There are other, even more important, questions with which Verstappen has to be at peace, though, and they revolve around performance. Red Bull have fallen a long way from the dominant form they showed through 2022, 2023 and the first few races of 2024. McLaren are now the leading force in F1. On average, Red...
Verstappen said he “had to commit a lot” in the high-speed corners because of the low-downforce set-up the team had chosen, which made the car on edge in the demanding corners. Piastri was quickest after the first laps of qualifying but he failed to improve on his second lap, at least partly because of a...
What are Cadillac’s chances of survival in F1? Especially considering they are starting from scratch rather than taking over an existing team like Audi with Sauber. – Adam Cadillac – the luxury brand of US car giant General Motors – is entering F1 next year with a new team, in partnership with the US investment...
On paper, Verstappen is a Red Bull driver next year and beyond. A Red Bull spokesperson said: “Max has a contract to 2028.” At the same time, Verstappen and his management have talked with Mercedes about the possibility of moving there next year. And it’s likely Verstappen could find a way out of his Red...
Russell’s comments imply that his own contract talks with team principal Toto Wolff are being delayed by Mercedes’ conversations with the four-time champion. Verstappen refused to directly comment when he was asked on Thursday whether he would be staying with the team next year. “I don’t think we need to talk about that,” he said....
The track characteristics have the opposite effect on championship leaders McLaren, whose car is the best in the field at managing tyre temperatures. As a consequence, McLaren have been struggling to make it operate at its best in Montreal. Championship leader Oscar Piastri is third on the grid behind Russell and Verstappen but his team-mate...
Russell had felt on arriving at the track on Saturday morning that he had a good chance of setting pole, and his confidence was well placed. Like Verstappen using the medium tyre for his final lap, Russell said it was “one of the most exhilarating laps of my life”. He added: “I swear, every corner...
Mercedes’ George Russell was fourth fastest, from Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar and McLaren’s Lando Norris on a track that was obviously slippery and dirty. Championship leaders McLaren appeared to struggle. Norris had a number of moments around the demanding Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and finished up 12th. The Briton’s team-mate Oscar Piastri, the...
Asked what he thought Verstappen was trying to achieve in the manoeuvre at Barcelona’s Turn Five, Russell said: “I think he was trying to run me off the road, but I don’t think he was trying to intentionally crash into me. I think he just misjudged it.” If Verstappen receives one more point on his...
Norris is talking a matter of days after he likened Verstappen’s controversial collision with Mercedes’ George Russell in the Spanish Grand Prix to something out of the Mario Kart game. That comment was made in the green room before the podium while chatting to Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. He did not want to expand...
With the benefit of hindsight, this was one of two mistakes Red Bull made in the Spanish Grand Prix. After the stewards launched an inquiry into the Verstappen-Russell incident in Turn One, Red Bull decided to order Verstappen to give the place back. Team principal Christian Horner said the decision was based “on recent experience...
The incident happened during an extraordinary final five laps after a late safety car. Until then, Verstappen had been on course for a strong third place, after challenging the McLarens on a three-stop strategy, compared to their two. When the safety car was deployed, all the leaders – and most of the rest of the...
It left him lacking grip at the restart to those around him and resulted in a madcap, almost unbelievable, series of incidents. Verstappen almost lost his car when he had a massive wobble coming out of the fast final corner as the race restarted with five laps to go. Leclerc pulled alongside on the straight,...
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said: “With the benefit of hindsight, let’s say that considering the situation in corner one-two, it could have been better for Lando to just lift and make sure that he could keep the second position because the car, again, with the benefit of hindsight, we see that he was very...
In McLaren’s view, Red Bull have not been painting the most accurate picture of the competitive picture between the two teams. “Red Bull, they are very good at making fast cars,” Stella said. “They are very exceptionally good, I would say, at driving fast cars, and they are extremely good also in creating the narrative...