Earlier this week racing fans learned the title of the upcoming movie set in the world of Formula 1 starring Brad Pitt and produced in part by Lewis Hamilton.
Those same fans have now been treated to their first glimpse of the upcoming feature.
In the hours ahead of the British Grand Prix the teaser trailer for F1 was released, giving fans their first look at the upcoming movie, which has been filmed at various locations throughout the F1 schedule. Eagle-eyed fans will notice some familiar faces in the trailer along with Pitt and Damson Idris, who plays his teammate at the fictional F1 team APXGP:
That’s right, there is former Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner, as well as the two APXGP drivers standing alongside current drivers Max Verstappen, Sergio Pérez, Fernando Alonso, and more ahead of a race.
There is also a lot of racing action, including one view from the cockpit as cars charge up the legendary hill known as Eau Rouge at historic Spa-Francorchamps, site of the Belgian Grand Prix.
As far as Saturday’s go, it was an impressive one for young Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
And one that added an important item to his resume as a decision looms at Mercedes.
Antonelli captured the Formula 2 Sprint Race in wet and rainy conditions, leading every lap from reverse pole position to score his maiden win in F2.
The victory comes as questions linger about the second seat at Mercedes on the F1 grid for 2025, and whether Antonelli will be ready to make the jump from just one season in F2 to the highest level of single-seater racing. Antonelli, who is yet to turn 18, skipped F3 altogether, and while his already impressive resume has him as the leading candidate for the seat Lewis Hamilton will vacate at the end of the season, it lacked a win in F2.
That changed today.
Antonellii’s maiden F2 win also comes during a week where Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff addressed Antonelli’s “tricky” F2 campaign, and opened the door to options for next season beyond the young phenom.
“Yeah, the season has been a bit tricky because overall the two have not been on a level and I think the team recognises that. That wasn’t great, but last weekend was pretty good. The pace was there, there were mistakes in getaways, so that’s something a rookie needs to learn, that’s clear,” said Wolff when asked about Antonelli during Friday’s FIA Press Conference.
“But he has a lot of pressure. He’s being talked a lot about. His junior formula and go-karting track record is one of a kind. And that’s clear that the pressure ramps up. But it’s like his father says, a champion needs to be thrown in the cold water and needs to swim. So they are very clear about that,” continued Wolff. “But the driver market at the moment is quite a dynamic, interesting thing. I think because some of the drivers have more options and some of the teams have more options. So it’s interesting. And you know, it’s like Bernie [Ecclestone] said: ‘last week I had an opinion, this week I have a different one’.”
Wolff then talked about how Antonelli was handling all the expectations and pressure, drawing a comparison to fellow F2 driver Oliver Bearman, who made some news this week when Haas announced he would be driving for them full-time in F1 next year.
“What I like in terms of his attitude, generally his family, who has been always close to him, is the objective assessment of a situation, and that is good or not good enough. And I don’t think that the pressure harms at all the way he performs in the car and how he drives. You can clearly see it’s a good benchmarking with Ollie Bearman,” said Wolff. “They are pretty close. Ollie had an obviously very good race in Austria and Kimi on the Sunday, had a clutch release issue in the second race. So you’ve got to swim. That’s clear. It was a rapid career progression. He’s 17. Hasn’t got even a driving license for a road car. And the best ones will be able to cope with that, with the amount of scrutiny and the pressure, and it’s going to get bigger.”
If Saturday’s F2 Sprint Race is any indication, Antonelli is starting to handle that pressure rather well.
Mercedes tasted victory for the first time this Formula 1 season last week in Austria, as George Russell capitalized on a late-race incident between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, storming to the front to take the checkered flag at the Austrian Grand Prix. Can the Silver Arrows make it two in a row with a win at home in the British Grand Prix?
While that might be a tall order given what we have seen from McLaren and Red Bull so far — more on that in a moment — the team got off to an “encouraging” start in Friday’s two practice sessions at the historic Silverstone circuit.
Lewis Hamilton finished seventh in FP1, running a mix of the hard and the medium compound, and then improved to P6 in the second session while running a mix of all three compounds, including some runs on the softs. Russell was on a similar program, placing fifth in the first session on a mix runs using the hards and the mediums, and then finished tenth in the second session while using all three compounds.
“P1 was a strong session with the car feeling great. FP2 was a slightly more challenging hour, and we need to pick through why that was,” reported Russell in the team’s post-practice media report. “It was much windier, and I don’t think we got the [tires] in the right window, so that could explain a chunk of it. The conditions are likely to change across the weekend, with more rain possible too, so we will have to be adaptive.”
“The car felt generally good today. We’re still a little bit behind the ultimate pace at the front but today was encouraging. I don’t think the times are fully representative of where our speed was, but nevertheless, we know we’ve got work to do tonight,” said Hamilton. “We will therefore do what we can to try and find more performance and hopefully that can get us a little closer to those ahead.”
As far as the pecking order after the first day, Russell put McLaren and Red Bull a bit ahead of Mercedes, indicating that it might be a battle with the Ferraris on tap this weekend for the Silver Arrows.
“After today’s running, I’d say that the competitive picture looks similar to the past few races. McLaren and Max [Verstappen] look a step ahead and it’s close between ourselves and Ferrari,” added Russell. “We will work hard overnight to try and take a step forward and see where that leaves us tomorrow.”
As has been argued here and elsewhere, over the past three race weekends no team has been hotter than Mercedes. The Silver Arrows have scored 100 points over that stretch, more than McLaren, Ferrari, and yes, Red Bull.
Can they extend that streak at Silverstone? It might be too early to tell, but the week did get off to an encouraging start for the team.
Haas made Formula 1 news earlier this week, announcing on Thursday ahead of the British Grand Prix that young Oliver Bearman would be one of their two drivers for the 2025 F1 season.
That move made many wonder if Haas would aim to sign a more experienced driver for the spot alongside Bearman. Team Principal Ayao Komatsu admitted during Friday’s FIA Press Conference that this is the plan.
“Yeah, of course, especially for a team like us, we cannot have two rookies,” said Komatsu on Friday when asked if the Bearman promotion would influence Haas’ decision regarding their second seat. “So now that we’ve taken Ollie as a rookie, we will try to appoint somebody who’s got decent F1 experience.”
Addressing the decision to promote Bearman to a full-time F1 seat, Komatsu called the young driver a “perfect match” for Haas.
We are still pretty much a growing team. We are a relatively new team. And then we are restarting, let’s say, and improving our performance. And Ollie, obviously, is a very talented young driver with a very strong head on his shoulders,” said Komatsu. “And he’s very calm, but mature, got the speed, and very much a team player. So the things how we want to progress as a team, that’s what I mean by a very perfect match.”
The Haas team boss praised Bearman’s approach during the limited practice action he has seen at Haas as part of his reserve duties with the team, including his FP1 debut a year ago.
“[T]hat’s what was impressive before when we first put him in the car in Mexico, you know, very first time in a Formula 1 car, FP1 session. Of course, he was excited,” described Komatsu. “But then again, he understood the objective of the team what this session means to the team, what we need to achieve. And then, of course, he’s trying to drive as fast as possible. But within that bigger picture, he understands always the context very, very well.
“So that’s what was impressive before. And then, of course, you know, it’s not something he needed to change today. Of course, he was, I’m sure, very happy to drive in front of his home crowd after the announcement. So he was enjoying it. But fundamentally, the approach was exactly the same.”
Bearman made a stunning F1 debut earlier this season, finishing seventh in place of an ailing Carlos Sainz Jr. at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The young driver had only one hour of practice time ahead of qualifying at Jeddah Corniche Circuit and impressed the entire paddock by advancing to Q2 and qualifying 11th.
In the main event, Bearman held off Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton down the stretch, despite the veteran drivers pursuing him with fresher tires. It was a performance that turned heads throughout the sport and paved the way to a full-time seat.
While we still await news on who his teammate might be, we now know a bit more about the future at Haas, and how a veteran will be beside the rookie next season.
Will it be Kevin Magnussen returning to Haas? Or one of the other drivers looking for a seat, such as Esteban Ocon — who has been linked with Haas in recent weeks — or another driver such as Valtteri Bottas?
Ahead of the British Grand Prix it was announced that the upcoming feature film focused on the world of Formula 1 starring Brad Pitt and produced in part by Lewis Hamilton now has an official title.
And it gets straight to the point.
F1 is that title, and the feature film will be released worldwide on June 25, 2025 and two days later in the United States. The film stars Pitt as a veteran driver for APXGP, a fictional team on the F1 grid. Damson Idris stars as Pitt’s teammate at APXGP:
Filming is still ongoing for the movie, with scenes being shot at this weekend’s British Grand Prix at the historic Silverstone circuit. During the 2023 F1 season scenes were filmed at a number of grands prix, including footage shot at Silverstone, Hungaroring, Spa Francorchamps, Circuit Zandvoort, Las Vegas Strip Circuit, and Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.
During the 2024 F1 season, scenes for F1 have been — or will be — shot at Suzuka Circuit, Silverstone, Hungaroring, Spa Francorchamps, Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Mexico City, Las Vegas Strip Circuit, and again at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.
It was also announced on Friday that ahead of Sunday’s British Grand Prix a teaser trailer for the film will be released.
Last season filming occurred during the British Grand Prix, with Pitt and Idris even participating in drivers’ meetings. Hamilton was asked a number of questions about the film during the FIA Press Conference, and talked about the cooperation from the sport, as well as the efforts made by the filmmakers to deliver an “authentic” experience.
“Yeah, I’ve been really incredibly grateful to [Formula 1]. I don’t know if this would have been possible 10 plus years ago, when the old management was in place. They wouldn’t have perhaps seen this as an important step in terms of the sport’s growth,” said Hamilton a year ago. “But we’ve already seen the great work and impact of the Netflix show and I think this will take it to new heights beyond that. So yeah, I think there’s so many people around the world, as you’ve seen already, that are so excited about this sport, wanting to learn more. And the fact that we will have all the original characters that are actually on the grid, and then Brad, is pretty cool.
“I’m pretty certain, I mean, our cameras are a lot better than what you’re seeing when you’re watching TV. I’ve seen all the footage of the camera positions. I’ve spent time with Joe, trying to make sure we’ve got the best camera positions and the frame rate is different, it’s going to look fast. I think it’s going to look faster than it does on TV. Because I think it’s something to do with the frame rate that we have to have. But Joe is an incredible director, and I think you’re going to see him really… You’ve already seen what he’s done with fighter jets, what is what he did with [Top Gun:] Maverick. So just think about what he’s done with that in terms of the dogfights you saw from those jets, which was pretty epic. And bringing that technology and that viewpoint into our world,
The 2024 Formula 1 season made history for the sport when the first race began. When the lights went out to start the Bahrain Grand Prix, it was the first time in F1 history that the drivers who ended the previous season were the same exact drivers — in the same exact spots — when the next year began.
However, the season also began with changes looming on the horizon. Not only was over half of the grid beginning the year on an expiring contract, the shocking news that Lewis Hamilton would be leaving Mercedes for Ferrari at the end of 2024 kicked the F1 “silly season” into overdrive.
Slowly, next year’s lineup is rounding into shape. The news that Red Bull reached a new two-year deal means that over half of the grid is now set for 2025.
So how does the 2025 F1 driver lineup look? Here is how it stands at the moment, with nine spots still officially up for grabs.
This piece will be updated as new contracts are announced.
Alpine
Alpine entered the 2024 F1 season with two drivers on the final year of their contracts, in Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon. With Ocon and Alpine announcing ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix that they will “part ways” at the end of the 2024 season, one seat is officially vacant for 2025. Rumors persist about Gasly’s future with the team, but with the Ocon announcement the team might look to retain him for 2025, to keep some level of continuity within the organization.
Earlier this week we took a look at potential options for Alpine for at least Ocon’s current seat.
Update: Ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix Alpine announced that Gasly will be back for 2025 on a new “multi-year” deal.
Pierre Gasly – “Multi-year” contract
TBD
Aston Martin
Aston Martin is one of the few teams currently with a lineup set for 2025. Fernando Alonso entered the year on the final season of his current contract, but the parties recently announced a new “multi-year contract.” As for Lance Stroll, his contract status is something of a mystery, but it is understood that he is on a rolling contract, one that has been described in the media as “indefinite.”
Update: Ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix Aston Martin confirmed that Stroll will be back for 2025 on a new “multi-year” deal.
Fernando Alonso — “Multi-year” contract through at least 2026
Lance Stroll — “Multi-year” contract
Haas
Similar to Alpine, Haas is another team that entered the year with a pair of drivers on the final year of their deals, and now knows for certain that one spot is open for 2025. Nico Hülkenberg announced ahead of the Miami Grand Prix that he was moving to Sauber for 2025 and beyond, ahead of that team becoming the Audi works outfit in 2026. Kevin Magnussen is in the final year of his deal, and it remains unclear if he will be retained for 2025.
A name that has been often linked with at least one spot at Haas for 2025? Ferrari academy driver and super-sub Oliver Bearman.
Ferrari
Ferrari kicked off the F1 silly season in the winter, when the stunning announcement came that Lewis Hamilton would be leaving Mercedes for Ferrari at the conclusion of the 2024 season. With the team having already announced a new deal for Charles Leclerc, Ferrari’s lineup is set for 2025 … and beyond.
Charles Leclerc — “Multi-year” contract
Lewis Hamilton — “Multi-year” contract
McLaren
Jay Janner/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK
Last October I sat down with McLaren CEO Zak Brown for an exclusive interview, and at that time the team boss told me in no uncertain terms that in Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri the team has the best driver duo on the grid.
So it should come as no surprise that the team worked over the past few months to extend Norris, ensuring both drivers are with the team into the new era of F1 regulations.
Lando Norris — “Multi-year” contract
Oscar Piastri — Contract through 2026
Mercedes
Near the end of last season it seemed Mercedes would enjoy a period of stability, or at least through the 2025 season. With George Russell signed until the end of the 2025 campaign, and Lewis Hamilton adding two more years to a deal that was set to expire at the end of 2024, the Silver Arrows looked set.
That changed with the Hamilton news. Now the team is contemplation options for the seat next to Russell, and likely looking to extend Russell beyond his current deal.
A number of options have been linked with this second seat at Mercedes, with many signs pointing to phenom Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
George Russell — Contract through 2025
TBD
Red Bull
While the shocking Hamilton announcement officially kicked off the 2025 F1 silly season speculation, in truth it began well before that. Sergio Pérez’s mid-season struggles during 2023, particularly in qualifying, led to rampant speculation regarding his future with Red Bull. While he began the season on a deal set to expire at the end of 2024, there were certain corners of the F1 world that wondered if he would even see the start of 2024 with the team, or if he would be potentially sacked mid-season due to poor form.
Red Bull ended that speculation ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, announcing a new two-year deal with Pérez that will keep him with the team through 2026.
As for the other Red Bull driver, absent a seismic move that seat is locked up for a long time.
Max Verstappen — Contract through 2028
Sergio Pérez — Contract through 2026
Sauber
Sauber entered 2024 with a driver lineup of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, two drivers on expiring deals.
Now one of their seats is set for 2025 and beyond, as the team announced back in April that Nico Hülkenberg would be joining the team for next season. With Sauber set to become the Audi works operation in 2026, pairing a German driver with a German manufacturer makes a deal of sense.
However, who his teammate will be next year is a matter of debate.
Nico Hülkenberg — “Multi-year” contract through 2026
TBD
Visa Cash App RB F1 Team
Three drivers, two seats.
That is how the year began for VCARB, as Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda, and Liam Lawson all presented viable options for the team. Ultimately, the team went with Ricciardo and Tsunoda, both of whom are on expiring contracts. Will VCARB bring both back for 2025, or make changes?
Update: Ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix VCARB announced that Tsunoda will be back for 2025.
Yuki Tsunoda — Contract through 2025
TBD
Williams
A surprising seventh-place finish in the 2023 Constructors’ Championship saw Williams run it back this year with both Alexander Albon and Logan Sargeant. Like last year, however, the start has been slow for the team. During 2023 Williams notched a single point in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, and did not score again until the Canadian Grand Prix, when Albon finished seventh.
This season Williams finally broke through with points in the Monaco Grand Prix with Albon’s ninth-place finish.
The team announced a contract extension for Albon earlier this season, but who his teammate will be in 2025 is a matter yet to be decided.
Alexander Albon — “Multi-year” contract through at least 2026
One of the most climactic moments in recent Formula 1 memory took place just a few short days ago when an on-track battle between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen — that has been brewing for weeks — finally boiled over. A collision between the two on Lap 64 of the Austrian Grand Prix kicked off hours of debate over who was at fault, and speculation about what lies ahead.
However, the time for talking draws to a close quickly this week, as the British Grand Prix at the historic Silverstone Circuit is set to get underway, the final race of an F1 tripleheader that has taken the grid from Barcelona to Austria and now Silverstone … while changing the complexion of the F1 season.
Here are the tk burning questions ahead of the British Grand Prix.
Where do Max and Lando go from here?
This question is critical not just for the British Grand Prix, but for the rest of the 2024 F1 season, if not beyond.
Where do Lando Norris and Max Verstappen go from here?
Is their on-track battle which has been simmering for weeks — and the subsequent Lap 64 collision — the moment that changes everything on the grid? Or will a few days of respite and some internal discussions, perhaps even a pint or two, see both parties move on from the incident and turn the page? And what happens if, as expected, these two lock horns in Silverstone or beyond? Will either driver approach things differently in the wake of Austria?
Over on social media at least, there is hope that in the days and weeks ahead the two teams and drivers emphasize hard but fair racing, as the “Norris versus Verstappen” battle that is shaping up looks to be the most intriguing title fight since 2021. But, as we will note in a minute, that season was not without its share of controversial moments, beyond the final laps of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Then there is the potential for what things look like at Media Day Thursday. The bevy of post-race questions and answers in Austria seemed primed to build the incident into something even bigger, but will the assembled media look to move beyond the incident itself and to the future, or will the incident and what it means on a personal level be the focus?
Then there is the fact that the grid leaves Austria and Red Bull Ring behind to make the trip across the English Channel to Silverstone and the British Grand Prix, a home race for Norris. Will what is sure to be a charged environment factor into the equation?
Where Norris and Verstappen go from here is the burning question in the sport right now, and starting in just a few hours we will get our first glimpse at how that question is answered.
How will race officials handle things going forward?
Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images
One of the more fascinating viewpoints on the Norris-Verstappen clash came from McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella. As you might expect, the McLaren boss backed his driver to the fullest.
But he also had some criticism for how race officials have handled similar battles in the past.
Speaking with Ted Kravitz of Sky Sports F1 immediately after the Austrian Grand Prix, Stella pointed to how race stewards often took a hands-off approach in the past. “I see that the entire population in the world would know who is responsible except for a group of people,” began the McLaren boss to Kravitz.
“But the problem behind it is that if you don’t address these things honestly, they will come back. They have come back today because they were not addressed properly in the past when there were some fights with Lewis [Hamilton] that needed to be punished in a harsher way. You learn now to race in a certain way, which we can consider fair and square.”
Kravitz immediately pointed to the 2021 São Paulo Grand Prix which saw a similar duel between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, and an incident where it appeared to many watching that Verstappen had forced Hamilton off the track. But race officials took no further action.
You can see that incident here and make your own determination.
Returning to Stella, the McLaren boss indicated that Brazil 2021 was just one of “many” such incidents.
“Yes, there is many episodes,” continued the McLaren boss. “The fact is that we have so much respect for Red Bull, so much respect for Max – they don’t need to do this. It’s a way to almost compromise your reputation. Why would you do that?”
Stella then concluded his thoughts with Kravitz.
“I think the stewards found that Max was fully to blame in this episode. So it’s not about racing in a drivers’ way, it’s about racing within the regulations,” said Stella. “And the regulations must be enforced in a way that is effective, because when a car is out of the race as a consequence of this accident, the punishment needs to be proportionate to the outcome.
“And we had twice before that episode moving under braking. So I think it’s just evident we have to enforce the way to go racing because we want to have fun, we want to enjoy.”
So that leads us to the race stewards now, and how they will handle matters going forward. They may point to the penalty handed down to Verstappen in Austria — the ten-second penalty along with two points on his Super License finding him “predominantly at fault” for the collision — as a sign that they are intervening to ward off any further incidents on the track. Perhaps they are right. But you best believe that if the #1 and the #4 come close this weekend, a lot of eyes will be watching.
Not just the two drivers, but the race stewards as well.
Can Meredes keep their hot streak going?
As we have noted over the past few days the hottest team in F1 over the past three race weekends?
Mercedes.
Upgrades the team started rolling out at the Miami Grand Prix began bearing fruit in Imola and Monaco but turned into something of a bumper crop since then. Over the past three race weekends, the Silver Arrows have banked 100 points, more than any other team on the grid, including both Red Bull and McLaren.
And as we will see in a moment, much more than Ferrari.
Can Mercedes keep this streak going at Silverstone?
Word out of the team was optimistic on that front in the hours after George Russell’s win in Austria. In the team’s post-race report on Sunday Lewis Hamilton noted that Silverstone might suit the current configuration of the W15. “We now look ahead to Silverstone,” said Hamilton. “It is always such a special weekend, and I can’t wait to see all the fans there. It is a track that should hopefully suit us a little better than here in Austria so let’s see what we can do.”
Along similar lines, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff outlined that the success in Austria on a track that has not always been fertile ground for the team illustrates just how far they have come. “We now look forward to Silverstone next week. We are encouraged by our overall performance this weekend at a track that has not normally been a [favorite] for our cars,” said Wolff. “Our aim over the next few races is to continue to show progress and aim to get closer to the front.”
Can they keep it rolling this week?
Will we finally learn where Carlos Sainz Jr. is headed?
Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images
The clash between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen knocked what was the top-line question on the mind of everyone associated with F1:
Where is Carlos Sainz Jr. headed for next season?
Sainz remains the big fish in the driver transfer market, and while all signs pointed to the Spanish driver signing on the dotted line with Williams for next year, Alpine has emerged in recent weeks as a serious contender for his services.
Sainz outlined ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix that a decision was coming “soon,” but seemed to take a different approach in the moments after his podium finish in Austria. When asked about his contract situation after finishing third in the Austrian Grand Prix Sainz indicated he was not going to be pressured into deciding before he was ready.
“As I said before, for sure that pressure, I’m not going to receive it on a Sunday afternoon after a podium we are keen to enjoy. As I said before, I think it’s sometimes, like George was saying, we take it for granted when we’re on one of these podiums, celebrating, wearing a Ferrari suit, and I was thinking, try to enjoy this moment because who knows when it’s going to be the next time in the future,” said Sainz at the post-race FIA Press Conference Sunday. “So as much as maybe there are some teams that are nervous or pressuring me, it’s time for me also to enjoy this moment of being on a podium.
“And I’m going to be honest and straightforward with the teams, but it’s such an important decision for me also that I’m going to take all the time that I need to take it. And if there’s teams that cannot wait or are a bit impatient, I cannot do anything about it. It’s going to be my future, my decision, and I’m going to try and be as honest as possible with everyone and give myself the time that I need.”
If — hypothetically — Sainz were to sign with Williams, announcing it ahead of the British Grand Prix might be something the Grove-based outfit would be keen to do. Will that be what happens this week, or will this decision linger past the British Grand Prix, and perhaps into the summer shutdown and beyond?
If so, will that open the driver market floodgates?
If Sainz does announce his 2025 destination this week, will that open the 2025 driver floodgates?
Multiple drivers in recent weeks have pointed to Sainz as, to use the phrasing utilized by Haas driver Kevin Magnussen, the “cork in the bottle.” Speaking ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix during the FIA Press Conference Magnussen raised that notion when asked about his F1 future.
“He is,” said Magnussen while gesturing to Sainz when asked about why a decision was taking so long. “Carlos is the cork in the bottle. I think a lot of guys are waiting for him to make a move and then eventually all the other pieces of the puzzle will fall. That’s the truth of that.”
Magnussen found support in Zhou Guanyu a week later. During the Thursday driver press conference, the Kick Sauber driver had this to say when asked about his 2025 plans. “Like, it’s very easy to say: we’re all waiting for what Carlos wants to decide at the end of the day. But hopefully he can make his decision sooner,” said Zhou. “And then I think that will just turn around a lot the driver market.”
Looking at the options in front of teams and drivers alike, you can see how Sainz is that proverbial “cork in the bottle.” Assuming for the sake of this hypothetical Sainz decides to sign with Williams, which takes away one more seat for the drivers looking for a ride. That might see Alpine move towards either Jack Doohan or Mick Schumacher as an option, then Valtteri Bottas contemplating a return to Kick Sauber, and then perhaps Esteban Ocon taking one of the spots at Haas.
However, should Sainz shock the paddock and sign with Alpine, then the Williams seat could be the landing spot for Bottas, opening up Zhou for a return to Kick Sauber, and then on down the line.
So if Sainz does declare his 2025 intentions, it could certainly set several moves into motion.
If Sainz does announce his 2025 destination this week, will that open the 2025 driver floodgates?
Multiple drivers in recent weeks have pointed to Sainz as, to use the phrasing utilized by Haas driver Kevin Magnussen, the “cork in the bottle.” Speaking ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix during the FIA Press Conference Magnussen raised that notion when asked about his F1 future.
“He is,” said Magnussen while gesturing to Sainz when asked about why a decision was taking so long. “Carlos is the cork in the bottle. I think a lot of guys are waiting for him to make a move and then eventually all the other pieces of the puzzle will fall. That’s the truth of that.”
Magnussen found support in Zhou Guanyu a week later. During the Thursday driver press conference, the Kick Sauber driver had this to say when asked about his 2025 plans. “Like, it’s very easy to say: we’re all waiting for what Carlos wants to decide at the end of the day. But hopefully he can make his decision sooner,” said Zhou. “And then I think that will just turn around a lot the driver market.”
Looking at the options in front of teams and drivers alike, you can see how Sainz is that proverbial “cork in the bottle.” Assuming for the sake of this hypothetical Sainz decides to sign with Williams, which takes away one more seat for the drivers looking for a ride. That might see Alpine move towards either Jack Doohan or Mick Schumacher as an option, then Valtteri Bottas contemplating a return to Kick Sauber, and then perhaps Esteban Ocon taking one of the spots at Haas.
However, should Sainz shock the paddock and sign with Alpine, then the Williams seat could be the landing spot for Bottas, opening up Zhou for a return to Kick Sauber, and then on down the line.
So if Sainz does declare his 2025 intentions, it could certainly set several moves into motion.
Can Ferrari stop the bleeding?
Forget Sainz’s future team, what about his present one?
As noted above Mercedes has been the hottest team in F1 over the past three race weekends. But looking at the top four teams in the Constructors’ Championship standings, the team that has been the coldest?
Ferrari.
While Mercedes leads the way with 100 points over that period, followed by 84 for McLaren and 79 for Red Bull, Ferrari has just 39 points during this recent stretch. Following Charles Leclerc’s triumphant drive at the Monaco Grand Prix (and a podium finish for Sainz in that race), Ferrari has struggled.
Ferrari endured a difficult week in Montreal, as they endured a points-less result in the Canadian Grand Prix. Barcelona was a step better, as Leclerc delivered a P5 and Sainz a P6, but Austria saw another step back for Leclerc, as he finished seventh in the F1 Sprint Race, and out of the points in the main event.
Sainz salvaged something bigger for the team with his podium finish in the Austrian Grand Prix, but the Scuderia have seen their rivals either pull closer to them in the standings (looking at McLaren and Mercedes) or pull further away from them in Red Bull’s case.
Can they turn things around at Silverstone?
“I think, if anything, it just proves that the last two weekends haven’t been easy,” said Sainz on Sunday when asked about the team’s recent struggles. “We’ve been always the first Ferrari finishing behind the first Mercedes. Even if you count Canada, you could argue those three weekends in a row. So I think Red Bull and McLaren were in a league of their own this weekend. Then there was a step. There was George and me battling for that P3, P4. And yeah, that was not the situation at the beginning of the year.
“So it shows that we need to work hard. We need to understand what’s happened the last couple of races. And once we understand it, hopefully already for Silverstone, we can bring a step and improve our performance.”
Regarding Silverstone, Sainz indicated that the team was working hard back in Maranello to try and deliver the upgrades needed to boost performance, particularly in the higher-speed corners.
“Well, I see the factory pushing flat out, you know, to understand the troubles that we’ve hit in the last couple of weekends and trying to bring already for Silverstone a package that allows us to perform a bit better in the high-speed corners because it’s clearly been our weakness,” said Sainz. “Yesterday, Max was so much quicker through there, but not only Max, also Mercedes and McLaren were a clear step ahead of us in those type of corners. And we know Silverstone is the king of the high speed, so we need to do a step. Obviously, we want to be competitive there. And we are going to fight everything we can and try to find everything we can, sorry, to make ourselves more competitive there.”
With the quick turnaround, Ferrari is under tremendous pressure to deliver this weekend and stem the tide.
Which young driver shines in practice?
Photo by James Sutton – Formula 1/Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images
Two teams have already announced that young drivers will be handling driving duties in at least one practice session at Silverstone. Williams announced that Franco Colapinto would be stepping in for Logan Sargeant during FP1, while Oliver Bearman will be getting in the cockpit of the VF-24 for the third of his six scheduled practice sessions for Haas this season. Bearman’s most recent FP1 session for Haas came at the Spanish Grand Prix when he finished 19th out of 20 drivers in the opening segment of practice.
For Colapinto, this is just his second time in the cockpit of an F1 car, and his first F1 session. His debut in an F1 car came at post-season testing in Abu Dhabi last winter.
“I have so many emotions. I am extremely delighted and it’s a very important moment in my life and my career. I will be the most prepared I can; I will be doing a lot of laps in the simulator and studying the details needed to drive this year’s car. I’m really looking forward to experiencing the new car after driving last year’s in Abu Dhabi,” said Colapinto in the team’s announcement. “To be able to drive it at a track like Silverstone is a privilege, it is one of my favourite tracks and to drive it at the team’s home race means a lot. To all the Argentine fans – I hope you enjoy FP1 as much as I’m going to! It’s an important moment for our country and I’m so grateful for all the support I’ve been given. I’m going to give my all to make you proud!”
For Bearman, however, this is his third stint in a practice session for Haas this season, and it comes not only in a season where he made his F1 debut — and scored his first points — replacing an ailing Carlos Sainz Jr. in Saudi Arabia, but also as many expect he will be in a seat at Haas full-time next year.
And Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu admitted earlier this year that Bearman was “under consideration” for a seat. “Of course we are evaluating him,” said Komatsu. “If he is not [under] consideration, we wouldn’t be running him in FP1.”
How will these two young drivers take to the track this weekend, and will Bearman inch closer to a full-time spot in the grid?
Those were the words of Mercedes driver George Russell, as he spoke with his team just moments after taking the checkered flag at the Austrian Grand Prix in stunning fashion. One might be excused for believing there was some bewilderment behind Russell’s comment, given how the race stood just minutes prior. Russell was running in third, behind the climactic fight between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, but he kept himself in striking distance, giving himself a chance to capitalize if something happened at the front.
Something did happen, a collision between Norris and Verstappen that ended the McLaren driver’s day and saw Verstappen limp back to the pits with a puncture of his own. The door was open for Russell, and the British driver barged through, capturing the second Grand Prix win of his Formula 1 career, and the first for Mercedes this season.
“It was a tough fight out there at the beginning of the race,” said Russell to David Coulthard trackside immediately following his stunning victory. “The team has worked so hard, we’ve made so many strides since the start of the season. The last three races have been incredible, and there’s more to come … what an exciting time for us.”
Indeed it is an exciting time for the Silver Arrows. Mercedes struggled out of the gate this season, and arrived in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix just a few short weeks ago languishing in fourth place in the F1 Constructors’ Championship standings.
They were a staggering 180 points behind first-place Red Bull, and 156 points behind Ferrari.
But then came signs of life. The first signs came at the Canadian Grand Prix when Russell captured pole position, and while he could not hold off at the front of the race he secured the team’s first Grand Prix podium of the year with a third-place finish, to go with a second place from Lewis Hamilton in the F1 Sprint Race at the Chinese Grand Prix. Hamilton matched Russell’s P3 with one of his own in Barcelona.
Then came Sunday.
With Russell’s win and a fourth-place finish from Lewis Hamilton — along with their results from Saturday’s F1 Sprint Race — Mercedes banked another 45 points in the standings. Making them the hottest team on the grid over those three race weekends.
Here is what the teams at the top of the grid have done over this period:
Red Bull: 79 McLaren: 84 Ferrari: 39 Mercedes: 100
That has seen Mercedes cut not only into Red Bull’s lead over them, but pull to within 95 points of Ferrari up in second place.
A stunning turnaround for the Silver Arrows.
“Incredible! That’s the only way I can describe it. We had a tough fight in the early stages to make sure we held on to P3. That would prove crucial at the end,” said Norris in the team’s post-race report. “I could see that Max [Verstappen] and Lando [Norris] were having a big battle. We were only just over ten seconds behind the pair of them, which is really encouraging pace-wise.
“I knew there was a possibility that they could come together, even if it was only a slim chance. You have to be there at the end to pick up the pieces and that’s exactly where we were. I am so proud to be back on the top step of the podium.”
“It is a great feeling to get back on to the top step of the podium. It is a fantastic reward for the hard work and efforts of everyone at Brackley and Brixworth. We have taken good steps forward in recent races, and we are excited about what is still to come,” described Team Principal Toto Wolff. “We knew our outright pace today wouldn’t quite be enough to challenge for victory. We therefore made sure we [maximized] our race and were able to pick up the pieces, should anything happen. We enjoyed some good fortune but that is motor racing.”
On the other side of the garage Hamilton — whose fourth-place finish added another 12 points to that tally for the team — hailed the effort these past few weeks from the entire organization.
“Congratulations to George and the team. Everyone at Brackley and Brixworth really deserves this result,” offered Hamilton. “They have worked so hard to bring performance to the car and we are starting to get us closer and closer to the very front. We put in so much effort so to get a result like this is a well-deserved reward for everyone’s efforts.”
The grid now shifts home for Mercedes, for next weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone. While the fight at the front — and the collision between Norris and Verstappen that opened the door for Russell in the first place — will likely dominate the headlines the surge from Mercedes is absolutely worthy of note.
A year ago it was McLaren who pulled off a surge of their own, rocketing up the Constructors’ Championship to ultimately finish fourth. Their turnaround showed its first signs of life in Austria, where Russell just captured Mercedes’ first win of the season.
The Silver Arrows showed their own signs of a turnaround a few weeks earlier than that. So it might be fair to ask: Just how high can Mercedes climb this year?
At the start of the Spanish Grand Prix last week a fight at the front of the field between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris off the start opened the door for George Russell to sweep into the lead. However, as you know by now Verstappen eventually wound his way by Russell, holding off Norris down the stretch to capture the Spanish Grand Prix.
Something similar played out at Red Bull Ring on Sunday, but with a much different result.
For around 50 laps of the Austrian Grand Prix it seemed as if Max Verstappen was going to run away from the field, as the Red Bull driver had built a commanding lead over Lando Norris and the rest of the field. The feeling that the other ten teams, the other 19 drivers, and perhaps the overwhelming majority of fans watching around the world was one of dread, at the sight – and potential – that Verstappen was going to run away not just on this day, but over the rest of the days this season.
However, moments later the door opened, just a crack, and the fight was on.
A slow pit stop from Verstappen and Red Bull on Lap 51 – coupled with a much quicker stop from Norris and McLaren – opened that door. Red Bull struggled with the left rear tire on Verstappen’s RB20, leading to a pit stop of 6.5 seconds for Red Bull. McLaren bested that with a 2.9-second stop for Norris, and the two lumbered off pit lane with Norris nipping at Verstappen’s heels.
For over ten laps the two friends-turned-rivals battled it out pushing their machines, each other, and themselves to the absolute limits. At one point Norris got by Verstappen, but the overtake came off the track and the McLaren driver immediately gave the position back. Both drivers were all over the track – and their radio – griping to their teams and airing their frustrations as they pushed their machines to the limit.
Then, on 63, the simmering pot that was this fight between friends boiled over.
On Lap 63 the fight was renewed, and it ended poorly for both drivers. The two drivers came alongside each other and contact was made, with a disastrous result for both. Norris and Verstappen both limped back to the pits with punctures, bringing out the safety car and seeing another driver sweep into the lead.
George Russell.
As the laps ticked down Wolff looked on with a shy smile, seeing the silver and black W15 of Russell’s wind around the track. Oscar Piastri was more than two second behind, and Russell just needed to bring his W15 home to deliver his second-career victory.
He did just that.
“It’s not over, until it’s over,” declared Russell on the radio to his team after taking the checkered flag. “We wouldn’t have thought this in Bahrain. Well done.”
Starting at the Miami Grand Prix, Mercedes began a series of upgrades to the W15, their challenger for the 2024 season. Those upgrades have seen the team improve their performance in recent weeks, marked by their first grand prix podiums of the year. The first came from Russell in Montreal, and the second from Lewis Hamilton in Barcelona. But those were P3 finishes.
This is a win, the first for the team since Russell won in Brazil back in 2022.
“It was a tough fight out there at the beginning of the race,” said Russell to David Coulthard trackside. “The team has worked so hard, we’ve made so many strides since the start of the season. The last three races have been incredible, and there’s more to come … what an exciting time for us.”
Much will be said and written in the coming days about the fight between Norris and Verstappen, and whether these friends will see their relationship start to change given the fight at the sharp end of the grid. But on this day a winner emerged, and it was Russell, who fought to the very end and delivered a victory that Mercedes badly needed. A win that not only helps their standing in the Constructors’ Championship but also rewards the hours upon hours of work that the team has put in to solve the issues with the W15. At the Miami Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton described the car at that point in the season to the media, including SB Nation, as being on a “knife’s edge.”
That edge is something very different right now.
And it might be enough to get Mercedes to the sharp end of the grid too.
Early in the second segment of qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix, the field was condensed at the front, with not much separating the drivers atop the timing sheets. To that point, the first segment of qualifying was the closest-ever Q1 since the sport implemented the three-segment qualifying format, a testament to just how compact the grid is this season.
Then Red Bull bolted on a fresh set of soft tires onto Max Verstappen’s RB20, and the three-time Drivers’ Champion posted a blistering lap that was almost five-tenths clear of the rest of the field, which remained condensed behind him.
While Lando Norris and company closed that gap in Q3 Verstappen delivered again in the final segment of qualifying, holding Norris off by over four-tenths of a second. Verstappen’s final run of the day was a stunning 1:04.314, another thunderous effort from the champion.
Formula 1 in 2024 has certainly seen the field more compact than ever, but one driver remains at the tip of the spear, and that is Verstappen. The Red Bull driver, hours after securing victory in the F1 Sprint Race despite challenges from Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, captured yet another pole position, setting himself up for another massive day on Sunday.
“No one is near Max Verstappen,” declared Alex Jacques on F1TV. “That was a masterclass.”
“The car felt a lot better for me today,” said Verstappen to Jolyon Palmer trackside after the session. “It’s a great feeling, I think this is a great statement.”
Here are the full results from qualifying, along with some more winners and losers.
Winner: Lando Norris
Lando Norris has answered a bell of his own so far this weekend. The McLaren driver arrived in Austria under the weather and has been battling himself in the cockpit all week long.
Still, he put himself on the front row for the F1 Sprint Race on Friday, and will again start alongside Verstappen in Sunday’s main event.
However, starting alongside Verstappen, while notable, does not finish the job. The real challenge that Norris faces is translating one of these starts next to Verstappen into something bigger.
His second F1 Grand Prix victory.
“Max was a league of his own,” said Norris to Palmer trackside. But can he catch Verstappen tomorrow?
“It’s tough, when you look at the pace it’s clear that we’re gonna have to give it a lot,” added Norris. “I’ll do a better job than this morning, that’s for sure.”
Norris has been brutally honest regarding his performances in recent weeks. He blamed himself for failing to pull out a win at the Spanish Grand Prix despite wrestling pole position away from Verstappen at the death. After Saturday’s F1 Sprint race, he referred to himself as an “amateur” when discussing an early-lap fight with Verstappen that opened the door for teammate Oscar Piastri to snatch P2 away from him. The young driver is his own biggest critic, an admirable quality in this sport.
Having answered one bell already this week, fending off his illness to put in some solid performances, Norris can massively answer another bell tomorrow if he can find a way to keep Verstappen in sight and deliver his second Grand Prix victory.
Losers: Aston Martin
Photo by Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
At this point, it might be fair to ask what is wrong at Aston Martin.
To that point, that is exactly what Jolyon Palmer queried from the F1TV commentary box: “What on earth is going on with that team?” asked Palmer at the end of Q1.
While they were the darlings of the early 2023 F1 season, their fortunes have changed since then. While they arrived sitting sixth in the Constructors’ Championship and were just a few weeks removed from their best result of the season, which saw them bank 14 points at the Canadian Grand Prix thanks to double points from Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, they finished with anything to show for their efforts in Barcelona, and look on track for something similar this weekend.
Both Alonso and Stroll were eliminated in SQ2 on Friday, and they finished outside the points in the F1 Sprint Race earlier in the day.
Qualifying for the Grand Prix was not much better.
Stroll was eliminated in Q1, placing 17th. Alonso squeaked into Q2, placing the 15th-fastest time in Q1, but his day ended there, as he will start the Austrian Grand Prix in 15th.
In the studio on F1TV Alex Brundle outlined how both Stroll and Alonso were dealing with balance issues on the AMR24. “You can see it really plowing through the middle of the corner,” described Brundle as he talked over replays from Q1 and Q2. “Nasty balance.”
It is fair to point out that during Friday’s FIA Press Conference team boss Mike Krack outlined how tracks such as Barcelona and Red Bull Ring might not suit the AMR24 given its current performance.
“We knew that Barcelona, Spielberg, Silverstone will be hard for us because we struggle in tracks where you have a large spread of corners and also where you have a lot of high-speed corners,” said Krack on Friday. “So it was not a surprise. We raced the same car two weeks before in Montréal, where we came away with the highest points score that we had this year. So it shows you how the situations can change quickly. And also, I think in Montréal, you then run in free air, which helps everything. And in Barcelona, you’re not. We had a lot of degradation in Barcelona and then things get just worse and worse and worse over the course and there’s not much you can do other than bring it home. and that is what we did.”
However, track layout is one thing, and many teams face the occasional track or two that do not suit their challenger. But the bigger question for Aston Martin at the moment is the lack of development. That was an issue for the team last year, as they followed their tremendous start with some mid-season development struggles.
Heading into 2024 the word from the team was that they needed to do a better job of upgrading their challenger throughout the campaign. “We’ve seen, particularly last season, but also the season before, the in-season development races is absolutely fierce, and we want to be as competitive in that as we have been going into the new season,” said Technical Director Dan Fallows at the launch of the AMR24. “So that’s what we’ve been really focussed on is to make sure that we’ve got a good, stable basis for us to go and develop the car and keep those updates coming and keep the performance coming.”
But the upgrades to date have not delivered in this department, as Krack admitted on Friday.
“I think you’re right,” said Krack when asked if the in-season development has stalled as it did a year ago. “I would not say stalled, but I think clearly others do a better job than we do, and that is something that we have to seriously put under scrutiny. There is never one thing in Formula 1, obviously.
“You always have several factors contributing, but I think we have to have a close look at aerodynamics because this is performance differentiator number one in F1 and also how we do how we do these things. So that’s something that is clearly being analysed thoroughly not only now over the last month and I think we have understood some of our issues and trying to solve them as quick as possible. But we still have a long way ahead.”
That long way ahead seems even longer today.
Winner: George Russell
The summer of progress continues at Mercedes.
For the third race weekend in a row, the Brackley-based team put a car into the top three of a Saturday qualifying session. George Russell started that streak with his stunning pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix, which Lewis Hamilton extended with his P3 in qualifying at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Russell continued that on Saturday, capturing P3 after Oscar Piastri’s best lap was deleted for exceeding track limits by the slightest of margins.
In this sport, every margin matters.
Now Mercedes has a chance to extend another streak, as the Silver Arrows have secured 27 points or more in each of the past two race weekends. Mercedes banked 28 points at the Canadian Grand Prix and added 27 more in Barcelona. They enter Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix having already added eight points to their account, thanks to Russell’s P4 and Hamilton’s P6 in the F1 Sprint Race.
That puts them on a path to keep that streak alive tomorrow in the main event.
“The car’s feeling really great at the moment,” said Russell trackside. “It’s definitely going in the right direction for us.
“Three races in a row for us that we’re in the top three,” added the Mercedes driver.
While Russell conceded that Mercedes’ race is likely with the cars behind him, such as the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc, as well as a lurking Piastri, the team has certainly made progress over these past few weeks.
That progress has translated into podiums, and with a little luck, it could start translating into something more for Mercedes.
Perhaps even a win.
Losers: Williams
“We know our limitations and these conditions isn’t it. Such a shame, man.”
That was the report from Logan Sargeant following the end of Q1, which saw both Sargeant and teammate Alexander Albon eliminated at the back of the field.
Williams arrived at Red Bull Ring hopeful that the layout would provide fertile ground for improved performance. But that hope has yet to materialize, as their struggles on Friday continued into Saturday. Both Albon and Sargeant — who out-qualified Albon for the first time in his F1 career when he advanced into SQ2 on Friday — were eliminated in Q1, and that left both drivers seeking answers.
However, those answers might not arrive in time for Williams to salvage anything this weekend.
Winner: Nico Hülkenberg
Photo by Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
The last points result for Haas came in the F1 Sprint Race at the Miami Grand Prix. On that hot and humid Saturday afternoon Nico Hülkenberg came across the line seventh, adding a pair of points to the team’s account.
Since then Haas has been kept out of the points, and in that time they have seen Alpine leapfrog them in the Constructors’ Championship standings, thanks to a pair of double-points finishes from Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly over the last two race weekends.
This is a team that badly needed a positive result to answer that challenge, and they took a big step towards that result on Saturday. Both Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen advanced to Q2 in Saturday’s session, and while the Danish driver saw his session end there Hülkenberg advanced into Q3, and qualified ninth, matching his previous best this season.
While there is still work to be done, this is a result that the driver, and the team, truly needed.
Incomplete: Sergio Pérez
Sergio Pérez advanced into Q3 and qualified eighth for the Austrian Grand Prix, setting himself up for a solid day of points in Sunday’s main event.
But the Red Bull driver might face more questions than answers right now.
Pérez entered the 2024 F1 season facing questions about his future at Red Bull. With his contract due to expire at the end of the current campaign, Pérez came out firing on all cylinders to start the year, scoring podium finishes in four of the first five race weekends. At the Miami Grand Prix Pérez added another 18 points to his account over the F1 Sprint Race and the Miami Grand Prix itself.
It has been a much different story since then.
The Mexican driver has added just nine points to his account since Miami, and that includes the point he added earlier this morning with an eighth-place finish in the F1 Sprint Race at Red Bull Ring. His eighth-place result in qualifying today matches his best qualifying performance over this difficult stretch, which has also seen Pérez in Q1 twice (Monaco and Canada) and Q2 once, at Imola.
A year ago Pérez endured a similar mid-season swoon, one that effectively ended any thought of him challenging Verstappen atop the Drivers’ Championship standings. However, this mid-season swoon comes in a year where, as noted above, the field has caught the rear wing of Red Bull. Last year the Bulls were able to easily overcome the rest of the field and cruise to a second-straight Constructors’ Championship, even with Pérez’s mid-year struggles.
Could 2024 be a different story?
Improved form from Pérez might end that story, and see Red Bull again pull away from the field in the Constructors’ Championship. But the longer he continues this inconsistent form, the more that door remains open for a team like Ferrari or McLaren to barge through.
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