How Verstappen beat himself to F1 Abu Dhabi GP pole – as well as both McLarens
Ahead of last weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix, Max Verstappen opined that if he were Oscar Piastri and McLaren leaned on him to support Lando Norris’s title bid, he would «tell them to F off». Slightly different circumstances, granted, but Yuki Tsunoda did not follow this advice when he was directed to help his team-mate out […]
Red Bull «can’t rely three times on mistakes» from McLaren in F1 Abu Dhabi GP
After the first practice session in Abu Dhabi, championship leader Lando Norris was just 0.008s faster than Max Verstappen – but that gap grew to 0.363s in the second session. That is concerning for Red Bull on two fronts: firstly that set-up changes between the sessions failed to have the desired effect, and also that […]
What are McLaren’s papaya rules ahead of the F1 title decider?
As McLaren goes into Formula 1’s 2025 title decider with both drivers in contention for the world championship against Max Verstappen, two words come up again and again: papaya rules. The phrase was coined by team principal Andrea Stella – “Andreas like to come up with different names for different things,” Lando Norris explained – […]
«All that matters is the trophy» regarding McLaren F1 team orders debate
Defending Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen says he would have no issue with McLaren playing the team game to keep him from a fifth consecutive drivers’ title, because «all that matters is the trophy». Verstappen is facing a 12-point deficit to championship leader Lando Norris at the Yas Marina Circuit’s season finale, with Oscar […]
Six moments that may cost Norris the 2025 F1 title
This weekend in Abu Dhabi, Lando Norris has a chance to win his maiden Formula 1 world title. A second chance, actually, after his first match point in Qatar went awry as McLaren picked the wrong strategy. The team may have overwhelmingly dominated the constructors’ championship, with 800 points to current runner-up Mercedes’ 459, but […]
What is next season’s driver line-up in Formula 1?
The grid for the 2026 Formula 1 season is now complete after Red Bull announced changes across both of the teams it owns in the championship. Isack Hadjar will replace Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull after a disappointing season for the Japanese racer, while F2’s Arvid Lindblad will occupy the Frenchman’s spot at Racing Bulls. […]
McLaren to hold internal review into Qatar GP strategy mistakes
McLaren boss Andrea Stella admitted the team ‘misjudged’ its strategy in the Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix and said an internal review will be carried out to dissect its decision not to pit either driver under the safety car. McLaren was the team to beat around Losail, with Oscar Piastri take sprint pole and victory, and […]
What McLaren can learn from Michael Schumacher after F1 Qatar GP blunder
Hindsight unfailingly affords total clarity – and its optics look bad for McLaren after a Qatar Grand Prix about which the best thing which could be said of the outcome is that it was less catastrophic than the Las Vegas round which preceded it. Team boss Andrea Stella has promised a thorough review of the […]
Why there should be a zero-tolerance approach for breaking F1’s technical rules
On the face of it, the suggestion seems highly plausible. The McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were excluded from the results of the Las Vegas Grand Prix because the wear on some of their underfloor skid plates was fractionally beyond the permitted tolerance. Team boss Andrea Stella’s contention is that in this case, the […]