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Carlos Sainz eyes turning shock front-row into first Williams podium.
The former Ferrari driver was on course for a stunning pole position after crashes for Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri disrupted a chaotic final part of a drama-filled qualifying in Baku.
20 Sep 2025
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net
Carlos Sainz is eyeing a first podium for Williams after securing a shock second place on the grid at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. "Very happy, We've nailed the qualifying today. Every time being on the right tyre at the right time and putting together some very strong laps,” Sainz said.
"Of course the moment that a top car put a lap together we were always going to be those four or five tenths behind, but it was only one of them, and it was Max - no surprise. For the rest, we managed to beat them. We're in P2, which is great news. I've been putting good laps together this year in qualifying; it hasn't been an issue or my weakness at all.”
“Again we proved that there is speed in this car and delivering in qualifying when it counts. "Unfortunately, the year in races and in points is not going the way we want but as long as the speed is there, like today proves, the good races will come and I'm not worried.” On Sunday's race, Sainz added: "I'm going to give it my all to give Williams a first podium. We'll see.”
‘Eyeing a first podium for Williams’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/108214...illiams-podium
Ferrari reveal Baku 'confusion' after disastrous F1 qualifying
Charles Leclerc crashed in Q3 and will start 10th, Lewis Hamilton eliminated in Q2, starting 12th.
21 Sep 2025
Jake Nichol
RacingNews365
Fred Vasseur has revealed Ferrari's confusion in a disastrous Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying after Charles Leclerc's crash and Lewis Hamilton's early exit. Ferrari had shown strong pace throughout practice in Baku, topping FP2 with Hamilton ahead of Leclerc, and reinforced that in FP3, but things went wrong in qualifying.
The team split tyre strategies in the second segment, with Leclerc taking mediums and Hamilton softs, but a mistake at Turn 1 from Leclerc brought out yellow flags, which forced Hamilton to abort. Eventually, Hamilton was eliminated in 12th with Leclerc knocking his team-mate out, as the Monegasque continued his bid for a fifth straight pole.
‘Ferrari's confusion’;
https://racingnews365.com/ferrari-re...-f1-qualifying
Sainz Defies Baku Chaos, Parks Williams on Front Row
Alex Albuquerque
Sep 20, 2025
Fastest Lap
Carlos Sainz didn’t just survive Baku’s madness — he steered straight through it and parked a Williams on the front row. In a qualifying session that was repeatedly torn up and restarted — six red flags, a record for an F1 quali — Sainz owned the moment until the final minutes, when Max Verstappen did what Max Verstappen tends to do. Pole to the Red Bull. P2 to a beaming Sainz and a resurgent Williams. This was a session that kept thinning the herd. Lewis Hamilton fell in Q2. Championship leader Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc both found the wall in Q3. Lando Norris clipped Turn 15 and limped out of the fight. Through it all, Sainz played the game Williams needed him to play: out early, banker lap in, head down while the others blinked. For a solid stretch, he was sitting on provisional pole for good reason.
“Very happy. Honestly, we’ve nailed qualifying today,” Sainz said afterward, his voice more satisfied than surprised. “Right tyre, right time, strong laps. When a top car threaded it together, we knew we’d be a few tenths off — and it was Max. But we beat the rest. P2 is great news.” It’s no secret Sainz has been sharper over one lap than his race results have shown this year, and he didn’t shy away from that contrast. “I’ve been delivering in qualifying when it counts. The races and points haven’t gone the way we want, but the speed is there. The good results will come. I’m not worried.”
The target now is simple: podium. The opportunity is real. Track position in Baku can swing a Sunday, particularly with a car that’s tidy on the straights and obedient in the braking zones. And Williams has a subtle ace up its sleeve: Sainz kept back two fresh sets of hard tyres, the compound that’s expected to be the day’s workhorse. Team principal James Vowles, who’s spent much of the season chasing tyre preparation gremlins in qualifying, credited the garage for a clean execution at a circuit that punishes hesitancy.
‘Baku’s madness — he steered straight through it’;
https://fastestlap.com/news/sainz-de...-on-front-row/
Lewis Hamilton Reveals What Went Wrong in Ruined Baku Qualifying
Sep 20, 2025
Nelson Espinal Newsweek
Rock Hill Herald
Hamilton looked to get his season going in Baku, aiming for his first potential podium finish with the Scuderia. Instead, he is once again on the back foot for the start of the race, though this time it was the tire choice that cost him.
"The medium tire was just much quicker," Hamilton told the media after qualifying. "The team chose to run me on the medium in Q2, and Charles was meant to run it second run in Q2, but then, because everyone else wasn't out on them, [we] opted to keep it, and then all the top 10 basically had three mediums.”
"We knew that the medium was quicker by, they said it was about three-tenths or something like that, and it felt great, and we should have run it in Q2. One of the things that kind of factored into it was a bit of direction the team were pushing for us to go with some of the setup, that didn't feel as good as [F]P2," the seven-time champion added.
‘What Went Wrong’;
https://www.heraldonline.com/sports/...mainstage_card
Carlos Sainz sets clear Azerbaijan GP target as ‘huge advantage’ emerges
20 Sep 2025
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com
“Plan for tomorrow, try and stick it in the podium,” he confirmed. “I think I’m going to give it my best to give Williams that first podium [sic]. If it’s possible, great. And if it’s not, we will see.”
Reacting to Sainz’s front row achievement, Williams team principal James Vowles told Sky F1: “What I’m happy about is the team’s done brilliant work over the last 10 days. We have not been good in qualifying, getting the tyres ready and working.”
“And this weekend, the standout for me is that every time we’ve gone out, [F]P1 to qualifying, first lap, we can get that tyre working. So quick car and good result, and well done to Carlos. You saw out there how tricky it is. Brilliant, brilliant driver.”
“Plan for tomorrow, try and stick it in the podium”;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/carlos...huge-advantage
Things that led to Hamilton's horrendous day at Baku following his pace-setting performance on Friday
21 Sep 2025
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical
On the back of a highly encouraging practice day at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton endured an incredibly tough day at Baku, to start from the midfield on Sunday.
The British and the Monegasque driver posted impressive lap times in Q1, but their session started to go wrong in Q2. On their initial runs Leclerc went wide, wrecking his lap but also his team mate’s as Hamilton was forced to abort thanks to the resultant yellow flags.
Coming back out as the clock ticked down, Leclerc did enough to make Q3 on Pirelli's medium tyres. However, Hamilton was left out on his worn soft tyres, and the seven-time world champion was unable to make it out of Q2. All eyes were set on Leclerc, but the Monegasque, who always goes well at Baku, crashed just as the rain started to fall in Q3, bringing out the red flags and failing to set a lap time.
‘Hamilton was left out on his worn soft tyres’;
https://www.f1technical.net/news/27807
Sainz will ‘give it my all’ in Baku to claim maiden Williams podium
20 Sep 2025
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com
Even as he started his final lap, Sainz sensed the potential for a remarkable result. “I think our simulation said at the time maybe only Max and Lando could beat us. So I was thinking about a P3. In the end, it was only Max… It had to be Max!” he said with a wry smile.
“But, in general, I thought as soon as I started my lap at the end, I was actually coming very quick. I was like three or four tenths up on my lap. In one way, I was thinking, great, because this might even confirm or achieve pole, but then I was thinking the leaders are going to be even quicker, no? And that’s exactly what happened.”
Now, with a prime starting position, Sainz is laser-focused on converting his P2 into a podium, a feat Williams last achieved – in normal circumstances – in Baku with Lance Stroll’s third place in 2017. “I'm going to give it my all to give Williams a first podium. We'll see,” he vowed.
‘Give it my all’;
https://f1i.com/news/548900-sainz-wi...ms-podium.html
Charles Leclerc blames Ferrari tyre call for 2025 Azerbaijan GP qualifying shocker
Four-time polesitter at Baku City Circuit crashed out on Saturday
20 Sep 2025
Brandon Sutton
Total Motorsport
Charles Leclerc blames a Ferrari tyre call for his qualifying shocker at the 2025 Azerbaijan GP by criticising a decision to run the medium, as he crashed out at the Baku City Circuit on September 20.
‘Ferrari tyre call’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/cha...fying-shocker/
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Verstappen claims dominant Azerbaijan win over Russell and Sainz after Piastri crashes out.
Max Verstappen was never challenged on Sunday in Baku, while Lando Norris brought the gap down to title rival Oscar Piastri after the Australian’s dramatic opening lap crash.
21 September 2025
Formula One - Official Site
Max Verstappen claimed a lights-to-flag victory in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, while Lando Norris closed the gap to title rival Oscar Piastri to 25 points after the Drivers' Championship leader crashed out on the opening lap.
Verstappen was never headed on the streets of Baku, leading all 51 laps and winning by over 14 seconds from Mercedes' George Russell and Carlos Sainz, who claimed his first podium for Williams having just lost out on pole position.
Kimi Antonelli narrowly missed out on the final step of the podium, having run well all day, but was well clear of a fierce battle for fifth, which was headed by Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson, who claimed a career-best result.
‘Max Verstappen was never challenged’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...wpl3dI79nDmrHS
2025 F1 Azerbaijan GP – Race Results
Max Verstappen led from start to finish in Baku as Oscar Piastri crashed out on Lap 1
21 September 2025
John Smith
Total Motorsport
F1 Azerbaijan GP 2025 Race Results
Check out the full F1 2025 Azerbaijan GP results from Baku below.
Pos Driver Team Time
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Leader
2 George Russell Mercedes +14.609
3 Carlos Sainz Williams +19.199
4 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +21.760
5 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +33.290
6 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull +33.808
7 Lando Norris McLaren +34.227
8 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +36.310
9 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +36.774
10 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +38.982
‘Race Results’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/202...-race-results/
Max Verstappen dominates F1 Azerbaijan GP as Oscar Piastri crashes out on opening lap
21 September 2025
Jack Oliver Smith
Motorsport Week
Max Verstappen dominated Formula 1‘s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, completing a lights-to-flag victory, as Oscar Piastri crashed out on the opening lap. The Dutchman cemented his pole position advantage at the start and never looked back, as George Russell, battling illness, took second.
Carlos Sainz fulfilled his ambition of a first podium for Williams with third. Team-mate Lando Norris had a a big chance to close the gap in the Drivers’ title, but yet another McLaren pitstop issue condemned him to a disappointing seventh place.
‘Max Verstappen dominated’;
https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/...n-opening-lap/
Formula 1: Kiwi Liam Lawson finishes fifth in Azerbaijan Grand Prix
21 September 2025
Grant Chapman
Radio New Zealand
Kiwi Liam Lawson has notched up his best result in the 2025 Formula 1 season so far, finishing fifth in Azerbaijan. Lawson started third on the Baku City Circuit, but fell several positions after pitting early, although he held off several contenders for his place in the final laps. Lawson, 23, clocked the third-fastest time of Q3, covering the 6km circuit in 1m 41.707s.
Reigning F1 champion Max Verstappen won the race, leading from start to finish. George Russell took second place, with Carlos Sainz rounding out the top three.
Sep 21, 2025 1:40 PM
RNZ Live
Finish: "Unbelievable race, guys," Verstappen tells his team.
"Super job, George," Russell's team tells him.
Sainz is voted driver of the day and he is jubilant.
Great day for Lawson, not the podium he wanted, after his third in qualifying, but progress, as he tries to secure his drive for next year.
'Kiwi Liam Lawson finishes fifth ';
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/sport/573...jan-grand-prix
Max Verstappen takes easy Azerbaijan GP win as F1 title battle takes another twist with Piastri crash in Baku
Verstappen wins Azerbaijan GP after Piastri’s Lap 1 crash, with Russell second and Sainz scoring an emotional podium for Williams
21 September 2025
John Smith
Total Motorsport
The streets of Baku once again delivered high drama as Max Verstappen stormed to victory at the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, capitalising on Oscar Piastri’s opening-lap crash to spark new life into the Formula 1 title battle. The Red Bull driver controlled the race from lights to flag, pulling clear of George Russell’s Mercedes and Carlos Sainz’s Williams to underline his growing momentum in the second half of the season.
For championship leader Piastri, it was a nightmare that could reshape the fight for the crown. After jumping the start, stalling, and tumbling to the back, the Australian lost control into Turn 5 and hit the barriers at the Baku City Circuit, ending his race before it had truly begun. His first major error of 2025 left him watching helplessly as title rivals fought to chip away at his 31-point cushion.
But Lando Norris failed to make it count. Despite McLaren’s offset strategy and fresher tyres late in the race, the Briton was unable to climb higher than seventh. The net result was only a six-point gain on his team-mate, trimming the championship gap to 25, while Verstappen sits 69 points adrift but suddenly with renewed hope.
‘Another twist with Piastri crash’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/max...5-piastri-out/
2025 F1 championship standings after Azerbaijan GP at Baku
Check out the full F1 championship standings after the 2025 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – held at the Baku City Circuit
21 September 2025
RacingNews365 Staff
RacingNews365
F1 championship standings.
Oscar Piastri McLaren
McLaren F1 team 324
2 Lando Norris McLaren
McLaren F1 team 299
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull
Red Bull Racing 255
4 George Russell Mercedes
Mercedes AMG F1 212
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari 165
6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari 121
7 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes
Mercedes AMG F1 78
8 Alexander Albon Williams
Williams Racing 70
9 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls
Racing Bulls 39
10 Nico Hulkenberg Stake
Stake F1 Team 37
‘Check out the full F1 championship standings’;
https://racingnews365.com/2025-f1-ch...jan-gp-at-baku
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Piastri and Norris have let Verstappen back in the title fight.
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris respective failures in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix have allowed Max Verstappen to rejoin the F1 Drivers' Championship fight.
21 Sep 2025
Norberto Mujica
GPblog.com
Given the excellent form McLaren has shown since the beginning of the season, and judging Red Bull's inability to put in consecutive performances, it is almost inexplicable that Verstappen sits 69 points away in the Drivers' Standings after 17 rounds. A trait that characterises Verstappen is his ability to deliver. Weekend after weekend, the Dutchman poses a threat on the timesheets, usually being classed as either the best of the rest, or the leader of the session when his machinery, and others' mistakes, will allow him.
When his car is good enough for pole, he usually claims the first spot on the grid. When his potential and grid position suggests he should win a race, he more often than not does. This is a level of consistency that neither McLaren driver have been able to live up to on a regular basis. In two race weekends McLaren have left the door open, and twice has Verstappen drawn blood, cutting Piastri's lead in the championship standings by 35 points, a third of what it was after the Dutch Grand Prix.
Seven Grands Prix to go and it seem like too short an amount of time to turn the championship around. After all it would require McLaren to lose every race left on the calendar, and Verstappen, on the contrary, would need to win nearly every race, if not all, to secure his fifth consecutive World Championship. An impossibility? One merely needs to look back at the 2023 season to know that he has the potential to do it.
‘Ability to deliver’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/analysis/h...omeback-charge
Piastri crashes out in Baku to end calamitous weekend
21 Sep 2025
The North West Star
Piastri has been left blaming himself for a calamitous weekend at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after he crashed out on the first lap and then had to watch forlornly from a plastic chair at trackside in Baku as his world championship lead was cut.
‘Watch forlornly from a plastic chair’;
https://www.northweststar.com.au/sto...itous-weekend/
'It's just impossible': Disbelief as critics round on Lando Norris' failure to cash in on Piastri crash
September 22, 2025
Emily Patterson
Channel 9's Wide World of Sports
While Oscar Piastri's retirement in Azerbaijan gave McLaren teammate Lando Norris a golden opportunity to gain ground in their championship battle, the Briton could only manage a seventh-place finish, narrowing the gap by just six points. His race was hampered by a slow pit stop and heavy traffic, leaving him stuck behind Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda and Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson despite a long stint on his medium tyres. A slow pit stop also hurt Norris' race at the Italian Grand Prix earlier this month. Speaking afterwards, Norris pushed back against the idea that he failed to seize big moments across the weekend.
"I don't know why everybody says that [it was an opportunity missed]," he said. "I did the best I could yesterday and the best I could today. Of course, today I wanted more. So it was not a good result. But I couldn't do anything more today. It was lost yesterday because of going out a bit early. Not doing the best lap. Maybe you could've gained a couple of positions, but I don't think it really changes anything today. It's just impossible to overtake."
'It's just impossible';
https://www.nine.com.au/sport/motors...22-p5mwyo.html
McLaren must improve F1 pitstop hardware after Azerbaijan GP setback - Andrea Stella
Lando Norris suffered slow pitstops for consecutive races after further troubles with wheel guns at the Azerbaijan GP
Sep 22, 2025
Ed Hardy Oleg Karpov
Motorsport.com
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella reckons his Formula 1 squad needs to improve its pitstop hardware after further struggles in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Lando Norris was the only McLaren driver to score points in Baku as he finished seventh while championship leader Oscar Piastri crashed out on lap one.
But Norris’ bid to progress through the pack was halted by his slow, 4.1s pitstop on lap 38 after a problem with the front right wheel gun. That released him into eighth right behind the cars of Charles Leclerc and Liam Lawson with Norris only able to overtake the Ferrari across the final 13 laps.
“In terms of pitstops, that's an area in which we have already concentrated our efforts,” said Stella. “But as a matter of fact, we need to keep working because there's some important performance that is available through pitstops and we have seen that the racing, if anything, is getting tighter and tighter.”
‘Must improve F1 pitstop hardware’;
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/m...back/10761472/
Piastri slammed after 'absolutely ridiculous error' in Baku GP
22 Sep 2025
Tobia Elia
GPblog.com
F1 analyst Peter Windsor commented on McLaren’s disappointing weekend in Baku, marked by Oscar Piastri’s retirement and Lando Norris finishing only seventh. Windsor slammed Oscar Piastri’s weekend, pointing out that the Australian not only crashed into the wall twice between qualifying and the race, but also made a false start—what he labelled as a serious mistake.
"Two virtually identical accidents, one on Saturday, one on Sunday. His race began right behind Lando on the grid. He was P9 by jumping the start. In these days where you do nothing but watch the lights, it was an extraordinary mistake. And I guess because of that, flustered at the back of the field now, Oscar just went for it. An absolutely ridiculous error, particularly after doing virtually the same thing the day before."
“Absolutely ridiculous error”;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/piast...ror-in-baku-gp
Did Norris’s slow pit stop really ‘make no difference’ to him? Azerbaijan GP data
21st Sept 2025
Keith Collantine
RaceFans
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was quick to deny Lando Norris’s race suffered as a result of his slow pit stop on lap 37. Was he right? Compared to the quickest standard pit stops, Norris lost around two seconds. He rejoined the track immediately behind Charles Leclerc, with Liam Lawson ahead of them.
In a best-case scenario for Norris he would have rejoined between Lawson and Leclerc, immediately used his DRS to pass the Racing Bulls car, and then been able to attack Tsunoda without the Red Bull driver having the benefit of DRS. But it’s far from certain this would have happened.
Moreover, the slow pit stop was only the last in a long line of things which went wrong for Norris over the weekend. There was the questionable qualifying strategy, the error on his Q3 lap, losing positions at the start and restart. Given that, it’s hardly surprising Stella doesn’t want to focus on the pit stop alone. However it’s also true that this was the second race in a row in which a slow pit stop compromised Norris’s race, and McLaren know they need to get on top of that.
‘Azerbaijan GP data’;
https://www.racefans.net/2025/09/21/...aijan-gp-data/
'A silly, simple error': Piastri crashes out at Baku as F1 championship lead dwindles
21 Sep 2025
The Roar
Oscar Piastri has been left blaming himself for a calamitous weekend at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after he crashed out on the first lap and then had to watch forlornly from a plastic chair at trackside in Baku as his world championship lead was cut.
But while Max Verstappen drove away to a masterful victory in his Red Bull on Sunday, Piastri could at least reflect the damage hadn’t be too bad to his title hopes as his main contender, McLaren teammate Lando Norris, could only finish seventh.
For the third race in a row, Norris had wretched luck, suffering another poor pitstop that ensured he couldn’t get among the big points, and he ended up gaining only six on Piastri to trim his lead to 25 points.
'A silly, simple error';
https://www.theroar.com.au/2025/09/2...lead-dwindles/
Norris fails to capitalise on Piastri crash as Verstappen wins in Baku
Norris could only finish seventh after title rival Piastri crashed out on the opening lap in Baku
21 September 2025
Scott Hunt
The Independent
Oscar Piastri’s F1 title charge survived a first-lap crash at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix without major damage as rival Lando Norris could finish only seventh.
A second crash of the weekend for Piastri ended his 34-race streak of finishing a Grand Prix within five corners and threw the door wide open for McLaren team-mate Norris to make major inroads into his championship lead.
But Norris started sluggishly and overtaking was at a premium during the 51 laps on Baku’s windy streets, meaning he could only take six points out of Piastri’s title lead, which stands at 25 with seven rounds remaining.
‘Could only finish seventh’;
https://www.independent.co.uk/f1/f1-...-b2830804.html
Who slept worst last night: Oscar Piastri
Sep 22, 2025,
Christian Nimmervoll
Motorsport.com
‘Who slept worst last night: Oscar Piastri’;
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/w...stri/10761524/
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Stella Warns Verstappen Still a Title Threat Despite Piastri Lead.
Andrea Stella insisted Max Verstappen remains a serious championship contender, saying he would “WRITE IT IN CAPITALS.”
September 22, 2025
Media
F1 Chronicle
Despite McLaren’s dominance, Verstappen’s six pole positions this year are more than any other driver. But with seven races remaining, he still trails Piastri by 69 points and Norris by 44. Stella warned that the situation is complicated by McLaren’s two drivers competing against one another.
“Of course, of course,” he said when asked if Verstappen was still a danger. “We don’t have to forget that first of all he’s Max Verstappen – world champion for the last four years – in a fast car. Like I said before, there are races where McLaren may not enjoy any advantage from a competitiveness point of view. And Lando and Oscar are always there, so they won’t necessarily be maximising the points available.”
“Sometimes it will be a little bit more points for Lando and a little bit more for Oscar, so they may take some points away from each other. We are very aware of this aspect, but we let them race because they both deserve to pursue their aspirations. Therefore, yes, Verstappen and Red Bull in contention for the drivers’ championship.”
“WRITE IT IN CAPITALS”;
https://f1chronicle.com/stella-warns...-piastri-lead/
Helmut Marko sets Red Bull target ‘to make McLaren nervous’ in F1 title race
22 Sep 2025
Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net
Red Bull’s improved competitiveness, combined with more frequent errors from the McLaren pair, means Verstappen has an outside shot at a fifth world title. Marko believes what happens in Singapore will decide whether Red Bull “can start dreaming” about a fifth title for Verstappen.
“What Andrea said is very optimistic, but I hope he’s right,” he told De Telegraaf. “The gap is still big, and it’s not often that a McLaren doesn’t finish the race. But we’ll see. If we’re competitive in Singapore in two weeks’ time, maybe we can start dreaming.”””
“Not only is it a different circuit, but it’s also boiling hot. Our car doesn’t always like that either. Singapore will be the benchmark for where we really stand. And we’ve always said: we have to be as close as possible to McLaren to make them nervous.”
‘Make McLaren nervous’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/108224...-f1-title-race
Wolff Warns: Verstappen’s Long Shot Just Got Dangerous
September 22, 2025
Alex Albuquerque
FastestLap.com
Toto Wolff: Verstappen’s still in this title fight — but it’ll take a swing. Max Verstappen left Baku with something more valuable than a trophy: momentum. Two wins on the bounce have trimmed Oscar Piastri’s championship lead from a chunky 104 points to 69, and the conversation has shifted from “when does McLaren wrap this up?” to “hang on, are we sure?” Toto Wolff isn’t committing to the plot twist just yet, but he’s not ruling it out either.
“You always need to stay with your feet on the ground and humble,” the Mercedes boss said after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. “He’s had a good run, the car is good and with Max Verstappen, you always need to be wary of what he can achieve. What’s the gap? Sixty-nine points. That’s the long shot. Things need to work in his favour. But you can see a DNF for the championship leader, Max scoring 25 points — it can swing quickly.”
Wolff has reasons to mind the Verstappen resurgence beyond the drivers’ standings. Mercedes are locked in a hard-nosed scrap for P2 in the Constructors’ Championship — a target they haven’t hit since 2023 — and the “point machine” in the Red Bull is the fly in that ointment. “It’s a tough fight,” Wolff said. “They’ve got some solid points today and Max is a point machine.” As it stands, Mercedes hold second place by just four points over Ferrari, with Red Bull only 18 further back. That’s the kind of margin that evaporates in a single rough weekend.”
‘More valuable than a trophy: momentum’;
https://fastestlap.com/news/wolff-wa...got-dangerous/
Red Bull boss addresses shock Max Verstappen F1 title bid
Max Verstappen took a big bite into Oscar Piastri's title lead following a run to victory last weekend in Azerbaijan.
23 September 2025
Fergal Walsh & Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has downplayed a potential title push for Max Verstappen following his victory in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Mekies insisted the Milton Keynes-based squad is not placing focus on the gaps in the championship. "I tell you how we look at it - we really take it race by race, so we don't look at the championship positions,” he told the media, including RacingNews365.
“We don't even look at it from a constructors’ perspective. Yes, it's nice to look at the battle for second place in the constructors’, but we take it step by step in terms of understanding of the car, in terms of unlocking lap time of the car. We got some good answers in Monza, of course,” he said. “We got some good answers here [in Baku]. We are equally conscious that these are two very, very specific tracks.”
“The way we look at the next race is not by looking at the gap to whoever. Singapore is going to be a different challenge. How do we tackle it? How do we apply learnings to that? How much of that we think can be tested there and how much risk do you want to take? At the moment, we try to have a high-risk approach to try to learn as much as we can before the end of the season and [see if] that prevails in championship discussions.”
‘Big bite into Oscar Piastri's title lead’;
https://racingnews365.com/red-bull-b...n-f1-title-bid
Out of nothing, Max Verstappen is back in F1 title race – here’s why
Analysis: A series of McLaren mishaps in Baku and a revitalised Red Bull car has, suddenly, given Verstappen an outside chance of an unprecedented comeback in the F1 championship fight
23 September 2025
Kieran Jackson
The Independent
It was always likely that a moment of DNF-inducing fallibility from leader Oscar Piastri was needed to reignite this season’s F1 world championship. And, on the typically unpredictable streets of Baku, we got just that. Piastri’s abnormal crash on lap one of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix opened the door for title rival Lando Norris to slice into the Australian’s 31-point advantage.
This was the moment Norris, and his fans, had craved. But by the chequered flag, it wasn’t the Briton who was the main beneficiary, having only managed to finish seventh and cut the gap to 25 points. Instead, it was Max Verstappen. You didn’t forget about him, did you?
Where other frontrunners toiled and trudged in heavy winds on the shores of the Caspian Sea, Red Bull’s four-time world champion oozed composure. A dominant lights-to-flag victory – his fourth win of the season and second in a row – suddenly sees the Dutchman just 69 points off Piastri. With seven races to go, it no longer looks like an insurmountable deficit.
‘Outside chance of an unprecedented comeback’;
https://www.independent.co.uk/f1/max...-b2831239.html
The biggest gaps overturned in modern F1 history shows the improbable task for Verstappen
23 Sep 2025
Sam Cooper
PlanetF1.com
Max Verstappen is attempting to create history as he looks to overhaul a 104-point gap and win a fifth Drivers’ title. We are focusing solely on the current points system, introduced in 2010, which awards 25 points for the winner, 18 for second, 15 for third, 12 for fourth, 10 for fifth, eight for sixth, six for seventh, four for eighth, two for ninth and one for 10th.
The biggest gaps overcome in F1 title history since 2010
2017 – 25 points (Lewis Hamilton)
2014 – 29 points (Lewis Hamilton)
2010 – 31 points (Sebastian Vettel)
2012 – 44 points (Sebastian Vettel)
2022 – 46 points (Max Verstappen)
2025 – 104 points (Max Verstappen)?
‘Improbable task for Verstappen’;
https://www.planetf1.com/features/th...max-verstappen
Verstappen Smells Blood: Is the Title Race Back On?
22 Sep 2025
Alex Albuquerque
Fastest Lap
That “high-risk approach” is the tell. This is Red Bull pivoting from survival mode back into development aggression — willing to trade setup certainty for speed if the data says it’s there. The question now is whether their Monza/Baku step is circuit-specific, or real enough to travel.
Verstappen isn’t pretending otherwise. “I don’t rely on hope,” he said. “It’s seven rounds left. Sixty-nine points is a lot. I just go race by race, what I’ve been doing basically the whole season — try to do the best we can, score the most points we can. After Abu Dhabi, we’ll know.”
Next stop: Singapore. It’s a venue that’s never quite bent to Verstappen’s will. No wins. No poles. The car will run high downforce, the tyres will cook, and it’s a night race that exposes any weakness in traction and balance. He knows the score. “I’ve never won there,” he shrugged. “We’ll see. It’s completely different… A lot of deg on the tyres. I really don’t know at the moment.”
“I don’t rely on hope”;
https://fastestlap.com/news/verstapp...-race-back-on/
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‘You’ll be behind Sainz’: Russell stunned Mercedes’ strategists with banzai pit entry.
Russell enjoyed the fastest complete pit stop time of the entire race. Thanks to those gains Russell rejoined the track narrowly ahead of Sainz.
22nd September 2025
Keith Collantine
RaceFans
Russell’s radio messages from his pit stop
Lap: 39/51 RUS: 1’48.001
Dudley And now we’ve got Tsunoda in the pit lane.
Dudley So George we’ll be box, box this lap. One second behind Sainz on exit. Preset diff entry, diff mid.
Lap: 40/51 RUS: 2’00.578
Dudley Russell rejoins ahead of Sainz
Overtake available on exit. Watch the white lines.
Russell I thought you said they’d be a second behind?
Dudley Yeah, it was a very good pit stop. Gap 1.7 behind.
It was an especially impressive performance for the Mercedes driver as he had been unwell for much of the weekend and considered withdrawing on Friday. Team principal Toto Wolff congratulated him after the race, saying: “George, really well done. Well driven. Flu does good for you.”
“Yeah, not bad considering I felt like ass all weekend,” Russell replied.
‘Banzai pit entry’;
https://www.racefans.net/2025/09/22/...zai-pit-entry/
Uncovered: Russell’s rise from the sick bed to the podium in Baku
22 Sep 2025
Uros Radovanovic
PlanetF1.com
George Russell, alongside Max Verstappen, was the only driver within the top five to start the race on hard tyres – a strategy that later proved to be much stronger. One of the main reasons for this was that, apart from the opening lap, we did not have a single incident that would bring out the Safety Car. This allowed the drivers who had started on hards to stay out longer, with equally good pace, and later have greater freedom in choosing the timing of their pit stop.
In a race with such low grip as this one in Baku, overtaking was difficult, meaning that track position was much more valuable. Despite being on the harder tyres, Russell had a better restart in Lap 5 after the Safety Car, compared to his teammate ahead. This gave him the chance to attack into T1, but the rookie defended excellently and kept his place. George braked harder than usual into T1, even though his teammate had left enough room, which Tsunoda behind took advantage of to steal P5.
George Russell was, alongside Max, the fastest on track. If we compare the lap times from Laps 29 to 39, when Sainz had the advantage of much fresher tyres, Russell was still on average a tenth quicker per lap. And this is exactly what allowed him to constantly increase his gap to Sainz. When the gap was large enough, the team made the call and brought their driver in. A quick pit stop and Russell came out just 1.3 seconds ahead of Sainz, now officially in P2.
‘Rise from the sick bed’;
https://www.planetf1.com/features/un...to-podium-baku
Sick, Slick, and Second: Russell Benches Bottas in Baku
Alex Albuquerque
September 21, 2025
FastestLap.com
Sick, slick, and second: Russell guts out Baku podium as Mercedes readied Bottas. Mercedes very nearly called Valtteri Bottas back into service in Baku. By Friday morning, George Russell’s respiratory illness had left the team weighing up a late switch. By Sunday evening, Russell had dragged a bruising weekend into a polished P2 — the sort of salvage job that makes a team’s debrief room go quiet for a minute. The first sign it was serious came on Thursday when Mercedes excused Russell from media duties to help him recover. Even then, Toto Wolff admitted the situation was “touch and go” the following morning.
“It was George himself that said, ‘I’m not sure I can do it,’” Wolff revealed after the race. “Then every day he grew stronger, and to do a one-and-a-half hour race here in Baku without putting a foot wrong — that was a super-merited P2.” Russell qualified fifth on Saturday, and when the grand prix settled into its typical Baku rhythm — quick straights, slower brains — he leaned on the oldest trick in the Caspian playbook: stay out of trouble, manage the rubber, wait for the race to come to you.
An early shuffle dropped him to sixth, but he refused to burn up his tyres in the traffic, stretched his first stint long, and made the overcut bite. When he finally stopped, he came back out second on the road and never cracked. “It was about just staying out of trouble,” Russell said in the press conference. “I don’t think we had a spectacular weekend, to be honest. Carlos did an amazing job, and Liam as well yesterday. But the cars we ordinarily fight made mistakes or underperformed, and we picked up the pieces. The cooler temps helped a little bit, too.”
‘Sick, Slick, and Second’;
https://fastestlap.com/news/sick-sli...ottas-in-baku/
Mercedes casts positive take on Kimi Antonelli after ‘important’ F1 result
23 Sep 2025
Jack Oliver Smith
Motorsport Week
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has cast a positive verdict on Andrea Kimi Antonelli‘s Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix performance, after a summer of discontent for the Italian. “It was a really good rebound after Monza,” Wolff told the media, including Motorsport Week.
“He had such a difficult spell with the European races, and coming here with a solid P4 and running at the front, in the front group, is something to continue to build on and consolidate, and then have more good weekends until the end of the year. I think we always speak very openly with each other; there is no such thing as holding back.”
“He was not meeting his own expectations with what happened in Monza, where the driving just wasn’t what he expected or wanted it to be. Maybe a bit was missing in ultimate performance that maybe made the difference between a podium or not, but it was such a good consolidation, and in my opinion, it was important to score that result.”
‘Positive verdict’;
https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/...ant-f1-result/
Wolff Explains Context Behind 'Lucky Ba**ard' Comment to Williams Chief
September 23, 2025
Saajan Jogia Newsweek
Bellingham Herald
Mercedes AMG Formula One team principal Toto Wolff has opened up on his "lucky ba**ard" remark… "Lucky ba**ard! Congrats on your first podium as a TP."
Now, Wolff has elaborated on the friendly but "jovial" message and addressed Vowles' leadership capabilities. He told the media: "The lucky ba**ard is more jovial. As team principals, we get lots of the criticism, but also the glory, when others are doing a great job.”
"And I'm 100 per cent convinced that James is a great contributor to the team's success, and to the long-term thinking. Everybody delivered. The driver delivered. The pit stops were good overall. It's a trajectory that I enjoy seeing with him and for the team."
‘More jovial’;
https://www.bellinghamherald.com/spo...mainstage_card
Toto Wolff ‘in two minds’ over latest Mercedes customer success in F1 2026 nod
23 Sep 2025
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com
George Russell’s P2 in Baku was not the only Mercedes-powered podium result, as Carlos Sainz delivered an impressive drive to third in his Williams. Add that to the success of McLaren, which is on its way to clinching back-to-back Constructors’ titles as a Mercedes engine customer, and it is a great advert for Mercedes in Formula 1. Yet, the other voice in Toto Wolff’s head hopes Mercedes customers will not be “harming us” in F1 2026.
After Baku, Wolff was asked whether, having seen the performances of McLaren and Williams, he is concerned that a good Mercedes engine in F1 2026 could allow those two teams to mix it up with the Mercedes squad. “Or Alpine. You never know,” he responded. “So the thing is, I’m in two minds. First of all, we represent Mercedes-Benz, and I’d rather have a customer team with Mercedes-Benz engines winning than any other manufacturer.”
“But on the other side, I’m thinking, hopefully they’re not harming us, our campaign, too much. So, I’m happy for them and happy for the brand.” Wolff joked that he may need to take action on the Mercedes engine front. “On the other side, I’d like to take the engines away next year,” he said as laughter broke out. “Maybe they fail a few times!”
‘Toto ‘in two minds’ Wolff’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/toto-w...26-competition
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Guenther Steiner makes stunning Lewis Hamilton claim as ‘some’ Ferrari staff seek Carlos Sainz reunion.
Guenther Steiner says ‘some’ Ferrari staff regret Lewis Hamilton replacing Carlos Sainz.
25 Sept 2025
Ben Evans
F1 Oversteer
Steiner was asked on the Red Flags Podcast if Ferrari regretted bringing in Hamilton to replace Sainz this season and said: “I think some people in the team do. I think obviously management cannot feel regret because you would be admitting that you did something wrong, and you cannot do that, because I’m sure that some of the guys there, the feeling I get, because Ferrari finished eighth and ninth in Baku. Carlos Sainz, now with Williams, finished third, so it’s like, I guess the guy feeling best about it is Carlos Sainz.”
Later in the podcast, Steiner was asked during the Gas or Brake segment whether Sainz’s podium proves that Ferrari made the wrong choice in signing Hamilton. “Gas!” Steiner said, “I mean, Carlos was doing a good job. They wouldn’t have all the interference from outside of Lewis not performing, so the team could focus on going racing, making things better, instead of always trying to find out why Lewis doesn’t like the car.”
“They had a known quantity with Carlos; he could deliver, and Lewis obviously, I mean, I respect Lewis, but in the moment, for the unrest he brings into the team and around the team, is it a worthwhile investment? Maybe not. Also, the investment money-wise, I’m pretty sure it’s a lot higher with Lewis than with Carlos.”
‘The unrest he brings into the team’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/gue...sainz-reunion/
The mascot that spurred Carlos Sainz and Williams to best F1 result of 2025
23 Sep 2025
Jack Oliver Smith
Motorsport Week
“You have a new mascot on the back of your helmet, Carlos?” Verstappen asked his former Toro Rosso stablemate in the cool down room after the race. “It’s a unicorn!” he replied. “A fan sent us this, I said I would wear it this weekend,” which prompted Verstappen to urge Sainz: “You have to keep it now!”.
Team Principal James Vowles also noted the mascot’s appearance, saying on a video posted by Williams: “There’s one more thing that is actually quite special, I’m pretty sure either Sparkles or Sprinkles had something to do with this as well at the same time. So, that’s staying, I assume, for a little while.”
In last week’s pre-race edition of Williams’ in-house social media series ‘Call Carbono’, a young fan posed an important question to Sainz: what should she name her toy unicorn? Whilst undecided between the choice of ‘Sparkles’ or ‘Sprinkles,’ Sainz did agree to her request of wearing a unicorn sticker on his helmet for the remainder of the season. And with the unicorn adorning his lid in Baku, Sainz completed a momentous moment for the team by completing the podium alongside race-winner Max Verstappen and George Russell.
‘The mascot’;
https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/...esult-of-2025/
Carlos Sainz has clear Lewis Hamilton stance after beating him to historic podium
24 Sep 2025
SPORTbible
After the race in Azerbaijan, Sainz was asked for a comparison between himself and Hamilton, but he refused to be drawn in.
He said: “What everyone else does is not my business, to be honest. What I care about is that the first opportunity that I had to score a podium with Williams, and the first opportunity Williams had to score a podium, we took it, we scored it, and there it is.”
“What everyone else does is not my business, to be honest”;
https://www.sportbible.com/f1/carlos...99684-20250924
Sainz snatches Baku podium; Ferrari’s Hamilton still waiting
Alex Albuquerque
Sept 24, 2025
FastestLap.com
Carlos Sainz didn’t just put Williams back on a grand prix podium. He did it before Lewis Hamilton managed one in Ferrari red. That’s a neat headline for the season’s biggest driver swap — the man Maranello moved on picking up silverware with Grove while his replacement waits for a Sunday rostrum — but Sainz isn’t interested in the comparison. He’s too busy making Williams relevant on merit.
Baku can make anyone look like a hero or a passenger, and qualifying was the full circus: gusting winds, a spitting track, six cars in the wall and red flags thrown around like confetti. In the chaos, Sainz threaded a lap between stoppages and rain to bag a front-row start, only Max Verstappen finding more when the session rebooted. The real test was always going to be Sunday. Track position is currency in Azerbaijan, and there were faster cars queued up behind the blue-and-white FW47. It didn’t matter.
Sainz managed the afternoon with the poise of a driver who’s been here before — because he has — and carried Williams to third place at the flag, the team’s first podium in a full-length grand prix since this very race in 2017. “I always said to the team from the beginning that whenever a first big opportunity of fighting for a podium comes, as long as we have everything under control and nothing goes wrong and we prove to everyone what we’re doing… then I’ll be OK,” Sainz said, smiling the kind of smile that comes with relief and a little vindication. “It’s exactly what ended up happening today.”
‘He did it before Lewis Hamilton managed one in Ferrari red’;
https://fastestlap.com/news/sainz-sn...still-waiting/
Lewis Hamilton not on Sainz’s mind after landmark Williams podium
24 Sep 2025
Elizabeth Blackstock
PlanetF1.com
By snagging third in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz secured a podium with Williams before Lewis Hamilton — who took over his seat at Ferrari — could accomplish the same feat with his newest squad. Carlos Sainz’s landmark front-row start with Williams at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix had many wondering if a strong performance was possible in the race, or if Sainz had simply gotten lucky in an unpredictable qualifying session.
Qualifying is not race pace, and Sainz’s true test was to come on Sunday afternoon. Yet, despite the fact that multiple top-tier cars had qualified behind him, he was able to hold onto third come the chequered flag, giving Williams its first podium in a full-length grand prix since the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. It was a triumph for Sainz, and his team.
“Probably, if you asked many of us yesterday, we didn’t believe the podium was actually achievable with so many fast cars behind. But I think we’ve had good pace this year, we just didn’t have many opportunities to show it. Today we had a very good opportunity to show our very good pace, and we managed to stay on the podium.”
‘Carlos Sainz’s landmark front-row start with Williams’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/lewis-...illiams-podium
Carlos Sainz Shrugs Off Lewis Hamilton Comparison After Baku Podium
Sept 24, 2025
Saajan Jogia Newsweek
Macon.com
Williams Racing Formula One driver Carlos Sainz has shrugged off the comparison with Lewis Hamilton after securing his first podium with the team this year at last weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Sainz's milestone in a midfield team is a stark contrast to Hamilton's results in a strong team like Ferrari, as he has yet to deliver a top-three finish this season. Hamilton's Ferrari signing last year meant Sainz had to look elsewhere for a premier class racing seat. Eventually, he signed with the Grove-based outfit, impressed by team principal James Vowles' long-term goal of making Williams a championship-winning outfit.
Quite naturally, moving from a team where he won many races and several podiums last year to a team where scoring points would be a challenge was a difficult pill for Sainz to swallow. Hamilton, on the other hand, was expected to be in top form, given his wish to secure an eighth title with Ferrari. However, he has faced significant challenges in adapting to the SF-25 F1 car, often reporting his dissatisfaction with the car's rear end. Notably, his best result with the Maranello-based outfit was his Chinese Grand Prix sprint race victory.
‘Hamilton, on the other hand, was expected to be in top form’;
https://www.macon.com/sports/article...mainstage_card
Ralf Schumacher suggests Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari should go their ‘separate ways’ if they can’t fix one problem
24 Sept 2025
Ashley Hambly
F1 Oversteer
Speaking on a post-Baku podcast for Sky Sport Formel 1, former F1 driver turned pundit, Ralf Schumacher, voiced his opinion on the dynamic between Hamilton and his current employers, suggesting a dramatic end to their highly anticipated partnership after just one season together.
“The way they treat each other isn’t good. Then there’s Lewis’s criticism of the team. I’m sceptical of the combination,” Schumacher told viewers. “And then there’s this failure to swap back with Leclerc before the finish line. Ferrari has to do its work internally, otherwise it’ll tear itself apart from within. A thunderstorm clears the air; that’s a thing of the past. We simply need to talk openly with each other. The limits and expectations need to be defined. If Lewis no longer has trust in the team, and vice versa, that would be a great shame. Because if mistrust develops, then it’s better to let it go and go our separate ways at the end of the year.”
“The way they treat each other isn’t good”;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/ral...x-one-problem/
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Tsunoda, Lawson, Hadjar - Who should join Verstappen in 2026? Our verdict.
Red Bull‘s long-running dilemma of who should partner Max Verstappen shows no sign of ending as the 2026 Formula 1 season approaches.
Sept 25th 2025
Motor Sport Magazine
With just four months to go until testing begins in Barcelona, the team appears uncertain of its choice, as it continues to focus on its own pool of drivers.
The three candidates currently in F1, Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar, each bringing a different mix of speed, experience, and potential, but also their own drawbacks.
‘Red Bull‘s long-running dilemma’;
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a.../?nowprocket=1
Has Lawson’s Baku charge helped to secure his Racing Bulls future?
SEPTEMBER 25, 2025 · 10:33 AM
Adam Cooper's F1 Blog
It’s not been an easy season for Liam Lawson, demoted from Red Bull Racing and then largely overshadowed of late by his Racing Bulls team mate Isack Hadjar… …a strong performance from Lawson in Baku that saw him held off a train of cars led by none other than Tsunoda came with perfect timing, and his fifth place will have done him a lot of good. A great lap in Q3 saw him briefly second on the grid behind Carlos Sainz before Max Verstappen pipped them both.
In the end Lawson lost out only to the two Brackley cars as George Russell and Kimi Antonelli pushed him down to fifth. It was a decent result, and the confident way in which he kept a pack of potentially faster cars at bay would have done him a lot of good in the Red Bull camp. “I don’t think we had the speed today to finish on the podium, as much as I would have loved it,” he said when I asked about his race.”
“And when you start there, obviously part of you tries to make it possible, or feels like it’s possible, and we tried everything today. I think we made the right call on pit stops. Tried to cover Kimi, but we just didn’t have the speed today. Part of it’s frustrating, but I think looking at it as a big picture, it’s a great result to finish fifth, and we’ll take that going forward.”
‘Lawson’s Baku charge’;
https://adamcooperf1.com/2025/09/25/...-bulls-future/
Red Bull in no rush to make 2026 driver decisions after strong weekend in Baku
24 Sep 2025
Alan Baldwin
Reuters
The Japan Times
Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda celebrated personal bests in Baku last weekend but both will have to wait for news on their Formula One futures.
Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix was the first race since Russia in 2020 where the energy drink brand's two teams — Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls — had all their drivers score points.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen won for Red Bull, with Racing Bulls' Lawson finishing a career high fifth after starting third, the highest F1 grid position by a New Zealander since Chris Amon in 1976.
‘Red Bull in no rush’;
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/...d-bull-future/
Tsunoda explains why he avoided ‘hero’ move on Lawson
22 Sep 2025
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com
Yuki Tsunoda celebrated a career-best finish with Red Bull Racing in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, securing sixth and eight valuable points – his best result in F1 since his fourth-place finish in Abu Dhabi way back in 2021. However, Tsunoda admitted that he had to temper his instincts to avoid a risky “hero” move on his rival that could have jeopardized the team’s strong showing.
“I had a lot of emotions that I wanted to overtake, and so some hero thing, some hero stuff in overtaking, but yeah, [I told myself to] slow down,” he said. “I couldn't do some aggressive manoeuvre and lose position to Lando, it matters for Red Bull as a team being ahead of McLaren. The most important thing is to be ahead of McLaren, and both cars were in front.”
Reflecting on the race, Tsunoda acknowledged he could have attempted a bolder move on Lawson just after his tyre change. “In the second stint, unfortunately, if I was able to rejoin two metres faster, probably I would have been able to keep Liam behind,” he said.
‘Temper his instincts’;
https://f1i.com/news/549146-tsunoda-...on-lawson.html
Liam Lawson ridicules Racing Bulls 'easy' theory: 'How can you know?'
Liam Lawson's fifth place in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix helped elevate Racing Bulls to sixth in the constructors' championship.
23 Sept 2025
Ian Parkes
RacingNews365
Following the race at the Baku City Circuit, it was put to Lawson that "a lot of people say that the Racing Bulls is the easiest car". Asked whether he agreed with the theory, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365, the New Zealander gave the idea short shrift.
"Unless you drive every single car on the grid, how can you know what each car is like to drive?" responded Lawson. "It's a consistent car. It's something that we can definitely say, and be proud of, that across the board, at all sorts of different tracks, it's consistently fast.”
"That doesn't mean it's easy to drive, but the speed is in the car, and that's been something we've been able to utilise across the season so far." Describing what unfolded in Azerbaijan as "extremely positive", Lawson added: "The main thing is, as I say, our car has been consistently good across the board at all sorts of different tracks, so that's very positive for us.”
‘Racing Bulls 'easy' theory’;
https://racingnews365.com/liam-lawso...w-can-you-know
‘Team’ orders for Lawson with Tsunoda behind? ‘None at all’
23 Sep 2025
Michelle Foster
PlanetF1.com
Liam Lawson’s fifth place at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was never under threat from the Red Bull pit wall despite the Racing Bulls driver keeping Yuki Tsunoda at bay, says Alan Permane. One thing was certain, though, there wouldn’t be any instructions between the two Red Bull-owned teams.
“There were none at all,” Permane confirmed to DAZN. “We weren’t going to let him through, of course. Liam did a great job keeping behind a faster car. Yuki had fresh medium tyres and Liam did a great job holding him off with elbows out.”
“Liam is very tough mentally, very strong. He’s been focused all weekend. He drove perfectly. He’d never raced here in F1, yes in F2 but that’s very different. He kept progressing from FP1, FP2, FP3. Qualifying was extraordinary and the race exceptional.”
‘None at all’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/team-o...hind-none-baku
Liam Lawson reveals hidden issue behind his best F1 result in Baku
The Racing Bulls driver finished a career-best fifth in Azerbaijan but admitted a costly mistake left him powerless in a key fight
21 Sept 2025
John Smith
Total Motorsport
Lawson ran strongly in the opening phase of the race, holding third behind Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz. But once the pit stops played out, the 23-year-old found himself locked in a duel with Antonelli. Emerging ahead of the Italian after stopping on Lap 21, Lawson thought he had covered the undercut — only for his rival to blast past him on the following lap, exploiting DRS and a drained battery.
Antonelli pulled away to finish fourth, while Lawson regrouped to withstand fierce pressure in a DRS train to secure fifth at the flag. After climbing out of the car, Lawson admitted the incident had been a turning point in his race. “I ran out of energy, it was so frustrating,” Lawson told the press, including Total-Motorsport.com.
“I saw the bar and got to the straight, and I knew halfway down that I was going to have nothing left. It’s something I learned from. When the next pack of cars came, I made sure it never happened again, and I always had the energy to defend.” The rookie conceded that Antonelli would likely have got by anyway, given Mercedes’ superior pace, but stressed that the moment had been a valuable lesson.
‘A turning point in his race’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/lia...1-result-baku/
Red Bull’s 2026 Purge: Will Tsunoda, Lawson Survive?
Sept 26, 2025
Alex Albuquerque
FastestLap.com
Red Bull’s youth squeeze: Schumacher says Tsunoda and Lawson still on the bubble for 2026. That’s the blunt read from Ralf Schumacher, who believes the senior team and junior squad are lining up a fresh reset that could leave both men without a chair when the music stops.
In Azerbaijan, both finally showed some teeth. Lawson stuck his car third on the grid and turned it into a career-best fifth, stonewalling a train that included Tsunoda, Lando Norris and both Ferraris. Tsunoda, on much fresher mediums versus Lawson’s ageing hards and with DRS to boot, couldn’t crack the door — but still banked P6, his best result in Red Bull colours. It felt like a corner turned. Schumacher isn’t so sure.
“Before Baku, I would’ve said both Tsunoda and Lawson were out,” he said on the Backstage Pit Lane podcast, arguing that even with a strong Sunday, the problem is less about form and more about Red Bull’s conveyor belt. The Austrian system looks primed to promote Isack Hadjar to the senior team with Verstappen for 2026, while F2 livewire Arvid Lindblad is widely tipped to step into Racing Bulls. That leaves one RB seat — and, in Schumacher’s eyes, a very real chance McLaren junior Alex Dunne gets it.
‘Red Bull’s 2026 Purge’;
https://fastestlap.com/news/red-bull...awson-survive/
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Lewis Hamilton asks for 'love and support' as dog Roscoe in coma.
The seven-time world champion said: “Please keep Roscoe in your thoughts. I want to keep you all updated. Roscoe caught pneumonia again and was struggling to breathe.
26th Sep 2025
David George
National World
Roscoe, who is 12 years old, was diagnosed with pneumonia in April and has been on medication ever since. But this week, the bulldog has suffered a second round of pneumonia and his heart stopped as vets rushed to his aid. Roscoe is now in a coma after what Hamilton, 40, described as a “scary few hours”.
Lewis Hamilton: “He was admitted into hospital and sedated to calm him while they did checks on him and during the process his heart stopped. They managed to get a heartbeat back and now he’s in a coma. We don’t know whether he will wake from this. Tomorrow we’ll try to wake him up. I’m by his side and want to thank you all for your prayers and support.”
Speaking to the Mercedes-Benz F1 team’s YouTube channel in a Q&A session, Hamilton said: “I remember being online, looking online for rescues. There’s some page I found that had like 1,000 bulldogs and I just went through all of them and then I came across this one picture and I was like, ‘That’s him!’ That was like one of the best decisions I ever took in my life.”
“Please keep Roscoe in your thoughts”;
https://www.nationalworld.com/sport/...fespan-5335633
How Lewis Hamilton's Dog Roscoe Shot to Fame With More Than 1M Followers
September 26, 2025
Saajan Jogia Newsweek
Rock Hill Herald
Hamilton adopted Roscoe in 2013, the same year he joined Mercedes, before going on to secure six world titles and play a key role in the team’s eight Constructors’ Championships over the following 12 years. Roscoe accompanied the seven-time world champion at Grand Prix venues, stealing the limelight as he became one of F1’s most loved stars. His Instagram profile features some adorable and hilarious updates of him, often accompanied by Hamilton himself, which boosted his popularity. Shared below is a post of Roscoe’s first trip to the Ferrari garage:
Hamilton shifted Roscoe to a vegan diet in 2020 in a bid to improve his health. Sadly, Roscoe slipped into a coma yesterday after doctors got his heart beating again. The 12-year-old dog is suffering from pneumonia. Hamilton revealed in a post today that it is uncertain if Roscoe will wake up again. Newsweek Sports reported his comments:
“Please keep Roscoe in your thoughts. I want to keep you all updated. Roscoe caught pneumonia again and was struggling to breathe. He was admitted into hospital and sedated to calm him while they did checks on him and during the process his heart stopped.
‘More Than 1M Followers’;
https://www.heraldonline.com/sports/...mainstage_card
‘Don’t know whether he will wake from this’: Hamilton pulls out of Ferrari tyre test to be with sick dog
September 27th, 2025 8:05 am
AFP from Afp
Fox Sports (Australia)
Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton withdrew from a tyre test with Ferrari in Italy to be with his sick dog, he revealed on social media. Posting on Instagram, Hamilton said his 12-year-old bulldog Roscoe had been hospitalised with pneumonia and was now in a coma.
“Roscoe caught pneumonia again and was struggling to breathe,” the 40-year-old British driver wrote. “He was admitted into hospital and sedated to calm him while they did checks on him and during the process his heart stopped. They managed to get a heartbeat back and now he’s in a coma. We don’t know whether he will wake from this.”
‘Don’t know whether he will wake from this’;
https://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsp...ea292ff2b7e88c
Lewis Hamilton Backs Out of Ferrari Show: ‘I Need to Be With Roscoe'
September 27, 2025
Geca Flores Parade
The Kansas City Star
Lewis Hamilton is prioritizing his dog Roscoe's health above everything else. Amid the 12-year-old doggo's battle with pneumonia, the Formula 1 star is once again stepping away from the spotlight.
In an Instagram Story, he announced skipping another high-profile event, this time Milan Fashion Week, to be with his fur baby, who currently needs medical attention. I was supposed to be in Milan for the Ferrari Fashion Show tomorrow and was really excited about it. But as you know, I need to be with Roscoe right now," he wrote.
Despite the unexpected changes, the 40-year-old racer assured that he will continue to support the upcoming show. "I'll be watching the show on @ferraristyle and want to send my love and support to Rocco and the whole team. I'm sure it's going to be amazing – enjoy the livestream on Saturday at 9:30am Milan time and see you very soon!" he added.
‘I Need to Be With Roscoe';
https://www.kansascity.com/entertain...mainstage_card
Hamilton Sidelined by Roscoe Scare; Zhou Steps In for Ferrari
September 26, 2025
Alex Albuquerque
FastestLap.com
Hamilton steps aside from Mugello tyre test as Zhou steps in for Ferrari. Ferrari will field Zhou Guanyu alongside Charles Leclerc in Friday’s Pirelli tyre test at Mugello after Lewis Hamilton withdrew late on, with the decision coming in the wake of a health scare involving the Briton’s beloved bulldog, Roscoe.
Pirelli confirmed the revised line-up on Thursday evening, naming Zhou in the SF-25 mule car for the final day of running. No official reason was given for Hamilton’s absence, but it followed an emotional post from the seven-time World Champion, who shared an image of 12-year-old Roscoe in an incubator and wrote: “It’s been a scary few hours. Everyone please keep Roscoe in your thoughts and prayers.”
Ferrari hasn’t offered further comment, but the change is understood to be for personal reasons. It’s a compassionate call in a week that was already light on low-hanging positives for Hamilton, who’s still hunting his first Ferrari podium in a season that’s proven more spiky than smooth. Ferrari and customer team Haas are at Mugello to support Pirelli’s development push for the 2026 tyres, using a mix of adapted machinery and “mule” cars tuned to mimic next year’s active-aero era.
‘Hamilton Sidelined by Roscoe Scare’;
https://fastestlap.com/news/hamilton...n-for-ferrari/
Lewis Hamilton skips Pirelli F1 test after dog Roscoe’s health scare
Lewis Hamilton will not be in action for Ferrari in the Pirelli tyre test at Mugello
26 Sep 2025
Connor McDonagh
Crash.net
Reputable Italian journalist Rosario Giuliana has since reported Hamilton will not take part in the Pirelli 2026 tyre test later today. Hamilton was due to drive alongside Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc at Mugello.
However, the seven-time world champion will be replaced by reserve driver, Zhou Guanyu. Giuliana reported: “For understandable reasons, Lewis Hamilton will not take part in tomorrow’s Pirelli test, with Zhou joining Leclerc in his place.”
The latest Pirelli test will give teams another chance to try out the new rubber for next year. The 2026 tyres are still 18 inches in diameter, but the front tyre width has been reduced from 305mm to 275mm.
‘Roscoe’s health scare’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/108245...s-health-scare
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Newey's shocking working hours: 'He didn't come to retire'.
"It’s because he sees the team’s potential. Newey is working... not 24 hours a day, because he sleeps. But he sleeps very little, I can guarantee you that. And it’s amazing” de la Rosa told the Dura La Vita podcast.
26 Sep 2025
Norberto Mujica
GPblog.com
Aston Martin ambassador Pedro de la Rosa highlights the level of Newey’s dedication to Aston Martin. “Any day you go to the factory at any time, you look and he’s in his office.”
"Any time, I can even tell you at two in the morning. I’ve gone there at that time to pick up things and leave. The Adrian Newey effect isn’t just a marketing hype. It’s a work effect, an inspiration effect, and it’s stretching and inspiring new generations. Everyone is very excited to work and learn with him.”
According to de la Rosa, Newey’s commitment is tied to Aston Martin’s long-term investment in the team. “Newey came to the team because he sees the potential. Because of the investment, which takes many years to materialise in wind tunnels, CFD testing, etc, the potential is there. But we’re going to prove it in 2026. All of this is fine words, but a lifeline speaks volumes.”
"Any time, I can even tell you at two in the morning”;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/newey...come-to-retire
Alonso and Newey Plot Aston Martin’s 2026 Coup
September 28, 2025
Alex Albuquerque
FastestLap.com
Inside the glass-and-carbon corridors at Silverstone, one of F1’s most intriguing partnerships is taking shape. Fernando Alonso finally has Adrian Newey on his side, and the pair are already deep in the weeds, sketching out Aston Martin’s answer to the sport’s 2026 reset. Alonso, never shy about the scale of his ambitions, sounds energised — and a little humbled — by the process. Speaking in-house at Aston Martin, he admitted you sometimes need “full brain capacity” just to keep up when Newey starts connecting the dots. The punchline? In those moments, Alonso says Newey’s only using “five percent.”
Where does the driver instinct meet the design intent? What trade-offs will help the guy in the cockpit extract more on a Sunday? What’s the effect on technique if the car goes this way, not that? That feedback loop matters. The 2026 regulations promise sweeping changes to both chassis and power unit philosophies, and the teams that marry concept with usability will surface first. Newey, Alonso hints, is probing those intersections, seeing how his directions might change braking points, rotation, traction — the real on-track stuff. And when the questions come, they’re deceptively simple. The answers, even simpler — at least to him.
“He’s always in his room, at his drawing board,” Alonso said, painting the classic Newey picture. Focused, direct, deliberate. The message: the details will come when the car’s more mature. For now, it’s about the compass, not the map. All of this lands as Aston Martin stands at a fork. The team has built the infrastructure — the wind tunnel, the talent pipeline, the upgraded campus — but step-changes in F1 don’t arrive by courier. They’re built across seasons. Newey’s presence accelerates the learning curve. Honda’s works deal completes the ecosystem. Put simply, Aston Martin won’t just be fitting someone else’s engine; they’ll be building a grand prix car with the power unit as a central design pillar. That’s a different game.
“He’s always in his room, at his drawing board”;
https://fastestlap.com/news/alonso-a...ins-2026-coup/
Alonso’s ‘brain capacity’ challenged in Adrian Newey F1 2026 progress update
28 Sep 2025
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com
Opportunity knocks in a major way for F1 2026, with sweeping changes coming to the chassis and engine regulations. Aston Martin has Newey on its side, an icon of F1 design, having contributed to 26 world championship wins. The Silverstone squad also has a works engine deal with Honda from next year, as the Japanese brand migrates over from Red Bull.
With Aston Martin, Alonso is chasing a long-awaited third World Championship. F1 2026 will mark two decades since his second and latest title triumph. “Yeah, he’s an incredible person, the best designer in the history of our sport, and everyone in the team is learning a lot from him,” said Alonso.
“Everything Adrian does, you try to understand why he is doing that, why he chose that direction, or why he’s answering in that way, because there is always something to learn from him. Even from a simple answer that he can give to you in response to a question, that simple answer can be so clear to him, but why is it not for others?”
‘Aston Martin has Newey on its side’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/fernan...rogress-update
Alonso’s Bold Bet: Aston Martin Title “Guaranteed”
September 27, 2025
Alex Albuquerque
FastestLap.com
Fernando Alonso doubles down: Aston Martin title fight is “more or less guaranteed”—it’s just a matter of when… Fernando Alonso doesn’t do half-measures. Not on track, not in interviews. And in Baku, he cut through the noise with a blunt assessment of Aston Martin’s trajectory: a title fight is coming. The only unknown, he says, is timing. “I’m pretty convinced,” Alonso told Aston Martin’s official website. “The only thing is when. That’s probably my only question mark from this project.”
On paper, it’s a bold call. Aston Martin sits seventh in the 2025 Constructors’ standings, a long way from the sharp end Alonso craves. But the team has bet big on the reset arriving in 2026: a new regulations package, a Honda works power unit deal, a brand-new wind tunnel and expanded factory, and, crucially, the Adrian Newey-led design effort aimed squarely at the first year of the new rules. Alonso, contracted through 2026, sees the pieces arranged. Now they need to click.
“Aston Martin Aramco fighting for and winning the World Championship is more or less guaranteed in the future,” he said. “We have everything that is needed to fight for a World Championship. Then, to execute the job and to win it, you need some external factors as well: you need a little help from the competitors; you need a little bit of luck; you need to execute every weekend well.” It’s classic Alonso: conviction laced with pragmatism. He’s never been shy about setting the bar, and he’s smart enough to add the caveats that keep you honest in a sport where the margins are a science and the unknowns pile up quickly under new regulations.
‘Alonso’s Bold Bet: Aston Martin Title “Guaranteed”’;
https://fastestlap.com/news/alonsos-...le-guaranteed/
Alonso's first F1 title, 20 years later: 'He was just another level'
Sep 25, 2025
Nate Saunders
ESPN.co.uk
WIDE-EYED, CRAZED, TRIUMPHANT. Fernando Alonso climbed onto the front of his blue and yellow Renault. Pumping his fists into the sky, a high-pitched shriek tore out of his mouth, followed by, "Come on! Come on!" It created an iconic image at what was a landmark moment in Formula 1: Twenty years ago, on Sept. 25, 2005, Alonso was king of the world. With two whole races to spare, a 24-year-old from Oviedo, Spain had shattered the sport's status quo.
In his duel with McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen, one familiar name had been missing: Michael Schumacher, whose run of five straight drivers' titles -- and Ferrari's six straight constructors' -- had come to an abrupt end without so much as a whimper. Third place at Interlagos had been enough for Alonso to clinch it. Two decades later, he insists it's that scream -- not the trophy, not the parties that night in São Paulo or back in Europe -- that he remembers.
"That was an incredible moment and emotion," Alonso told ESPN. "From the inside, it was just like a relief. A weight out of the shoulders of so much pressure in the months before Brazil, because the championship was getting closer and closer, but you're never 100% sure until it happens. So when it did happen, it was maybe 20 years of my life concentrated in those 10 seconds of celebration."
"Come on! Come on!" That scream -- not the trophy, not the parties that night in São Paulo or back in Europe -- that he remembers;
https://www.espn.co.uk/racing/f1/sto...-another-level
Yuki Tsunoda lifeline emerges as Andretti confirms major signing for 2026 season
27 Sep 2025
Oliver Harden
PlanetF1.com
Rumours that Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda could secure a Formula 1 lifeline with the Aston Martin team are set to intensify ahead of the F1 2026 season. Reports have indicated that Drugovich is set to cut ties with Aston Martin at the end of the F1 2025 season, likely creating a vacancy in the team’s driver ranks.
Tsunoda is widely expected to be replaced by Isack Hadjar at Red Bull Racing for F1 2026 having struggled since becoming Max Verstappen’s teammate after two races of this season. Tsunoda has been persistently linked with a future role with Aston Martin since the team confirmed more than two years ago that it would enter a technical partnership with Honda, Tsunoda’s long-term backer, at the start of the F1 2026 season.
Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com at last year’s Monaco Grand Prix, Tsunoda admitted that Aston Martin could “maybe” emerge as his long-term destination due to the team’s burgeoning relationship with Honda.
‘Honda, Tsunoda’s long-term backer’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/yuki-t...retti-lifeline
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Max Strikes Back: Red Bull’s Late-Season Revolt.
Tsunoda throws weight behind Verstappen as Red Bull smells a late-season swing.
Sept 28, 2025
Alex Albuquerque
FastestLap.com
Max Verstappen has turned the 2025 title fight from a cruise into a chase over the past two weekends, and the mood inside Red Bull has changed with it. Two commanding wins in Monza and Baku, aided by a sharply effective new floor, have chopped 35 points out of Oscar Piastri’s lead. The Dutchman still sits 69 points back, but after a flat mid-season, this is the first time the pendulum looks like it might budge.
Yuki Tsunoda, fresh off his best result since stepping up to the senior team with P6 in Azerbaijan, says Red Bull aren’t filing this year under “move on to 2026” just yet — and he’s ready to play wingman if the chance presents itself. “I think definitely, we are more confident in the coming races to perform better,” Tsunoda said. “I’m sure we’re not giving up with this season, especially securing the Drivers’ Championship for Max. I’ll try to extract performance as much as possible from the car that I have and, if I can support him, that would be good.”
The floor package introduced at Monza looks like a genuine step. Verstappen’s speed through the medium- to high-speed stuff was the story in Italy, while Baku underlined the car’s improved range as Red Bull handled the traction and braking-heavy street circuit with poise. It’s a combo that’s been missing at various points this year, and the effect has been immediate: Verstappen looks like Verstappen again.
‘Verstappen looks like Verstappen again’;
https://fastestlap.com/news/max-stri...season-revolt/
Tsunoda: Red Bull and Verstappen ‘not giving up’ on F1 2025 title battle
28 Sep 2025
Henry Valantine
PlanetF1.com
Yuki Tsunoda has said he is sure Red Bull is “not giving up with this season”, especially looking to mount a title challenge with Max Verstappen. “I think teams are pushing a lot in terms of this, upgrades and everything, and trying to secure some milliseconds on every corner, which is very important,” Tsunoda said.
“I think definitely, we are more confident in the coming races to perform better, so I’m sure we’re not giving up with this season, especially securing the Drivers’ Championship for Max, so I’ll try to extract performance as much as possible from the car that I have, and also at the same time for some races, if I can support him, that would be [good].”
‘Not giving up’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/yuki-t...25-title-fight
Verstappen ready for shake-up, eyes Singapore glory
28 Sep 2025
Samson Ero
GPblog.com
Max Verstappen has weighed in on the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix. The Red Bull Racing driver also highlighted several factors that may need to align to deliver a strong outing at the Marina Bay circuit. Verstappen highlighted the unique characteristics of the Marina Bay circuit, while also touching on the uncertainty surrounding tyre degradation. “It’s completely different. High downforce. A lot of degradation on the tyres, so we’ll see what happens. I really don’t know at the moment.”
Discussing what would be required to achieve his maiden win at the circuit, Verstappen also detailed how the car needs to feel right throughout the race weekend. “Depends on a lot of things. If the car is shocking to drive, yes, it’s really hard to keep it in a straight line. But if the car is nice to drive, then it’s more about just the physicality of it. At the same time, if everything’s going well, you can relax a bit more, and then naturally it’s less physical as well.”
Verstappen on preparation for Singapore: “Let’s wait and see. I mean, it’s always hot, and you’re sweating a lot, so you have to prepare for that. But I guess we’ve all done that — heat training and stuff — preparing for these kinds of races. Basically, it’s about getting comfortable with the uncomfortable. I don’t mind it. It’s a cool track. Of course, I’ve never won there, but it’s a cool feeling to drive, and I hope this year we’ll be a bit more competitive.”
‘Eyes Singapore glory’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/verst...ingapore-glory
Why Red Bull has ‘more equations’ to solve despite back-to-back Verstappen wins
29 Sep 2025
Henry Valantine
PlanetF1.com
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has explained the different characteristics of the Marina Bay Circuit in Singapore means the team’s “equations” will “move a bit” to find the optimum setup. Having visited two low-downforce circuits in Monza and Baku, however, Mekies explained how Singapore represents a completely different challenge in almost every way. “You go to Singapore, you move a bit your equations. You keep the slow speed corners, but you go to maximum downforce, [where] we have been struggling quite a lot, [in] Budapest, and before Budapest, and also a much hotter track, probably compared to that.”
“We know how sensitive not only us, but the whole field, is to the aspect, so we take it step by step. We take the challenge of Singapore. It’s a track that’s been challenging for the team for many, many years, and in the context of what we are trying to see, it’s very important to see what suddenly doesn’t work there anymore, or whatever.”
“After trying to take it to the next step, you will be back to tracks with medium speed corners, where we were killed by McLaren two races ago in Zandvoort. You know, the gap was very significant. Also in Spa, we left Spa thinking that they were half a second faster than us, even though Max won the sprint. So that’s the next sort of set of answer we will be chasing.”
“You go to Singapore, you move a bit your equations”;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/red-bu...g-singapore-gp
Why Red Bull is under pressure to deliver ‘fantastic story’ for Max Verstappen
29 Sep 2025
Jack Oliver Smith
Motorsport Week
Red Bull is under pressure to deliver a “fantastic story” to ensure Max Verstappen completes his Formula 1 career with the team, according to his agent. Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen will be keeping a lookout on what is best for his man once the dust settles and it becomes apparent which team has interpreted the rules best.
“Everything could change next year with the new regulations,” he told De Telegraaf. “So it’s better to wait and see how things develop and who is where. Based on that, you can then look further ahead. This is nothing new, you know. In 2016, we moved from Toro Rosso to Red Bull, and later from Renault to Honda in terms of engines.”
“Those are all moments when you think: ‘What’s going to happen now?’ Those are developments that the three of us – Max, Jos [Verstappen] and I – are constantly monitoring. And Max ultimately has the final say. It would be a fantastic story if he drove his entire Formula 1 career for Red Bull. But that will only happen if he has the equipment to win.”
'Red Bull is under pressure';
https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/...ax-verstappen/
Max Verstappen admits to having Red Bull doubts amid F1 slump
Max Verstappen admits to having doubts that Red Bull could turn around their fortunes in 2025.
28 Sept 2025
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net
Max Verstappen has admitted he wondered whether Red Bull would be able to turnaround their 2025 F1 season. “In the end you always go through certain difficult moment,” the Dutchman said. “And of course, sometimes you do think, ‘Is this going to be okay, can we still turn things around?’”
“But on the other hand, there’s no point to keep thinking like that. You always have to look for solutions, talk to people inside the team, and exchange ideas in a positive way. At the end of the day, that what it’s all about and that's what we have done.”
‘Having Red Bull doubts’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/108249...-amid-f1-slump
What Made Max Verstappen Commit to Red Bull for 2026? Manager Reveals Truth
Sept 28, 2025
Saajan Jogia Newsweek
The Wichita Eagle, Kansas City
In an interview with De Telegraaf, Raymond Vermeulen (Max Verstappen’s Manager) revealed the logic behind the four-time world champion’s decision to stay. He said: “Everything could change next year with the new regulations. So it’s better to wait and see how things develop and who is where. Based on that, you can then look further ahead.”
“This is nothing new, you know. In 2016, we moved from Toro Rosso to Red Bull, and later from Renault to Honda in terms of engines. Those are all moments when you think: ‘What’s going to happen now?’ Those are developments that the three of us – Max, Jos [Verstappen] and I – are constantly monitoring. And Max ultimately has the final say. It would be a fantastic story if he drove his entire Formula 1 career for Red Bull. But that will only happen if he has the equipment to win.”
When asked about the possibility of Verstappen being unable to be successful next year, he said: “Yes, that’s possible. But that could also apply to others. It would have been a huge gamble if he had signed a contract somewhere else for next year. There are no guarantees whatsoever. Everyone is making predictions, but they are all assumptions. Next year, it’s not just about the engine, but also about the chassis. And which people will be recruited here, what impact will that have? It’s a kind of puzzle you’re putting together. Hence the conclusion that it’s better to stay for at least another year.”
‘What’s going to happen now?’;
https://www.kansas.com/sports/articl...mainstage_card
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Hints of McLaren ‘anxiety’ after Verstappen Azerbaijan GP win.
McLaren mistakes highlight Verstappen pressure. Cracks are already starting to appear for McLaren after Norris clipped the wall in qualifying and Piastri crashed into the barrier in Sunday’s race, believes F1 journalist Brandon Sutton.
26 Sep 2025
Joe Krishnan
Total Motorsport
F1 journalist Ewan Gale thinks it would be very unlikely that Verstappen wipes out the deficit in the remaining seven races, but his return to prominence is giving McLaren a headache.
“For me, I think it’s a stretch to say he [Verstappen] is in the title race. But what he will be doing is he’ll be causing anxiety to the McLaren drivers. They’ll be starting to look over their shoulder a little bit more rather than focusing on themselves,” he said.
“A lot has to happen for Verstappen to be in the title race. It needs McLaren to have another probably two off races. He probably needs Norris and Piastri to get into each other and take each other out of one of the races. But, as it stands, Piastri pretty much needs to finish third in every race and every sprint at the moment and he’ll still be ahead of Verstappen.”
‘Giving McLaren a headache’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...azerbaijan-gp/
Montoya: “Piastri’s Baku Errors Show He’s Feeling the Heat in F1 Title Fight”
30 Sep 2025
James Rees
F1 Chronicle
Oscar Piastri’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix performance was “terrible,” according to former McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya, who fears the Australian is beginning to crack under championship pressure. “Piastri lost his temper,” Montoya said. “I’ve been telling you, ‘Wait and see,’ and it was noticeable. For a while, when he was under direct pressure from Lando regarding the points, he was still performing well. But in Baku, the race was terrible.”
Montoya suggested the Australian misjudged his rivals in the opening laps. “Apart from jumping the start, the start itself was terrible. Then he thought he would pass people quickly. He calculated his braking based on those around him, but they braked late, so he braked later—and bang. Welcome to a street circuit. The mental problem for me is more complicated now, because you’re going to another street circuit, which is 100% a Lando track,” Montoya explained.
“You’re not in a position to attack Lando, because if you make another mistake, you’re going to create a world of unnecessary headaches. He has a big advantage, but as we’ve seen, that can change in a week. What he has to do is finish second or third, avoid mistakes, and create stability. Because another crash at this moment…”
“Piastri lost his temper”;
https://f1chronicle.com/montoya-pias...1-title-fight/
Villeneuve counters Norris' comments: 'That's not true'
29 Sep 2025
Tobia Elia
GPblog.com
Jacques Villeneuve has responded to Lando Norris’s comments about his indifference to criticism. "That’s not true. There's not one driver, not one sportsman that says that. It's a way of trying to keep the pressure away. Everyone knows what's being written. Everyone gets affected even when you don't want it to. It’s somewhere at the back of your mind because it makes you think. Lando says that to try and minimise it. You have to because you don't want it to affect you too much. Just saying that means it's affecting him.”
In post-race comments following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Norris admitted Red Bull’s dominance at Baku. The Brit suggested that the Austrian outfit operated on “another level” through much of the weekend. Norris also acknowledged a troubling reality for McLaren, revealing that the team had been off the pace compared with Verstappen and Red Bull all weekend. With his seventh-place finish in Azerbaijan, Norris managed to gain six points on his teammate in the championship battle, but lost another 19 to Max Verstappen...
‘Norris acknowledged a troubling reality for McLaren’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/ville...thats-not-true
Golf analogy made as Oscar Piastri’s F1 title ‘jitters’ scrutinised
Oscar Piastri's mistake-ridden weekend in Baku has been examined.
30 Sep 2025
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net
Oscar Piastri suffered from “jitters” amid the pressure of the F1 title fight hotting up, according to former driver Jolyon Palmer. “I think we saw, just purely, a chink in the armour,” Palmer told the F1 Nation podcast. “We just saw a driver making a really basic human mistake. I can’t see anything other than he just got jittery. He must have got jittery.”
“I was trying to relate this across sports. I was thinking something like The Masters, you play four rounds of golf. Rory McIlroy has played golf for years and years and years, he knows how to put from three yards. But suddenly you are on the back nine on the final day and basic shots become really tricky and you tense up. You start swinging in a weird way, and I think that’s what happened to Oscar.”
“He starts ninth. So he’s a bit tense. You are starting from the mid-pack in Baku. It’s really narrow, especially at Turn 2, Turn 3, Turn 4. The amount of time someone has been bundled into the wall there at the start is pretty high. And he’s got his championship rival ahead of him. I think he’s simply got a bit twitchy. That’s just pressure, it’s jitters and the rest of it was compounded by the first mistake.”
“A chink in the armour”;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/108295...rs-scrutinised
The key McLaren weakness that recent F1 races have exposed
29 Sep 2025
Lena Ferle
Motorsport Week
McLaren boss Andrea Stella: “From a performance point of view, if you had asked me, ‘What is the most difficult weekend?’, I would have said it would be Baku or Las Vegas,” Stella told media including Motorsport Week.
“We know very well that the characteristics of our car mean that it is very competitive in long and medium speed corners, of which there are none in Baku, likewise in Las Vegas. The car is not particularly effective in straight line braking, of which there is a lot [in Baku and Vegas], or when you have to go through prescribed trajectories. The car really wants to roll in the corners, like Turn 1 at Zandvoort is a McLaren corner, of which you have none in Baku or Vegas.”
“But having said that, the car was fast enough to compete for pole position [in Baku], which is a credit to the engineers who have designed a pretty versatile car, even when not operating within the strengths of the car itself. So, Baku and probably Las Vegas, it will definitely not be a surprise that there are cars as competitive as McLaren.”
‘Key McLaren weakness’;
https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/...-have-exposed/
McLaren in a hurry to fix Norris' recent bane in title fight
26 Sep 2025
Norberto Mujica
GPblog.com
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has admitted that recent pit stop issues remain a concern as the championship closes in. The spotlight fell on Norris once again after a slow 4.1-second stop in Baku, following a similar problem in Monza where a front-left wheel issue cost him nearly six seconds.
Andrea Stella has stated, “The pit stop itself didn’t make any difference because we would have ended up pretty much in the area of Leclerc... For me, the most important takeaway was that the car wasn’t fast enough. With a fast enough car, I think we would have been able to overtake and then have some free air and in free air actually use the full potential.”
Stella added McLaren are committed to improving. “We have seen that the racing, if anything, is getting tighter and tighter, so the impact of a pit stop now gets more and more important,” he said. “It’s an area in which we have already concentrated our efforts, but we need to keep working. Every tenth counts for the championship.”
‘Pit stop issues remain a concern’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/mclar...etting-tighter
McLaren told to take immediate action to avoid looking ‘dumb’
McLaren have been offered some advice heading into the closing stretch of the 2025 F1 title fight.
26 Sep 2025
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net
Guenther Steiner has urged McLaren to back Oscar Piastri over Lando Norris in the F1 2025 title race. “In the end, you want to win the drivers’ championship as well, not only the constructors’,” Steiner told The Red Flags podcast. “The team is more important than the driver, and the drivers are, as I always say and not diminishing, just part of a team.”
“And both cannot win, so instead of having two fighting and lose it all, you get somebody to win. As much as Lando is the face and the favoured son, I think McLaren needs to be above that, and will be above that. It is crazy, but you have to do it. In my opinion, you have to do it to win.” Steiner added: “I think they will take the decision, because otherwise, if they lose it because of that decision, how dumb do they look?”
With Verstappen lurking, Steiner is adamant that the time has now come for McLaren to throw all their weight behind Piastri. Asked when he would make the call to back one driver over the other, Steiner replied: “I would make it now. “I would do, because I just want to make sure I win the championship. I said I think Max cannot get near, but if I already get the feeling there is a risk, why would I take it?”
'Avoid looking dumb';
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/108249...-f1-title-race
-
Giedo van der Garde adamant that Max Verstappen will win 2025 F1 title because of one McLaren weakness.
“I don’t think Piastri or Norris will become world champion, but I think Max will,” van der Garde declared. “His car has become much more competitive. If you think about it, there are actually only two Grands Prix that are going really well for McLaren.”
25 September 2025
Ashley Hambly
F1 Oversteer
Former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde believes his compatriot will surely replicate Michael Schumacher’s feat of five consecutive drivers’ titles this season, referencing the mistakes of McLaren as the main catalyst. “I don’t think Piastri or Norris will become world champion, but I think Max will,” van der Garde declared. “His car has become much more competitive. If you think about it, there are actually only two Grands Prix that are going really well for McLaren.”
“They are Singapore, where Lando Norris is really good, and Qatar. But what about the others? I bet Max will win Abu Dhabi, Mexico, Brazil, and the United States. He’s 69 points behind Piastri, which is a lot, but we mustn’t forget that Lando and Oscar have never been world champions. So they too will have nervous moments. They too will make mistakes. They too will end up off the track. And Max? He has nothing to lose; he’ll give it his all. Believe me: he’ll become world champion.”
The biggest weapon in the Dutchman’s arsenal is the fact that he doesn’t have anything to lose. At Monza, Verstappen couldn’t care less about the McLarens behind him as they squabbled for position through the use of team orders. Now pinned as the underdog in the 2025 title fight and equipped with a more manageable car than before, Verstappen can unleash some of the best drives of his F1 career to try and claw his way back into the battle.
‘Max doesn’t have anything to lose’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/gie...aren-weakness/
Why McLaren sees Max Verstappen as a ‘disruptor’ to F1 ambitions
30 Sep 2025
Anirban Aly Mandal
Motorsport Week
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has admitted that Max Verstappen still poses a threat to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s 2025 Formula 1 title ambitions. “I think you have got to pay attention to Max,” he told Bloomberg while calling the 27-year-old a “disruptor”. “We have got to keep doing what we’re doing. The constructors’ is looking very good. We had a chance to wrap it up in Baku, but let’s not talk back at Baku. Hopefully we can get the job done in Singapore.”
“What we want to do is we want our two drivers and Max – but we’d like to kind of get him out of there – to fight for the championship and just give them equal opportunity, equal equipment, which is what we’re doing,” he added. “May the best man win. That’s what we want to do. We’d like to not play a role, if at all possible,” contemplated Brown.
“Lando had a mechanical [failure, at Zandvoort] and things can happen, safety cars and things of that nature. Our goal is to just set Lando and Oscar up to be competing for the championship down to Abu Dhabi, and may the best driver win.”
‘Max Verstappen as a ‘disruptor’’;
https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/...-f1-ambitions/
Verstappen pushes McLaren into impossible sacrifice, sees Steiner
26 Sep 2025
Norberto Mujica
GPblog.com
Guenther Steiner believes Max Verstappen can still play a role in shaping the 2025 championship battle, and that McLaren may be forced into a tough call between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Speaking on the Red Flags podcast, the former Haas team boss argued that even if Verstappen has the best car at this stage, he won’t win every race. What matters, he said, is the pressure Verstappen’s presence puts on McLaren.
“I think even if Max has got the best car, he still can just make, you know, he will not win them all anyway, in my opinion. And so, but it could open up, that it gets competitive and that McLaren has to change the papaya rules and support one driver actually supported to win,” Steiner said.
‘The pressure Verstappen’s presence puts on McLaren’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/verst...n-favoured-son
Oscar Piastri ‘isn’t invincible’ as Australian racing icon drops Norris claim
25 Sep 2025
Elizabeth Blackstock
PlanetF1.com
David Brabham, son of the legendary Australian Formula 1 champion Jack Brabham, has pointed out that Oscar Piastri no longer looks invincible following his errors at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Australia’s first Formula 1 World Champion, Jack Brabham, secured titles in the highest form of motorsport in 1959, 1960, and 1966. Since then, only one Australian driver, Alan Jones, has managed to bring WDC honors back home to the country — but in 2025, Oscar Piastri appears to be on track to achieve the same feat.
So out of character was Piastri’s poor weekend that David Brabham, son of Jack Brabham, told RacingNews356 that “it was a surprise to see Oscar make such mistakes. “I think this could give Lando hope; it shows that pressure is starting to build and that Oscar can be cracked after all.”
“Oscar has made mistakes now,” Brabham argues. “Maybe that was even necessary. Now he can regroup, focus, and come back stronger for the rest of the season. It’s going to be interesting, because we’ve seen that Oscar isn’t invincible,” Brabham summed up. “If Lando seizes his moments, everything can change.”
‘Oscar Piastri no longer looks invincible’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/oscar-...s-norris-claim
Oscar Piastri handed 'weakened' defence as McLaren prediction delivered
Guenther Steiner does not envisage Oscar Piastri's poor Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be detrimental to his confidence as the F1 drivers' championship enters its closing stages.
1 October 2025
Samuel Coop
RacingNews365
Oscar Piastri will not have "weakened his confidence" through his calamitous weekend at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, according to former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner. "Oscar, up to now, has made very few mistakes in his career.
"Baku was one where he did, but I think he’s one of those guys who can say: 'I made mistakes, I get over it, I get back to being my normal self.' I don’t think it weakened his confidence. Now, going back to what I would call more normal circuits, I think McLaren will be stronger again."
"The races Max won were on high-speed circuits, with the Max factor involved — like Baku, where that guy can just pull it off sometimes," Steiner said. "But he cannot do it consistently, because his car is not as good as the McLaren." He added: "You can never write Max completely off... [but] if everything goes as it should, he cannot win it anymore. He’s just too far back, and the McLarens at the moment are the better car."
"You can never write Max completely off...”;
https://racingnews365.com/oscar-pias...tion-delivered
Oscar Piastri feeling positive ahead of Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix
30 Sep 2025
Michael Doyle
ABC Online
Formula 1 drivers' championship leader Oscar Piastri has said he is "very keen" to go racing again after his worst weekend of the season. Piastri crashed out on the first lap of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, after crashing out of qualifying a day earlier.
"I'm very keen to get back in the cockpit," Piastri said in the lead-up to the weekend. "On paper, and with the temperatures involved in Singapore, our car has been proven to be comfortable in the past, and with that in mind, I'm looking forward to a really positive weekend."
"Very keen";
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-...prix/105831828
Toto Wolff reaches verdict over stunning Max Verstappen F1 title upset
Toto Wolff has reached his judgement on whether Max Verstappen can launch a stunning F1 title upset.
1 October 2025
Jake Nichol & Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365
Toto Wolff believes it is a "long shot" for Max Verstappen to pull off a stunning F1 title upset and defeat McLaren. "I think you always need to keep your feet on the ground and stay humble," Wolff told media, including RacingNews365.
"He is on a good run, the car is good, and with Max Verstappen, you always need to be wary of what he can achieve, especially if he sees that the [title] is back on the cards. But 69 points is a long shot, things need to work in his favour, but a DNF for the championship leader, and Max scoring 25 points, things can swing quickly."
"Long shot";
https://racingnews365.com/toto-wolff...f1-title-upset
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F1 paddock rallies with sympathy for Lewis Hamilton after death of Roscoe.
“After four days on life support, fighting with every bit of strength he had, I had to make the hardest decision of my life and say goodbye to Roscoe,” Hamilton wrote.
01 Oct 2025
James Phillips
Motorsport Week
Hamilton’s Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc sent a heart, while erstwhile Mercedes stablemate George Russell replied: “I’m so sorry for your loss mate.” Pierre Gasly, who owns Simba, a Toy Poodle responded: “So sorry for your loss.” Esteban Ocon wrote a similar message of support for Hamilton: “We are all thinking of you Lewis. We will miss you Roscoe, RIP.” Mercedes said: “Our thoughts are with you, Lewis. Roscoe brought so much joy to those who met him and he’ll always be a part of our family.”
Hamilton’s new home Ferrari shared: “So sorry for your loss, Lewis. Roscoe was an amazing dog, and he will never be forgotten.” McLaren, his first team in F1 back in 2007, added its own poignant message: “Our thoughts are with you, Lewis. Roscoe was a star of the paddock and will be missed.” Red Bull commented: “Really sorry for your loss, Lewis,” Sauber adding: “He’ll be so missed in the paddock! Sorry for your loss, Lewis.”
Williams posted: “All of our thoughts are with you Lewis. So sorry for your loss,” as boss James Vowles added: “My deepest condolences Lewis. Thinking of you both.” Alpine also shared its own message of sympathy. “So sorry for your loss, Lewis. We’ll miss seeing Roscoe around the paddock.” F1 concluded: “Rest in Peace Roscoe Hamilton, a true star in his own right…. The FIA also posted a message: “The FIA family is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Roscoe. Our thoughts are with you Lewis.”
‘F1 paddock rallies with sympathy’;
https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/...ath-of-roscoe/
Tributes Pour in From F1 Paddock After Lewis Hamilton's Dog Roscoe Dies
September 30, 2025
Nelson Espinal Newsweek
Bellingham Herald
F1’s official account: “Rest in Peace Roscoe Hamilton, a true star in his own right.
“Lewis Hamilton's beloved Roscoe brought smiles to the paddock and warmed the hearts of fans all over the world. Our thoughts are with Lewis during this difficult time.
“Rest easy Roscoe, from paddock pup to Dogue icon, thank you for the pawprints you left on all of our hearts.”
The seven-time World Champion adopted Roscoe in 2013, and the pair have been inseparable ever since. In fact, both the driver and Rosce were on a vegan diet. The new diet allowed for Roscoe’s health problems to be minimized until recently, when the dog battled through issues that he had always battled throughout his life.
Roscoe became a social media icon, with 1.4 million followers on Instagram in an account dedicated to the dog. There were several shots of him living his best life alongside Hamilton. Roscoe was a true star in the F1 paddock and around the world. His presence will be missed.
‘Tributes Pour in’;
https://www.bellinghamherald.com/spo...mainstage_card
Lewis Hamilton pays touching tribute to “amazing friend” who cared for Roscoe
“While I was travelling, she would take care of him and loved him as if he was hers. She was there every day, all day.”
01 Oct 2025
Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net
Lewis Hamilton has paid a heartfelt tribute to his friend Kirstin, who cared for his late dog Roscoe while he was away racing in F1. On Monday, Hamilton confirmed that Roscoe had passed away following a battle with pneumonia.
In a post on his Instagram story, Hamilton thanked his “amazing friend,” Kirstin, lauding her as a key reason why Roscoe had such a long life, exceeding the typical lifespan for a Bulldog. Hamilton wrote: “I want you to take time to uplift my amazing friend Kirstin. She trained both Roscoe and Coco and treated them like family. She helped look after their health and it is really through her that Roscoe lived so long.”
“While I was travelling, she would take care of him and loved him as if he was hers. She was there every day, all day. Even with a family and other dogs to look after, she never missed a day. We stood together when letting Roscoe go. I am so grateful to have had her in my life and Roscoe’s life. There is nobody like you Kirstin. Thank you.”
“It is really through her (Kirstin ) that Roscoe lived so long”;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/108296...o-cared-roscoe
Lewis Hamilton's dog Roscoe dies in F1 star's arms as he shares devastating news
The driver's beloved pooch passed away last night.
29 Sep 2025
Daniel Moxon and Rachel Cronin
Daily Record
Lewis Hamilton has confirmed the tragic news of his beloved bulldog Roscoe's death today. The seven-time Formula 1 champion had remained at his faithful companion's side since last Wednesday, when he rushed the bulldog to a vet clinic following a "scary few hours" where his pup's condition rapidly declined.
However, matters took a turn for the worse on Friday, September 26, when Hamilton revealed his dog had slipped into a coma, reports the Mirror. He told followers on social media: "Please keep Roscoe in your thoughts. I want to keep you all updated. Roscoe caught pneumonia again and was struggling to breathe.
‘Lewis Hamilton's dog Roscoe dies in F1 star's arms’;
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entert...-dies-35985733
‘Hardest decision of my life’: Hamilton’s heartbreak after death of beloved dog
September 30th, 2025
AFP from Afp
Fox Sports (Australia)
Lewis Hamilton has revealed he made the “hardest decision” of his life to put his 12-year-old bulldog Roscoe to sleep. The British former world champion missed a Formula One tyre test in Italy on Friday to be with his sick pet, who had been hospitalised with pneumonia.
The 40-year-old Ferrari driver said Roscoe had died in his arms on Sunday. “After four days on life support, fighting with every bit of strength he had, I had to make the hardest decision of my life and say goodbye to Roscoe. He never stopped fighting, right until the very end,” Hamilton wrote on Instagram.
“I feel so grateful and honoured to have shared my life with such a beautiful soul, an angel and true friend. Bringing Roscoe into my life was the best decision I ever made, and I will forever cherish the memories we created together. It is one of the most painful experiences and I feel a deep connection to everyone who has gone through the loss of a beloved pet.”
‘Hardest decision of my life’;
https://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsp...b460ddbc45bf36
Jeremy Clarkson offers sympathy to Hamilton following Roscoe’s passing
30 Sep 2025
Kada Sarkozi
GPblog.com
Former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson also reacted to the passing of Roscoe. Former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson also reacted under one of Ferrari driver's posts. The Briton wrote: "Really sorry to hear that. It's hell."
‘Jeremy Clarkson offers sympathy’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/jerem...oscoes-passing
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How McLaren can win the F1 constructors’ in Singapore.
With seven rounds remaining, including Singapore, McLaren need just 13 points from the Marina Bay race to secure their second consecutive constructors’ crown and 10th overall.
2 Oct 2025
Ben Waterworth
Speedcafe
A single podium finish from either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri would be enough to confirm the title. The team’s dominance this season has been striking. With 12 wins and seven one-two finishes, McLaren has rarely been challenged at the front, bar the occasional one-man effort from Max Verstappen at Red Bull.
Even if Mercedes were to claim a 1-2 in Singapore with a McLaren on the podium, the points gap would remain too large for the title fight to continue, given the 303 points still available after this weekend. Ferrari would need to outscore McLaren by 35 points to keep the championship alive beyond Singapore — an outcome that is highly improbable.
‘A single podium finish’;
https://speedcafe.com/f1-news-2025-h...-permutations/
How McLaren can seal F1 2025 constructors' championship this weekend
Oct 2, 2025
The Race
As it stands: F1 2025 constructors' championship (17/24 rounds)
1 McLaren 623
2 Mercedes 290
3 Ferrari 286
4 Red Bull 272
Mercedes is 333 points behind McLaren and must end the weekend 302 points behind or closer (owing to McLaren's superior tally of wins in the event of a countback) to take the constructors' championship fight to the US GP later this month. That means Mercedes must outscore McLaren by 31 points or more. Even a 1-2 finish in Singapore would not guarantee the title fight was prolonged; in that scenario, Mercedes would need McLaren's drivers to score a combined 12 points or fewer.
Ferrari is 337 points behind McLaren and like Mercedes must end the weekend 302 points behind or nearer to keep its hopes alive. That means it must make up 35 points or more on McLaren. It can only do so by winning the race and having its second car finish fifth or higher. If Ferrari does not win the Singapore GP then there is no scenario in which it can catch McLaren, regardless of what Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri manage.
Red Bull is only 14 points behind Ferrari but is already out of the running for this particular title. Despite Max Verstappen (third in the drivers' championship and an increasingly ominous threat) winning the past two grands prix, Red Bull is 351 points behind McLaren - so is already five short of the maximum score available for the remainder of 2025.
‘As it stands;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/h...-championship/
McLaren hopes to double down on dominant 2024 Singapore GP win
1 Oct 2025
Tobia Elia
GPblog.com
McLaren will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing result in Baku with a strong weekend in Singapore, a venue where the team proved unbeatable last year.
Speaking on the eve of the Singapore weekend, Lando Norris said: “I’m looking forward to racing under the lights again in Singapore. It was good to be back in Woking after Baku, resetting with the team and spending time in the sim. I’ve got good memories here - a podium and a win last year - so I’m ready to go for it again.”
Piastri, meanwhile, is aiming to make amends after his disastrous DNF in Baku: “I’m very keen to get back in the cockpit. On paper, and with the temperatures involved in Singapore, our car has been proven to be comfortable in the past, and with that in mind, I’m looking forward to a really positive weekend.”
‘Bounce back’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/mclar...ngapore-gp-win
The race that will reveal Verstappen's true F1 title hopes - What to watch for at the Singapore GP
October 1st 2025
Pablo Elizalde
Motor Sport Magazine
Max Verstappen arrives looking to extend his winning streak and maintain momentum to find out if he can really become a contender despite a huge gap to Oscar Piastri.
Max Verstappen‘s dominant back-to-back victories at Monza and Baku have reignited his season, but Singapore presents a litmus test of whether he can truly convert this momentum into a genuine title challenge.
‘Verstappen's true F1 title hopes’;
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a.../?nowprocket=1
Bold Verstappen claims 'unfinished business' ahead of Singapore GP
1 Oct 2025
Norberto Mujica
GPblog.com
Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda look ahead to the Singapore Grand Prix, a crucial race and potential turning point in Red Bull Racing's season.
Verstappen arrives at Singapore fresh off the back of two back-to-back wins in Italy and Azerbaijan which have helped him close the gap to Oscar Piastri down from 104 to 69 points. "The last two races have been great for the Team," Verstappen said. "We have made really strong progress, found a positive set up with the car and are heading in the right direction."
Of course, Red Bull's revival comes with a caveat. "Both were low downforce tracks that we performed well at," and "the Singapore circuit is quite different, so will be more of a test," Verstappen acknowledges. "It is quite a physically demanding track for all drivers and in this race it is about really getting comfortable with the uncomfortable."
'Unfinished business';
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/bold-...f-singapore-gp
Max Verstappen has already told Red Bull what they must ‘improve’ to win the Singapore Grand Prix
1 October 2025
Shay Rogers
F1 Oversteer
To achieve the improbable, the 28-year-old needs to find a way to win in Singapore. Speaking after finishing second in last year’s race, Verstappen has already told his team where they must ‘improve’ if they want to do better. That point remains key in 2025.
It’s unrealistic to expect Verstappen to win the next seven races in a row, which means that McLaren are going to need to make mistakes or retire at some point for him to have a realistic chance. It’s a big reason why Jacques Villeneuve’s only Verstappen worry is Singapore, because if the gap is extended once more, his chances of the title may be over just as they start again.
‘To achieve the improbable’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/max...re-grand-prix/
Charles Leclerc identifies Ferrari trait that could see an F1 Singapore GP resurgence
1 Oct 2025
Jack Oliver Smith
Motorsport Week
Charles Leclerc has identified a key attribute in his Ferrari package that could see the team compete for victory in this weekend’s Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix. “We are stronger in hot conditions. I hope Singapore will give us that.”
https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/...gp-resurgence/
Lewis Hamilton names Singapore desire key to ending long Ferrari drought
1 Oct 2025
Jake Nichol & Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365
Lewis Hamilton's desire could aid Ferrari's bid to snatch back second place in the F1 constructors' championship. "I mean, there are going to be races where if we qualify much better, we're going to be in a much better position to race."
‘Singapore desire’;
https://racingnews365.com/lewis-hami...errari-drought
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F1 2025: Singapore Grand Prix preview, Max Verstappen eyes victory at bogey track, world title race with Oscar Piastri…
Verstappen has never passed F1’s toughest test. Succeed and he blows title race WIDE open.
01 Oct 2025
Michael Lamonato
Fox Sports (Australia)
Max Verstappen has won 67 grands prix across 26 different circuits. Singapore is not one of them. F1’s first night race has long been an outlier on the Formula 1 calendar, but for Verstappen it’s the ultimate aberration: it’s the only current track at which he’s never recorded a victory.
To put that into historical context, Singapore is one of only six circuits in all of Verstappen’s career at which he hasn’t tasted success. Four of them are pandemic specials that appeared only during 2020 and 2021. The fifth is Sochi in Russia, where the sport no long races.
Verstappen’s record is so bizarrely bad that he’s only ever led three laps in Singapore. Antonio Giovinazzi, veteran of three campaigns for the current Sauber team, has led more laps (four) in Singapore than Verstappen has. “You could say there is unfinished business,” Verstappen acknowledged ahead of the weekend.
“Unfinished business”;
https://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsp...331a6bc187724e
Verstappen assesses chances of overturning ‘big gap’ to McLaren drivers in 2025 title race
Max Verstappen will be looking to make up further ground on the McLaren drivers in the championship standings at the Singapore Grand Prix.
02 Oct 2025
Formula One - Official Site
Asked for his thoughts arriving in Singapore, and how significant the event could be for the title race, with the Dutchman never winning at Marina Bay before, Verstappen replied: “It’s like any other, I just try to do my best. “Of course, I know in the past this has not been particularly our strongest track, plus sometimes a bit unfortunate to [not] get a better result around here.”
“I’m relaxed, just having fun, here and outside of F1. In that sense, [it’s been] a good season.” Pushed on whether he feels winning the title is a possibility, he added: “I’m not really thinking about that, to be honest. It’s a big gap, but for me I just see it race by race.”
“I try to do the best I can, and I know that if the car is capable of winning, we will win the race – it’s as simple as that. At the same time, if we’re not able to win the race then that’s it as well. I’m not too worried or stressed about anything.”
“I just see it race by race”;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...G83IGEOBlfP9JE
Norris says Verstappen still title contender ahead of Singapore GP
October 02, 2025
By PA
TSN
Lando Norris believes Max Verstappen is now a "genuine" contender for the world championship but insisted McLaren will not have to make teammate Oscar Piastri their No. 1. "He is genuinely a challenger," said Norris of the four-time world champion. "If you go back to the beginning of the season they were challenging us for the first six or seven races for wins, then we brought some upgrades and improved a little bit.”
"But then they brought a couple of upgrades and that has put them on the same level. We are still expecting to dominate and we come to these races with the goal and ambition of winning and wanting to dominate and continue the form we have shown all season. But in Baku we had the car to win and we didn't. We had the chance to fight Max. At the round before in Monza they were too quick for us.”
“And if there are some races coming up where he is too fast, which is very possible, because I expect them to be quick for many of the races this season. We will go to Las Vegas and other low-downforce tracks where we don't expect to be as great as we have been - so that is an opportunity for Red Bull -but we are just focusing on ourselves and maximising our performances."
‘Max Verstappen is now a "genuine" contender for the world championship’;
https://www.tsn.ca/motorsports/formu...p-n1-46462761/
Yuki Tsunoda reveals double motivation to build on Red Bull breakthrough
Yuki Tsunoda heads into the Singapore Grand Prix weekend after his best result for Red Bull in Azerbaijan.
2 October 2025
Samuel Coop
RacingNews365
Reflecting on his achievement in Baku and the "fun" ahead in Singapore, Tsunoda said: "Last time out was super positive for the team and me. It feels like I’m moving in a positive direction with the car, and the hard work we have all been putting in is paying off across the race weekend.”
"Baku is obviously quite a unique circuit, and Singapore will be very different for us and could pose some challenges. There’s so many things that come into play there, the humidity, the night race, the street circuit - it’s one of the biggest tests we have as drivers. But that’s what makes it fun, and I enjoy preparing for it and racing there."
“Moving in a positive direction”;
https://racingnews365.com/yuki-tsuno...l-breakthrough
Piastri: ‘Can’t afford’ Baku repeat ahead of Singapore GP
October 02, 2025
Nate Saunders
TSN
After losing 35 points to Verstappen at the past two races, Piastri said the Baku weekend served as a reminder of how quickly his championship lead can disappear. "I think even disregarding who won the race, we don't want to have weekends like Baku and we know we can't afford to have weekends like Baku," Piastri said.
"Certainly, from my side of things there were some tough lessons to take, but I think as a team we recognized a few opportunities from the weekend to try and improve. That's always an important thing.”
"I think Baku was quite a good reminder of firstly how quickly everything can change, but also on some of the things that have made the season so successful for myself and the team. I think just trying to stay focused on that will naturally take care of the championship picture."
“Good reminder of firstly how quickly everything can change”;
https://www.tsn.ca/motorsports/artic...p-n1-46464607/
George Russell picks surprise Singapore GP contenders
The Brit backs Ferrari to bring the fight to McLaren on Sunday, October 5.
3 October 2025
Brandon Sutton
Total Motorsport
George Russell picks Ferrari to be surprise contenders to McLaren at the F1 2025 Singapore GP, tipping Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to likely be ahead of Mercedes and Max Verstappen.
“I think the last two years, we’ve been reasonably good,” Russell said to media of Mercedes’ prospects, including Total-Motorsport.com. “Ferrari are often very strong here. They were on pole two years ago, and last year they were looking really strong until Q3, which sort of ruined their weekend.”
“And of course, we know McLaren at the hot races, high tyre degradation circuits, are exceptionally strong. So I expect McLaren and Ferrari to be the two teams out in front.”
“Ferrari are often very strong here”;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...gp-contenders/
Hamilton shuts down talk of Leclerc fallout after team order drama
3 Oct 2025
Samson Ero
GPblog.com
Lewis Hamilton again touched on the team order drama involving Charles Leclerc ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix. The British driver appeared to ignore a request to let his teammate through last time out at the Azerbaijan GP.
Hamilton detailed that he spoke to Leclerc following the incident and how the Scuderia Ferrari team are working on communication to avoid a future scenario. Sharing his thoughts during the Singapore GP media day, he said: “I spoke to Charles. Everything’s fine. Charles has been great, and we’re working on communication to make sure that it doesn’t happen again. It won’t happen again.”
Lewis Hamilton also weighed in on his expectations for the Singapore Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion explains how he expects to carry the positive momentum from Azerbaijan to the outing at the Marina Bay circuit. “Every weekend it’s difficult to say because, I mean, this is the first time driving a Ferrari around Singapore. The car felt really great starting the last Grand Prix, and we just didn’t carry that through the weekend.”
“Everything’s fine”;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/hamil...am-order-drama
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Fernando Alonso tops Singapore Grand Prix FP1 timings as Max Verstappen outperforms McLaren.
Fernando Alonso surprised many by placing his Aston Martin at the top of Singapore Grand Prix FP1 timing sheets, as McLaren struggled for pace.
3 October 2025
Rebecca Braybrook
F1 Oversteer
The session is known for not being an accurate representation of pace for the race, due to the changing conditions later in the day, but Alonso’s performance will be an encouraging result for Aston Martin. Ferrari also had a strong start to the weekend, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in P2 and P4 respectively, being split by the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.
Red Bull have brought upgrades to the RB21, with a new front wing design, to help with the higher downforce circuit. The Red Bull have notoriously struggled around the Marina Bay Street Circuit, with the track being the only one on the 2025 calendar that Verstappen has never won at.
‘Fernando Alonso surprised many’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/races/fe...rand-prix-fp1/
2025 F1 Singapore GP – Free Practice 1 Results
Alonso edges Leclerc and Verstappen in FP1 at Marina Bay
3 October 2025
John Smith
Total Motorsport
F1 Singapore GP 2025 FP1 results
Check out the full Singapore GP 2025 Free Practice 1 results from the first session in Marina Bay below.
Pos Driver Team Time
1 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:31.116
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.150
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.276
4 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.364
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.365
6 Lando Norris McLaren +0.582
7 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +0.639
8 Carlos Sainz Williams +0.696
9 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull +0.744
10 Esteban Ocon Haas +1.012
‘Free Practice 1 Results’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...ice-1-results/
Singapore GP: Alonso surprises, tops FP1 from Leclerc
03/10/2025
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com
Singapore Grand Prix Free Practice 1 - Results. Multiple lock-ups occurred in the opening stages, underlining just how tricky Marina Bay can be in the first run of a weekend.
Aston Martin opted for a different opening strategy to the majority of the field, sending Alonso out on medium tyres while the rest of the grid started on hards. The Spaniard initially set a 1m32.592s to lead after the opening 15 minutes, showcasing the car’s early pace.
The session was not without drama. Alex Albon suffered a brake fire in the opening 10 minutes, forcing urgent attention from his Williams crew to quell the smoke and prevent further damage. Fortunately, the issue was contained, allowing the rookie to continue running later in the session.
‘Alonso surprises’;
https://f1i.com/news/549725-singapor...m-leclerc.html
Alex Albon suffers dramatic pitlane fire in F1 Singapore GP FP1
03/10/2025
Jack Oliver Smith
Motorsport Week
Williams is confident that Alex Albon will be free to take part in FP2 for the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix after a dramatic pitlane fire in FP1.
“Alex has experienced a rear brake hardware problem which we are investigating,” a statement read. “He will not join the remainder of FP1 but we are confident we can resolve the issue for FP2.”
‘Dramatic pitlane fire’;
https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/...gapore-gp-fp1/
Alonso surprises with fastest time in Singapore GP FP1
Fernando Alonso began his Singapore Grand Prix weekend in style, surprising the field by setting the fastest time in first practice at Marina Bay.
3 Oct 2025
Ben Waterworth
Speedcafe
Encouragingly for Aston Martin, Alonso’s speed was evident across all tyre compounds, with competitive runs on both the hards and mediums. His performance was also underlined by the gap to teammate Lance Stroll, who finished 18th and nearly two seconds adrift. Ferrari looked competitive as well, with Charles Leclerc ending second, just 0.150s behind Alonso, and Lewis Hamilton fourth, 0.364s back. The pair were split by Max Verstappen in third, 0.276s off Alonso’s time.
McLaren finished best of the rest after a challenging start. Oscar Piastri, who complained of understeer early in the session and brushed the wall at the final corner, recovered to set the fifth-fastest time — just one thousandth of a second behind Hamilton. He finished two tenths clear of teammate Lando Norris in sixth, giving the Woking outfit encouragement despite their struggles for outright pace.
‘Began his Singapore Grand Prix weekend in style’;
https://speedcafe.com/f1-news-2025-f...a-bay-fastest/
Alonso quickest from Leclerc, Verstappen - 2025 Singapore GP FP1 results
October 3, 2025
Pablo Elizalde
Motor Sport Magazine
Fernando Alonso was the surprise pace-setter in the first practice session of Formula 1’s Singapore Grand Prix. The Aston Martin star shot to the top of times late in the session as drivers started doing soft-tyre runs, Alonso posting a 1:31.116sec to outpace Ferrari‘s Charles Leclerc by 0.150sec.
FP1 takes place during the day, so laptimes are not hugely significant, as qualifying and the race will take place at night and so in very different conditions. Max Verstappen, the winner of the last two races, was the fastest of the championship contenders in third, nearly three tenths off Alonso’s benchmark.
Red Bull is the only team bringing some updates for its car this weekend, having introduced a revised front wing and engine cover, the latter aimed at improving cooling.
‘Fernando Alonso was the surprise pace-setter’;
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a.../?nowprocket=1
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Singapore GP: Piastri tops crash-strewn FP2 as Norris, Leclerc crash in the pits and Russell at T16.
Oscar Piastri set the pace in the second practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix, beating Isack Hadjar by 0.132 seconds under the lights at the Marina Bay circuit.
03 Oct 2025
Michelle Foster
PlanetF1.com
The session ended with Piastri quickest of 1:30.714, putting him +0.132 ahead of Isack Hadjar with Verstappen a further 0.011 down.
There were two red flags as George Russell crashed at Turn 16, breaking the nose of his Mercedes W16, before Liam Lawson hit the wall. Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc had a crash in the pit lane, but that one didn’t bring out the reds. There was chaos in the pits as Leclerc hit the McLaren of Norris. Leclerc left his garage at speed, the Ferrari released into the path of the McLaren and hitting him.
Norris’ MCL39 suffered front wing damage as he also hit the pit wall. McLaren changed Norris’ front wing and nose cone and sent him back out. Race Control announced that Leclerc would be investigated for an unsafe release.
‘Piastri tops crash-strewn FP2’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/singap...025-fp2-report
2025 F1 Singapore GP – Free Practice 2 Results
Piastri leads surprise star Hadjar and Verstappen under the lights at Marina Bay in FP2
3 October 2025
Adriano Boin
Total Motorsport
F1 Singapore GP 2025 FP2 results
Check out the full Singapore GP 2025 Free Practice 2 results from the first session in Marina Bay below.
Pos Driver Team Time
1 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:30.714
2 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +0.132
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.143
4 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +0.163
5 Lando Norris McLaren +0.483
6 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +0.508
7 Esteban Ocon Haas +0.584
8 Carlos Sainz Williams +0.585
9 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.752
10 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.777
‘FP2 results’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/202...ice-2-results/
Oscar Piastri tops Singapore Grand Prix FP2 as Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc collide
3 October 2025
Rebecca Braybrook
F1 Oversteer
Oscar Piastri found himself back on top during the Singapore Grand Prix FP2 session, after a difficult weekend last time out in Baku. Piastri needs a recovery weekend after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where he found himself in the Turn 3 barrier on the opening lap.
Despite earlier struggles in FP1, the Aussie found himself back at the top of the time sheets, leading from Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen. Lando Norris appeared dejected towards the end of the session, falling back from Piastri by almost half a second. The Brit has struggled for pace all day, with his race engineer Will Joseph offering ways that he could speed up in the remaining few minutes.
Norris appeared to refuse McLaren’s running plan, saying: “But my car’s not half a second off, is it? My driving’s half a second off”. It’s a vital weekend for Norris’ championship push on his teammate Oscar Piastri, who leads the drivers’ title by 25 points.
‘Piastri needs a recovery weekend’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/races/os...clerc-collide/
Leclerc–Norris F1 Singapore GP Pitlane Crash Triggers Steward Inquiry
October 3, 2025
Alex Harrington Newsweek
The News Tribune, Washington
Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris will face the race stewards at 10.30pm EST time after a pitlane collision that saw Leclerc's Ferrari released into the path of the papaya McLaren. The incident, which happened as the session was restarted after George Russell’s bodywork was cleared from the track, has since started an investigation. The stewards confirmed the that this would be reviewed after the session, with both drivers called to give their sides of the story. A financial penalty for Ferrari appears the most likely outcome.
Sky Sports F1's Ted Kravitz was annoyed by the clash: "That was ill-judged and badly executed by everybody,” he shouted during the broadcast. “In this scramble to get out ahead of everyone else, let’s try and get out without crashing into anyone. That was entirely unnecessary. They have checked Lando Norris’ front suspension but Lando had to feel the car at 10mph going down the pit lane to see if it was OK."
Former F1 driver and analyst Anthony Davidson added: "Lando even tried to speed up to get out of the way. We need to see Charles’ onboard. It’s a tell tale sign that the Ferrari mechanics pushed the McLarens back."
“That was entirely unnecessary”;
https://www.thenewstribune.com/sport...mainstage_card
Red Bull’s best Friday of the season? 2025 Singapore Grand Prix practice data
3rd October 2025
Keith Collantine
RaceFans
McLaren headed the times at the end of practice on Friday in Singapore, as they have often done this year. But Red Bull and Aston Martin had the most to be pleased about at the end of the first day of running at the Marina Bay circuit.
But Red Bull also had an encouraging day. The key question facing the team as they arrived in Singapore was whether the gains they have made in recent races on low-downforce tracks would transfer to this high-downforce layout.Previously this season Red Bull have tended to lag far off the pace in Friday practice, then close the gap drastically on Saturday. However in Singapore they have begun the weekend much closer to their rivals than usual. Verstappen was third, 0.143s off the pace, compared to his previous best of 0.199s off at Monza, where he was sixth.
‘Red Bull also had an encouraging day’;
https://www.racefans.net/2025/10/03/...practice-data/
Max Verstappen finds mirror-image hope after strong Singapore GP start
Max Verstappen got off to a strong start in Singapore as he seeks to add the track to his F1 win list.
3 October 2025
Fergal Walsh
RacingNews365
The Dutchman ended the second practice session in Singapore third on the timesheet, just over one-tenth down on pace-setter Piastri. “FP1 started quite nicely, just getting up to speed with things,” Verstappen reflected. “But the car was not too bad.”
“It was a bit like the last two weekends, where there were no major problems. In FP2, there were a few things that we tried, some good [things], so we just need to try and optimise that a bit more. Overall, quite satisfying. Definitely need a bit more pace to fight up at the front tomorrow.”
‘Max Verstappen finds mirror-image hope’;
https://racingnews365.com/max-versta...apore-gp-start
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Singapore GP – FP3: Verstappen tops incredibly tight final practice.
Max Verstappen topped a fiercely competitive final practice session at the Singapore Grand Prix, setting the pace in a red-flag-interrupted hour that ended with the top five drivers separated by just 0.089s!
04/10/2025
Michael Delaney
F1i.com
The Dutchman’s 1m30.148s lap for Red Bull narrowly beat McLaren’s Oscar Piastri by 0.017s, underscoring the razor-thin margins gripping the grid this weekend. With qualifying looming under the floodlights this evening, the session's daytime glare offered a sneak peek at the one-lap showdowns to come.
McLaren’s Lando Norris was the early benchmark in the session, setting a 1m31.021s on medium tyres in the first quarter of the session. His lap stood for much of the opening phase as teams dialled in one-lap pace on the evolving circuit, with Verstappen and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton coming closest to dislodging him on the yellow-walled compounds – the pair clocking 1m31.358s and 1m31.448s respectively.
George Russell recovered from his “weird” FP2 crash to post the third-fastest time, just 0.049s off Verstappen, though the Mercedes driver admitted he was still lacking confidence in Turn 16. Behind him, Antonelli and Norris remarkably shared identical lap times of 1m30.237s to fill fourth and fifth.
‘Incredibly tight final practice’;
https://f1i.com/news/549881-singapor...-practice.html
2025 F1 Singapore GP – Free Practice 3 Results
Max Verstappen leads the way for Red Bull at Marina Bay as the fight for pole intensifies under the Singapore lights
4 October 2025
John Smith
Total Motorsport
F1 Singapore GP 2025 FP3 results
Check out the full Singapore GP 2025 Free Practice 3 results from the final practice session in Marina Bay below.
Pos Driver Team Time
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:30.148
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.017
3 George Russell Mercedes +0.049
4 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.089
5 Lando Norris McLaren +0.089
6 Carlos Sainz Williams +0.244
7 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +0.341
8 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.411
9 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +0.489
10 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.503
‘Free Practice 3 Results’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/202...ice-3-results/
Max Verstappen sets benchmark in FP3 for F1 Singapore GP
4 October 2025
James Phillips
Motorsport Week
Max Verstappen set a blistering pace in final practice for the F1 Singapore GP, with the top three drivers split by just one tenth of a second. Track evolution and driver confidence were key in FP3 ahead of qualifying for the F1 Singapore GP, as drivers felt confidence around the Marina Bay Circuit, while grip proved elusive until the closing stages.
The final 15 minutes saw all drivers drain the fuel tanks and head out on qualifying runs, with Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and and Max Verstappen all had stints at the top of the standings. Verstappen’s time of 1:30.148 was unbeatable, Oscar Piastri putting in a last gasp effort to place second at the chequered flag after a quiet session.
‘Max Verstappen sets benchmark’;
https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/...-singapore-gp/
What happened in ultra-close final F1 Singapore GP practice
Oct 4, 2025
Josh Suttill
The Race
Max Verstappen topped an ultra-close final practice session before qualifying at Formula 1’s Singapore Grand Prix. While FP3 does take place in the daytime compared to the nighttime conditions of qualifying, based on the evidence of the 60-minute session, the margins in qualifying are going to be very tight.
Red Bull’s hopes of continuing its back-to-back race-winning form were boosted by Verstappen setting the fastest time of FP3, a 1m30.148s. Oscar Piastri who went quickest on their final soft tyre runs, coming just 0.017s shy of Verstappen’s time, which was set earlier in the session.
Oscar Piastri’s lap was just 0.032s quicker than George Russell, who claimed third for Mercedes, having lost Friday running to his “annoying” FP2 shunt. Team-mate Kimi Antonelli backed up a strong start to Saturday for Mercedes in fourth place, just 0.089s slower than Verstappen.
‘Ultra-close final practice session’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/s...ce-fp3-report/
‘Surprise’: Gary Anderson stunned by what he’s seen on Max Verstappen’s Red Bull at F1…
4 October 2025
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer
Red Bull are not resting on their laurels in a bid to keep Max Verstappen in the 2025 F1 drivers’ title fight, having brought upgrades to the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend. Verstappen is third in the F1 drivers’ championship ahead of the Singapore GP. But his back-to-back wins in Monza and Baku have cut the 28-year-old’s 104-point deficit to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri from 104 points before the Italian Grand Prix to 69 points prior to round 18/24.
Verstappen made the most of the front wing upgrade that Red Bull have brought to Marina Bay to rank third in the first and second practice sessions for the Singapore GP. But the four-time reigning champion’s decision to run without a Gurney flap “surprised” Gary Anderson. Red Bull claim that their new front wing features locally increased cambers to extract more load, with Anderson noticing changes to the location of the slot gap separators. The tweaks are minor, but might have let Red Bull give Verstappen a car that does not have understeer.
He told The Race: “It’s difficult to pick up those subtle profile changes. But what is very clear is that Red Bull have moved the two slot gap separators further outboard. The rear flap trailing edge trim line is from the same family as it was at Zandvoort, Monza and Baku. However, interestingly, there is no Gurney flap added to the trailing edge of the rear flap, as there was for the Zandvoort wing. It’s a surprise, given Max is a driver who hates understeer, that he’s not using the Gurney flap.
‘Gary Anderson stunned’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/gar...re-grand-prix/
Gary Anderson's verdict on crucial Verstappen-only Red Bull upgrade
Oct 4, 2025
Gary Anderson
The Race
Max Verstappen will be gunning for race wins, with the evidence suggesting Red Bull has turned the corner on its mid-season slump and the new front wing introduced in Singapore building on that. There will be many changes hidden under the bodywork and floor that we can’t see, but the front wing has been the subject of a fair amount of attention.
Red Bull started to turn the corner at Zandvoort at the end of the summer break. Below is the front wing specification used for that event and even though he didn’t win and lacked the pace of the McLarens, Verstappen was fairly complimentary about the performance and had good feelings about the car. At Monza and Baku, Red Bull ran a front wing assembly derived from the same rear flap trim line. This meant the flow to the underfloor stayed reasonably consistent.
That, together with a low downforce rear wing assembly allowed the car to have a balance that Max was happy with. The result was two wins from pole position, and even though Azerbaijan wasn’t McLaren’s best weekend, I’m sure Verstappen was on track to win whatever McLaren did. The key question after those races was would Red Bull be able to carry that level of performance into the higher downforce tracks, making Singapore the big test.
‘Evidence suggesting Red Bull has turned the corner’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/g...appen-reveals/
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Martin Brundle surprised by Toto Wolff’s instant reaction to George Russell’s Singapore Grand Prix pole.
David Croft suggested that Russell could increase his salary demands in light of that performance.
4 October 2025
David Comerford
F1 Oversteer
George Russell delivered a fabulous pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday. Martin Brundle found the reaction of team principal Toto Wolff intriguing. Russell wasn’t seen as a contender coming into the weekend, but he delivered two laps good enough for pole position in Q3. In one of the most impressive qualifying performances of the year, he finished almost two-tenths clear of Max Verstappen.
It was only Mercedes’ second Grand Prix pole of the year, following on from Russell’s effort at the Canadian GP in June. It’s also just their eighth pole of the ground-effect era. The result comes amid negotiations over a new contract for 2026. With only seven races remaining, one of the grid’s highest-rated drivers still doesn’t have a confirmed seat.
After Russell sealed pole, the world-feed cameras cut to Wolff looking rather unmoved in the Mercedes garage. Teammate Kimi Antonelli qualified on the second row, making it one of their best qualifying sessions collectively. “You’d have thought Toto Wolff would be smiling a bit more!” he (David Croft) said. “”He wasn’t as excited as I thought he would look,” co-commentator Brundle replied. Croft added: “He hasn’t signed up for next season yet and maybe he’s thinking, ‘Damn, that might make the contract negotiations a little bit more tricky!’”
“You’d have thought Toto Wolff would be smiling a bit more!”;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/mar...and-prix-pole/
2025 F1 Singapore GP – Qualifying Results
George Russell storms to pole position for Mercedes at Marina Bay as Verstappen and Piastri complete the top three in a tense Singapore qualifying
4 October 2025
John Smith
Total Motorsport
F1 Singapore GP 2025 Qualifying results
Check out the full Singapore GP 2025 Qualifying results from Marina Bay below.
Pos Driver Team Time
1 George Russell Mercedes 1:29.158
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.182
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.366
4 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.379
5 Lando Norris McLaren +0.428
6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.530
7 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.626
8 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +0.688
9 Oliver Bearman Haas +0.710
‘Qualifying results’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/202...fying-results/
Russell beats Verstappen for surprise Singapore pole position
4th October 2025
Keith Collantine
RaceFans
Russell was the first of the front-runners to set a time in Q3, but if missing the opportunity to benefit from track evolution hurt him, it didn’t show. Through turns 16 and 17, where he crashed yesterday, he was fabulously committed, skimming the barriers on the way in and out.
The result was a 1’29.165, more than a third of a second faster than his team mate could manage when he crossed the line shortly afterwards. The McLaren pair fell short too, though Piastri split the Mercedes pair. That left Verstappen, who beat Russell’s time in the final two sectors, yet still fell short by 0.175 seconds at the line.
Russell again made sure he was among the first to run at the end of the session while Verstappen went out last after the McLaren drivers. While Russell couldn’t improve on his time through the first sector, he gained in the second. He reached the line just seven thousandths of a second quicker than he did on his first lap however.
‘Surprise Singapore pole position’;
https://www.racefans.net/2025/10/04/...pole-position/
Mekies reacts after Norris ruins Verstappen’s shot at Singapore GP pole
4 Oct 2025
Samson Ero
GPblog.com
Laurent Mekies has reacted to Max Verstappen’s botched final qualifying lap during the Singapore Grand Prix. The Red Bull Racing team principal also praised the work of the team back in Milton Keynes. The 48-year-old, who spoke to Sky Sports F1 following the conclusion of qualifying, admitted that Verstappen would have been much closer to pole-sitter George Russell if not for the incident with Lando Norris.
Mekies also opted against stating that the Dutch driver would have beaten the Mercedes star to the top starting spot, had it not been for the slow McLaren. He said: "It was a strong qualifying from Max and the team again. It's good to see some long faces when you're on the front row, and we would have been quite a lot closer to George without that traffic. But that's life.”
“I won't say we would have been in front, but for sure, Max would have been there or thereabouts. We are not on pole, but we can fight. On these types of tracks, we were not within range of pole, so it's a testament to all the hard work." Verstappen, who spoke to the media following his second-place finish during qualifying, hinted the incident involving Lando Norris would not be forgotten. Red Bull Racing's chief advisor Helmut Marko did however hold Norris accountable for what he dubs an 'incomprehensible' move that 'blocked' Verstappen's last fast lap attempt.
‘Max Verstappen; The incident involving Lando Norris would not be forgotten’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/mekie...singapore-pole
‘I don't know what we've done to find this performance’ – Russell admits shock after taking Singapore pole
George Russell was left surprised to have taken pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix.
4 Oct 2025
Formula One - Official Site
Mercedes' George Russell admits "I don't know what we've done to find this performance" having taken a sublime pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix.”
"If I were to put my money on the circuits we had a chance of being on pole I reckon this would have been in the bottom three to be honest," he said.
"I don't know what we've done to find this performance. I think we've all been a little bit surprised by McLaren's lack of performance as we were expecting them to fly here but I'll take it."
‘Russell admits shock’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...ofyw06qUv2ahmR
Oscar Piastri baffled by McLaren’s pace struggles in Singapore
Oscar Piastri confused by McLaren's lack of pace in Singapore Grand Prix qualifying.
4 Oct 2025
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net
Oscar Piastri has been left perplexed at McLaren’s lack of competitiveness in qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix. Championship leader Piastri took third place behind Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen as he missed out on pole position by 0.366 seconds.
“I think there was a little bit left but not enough to get pole,” Piastri said. “We seemed to be good through practice, we seemed pretty good in Q1 and then we found a little bit of time and others found a lot of time.”
“A little bit kind of surprising that we couldn’t find more, but ultimately I don’t think the car had enough in it for pole. I’m pretty happy with the job I’ve done. Was it perfect? No, but I feel like it’s been a good weekend and been close to the limit of what the car’s been able to do.”
‘Oscar Piastri confused’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/108344...gles-singapore
Singapore GP disaster for Williams as Albon and Sainz disqualified from qualifying
Post-qualifying scrutineering revealed both Williams cars broke DRS regulations, forcing them to start Sunday’s race from the back
4 October 2025
John Smith
Total Motorsport
Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz have been disqualified from qualifying for the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix after their Williams cars were found to be in breach of the FIA’s technical regulations. According to a statement from the FIA, the issue concerned the uppermost rear wing element on both cars, with the adjustable positions exceeding the permitted limits.
“The uppermost rear wing element adjustable positions were checked on car numbers 23 (Albon) and 55 (Sainz),” the FIA report stated. “Both cars exceeded the maximum limit of 85mm on both sides of the rear wing outer area.” read statement continued. “During post-Qualifying scrutineering, the rear wing of the car was found to be non-compliant with the Technical Regulations,”
“At the hearing, the competitor admitted that, although their own measurement prior to the Qualifying had shown the component to be within tolerance, the measurement subsequently conducted by the appointed FIA officials revealed a larger gap than permitted and therefore the rear wing did not conform with the required dimension.”
‘Disaster for Williams’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...gp-qualifying/
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McLaren duo collide on opening lap before George Russell wins Singapore GP.
MERCEDES’ GEORGE Russell won the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday ahead of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, as McLaren clinched the Formula One constructors’ championship.
5 Oct 2025
The42
Russell’s Mercedes was on pole and got away cleanly from Verstappen’s Red Bull at the start, but the drama all happened behind. Norris, from fifth on the grid, darted past Antonelli and dived up the inside of Piastri, who started third, at turn one.
Norris was flying and clipped the back of Verstappen on the way to barging his way into third place in a wheel-to-wheel clash with teammate Piastri. The championship leader was not impressed. “So are we cool with Lando just barging me out of the way there? What’s the go there?” Piastri complained on team radio.
His anger was not appeased by the team saying they would discuss the incident after the race and not order Norris to swap places. “That’s not fair. I’m sorry, that’s not fair,” Piastri said. After pitting for hard tyres, the leading four emerged in the same order, though Verstappen was reporting downshift problems with his gearbox that felt “like a handbrake”.
“That’s not fair”;
https://www.the42.ie/mclaren-duo-col...35741-Oct2025/
2025 F1 Singapore Grand Prix – Race Results
George Russell delivered a masterclass in control to win the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix, holding off Max Verstappen and Lando Norris under the lights of Marina Bay.
5 October 2025
John Smith
Total Motorsport
F1 Singapore GP 2025 race results
Check out the full Singapore GP 2025 race results from Marina Bay below.
Pos Driver Team Time
1 George Russell Mercedes Leader
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull +5.430
3 Lando Norris McLaren +6.066
4 Oscar Piastri McLaren +8.146
5 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +33.681
6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +45.996
7 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +80.251
8 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +80.667
9 Oliver Bearman Haas +93.527
10 Carlos Sainz Williams +1 Lap
‘Race Results’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/202...-race-results/
Russell dominates as McLaren drivers clash - Singapore GP results
Russell dominates the Singapore Grand Prix as McLaren clinches constructors' title amid controversy
October 5, 2025
Pablo Elizalde
Motor Sport Magazine
George Russell took a commanding win in the Singapore Grand Prix as championship contenders Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris made contact at the start. Russell dominated the race from pole position and, although Max Verstappen looked like a threat in some stages, the Mercedes driver was never really challenged in a race that was rather processional until the final laps.
It was Russell’s and Mercedes’ second win of the season after their victory in Canada. Verstappen, the only driver in the top eight to start on soft tyres, managed to retain second place despite late pressure from Lando Norris, who completed the podium.
‘Russell dominates’;
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a.../?nowprocket=1
Piastri fumes after crashing into Norris in the Singapore Grand Prix
5 Oct 2025
Ben Hunt
GPblog.com
Oscar Piastri has been left frustrated after colliding with McLaren teammate Lando Norris in the Singapore Grand Prix. The two tangled over the opening corners as Norris forced his way through and overtook Piastri, who was forced to bail out and lose position.
Piastri, who was forced to give up his position in the Italian Grand Prix when Norris had a slow pitstop, was upset with his team not swapping the drivers around. He said over the team's radio: “So are we cool with Lando just barging me out of the way or? What’s the go there?” Piastri was told by his Race Engineer Tom Stallard, “We’re looking at it. Let me get back to you.”
The Aussie, who currently leads the championship, was then told there would be no further action from the stewards. He snapped: “That's not fair. I'm sorry, that's not fair. If he has to avoid another car by crashing into his team-mate, then that's a pretty **** job of avoiding."
‘Piastri fumes’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/breaking-n...ore-grand-prix
Singapore GP: George Russell dominates race as McLaren win Constructors' Championship but Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris make contact
George Russell won the Singapore Grand Prix and McLaren sealed the defence of their Constructors' Championship but there was drama between the team's drivers; Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri made contact on the opening lap to the frustration of the championship leader
5 Oct 2025
Nigel Chiu
Sky Sports
George Russell dominated the Singapore Grand Prix as Lando Norris trimmed Oscar Piastri’s championship lead after the McLaren pair made contact early on.
Norris had a storming start but lightly collided with team-mate Piastri on the opening lap to take third where he would finish the race, behind Max Verstappen following a hard-fought battle for second.
Piastri had to settle for fourth and sees his advantage over Norris cut to 22 points in the title race but McLaren sealed the defence of their Constructors' Championship with six rounds to go - a joint-record for the earliest that title has been won.
‘Drama between the team's drivers; Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’;
https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12...s-make-contact
Russell dominates Singapore GP ahead of Verstappen and scrapping McLarens
5th October 2025
Keith Collantine
RaceFans
George Russell claimed his second victory of the season with a commanding drive from pole position in the Singapore Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver kept his lead as the race began, despite Max Verstappen alongside him opting to start on soft tyres while most others chose mediums.
As the threat from Verstappen failed to materialise over the opening laps, Russell drew steadily clear of his pursuers, building a lead of over eight seconds.
Lando Norris took up pursuit of Verstappen after barging his way past his team mate at the start. The championship leader was clearly unhappy with Norris’s driving, and prompted McLaren for their views on the situation, but the team left the running order unchanged. As Verstappen’s soft tyres began to fade, he opted to make an early pit stop. McLaren gave Norris the option to pit after Piastri, but he chose to come in first. That potentially proved beneficial, as Piastri suffered a slow pit stop which cost him precious seconds.
As Verstappen’s soft tyres began to fade, he opted to make an early pit stop. McLaren gave Norris the option to pit after Piastri, but he chose to come in first. That potentially proved beneficial, as Piastri suffered a slow pit stop which cost him precious seconds. Over the second half of the race, Verstappen increasingly struggled with his car’s handling, which allowed Norris to draw within range. The McLaren driver got close enough to have a look at his rival on the outside of turn seven once, but was unable to make a move stick, while Piastri behind drew within range.
‘Scrapping McLarens’;
https://www.racefans.net/2025/10/05/...ping-mclarens/
McLaren win 2025 F1 constructors' title at Singapore GP and equal Red Bull record
McLaren have confirmed back-to-back Formula 1 constructors' titles after securing the 2025 crown at the Singapore Grand Prix, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finishing third and fourth respectively
5th October 2025
WILL SCHOFIELD, DANIEL MOXON
Daily Star
Team boss Andrea Stella, who called that 2024 victory "a great surprise and joy", revealed his emotions about this season's commanding performance have been quite different. The Italian grinned: "This year, we realised relatively soon that the car was very competitive and that we were in condition to win races, so it was more about keeping concentration and focus, and maximising the potential available."
McLaren find themselves positioned to challenge the all-time points tally, established by Red Bull in 2023 when Max Verstappen propelled them to both championships. The Milton Keynes outfit accumulated 860 points that campaign.
"A great surprise and joy";
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/f1...nship-36017040
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McLaren meltdown grabs international media attention after Singapore GP.
Piastri skips McLaren’s Constructors’ title celebrations.
6 Oct 2025
Tobia Elia
GPblog.com
La Gazzetta dello Sport highlights McLaren’s Constructors’ Championship triumph but also points out the team’s third consecutive race without a win — not an ideal trend in terms of the Drivers’ Championship battle. “McLaren was clearly faster than Red Bull,” wrote La Gazzetta dello Sport. “The papaya duo took some risks at the start, with Norris — who finished third — attacking teammate Piastri, damaging his front wing and leaving the Australian, who ended up fourth, furious. Woking can celebrate the Constructors’ title, but a third race without a win is still a warning sign.”
Marca. the Spanish newspaper: “Norris did exactly what was asked of him — aggressive, committed, and focused. He saw the gap Piastri left at the first corner, went for it, and made slight contact with his teammate’s car. He managed to get ahead, leaving the Australian with front-wing damage after Turn 3 — and a fair amount of anger. Piastri was clearly frustrated. ‘This happens because there are no clear rules,’ he complained to his engineer. Still, McLaren insisted there was no fault on Lando’s part, as he had avoided a potential collision with Verstappen. More fuel to the fire for a season finale on the edge between the two teammates. McLaren will have to decide through its internal regulations — but the controversy is very much alive.”
BILD, on the other hand, points out that yesterday should have been a day of celebration for McLaren, but the contact between the two drivers instead created tension within the team, leaving little room for a festive mood. “It should have been a reason to celebrate, but there was little festive mood among the ‘Papayas,’ as the team is nicknamed for its orange car livery — least of all for Oscar Piastri!” While the team led by Andrea Stella and Zak Brown gathered on the podium — with the entire crew, including Lando Norris — to celebrate their second Constructors’ title, the Australian chose instead to focus on his media duties, sending a clear message after already switching off the radio while Zak Brown was speaking to him post-race.
‘McLaren meltdown’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/mclar...r-singapore-gp
Singapore GP: 'I tried to puncture your tyre!' | Lando Norris jokes at Max Verstappen battle
5 October 2025
Sky Sports
Lando Norris poked fun at Max Verstappen, joking he'd tried to 'puncture' the Red Bull driver's tyre in their battle for second.
'I tried to puncture your tyre!';
https://www.skysports.com/f1/video/3...stappen-battle
Norris defends first lap move on Piastri: ‘If you fault me, you shouldn’t be in F1’
5th October 2025
Keith Collantine
RaceFans
Lando Norris firmly rejected any suggestion he dealt unfairly with his team mate Oscar Piastri on the first lap of the Singapore Grand Prix. “The start was good,” he said after the race. “The right-hand side of the grid was good, I think it was a good launch as well, so I got across and put myself in a good position to not get checked up out of turn one and into turn two.”
“I just had a big [move] up on the inside of Oscar. It was very close [and] so slippery because it was still damp in places and drying out. I think I just clipped the back of Max’s car, and that just gave me a little correction, but then that was it.” Norris pointed out he is at a disadvantage compared to his team mate in the championship, as he remains 22 points behind after this weekend’s race. But anyone on the grid would have done exactly the same thing as I did. So I think if you fault me for just going on the inside and putting my car on the inside of a big gap then I think you shouldn’t be in Formula 1.”
“I’m the one that can’t afford anything compared to him,” he said. “I would [have] put myself at risk just as much if that kind of thing happens. So I’ll see what I can do with it next time. But the FIA obviously thought it was fine, and the team did too, so that’s it.”
‘Lando Norris: “If you fault me, you shouldn’t be in F1”!’;
https://www.racefans.net/2025/10/05/...ldnt-be-in-f1/
Papaya Civil War: Norris-Piastri Spark at Singapore’s First Corner
October 5, 2025
Alex Albuquerque
FastestLap.com
Norris shrugs off Turn 1 brush with Piastri as McLaren keeps the big prize in sight. Lando Norris didn’t flinch. He rarely does. Third place in Singapore was tidy business for McLaren on a night where overtaking was rationed, but the story lived in the first 200 meters: Norris muscling up the inside, glancing off Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, and then ricocheting into Oscar Piastri’s papaya. Cue a sharp intake of breath on the pit wall and a spiky radio message from the other side of the garage.
Piastri’s complaint was quick and clear — “not fair,” “not very team-like” — after he had to catch a slide and flirt with the wall, surrendering the podium place he’d earned on Saturday. But Norris, speaking later, insisted there was nothing dirty in it. The move, he argued, was opportunistic on a damp, low-grip inside line and only looked spicy because his front wing brushed Verstappen first.
“I hit Max, so it wasn’t aggressive on my teammate,” was the gist from Norris, who also leaned on the drivers’ code that’s older than parc fermé: if there’s a gap at lights out, you go for it.
‘Papaya Civil War’;
https://fastestlap.com/news/papaya-c...-first-corner/
Lando Norris brushes off incident with Oscar Piastri: “It was good racing”
Lando Norris gives his view on his Lap 1 overtake on Oscar Piastri at the Singapore Grand Prix.
05 Oct 2025
Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net
Lando Norris has downplayed his incident with Oscar Piastri on the opening lap of the Singapore Grand Prix, labelling it as “good racing”. “Yeah, I mean, it was slippery [and] still wet in a lot of places, but it’s racing,” Norris said. “I put it on the inside, I had a small correction, but nothing more than that. It was good racing.”
“And like I said, I wish I could have given a little bit more. I wish there were a few more overtaking opportunities today, but I feel like I did everything I could today, and I’m happy with that. I’m happy with today, I got forward two positions. We won as a team, the constructors’, once again. So I’m most happy about that,” he added.
“I mean, it was a tough race. Max didn’t make any mistakes. Whether I was feeling good or not, I gave it my all today, and got close, a few chances where we were side by side, and some good little bits of battling. But just too difficult to overtake, which is a shame, because the pace was very strong today, and I would have loved to try to catch George and given him a little bit more pressure.”
‘Lando Norris brushes off incident’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/108363...as-good-racing
F1 LIVE | Piastri skips podium celebrations, Hamilton's love declaration to Ferrari
6 Oct 2025
Norberto Mujica
GPblog.com
Piastri absent from McLaren's podium celebrations. As Norris dived into Turn 3, he made contact with Verstappen, damaging his front wing's left endplate, before clashing with his teammate in an incident that left Piastri frustrated and calling for team intervention.
Piastri’s radio messages reflected clear irritation after his request for a position swap was denied. Despite the early collision, both McLaren drivers recovered to secure the points required, sealing back-to-back Constructors’ titles for the team. While Norris celebrated on the podium, Piastri was noticeably absent from McLaren’s post-race celebrations, a telling moment after the on-track battle that clouded what should've been a cohesive championship triumph celebration.
‘Piastri skips podium celebrations’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/live/f1-li...ion-to-ferrari
McLaren boss takes action after Oscar Piastri dudded by own team in Singapore Grand Prix
Piastri was clearly frustrated by the incident with his teammate in Singapore.
6 October 2025
Andrew Reid
Yahoo! Australia
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella downplayed suggestions it could lead to further tensions between the teammates. The McLaren team boss said there would be "good conversations" between the drivers and the wider team, but backed their handling of the incident and indicated no subsequent punishment would be forthcoming.
Those comments are unlikely to appease Piastri or quell suggestions from critics that Norris enjoys favouritism from McLaren. The Aussie had further cause for dismay when a slow pit stop effectively ruined his chance to make a late charge for the podium. The 5.2sec stop may have made all the difference as Piastri ended up just two seconds adrift of Norris.
‘McLaren boss takes action’;
https://au.news.yahoo.com/mclaren-bo...gf1sxAtdoL1KyU
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Oscar Piastri 'Sets Sights' on Leaving McLaren For F1 Rival After Singapore Drama.
According to Swiss outlet Blick, the championship leader has begun 'setting his sights' on potentially moving away from McLaren.
6 Oct 2025
Ryan Smart
SPORTbible
Oscar Piastri is considering whether to leave McLaren for a Formula 1 rival, according to a new report. It was reported by Italian outlet RMCMotori last week that the manager of current Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc had held preliminary talks with other teams ahead of 2027. And Lewis Hamilton is under contract with the Scuderia for 2026, with an option for the seven-time champion to extend his stay with the team into 2027.
Hamilton will be 42 when that season gets underway, however, and it remains to be seen whether he will trigger that option. That could therefore open the door for Piastri - who does already have some loose connections with the Ferrari team.
'Sets Sights';
https://www.sportbible.com/f1/oscar-...71673-20251006
Oscar Piastri has ‘already set his sights’ on leaving McLaren for £3.8bn-valued F1 team in 2027
6 October 2025
Ben Evans
F1 Oversteer
Oscar Piastri has ‘already set his sights’ on swapping McLaren for Ferrari in 2027. A report from the Swiss outlet Blick has shared more details about the Formula 1 driver market. The report suggests that both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are considering their futures at Ferrari beyond next year.
Leclerc has recently been linked with Red Bull among other teams, while Hamilton could retire after 2026 unless he activates an extension in his contract. This potentially opens up two seats at Ferrari, although the Singapore Grand Prix highlighted the current problems Fred Vasseur’s team are facing. What Lewis Hamilton has said about Oscar Piastri’s 2025 season at McLaren.
“I think the job he’s doing is fantastic. It’s mega for me to see McLaren doing so well, because that’s where I started, and also to see them so close, him and Lando, two great drivers, the pressure on both of them will be unimaginable, I would say, for most people who are not experiencing it, and who have not experienced it. We’ve seen both, and obviously, particularly Oscar, doing a great, great job weekend in, weekend out, delivering, qualifying, and everything you need to do to win a world championship.”
‘Already set his sights’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/osc...-team-in-2027/
Piastri was right to be angry - 2025 Singapore GP takeaways
October 6, 2025
Pablo Elizalde
Motor Sport Magazine
A tense Singapore Grand Prix mixed team rivalries, redemption drives and F1's ongoing battle to make races less predictable. The Singapore Grand Prix didn’t offer the most exciting of races, but it exposed tension at McLaren and resurgent form from Mercedes.
McLaren’s night was defined by intra-team friction, as Oscar Piastri was right to feel aggrieved after being muscled aside by Lando Norris. McLaren may be counting its blessings that the season isn’t any longer, with Max Verstappen‘s Red Bull now looking like a genuine threat again.
‘Exposed tension at McLaren’;
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a.../?nowprocket=1
McLaren slammed after papaya clash: 'It was a complete and utter mess'
6 Oct 2025
Tobia Elia
GPblog.com
F1 analyst Peter Windsor has broken down the incident between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at the start of the Singapore Grand Prix. Analysing the incident between the two McLarens on his YouTube channel, Windsor agreed with Piastri that Norris’s overtake was not “fair,” as the Australian repeatedly said over the radio.
“I totally get it. I think he was quite right to say that because when you give a teammate room and the teammate then basically runs wide and touches wheels with you because he's misjudged the speed of the car in front, and has to avoid Max Verstappen in this case. That is not on. It's not on when it's a teammate. If it's another driver from another team, but two teammates? It's not on.”
He then added: “If they were not teammates, you could say 'this is normal motor racing first lap'. But this was teammate stuff between the McLarens. And there was a moment when Oscar gave room to Lando Norris, much as Lando Norris gave room to Oscar Piastri at the start of the Hungarian GP last year, but that's another story.”
‘McLaren slammed’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/mclar...and-utter-mess
Why Oscar Piastri’s behaviour after the Singapore Grand Prix suggests he’s ‘on his own’ in F1 title fight
6 October 2025
Tyler Rowlinson
F1 Oversteer
Lando Norris is now less than a race win’s worth of points behind his teammate, which has prompted rumours of favouritism within the team. People in the paddock believe McLaren are favouring Norris in the title fight. It can be argued that the Woking outfit’s team orders in Monza and Singapore prove that theory, as Norris was clearly prioritised. Piastri’s behaviour after the race at Marina Bay highlights that there is more division than ever at McLaren.
James Hinchcliffe noted that Piastri was absent from the team’s constructors’ title celebrations on the podium in Singapore. He questioned whether the Aussie’s mentality was that he is now ‘on his own’ in the title fight. “He was very salty after the contact. And we can actually see live pictures there. That was Oscar Piastri in the media pen, fulfilling media duties,” he said via F1 TV’s Post-Race Live Show.
“He’s not on the podium, cheering with the rest of the race team. Is that an indication, Ruth, that his mindset is: ‘The constructors’ is done. The drivers’ championship is on. I feel wronged in turn three and the team did nothing about it. I’m on my own now.” Of course, drivers are contractually obligated to fulfil media duties at race weekends, which Piastri was doing in Singapore. But given his frustration over McLaren’s decision in his clash with Norris, it adds fuel to the fire that the 24-year-old is fighting alone in this title battle.
‘On his own’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/why...1-title-fight/
‘Good race. Tough race. Thank you. Uh...’: Piastri’s icy act for McLaren boss after Norris clash
October 6th, 2025
Tyson Otto and James McKern from News.com.au
Fox Sports (Australia)
Oscar Piastri has shown how ugly things are getting inside his team’s garage after a cold act towards McLaren boss Zak Brown following the drama-charged Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday night.
The 24-year-old disconnected his radio hook-up while Brown was in the middle of a sentence. “Oscar, back-to-back champions,” Brown was heard saying with a congratulatory tone. But his final words will never be known because Piastri cut him off. “Good race. Tough race. Thankyou. Uh...” Brown said before the radio went dead.
Separate versions of the clip have gone viral on social media. One F1 content producer shared a video viewed more than one million times with a caption: “Yeah, he’s f***ing done”. The incident left Norris with damage to his front wing and left Piastri seeing red.
"Uh...";
https://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsp...8f137555fd0234
‘Beyond a joke’: Tony Jones fires up after McLaren controversy at Singapore F1 Grand Prix
6 Oct 2025
3AW
Tony Jones has angrily reacted to the controversy overnight at the Singapore F1 Grand Prix involving McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Norris hit Piastri during the opening lap, pushing his car into the wall, and Jones thinks the Australian driver is being treated like an “absolute fool” at the moment. “It’s beyond a joke now … his patience is really being tested now by this bias towards his McLaren teammate,” Jones said on 3AW Mornings.
‘Beyond a joke: treated like an absolute fool’;
https://www.3aw.com.au/beyond-a-joke...f1-grand-prix/
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How George Russell reversed Mercedes’ Friday misery with F1 Singapore GP pole.
“…it doesn’t matter what happens on Friday, it’s Q3 when it counts.” George Russell.
4 Oct 2025
Jack Oliver Smith
Motorsport Week
Speaking to media including Motorsport Week after qualifying, Russell hinted he wasn’t considering pole as a prospect until late in Q2. “Yeah, it’s been a challenging weekend, to be fair,” he said. “I’ve not been comfortable with the car, not been comfortable with myself, and yeah, it just sort of all came towards me in Q3, to be honest, even the end of Q2.”
“That was my first good lap of the weekend, and probably the first lap where I felt semi-reasonable, but I knew I had a bit of margin to go further, and then my lap one in Q3 was really strong, and then obviously matched it on the second lap, so pretty pleased with that.” When asked why it had taken so long to dial the W16 in on the tricky Marina Bay track, Russell was left searching for a definitive answer.
“I don’t know, to be honest,” he admitted. “I mean, sometimes, some weekends you just hit the ground running a bit sooner, other times you don’t. I’ve found this weekend quite strange. The grip has been really high from the tarmac, but the cars have been sliding quite a lot, and it feels a bit reminiscent of Miami, where it’s really high grip, but the car is sliding, and I just didn’t have much confidence in myself.”
“It’s been a challenging weekend, to be fair”;
https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/...apore-gp-pole/
Russell shocked by Singapore win: 'Don't know where it came from'
05/10/2025
James Fiorucci
F1i.com
Speaking after the 62-lap event, Russell admitted that his latest win felt especially good after his heart-breaking crash in the final few laps on the brink of victory at the same circuit two years ago. He said: "It feels amazing, especially after what happened a couple of years ago. That was a bit of a missed opportunity, but we more than made up for it today.”
"Just so grateful for the team. They did an amazing job this weekend. We don’t really know where this performance came from, but really, really happy," stated Russell. He continued: "If I was to make a list of all the races I thought we could win at this year, this would probably be right at the bottom.”
"We need to sit down on Monday and Tuesday to sort of understand why the performance was so good. I hope we can carry this through to the rest of the season," added the Mercedes driver. He concluded: "But I think realistically, Lando looked incredibly fast. He was within a second of Max the whole race and around this circuit, that's not easy. We’ll take the performance for today and celebrate it. I won't think too much about Austin yet."
'Don't know where it came from';
https://f1i.com/news/550113-russell-...came-from.html
How Mercedes staff privately reacted to George Russell’s Singapore Grand Prix win
6 October 2025
Tyler Rowlinson
F1 Oversteer
Mercedes staff were taken by ‘surprise’ by George Russell’s win at the Singapore Grand Prix. Wolff said after the race, as per AMuS: “Singapore has never been a good track for us. If someone had told me that we would dominate here, I wouldn’t have believed them.” Russell echoed those statements, saying Singapore was ‘bottom of the list’ of tracks he felt he could win in 2025.
Yet, the Brit dominated the race, only temporarily losing the lead during the pit stops. He maintained a strong pace to secure victory, much to the ‘surprise’ of Mercedes’ technicians. Singapore has not been a good track for the Brackley outfit in the past, having not won there before 2025 since 2018 with Lewis Hamilton. But Mercedes’ engineers had a ‘hunch’ that this year might go better, and they would be proved right.
“I wouldn’t have believed them”;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/how...rand-prix-win/
Why Mercedes remains baffled by F1 Singapore GP dominance
6 Oct 2025
Jack Oliver Smith
Motorsport Week
When asked about how the team optimised its package, which has not shown much consistency during the middle-to-latter part of the season, Wolff was at a loss for words. “You tell me,” the Austrian told media including Motorsport Week. “That [Singapore] was never a nice place for us in terms of car performance. And if you would have told me that we were dominating in the way we did today, I would not have believed it.”
However, Wolff was also happy to acknowledge that even the quickest teams this year, including Constructors’ Champions McLaren, have found difficulties in some races. “These cars are just a surprise box,” he voiced. “If you ask McLaren why the last three races haven’t gone at all, they would probably struggle for answers.”
“And the same way, Max coming back and then lacking performance again today, and the same with the Ferraris oscillating between success and failure.” Wolff recognised the fine margins in optimising the most from any package this year, but indicated that once the right balance was struck in Singapore, the W16 was looking like it could achieve what it eventually did.
“These cars are just a surprise box”;
https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/...-gp-dominance/
Track surface changes key to surprise Singapore GP win – Russell
5th October 2025
Keith Collantine
RaceFans
After taking pole position in qualifying yesterday, Russell said he expected Singapore would not suit their car. He went on to score a commanding victory in the race, pulling out a clear lead in the early stages. The Marina Bay track was resurfaced in eight places ahead of this year’s race. Russell thinks that was the change which made it suit their car better.
“There’s been less tyre overheating this year compared to years gone by,” he said. “I think it’s a track that in the past had major overheating, but with some of the corners having new Tarmac, it’s a bit smoother. The tyres seem a little bit more robust this year. It was all just in a bit of a nicer window, but nevertheless, it was still quite a surprise.”
“But the opening laps were really strong and I know Max was probably managing those softs more than I was managing my mediums.” Russell admitted the last-lap crash which cost him a place on the podium in 2023 played on his mind during the race. “Pulling a 10-second gap in 20-something laps was really great,” he said. “From that moment on, I just knew it was [about] bringing it home and watching out for the wall at turn 10.”
‘Track surface changes key’;
https://www.racefans.net/2025/10/05/...p-win-russell/
“The pace he and the car had was surprising,” claims Wolff after Russell’s dominant victory
8 Oct 2025
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical
Commenting on Mercedes' second victory of the season, team boss Toto Wolff noted: "That was an amazing drive from George this evening. He controlled the race from lights out to the chequered flag to take a brilliant win.
“The pace he and the car had was surprising but strong and that was the winning formula today. It was also great to have PETRONAS represent our team on the podium with Tengku Muhammad Taufik receiving the trophy. They are a brilliant title partner, and it is sweet to win at what is the closest race on the calendar to Malaysia.”
Signing off with a word for McLaren’s constructors’ title, Wolff said: “On that note, congratulations to McLaren as they secured the Constructors’ crown this evening. They have been the best team this year, so it is well deserved. Congratulations also go to our team-mates at Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains who secured a 10th Mercedes-powered Constructor’s title in the past 12 years."
"That was an amazing drive from George”;
https://www.f1technical.net/news/27877
'He's been formidable this year' – Wolff praises Russell after 'in control' Singapore GP victory
George Russell's performance on Sunday in Singapore won him praise from team boss Toto Wolff.
6 Oct 2025
Formula One - Official Site
"I think we've seen George in the past with these moments, but not recently, and that's the step-up that he has made also this year, that these things don't happen again," said Wolff. "He was in control of the race today, eking out an advantage, managing it when Max was a bit closer, and there was not at any moment a doubt that there was any risk in his driving.”
"He's been formidable this year. I haven't seen mistakes. There were weekends that he himself said I could have done more, that it wasn't a good race. But this happens with any driver. You can see when it merges, the car being in a perfect space, and the driver being on top of things, that becomes the dominant formula, and that is what we've seen here."
'He's been formidable this year';
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...y420FRYaKKAKVA
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Analyst sees Verstappen with stronger title shot after Singapore.
Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer believes Max Verstappen has a better chance to win the drivers’ title after the Singapore GP.
8 Oct 2025
Kada Sarkozi
GPblog.com
The Dutchman finished second to George Russell at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, but ahead of two McLaren drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. F1 TV analyst Palmer thinks Singapore proved Verstappen can still battle for this year's title. He said: "I have to say yes, there is [a chance]. More than I thought before Singapore. I think the fact that Red Bull were competitive on a very different circuit to Baku and Monza does speak now that they have found something on the car."
Jolyon Palmer: "So if they're fighting for a victory here, I think they can now fight for wins everywhere else, and it should be a chance for Max to get himself towards the championship fight." On the other hand, he noted that in order to overtake both Piastri and Norris in the standings, the two Mercedes and Ferrari drivers will need to take points away from them. Palmer also concluded that, had Verstappen been on pole position, he would have won last Sunday. "The pace on race day was actually very even," he argued.
‘Stronger title shot’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/analy...fter-singapore
Verstappen’s Poker Face: Mekies’ Red Bull Eyes Late Heist
8 Oct 2025
Alex Albuquerque
FastestLap.com
Red Bull is a different beast these days, and Max Verstappen isn’t fighting it. The quadruple World Champion says he’s clicking with new team boss Laurent Mekies, praising a straight-shooting style that “fits” how he likes to work. There’s a different strategy in play with Mekies steering the ship now, Verstappen admits, but no one’s erasing the past. The Dutchman still talks about the Christian Horner era with clear fondness — memories of that first title in 2021 still doing laps in the back of his mind.
The mood music at Milton Keynes has changed since summer and, on track, so has the momentum. Verstappen has been steadily clawing back ground on McLaren over the last run of races, yet he’s keeping the lid firmly on any title talk. In Singapore, he felt Lando Norris had the outright pace advantage; the layout did him a few favours in keeping the papaya car parked behind. Pragmatic as ever, Verstappen’s read is simple: the speed is there in patches, but it has to be there everywhere if he’s going to make this a late-season heist. No bold predictions, just the familiar focus on execution.
‘Poker Face/ Late Heist’;
https://fastestlap.com/news/verstapp...es-late-heist/
Brundle's warning: Verstappen 'smells an outside chance of the title'
6 Oct 2025
Luke-John Buckle
GPblog.com
Martin Brundle is adamant that Max Verstappen is on the McLaren driver's radar with an outside chance of winning the world championship. The former Formula 1 driver said: "We know how good Max is. The team seems calm. They seem relaxed. He’s driving beautifully. They certainly have improved the car.”
“And you know why, he just smells an outside chance of a championship. A lot of things have got to work in his favour between now and then. But he’s now, I believe, he’s now living in the heads of the McLaren players.”
'Smells an outside chance of the title';
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/brund...e-of-the-title
How Max Verstappen Can Still Win F1 Title Without Any McLaren DNFs
The Red Bull star is still in the world title fight after Singapore GP
7 Oct 2025
James Taylor
SPORTbible
Max Verstappen can still win the Formula 1 world title without any McLaren DNFs. With six race weekends remaining, including three sprint races, drivers still have plenty of opportunity to rack up points. And now Formula 1 fans are beginning to speculate whether Verstappen can complete a remarkable turnaround to retain his world title.
On X, F1GuyDan wrote: "Who needs hopium: Max Verstappen didn't win in Singapore but he can still become drivers' champion without any McLaren DNFs if the final 6 GPs play out like this. Do you believe?" He accompanied the post with a graphic showing the results Verstappen would need to lift the world title. According to the scenario, Verstappen would need to win every remaining race, while Norris and Piastri alternate between finishing second and third.
Under this outcome, Verstappen would finish the season on 447 points, ahead of Piastri with 445 and Norris on 428. Although it is highly unlikely that no other driver will finish in the top three for the remainder of the season, the scenario shows that Verstappen's title fight is still alive.
‘Without Any McLaren DNFs’;
https://www.sportbible.com/f1/max-ve...54033-20251007
Brundle: Verstappen living ‘rent free’ in rivals’ heads, à la Senna
07/10/2025
Michael Delaney
F1i.com
Speaking on the grid ahead of last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, Brundle painted a vivid picture of Verstappen’s psychological edge over his competitors. “I think Max, because he’s so aggressive, especially when he finds some grip that others don’t believe is there in the first few corners of the opening lap, I think he sort of lives in their heads rent-free.”
“A little bit, because they don’t know what he’s going to do next. And that is entirely intentional. It’s exactly what Ayrton Senna used to do, and people like that. Michael Schumacher was another one. Whether it was Formula 3 or Formula 1, Ayrton would steam up the inside of you and leave you to decide whether you wanted to crash on that day in history or not.”
Brundle’s comparison underlines the mental warfare Verstappen brings to the grid: it’s not just about speed or strategy – it’s also about planting doubt and hesitation in the minds of his opponents.
‘Mental warfare’;
https://f1i.com/news/550336-brundle-...-la-senna.html
Red Bull have “improved a lot over the last few races,” claims Verstappen
6 Oct 2025
Balazs Szabo
F1technical.net
Max Verstappen: “I think over the last few races we’ve definitely improved a lot. A few things that we have done throughout the weekend, that’s what we have to probably look at again for the coming races.”
“But it’s nothing shocking or that we are lost about why maybe some pace has disappeared compared to what we would have liked. It’s just some stuff that we need to analyse, and hopefully next weekend we can do a little bit better,” said Verstappen. Verstappen opted to start the 62-lap Singapore race on Pirelli’s soft tyres in the hope that he could overtake George Russell at the start. “The track only just got dry [before the start], and starting on the dirty side of the grid... Yeah, well, we just opted to try something different because normally, if you just cross or pass Turn 1, you just stay there without anything crazy.”
“So we tried. It didn't really work out. So, then the first stint was always about just surviving on the tyres, trying to make it long enough to then pit for the Hard tyre. I think that worked out, but unfortunately, I think the whole race was quite difficult — more difficult than I hoped — for a lot of different reasons, let’s say it like that. So a few things we need to understand, why these things went wrong today. But even then, around here, even if you have more pace, you can't pass without anything crazy happening. So I think, for us, second was the maximum result,” Verstappen said.
“Definitely improved a lot”;
https://www.f1technical.net/news/27870
Red Bull's 'good news' for Verstappen firmly rekindle title hopes
6 Oct 2025
Tobia Elia
GPblog.com
Laurent Mekies expressed his satisfaction with the progress made by the RB21, pleased that the team was able to fight for victory in Singapore GP. “For sure, for us being able to fight for the win here means a lot,” the Frenchman said after the race. “After Monza, Baku was very different — you never know until you come to a high-downforce track. We’ve been able to be in the right rhythm from Friday. We were in the right rhythm in qualifying — it was very, very close to pole — and we were in the right rhythm in the race.
“We finished just a few seconds behind Russell. This is good news; it means that what we have unlocked is not only low-downforce specific.” However, Red Bull will continue to take things one race at a time and draw conclusions only at the end of the season: “We will not change our approach. We will continue to take it race by race. We’ll continue to take the learnings. There are probably quite a few lessons we can take from this race, on some small pockets of performance that we may be able to unlock for the future.”
Finally, shifting the focus to the upcoming races, Mekies added: “Austin will be a very different equation. Again, it’s back to the famous mid-speed corners where McLaren was also very strong here. They have been very, very strong all weekend against us, and you have a lot of them in Austin and in Mexico. So we take it race by race, and then we’ll see.”
‘Satisfaction with the progress made by the RB21’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/verst...r-singapore-gp
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Sainz’s Sunday Save Can’t Mask Williams’ Saturday Chaos.
The frustration, though, isn’t just about a scrutineering slip. Sainz has been blunt for weeks: Williams’ single-lap form isn’t where it needs to be.
October 8, 2025
Alex Albuquerque
FastestLap.com
Carlos Sainz left Singapore with a point, a shrug, and a message: no hard feelings, but Williams has to stop tripping over its own feet on Saturdays. Both Sainz and Alex Albon were thrown out of qualifying at Marina Bay after the FW47’s DRS flap was found beyond the legal limit — the FIA measured the gap at over 85mm in the deployed state on both cars’ outer sections. Williams accepted the finding, noting that its own pre-qualifying checks showed the wing within tolerance, but the stewards’ gauges did not. Disqualified from the session but cleared to race, Sainz started 18th. Albon, after Williams broke parc fermé to make changes, went from the pit lane. Alpine did the same with Pierre Gasly.
A long, patient first stint — Sainz ran roughly 50 laps on the mediums — set up the salvage: P10 at the flag, one point prised from a weekend that had threatened to unravel. For a driver in his first year at Grove, it was the tidy recovery you’d expect from a four-time Grand Prix winner. “It’s definitely not hard feelings between any of us,” Sainz said afterwards. “The team acknowledges we’re still making mistakes in these kind of things which can happen. We are in a building year of trying to become a better team and definitely yesterday we all did mistakes.”
“I did mistakes in my quali lap that cost us a Q3. The team did a mistake with the legality of the rear wing on both cars. A mistake with Alex in FP1 with the brakes. As long as we don’t repeat mistakes and we keep learning, that’s the key for us.” The frustration, though, isn’t just about a scrutineering slip. Sainz has been blunt for weeks: Williams’ single-lap form isn’t where it needs to be. Even with a more stable rear in race trim and gentle tyre use that lets the FW47 stretch a stint, the car doesn’t switch on in qualifying the way it should.
‘Williams’ single-lap form isn’t where it needs to be’;
https://fastestlap.com/news/sainzs-s...aturday-chaos/
Vowles claims Williams will be "urgently investigating how this happened" after double disqualification
4 Oct 2025
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical
Following the confirmation of the disqualification, Williams Team Principal James Vowles issued a statement saying: "During FIA scrutineering after Qualifying, the rear wings on both our cars failed DRS slot gap checks. As a result, Alex and Carlos have been disqualified from Qualifying for tomorrow’s Singapore Grand Prix.”
"This is bitterly disappointing for the team and we are urgently investigating how this happened. At no point were we seeking a performance advantage and the rear wings had passed our own checks earlier in the day, but there is only one measurement that matters and we fully accept the FIA ruling.”
"We have a car capable of scoring points here this weekend and will do everything we can to fight from the back of the grid tomorrow, and will immediately review our processes to make sure this doesn’t happen again."
"Urgently investigating how this happened";
https://www.f1technical.net/news/27858
Singapore GP disaster for Williams as Albon and Sainz disqualified from qualifying
Post-qualifying scrutineering revealed both Williams cars broke DRS regulations, forcing them to start Sunday’s race from the back
4 October 2025
John Smith
Total Motorsport
According to a statement from the FIA, the issue concerned the uppermost rear wing element on both cars, with the adjustable positions exceeding the permitted limits. “The uppermost rear wing element adjustable positions were checked on car numbers 23 (Albon) and 55 (Sainz),” the FIA report stated. “Both cars exceeded the maximum limit of 85mm on both sides of the rear wing outer area.”
The FIA confirmed that this constituted a breach of Article 3.10.10 (g) of the Formula 1 Technical Regulations, which relates to the operation of the Drag Reduction System (DRS). The rule specifies that “at all points along the span, when the DRS is in the state of deployment, the two sections of the rear wing profiles must have a minimum gap of between 9.4mm and 85mm.”
“During post-Qualifying scrutineering, the rear wing of the car was found to be non-compliant with the Technical Regulations,” read statement continued. “At the hearing, the competitor admitted that, although their own measurement prior to the Qualifying had shown the component to be within tolerance, the measurement subsequently conducted by the appointed FIA officials revealed a larger gap than permitted and therefore the rear wing did not conform with the required dimension.”
‘Both Williams cars broke DRS regulations’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...gp-qualifying/
Disqualified, Then Cleared: Williams Plots Singapore Shock Comeback
October 5, 2025
Alex Albuquerque
FastestLap.com
Williams clears Singapore start for Sainz and Albon after DRS disqualifications. Carlos Sainz will race in Singapore after all. So will Alex Albon. Hours after both Williams drivers were thrown out of qualifying for a rear-wing infringement, the FIA has granted permission for the pair to start today’s Grand Prix from the back. Saturday night ended awkwardly for Williams. Sainz and Albon had parked their FW47s in 12th and 13th, only for post-session checks to find their DRS slot gaps exceeded the 85mm limit when opened. That’s a straight technical breach and an automatic exclusion from the results.
Because their qualifying times were nullified, the duo also fell foul—technically—of the 107% rule, forcing the team to ask the stewards for permission to race. The stewards said yes. Citing Article 39.4 b) of the FIA Sporting Regulations, they ruled that both drivers had set “satisfactory” lap times in practice and could therefore start the race. In line with Article 42.1, they’ll be placed at the back of the grid. It’s a messy start to a weekend that had quietly promised more for Williams. Sainz, who joined from Ferrari for 2025, looked sharp through practice around Marina Bay’s bumpy, heat-soaked streets. Albon’s long-run pace wasn’t shabby either. Both will now have to convert that into progress from Row 10.
Team principal James Vowles didn’t sugarcoat it. Bitterly disappointing, he called it, insisting there was no intent to gain performance and that both rear wings had passed internal checks earlier in the day. Williams has launched an internal review to understand how the parts later failed the FIA gauge. The DRS infraction itself is simple: open the flap too wide and you hand the rear wing a little less drag than the rules allow. It’s why the tolerance is policed so tightly. Williams maintains the overage was unintended. Intent doesn’t matter in scrutineering; measurement does.
‘Team principal James Vowles didn’t sugarcoat it’;
https://fastestlap.com/news/disquali...hock-comeback/
Carlos Sainz reveals the ‘key’ to Williams improvement after F1 Singapore GP comeback
7 Oct 2025
Jack Oliver Smith
Motorsport Week
Speaking to media including Motorsport Week post-race, Sainz noted the impressive pace of his car to help him move through the field. “From 13th I was hopeful of points, from 18th probably less,” he remarked. “To be honest, all of our simulations said we needed Safety Cars at the right times to get points but the pace was so good today that we managed to extract a point out of a difficult Singapore.@
“Boring one because it was a one-stop that nothing really happened, but we had such a strong pace and such a good overtaking at the end that I think we were one of the only midfield cars to be able to make it through the field. I think an ideal weekend would have been a P7 or P8. Realistically speaking in the race we had a lot of pace,” he addressed.
“Again maybe a bit like in Baku we could have been mixing it up with [Andrea Kimi] Antonelli, maybe possibly if we would have started next to him. But the reality is that we have a weakness in qualifying that we are trying to address. We keep criticising the tyre preparation.”
“I think an ideal weekend would have been a P7 or P8”;
https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/...e-gp-comeback/
Williams launches ‘urgent investigation’ over Sainz, Albon DSQ as FIA issues update
05 Oct 2025
Oliver Harden
PlanetF1.com
The FIA has granted permission for Williams drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon to start today’s Singapore Grand Prix. It comes after the pair were disqualified from Saturday’s qualifying session due to a technical breach, with Williams holding an “urgent investigation” over the matter.
A stewards’ report on Sainz read: “The Stewards have received a request from Atlassian Williams Racing to allow car 55 to start the Race despite being disqualified from Qualifying. “In accordance with Article 39.4 b) of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations, the Stewards grant permission for car 55, Carlos Sainz, to start the Race, as the driver has set satisfactory times in practice at this Competition.
“The car will be placed on the grid in accordance with Article 42.1 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.” An identical statement was issued for Albon, who was previously disqualified from qualifying at last year’s Dutch Grand Prix.
‘Urgent investigation’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/fia-wi...grand-prix-dsq
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Has Ferrari really gone ‘downhill’ since Sainz left? Villenueve thinks so.
In explaining what Sainz brings to a team, Villeneuve added that the trend of teams going “downhill” after his departure has carried on with Ferrari.
30 Sep 2025
Henry Valantine
PlanetF1.com
Villeneuve said of Sainz to a betting platform: “He’s always been a very mature, strong driver. He’s often been criticised for lack of pace which is not the case. If you look at his career, when he’s joined a new team, it has taken him a while, half a season maybe, to get up to speed. He works at it. But in that period, he makes the whole team go better.”
“That’s what happened in every team he’s joined. And at some point, he’s often had a teammate that maybe was just a few hundredths quicker. But that teammate was quicker also thanks to the work that Sainz was doing.”
“But then Sainz became quicker than his teammate. Even when you look at Leclerc, Leclerc wasn’t ahead of Sainz at Ferrari like a lot of people want to think. And every time he left a team, that team went downhill. Every time. And it’s the same with Ferrari now.”
‘The trend of teams going “downhill” after his departure has carried on with Ferrari’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/jacque...rrari-downhill
Carlos Sainz reveals how former Ferrari colleagues reacted after he scored his first podium for Williams
26 Sep 2025
Ashley Hambly
F1 Oversteer
Carlos Sainz’s former colleagues at Ferrari were ‘very proud’ of him for his heroics in Baku. Sainz was forced to find greener pastures following Ferrari’s acquisition of Lewis Hamilton for 2025, which was announced before the beginning of last season. The 31-year-old left the team on good terms, revealing the Scuderia’s sentiment towards him during his exit, as well as their joy for him in Baku.
“I must say Ferrari was really happy for me, we had a really good goodbye, and a really good end to the year last year,” Sainz told listeners. “Honestly, I just felt like I left a lot of good friends and a lot of good people. I think it was just the circumstances of Lewis being a seven-time world champion, wanting to finish his career in Ferrari, and I had to leave, and in that case, this is where I found Williams.”
“Now that I’ve scored my first podium at Williams, all of the people from Ferrari, and everyone was congratulating me, everyone seemed to be very, very proud and happy.” Over the Ferrari team radio at the chequered flag, former teammate Charles Leclerc congratulated Sainz for his impressive result after expressing his frustration with how his own race went with the Scuderia on the streets of Baku.
‘Carlos Sainz’s former colleagues at Ferrari were ‘very proud’ of him’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/car...-for-williams/
Sainz Sprays, Hamilton Waits: Steiner Says Ferrari Regrets
29 Sep 2025
Alex Albuquerque
FastestLap.com
‘Some in Ferrari already regret it’: Steiner pounces as Sainz hits Baku podium while Hamilton waits. Guenther Steiner has never been shy with a verdict, and he’s not starting now. In the wake of Carlos Sainz’s Baku podium — delivered in Williams blue — the former Haas boss says there are people inside Ferrari who already regret swapping Sainz for Lewis Hamilton. Steiner’s take, on The Red Flags podcast, was as blunt as you’d expect: some at Maranello “feel regret,” he said, even if management won’t admit it.
His reasoning? Sainz was a known quantity who delivered without fuss. Hamilton, still finding his feet at Ferrari, has brought noise, scrutiny, and questions the team’s had to spend precious energy answering. “They wouldn’t have all the interference from outside of Lewis not performing,” Steiner argued, suggesting Ferrari could’ve kept heads down and chased performance rather than fielding constant why-doesn’t-he-like-the-car queries. He also pointed to the obvious: Hamilton isn’t cheap. “Is it a worthwhile investment? Maybe not,” he added, implying the return so far doesn’t match the outlay. It’s a stinging comparison because the backdrop is so stark. Sainz left Ferrari expecting to stay — he’d said he was “99% sure”...
‘Steiner Says Ferrari Regrets’;
https://fastestlap.com/news/sainz-sp...rrari-regrets/
Guenther Steiner makes stunning Ferrari ‘regret’ claim about Carlos Sainz
28 Sep 2025
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net
Guenther Steiner believes some people within Ferrari will regret the team’s decision to part ways with Carlos Sainz. “I think obviously management cannot feel regret because you would be admitting that you did something wrong, and you cannot do that, because I’m sure that some of the guys there, the feeling I get, because Ferrari finished eighth and ninth in Baku. Carlos Sainz, now with Williams, finished third, so it’s like, I guess the guy feeling best about it is Carlos Sainz.”
In a later ‘Gas or Brake’ segment of the podcast, Steiner was asked whether Sainz’s podium proves that Ferrari made the wrong choice in signing Hamilton, who has endured a disappointing debut campaign with the Scuderia. “I mean, Carlos was doing a good job. They wouldn’t have all the interference from outside of Lewis not performing, so the team could focus on going racing, making things better, instead of always trying to find out why Lewis doesn’t like the car.”
‘Regret’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/108250...t-carlos-sainz
What Fred Vasseur has now said ‘off the record’ about Carlos Sainz returning to Ferrari one day
25 Sep 2025
Ben Evans
F1 Oversteer
Fred Vasseur said ‘off the record’ that the ‘door wasn’t closed’ for Carlos Sainz to return to Ferrari. A report from the Spanish outlet MARCA has shared more information about Vasseur’s feelings towards the four-time race winner. Vasseur admitted that ‘the door wasn’t closed’ on Sainz ever returning to Ferrari. At an ‘off the record’ breakfast for the Spanish media ahead of the British Grand Prix, Vasseur made this claim for the first time. Although a return is ‘not on the table’ right now, anything could happen in the future. Hamilton controls a clause in his Ferrari contract that would see him extend his stay at Maranello into 2027.
Whether he wants to activate that clause if he and the team aren’t winning is another matter, which could pave the way for a return for Sainz if Ferrari aren’t interested in promoting Oliver Bearman. The talk surrounding Mercedes’ 2026 power unit might make it a more difficult decision for Sainz to leave Williams to return to Ferrari. But Vasseur doesn’t want to rule out any potential options in the driver market, as he will know that Ferrari are going to need a replacement for Hamilton at some point in the future.
‘The door wasn’t closed’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/wha...rrari-one-day/
Ex-Ferrari F1 chairman hints he would have kept Carlos Sainz alongside Charles Leclerc
26 Sep 2025
Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net
Former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo has hinted he would have retained Carlos Sainz alongside Charles Leclerc, praising the pairing as a “very good couple” for the team. Montezemolo was keen to point out that Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were a very strong driver pairing. Ferrari narrowly missed out on the constructors’ championship last year, finishing 14 points behind McLaren.
Ferrari decided to replace Sainz with Lewis Hamilton for this season. “Sainz and Leclerc was a very good couple. But no question, Verstappen is by far the best in my view. By far,” he added. Montezemolo didn’t mention Hamilton or current Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur.
“If tomorrow morning I will be obliged to go to work in Ferrari, in one week I have clear in my mind who to put in different positions,” Montezemolo explained. Montezemolo also praised ex-Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto. “I am happy now for Binotto… he is investing in the future with a good Brazilian young driver looking ahead,” he concluded.
‘Ex-Ferrari F1 chairman hints he would have kept Carlos Sainz’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/108253...ngside-charles
Sainz Strikes First: Did Ferrari Bet On The Wrong Star?
Alex Albuquerque
Sep 30, 2025
FastestLap.com
The head-to-head scoreline, then? Not decided. Not close. Not even the right way to think about it in May. If Sainz and Williams nick another big result, the drumbeat will get louder. If Hamilton strings together clean Saturdays and Ferrari unlocks a little more balance, the podium will come and the noise will turn. Neither narrative is permanent in a 24-race championship.
What will decide the story is the stuff we don’t see on TV: how fast Hamilton and Ferrari converge on a common language; how Williams sustain development without wobbling; which team executes better when the margins are only tenths wide and one slow stop costs you everything. It’s prosaic. It’s also how this sport works.
So, by all means enjoy the intrigue. Sainz wearing blue and standing on a rostrum before Hamilton does it in scarlet is not nothing. It’s just not everything. The bar for Ferrari and Hamilton isn’t P3 anyway. It’s wins. It’s a title challenge. If Sainz and Williams get to either of those first, then we’ve got a different conversation on our hands. Until then, one snapshot doesn’t make a portrait. It just makes a great headline.
‘Not decided’;
https://fastestlap.com/news/sainz-st...he-wrong-star/
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Ferrari’s 2026 Deadline: Deliver, or Lose Leclerc.
Nicolas Todt has put Ferrari on notice! Todt turns the heat on Ferrari: deliver in 2026 or risk losing Leclerc.
October 12, 2025
Alex Albuquerque
FastestLap.com
Speaking to the Straits Times in Singapore, Charles Leclerc’s long-time manager made it clear the Monegasque won’t wait forever for a title-worthy car. “He’s not a kid anymore,” Todt said, a line that landed with the thud of a ticking clock in Maranello. Translation: if Ferrari don’t show up for the 2026 rules reset with a genuine championship contender, Leclerc’s future becomes an open question.
This isn’t idle chatter. Leclerc’s been with Ferrari since 2019, a period that’s delivered eight wins and a near-miss in 2022 when he finished runner-up in the World Drivers’ Championship. It’s also been a seven-season reel of bright Saturdays and too many bruising Sundays. After another tough Singapore Grand Prix, Leclerc’s post-race debrief was unvarnished. McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes have all found steps, he said, while Ferrari have been left playing catch-up. “And then there’s us,” was the sting. Taken alone, it’s frustration. Taken with the tone of his recent radio messages and Todt’s public temperature check, it starts to sound like groundwork.
The driver who once arrived as Ferrari’s future now wants Ferrari to meet him in the present. Todt didn’t sugar-coat it. Ferrari’s car is “good,” he said, but not good enough to win a World Championship. The ask is simple and enormous: build a 2026 machine that can go toe-to-toe with the class of the field from round one. The stakes are obvious. Leclerc signed a multi-year extension in early 2024, widely understood to include options that give both sides wiggle room. In other words, there are escape hatches if performance doesn’t align with ambition.
‘Deliver, or Lose Leclerc’;
https://fastestlap.com/news/ferraris...-lose-leclerc/
Charles Leclerc angers Ferrari engineers with blunt Singapore comments – report
10 Oct 2025
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com
Charles Leclerc gave an alarming assessment of Ferrari and where they stand versus rivals after a challenging Singapore Grand Prix. Leclerc’s outlook for Ferrari was not a positive one, with a report since emerging from Italy that Leclerc’s comments did not go down well with a section of the Ferrari crew. Leclerc had given little hope for an improvement in Ferrari’s fortunes following Singapore.
According to respected Italian publication Corriere dello Sport, some of the Ferrari engineers have been left far from impressed with Leclerc’s comments. Unfortunately, we don’t have the race car to fight with the guys in front,” said Leclerc after the race in Singapore. “McLaren always had the same gap on us compared to the beginning of the year. Red Bull did a step from Monza and are the same level of McLaren. Mercedes now is at the same level of McLaren and Red Bull. And then there’s us.”
“It’s not easy, obviously, because you want to fight for better positions. But at the moment, it just feels like we are passengers to the car and we cannot extract much more.” He added: “The picture we’ve seen this weekend is going to be what the rest of the season looks like for us.” La Gazzetta dello Sport state that Leclerc’s comment ‘paint a discouraging picture of the entire Maranello environment’, and that ‘relations between the various departments of the team are strained.’
“And then there’s us”;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/ferrar...iticism-report
'Not a baby anymore': Leclerc's camp 'hopes' Ferrari deliver in 2026
10 OCT 2025
Norberto Mujica
GPblog.com
Charles Leclerc's manager Nicolas Todt has ramped up the pressure at Ferrari deeming the Scuderia's efforts "not enough to win the title." He said to the Strait Times: “A lot of drivers are waiting to see how well each team will have worked, and how good their car will be to say ‘I want to stay in my team’ or ‘I want to go to another team because they are doing a better job’.”
He added: “Charles is one of the best talent of his generation, with Max and a few of the drivers. He’s not a baby any more because he has done a lot of seasons with Ferrari and of course, I think that we still need to have a winning car. Today, we have a good car, but not enough to win the title... We hope it will happen and we hope next year Ferrari will have a very good car with the new regulations,” he concluded.
Reports in Italian media speak of a growing discomfort in Ferrari's ranks, with team principal Frédéric Vasseur apparently going into a heated argument with a Ferrari trackside personnel following the Singapore GP qualifying. Reports also indicate that the team's mechanics and engineers would be looking rather unkindly at Leclerc's consistent criticism of the SF-25 given the pressure that is already on the team to achieve better results. Furthermore, recent rumours have put Vasseur under pressure again, despite his recent contract extension, linking Horner as a potential replacement to the Frenchman.
‘Ramped up the pressure at Ferrari’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/not-a...eliver-in-2026
Ferrari face ‘never-ending crisis’ within several departments amid Charles Leclerc exit rumours
9 October 2025
Tyler Rowlinson
F1 Oversteer
Ferrari are in turmoil on and off the track as they risk a poor end to the 2025 season and losing their star driver Charles Leclerc. The Maranello outfit are still without a win in 2025 as they struggle to find the right balance with the SF-25. The Singapore Grand Prix was another disappointing weekend as Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton could only bring home 12 points.
Leclerc lamented Hamilton’s ‘very difficult situation’ as Ferrari again struggled to maximise their weekend. The team are falling further behind their rivals as they battle for second in the constructors’ championship. Leclerc says Ferrari are the fourth-best team at the moment; a bleak admission that comes amid reports that he is considering his future in Maranello. The whole atmosphere around the team appears to be in crisis.
With no wins and just five podiums in 2025 – all courtesy of Leclerc – Ferrari have planned ‘serious’ meetings behind the scenes with key personnel. Little has worked for the team this season, from operational decisions to upgrades and development. Ferrari ‘ignored’ Leclerc and Hamilton’s wishes for aerodynamic upgrades, instead focusing on the rear suspension to solve their problems with ride height. However, this has now caused the car to not respond to setup changes. Leclerc is losing patience at Ferrari, referring to the team as ‘passengers’ in Singapore…
‘Never-ending crisis’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/fer...-exit-rumours/
'Tension at Ferrari': Rumour of intrateam conflict emerges
9 Oct 2025
Norberto Mujica
GPblog.com
Italian journal Corriere dello Sport reports turmoil in Ferrari after their lowly outing in Singapore, with a conversation involving Fréderic Vasseur escalating into a tense discussion, and resentment from a portion of the engineering staff toward Charles Leclerc.
According to the Italian publication it seems that after what was another poor outing in Singapore where the Scuderia failed to deliver on their car's potential, a conversation between someone who is described as "a very capable head of track engineering," and team principal Frédéric Vasseur, escalated into a tense discussion.
The Italian journal also states that there is growing discontent from the engineers' side toward Charles Leclerc, for "his uncompromising criticism" of the Ferrari SF-25 car. After the race, Leclerc said that Mercedes was right up there McLaren, who'd also been joined by Red Bull at the top. Regarding Ferrari, Leclerc ended with a crushing: "And then there's us."
‘Turmoil in Ferrari’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/tensi...nflict-emerges
Charles Leclerc delivers bleak Ferrari prediction after Singapore struggle
Charles Leclerc finished sixth in a difficult Singapore Grand Prix for Ferrari.
9 October 2025
Jake Nichol & Ian Parkes
RacingNews365
Charles Leclerc has delivered a bleak prediction that Ferrari will not be able to turn around its F1 form in the remainder of the season. In Singapore, the SF-25's performance was affected by a request to lift and coast from early in the race, which meant Leclerc could not make forward progress to challenge for a podium.
Leclerc believes the Scuderia's fortunes will not change between now and the end of the season, as it chases a first grand prix win of the year. "I don't think there will be anything special. I think the picture we've seen this weekend is going to be what the rest of the season looks like for us," Leclerc told media, including RacingNews365.
"I think every time you don't fight for wins, it is difficult, but obviously, coming from a year like last year, where you are fighting for the world constructors' championship, you come with high expectations. You then lower your expectations from the beginning, and you don't even see progression throughout the year; that is not easy.”
‘A request to lift and coast from early in the race’;
https://racingnews365.com/charles-le...apore-struggle
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Horner and Max to Aston? The Coup F1 Fears.
Riccardo Patrese has thrown a log on the autumn rumour fire, and it crackled loudly: Christian Horner and Max Verstappen, reunited at Aston Martin to build a “new Red Bull” in Silverstone.
Alex Albuquerque
13 Oct 2025
FastestLap.com
It’s a provocative thought from a six-time grand prix winner who calls himself a friend of Horner’s. And it arrives just weeks after Horner’s split from Red Bull was finally inked, with multiple reports suggesting a hefty settlement in the region of $100 million and no long-term non-compete to keep him on the sofa. In other words: if Horner wants back in, the door’s open sooner rather than later.
Patrese’s logic leans on F1 history. He sees shades of the great migration that powered Ferrari’s renaissance in the late ’90s: Michael Schumacher leaves Benetton, Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne follow, the Scuderia becomes a juggernaut. In his scenario, Aston Martin plays the part of Ferrari; Horner arrives with know-how and gravitational pull; Verstappen, the sport’s dominant force of the last few years, is the crown jewel. “I can see something similar,” Patrese suggested, noting that top operators tend to plant their flag and bring the right people with them. Translation: assemble the band, write a new dynasty.
There are, of course, realities to navigate. Verstappen’s four titles have all come under Horner’s stewardship, but 2025 hasn’t followed the familiar script. With the 2026 rules reset looming — new chassis, new power units, and a grid-wide retooling — the Verstappen question naturally bubbles up again. If Red Bull’s own engine project doesn’t light up straight away, he’ll have options. And Aston Martin, laden with resources and ambition at its Silverstone campus, would be mad not to ask the question if the stars align.
‘The Coup F1 Fears’;
https://fastestlap.com/news/horner-a...coup-f1-fears/
Max Verstappen and Christian Horner reunite in ‘new Red Bull’ exit theory
13/10/2025
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com
The sport enters a new era from 2026, as the chassis and engine regulations undergo major change. Verstappen’s Red Bull future could therefore become a talking point once more, if Red Bull does not make a successful start with their own engine, developed in partnership with Ford. “The Aston Martin speculation with Christian Horner reminds me of when Michael Schumacher left Benetton and went to Ferrari,” Riccardo Patrese, the six-time grand prix winner and “friend” of Christian Horner told a gambling platform.
“He took all the best pieces from Benetton to go to Ferrari to build a winning team and then become a world champion. Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne, all these guys that were Benetton with him and he took to Ferrari and then they built a team where he was five times world champion. I can see a similar situation happening with Verstappen. They talk for sure. If this is what he thinks it could happen, probably yes, Horner could certainly go there and make a new Red Bull team at Aston Martin!”
However, Patrese – likening Horner and Jos to a divorced couple – does not believe relations between the duo would be a barrier to this Aston Martin scenario. “If you divorce a wife, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to have constant aggravation,” said Patrese. “Maybe after two, three, four years, Christian Horner and Jos Verstappen become friends again. And of course, if there is this possibility to build a team that can go for the championship and Max could be the guy that wins again, I think Jos would stay to one side a little bit.”
‘New Red Bull exit theory’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/max-ve...ccardo-patrese
Aston Martin’s Cardile sets the tone: ‘Failure is not an option’
10/10/2025
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com
When Enrico Cardile walked away from Ferrari earlier this year, it sent shockwaves through the Formula 1 paddock. A seasoned engineer steeped in Maranello’s traditions, his move to Aston Martin was more than a career change – it was a statement of intent. For Cardile, it’s both a technical challenge and a philosophical one – an opportunity to shape Aston Martin’s destiny. And as he tells it, failure simply “isn’t an option”.
Asked in an interview published this week on Aston Martin’s website whether leaving Ferrari after an entire career there represented a culture shock, Cardile doesn’t hesitate to draw the distinction. “I think there is a difference in culture,” he said. “The targets are the same: everyone is focused on winning, but the F1 team at Ferrari has a very long and stable history, with established processes and tools.”
“Here, we're still building up these things. We have the new CoreWeave Wind Tunnel, the new simulator, and we need to work to exploit the potential of these things. We also need to develop the processes within the company for the way we work, building a lean organisation that avoids waste. It's one of the first messages I gave to my team when I started: we need to find our identity and use our vision to shape the organisation so that it works the way we want it to work. It's fine to take inspiration from other places, but copying the way it has been done elsewhere is not the thing to do.”
‘Failure not an option’;
https://f1i.com/news/550448-aston-ma...an-option.html
Cowell hails ‘exciting’ Aston Martin-Honda shift as works era nears
12/10/2025
Michael Delaney
F1i.com
Team boss Andy Cowell: “Yeah, Honda’s going great. They’re an engineering-led organisation, just like Aston Martin,” he said. “They’re innovative, their sense of passion and commitment and courage is huge. I’m flying to Sakura on Monday, spending a couple of days with them after the race on Sunday.”
“It’s an exciting time for the team to take that transition from a customer team, where you have very little say in what goes on at the rear of the car, to having all the debates about what the front of the power unit should look like, how do we do the cooling, how do we integrate with the transmission, how do we pull it all together,” he explained. “I guess that’s where Adrian being on board since March is really helpful,” Cowell noted.
“Going great”;
https://f1i.com/news/550535-cowell-h...era-nears.html
Why Adrian Newey is crucial in Aston Martin’s 2026 transition to Honda F1 power
11 Oct 2025
Jack Oliver Smith
Motorsport Week
Adrian Newey has himself described the challenge of interpreting next year’s radical new regulations as “scary,” with F1 priming itself up for a myriad of changes that will alter racing experiences for both the drivers, teams and the fans alike. Andy Cowell, “I guess that’s where Adrian being on board since March is really helpful. He’s got experience working with Honda, so there’s a natural understanding there already as to what can be pushed and what can’t. So yeah, exciting times. Yeah, it’s a big challenge for all the teams,” he addressed. “Lots of new technology – power unit, advanced sustainable fuels, aerodynamics, materials development, chassis design, transmissions – it’s the whole car.”
“And it’s exciting. It’s an exciting challenge. None of us can move that first test date or the first race date. We’re all pushing as hard as we can to innovate and create performance. But we all know that you don’t get any points unless you finish, and we’ve got that eternal balance to make. I think it’s going to be exciting racing, exciting testing compared with the last few years where you do a few days. It’ll be interesting to see how it all unfolds, but we’re certainly looking forward to it.”
‘Adrian Newey is crucial’;
https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/...onda-f1-power/
Round-up: Aston Martin “going to get it right next year”, insists Cardile
10 Oct 2025
Will Wood
RaceFans
''We're going to get it right next year. I just don't know if we're going to get it right for the first race, the second, the seventh, or whatever. What we have is commitment, focus, and the confidence that it will be right. We have all we need to do a great job. Failure is not an option.''
https://www.astonmartinf1.com/en-GB/...enrico-cardile
https://www.racefans.net/2025/10/10/...-october-2025/
Stroll opens up on criticism in rare interview
13 Oct 2025
Ben Waterworth
Speedcafe
In a rare and candid interview on Aston Martin’s website, the Canadian spoke about the mental challenges of competing in F1, learning to keep perspective amid constant scrutiny. “I like to see it as just noise,” Lance Stroll said. “If I buy into it, it bothers me, for sure, but that’s where I am fortunate. I have good people around me that I love, that I trust, and I put my attention and value their opinions. I try and live in my world, not the world in that sense.”
Stroll said he’s learned not to let it affect him. “There’s always going to be criticism. People are very short-minded,” he added. “You have a couple of good races, you’re great. You have a couple of bad ones, you suck. That’s never going to change. That’s why being surrounded by important people and valuing the opinion of people that you care about, that you value, that you really know their opinion, is what matters. Don’t take criticism from someone you wouldn’t take advice from.”
‘Stroll opens up’;
https://speedcafe.com/f1-news-2025-l...-aston-martin/
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Martin Brundle reveals sole condition Christian Horner is seeking for F1 return.
Former F1 driver Martin Brundle has stated Christian Horner has informed him of the conditions he is seeking to return to the F1 grid.
14 Oct 2025
Fergal Walsh
RacingNews365
Christian Horner will only return to the grid if he is a shareholder with a team, according to Martin Brundle, akin to Toto Wolff's set-up at Mercedes. “He made it absolutely clear to me when I spoke to him that he will only come back if he’s got a skin in the game, if he’s got a share of the team and is building something, rather than being a manager as he was with Red Bull,” Brundle said.
“He couldn’t get any shareholding in that. Toto Wolff is a good example of how to do that as a one-third shareholder in Mercedes. I’m not surprised Christian is knocking on doors, seeing what is available out there. There are not many available doors to knock on, in that respect."
‘Sole condition’;
https://racingnews365.com/martin-bru...-for-f1-return
Bombshell Horner rumour as axed Red Bull boss linked to return with F1 supergiant
14 October 2025
Dane Heverin from Fox Sports
Fox Sports (Australia)
Former Red Bull boss Christian Horner is reportedly in talks with Ferrari about a shock F1 return. The Daily Mail reports that Horner has been touted to potentially take over as Ferrari’s team principal following a turbulent season for the famous Italian team, and his sacking by Red Bull earlier this year.
The 51-year-old Englishman was at the helm of Red Bull for 20 years, overseeing four world titles each for Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen as well as eight constructors’ championships. But his time in charge ended off the back of discontent within the organisation as McLaren raced past Red Bull on the track, and accusations of being involved in “coercive behaviour” towards a female employee, which Horner denied and was twice clear of by internal hearings.
‘Return with F1 supergiant’;
https://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsp...d3c408123b5317
'Horner prepares F1 comeback' as talks with Ferrari 'revealed'
13 Oct 2025
Norberto Mujica
GPblog.com
Christian Horner is said to be in talks with Ferrari regarding a role in the Scuderia. Throughout his career Horner has often been linked to Ferrari. But up until now those rumours were shut down by the former Red Bull boss given his commitment to the Austrian team. However, those ties have now been severed and the future lays itself wide open for the 51-year-old.
After Horner and Red Bull reached an agreement on the terms of his termination, the Briton was issued an approximately £52 million payment for the services rendered and put on a gardening leave which extends into the spring of 2026. After that period, Max Verstappen's former boss may return to F1 in any capacity he so desires. According to the Daily Mail, though, Horner is in talks with Ferrari at the moment, since, as reported in Italian media, the Scuderia's President John Elkann would've supposedly lost faith in Frédéric Vasseur's leadership of the Italian marque's F1 project.
The British tabloid further claims that Ferrari are 'wooing' Horner, who, on the other hand, is keeping communication lines open with other Formula 1 teams who would like to add Horner's sterling résumé and capabilities to their ranks. The other teams, however, remain unnamed in the report.
'Wooing Horner’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/rumors/chr...s-with-ferrari
'Ringing up every team principal': Sources claim Christian Horner is on path to re-joining F1 great
October 14, 2025
Sophie Wisely
Channel 9's Wide World of Sports
Previous Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has been linked with a shock re-entrance into the Formula 1 paddock, just six races after he was sacked by his longtime team. Members of the paddock are claiming that Horner has been on the fringe looking for a team to bring him back and that he may have found his partner in the sport's mainstay icon, Ferrari.
Speaking at the Singapore Grand Prix, Aston Martin team principal Andy Cowell joked that he was one of many being reached out to. "It looks as though Christian is ringing up every team owner at the moment," said Cowell. Ferrari is struggling under the leadership of Fred Vasseur, the team desperately looking for an inkling of pace as they sit third in the standings.
According to the Daily Mail, several sources say that Horner is being "wooed" by the Scuderia. In the 2025 season, Ferrari has only scored five podiums with driver Charles Leclerc and a sprint victory in China with Lewis Hamilton. They last won a drivers' championship with Kimi Raikkonen in 2007. In a season marred by technical difficulties and lack of performance, Ferrari could look to Horner to turn things around.
‘On path to re-joining F1 great’;
https://www.nine.com.au/sport/motors...14-p5n2fc.html
One F1 team must u-turn on their Christian Horner stance as ‘falling down’ factory issues emerge
13 October 2025
Tyler Rowlinson
F1 Oversteer
Horner could set up his own F1 team, with the sport allowing for 12 teams to be on the grid. It would be a costly project to try to find sponsors and even get approval, but Horner’s marketing expertise at Red Bull may make it an attractive option. Haas are not interested in a sale, having previously been linked with Horner. However, the latest information coming out of the team may make them want to rethink their stance on the 51-year-old.
According to journalist Nate Saunders, their factory is ‘falling down’, emphasising the work that needs to be done. He said via Unlapped: “The one I think is fascinating is Haas. I’m stunned that Gene Haas just kind of dismissed Horner out of hand. That’s a team that really hasn’t done a huge amount in Formula 1. When you really look at it, they’ve been the smallest team in the sport for a long time. They’ve got a factory that’s falling down. They just built a new motorhome that’s two stories. Apparently, now they’re going to build another story on top of that just because they’ve realised it’s not big enough.”
‘Falling down factory’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/one...issues-emerge/
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How Mark Webber feels behind the scenes about McLaren’s treatment of Oscar Piastri.
Piastri’s manager, Mark Webber is ‘definitely advocating’ for Oscar Piastri behind the scenes at McLaren.
14 Oct 2025
Ben Evans
F1 Oversteer
Commentator James Allen has shared how the Australian will be feeling about this season’s intra-team battle. “I wouldn’t say Mark is irate, but I would say that he’s definitely on the case. He’s definitely across this, and he’s definitely advocating, as you say, because that’s his job to do that, right? And he does it, as you also mentioned, from the background of having been on the wrong side of this when he was at Red Bull with Sebastian Vettel.”
“And perhaps he didn’t have anybody, maybe arguing his case, and maybe he wasn’t as strong as he wishes in retrospect that he had been against Vettel. So he’s kind of making sure that… I mean, Oscar’s pretty strong in the head anyway, but I think he’s just making sure that the stuff that Oscar doesn’t know about, which is how you can manage these team games, these relationships, he’s making sure that Oscar’s on the A-game and his case is being put as much as possible.”
“But there’s a limited amount that he can do. I mean, he can only affect things so much at the end of the day. It’s down to Zak and Andrea, the management of McLaren, to decide if they’re going in any way to intervene.”
‘Definitely on the case’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/how...oscar-piastri/
Why F1’s latest Piastri obsession is total madness as truth behind McLaren conspiracy exposed
15/10/2025
Michael Lamonato from Fox Sports
Fox Sports (Australia)
It was the third weekend in a row and the fourth from the last five that Piastri has lost points to Norris in the title fight. More pertinently, it was the third time in the last five rounds that Piastri and his team have fallen on the wrong side of a contentious McLaren call. There was the alternative strategy granted to Norris in Hungary after his poor qualifying and poorer start that saw him pinch victory from Piastri, who wasn’t given the choice to use that same strategy.
There was the team order in Italy that cost Piastri second place after Norris had a slow stop. Now there is Singapore, where Norris broke the golden rule — don’t hit your teammate — and wasn’t so much as warned over team radio about it. For some it was simply too much. Led by Ralf Schumacher — who’s never short of an opinion — there’s a small but supposedly growing group of people who believe Piastri should now leave McLaren. It wasn’t just the incident itself in Singapore, which immediately agitated already polarised fans spoiling for a fight.
There was Piastri’s supposed snub of CEO Zak Brown, apparently cutting his radio feed just as the boss was congratulating him on his role in winning the team the constructors championship. And then there were scenes of McLaren team members, including Brown and principal Andrea Stella, partying on the podium in celebration of the title victory while Piastri languished despondently downstairs. It’s quite the rap sheet.
‘Simply too much’;
https://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsp...98002a66833b3e
Zak Brown Issues Statement on Oscar Piastri amid McLaren Exit Rumours
14/10/2025
James Taylor
SPORTbible
McLaren team principal Zak Brown has issued a statement on Oscar Piastri amid growing rumours that the world championship leader could be set for a shock exit. The team's so-called 'papaya rules' came under scrutiny last time out in Singapore when Norris banged wheels with Piastri. Tensions escalated further last week, when IndyCar champion Alex Palou claimed that Brown never wanted to sign Piastri in the first place. McLaren are currently locked in a legal dispute with their former driver Palou.
Alex Palou, hen asked to explain why he was not fulfilling his McLaren deal said: "I went for dinner with Zak at Beaverbook near MTC. Zak told me it was not his decision to hire Oscar. He said it was the decision of the team manager Andreas Seidl. “Zak told me Piastri’s performance would be evaluated against mine for 2024. Zak said that, from his point of view my chance of getting the F1 seat was not affected by Oscar."
Speaking to Reuters ahead of this weekend's US Grand Prix, Brown hit back at those claims, McLaren CEO Zak Brown said: "I’m not sure which allegation amused me more. The notion that I would not be the one making a key decision about our driver line-up, or the suggestion that I wasn’t on board with signing the hugely talented Oscar Piastri. Both allegations are clearly ludicrous, and anyone who follows our sport will see straight through them.”
“Which allegation amused me more!”;
https://www.sportbible.com/f1/formul...42044-20251014
Jolyon Palmer makes ‘paranoid’ Oscar Piastri claim as he questions McLaren’s fairness this season
14/10/2025
Ben Evans
F1 Oversteer
Jolyon Palmer was addressing Piastri’s position within McLaren on the F1 Nation Podcast in the build-up to the United States Grand Prix. He said: “The other thing, though, is if you imagine it from Oscar’s point of view, I still don’t think in any of these moments, engagement issues, he’s ever come out favourably. I’m just thinking again, top of my head stuff, but you’ve got the Silverstone one, he got a penalty, felt it was harsh, asked for the team to swap back if they thought it was harsh, they would have done had it been, you know, Max, they would have thought it was an outrageous penalty.”
“But, because it was between the two McLarens, they kept the order. Lando wins. You’ve then got the Budapest strategy where Oscar was the lead driver, kind of got a bit done by his own team on strategy there, with Lando winning the race. You’ve got Monza, where he’s actually had to give up a position. And then you’ve got Singapore, where Lando’s wheel banged his way through and not had the swap around.”
“I know in all of this, you’ve got Lando’s lost points with a DNF in Zandvoort. Lando’s had sort of slower pit stops on average, even if Oscar got one in Singapore. But it must be a little bit grating for Oscar to think, flipping hell, can I just have one rub of the green here in terms of the teammate dynamics?”
“I still don’t think in any of these moments, engagement issues, he’s ever come out favourably”;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/jol...s-this-season/
Steiner sounds Piastri alarm as sudden departure theory addressed
13/10/2025
Norberto Mujica
GPblog.com
Guenther Steiner issues advice for world championship leader Oscar Piastri as theories of a sudden McLaren exit emerge. According to Steiner the Aussie driver should not leave the Woking-based team since by his year's season finale in Abu Dhabi his F1 goal will have been fulfilled. “First of all, he’s going to win the world championship this year," Steiner said in the Red Flags podcast. "So that’s why he should stay there."
Furthermore, the uncertainty that 2026 brings provides yet another reason to remain in place. “Next year, wherever you go — first of all, there is no seats in the next year. And wherever you go, you wouldn’t know where you’re going, and I think McLaren at the moment is doing a pretty good job.”
According to the Italian-American former F1 boss, McLaren's competitiveness prospects plus his ability to beat Norris, make a compelling case for choosing to continue to defend the papaya colours in the future. “Obviously he can beat Lando. If he can beat him this year, I think his hope should be to beat him in the future as well."
‘Guenther Steiner issues advice’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/stein...eory-addressed
McLaren fears over Max Verstappen obvious after worried 'very competitive' comments
Max Verstappen has closed the gap to Oscar Piastri in the Drivers' Championship to just 63 points, with McLaren team principal Andrea Stella showing concerns about the Red Bull star's resurgence
14/10/2025
Harry Smith, Cameron Winstanley
Daily Star
Prior to the Singapore Grand Prix, Helmut Marko suggested that Red Bull's performance at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, would indicate whether they are genuinely in contention with McLaren in the upcoming six races. Verstappen's RB21 passed the test with flying colours.
"They were competitive in Monza, very competitive," McLaren's team principal Andrea Stella commented ahead of the Austin race. "And then they were competitive in Baku. We thought, 'Let's see whether this [competitiveness] depends on using a low level of drag, small rear wings, and [if] it can be repeated at high level drag and big rear wings'. Here in Singapore, they might have struggled a bit in the past, and the evidence is that they might have resolved both of these high-drag and Singapore factors.”
“But this is not a surprise. It's Red Bull. They are extremely capable. Max is a driver who is just Max Verstappen. I don't think we need to make any further comments, so it's no surprise that they are in the game. It's tight, and it's interesting; obviously, we would like to make Formula One boring. We have done it sometimes, at some of the events, but normally, Formula One is competitive and tight. You have to accept the fight, and that's what we are doing."
“But this is not a surprise. It's Red Bull. They are extremely capable”;
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/ma...nship-36066337
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63 Points, Six Weekends: Verstappen Smells Blood.
Red Bull and Max Verstappen are back in this title fight. Andrea Stella isn’t one for hyperbole, but even he couldn’t downplay what’s become obvious over the last month.
October 12, 2025
Alex Albuquerque
FastestLap.com
Verstappen’s deficit to championship leader Oscar Piastri has shrunk from almost triple digits to 63 points thanks to a four-race run that reads like a statement: wins at Monza and Baku, second at Zandvoort, and another second on Sunday night in Singapore. And that last one mattered. Marina Bay has been a Red Bull bogey for years; this time, Verstappen chased George Russell to the flag and beat both McLarens on outright pace.
“They were competitive in Monza, very competitive. And then they were competitive in Baku,” McLaren team principal Stella said in Singapore. “We thought, let’s see if that depends on low drag and small rear wings, and if it can be repeated with big wings at high downforce. Here in Singapore, where they’ve struggled in the past, the evidence is they might have resolved both of these factors.
The timing is not subtle. Red Bull has fed a steady stream of upgrades onto the RB21 across these last races, ironing out the balance quirks that left Verstappen fighting the car through the first half of the season. Early spikes of form — think Suzuka and Imola — have become a consistent platform. Meanwhile, McLaren’s MCL39 has been relatively static as Woking’s gaze shifts increasingly to 2026. That’s not a criticism; it’s a championship reality. But it has given Verstappen a foothold with only six race weekends to go.
‘Verstappen Smells Blood’;
https://fastestlap.com/news/63-point...-smells-blood/
MAX PREVIEWS AUSTIN GP: 'WANT TO KEEP UP THE MOMENTUM'
15 October 2025
Niels Hendrix
Verstappen.nl
Max Verstappen is looking forward to the Grand Prix of Austin in Texas in the United States of America, the upcoming weekend. The Dutch Oracle Red Bull Racing driver says: “We made a positive step in Singapore. We have had a strong run of races recently and want to keep up the momentum and hopefully this weekend we can do a bit better. I have been back at the factory this week preparing on the sim and the team has been pushing really hard and we have been analysing where we can improve.”
Max adds: “This circuit is about finding the right compromise in setup between straight-line speed and downforce for the fast-sweeping corners and the bumps can always make things tricky too. Austin is a cool city and has great food so always a fun place to race at. It’s another sprint weekend, so we’ll have to get on top of things quickly as there is less time to fine tune things, but this will be a challenge for everyone.”
“Back at the factory this week preparing on the sim”;
https://news.verstappen.com/en/article/5975/
Villeneuve backs title outsider Verstappen for 'best championship yet'
14 Oct 2025
Ben Winship
GPblog.com
Jacques Villeneuve has backed Max Verstappen to win the 2025 Drivers Championship after closing the gap to the McLaren drivers in recent weeks. Speaking at a 75th anniversary event for F1 held in Italy, the 1997 world champion claimed Verstappen will overcome a 63 point gap to Oscar Piastri in the remaining six race weekends.
When asked who would win the 2025 Drivers Championship Villeneuve was quick to shout ‘Verstappen!’. He said: “And so it will be his best World Championship yet. Because the two McLarens are suffering too much under the pressure. They need to wake up.” With back-to-back wins in Italy and Azerbaijan, four-time world champion Verstappen has cut the gap to championship leader Oscar Piastri down from 97 points to 63 in the space of just four rounds.
‘Villeneuve was quick to shout “Verstappen!”’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/ville...ampionship-yet
Juan Pablo Montoya thinks Max Verstappen is playing a ‘terrifying’ game in 2025 title fight
13 October 2025
Tyler Rowlinson
F1 Oversteer
Red Bull were disappointed Verstappen did not win in Singapore as he came home second behind George Russell, who dominated the race. The 27-year-old was gunning for pole position, but he abandoned his final lap by the pit entry. Verstappen claimed that Norris impeded him with dirty air while entering the final two corners. For Juan Pablo Montoya, this is a ‘terrifying’ game that the Dutchman is playing to unnerve the McLaren drivers and create ‘tension’ amongst them.
“It’s terrifying that Max is playing that game and the only reason Max is playing that game is because he wants to pit the two McLaren drivers against each other and he’s very strategic,” he said via AS Columbia. “He’s not stupid. So he’s perfect and saying it in front of Oscar, right? Well, you weren’t a McLaren driver, the other one was the one who made me uncomfortable, do you understand me? To create that tension.”
“It wasn’t even visible, and it wasn’t even there. I’m telling you, if Lando was driving fast, opening up a gap very quickly, all the gap he’s opening up, because he’s going full speed, one says, ‘No, but he wasn’t even close enough for it to affect anything’. Well, where it would have affected Lando, he wouldn’t have been able to get as close as he got to Max in the race. Until Lando had problems when he got to a second or 1.3, something like that, but until then Lando had no problems and was much faster than Max. So, if you look at that and say, let’s say it’s not 1.3, but 2 and a half, 3 seconds, 3 seconds. Lando was ahead by 3 seconds, if you know what I mean.”
“It’s terrifying”;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/jua...5-title-fight/
Schumacher predicts bleak future for McLaren, tips Verstappen for win
13 Oct 2025
Samson Ero
GPblog.com
Ralf Schumacher has shared a grim prediction regarding the situation unfolding at McLaren, while also tipping Max Verstappen to take victory at the United States Grand Prix. The 50-year-old, who spoke on the Backstage Boxengasse podcast, was asked whether Zak Brown would soon have to decide who the team’s lead driver should be amid their title fight. Schumacher, however, stressed that while the McLaren CEO is unlikely to favour anyone, there might soon be a need for a decision as Verstappen closes in on both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
“I don’t think Zak has the kind of character that would make him prefer one driver over the other. I’ll put it this way – if Max really comes up again, really close, then you’d have to get involved. Otherwise, they’ll just let them race. I just hope it doesn’t come to a final bang. Somehow, I have the feeling that soon, the two of them might not make it out of the first corner.”
Ralf Schumacher continued stating that Verstappen could clinch another win at the Grand Prix in Austin, adding that McLaren’s dominance appears to be slipping away. “Then it becomes a problem, and Max Verstappen just wins there [in Austin]. The next race in Texas will be very good for Red Bull again, and it could be difficult once more for McLaren, who also seem to be slowly getting tense. Anyone who knows Andreas Stella knows that. I’d say the dominance is really gone now, and that’s something they don’t understand at all and can’t afford at this stage of the season.”
‘Grim prediction regarding the situation unfolding at McLaren’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/schum...tappen-for-win
Verstappen sets sights on Austin: 'We’re pushing hard to improve'
16 Oct 2025
Olly Darcy
GPblog.com
Red Bull's Max Verstappen hopes that his recent "strong run of races" will guide him towards the front at the United States Grand Prix. Coming into the sprint weekend in Austin, Verstappen sits on 273 points and P3 in the world championship, 63 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri on 336 points.
After his P2 at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, Verstappen tempered expectations after bringing himself back into the title discussion, warned his team that they "need to dominate" for the rest of the season if there was any chance of winning the title.
However, there is still a belief from some that the Dutchman will win his fifth world title in as many years, with 1997 champion Jacques Villeneuve backing the 27-year-old to finish top of the standings.
‘Verstappen sets sights on Austin’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/verst...ard-to-improve
-
Stella opens up on McLaren 'repercussions' after Singapore fallout.
McLaren deemed Norris responsible for the incident, as he went slightly deep into Turn 3 and made contact with Verstappen’s rear, triggering a chain reaction that ultimately caught his teammate as well.
17 Oct 2025
Tobia Elia
GPblog.com
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella revealed how the team handled the incident between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris once the Singapore weekend was over. "We reviewed the case, we identified that Lando was responsible for the contact because he was a little long in corner 3, touched Verstappen and then he oversteered onto Oscar.”
"Obviously there was no malice in this move but both drivers accepted the review and we now head into the rest of the season like after Canada, even more united and stronger as a team. This is something that both drivers were keen to have in the racing framework. For me, it was part of leading the review — to discuss this without the drivers. They’ve been accepted, and we are now ready to focus on maximising the performance of the car and finding our winning ways again.”
‘McLaren deemed Norris responsible’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/stell...-piastri-clash
Oscar Piastri’s engineer reveals the ‘dangerous’ mood on his side of the McLaren garage
16 October 2025
David Comerford
F1 Oversteer
It may only be Piastri’s third season in F1 – no driver has won a title so early since Lewis Hamilton in 2008 – but he has worked for around ’10 years’ to be in this position. Back in August, Juan Pablo Montoya said Piastri was starting to realise this could be his only chance. And Stallard says that reflects the mood inside his McLaren camp right now.
The Woking outfit will race with the highly-rated Mercedes engine next year and appear to have all the personnel required to sustain their dominance. But nothing is certain in F1, particularly in the context of major regulation changes. Stallard told ESPN: “Hopefully, we’ll be in the same position next year, but we definitely have that Olympic-every-four-years kind of feeling, that feeling that this is our chance. And that’s always a slightly dangerous thing to feel, because very much handling pressure is about doing what you’re good at, rather than delivering some magic.”
“And normally, when it looks like magic to the rest of the world, it’s actually just because you went out and did your thing. So we’ll be trying to do that. I think we’re both quite well placed to handle that pressure. You’re right in that the pressure is going to ramp up, but people say pressure is a privilege. That pressure is something that he’s worked for, for let’s say 10 years, arguably more, in order to be in a position where he can have that pressure. And it’s very rare that you get to be world champion without being able to ride that pressure. So, I think it comes with the territory, and we’re in the territory we want to be in.”
“Doing what you’re good at, rather than delivering some magic”;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/osc...claren-garage/
Max Verstappen unfazed by new F1 position as world title fight heats up
For the first time as world champion, Max Verstappen is the hunter rather than the hunted in F1.
17 October 2025
Jake Nichol
RacingNews365
Max Verstappen is unfazed by acquiring a new position in the F1 title race, being the driver hunting rivals down as opposed to the hunted. Analysing the new situation, the Dutchman explained that he would simply do his best and try to achieve the best possible results for his Red Bull team.
Asked for his chances of winning the title, Verstappen told media, including RacingNews365, "50-50, you either win it or you don’t. This car is a bit different to the previous one, so it’s not a guarantee that it works everywhere. I prefer to just look at it race by race. We’ll try to do our best here and then move on and see what we get."
‘Max Verstappen unfazed’;
https://racingnews365.com/max-versta...fight-heats-up
Can Verstappen catch McLaren duo? He rates his chances
17/10/2025
Michael Delaney
F1i.com
With the 2025 Formula 1 season hurtling toward its climax, Max Verstappen is clawing his way back into the Drivers’ Championship fray, rating his shot at dethroning McLaren contenders Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris as a straight "50/50" gamble.
Just four races ago, the Red Bull ace trailed Piastri by a daunting 104 points, but a blistering resurgence –capped by successive wins in Monza and Baku, plus a strong P2 in Singapore – has slashed the deficit to 63 points behind Piastri and a more manageable 41 from Norris. With 174 points still dangling over six nail-biting rounds, including three Sprint weekends, the Dutch maestro heads to Austin's Circuit of The Americas brimming with calculated optimism, while taking his task one race at a time.
“We’ll try, for sure,” he said, when asked about his prospects of overhauling his papaya rivals. “The last three weekends have been very nice – some a bit better than others. I still think that in Singapore we didn’t maximise the potential of the car, but you analyse everything and try to do better. That’s what we’ll try to do again here. It’s a great track to drive, a Sprint weekend is always a bit hectic… I’m just curious to see what we can do.”
“We’ll try, for sure”;
https://f1i.com/news/550803-can-vers...s-chances.html
Charles Leclerc fires back at Ferrari F1 exit rumours with blunt response
Charles Leclerc rebuffs speculation linking him with a Ferrari exit after 2026, calling the rumours “annoying” and insisting his focus is on winning
17 October 2025
John Smith
Charles Leclerc has shut down mounting speculation that he could leave Ferrari when his contract expires in 2026, describing reports about his potential exit as unfounded and “annoying.” “What I can say is what I’ve always said, and that’s very clear,” Leclerc told the media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “I’ve always loved Ferrari so much and my only obsession at the moment is to win in red, whether it’s now or in the future. And I want to bring back Ferrari to the top.”
“There are lots of speculations around me, but just in general around the team for whatever reason,” Leclerc added. “I feel like there are too many people speaking things not coming from actual facts, and it’s just a little bit annoying. It’s always been like that. And I think as a driver, but also as a team, we’ve just got to focus on our things, which is what we are doing. It’s not super nice to see all these things around the team all the time.”
“It’s definitely not a situation we want to be in, in a way that the performance is not at the level where we want to be,” Leclerc said. “But we are all focused on trying to turn that situation around. Whenever the results aren’t there, there are always those rumours that come back — but what I say today is what I’ve said in the past six or seven years with the team.”
‘Blunt response’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/cha...ours-response/
Russell on lucrative Mercedes deal : ‘Toto could have been tighter’
17/10/2025
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com
“I'm really happy to be continuing,” George Russell said in Austin on Thursday. “The truth is if every single seat was available for next year and I could choose any single team to race for, I believe Mercedes is my best chance of winning the championship next year. And for me, it's more about winning than it is about money or sponsor days or anything. I want to win and this is what I'm fighting for, so that is the long and short of it.”
“I think it always just comes down to performance, I think, for any driver,” he said. “At least for myself, what allows me to sleep well at night is knowing that my performances are strong and that is what will keep you in the sport as any driver. Our intention and my goal is to continue with Mercedes indefinitely, and we're here to focus on winning in 2026.”
“But I think he really recognises that you need to reward those who are delivering, who are putting in the effort and delivering those results on track. That's why I'm sort of here with a smile on my face because I'm very happy with the offer. That's the bonus, but the main goal for me is a fast race car.”
Toto could have been tighter’;
https://f1i.com/news/550799-russell-...n-tighter.html
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Lando Norris tops United States Grand Prix FP1 as Nico Hulkenberg splits McLaren duo.
McLaren appear to have the upper hand once again, although speed trap data has shown that Verstappen is stronger in the medium speed corners. This could make for an interesting United States Grand Prix weekend, as this is normally where the Woking-based team have an advantage over Red Bull.
17 October 2025
Rebecca Braybrook
F1 Oversteer
The drivers took to the Circuit of the Americas for the only practice session of the United States Grand Prix weekend, ahead of Sprint qualifying later tonight. Lando Norris topped the FP1 time sheets during the later qualifying practice runs, with Nico Hulkenberg causing surprise as he split the McLarens with his Sauber. The German driver wasn’t the only surprise of the session, with Fernando Alonso sitting in fourth between Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen in third and fifth, respectively.
‘McLaren appear to have the upper hand once again’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/lan...prix-practice/
2025 F1 United States GP – Free Practice 1 Results
Lando Norris tops FP1 for McLaren at the 2025 United States GP as the title battle intensifies at the Circuit of the Americas
17 October 2025
John Smith
Total Motorsport
F1 United States GP 2025 FP1 results
Check out the full United States GP 2025 Free Practice 1 results from the first and only practice session at COTA below.
Pos Driver Team Time
1 Lando Norris McLaren 1:33.294
2 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +0.255
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.279
4 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +0.345
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.354
6 Alexander Albon Williams +0.626
7 George Russell Mercedes +0.637
8 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.671
9 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +0.861
10 Oliver Bearman Haas +1.039
‘FP1 results’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...ice-1-results/
Norris on top in sizzling Austin GP practice
17/10/2025
France 24
Austin (AFP) – Title-chasing Lando Norris topped the times ahead of Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and his McLaren team-mate and series leader Oscar Piastri in Friday's opening practice at the United States Grand Prix. The 25-year-old Briton, bristling after being disciplined internally by McLaren, clocked a best lap in one minute and 33.294 seconds to outpace Hulkenberg by 0.255sec and Piastri by 0.279sec as he bids to close a 22-point gap in the drivers' title race with six events remaining.
Two-time champion Fernando Alonso was fourth for Aston Martin ahead of four-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull, Alex Albon of Williams and Mercedes' George Russell. Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was eighth for Ferrari. All of the leading drivers clocked their best laps on soft slick tyres in the closing minutes except for Alonso, on hards, and Russell, Hamilton and rookie Isack Hadjar, who all used mediums.
The action began with Verstappen leading the way on a hot and sunny day at the sweeping Circuit of the Americas with an air temperature of 33C, enough for the 'heat hazard' rule to be executed, enabling drivers to wear cooling vests in their cars. Not everyone chose to take a vest, the Dutchman going without because he found it to be uncomfortable and flawed.
‘Bristling after being disciplined internally’;
https://www.france24.com/en/live-new...in-gp-practice
US Grand Prix: Lando Norris strikes back as Nico Hulkenberg springs a shock in FP1
17 Oct 2025
Thomas Maher
PlanetF1.com
McLaren has set the pace in the first and only practice session at the Circuit of the Americas, courtesy of Lando Norris, while there was surprise in second place… Lando Norris and McLaren have started the US Grand Prix weekend in strong fashion, with the British driver enjoying a quarter-second advantage in first practice, as he was joined at the front by Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg.
With track temperature at 43 degrees celsius as the drivers lined up to peel out on track for the one and only practice session of the weekend, it was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who led the cars out onto the Circuit of the Americas for the first laps of the weekend.
Hard tyres were the order of the day for the first 30 minutes of the day as the teams sought to get a good understanding of the C1 compound, and it was Red Bull who found its feet in the early stages as Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda went first and second ahead of Norris.
‘Lando Norris strikes back’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/united...025-fp1-report
Everything that happened in only F1 US GP practice session
Oct 17, 2025
Josh Suttill
The Race
Lando Norris led Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber in the sole Formula 1 practice session before sprint qualifying at the United States Grand Prix. Norris emerged quickest in a late flurry of soft tyre sprint qualifying simulations in Austin, setting a 1m33.294s, 0.255s faster than surprise runner-up in the session, Hulkenberg.
Hulkenberg hasn’t scored a point since his Silverstone podium but did earn his best grand prix qualifying result of the season (11th) last time out in Singapore. Piastri was third, 0.279s slower than Norris, who is facing as-yet-undetermined ‘consequences’ for causing their Singapore GP opening lap clash.
Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest for Aston Martin ahead of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull and Alex Albon’s Williams. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were seventh and eighth and set their fastest times on the medium tyres - the mandated tyre for SQ1 and SQ2.
‘Lando Norris led Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/e...ctice-session/
Full Results | Norris tops FP1 for McLaren at COTA ahead of Hulkenberg
17 Oct 2024
Luke-John Buckle
GPblog.com
The one and only practice session ahead of the United States Grand Prix has just been completed at Circuit of the Americas. Lando Norris tops the timesheets in first practice at Circuit of the Americas for McLaren, as Nico Hulkenberg set the second fastest time. At COTA, the British driver set a 1:33.294 as Hulkenberg went two tenths slower as the track continued to get faster towards the end. Oscar Piastri is leading the world championhip standings and set the third best time in FP1, just under three tenths behind his teammate.
Aston Martin can be very good on Fridays, and Fernando Alonso did enough to go fourth quickest ahead of reigning world champion Max Verstappen. Alex Albon went sixth quickest for Williams on a mixed day for the team, as his teammate Carlos Sainz slumped to P19 after a gearbox problem.
George Russell set the seventh best time for Mercedes, ahead of his compatriot Lewis Hamilton who led for much of the hour. Isack Hadjar and Oliver Bearman are both racing at Circuit of the Americas for the first time and went ninth and 10th quickest. Charles Leclerc didn't have the opportunity to run the soft tyres at the end as his Ferrari developed an issue, costing him valuable track time.
‘Lando Norris tops the timesheets’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/full-...-of-hulkenberg
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'Not impossible': Max Verstappen takes US GP sprint pole but Helmut Marko admits 2025 title will require 'help' from McLaren.
Red Bull's four-time world champion Verstappen took sprint pole position, with McLaren's Lando Norris and Piastri completing a familiar top three.
18 October 2025
Emily Patterson
Channel 9's Wide World of Sports
Red Bull Racing advisor Helmut Marko has conceded that securing a fifth-straight drivers' championship is "not impossible", but admitted that driver Max Verstappen will need "some help from McLaren". "Since Zandvoort, we were always fighting for P1, P2. So the direction is okay. Unfortunately, this turnaround came a little bit late," he said.
"All this [discussion about] medium speed, the temperature and all these stories, they don't count anymore. We are there. And if in one corner we may be [off the pace], it's going within thousands of a second. It's not like it was before, half a second or so in some sectors.”
"It shows that our car made a big step forward, and Max, of course, is using it to the maximum. If we had made this turnaround earlier, the championship would look different. I think we can't do it on our own. We need some help from McLaren. It's not impossible."
“We are there”;
https://www.nine.com.au/sport/motors...18-p5n3g0.html
2025 F1 United States GP – Sprint Qualifying Results
18 October 2025
John Smith
Total Motorsport
F1 United States GP 2025 Sprint Qualifying results
Behind the top three, Nico Hulkenberg delivered a standout performance in fourth, ahead of George Russell, Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton, who secured seventh after a scrappy session for Ferrari.
While Alex Albon impressed once more in ninth and Charles Leclerc rounded out the top ten after narrowly surviving elimination in SQ2, as his one-lap struggles in Texas continued.
Earlier, both Ferraris flirted with an early exit before Leclerc salvaged progression to SQ3, while rookies Isack Hadjar and Kimi Antonelli missed the cut.
Check out the full United States GP 2025 Sprint Qualifying results from COTA below.
Pos. Driver Team Gap
1. Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:32.143
2. Lando Norris McLaren +0.071
3. Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.380
4. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +0.502
5. George Russell Mercedes +0.745
6. Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +0.767
7. Carlos Sainz Williams +0.768
8. Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.892
9. Alex Albon Williams +0.956
10. Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.961
‘Sprint Qualifying results’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...fying-results/
Mark Hughes: McLaren 'consequences' may have cost Norris pole
Oct 18, 2025
Mark Hughes
The Race
If the infamous internal ‘consequences’ McLaren has imposed upon Lando Norris for his Singapore contact with his team-mate is the timing of his final qualifying runs relative to Oscar Piastri, it just might have cost McLaren the sprint pole to Max Verstappen’s Red Bull here.
Red Bull – just as in Singapore – waited until the very last moment to send Verstappen out on track in an attempt at maximising the track grip. He was the last car out. The penultimate car out was Piastri. Norris took to the track a full 40s+ earlier than Verstappen and 20s earlier than Piastri.
With the track cooling and the line rubbering up, there was potentially significant laptime difference between Norris’ slot and Verstappen’s. Norris lost pole by 0.071s. Might the track grip difference have feasibly been as much as that? Absolutely, it may have been. Not a certainty, but definitely a possibility.
‘Infamous internal consequences’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/m...o-norris-pole/
Verstappen cautious of ‘tough’ McLaren challenge in United States GP Sprint
Red Bull's Max Verstappen snatched Sprint pole from Lando Norris with an impressive last-gasp effort at the Circuit of The Americas.
Oct 18, 2025
Formula One - Official Site
Max Verstappen has warned of the “tough” threat he faces in Saturday’s Sprint from McLaren after securing Sprint pole at the United States Grand Prix. “It’s been a nice qualifying,” said the Red Bull driver after hopping out of the cockpit.
“Throughout all of the segments, we were quite close. It was just about putting it all together at the end, when it matters most, which is not easy because you go to the soft compound with no reference.”
“It worked out well. I still expect it to be a tough battle tomorrow with the Sprint, but that is exactly what we want to see, right? So yeah, I’m excited for tomorrow and happy with today.”
‘Verstappen cautious’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...9nNSuItSatnEaA
Marko is certain: Verstappen can now win anywhere amid Sprint pole
18 Oct 2025
Updated: 02:53, 18 Oct
Tim Kraaij
GPblog.com
Pole position for the Sprint in Austin confirms that Red Bull Racing can once again contend for the victory everywhere according to Helmut Marko, especially with Max Verstappen behind the wheel. Immediately after sprint qualifying in the United States, Marko spoke to GPblog. Asked about Verstappen's pole lap, the Austrian said: "Super. In Sector 3, he took the pole. Turn 1, he went sideways, but was even so quicker. Even so, he was sliding a bit too much, I guess. But unbelievable lap in Sector 3."
Verstappen won in Monza and Baku, after which he finished second in Singapore in front of the two McLarens. When asked if the pole for the sprint race in Austin shows that the RB21 can now contend for pole everywereh, Marko smiled: "Definitely." He continued: "All this medium speed, the temperature, and all this stories, they don't count anymore. We are there. If in one corner, it's going within thousands of a second. It's not like it was before, half a second or so in some sector.
"It shows that our car made a big step forward, and Max, of course, is using it to the maximum," the Red Bull advisor concluded.
"Definitely";
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/marko...w-win-anywhere
Verstappen excited to fight Norris in United States GP Sprint Race as title chance beckons
18 October 2025
Brandon Sutton
Total Motorsport
“It’s been a nice qualifying,” Max Verstappen told F1 TV. “Throughout all the segments we were quite close, just about trying to put it all together when it matters at the end, which is not easy because you go to the soft compound with no reference really.”
“It worked out well, but I still expect it to be a tough battle tomorrow in the Sprint, but that’s I think exactly what we want to see. I’m excited for tomorrow and happy with today.”
“The wind was coming up and down, very gusty,” Verstappen continued. “The track is very bumpy as well, so the cars can easily step out on you in the high speed. In a qualifying like that, you have to leave a few margins here and there, but for us this has been a very good day”
“It’s been a nice qualifying”;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/ver...hance-beckons/
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Fuming McLaren boss responds to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri crash – “That was terrible”.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were both taken out of the United States Grand Prix Sprint race on the first lap after a collision with Nico Hulkenberg
18 Oct 2025
Daniel Moxon
The Mirror
McLaren boss Zak Brown has cleared both his drivers of any fault for the crash that saw them both bow out of the United States Grand Prix Sprint race on the first lap. Nico Hulkenberg collided with Oscar Piastri at the first corner, causing the Aussie to spin into his team-mate Lando Norris.
Norris was instantly out of the race due to severe damage. Piastri initially managed to carry on but soon reported suspension damage and was instructed to stop the car. "That was terrible," he said. "Neither of our drivers were to blame there.”
“That was some amateur hour driving from some of the drivers up there at the front and wiped our two guys. I want to see the replay again but, clearly, Nico drove into Oscar and he had no business being where he was and went into his left-rear tyre."
“That was terrible”;
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/fumin...lando-36091431
2025 US Grand Prix – Sprint F1 results (Circuit of The Americas)
18 Oct 2025
Mat Coch
PlanetF1.com
F1 results: US Grand Prix Sprint race
• 1. Max Verstappen | Red Bull
• 2. George Russell | Mercedes | +0.395s
• 3. Carlos Sainz | Williams | +0.791s
• 4. Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +1.224s
• 5. Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +1.825s
• 6. Alex Albon | Williams | +2.576s
• 7. Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | +2.976s
• 8. Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +4.147s
• 9. Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | +4.804
• 10. Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +5.126s
‘Sprint F1 results’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/f1-res...mericas-sprint
Max Verstappen raises McLaren warning after US GP sprint triumph
“If we want to win tomorrow we definitely need to be stronger.”
18 Oct 2025
Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net
Oscar Piastri’s switchback attempt resulted in carnage at the first corner, putting both McLarens out of the race. It means Verstappen is now 55 points behind Piastri with six races (and two sprints) to go. Despite an important victory, Verstappen believes Red Bull still need to improve the handling of his RB21 ahead of qualifying.
“The start was good,” Verstappen said to Jenson Button in parc fermé. “Then, of course, there was a safety car because of that Turn 1 incident. It took a few laps after the safety car to have decent pace. So we need to figure out what was going on there. But nevertheless, we won the sprint, which is, of course, the most important.”
“But of course, already looking at for tomorrow, I do think we need to be a bit better in race trim to be able to fight the McLarens, because we haven’t seen anything of them. Of course, we have some ideas what we can do. And then hopefully we’ll just, yeah, stick a bit better tomorrow.”
“If we want to win tomorrow we definitely need to be stronger”;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/108455...sprint-triumph
Max Verstappen escapes McLaren chaos to win United States GP Sprint and close title gap
Max Verstappen extended his Formula 1 title hopes with victory in the 2025 United States GP Sprint Race
18 October 2025
John Smith
Total Motorsport
Max Verstappen extended his late-season Formula 1 title resurgence with victory in the 2025 United States Grand Prix Sprint Race, taking full advantage of a chaotic opening lap that wiped out both McLaren challengers. The Red Bull driver crossed the line ahead of George Russell and Carlos Sainz, cutting further into his championship deficit after surviving early drama at the Circuit of the Americas.
“I knew you don’t get many opportunities with Max so I sent it,” said Russell. “P2 was better than we could have expected.” Despite the effort, the Mercedes driver soon dropped back as his tyres began to fade, while Verstappen complained of instability with his rear suspension over COTA’s notorious bumps.
Verstappen took the chequered flag ahead of Russell and Sainz, followed by Hamilton, Leclerc, and Alex Albon, who capped off a strong showing for Williams. Tsunoda secured seventh, while Andrea Kimi Antonelli inherited the final point after Oliver Bearman was penalised 10 seconds for exceeding track limits in an earlier battle.
‘Max Verstappen escapes McLaren chaos’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...tes-gp-sprint/
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri react to United States Sprint Race crash: Who is to blame?
The McLaren pair collided on Lap 1 at the Circuit of the Americas.
18 October 2025
Brandon Sutton
Total Motorsport
A poor start for Norris saw him send a big move up the inside of Piastri into the corner in a bid to remain ahead of his teammate, but he championship leader was wise to it and attempted a switch back. Norris arguably caused the entire incident with the lunge on Piastri in a bid to make up for his own poor start, forcing his teammate to have to hesitate on the turn to the first corner of the lap.
However, the 25-year-old was not in a mood to accept any responsibility in Austin as he laid the blame at the feet of those behind who arrived into Turn 1 in a hurry, describing himself as unlucky.
“I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong,” Norris said, reflecting on the incident. “Further back things happened and I just got unlucky and got hit because of it. I need to look a bit more carefully. It’s more people further back just being a bit careless and we are the consequence of that.”
‘Norris arguably caused the entire incident with the lunge on Piastri in a bid to make up for his own poor start’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...nt-race-crash/
-
Verstappen Masters Austin: Norris Stunned, Ferrari Smell Blood.
Max Verstappen turned Austin’s bumps into stepping stones and walked away with his seventh pole of the season, a clinical 1:32.510 that left Lando Norris and the rest of the field reaching for answers under a hot Texas sky.
October 18, 2025
Alex Albuquerque
FastestLap.com
Red Bull’s lead man was untouchable when it mattered in Q3, ripping almost four tenths out of Norris’s early benchmark before the final runs fizzled without a proper response. Charles Leclerc salvaged third for Ferrari despite a lurid spin at the final corner on his first flyer, while George Russell led Mercedes’ charge in fourth. Lewis Hamilton, now in red, lines up fifth alongside a subdued Oscar Piastri, who never quite found the rhythm and will start sixth.
McLaren made the story interesting before a lap had been set. Both papaya cars underwent precautionary gearbox changes after Sprint-race bruises and missed the early pit-lane scrum, but once they were on track the pace looked good—albeit more so on Norris’s side. Piastri, who came into the weekend with the points advantage, fought rear-end grip and timing all session and couldn’t get close to Verstappen’s orbit.
‘Subdued Oscar Piastri’;
https://fastestlap.com/news/verstapp...i-smell-blood/
2025 F1 United States GP – Qualifying Results
Max Verstappen storms to pole at Circuit of the Americas as McLaren and Ferrari battle closely behind in an ultra-tight qualifying session
18 October 2025
John Smith
Total Motorsport
F1 United States GP 2025 Qualifying results
Check out the full United States GP 2025 Qualifying results from COTA below.
Pos Driver Team Time
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:32.510
2 Lando Norris McLaren +0.291
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.297
4 George Russell Mercedes +0.316
5 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.402
6 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.574
7 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.604
8 Oliver Bearman Haas +0.629
9 Carlos Sainz Williams +0.640
10 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +0.650
‘Qualifying results’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/202...fying-results/
HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the best action from Qualifying as Verstappen takes pole for the US GP
Max Verstappen will start the United States Grand Prix from pole position after dominating the session.
19 Oct 2025
Formula One - Official Site
Max Verstappen secured pole position for the United States Grand Prix, backing up his lights-to-flag victory in the Sprint, despite a timing error from Red Bull denying him a second timed effort in Q3.
The four-time World Champion set a 1m 32.510s with his first effort in Q3 to position himself at the front of the field for the second time this weekend, seeing off Lando Norris by 0.291s. Championship leader Oscar Piastri will start from sixth, after struggling throughout the session.
Q1 provided a frantic start to the action, with Isack Hadjar crashing at Turn 6 and causing the red flags to fly. Bookending the drama in the opening phase, both Lance Stroll and Alex Albon saw their times deleted for exceeding track limits, relegating them to the rear of the grid.
‘HIGHLIGHTS’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...cSR0vXY2zL7duQ
Verstappen on pole for USGP, Piastri only sixth
Max Verstappen has picked up from where he left off earlier in the day in the Sprint by claiming pole position for the United States Grand Prix, as Oscar Piastri struggled down in sixth.
19 Oct 2025
Ben Waterworth
Speedcafe
Verstappen claimed his seventh pole of the season and the 47th of his career with a time of 1m32.510s, 0.291s ahead of Piastri’s teammate Lando Norris. Piastri, who was kept in the garage right up until the opening minutes of Q1 as McLaren seemingly finished repairs on his car after his earlier crash in the Sprint, never looked on the pace throughout the entire session, finishing more than half a second behind Verstappen’s pole time. It is the Australian’s second-lowest start of the season and gives him extra work to do in the race tomorrow as he aims to stop the run from both Norris and Verstappen in gaining on his championship lead.
Verstappen, meanwhile, was delighted with his pole lap, which came on his opening run in Q3 after his final push lap didn’t take place, with the Red Bull driver not making it across the line in time to complete a final run. “It was good,” Verstappen said of his qualifying. “I think every segment the car was very strong.”
The Dutchman also commented on the tricky conditions, as well as his near miss at the end for his final push lap. “It’s very hot and very strong winds as well,” he added. “In that first sector the tail wind is challenging. I couldn’t do my final run as it was a bit messy with the out lap, but luckily I didn’t need it.”
“I think every segment the car was very strong”;
https://speedcafe.com/f1-news-2025-m...action-result/
Marko knows why Verstappen took such dominant pole in Austin
19 Oct 2025
Tim Kraaij
GPblog.com
Helmut Marko believes Max Verstappen could have secured pole position by an even wider margin, as he revealed in a post-qualifying conversation with GPblog. Following the conclusion of the qualifying session, GPblog spoke exclusively with Marko, who watched his star driver claim the pole again.
''We have adjusted the car and what we have done has improved the car,'' the Austrian said after the session in Austin. After the sprint race, Verstappen had expressed his concerns about the car. According to the Dutch driver, adjustments had to be made to the car, which Red Bull subsequently did.
''Yes, it was better. In the second run, there were drivers who were so slow that we missed it (to be able to drive another round). Fortunately, it was enough. With a second set, I think we would have been even faster.''
''We have adjusted the car and what we have done has improved the car'';
https://www.gpblog.com/en/exclusive-...pole-in-austin
Verstappen's charge continues with commanding US GP pole
Oct 18, 2025
Matt Beer
The Race
Max Verstappen's charge towards the McLarens in the 2025 Formula 1 championship fight continued as he took a commanding pole position for the United States Grand Prix. While Verstappen's Red Bull was fastest in all three qualifying segments and ultimately took pole by nearly three tenths of a second, championship leader Oscar Piastri could only manage sixth fastest.
The McLarens seemed out of sorts throughout the session, labouring over setting quick laptimes and having scares such as Lando Norris running very wide on his first Q1 run and spending quite a while in the drop zone. But Norris did pull things together when it really mattered to claim second behind Verstappen, four places and nearly three tenths of a second ahead of Piastri.
Ferrari showed much more encouraging form than it had in Friday's sprint qualifying as Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton took third and fifth, sandwiching Mercedes' Singapore winner George Russell. The Ferrari drivers secured those grid spots with just one proper flying lap each as they'd both lost time in the final segment with errors on their first runs - in Leclerc's case a complete 360-degree spin.
‘Verstappen's charge’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/m...ng-us-gp-pole/
F1 - Verstappen takes imperious US GP pole ahead of Norris and Leclerc
19.10.25
FIA (Press Release)
Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen took his seventh pole position of the season at the Circuit of the American, beating McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to the front of the grid for the US Grand Prix by over three tenths of a second. Championship leader Oscar Piastri is set to start the race from sixth place.
Norris took an early provisional pole at the start of Q3 with a lap of 1:32.904 that put him ahead of Rusell and Antonelli, but Verstappen then powered past all three, posting a lap of 1:32.510 to take top spot almost four tenths of a second clear of Norris.
‘Imperious US GP pole’;
https://www.fia.com/news/f1-verstapp...is-and-leclerc
Max Verstappen reflects on ‘very tricky’ United States GP qualifying in Austin after securing pole position
Red Bull's Max Verstappen praised his car after grabbing pole position in the USA.
19 October 2025
Euan Burns
Total Motorsport
Shedding some light on the singular run in Q3, Verstappen said: “The first run in Q3 was good. Just managed to improve a little bit from Q2. Unfortunately I couldn’t do my final run. It was a bit messy with the out-laps, but luckily, we didn’t need it.”
The main concern for Verstappen when Sunday’s race begins will be the first corner, as the car that starts in P2 often ends up leading into Turns 2 and 3 at the Circuit of the Americas due to the favourable line.
‘Red Bull's Max Verstappen praised his car’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/max...pole-position/
-
US Grand Prix: Verstappen blows title wide open with dominant victory.
The Red Bull driver led every lap from pole while Norris finished second after a thrilling scrap with Charles Leclerc as Oscar Piastri could do no better than fifth.
19 Oct 2025
Mat Coch
PlanetF1.com
An utterly dominant display from Max Verstappen has moved him to just 40 points of the world championship lead following the United States Grand Prix. It was a clean start, unlike Saturday’s Sprint, the opening lap ending with Verstappen 1.4s clear of Leclerc from Norris, Lewis Hamilton, Piastri, Russell, Kimi Antonelli, Oliver Bearman, Carlos Sainz, and Yuki Tsunoda in the top 10.
The Dutchman duly took the flag to win for the seventh time in the United States. Norris was second, having pulled comfortably clear of Leclerc, with a fading Hamilton, nursing a suspected puncture, fourth ahead of Piastri, Russell, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Bearman, and Fernando Alonso to round out the top 10.
‘Verstappen blows title wide open’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/united...25-race-report
2025 F1 United States Grand Prix – Race Results
19 Oct 2025
John Smith
Total Motorsport
F1 United States Grand Prix 2025 race results
Check out the full F1 2025 United States Grand Prix results from COTA below.
Pos Driver Team Time
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Leader
2 Lando Norris McLaren +7.959
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +15.373
4 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +28.536
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren +29.678
6 George Russell Mercedes +33.456
7 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull +52.714
8 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +57.249
9 Oliver Bearman Haas +64.722
10 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +70.001
‘Race results’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...-race-results/
Our verdict on Verstappen's Austin dominance
Oct 19, 2025
The Race
Does a dominant United States Grand Prix victory make Max Verstappen the new 2025 Formula 1 title favourite? He's now 40 points adrift of leader Oscar Piastri, with Lando Norris now 14 points behind Piastri after clinching second late on at Austin.
Scott Mitchell-Malm: Not the favourite but I'd back him. The point at which a driver becomes a proper title threat is subjective and I always felt last year Norris never crossed that threshold, despite what others wanted to force us to think. Verstappen's done it though. He had been working his way into the picture slowly but still had a lot to do. This weekend leaves me with no doubt at all.
Jon Noble: McLaren needs a proper reset. Favourite, no? Firmly in the hunt? Absolutely.
Gary Anderson: Piastri has another problem now. I don't think Verstappen could have done more at Austin - two poles and two wins, so maximum points from this event - but I still wouldn't say he is the favourite.
Gary Anderson: Piastri has another problem now. I don't think Verstappen could have done more at Austin - two poles and two wins, so maximum points from this event - but I still wouldn't say he is the favourite.
‘Verdict on Verstappen's Austin dominance’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/i...e-our-verdict/
Verstappen’s warning as title fight ignites - 'We must be perfect'
20 Oct 2025
Olly Darcy
GPblog.com
Max Verstappen tempered expectations by saying he and Red Bull need to be "perfect until the end" if they are to take the drivers' championship. "I think we need to be perfect until the end to have a chance," Verstappen stated after a fourth career win in Austin.
"We have caught up a lot, but at the same time, the gaps are very small. I think every weekend, you need to try and be perfect, and that's what we'll try to do till the end. It's been a perfect weekend for us. Today, I think what was crucial was the first stint where I could build a bit of a gap, because I think after that, it basically stabilised pretty much after the pit stop until the end."
'We must be perfect';
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/verst...ust-be-perfect
Verstappen Turns the Screw in Texas; Norris Breaks Through
October 19, 2025
Alex Albuquerque
FastestLap.com
Max Verstappen didn’t so much win the United States Grand Prix as manage it with a quiet sort of menace. From the moment the lights went out at the Circuit of the Americas, the Red Bull driver covered the inside into Turn 1, slammed the door on Lando Norris, and settled into that brisk, unsentimental rhythm he’s made a habit of. It was the sort of afternoon where the stopwatch did all the talking: a 10 second cushion built while those behind argued about the order of the chase.
Ferrari rolled the dice at the start, Charles Leclerc lining up on the softs and using the extra bite to pinch second from Norris up the hill. Norris could sit in DRS but not step past, and as he flirted with the track limits—three warnings, one misstep from a penalty—his best chance at an early strike evaporated. Verstappen, out front and unbothered, simply cleared off. Only when Leclerc’s softs inevitably cried enough on Lap 22 did the picture change. Norris finally broke free into second, but his afternoon became a damage limitation exercise against the four-time champion up the road, who had already done the heavy lifting.
The texture of the race belonged to the middle phase—Norris holding station, Leclerc nursing grip, Verstappen slipping away by tenths per lap—but the crucial moment was McLaren’s late call and Norris’ clean, no nonsense move to get it done. It salvaged the maximum from a day that threatened to trap him behind red paint. It also underlined where the title fight is right now: McLaren can bloody noses, Ferrari can disrupt the script, but Verstappen still controls the pace of the story. If you’re keeping score, that’s momentum. In this phase of a championship, momentum is currency.
‘Quiet sort of menace’;
https://fastestlap.com/news/verstapp...reaks-through/
Truth behind Oscar flop and what now; ‘extraordinary’ title race shift explained — F1 Talking Pts
October 20th, 2025
Michael Lamonato from Fox Sports
Fox Sports (Australia)
We’re witnessing something quite extraordinary. That’s Red Bull Racing boss Laurent Mekies’s opinion after Max Verstappen’s total domination of the United States Grand Prix weekend slashed his title deficit to just 40 points with five rounds remaining. After five rounds of being dared to believe that the championship fight is on, Red Bull Racing no longer needs convincing.
Verstappen’s title defence, his shot at a fifth world championship, is very much alive. The electricity of this moment is undeniable. “Near domination today,” Red Bull Racing boss Laurent Mekies told Sky Sports. “Max has been driving at an incredible level. We have to admit we’re witnessing something quite extraordinary, and it has produced this turnaround.” Five races remain, and among them are some Verstappen classics.
Perfection is still required, but with momentum totally with the Dutchman and his formerly down-and-out team, you’d be brave to discount a late title twist. “The focus and the intensity is still on this weekend, on learning whatever we can still learn on this weekend and on bringing the best possible car to Mexico,” Mekies said. “We’re going to keep that approach. We’re not looking at the big numbers. We’re looking at what we can learn every session, how we can get the best possible car on the ground in Mexico in a week’s time.”
“Witnessing something quite extraordinary”;
https://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsp...32a245862ee62b
David Croft shares what Mark Webber is privately saying about Oscar Piastri’s F1 championship hopes
20 October 2025
Ben Evans
F1 Oversteer
Commentator David Croft has now shared what Webber told him about Piastri’s mindset behind the scenes, and what he needs to do to win the title this year. Croft was following Piastri while on commentary for Sky Sports F1 (19/10 9:10 pm) as he struggled to keep up with Lewis Hamilton and had to worry about George Russell behind him.
He said: “I was talking to Mark Webber, Oscar Piastri’s manager, earlier today. He said there was nothing wrong with Oscar, his head’s up, his chin’s up. Yeah, he’s lost a few points in his lead, but he’s got a very healthy lead out in front. As another race goes by, you’ve got to reverse the trend at some stage. There’s still an awful long way to go in this season, and I think it’s going to give us an absolutely blockbuster finish this year.”
“Yes, I think Oscar Piastri has absolutely got the mental capacity to cope with this fight. If you remember back to F3, his championship-winning F3 season, his lead got whittled down there, and he coped very well there, with the pressure.” Martin Brundle replied and said: “Yeah, and Oscar needs a solid weekend again, doesn’t he? He has to go next week.”
“His head’s up, his chin’s up”;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/dav...ionship-hopes/
-
McLaren won’t bring more upgrades to counter growing Max Verstappen F1 championship threat.
McLaren not tempted to replicate Red Bull upgrade push. “When it comes to new upgrades, new parts, then this will not happen for the rest of the season,” McLaren boss Andrea Stella concluded.
20 Oct 2025
Taylor Powling
Motorsport Week
While Verstappen remained untroubled in the race, McLaren boss Andrea Stella is convinced that Norris retained the pace to challenge had he not lost out to Charles Leclerc at the start. “Well, first of all, I think in terms of the trend, today is a relatively reassuring race because I think without having to fight with Charles, which was certainly an entertaining fight itself, I think Lando had the pace to win the race today,” Stella told media including Motorsport Week.
“Obviously, he needed to gain the position on track, which is never easy with Max, and with a one-stop strategy, not necessarily we would have had many opportunities from a strategic point of view, but performance-wise, I think we are reassured that the pace was sufficient to fight for the victory. Like I have explained to some of your colleagues as well, I think not having done the Sprint Race left us a little bit on the back foot from a set-up point of view. And in hindsight, we can see already that there was more performance that we could have extracted from the car.”
‘McLaren won’t bring more upgrades’;
https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/...onship-threat/
Unleashed Verstappen causes historical implosion at McLaren
20 Oct 2025
Co-author:Kada Sárközi
Tim Kraaij
GPblog.com
The seemingly invincible McLaren team appears to be imploding from within. How is the best team on the grid slowly losing control? "Is there a very real danger now that neither of your drivers could win this title?" That question was asked of McLaren team principal Andrea Stella after the United States Grand Prix. A question that perfectly covers the increasing cynicism inside the paddock.
The catalyst behind it all has been McLaren’s team orders. The so-called 'papaya rules' provide amusement for many in the paddock. Max Verstappen has already suggested that McLaren is simply making things too hard for itself, because you can't script a championship. It's a widely shared opinion inside the paddock. The cynicism isn't solely within the media but also among competitors and fans. Competitors smirk at McLaren's mishandling of their drivers. Especially the fact that the drivers must fully comply with the team, thereby becoming obedient team players, is viewed by some as 'character assassination' of the two.
It can also be heard among fans. Yes, Max Verstappen was booed here and there, but that was after he won everything for an entire year. That the dominant factor in a sport is less loved by the public than the underdog is a common phenomenon. However, McLaren has not had a long period during which they won everything. On the contrary, the public now seems to be siding with Verstappen because they see that the McLaren drivers aren't getting everything out of their car. The fact that McLaren has repeatedly tried to script races with team orders also does not benefit their image.
‘Historical implosion at McLaren’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/analysis/u...ion-at-mclaren
British media have a strong reaction to Max Verstappen winning the US GP over Lando Norris
20 Oct 2025
Alex Worth
Give Me Sport
The British media were seriously impressed by Max Verstappen's bold claim after his dominant win at the United States Grand Prix this past weekend. The 'chance is there' quote stood out to British journalists who were in attendance at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin over the weekend.
The BBC reflected on his recent resurgence, writing: “Even when Verstappen started winning races in September, the points gap to the McLaren drivers was so big that the four-time champion refused to entertain the idea in public, even if he might have been thinking about it in private. He was taking it race by race, he said, and not thinking about the championship.
"For sure, the chance is there," Verstappen said of the title battle. "We just need to try and deliver these weekends until the end. We will try and do whatever we can. It's exciting." The Guardian wrote: “The disillusioned and dissatisfied driver who felt his title defence was long over has, against all the odds and indeed his own expectations, restaked his claim as a genuine contender in a deliciously tight Formula One world championship battle.
"For sure, the chance is there";
https://www.givemesport.com/british-...ndo-norris-f1/
Nervous McLaren can no longer win the easy way
Max Verstappen's charge back into title contention is forcing McLaren to confront a growing internal dilemma - whether to let Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri continue fighting freely, or impose team orders as the stakes rise.
OCTOBER 19, 2025
GrandPrix.com
The tension has been building for some time, now culminating in McLaren's chaotic sprint race double-DNF in Austin - which left Red Bull and Verstappen sensing weakness. “They're under pressure, of course,” Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko told Viaplay. "They can't win the easy way anymore. We'll keep pushing. We're making them nervous, and that seems to be working.”
Sky Deutschland's Timo Glock agreed that McLaren's management now faces its biggest challenge of the season. “These are all issues they have to deal with now,” he said. “And Max Verstappen is only concerned with annoying them.” Inside McLaren, both the pressure and the parallels are clear. Team CEO Zak Brown acknowledged that the current scenario bears resemblance to the infamous 2007 campaign, when McLaren's own title duel between Fernando Alonso and rookie Lewis Hamilton allowed Kimi Raikkonen to snatch the championship at the eleventh hour.
“Repeat 2007? It's a risk, yes,” Brown said. "If you have two drivers like in 2007, when they were tied on points and Kimi was just ahead at the end of the season - but that's just how McLaren wants to race. We want two drivers capable of winning the championship. On the other hand, if you split the drivers into number 1 and number 2, it jeopardises your participation in the Constructors' Championship. It's a difficult sport. We're racing. We want to race. Our desire is to give both drivers a chance to win the title, and that comes with a certain risk, like in 2007.”
‘Nervous McLaren’;
https://www.grandprix.com/news/nervo...-easy-way.html
Why McLaren’s ‘papaya rules’ don’t mean equality for Norris and Piastri
19 Oct 2025
Mat Coch
PlanetF1.com
There really is only one rule: don’t hit the other orange car. In Singapore, Norris broke that rule. But because it happened between teammates, it broke the underlying rule of ‘no contact’. It wasn’t an egregious or deliberate act, as Brown has pointed out: it was marginal. However, it still happened and therefore had to be addressed. While the team isn’t saying as much, it’s believed Piastri will be treated as the primary car through qualifying for the remainder of the season.
Allowing its drivers to race freely without consequence incentivises behaviour contrary to the team’s broader goals. And while the Constructors’ Championship is wrapped up for another year, both Norris and Piastri have to share a garage next year. Allowing the seeds of animosity to be planted now would only lead to far bigger problems down the line.
The whole saga is unusual, even unprecedented; hence it is both foreign and confusing at times as we look in from the outside. The key is that McLaren’s efforts at fairness do not overstep in the eyes of its drivers. The perception externally is irrelevant.
‘Whole saga is unusual’;
https://www.planetf1.com/features/mc...ions-singapore
Norris sounds the alarms: Unexpected McLaren weakness claims
19 Oct 2025
Norberto Mujica
GPblog.com
Lando Norris has revealed that the situation at McLaren is so dire that he was fighting the car all along, and as such an early Q1 eliminationn wasn't necessarily off the table. Norris still doesn't have an answer for the issues stemming from the once dominant MCL39, but he admits new ones arose every lap, an alarming claim.
He continued: "I don't know why. It's quite a bit more tricky than it was yesterday. I see some conditions change, the wind changed a little bit, things like that. But yeah, it was tough. And I don't have a delta on my dash, so I felt my first two sectors were a bit meh on the final lap. I mean, you try and do the same as the lap before because it was good, but you have just different problems every single lap, which is part of our issue.”
"I didn't know if I was up, down, what. So I knew I had to just hit and hope for the last couple corners and try put it together and I made, I think, some good improvements to my previous. I'm happy to be p2 because it quite easily could have been a lot worse today. It felt worse so I'll definitely take it for that reason," Norris concluded.
‘Norris sounds the alarms’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/norri...eakness-claims
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‘Insecure’ Piastri and ‘nervous’ McLaren called out as Verstappen closes in.
Dropping points to Max Verstappen in four successive race weekends, Oscar Piastri is “insecure” and McLaren as a team is feeling “the nervousness”.
20 Oct 2025
Michelle Foster
PlanetF1.com
Oscar Piastri’s lead has been slashed by Verstappen 104 points to just 40 with five race weekends remaining. It had been as much as 104 after the Dutch Grand Prix, the last time Piastri stood on the top step of the podium. Max Verstappen has since gone on a charge, winning in Monza and Baku before bringing his RB21 home in second place at the Singapore Grand Prix.
He then dominated in Austin, winning the Sprint and the grand prix from pole to flag. That’s 101 of the maximum 108 points that were in play from Monza to Austin. Former F1 driver Glock believes he’s feeling the pressure that comes with a first World title title. “He’s insecure,” the German said. “In his third year in Formula 1, he is in a situation where the pressure is growing. The free driving from the beginning of the year is no longer so easy.”
“The nervousness is there for the whole team,” he said. “The problem is that there are race tracks where Mercedes is suddenly there, Ferrari was strong here. That’s the problem for Oscar and Lando, that there can be other teams that take points away from them. For me, Max Verstappen is too dominant for anyone to put him under pressure.”
‘Verstappen closes in’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/oscar-...ppen-closes-in
Piastri Makes Startling Comment after US GP That Will Delight Verstappen
Max Verstappen continued to cut the gap in the world title fight
20 Oct 2025
James Taylor
SPORTbible
Oscar Piastri made a surprise comment following the United States Grand Prix that will give further encouragement to Max Verstappen in the title race. Piastri still leads the standings with a 14 point advantage over Norris, while Verstappen is now just 40 points behind the Australian. With five races remaining, the Dutchman has publicly stated that he believes a record-equalling fifth consecutive F1 drivers' championship is still possible.
After the race, the McLaren driver was asked how he plans to turn around his dip in form. Oscar Piastri said: "I don't have any great ideas at the moment. Qualifying was clean from my side; it was just that the pace wasn't there, and it was honestly a pretty similar story in the race. This layout is quite interesting; there are a lot of very high-speed corners with a lot of ride content, there are a lot of very low-speed corners, so you need to be good at both ends of the spectrum. Actually, there's not a whole lot [of corners] in that medium-speed range; there are a few, but more outside of it, so for me, it's not been a particularly happy hunting ground my whole F1 career.”
“So in some ways, I can't say I'm shocked that this has been a tough weekend, but obviously I was hoping for better." Piastri added: "Max has had a good run in the last few races, but ultimately, if we can find our way again, find our pace, and certainly for me, find the pace again, then I don't have any major concerns. There is still a long way to go in the championship. And for Max, he's chased it down pretty quickly, but it is not exactly a small gap with four, five rounds to go. So if we can find our pace again, things will take care of themselves."
‘Further encouragement to Max Verstappen’;
https://www.sportbible.com/f1/oscar-...61775-20251020
Stella: Norris and Piastri admit shortfalls but team remains hopeful
20 Oct 2025
Ben Winship
GPblog.com
McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella revealed Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have admitted they have not maximised their performances in previous races. He added that the team has not exploited all of the MCL39’s potential as Max Verstappen closes the deficit to championship leader Piastri to just 40 points. Speaking after Verstappen’s imperious United States GP victory, Stella appeared hopeful despite acknowledging the team’s shortfalls in recent times.
He said: "The fact that there are five races and two sprints [remaining] means that we can also increase the gap to Max. That's how I see things. I think we have good tracks coming for our car and I think we have more that we could have exploited out of our car and to some extent the drivers themselves, I think they recognise themselves that they could have done a better job at some of the previous races.
“So I think we look at the next five races as opportunities to increase the gap to Max.”
‘Verstappen’s imperious United States GP victory’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/stell...emains-hopeful
As Verstappen closes on McLaren in title fight, is Piastri feeling the pressure?
20 Oct 2025
Owen Bradley
GPblog.com
Max Verstappen took a dominant victory at the U.S Grand Prix. Closing to Piastri and Norris in the championship standings. Verstappen came into the U.S GP with a 63-point deficit to championship leader Oscar Piastri, however the Dutchman has closed that gap down to a 40-point deficit after dominating the Sprint weekend, which also saw McLaren score a double DNF in Saturday's 100km race.
Is Oscar Piastri beginning to feel the pressure? This is the Australian's third season in Formula One, and he has been leading the championship since April. However, despite leading the championship for most of the season, Norris is as close as ever with Verstappen bringing himself back into the title fight decisively.
As the season's drawing to a close the stakes are as high as ever, and it is up to Piastri to step up and rack up the results his car can provide and seal the title. It's a defining moment for the championship leader and perhaps he knows it too.
‘The stakes are as high as ever’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/features/a...g-the-pressure
The final stretch: Comparing Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s 2024 final five races
Toby Coxon
Sporting News
The 2025 Formula 1 Drivers' Championship battle between McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri is heading into its tense final phase, perfectly mirroring the highly competitive conclusion of the 2024 season. With the title race now on a knife-edge, the key to predicting who will emerge victorious lies in analysing how both drivers handled the pressure in the final five races of last season, when the competitive margins were at their narrowest.
While Norris finished 2024 as the clear momentum leader, it is Piastri’s newfound consistency in 2025 that has given him the critical advantage, a reversal that provides a fascinating psychological layer to this year's fight. The irony of the current situation is that the momentum has completely reversed for the 2025 title fight. While Norris was the strong finisher in 2024, it is Piastri who has demonstrated the consistency needed to lead the 2025 championship, holding a 22-point advantage over his teammate.
Piastri has been more clinical in converting pole positions and has made fewer visible errors than Norris. The Australian is now capitalising on the performance advantage of the McLaren car by minimising his mistakes and maximising his points haul, while Norris has been plagued by minor errors and poor luck. As the 2025 season heads into its final six races, the psychological edge belongs to Piastri, who has turned his rival's momentum into his own advantage, proving that in a title fight, consistency ultimately trumps late-season form.
‘The final stretch’;
https://www.sportingnews.com/uk/form...0b04fb7edb837f
Oscar Piastri still not thinking clearly as Norris and Verstappen close in
21 Oct 2025
Oliver Harden
PlanetF1.com
Oscar Piastri held a 34-point lead over McLaren driver Lando Norris and a 104-point lead over Max Verstappen following his most recent victory of the F1 2025 season at the Dutch Grand Prix. Of greater concern to Piastri, perhaps, is the pace deficit between himself and Norris at the Circuit of the Americas, consistently hovering at around 0.3s – sometimes smaller, sometimes larger – across both qualifying sessions on Friday and Saturday.
Maybe this was just one of those weekends Norris is capable of from time to time, blowing his teammate away at a circuit where he has performed well (and Piastri has struggled) in the past and revelling in the extra feel offered by the upgraded front suspension he first ran in Canada. And it did not help Piastri – so adept at applying the lessons from the data across the three practice sessions on a standard race weekend – that this happened to be a sprint event, denying him the opportunity to gradually chip away at the gap on Friday and Saturday.
Yet Norris’s comfortable advantage over him in the United States will only add to the doubts threatening to derail Piastri’s season. The only silver lining? If Verstappen – the winner of three of the last four races – keeps this up, soon enough McLaren will be forced to abandon its policy of total fairness and throw its full support behind one driver. If (when?) that time comes, Piastri must make sure the high ground still belongs to him.
‘Pace deficit hovering at around 0.3s’;
https://www.planetf1.com/features/os...sprint-mistake
-
McLaren's 'repercussions' for Lando Norris have been leaked. The result is a crucial leg-up for Oscar Piastri.
"But I asked Red Bull, and they said, 'We think the repercussions are they're going to give Oscar Piastri the priority in all the qualifying sessions coming to the end of the season'” Ted Kravitz.
22 Oct 2025
Sophie Wisely
Channel 9's Wide World of Sports
Sky Sports presenter Ted Kravitz has lifted the lid on what he believes are the repercussions facing Lando Norris for the first-lap incident at the Singapore Grand Prix between the two McLaren teammates. Although McLaren carefully kept all mouths shut on what the specifics of the repercussions were, Kravitz revealed that rival team Red Bull believed it had the inside word on the resulting penalty. According to Kravitz, Oscar Piastri will be prioritised in qualifying for the remaining races of the year. "Oscar will be effectively treated in the qualifying sessions as the number one driver", Ted Kravitz.
French F1 broadcaster Canal+ firmed that reporting up further, claiming that Piastri will have the option to choose whether he goes out before or after Norris in every qualifying session for the remainder of the year. Qualifying has been the crux of any driver's success in 2025, Max Verstappen's dominance in qualifying led him to a perfect United States weekend where he brought home 33 points.
‘Piastri the priority’;
https://www.nine.com.au/sport/motors...22-p5n4eu.html
Norris sounds the alarms: Unexpected McLaren weakness claims
19 Oct 2025
Norberto Mujica
GPblog.com
Lando Norris has revealed that the situation at McLaren is so dire that he was fighting the car all along, and as such an early Q1 eliminationn wasn't necessarily off the table. Norris still doesn't have an answer for the issues stemming from the once dominant MCL39, but he admits new ones arose every lap, an alarming claim.
He continued: "I don't know why. It's quite a bit more tricky than it was yesterday. I see some conditions change, the wind changed a little bit, things like that. But yeah, it was tough. And I don't have a delta on my dash, so I felt my first two sectors were a bit meh on the final lap."
"I mean, you try and do the same as the lap before because it was good, but you have just different problems every single lap, which is part of our issue. I didn't know if I was up, down, what. So I knew I had to just hit and hope for the last couple corners and try put it together and I made, I think, some good improvements to my previous. I'm happy to be p2 because it quite easily could have been a lot worse today. It felt worse so I'll definitely take it for that reason," Norris concluded.
‘Unexpected McLaren weakness claims’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/norri...eakness-claims
Max Verstappen says McLaren ‘absolutely’ favouring Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri
Verstappen insists it won’t affect his Red Bull championship fight
17 Oct 2025
Brandon Sutton
Total Motorsport
The Singapore drama has sparked claims that McLaren are favouring Norris and Verstappen says this is ‘absolutely’ the case. “Absolutely! Someone… I don’t know, I heard something…,” Verstappen said sarcastically to media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “Does it help me? I don’t know. I mean, I honestly don’t know.”
“I don’t care also, because it has nothing to do with me—what they decide, of course, within the team—how they operate as a team. “I mean, they do whatever they think is right, and they’re doing a very good job at it being this quick and what they’ve done over the last few years. For me, what’s important is that when we get to the racetrack, we just maximise our potential."
‘McLaren ‘absolutely’ favouring Lando Norris’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/max...oscar-piastri/
The two factors that ruined Norris's US GP win chance
20 Oct 2025
Mark Hughes
The Race
Ferrari and Leclerc were figuring that actually the softs may have got them the lead from the second row and with the clean air this would have facilitated their pace would be so much better. He came close to doing it, but not quite, and like that Verstappen was released. Turns out that Ferrari starting tyre choice was absolutely the right one. The change in wind direction meant a tailwind in those slow corners requiring a lot of mechanical grip…
So not only was Norris stuck behind Leclerc as Verstappen ran away, taking life out of his tyres as he diced with the Ferrari and ran in its dirty air, but he was stuck there for a long time as he couldn’t afford to try to undercut too early.
It took until lap 21 until Norris found his way by, by which time Verstappen was almost 11s in the lead. Norris would lose further time in the second stint as he had to find his way past Leclerc all over again, as the Ferrari had got ahead by virtue of its much earlier stop. Although Norris had stopped 10 laps later than Leclerc, the soft tyres he’d had fitted had already done six laps of qualifying. Therefore compared to Leclerc’s new mediums, there was only a four-lap offset.
‘Two factors’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/t...e-mark-hughes/
Norris reacts to McLaren's U.S GP strategy in revelatory remark
21 Oct 2025
Norberto Mujica
GPblog.com
Lando Norris’ McLaren could have fought for victory in Austin. “I mean, I regret not putting in a perfect lap and going purple, purple, purple yesterday in qualifying. So, you know, you can’t ask these questions.”
“You could do many different things. You never know what’s going to work out. I don’t think our strategy was wrong. I think we did a good job.” Although there might have been a chance to get ahead of Leclerc earlier, that approach would have carried significant risk, something Norris and McLaren chose to avoid, a decision the Briton says he stands by.
“Potentially, we should have. We’ll look back and see if we should have just boxed as soon as we got ahead of Charles or tried an undercut and seen if that worked out. But it was a long way to go on the softs, and then you put yourself under Safety Car risk. So, you know, there are many different things that can go your way. Otherwise, I think we did a good job. I think we took the correct amount of risk for the position we’re in, and I’m happy and satisfied with the result, as much as I would have loved to be further up,”
‘Revelatory remark’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/norri...elatory-remark
Jolyon Palmer spotted one ‘big’ mistake Lando Norris kept making during the United States Grand Prix
19 Oct 2025
Shay Rogers
F1 Oversteer
Lando Norris’ ‘big’ mistake was repeating the same moves in Charles Leclerc battle at the US GP. Martin Brundle believes McLaren are doomed to fail because they have two competitive and hungry drivers. They’re contracted for the next few seasons, meaning that it could pose a few difficulties for them down the line. Norris has more experience, and it might pay dividends over the next few weekends, particularly at the flyaway races that Piastri will have been to a handful of times. In his battle with Leclerc in Austin, he repeated one ‘big’ error that Jolyon Palmer spotted straight away.
“I think you’ve got to brake later on the initial brake at [turn] 12 to threaten to maybe go around the outside, or to force Charles to go deep as well, and then you can get a chance to get more of a look on the outside,” Palmer said on F1TV. “It is difficult with the sequence of corners that you’ve got. If you’ve got a left-hander into a left-hander, the switchback works so easily, because then you have the inside and then ‘See you later mate, you’re out and I’m through.’”
“But when you go left-hander, so you get the switchback and now you’re on the outside for the next right-hander, then you’re like ‘He’s gone in deep, I’ll get the switchback again.’ but then it’s another left-hander, you just get shuffled out,” he continued. “So, you’ve got to start mixing it up.
‘Big mistake’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/jol...es-grand-prix/
Wolff: Verstappen holds key advantage over McLaren drivers
22 Oct 2025
Samson Ero
GPblog.com
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes Max Verstappen has the psychological advantage over both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris as the Formula 1 drivers’ championship battle heats up. The Mercedes team boss, who spoke to GPblog, recounted how he had experienced a similar scenario with former Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel before adding that the psychological edge is tilted towards Verstappen due to the odds being against him.
“I’ve been in a similar situation with two drivers fighting for a championship, and the threat of another one catching up. Back in the day, it was Max, I believe, and then it was Sebastian [Vettel] in that hunt. The underdog always has a little bit of an easier psychological advantage because of the probability. The odds are definitely against Max. If you look at the probability, that’s very low, one DNF can change everything, and I think that affects the driving as well.”
“How aggressive can you actually go for an overtake? You can see Lando [Norris] today; he managed it at the end, but at times it was tricky to decide whether to keep your nose in or not.”
‘Key advantage’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/wolff...claren-drivers
