progress this season as it’s looking very hopeful!

• McLaren = quiet and calm, not being spoken about too much yet constantly on the top of the timesheets, ranking up mileage. Are they taking the stealthy approach and not revealing much this season?

• Ferrari = Tifosi’s, let’s not get too excited just yet… even though I can’t wait to see if they’ll match their quick pace throughout the season!

Who have been your top 3 teams during pre-season testing?

Alright, that brings us to a close for the Bahrain pre-season testing! The next time we’ll see the cars on track is in Australia! Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this week’s shorter post! Click the like button to support, and let me know if you have any suggestions or improvements for me!

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🥇 Day 1:

1. Lando Norris topped the charts, with a fastest lap time of 1:34.669, completing 58 laps!

2. Max Verstappen took P2, with a lap time of 1:34.798, completing 136 laps, which was the highest tally of the day! He was dominating the morning session before Norris took P1 post-lunch!

3. Charles Leclerc drove the SF-26 to P3, with a lap time of 1:35.190, completing 80 laps!

🔵 Williams back to play:

We finally got our first proper look at Williams’ FW48, following their lack of presence during the Barcelona Shakedown. Williams managed to complete their own shakedown at Silverstone, gaining data along with coming close to completing the maximum 200 km! Visibly, Williams were looking pretty good & stable during day 1, providing high hopes for the fans.

Team Principal James Vowles seemed pleased with the progress the team made during the day, saying,

“The car ran faultlessly just from start to finish, and actually no major vices which is what we’re hoping for here, good correlation, so absolutely, to your point, the mood has lifted.”

🔴 Haas time:

Only one Haas driver went out on track, with Esteban Ocon finishing in P4! He managed to end the day off with a lap time of 1:35.578, completing 115 laps for the team.

Not to get our hopes up; however, is this a strong sign for the team ahead of the 2026 season?

🔵 Trouble for the Silver Arrows:

Dominated the shakedown, fell through during the first day.Did Mercedes have a small tumble during day 1? George Russell finished in P6, whilst Kimi Antonelli finished in P11.

The team were seen spending a couple of hours fixing and dealing with various items on the W17, such as the suspension, brake locking & traction.

Keeping positivity within the team, Andrew Shovlin, trackside chief, spoke out regarding the day by saying,

“We’re still learning how the W17 behaves and clearly have a bit of work to do to get back in the right window. Thankfully, we’ve got two more days of running this week and are not short of ideas, so hopefully we can take a good step forward tomorrow.”

🚩 First red flags:

Franco Colapinto finished in P18 (last), following a mechanical issue that caused him to stop at turn 8, bringing out the first red flag of the season.

Nico Hulkenberg came to a halt 100 metres from the pit lane, releasing the second red flag as his Audi was wheeled back into the garage. For now, both issues remain unknown; however, I’ll be sure to update you all if new information gets released!

💭 Valid & important opinions:

7-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton believes that the new terminology & regulations will be hard to understand and follow for new fans! He spoke out, saying,

“None of the fans are going to understand it, I don’t think. It’s so complex. It’s ridiculously complex. I sat in a meeting the other day and they’re taking us through it. It’s like you need a degree to fully understand it all.”

He’s definitely somewhat right! When I was explaining the new rules to some of my friends, they were well confused following the previous season’s simplicity!

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🥈 Day 2:

1. The Tifosi must’ve been pleased to see Charles Leclerc take P1, with a fastest lap time of 1:34.273, having completed 139 laps!

2. Lando Norris took P2, with a lap time of 1:34.787, completing 149 laps!

3. Oliver Bearman brought the VF-26 to P3, setting a lap time of 1:35.784, completing 130 laps! Once again, Haas are having a team glow-up this season!

🏎️ New teams on the paddock:

Cadillac endured a small setback with Valtteri Bottas losing his wing mirror on track, whilst Sergio Perez halted on the back straight out of turn 10. Both drivers triggered a red flag, with Perez’s car being brought back into the garage, with the reason for his stop being unknown.

Despite this, Cadillac is aiming to remain positive!

Audi is also proving to be impressive! Both teams are taking productive steps forward, showcasing solid progress into the new sport - with Gabriel Bortoleto finishing in P6 for Audi, along with Valtteri Bottas in P8 for Cadillac!

🚩 Another one, thank you:

Another red flag was set out, as Pierre Gasly stopped on track at turn 1. A potential technical issue, with the marshals clearing the car to return to the garage.

🔴 Leading with power:

Isack Hadjar completed one lap in the morning session before swiftly returning to the garage. It seems like Red Bull were enduring some undisclosed issues! Promptly, the issues were resolved, with Hadjar getting back on track to complete 87 laps, finishing in P5.

Many sources agree that so far, Red Bull have reacted & adapted to the new regulations very well, with Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff’s Wednesday thoughts being further echoed on Day 2, with Red Bull being seen as “the benchmark”!

❓ The future of F1:

Max Verstappen is another to voice his concern for the future of Formula 1, quick to speak out his opinions following the pre-season testing. The Dutchman said,

“It’s not fun to drive these cars. What can I say… It feels like Formula E on steroids. This isn’t the original feeling of F1.”

World Championship Lando Norris, is providing perfect entertainment and quotes for DTS, disagreeing with Verstappen and saying,

“If he wants to retire, he can retire. I don’t expect Max is going to go out and not give a sh*t, he’s going to try and win. Compared to the older cars, it doesn’t feel as pretty and beautiful to drive, but it’s still pretty good and it’s still early days. Any driver can go and find something else to do, you know? It’s not like he has to be here or any driver has to be here.”

🥉 Day 3:

1. Kimi Antonelli set the fastest lap time of 1:33.669, completing 49 laps!

2. George Russell finished in P2, with a lap time of 1:33.918, completing 78 laps. Despite Mercedes’ struggling words, the team seemed to have done fabulously on the final day!

3. Lewis Hamilton finished in P3, with a lap time of 1:34.209, completing 138 laps!

🚩 Red flag time:

Valtteri Bottas brought out the first red flag of the day, stopping his car on track. For now, the reasoning for his stop is unknown, however I’ll be sure to update you all if more information is released!

🔴 New game plan:

Lewis Hamilton stopped the Ferrari coming out of turn 5 near the end of the day, bringing out a second red flag. The reasoning seems to be that his car ran out of fuel! Ferrari’s Team Principal, Frederic Vasseur spoke to Canal+ regarding the cause of the stoppage, saying it was a,

“pre-planned fuel load simulation to test the power unit’s response whilst running in low fuel mode.”

Interesting to say the least! I wonder how they’ll use this data as the season progresses!

🟢 Newey’s newest creation:

Trouble for Aston Martin? So far, in both Barcelona & Bahrain, they’ve not been showcasing Newey’s car in the best of ways, typically finishing near the end of the timesheet.

Fernando Alonso admitted that the team are, “a little bit on the back foot.“, whilst trackside chief, Mike Krack said, “We are realistic in knowing that there is a lot of performance still to unlock in this package.”

Hopefully the team will showcase a better side in Australia!

What do you think about the Bahrain testing? Do you agree with sport champions Verstappen & Hamilton’s claims? Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this week’s shorter post! Click the like button to support, and let me know if you have any suggestions or improvements for me!

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❓ The shakedown:

The Barcelona Shakedown occurs at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and is a 5-day event, consisting of 3 days in which the teams are allowed to get on track and run their cars without any limitations.

They’re giving the cars a first run-out to make sure everything is working, very crucial this season following the biggest regulation changes Formula 1 has seen in years!

Teams are putting their cars to a ‘stress test’, watching how it performs in real life rather than in a simulation, along with allowing drivers to get a first feel for the new car and build trust with it.

Teams will be checking both mechanical & electronic systems, ensuring electronics, hydraulics, steering, gearbox, suspension, aero, etc., are all reliable and identifying any early issues. It’s viable that the new energy recovery system, containing MGU-K & MGU-H, is properly integrated and running correctly. Teams wouldn’t want any nasty surprises during Australia, as they fall behind due to system issues! Along with that, any telemetry data previously gathered through simulation tests should hopefully be matching on-track data!

🔵 RedBull: 303 LAPS

| Day 1 |

Isack Hadjar took the road in the new RB22, completing his first day as an official Red Bull driver. He did 107 laps, along with setting the fastest lap time of 1:18.159!

| Day 2 |

Max Verstappen went out on the rainy, damp track, reportedly going off track around turn 5. He didn’t endure any consequences as he returned to the pits, completing around 27 laps with a reported lap time of around 1:19.580, placing him in P1.

Isack Hadjar slotted himself back behind the wheel and went back out into the rain. Reportedly, he crashed at turn 14, bringing his drive to an end as the car was pretty damaged. Before his incident, he managed to complete 51 laps, with a lap time of 1:31:891, placing him in P3.

| Day 5 |

Max Verstappen returned to the track on day 5, having missed the past 2 days, due to parts needing to be delivered from Milton Keynes to repair the RB22.

He completed around 118 laps, with a lap time of 1:17:586, placing him in P5. Verstappen reflected on the weekend, saying,

“I did a lot of laps, we learned a lot. Still a lot of things that we want to look into and do better, but that’s normal I guess.” When asked about the key takeaways regarding the engine, he said, “Still a work in progress, but I think we’ve hit the ground running quite well with those things. It’s still a very complicated formula I think for everyone, so there’s still quite a bit of work to do, but it’s normal.”

He’s definitely not giving out any information for teams to hear!

🟡 Racing Bulls: 319 LAPS

| Day 1 |

Liam Lawson remained behind the wheel all throughout day 1, completing 88 laps with a lap time of 1:21:513, placing him in P6.

| Day 3 |

Arvid Lindblad took the VCARB round for a spin as an official Formula 1 driver! He completed the most laps on day 3 with 120 laps, with an approximate lap time of 1:19:420, placing him in P7.

| Day 4 |

Liam Lawson went out first in the early, cold morning, completing 64 laps with a lap time of around 1:18.840, placing him in P7. Regarding the final shakedown day for Racing Bulls, Lawson wrapped up the week saying,

“We just keep learning. We’re making big gains, but so is everybody else. Very, very different cars, but [we’re] in a much better place than we were on Monday which is the main thing. We just need to keep learning and improving the car.”

At the end of the day, you can be a driver for years upon years, yet each race is still a learning curve.

Arvid Lindblad took over during their final evening session to complete 47 laps with a time of 1:18.451, placing him in P5.

🔴 Ferrari: 440 LAPS

| Day 2 |

Charles Leclerc was the first Ferrari driver to hit the track that day, completing mileage on a damp track. He completed around 64 laps with a lap time of 1:20.844, placing him in P2. Leclerc seemed pleased with his time on track, saying,

“Nice to be back in the car – back in a very, very all-new car, and very different to what we’ve been driving so far”.

Lewis Hamilton took the SF-26 for a spin in the afternoon, completing 57 laps with a lap time of 1:32:872 before the night sky took over Catalunya. He finished in P4 for the day.

| Day 4 |

Hamilton emerged from the pits to make his appearance in the morning session. He went on to complete approximately 85 laps with a lap time of around 1:18:654, placing him in P6.

Leclerc was the first out during the evening session, completing 89 laps with a lap time of 1:18.223, placing him in P3.

| Day 5 |

Leclerc appeared out on track in the morning, completing 78 laps with a lap time of 1:16.653, placing him in P3.

Hamilton took the evening session as he completed 67 laps, along with setting the fastest lap time of the day with a time of 1:16.348!

Can this finally be Ferrari’s year to shine? Will they please the Tifosi’s and bring their car back to the top? Only time will tell.

⚫️ Mercedes - 500 LAPS

| Day 1 |

Kimi Antonelli was first out on track in the new W17, completing 56 laps with a lap time of 1:20.700, placing him in P4.

George Russell took the afternoon session, having a smooth and exciting drive as he managed to do 93 laps with a lap time of 1:18.696, placing him in P2.

| Day 3 |

Russell was the first to head out in the morning to complete 92 laps with a lap time of 1:17.580, placing him in P2.

Antonelli went out in the evening, managing to do 91 laps and topping the lap time charts of the day with a time of 1:17.362!

| Day 4 |

Antonelli made an early morning appearance, completing 90 laps with a lap time of 1:17.081, placing him in P2.

Russell took the afternoon slot to complete 78 laps, along with setting the fastest lap time of the day being 1:16.445! Another happy driver regarding the week, as George said,

“The car’s feeling nice to drive, no major issues, no porpoising which is pretty good news for all of us, so all in all a decent few days.”

🟠 McLaren - 287 LAPS

|Day 3 |

Lando Norris was the only McLaren driver out this day, sporting the shiny #1, as he completed 76 laps with a lap time of approximately 1:18.307, placing him in P3. Sporting a smile on his face, Lando talked about his first impressions on the new car saying,

“It’s pretty different. Not even a huge step, I think it’s a bit of a step slower in terms of cornering speeds. In terms of acceleration and straight-line speed, it probably feels quicker than it did last year. It’s a bit more of a challenge in many places, which is a good thing, but then you have a bit more to understand from the battery, the power unit.”

| Day 4 |

Oscar Piastri took his turn in the MCL40, completing 48 laps with a time of 1:18.419, placing him in P4.

| Day 5 |

Piastri continued during his morning drive, completing 80 laps with a lap time of 1:17.446, placing him in P4.

Norris drove in the afternoon, completing 83 laps with a lap time of 1:16.594, placing him in P2.

⚪️ Haas - 387 LAPS

| Day 1 |

Esteban Ocon was the first to try out the VF-26, completing 154 laps! He had a lap time of 1:21.301, placing him in P5 for the day.

| Day 3 |

Oliver Bearman had his go on track, completing 42 laps with a lap time of 1:19.314, placing him in P6. Haas’ run was interrupted by a reliability issue, causing them to sit out whilst they ordered replacement parts.

| Day 5 |

Bearman emerged from the pits early on, completing 106 laps, with a lap time of 1:18.423, placing him in P8. Bearman was pleased with the drive, saying,

“We did more than double the mileage in half the time, so that’s positive. No issues on the car – we had these issues obviously on Wednesday. At the end they weren’t big problems and they were all ones that we could understand and just took a while to fix. Luckily we were able to get back in the car today and have a very clean programme. I learned a hell of a lot about the car today.”

Ocon took the afternoon drive, completing 85 laps, with a lap time of 1:18.393, placing him in P7.

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⚫️ Cadillac - 165 LAPS

| Day 1 |

Valtteri Bottas has made his grand appearance back, completing 34 laps, with a lap time of 1:24.651, placing him in P7.

Sergio Perez, another returning driver, took the afternoon drive to complete 11 laps, with a lap time of 1:25.978, placing him in P8.

| Day 4 |

Perez drove for the day, completing 66 laps with a lap time of 1:21.024, placing him in P8.

| Day 5 |

Bottas was behind the wheel this whole day, completing 54 laps with a lap time of 1:20.920, placing him in P12. He reflected on the milestone week, saying,

“It’s great, but it is the problem-solving phase of the team. It’s the first time we’re properly running the car, so it’s been really valuable, a really important week, but really a milestone.We still have lots of problems to solve, and a bit of a mountain to climb, but we are getting there step by step.”

🔵 Williams - 0 LAPS

Yes, you read that right.. 0 laps!

Williams had announced that they will not be participating in the shakedown, after failing to have their FW28 produced & assembled.

Rumours have appeared regarding struggles of finalizing components necessary to pass a required crash test. James Vowles, Williams Team Principle, spoke out on the team’s withdrawal decision being,

“The result of our determination to push the limits of performance under the new regulations. It clearly wasn’t our plan, and it’s incredibly painful,”

Williams will be conducting a VTT (Virtual Track Testing) programme next week and will be all ready for pre-season testing in Bahrain.

🔴 Audi - 240 LAPS

| Day 1 |

Gabriel Bortoleto was the only Audi driver out that day, making an early appearance in the R26 as he managed to complete 28 laps, with a lap time of 1:25.296, placing him in P8.

| Day 3 |

Nico Hulkenberg had a full day out on track, completing 68 laps with a lap time of 1:21.010, placing him in P8.

| Day 5 |

Bortoleto completed the morning session, doing 66 laps with a lap time of 1:20.179, placing him in P10.

The drivers swapped over for the afternoon with Hulkenburg completing 78 laps with a lap time of 1:19.870, placing him in P9. Hulkenberg rated the week as ‘positive’ concluding,

“I think it was certainly one of our better days or best day here this week – more than 140 laps, good mileage for the car and for all the components. And on the PU side it’s important for us to get that sort of mileage – many lessons there again that we’ll analyse now and reflect, so a lot of info to digest next week and reflect on, and obviously regroup and go again in Bahrain.”

🟢 Aston Martin - 54 LAPS

| Day 4 |

Aston Martin only used up 2 / 3 days out on track, with Lance Stroll taking the AMR26, designed by Adrian Newey, out on track! He completed 5 laps, with a lap time of 1:46.404, placing him in P9.

| Day 5 |

Fernando Alonso had his turn around the track, completing 49 laps with a lap time of 1:20.795, placing him in P11. Alonso only had positive thoughts following the day, saying,

“For us it was really the very first days, so I think we had a positive one, 60+ laps and the car is responding well. First day, and more to come. It was very special, yesterday with Lance and today with me in the car – the first car made by Adrian [Newey] and together with Honda and Aramco and these new rules.And especially the last two weeks has been very, very intense, the factory trying to have the car ready and we just made it to Barcelona in the last two days. A tremendous effort from everyone – I think it was phenomenal, the last 48 hours, and thanks to everyone in the team here, at the factory, and looking forward to Bahrain now.”

🟣 Alpine - 354 LAPS

| Day 1 |

Franco Colapinto took the A526 out on track for the whole day, completing 60 laps with a lap time of 1:20.189, placing him in P3.

| Day 3 |

Colapinto continued in the morning, doing 58 laps with a lap time of 1:19.150, placing him in P4.

Pierre Gasly took over driving duties in the afternoon, as he managed to complete 67 laps with a lap time of 1:19.297, placing him in P5. Overall, positive feedback from the Frenchman, saying,

“I must say, a lot feels different to what I’ve felt in my entire career in Formula 1, so there are quite a lot of references to reset,” he explained. “You can’t really compare with any other car from what I’ve driven in the past. It’s definitely a car that will take some time for all of us to adapt to, to fully understand and to get on top, but it’s a nice challenge ahead.”

| Day 5 |

Gasly took the last drive on Friday, amassing 160 laps! He managed to do a lap time of 1:17.707, placing him in P6.

🤷‍♀️ What can we gather:

Judging by the data we have so far, Mercedes has collected the highest mileage during the shakedown, consistently producing faster laps each day.

Ferrari aren’t too far behind, also having done loads of mileage, with no issues being reported. (Looking good for the Tifosi!) Both of these teams have been the most consistent performers this week!

Despite Red Bull’s incident delaying them, they’ve shown a good pace throughout on track. A worry for Williams, as they haven’t had any time on track, with no data logged! There were some high expectations for Cadillac to be speedy, yet they came out lower down in the positions at the end of the day. This could be due to some parts still being in development.

Aston Martin have limited data due to only participating in two days, along with Stroll only managing to complete 5 laps on his first day out. Any factors that may cause Aston Martin to worry?

At the end of the day, the shakedown doesn’t determine everything. It’s a short and early snapshot of the car’s first time out on track. Sure, it gives us a sneak peek of what’s to come, yet it doesn’t tell us the full story of how the teams may perform this season. So, as unfortunate as this may sound, let’s not get our hopes up too high just yet!

What’s your take on some of the team’s performance? Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this week’s shorter post! Click the like button to support, and let me know if you have any suggestions or improvements for me!

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📕 Sources used: 📕

• planetf1.com + pitpass.com → lap times + number of laps completed

• formula1.com → quotes from drivers + information about the day

❓ ‘Loophole’:

The 2026 power unit regulations cap the compression ratio at 16:1, compared to 18:1 from last year, limiting how much fuel-air mixture is being squeezed into the cylinder, reducing thermal efficiency & power. The compression ratio is measured when the engine isn’t running & is cold so; essentially, some teams have found and manoeuvred a way into making their engines run at a higher compression ratio on track through the use of metal!

Bringing it back to science class, teams are using metal (potentially a titanium-based alloy) which expands in heat, allowing for an increase in compression ratio.

With Parc Fermé taking place post-race, it’ll will allow the cars to cool down and return to their regular temperatures, along with reducing the compression ratio back to 16:1.

⭐️ Advantages:

With a higher compression ratio, teams would be potentially granted with a:

• 10-15 bhp performance boost

• 0.3-0.4s per-lap advantage

• Extra 10kW boost!

The margins seem small, yet highly important and crucial for competitiveness in order to stay ahead of rivalling teams! It’ll help in their overall race performance, especially when energy deployment is limited.

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👩‍🔧 Teams + future:

So far, Mercedes and Red Bull are under suspicion of running & testing the ‘loophole’. Yet, teams shouldn’t be getting their hopes up too high, as the FIA are cracking down on the ‘loophole’, planning on hopefully resolving it before the opening race in Australia!

Nikolas Tombazis, FIA Single Seater Director, made a great comparison during his take on the matter, referencing the porpoising phenomenon in 2022, saying,

“Going back to the specific example, each team has around 80 aerodynamicists, so maybe all 10 teams together that’s maybe 800 aerodynamicists, plus three in the FIA, so that’s the ratio of workforce. But none of the 800 picked it up before it happened, so it was a surprise for the whole industry.”

With it being such a busy season due to implementing new regulations & car designs, certain aspects may be missed with the ‘loophole’ being one of them.

A formal meeting was held with engine manufacturers regarding their take on the ‘loophole’, with concerns being raised regarding the difficulty of closing a gap, along with the fairness & exploitation side of it.

The worries are fair, especially wanting all 11 teams to have an equal start to the season, beginning on a blank slate!

James Key, Audi’s Technical Director, spoke out regarding the matter as he made a valuable point, saying,

“It’s new regs. You’ve got to have a level playing field. If someone came up with a clever diffuser and you said it’s not the right thing to do, no one else can have it, but you can have it for the rest of the year. It doesn’t make sense. We’d never accept that.”

What’s your take on the overall situation? Will the FIA have enough time to sort it out before the season begins? If not, will the teams be able to run the ‘loophole’?

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this week’s shorter post! Click the like button to support, and let me know if you have any suggestions or improvements for me!

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With the unveiling of the 2026 F1 liveries, I’m here to discuss and reminisce about the top 10 most iconic & greatest F1 liveries throughout the 75 years. I’ll be including my own opinions, along with what the fans think and deem as iconic too! So, let’s begin!

10) Jordan 191 - 1991

Made an iconic entrance into Formula 1, showcasing a beautiful emerald green and vivid blue colour palette. Very fitting considering they were being sponsored by 7UP, along with Fufi Film at the time! The green colour was a nod to team boss Eddie Jordan’s Irish roots, subtly presenting and incorporating Ireland’s national colours.

The 191 also helped launch Michael Schumacher’s career, who’d go on to arguably become one of the best drivers in the sport! A truly beloved & legendary car by many!

9) Benetton B186 - 1986

Strikingly different compared to the usual liveries you may see, and that’s what makes it so fun-looking! A fashionable livery through the vivid green, which continued to make appearances throughout the seasons on Benetton cars. A mixture of multicoloured striping is seen, reflecting Benetton’s global fashion identity, along with representing their ‘united’ theme.

This was Benetton’s first year in Formula 1, and they sure made a big entrance & introduction through their visually loud livery. I love the look of a clean & sleek livery; however, I do wish more teams experimented and brought these lively designs back!

8) Mercedes W15 - 2024

I’m sneaking this one in, as I know lots of people have mixed opinions regarding ‘modern-day’ liveries! But, I think we can all agree on how refined & meaningful it is!

The classic black exterior was primarily chosen to save weight by leaving more bare carbon fibre exposed, reducing the overall need for paint. However, it also honours Mercedes’ commitment to greater diversity and inclusion, a cause championed by Lewis Hamilton that began in 2020. The silver paint visible on the nose is a nod to the “Silver Arrows” nickname, reflecting the team’s history & heritage.

7) McLaren MP4/13 - 1998

I’ve not seen this livery nor car be discussed too often yet it granted Mika Häkkinen his first WDC, along with McLaren’s first Constructors’s title since 1991!

The distinctive sleek silver base and black accents ushered McLaren into their new modern era, as they moved away from the iconic red and white Marlboro cars. The use of silver reflected Mercedes-Benz’s new role as McLaren’s engine supplier, further leading back to the return of the “Silver Arrows” nickname.

6) Renault R26 - 2006

Every time I think of this livery, I instantly remember Fernando Alonso’s unique post-victory dance involving him flapping his arms like a bird! This car dominated the 2006 season, winning both the Constructors’ & Drivers’ World Championships for Renault and Alonso!

The bright yellow and blue colour scheme created a vibrant and recognisable look, helping the car stand out from other teams. Once again, a cigarette sponsor appeared on the side pod, ‘Mild Seven’. Compared to the JPS & McLaren, Renault had seamlessly blended this sponsor amongst the others, keeping with the existing complementary colour scheme.

In countries with stricter laws regarding tobacco sponsoring, Renault replaced the logo with “Team Spirit” or abstract graphics.

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5) Red Bull Suzuka - 2025

Beauty is all I have to say!

Absolutely one of my top liveries seen on a modern-day F1 car! The livery was inspired by Honda’s RA272, which claimed its first Formula 1 victory in 1965 - marking the 60th anniversary! Red Bull paid homage to their former engine provider by recreating their 65’ winning car, with the striking white base and prominent red nose. Both these colours are important in Japan, further respecting and acknowledging their culture.

4) McLaren MP4/4 - 1988

One of the most memorable and recognisable due to its strong dominance period, winning 15 out of 16 races in 1988! This legendary McLaren featured drivers like Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, securing the Brazilian his first ever WDC in F1!

The fluorescent red and white, along with the ‘Marlboro’ logo stamped onto the sides, created a sleek, bold and visually striking livery!

3) Williams FW14B - 1992

Striking design to showcase one of the most dominant F1 cars of all time! Known for its revolutionary technology such as - active suspension, traction control & semi-automatic gearbox that helped secure Nigel Mansell his WDC and the Constructors’ title for Williams!

Another feature of yellow & blue mixed in with white, and a prominent red is featured on the Canon sponsorship visible on the rear wing. Mansell’s number ‘5’ was in red, whilst teammate Ricardo Patrese’s number ‘6’ was in white. Williams created a strong brand identity through their dominant season and a memorable livery design!

2) Lotus John Player Special - 1972

Would it be a top 10 livery post without featuring a Lotus car? Taking a step back from the traditional green paint and yellow tyres, Lotus showcased a luxurious black and gold design sponsored by cigarette brand John Player Special.

The livery symbolises the team’s elegance and golden era of racing success & technological innovation. The JPS has been associated with some of the most successful cars, such as the Lotus 72 & 79, and legendary drivers Aryton Senna, Emerson Fittipaldi & Nigel Mansell.

1) La Ferrari 500 F2 - 1951

When you think of Formula 1, your mind instantly goes to top teams like Red Bull, Mercedes, and most certainly Ferrari! Ferrari’s iconic national racing red is more than just a livery; it’s a symbol of history, passion and identity, easily recognisable even if you don’t know much about motorsport. As Enzo Ferrari once said, “Ask a child to draw a car, and they’ll colour it red.”

The minimal livery creates a seamless look, allowing for full focus on the team’s branding.

There’s so many more stunning cars around; however, if I were to keep writing about them, this post would never end!

Let me know in the comment section what your favourite livery of all time is! Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this post! Click the like button to support, and let me know if you have any suggestions or improvements for me!

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I’ll be discussing any topics regarding his stay and what may make him leave in the future too, so let’s begin!

🏁 Past, present, future:

A little backstory on the ‘Flying Dutchman’!

Max Verstappen debuted in 2015 at just 17 years old, making him the youngest driver to debut in Formula 1. His first year was at sister team, Toro Rosso, yet he instantly got promoted to Red Bull for the 2016 season. Many viewed this decision as ‘risky’ and ‘bold’; however, Helmut Marko knew that Verstappen had the skills and talent to prove everyone wrong, and he sure did.

On the fifth race of the season, Verstappen had taken his first F1 win at the Spanish Grand Prix! Since then, he became unstoppable as history wrote itself. As of writing this, he’s been at Red Bull for 10 seasons, winning 4 world championship titles and 71 races with them.

📝 Contract & clauses:

Currently, Verstappen is contracted to remain at Red Bull until 2028, strongly confirming that he will remain with them going into the 2026 season. This follows the rumoured contract clause, which is now off the table following the Belgian GP.

The clause was linked to his championship position: if Verstappen placed outside the top three before summer break, he’d be allowed to leave the team.

Verstappen spoke out about this, saying,

“I think it’s time to basically stop all the rumours, and for me it’s always been quite clear that I was staying anyway.”

❓End of an era:

2025 saw the leave of Christian Horner, Adrian Newey & Helmut Marko, arguably some very important members of Red Bull.

It was rumoured that Gianpiero Lambiase would also be stepping back from his role to concentrate on a potential senior role, containing a wider variety of racing responsibilities, reducing his need to travel as much. It sure didn’t help make the rumours better knowing that many teams were interested in him, such as Aston Martin and Williams!

Nevertheless, Lambiase has confirmed that he’ll be staying for the 2026 season! The prospect of Lambiase leaving would definitely be a concern for Red Bull considering his and Verstappen’s strong friendship of over 9 years! Not having a reliable and comfortable dynamic with a new engineer could reduce race performance, potentially hindering Verstappen’s willingness to extend his stay.

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🏎️ Strong car, positive race:

Having a championship-winning car is crucial for any driver’s decision regarding a team.

Since 2023, we’ve seen a slow & gradual decrease regarding Red Bull’s overall performance, with rival teams catching up & getting past them, such as McLaren and Mercedes. The decline may be caused by a different variety of factors, such as CTO Adrian Newey & other personnel leaving, creating instability within the team during crucial moments of the season. Cost caps, technical rule changes, mechanical issues, etc, are also leading factors of Red Bull’s decline in climbing up the rankings.

Verstappen has repeatedly spoken out and emphasised his need for driving a “competitive car capable of winning championships’. With arguably one of Red Bull’s biggest changes in recent years, which is the introduction of Honda’s partnership in creating their very own power-unit.

Could this increase Red Bull’s chance of getting back to the top? They aren’t far off, allowing for a full reset going into 2026 under the new regulations!

⏰ Time for a change:

A passion for hour-long races has brewed for the Dutch! Recently, Verstappen debuted in the Nürburgring Nordschleife GT3, landing victory in a Ferrari 296! Funnily enough, he raced under the alias name “Franz Hermann”, as he wanted his name to “sound as German as possible”!

This race granted him a platinum FIA driver rating, the highest classification, which grants him eligibility for many endurance races. He called it a ‘passion’ and ‘hobby’, enjoying the different experience other racing categories bring. His goal is to compete in as many as possible, saying, “All of them. I really want to do all of them.” A few he’s specified are:

• The 24 Hours of Le Mans

• The Rolex 24 at Daytona

• The 12 Hours of Sebring

• The 24 Hours of the Nürburgring Nordschleife

I’m all on board to see Verstappen compete at these! I feel like endurance races light a spark in past F1 drivers, bringing out new, impressive skills. I can’t wait for racing to resume in all these categories!

One thing we know for certain is that Max has a long way to go in motorsport, and his time in racing isn’t ending anytime soon. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this post! Click the like button to support, and let me know if you have any suggestions or improvements for me!

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