Category: F1

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Rumours of a Liam Lawson demotion are Groundhog Day for Red Bull Racing

It’s Groundhog Day at Red Bull Racing.

The second, less heralded driver to partner Max Verstappen in the Prinha Club’s most ruthless team has come in and struggled to adapt.

Reports of Liam Lawson facing demotion from Red Bull Racing after two races in 2025 have emerged after the Chinese Grand Prix, with Yuki Tsunoda tipped to replace the New Zealander from as early as the Japanese Grand Prix.

Red Bull are considering dropping Liam Lawson after just two races

Lawson has struggled early in this season having twice qualified last at the Sprint Weekend Chinese Grand Prix, having qualified 18th in Australia last week before crashing out.

Lawson could only manage 15th on Sunday having climbed to 14th in the sprint race on Saturday.

Post-race in China, Lawson alluded to not having time to improve for this season and a lack of testing in preparation for the season, while a typically curt Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s Motorsport Advisor, said in reply: “He is right.”

“Yuki is a different Yuki from the years before. He is in the form of his life. Obviously he changed managed. He has a different approach. He’s more mature. It took a while, but now it looks like it’s working.”

Such a move would raise serious questions about Red Bull’s driver management, with Lawson having been promoted with less than half a season’s F1 experience to the top team after previous failures with Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, while Sergio Perez was paid off two years early just months after being given a new contract to 2026.

For over half a decade no driver has been able to convince that they can cope with the pressure of that now infamous seat across the garage from Max Verstappen since Daniel Ricciardo, sensing which way the wind was blowing within Red Bull, departed for Renault in 2019.

Lawson’s career to date

Lawson had a solid junior career including winning the New Zealand-based Toyota Racing Series in 2020, before fifth at the first attempt in F3.

He moved up to F2 for the following season, doubling up with the DTM sportscar series with 2021 ending with ninth in F2 and second in DTM, before 3rd place in F2 the following season.

He moved to Super Formula for 2023 and was in contention to win the series when got his chance in Formula One as a stand in for the injured Ricciardo.

Lawson fared well compared to Tsunoda including points at Singapore, before another six race stint at the end of 2024 saw the New Zealander get the nod ahead of the Japanese driver to replace Perez.

How did we get here?

Red Bull first demoted one of their drivers to the support team in 2016 after Daniil Kvyat was demoted after twice hitting Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari at the Russian Grand Prix.

Verstappen, who along with Carlos Sainz had caught the eye as a rookie in 2015, got the call and promptly won his first race in Spain.

Ricciardo was then replaced by Pierre Gasly, who’d shown well for Toro Rosso after replacing Kvyat in 2017 while Sainz was released to go to McLaren.

Gasly made a terrible start by crashing twice in 2019 pre-season testing and ultimately failed to recover his confidence, only once finishing ahead of Verstappen in fortuitous circumstances at the British Grand Prix.

He only twice got within four tenths of a second in qualifying before being lapped by Verstappen in Hungary leading the Frenchman to be dumped in favour of Alexander Albon.

Albon initially started well with a strong recovery drive at the Belgian Grand Prix to fifth, and was only out of the top six once for the remainder of the season when Lewis Hamilton spun him out of a podium position late on in Brazil.

Albon was again spun from a promising position by Hamilton in Austria, but eventually took his first podium at the Tuscan Grand Prix at Mugello and took another at Bahrain. The damage was done a week later as Sergio Perez won from the back of the field while Albon crashed out.

Perez seemed an obvious answer to Red Bull’s problems but in truth the four seasons spent in that hottest of hotseats by Perez was for the most part a marriage of convenience, brought about by no credible alternative to a burnt Albon within Red Bull’s junior ranks at the end of 2020.

While Perez initially failed to match Verstappen in outright speed, he was an able back up to Verstappen and his contribution at the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was crucial as he cost Lewis Hamilton over six seconds with a feisty defence of the lead, meaning Hamilton couldn’t pit during that Safety Car period.

Perez started 2022 well and earned a new contract ahead of winning the Monaco Grand Prix, with further success in Singapore. From there, performance dipped and he was fortunate to take second in the 2023 Championship despite Red Bull winning all but one race.

Despite a new contract early in the season, reports and rumours surrounded Perez for over two years before he was finally put out of his misery at the end of a winless 2024 as Red Bull paid the Mexican off.

Red Bull had previously recruited Dutchman Nyck De Vries for 2023 on a whim of one off points finish for Williams at the Italian Grand Prix of 2022, before he was sacked after 10 races and replaced by Ricciardo.

What about those demoted drivers?

Drivers who’ve been burned by the top team have had mixed results since their ill-fated moves.

Kvyat’s F1 career was a strange one, being dropped completely in 2017 before coming back to race in 2019 and 2020 as Red Bull ran out of drivers.

Pierre Gasly has thrived since leaving the Red Bull stable

Gasly has gone on to shine as a team leader at the junior including a win at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix before moving to Alpine, where he has since seen off the challenge of Esteban Ocon.

Albon disappeared for a year as third driver, notably being used to reconstruct a crash between Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen at the 2021 British Grand Prix, before ably leading Williams in their rise from the back of the grid to 2025 midfield leaders since 2022 while Perez may yet resurface with Cadillac in 2026.

Albon has spoken in the past of being “underprepared” by Red Bull to the High Performance Podcast, while Gasly in particular was critical of the environment during his half season with the team.

In an interview with PlanetF1.com, he referenced a lack of support after a tough start.

“From the moment I made my first mistake in a car, I felt like people there slowly began to turn on me. I’d had a crash in winter testing and from that moment on the season never really got going.

“Then I had a tough first two races with Red Bull and the media just ate me up. Anything I said in the press was twisted into an excuse for my form, and nobody really stuck up for me.

“The car wasn’t perfect and I was doing my best to try to improve and learn each week. But here’s what I’ll say about it – it was a difficult time for me at Red Bull because I didn’t feel like I was really supported and treated the same way as others there have been. And for me, that’s something I just can’t accept.

“I was working my ass off every day, trying to get results for the team, but I was not being given all the tools I needed to succeed. I would try to offer solutions but my voice wasn’t heard, or it would take weeks to see changes.

The Red Bull signals and issues it needs to address

It is important to state that nothing has been decided and Red Bull have been satisfied with Lawson’s approach and refusal to make excuses, but history suggests there’s no smoke without fire.

After the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix, Team Principal Christian Horner said that the intention “was to keep Pierre in the car” before replacing him the next race with Albon, while late into 2020 the team were giving Albon “every chance” before he was demoted to third driver.

The pressure could increase further with another junior in Arvid Lindblad mooted for a promotion as early as 2026 depending on his F2 progress this season.

It was accepted within F1 circles that Tsunoda would have to leave Racing Bulls with no obvious team to go to at the end of this season, but were he to move to Red Bull and get closer to Verstappen, Lawson would have no time to readjust against an Isack Hadjar who, formation lap crash in Melbourne aside, has shown speed this season.

Max Verstappen has proven impossible to live with as a Red Bull Racing teammate

While it is true that Red Bull have a car that has been built around Verstappen’s unique driving style, that is something all drivers heading to a new team have to adapt to.

The issue is that Red Bull have often been slow take on feedback from the second driver, with Perez’s performances improving slightly after upgrades on the car in the autumn of last year known to have been as a result of finally listening to the struggling Mexican’s feedback from the summer of 2023.

Irrespective of when, or if, Lawson does move back to the junior team, seven seasons of struggle in Red Bull’s other car points not only to an issue with recruitment, but with the management of a driver programme that has produced Ricciardo, Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel to name three drivers.

That young driver academy has been reduced to a topic of debate and ridicule, producing drivers who in recent years have come through the ranks only to end up as cannon fodder to a Max Verstappen juggernaut.

Often drivers either been thrown in too early, lacked support during early struggles and have ended up destroyed by comparisons to Verstappen instead of nurtured and moulded to fit within the team.

Recruitment has often been hap-hazard at best, with De Vries getting ten races before his sacking after a signing based purely on a one-off appearance where circumstances favoured him while Tsunoda, into his fifth season of Formula One, has not had a Red Bull look in before now and should he complete a mid-season switch to will go in with little Red Bull testing and next to no preparation from the main F1 team.

Groundhog Day may come around again.

 

Images from Pirelli F1 Media

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Chinese Grand Prix – Piastri dominates to win in Shanghai

Oscar Piastri took his third Grand Prix victory with an imperious win at Shanghai International Circuit.

His McLaren teammate Lando Norris had to manage a brake issue but managed second to complete a 50th 1-2 for the team, while George Russell was third for Mercedes and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen fourth.

The result leaves Norris eight points clear of Verstappen in the fledgling Championship standings, with Russell a point further back and Piastri a point behind in fourth.

Haas improved from a terrible opening round to claim a double points finish

.The Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were fifth and sixth, while Haas improved from a dreadful Australian Grand Prix with seventh for Esteban Ocon and tenth for Ollie Bearman.

Kimi Antonelli in eighth and Alex Albon in ninth completed the points positions.

It was the perfect start for McLaren as Piastri blocked off Russell to hamper his entry into Turn One, with Norris sweeping around the outside to take second.

Max Verstappen was another to go backwards as he was passed by both Ferraris of Hamilton and Leclerc, who lost a chunk of front wing hitting Hamilton, through ahead of the Dutchman.

A slow burner of a first stint was curtailed as the midfield, led by Pierre Gasly, Ocon and the Racing Bulls duo of Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar pitted before lap 12.

Expected high tyre wear throughout the race failed to materialise as the leading five cars – all of whom pitted before lap 17 – making it to the end of the Grand Prix on their hard tyres.

McLaren were once again the class of the field in Shanghai

At the front, Piastri completed his most complete weekend with a race win during which he wasn’t troubled, with a difficult Friday giving way to a dominant display to underline his own World Drivers’ Championship credentials.

A strong undercut, where the car behind pits for fresh tyres to pass the car ahead when they pit, was prevalent in China and helped Russell briefly repass Norris, but the McLaren had regained second by lap 18 and gradually built a gap.

That gap became important for Norris, who in the last 15 laps reported a long brake pedal that was critical by the penultimate lap.

An eight-second gap became 1.3s by the end of the race as a quietly effective Russell maximised his weekend once again.

Behind that Verstappen grew into the race after an off-colour first stint in which he dropped back from the Ferraris in sixth.

The Dutchman salvaged fourth as Leclerc’s damage caught up with the Monesgasque driver with four laps to go.

Hamilton’s hard tyre performance fell away leading Ferrari to call him in for a second stop before Verstappen passed his old rival.

It was another chastening weekend for Liam Lawson at Red Bull, as he twice qualified 20th and last and could only manage 15th in the race, over a minute behind Vertappen.

Haas’ turnaround from an Australian Grand Prix weekend in which they were clearly the slowest team to an excellent weekend in China was remarkable.

Ocon expertly judged his one-stop strategy to pass and stay ahead of Antonelli’s Mercedes while Bearman, starting 17th, managed his tyres superbly for tenth.

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Australian Grand Prix – Norris survives to claim opening race victory

Lando Norris survived late challenges from both Max Verstappen and the weather to win the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park.

Norris had serenely led the race through three Safety Car periods before a heavy rain shower 14 laps from the end caught both he and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri out two corners from the end of the lap.

The Brit recovered, but Piastri ended up beached on the grass for nearly a lap when a podium at worst would have been on the cards.

George Russell was third for Mercedes ahead of an excellent fourth place for Alex Albon in the Williams, while the impressive rookie Kimi Antonelli was fifth from 16th on the grid.

Lance Stroll took a quiet sixth for Aston Martin ahead of Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg, with the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc eighth ahead of a disappointed Piastri, who recovered to ninth by passing Lewis Hamilton on the last lap.

Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar gave a taste of what was to come as he both crashed on the formation lap, leading to a delay of 15 minutes, while fellow rookie Jack Doohan got one sector further before spinning under acceleration on lap one, with Carlos Sainz going off later that lap.

A quiet race briefly livened up when Piastri passed Verstappen on lap 19, with both McLarens quickly opening up a lead over Verstappen that still looks ominous for the rest of the season.

Fernando Alonso then spun off at the exit of Turn 6 on lap 35 to pull the pin on the rest of the Grand Prix, as the Safety Car was deployed and drivers pitted for slick tyres.

Shortly after this a heavy rain shower fell on the Albert Park circuit, and three laps after the Safety Car pitted all hell broke loose as Norris and Piastri both went off at Turn 12.

Norris sought refuge in the pit lane to fit Intermediates while Piastri took over a minute to free himself from the grass to drop to the back of the field.

Liam Lawson spun in identical fashion to Hadjar before him as Gabriel Bortoletto also found trouble at Turn 12 to bring the Safety Car out, with Ferrari the big losers as a strategy gamble to stay out on slicks backfired.

Leclerc was able to pass Hamilton at the Safety Car restart before later taking eighth from Gasly, but it was a bitterly disappointing start to the season for the Scuderia who would have expected much more than 5 points from the season opener.

The Safety Car allowed Piastri to rejoin the pack and gave the Australian a shot at points – a chance he took by passing Gasly two laps from the end, before an excellent move on Hamilton at Turn 9 on the last lap salvaged ninth and two World Championship points.

On a tough day for the Championship’s rookies with four of the six failing to finish, Kimi Antonelli kept his head save for one small spin at Turn 4 early race as he picked his way through to fourth on the road, and fifth overall courtesy of a post race penalty.

The Italian’s maturity stood out with passing moves Hulkenberg and Stroll particular highlights as he recovered well from a disappointing qualifying on Saturday.

 

 

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Australian Grand Prix – Norris edges out Piastri to start pole in Melbourne

Lando Norris will start the season-opening Australian Grand Prix from pole position.

The Brit beat McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri by 0.081s as the pre-season favourites send out an ominous message to rest of the field.

2024 World Champion Max Verstappen will start third on the grid ahead of Mercedes rival George Russell, while it was a disappointing session for Lewis Hamilton and his new Ferrari team.

Hamilton will start only eighth having struggled with rear instability all session, but he’s only one spot behind teammate Charles Leclerc as two midfield teams usurped the Scuderia.

Alex Albon confirmed Williams’ solid pre season form with sixth place on the grid, behind Yuki Tsunoda and his Racing Bull in fifth.

Pierre Gasly for Alpine and Carlos Sainz’s Williams round out the top 10.

Q1: Top team rookies toil

The surprises didn’t end at Row Three.

Liam Lawson was qualifying for Red Bull for the first time after an 11-race, two-spell audition with their junior team and struggled on a torrid Saturday in what’s been dubbed Formula One’s toughest seat.

After losing the entire Saturday practice to an engine issue, Lawson struggled with the balance in a bitty qualifying session for the New Zealander.

He’ll start 18th after locking up at the penultimate corner, ahead of only the two Haases of Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman.

Lawson wasn’t the only well-fancied rookie to struggle, as Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli could only manage 16th on Saturday.

The Italian has been all over the kerbs all weekend and after clouting them one too many times, damaged the bib on the underside of the car, which Mercedes believe cost him three tenths to teammate Russell on the straights.

Nico Hulkenberg, so often the star of qualifying last season, was the other driver out in Session One in his Sauber.

Q2: Hamilton spin effectively ends the session

The second session ended in anti-climactic fashion, as a spin from Hamilton right at the end brought out double-waved yellow flags to hamper a number of drivers.

One of those was the quietly impressive Jack Doohan, who was unlucky to line up 14th after being on track to be at least on the cusp of getting through the the final session in his Alpine.

It also ended the session of Fernando Alonso, who had fought with the leaders in session one but could only manage 12th in the Aston Martin, ahead of teammate Lance Stroll but behind Isack Hadjar, who backed up the improvement showed by Racing Bulls since testing.

Gabriel Bortoletto survived a scare to keep his Sauber out of the wall, but will start 15th after a good opening Saturday.

Q3: McLaren come good in the end

McLaren recovered from a scrappy start to the final session to snatch the front row away from the rest of the pack.

Norris had his first time deleted for track limits at Turn 6, while Piastri made a mess of the final sector to initially fall half a second behind the early pace.

Verstappen, cast in the unusual role of underdog with Red Bull far from the force they have been since 2022, had gone fastest ahead of late-2024 rival Russell.

The surprises in the final session were two-fold. Ferrari’s lack of pace was evident throughout the session as the Prancing Horse struggled with rear instability.

That manifested with Hamilton’s spin in Q2, and neither driver was anywhere near their early weekend pace as Leclerc could only manage seventh ahead of the seven-time champion.

That opened the door for two of the midfield’s strongest performers this weekend, with Albon initially deposing the Scuderia.

That before Tsunoda made his point to the Red Bull hierarchy having been passed over for the main team over the winter to nick 5th.

 

 

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Opinion: F1-75 Achieved its Aim and was Pleasently Surprising Despite a few Questional Moments

When Formula One announced F1-75 as an event to officially start the 2025 season and celebrate 75 years of a pinnacle of Motorsport, the overlying reaction entering the event was….less than positive to say the least. This would be a major shake up in the traditional annual event with teams launching their cars and liveries at their own discretion throughout January and February of that year. However, I went into it with somewhat optimism and an open mind to see what Formula One and the teams could pull off. 

The Headline Event

To officially launch the season, it achieved their target. 10 liveries were officially launched by all 10 teams, the final year of 10 teams being on the grid before Cadillac joins this collective of teams for the 2026 season. 

Going in reverse world constructors championship order from the final results of 2024, Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber started off with a video and illuminated drumsticks which resulted in the overall build up to the reveal being longer than the conversation with drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto who were accompanied by team principal Mattia Binotto. Longer conversations should have been a priority in order to satisfy the die hard formula one fans appeal for the event. 

Revealing next was Atlassian Williams Racing, showcasing their new title sponsor of the Australian software company which gets added onto the front of their team. A very less dragged on presentation from the British team as the team principal James Vowels appeared, revealed the livery and brought the drivers out. Quick, simple, to the point. Lovely. 

VCARB… Oops Visa Cash App Racing Bulls was next with a cheesy video of the team playing on their constant rebrands as they have gone from Toro Rosso to Alpha Tauri to Visa Cash App RB to Visa Cash App Racing Bulls within 7 years. 

Their livery, however, made up for this as the white version of the Red Bull livery from Turkey in 2021 came back from the dead to last for a full season on the sister team. Whenever I look at it, I think it makes the colours pop but it also reminds me of the Formula 2 cars of Hadjar and Marti in 2024 for some reason. I won’t complain. 

The American Team of MoneyGram Haas F1 Team were next with a slightly revised livery in comparison to the 2024 version. My view is that the team are trying to refine and tune this livery to perfection and this one is a step forward.

The enstone team of BWT Alpine F1 Team(rumoured to become HiTech after former HiTech boss Oliver Oakes took over) is one of the most striking liveries on the grid. The DJ used at the beginning has many people, myself included, confused towards the context, however, they are the same person who wrote the beloved F1 theme tune which is…..a fact. The livery really pops, however, with the bright pink and blue. 

The James Bond team of Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team easily had the best introduction. With musicians, Alonso and Stroll walking out to the James Bond theme, it fits the tone perfectly. Granted, even though the overall livery has not changed, the livery is still great, albeit a downgrade from previous years. 

Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team was next with not the start they wanted with a slow pitstop bringing the headlines compared to it’s unchanged 2024 livery design. The livery is not awful, however, I was expecting many changes, such as a move back to the all silver design. 

Oracle Red Bull Racing followed the Brackley team with a completely unchanged livery. *Shock face* I know it’s for brand purposes but I think many people….well me anyway, would have loved to see the white red bull return for Hona’s final year with the energy drinks team. 

The prancing horse of Scudaria Ferrari HP was up next with a basic but classic reveal. Hamilton and Leclerc revealing it with the livery being, in my opinion, probably my least favourite due to the HP logo. 

The reigning world champions of McLaren were the last to reveal their livery with a completely unchanged one from 2024. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?

Performances:

The musicians performing on the night were…good. Now, I am a BIG Take That fans so it won’t come as a surprise that I thought they were the best with renditions of Rule The World and Greatest Day. I think a song like Shine, however, would have been more appropriate. 

As for Machine Gun Kelly, Martin Brundles best friend, it surprised me how quickly they started with him. He immediately started blasting his guitar which….was expected but unexpected. 

The “half time show” (well, after VCARB) was an interesting performance. One Kane Brown, one microphone, many cameras. Nothing more to say really. Song was good too.

In general, I think it is fair to say that the performances were fillers and a way to attract different audiences which certainly worked. 

The Future Of Formula One

I am a big fan of the ladder to Formula One, startng from F4, making the steps up to the top step so seeing Formula 2, Formula 3 and F1 Academy get its own specific section was great to see as this is ultimately where the future of F1 lies. Every single driver has come up the ranks, whether that being winning the championships like Gabriel Bortoleto and Oscar Piastri have done or showing talent and potential such as Alex Albon, Lando Norris and Liam Lawson. The mention of the FIA was met with….a mixed reaction which was expected but I was not surprised at the amount of negativity surrounding the FIA, especially after the increase of fines due to certain behavior.

Presenters and jokes:

Jack Whitehall is a well known presenter in the UK and Ireland (I am unsure how well he is known across other countries) but I think he handled the situation very well tackling some topics such as the FIA Swearing ban, George Vs Max and their beef as well as daydreaming over Charles Leclerc. 

While some jokes made me cringe such as the one over the rear of a Formula One car and Lando’s comment which Guenther Steiner would have made, the jokes were quite good and not as bad as people set them out to be. 

Final Verdict

The event did what it said on the tin. We got to see cars and liveries and mark the official launch of F1 2025. I can’t help, however, but feel like there was a missed opportunity to make more announcements such as the upcoming season for Drive To Survive, upcoming collaborations and a chance for teams to make announcements. Of course, I understand that this was a one off and the main target was achieved which was the primary goal of this event to start an eagerly anticipated season.

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“On The Grid” Review: A Collective Of Stories Which Every Motorsport Fan Should Know

Within the book category family, there are many subtopics. Fiction, non fiction,sci-fi and drama, for example. For On The Grid, the category is non-fiction. However, it changes when the stories are specific and certain stories which are not known to the general fans.

On The Grid covers many stories such as Lance Stroll’s bike accident to Esteban Ocon’s dedication from himself and his family in order to hit the pinnacle of motorsport as well as the diversity issues which many categories such as F1 Academy and Mission 44 aim to eliminate with the teams’ and drivers’ enviornmental impact.

The Context To The Story:
There are many plots within Formula One; McLaren vs Ferrari at the end of 2024, Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s domination in 2023 and the huge championship battle at the end of 2021. The subplots, however, have gone under the radar in the eyes of the motorsport family which is a shame. Thankfully, Smith dives into these storylines such as Lance Stroll’s bike accident ahead of the 2023 season and Esteban Ocon’s fascinating story in order to make it to the top step of the podium. Both of these stories, a subset of the collectives available in the book, show the determination of 2 drivers whos reputations have been thrown into question within the last few seasons.

Lance Stroll couldn’t get better than P17. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Press Room

Memories Of Those Who Have Passed
Its fair to say that Formula 1 is an incredible sport, form of entertainment or just an escape from those realities of life. Unfortunately, however, with that thrill and entertainment contains a loss. Smith addresses the hard and sad passing of Antoine Hubert and Jules Bianchi, the two most recent Formula One drivers who have lost their lives doing the sport they love. Explaining this situation to young viewers or veterens of the sport is never an easy task. Smith tackles this by talking to two drivers which have been heavily impact by these two talented drivers’ passing; Pierre Gasly and Charles Leclerc respectfully. The impact this has had on the overall book is, ironically, positive in the way it can encourage these drivers to not only talk about the memories but of how these drivers can be remembered, especially to Charles who ultimately owes his Formula One career to his godfather.

The Inequality Battle:
One section which was fantastic to see was the feature of F1 Academy and Lewis Hamilton’s fight against racism. First on the F1 Academy conversation and the talks Smith had with Suzie Wolff, CEO of F1 Academy, and Jamie Chadwick, 3 time W Series Champion, really brought to light the impact F1 Academy is having on the female representation in motorsport, not only for racing but also the further career opportunities such as STEM(Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). I never actually realised this but I am so glad that I did.

L-R: Jamie Chadwick, Sarah Moore, Abbie Eaton, Abbi Pulling, Alice Powell, Jessica Hawkins (Courtesy of W Series Racing)

Final Conclusions:
This book has been a real treat to gain more and a deeper knowledge of Formula One and gain a deeper understanding and meaning of not only the pinnacle of motorsport but also the people behind the scenes and understanding the true story of Formula One. While I have not covered everything detailed in this book, it is definately worthy of a read!

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Opinion: Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s partnership at Scudaria Ferrari is the most emotional one in Formula 1’s History

IMPORTANT: This article contains important regarding the passing of several people. Continue at your own convenience.

1st February 2024-Rumours emerged of the 7 time world champion leaving the UK based Mercedes team to join the most famous team in the world: Scudaria Ferrari. Rumours like this have circulated for years. However, this one felt different: accredited journalists and news outlets started reporting it. This was happening. 


I remember hearing about it and being shell shocked, surprised at the move. Talking to people online, everyone was denying it. When it was announced that evening, everyone was so surprised. The most successful driver in F1 history across multiple eras of the sport, the most recognisable driver was leaving the Silver Arrows to join the prancing horse. 

While I have been watching the media covorage of Hamilton’s first few days at Maranello, I became overthrown with emotion and which I could not understand why. As I thought about it more and more, I realised how emotional this partnership and lineup genuinely is.

Carlos Sainz’s Seat Removal


Of course, this meant that 3 into 2 didn’t go so sadly Carlos Sainz had to depart the legendary team to join Williams Racing. I don’t think Williams Racing, with all due respect, was the highest team on Sainz’ radar given the obviously vacant seat left by Hamilton at Mercedes or even the Red Bull seat of Sergio Perez which had a contract expiration at the end of 2024. Sadly, those pieces fell short for Sainz but there is one major positive to leave behind for Sainz: he did nothing wrong. Sometimes in life, things don’t work out for one reason or another. I don’t think Sainz has any bad blood at all with Hamilton, Leclerc, Vasseur or Ferrari. In fact, apart from Hamilton, Verstappen and Alonso, Sainz never would have left that seat. He left his mark at the team and I would never rule out a move back to Ferrari.

Back to Hamilton now and up until now, I didn’t think it was real. It felt like a F1 24 Career mode move with Hamilton to Ferrari, Leclerc to Aston Martin and Dino Beganovic to Mercedes.  Seeing the images of Hamilton in Italy, dressing head to toe in very fancy clothes (which I am jealous of) and impressively speaking Italian so naturally it shows that he wants to make this move work. By work, I of course mean Hamilton getting that 8th Drivers Championship title with Ferrari which I think it will happen. 

A Formula 1 Butterfly Effect?

Personally, I am strong believer of “Everything happens for a reason” and when I cast my mind back to 2021 and to Abu Dhabi, I remember Lewis Hamilton and Anthony Hamilton (Lewis’ father) going up to Max Verstappen and Jos Verstappen (Max’s father) to shake their hands. That showed me what kind of person Hamilton is like. Despite all of his effort, and fighting so much, he lost by so little. The reason that event links up to “Everything happens for a reason” is if Hamilton won that title in 2021, he may have retired and never get to live out racing in red and for Ferrari. Of course, these are all what ifs and sure, Hamilton would more than likely before an 8th title over racing for Ferrari; but it feels like something good will come of this. 

Lewis Hamilton meeting staff at Scudaria Ferrari in Maranello. Image Credit: Scudaria Ferrari’s Media Centre

Charles Leclerc’s Emotional Barriers to and in F1

I want to reflect on Charles Leclerc, Hamilton’s teammate for 2025 and beyond. Since I started watching Formula 1, stories of how drivers either came from nothing and built their way up or drivers who suffered grief and heartbreak and always attached and stayed with me. Charles’ story of losing his god father Jules Bianchi after a horrific crash in 2014 is one which still looms over not only Formula 1 but Leclerc as Bianchi told Ferrari to give his godson a chance. That is not the only tragedy Charles’ has faced in his life, however. Charles’ father, Herve Leclerc, passed away from an illness. Before his father passed, Leclerc told his father that he signed the contract to race in F1 which, at the time, was not true. Sadly, Charles told his father this as he knew he would not survive to see it come to reality. However, this was not the final grief Charles or the entire Formula 1 family would have suffered as sadly, in 2019, Antoine Hubert lost his life in a crash in Spa during a Formula 2 Sprint Race. Hubert passed away on the same day of the accident and Leclerc went on to take his debut win the following day.

An emotional era for the Scudaria

I am sure you are wondering “Kieran, what does 2021 and Charles’ personal griefs have to do with Hamilton going to Ferrari?” Well, I am glad you asked! To circle back to the main point of this article, Formula 1 has not been easy for Leclerc or Hamilton. Performances, cars, emotional factors or just bad luck in general. While yes, this happens in general in F1, the loss of anyone, especially a relative or parent is something which can tug at your heartstrings so much. While Hamilton has both of his parents’ alive, he has had his fair share of emotional abuse while not directly at grief but in relation to racial comments which started since he was a young boy first getting into kart racing. While I, a white male, cannot begin to understand the emotional toll this could take on anyone, I do understand Charles’ pain of losing a relative. The emotional impact this can have on someone so close to you not knowing you’ve partnered with one of the best drivers ever seen in Formula 1 history truly makes this an emotional but inspirational era at the Maranello based team.

I cannot help but feel that this was written in the stars. A young, thriving driver who has been impacted by life’s punishment for love and a vetern of the sport who has had been to hell and back due to outside forces is one partnership which is willing to prove the critics wrong. 

As Enzo Ferrari once said: “If you can dream it, you can do it.”

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Cadillac/GM Driver Thoughts

General Motors-backed Cadillac is set to join the Formula 1 circus after an initially rejected bid using the Andretti name. They will enter in 2026 as an engine customer team before using their own engine by 2028 if, hopefully, they remain in the sport by that season. This announcement came very much as a surprise due to the withdrawal of Michael Andretti, although his father Mario will remain as a director. The talk of who will be behind the wheel of the two cars will begin in late 2024 and 2025. Who are the most likely based on what we know currently? The chance ratings are my personal thoughts.

Colton Herta

Colton Herta standing by his pit box (Photo by Chris Jones/IndyCar Media)

Colton is American and currently drives for Team Andretti in Indycar, the F1 team may not have the Andretti badge but is this a chance for a return for the name? Colton finished P2 in the 2024 Indycar championship, winning the season finale, and is in great form. The investor of the new F1 team, Dan Towriss, is a big fan of him, which may put him in pole position as long as he gets enough super license points from the FIA, as the Indycar Series is absurdly underrated. If he has a strong 2025, there would be no issue.

Chance: 9/10

Alex Palou

Álex Palou celebrating in victory lane with his team (Photo by Travis Hinkle/Penske Entertainment)

Alex is the 2024 Indycar Champion and has been reportedly in talks with 3 teams in the past couple of seasons, Mclaren, Sauber & Red Bull, but none of them have ever materialised. He made one free practice appearance with McLaren in 2022 at the United States GP and was the reserve driver in 2023 doing the mid-season tyre test. He also competes for the Cadillac team in the IMSA series. A strong chance for Alex to be one of the few champions in America to move to F1.

Chance: 8/10

Jak Crawford

Jak Crawford, Hitech (David Ramos, Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images / courtesy of FIA F3)

As Formula E reserve driver for Andretti for the 2024-25 season, he already has some links to the team. He also has a solid link with F1 as an Aston Martin development and current Formula 2 driver. He is due to partake in the end of season test with Aston Martin.

It could be a chance for Cadillac to take a driver from a rival who will continue to grow in confidence; he is only 19 presently, so skills will ever improve.

Chance: 7/10

Checo Perez

Pole position qualifier Sergio Perez Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

If the team goes for one experienced driver and one rookie, then look no further. If Red Bull decided to drop Checo for 2025 or 2026 due to his current form, then this could be his way to stay in the sport. As a probable midfield team, he could thrive, similar to his years racing for Sauber, Force India & Racing Point. As a new team, they may seek experience, and as a driver currently in his 14th season, from the Americas, could this be a fit? Perez for the last couple of months hasn’t been at his best, but sometimes a driver in the twilight years of his career needs a new challenge.

Chance: 7/10

Franco Colapinto

Franco Colapinto, the Las Vegas GP (Photo by Simon Galloway / LAT Images)

The shock of the year, when Logan Sargeant was given his marching orders, the Argentine was calm and collected, as he has performed well against new teammate Albon. The current situation is that there is no room for him in the upcoming 2025 F1 season. After initial success, he has made a few errors, costing Williams dearly. Cadillac could consider Colopinto with his few races of experience that excited the paddock, who is no longer a rookie after a great start to his career.

Chance: 6/10

Valtteri Bottas

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes (Jiri Krenek / courtesy of Mercedes AMG F1)

An experienced driver in his 13th season, Bottas has lost his seat at Stake F1, aka Audi, for the 2025 season. So what’s next for him? While he waits for official confirmation, he has started a charity for families who suddenly lose their jobs called… ‘What’s Next?’. In F1, however, he has experience in the dominant Mercedes and midfield Willams teams, which gives him insight a new team like Cadillac will need.

Chance: 5/10

Jack Aitken

Jack Aitken (Courtesy of Williams Media)

Aitken has competed with Cadillac in the IMSA Sportscar Championship and in the 24 hours of Le Mans for last 2 years, and he is due to compete for them in 2025. He has been a member of 2 junior programs in Renault (2016-20) & Williams (2020-22). In 2020, he did Free Practice 1 in Austria and drove for Williams during the Sakhir Grand Prix. He held the reserve role for Wiiliams until 2022 before moving to Sportscar Racing. He may have a relationship with Cadillac, but his chance in F1 could have gone.

Chance: 2/10

There are a few drivers in the mix, and there could be further added to this list. This team have been given the opportunity to extend the grid to 22 cars for the first time since 2016, when Manor Racing were on the grid. The good thing is that two teams are joining in Audi & Cadillac/GM and a fresh canvas of rules, so hopefully not a team sitting at the back.

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Mexico Grand Prix Qualifying – Brilliant Sainz takes a dominant pole position for Ferrari

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz will start from pole for tomorrow’s Mexican Grand Prix.

The Spaniard took his first pole position since Singapore last year with an excellent pair of laps in the third qualifying session.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will start second ahead of championship rival Lando Norris, with Charles Leclerc a slightly disappointing fourth after a mistake cost him and Ferrari a chance of a front row lockout.

In the last week Ferrari have proven themselves to be spoilers for the two main championship protagonists, with a 1-2 last week headed by Leclerc in Austin  ahead of Verstappen and Norris.

Norris is 57 points behind but couldn’t have picked a better placed to start third from, with a 730 metre run to the first corner sure to offer the chance of a tow away from the grid.

The first qualifying session brought about two huge shocks in a frenetic and fast paced opening 18 minutes.

Home hero Sergio Perez was knocked out and will start 18th in the Red Bull, while Oscar Piastri ended his run of Q3 appearances that stretched back the entirety of 2024 to line up 17th.

That result is likely to damage Perez more than Piastri, whose error strewn session was much more of an anomaly for the man who was quickest in final practice versus the Mexican, who has been struggling all weekend.

They were joined by the less surprising trio of Franco Colapinto in 16th, Esteban Ocon in 19th and Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu in 20th.

The second qualifying session was ended ten seconds early as the RB of Yuki Tsunoda, who was on a lap destined to reach the top ten, crashed out at Turn 12 to leave himself stranded in 11th ahead of teammate Liam Lawson.

The two Aston Martins will share Row 7 with Fernando Alonso, on his 400th Grand Prix weekend, starting 13th and Lance Stroll edging Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas out for 14th.

Ferrari had looked like they were going to battle for the second row heading into Q3 with Norris and Verstappen having been the class of the field, but finally got their act together as Sainz set an early benchmark of 1:16.055.

That lap would have been enough for pole on its own, but he went again to dip below the 1:16s to clock 1:15.946 – a quarter of a second clear of the field.

Leclerc’s wobble in the second sector was compounded by another error at the final corner when the Monegasque was looking at second on the grid, but Ferrari will be satisfied nonetheless.

The Scuderia have designs on the Constructors’ Championship even still, being eight points behind Red Bull and 48 behind leaders McLaren with five races to go.

Elsewhere in the third session, George Russell beat Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton to fifth in the final session, while Haas’ impressive form continued with seventh for Kevin Magnussen and an unfortunate tenth for Nico Hulkenberg.

They sandwiched Pierre Gasly’s resurgent Alpine and Alex Albon’s Williams in eighth and ninth,

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Ferrari dominate the USGP while the championship hots up.

Ferrari dominated the race after an excellent start from Leclerc, which put him in the prime spot to pick up the pieces of the turn 1 battle for the lead. 

After an interesting sprint race, qualifying had a dramatic end. Russell collided with the barrier, preventing Verstappen and most of the runners from completing their final laps. This meant Norris started on pole with a great lap, but Russell started from the pitlane after a full repair, with his teammate only in P17.

The race start. Courtesy of RedBull content pool

Norris is becoming infamous for his starts. Despite making progress in the sprint, he went backwards at turn 1. Verstappen lunged down the inside, but while pushing both of them wide, Leclerc slipped straight through into the lead, with his teammate having to settle for P3. 

There was drama in the middle of the pack with Ocon spinning round, ending up last of the runners, while Lawson was following Hamilton, who made up 5 places in the first few corners. 

The battle at the front carried on as Sainz had speed in the car closing on Verstappen at the end of the main straight, leading to a very entertaining six-corner battle with the RedBull coming out on top. However, just as Sainz was looking for his next move, the safety car came out for a stranded Hamilton at turn 19.

With 4 laps of the safety car complete, at the restart, Leclerc had Verstappen with him all the way and struggled to create a gap. There were no major moves, but Lawson continued to make progress, gaining a place into P12.

The back of the pack provided plenty of overtakes for the first half of the race. They were fighting it out after the safety car, with Stroll taking a short trip into the gravel, Russell gaining places, and Albon very tight on Ocon, but Stroll came back looking to go around the outside of both of them. 

Russell hunting down Bottas. Image courtesy of Stake F1 Team

Lap 13 and Russell makes a move on Bottas into P14 in what appeared to be a good move, but the Mercedes received a 5-second penalty for the move. While Lawson continues to give RedBull something to think about as he was only one place behind Perez who has been in P9 since the restart. 

Having been behind Tsunoda for 10 laps, Perez finally makes it past the RB which now had dead tyres. Hulkenberg also tried to get past the RB with a battle from turn 12 to 16 consisting of very close but great racing. Just as Hulkenberg had to back out and get ready for the next attack, Tsunoda pitted.

As the pitstop window opened on lap 20, Ferrari looked to try an undercut on Verstappen with Sainz in P3. He pitted on lap 22 in an attempt to undercut Verstappen. RedBull decided to leave Verstappen out for 4 laps while Sainz and the McLarens caught the front runners. The undercut was successful for the Ferrari with a 4-second gap while Leclerc reacted to Verstappen’s stop from the lead. He came out behind the two McLarens but crucially in front of his teammate and Verstappen.

Meanwhile, Albon continued to have a great race as he battled Alonso with Gasly was in the best seat in the house to watch just behind them. Alonso held off an initial onslaught from the Williams, who took too much out of his tyres. Gasly was able to make a move but had to take to the outside of turn 12 to complete the pass. This means he received a 5-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

At 31 laps, the US GP became a battle of strategies, with the McLarens yet to pit, Leclerc and Verstappen having pitted only 4 laps before and on a one-stop while Sainz appeared to be on a two-stop. 

After the McLaren stops, Norris was able to work well on the hard tyres. Gaining fastest lap after fastest lap and taking a second out on Verstappen on a few of those. Verstappen was also not happy on the hard tyres and struggled for grip. This hunt was on. 

Colapinto taking on the track. Image courtesy of Pirelli

Magnussen received a very urgent pitstop request from his team, but after a change of tyres came back out. Colopinto, who was having a great race, pitted one lap later and came out just ahead of the Haas. This led to a very exciting battle between two drives who both have nothing to lose. 

While they were getting close, Tsunoda took a quick spin at turn 1. Colopinto locked up but missed the RB and stayed ahead of Magnussen. Tsunoda was able to get going again.

At the front, Norris had closed the gap on Verstappen and was within the DRS zone of the RedBull on lap 44. All eyes were pinned to to these drivers as a podium place and vital championship points were at stake. Norris calculated the move and waited until the right moment on lap 47 after Verstappen locked up.

What ensued was a battle from turn 12 to turn 16 where there was close racing but both were sensible. Verstappen forced Norris around the outside of turn 12 which meant the RedBull could stay ahead through the next set of corners. Undeterred, Norris regrouped and tried again at turn 1 a couple of laps later, but Verstappen was placing his car in all the right places. 

Lap 52 and Norris was much closer on the exit of turn 11 and Verstappen had worse traction. Verstappen forced Norris around the outside and ended up off the track. The stewards immediately began to look at it and the radio messages began between the drivers and the pitwall. On the final lap, Norris received a 5-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. 

Drama between Norris and Verstappen. Image courtesy of RedBull content pool

While that drama unfolded, Leclerc and Ferrari were dominating out front, coming home with a 1-2 and now only 4 points behind RedBull in the constructors for P2. They drove a great race and Leclerc put in a lovely drive to stay ahead. 

Verstappen did finish in P3 with Norris having to settle for P4. With one extra lap, he may have been able to get ahead of the penalty, as he finished 0.9s ahead of the RedBull. However, a shoutout to Colopinto who did get a fastest lap during the race and a point for the team. Lawson also came back in P9 on his first outing back in the RB.

The championship is getting spicy, with RedBull now having to watch for Ferrari in the constructors championship, or they may end up third. Only 6 days until Mexico, can Perez make an impact at his home race?

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