Author: quyen1

Red Bull are hot favourites to retain both World Championships, so we thought we’d take a look at the alternatives.

The Red Bull RB20 looks the class of the field once again in 2024, so we thought we’d take a look at a hypothetical world where things may look a little closer.

With Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez having taken a one-two finish in the opening two races of the season, we’re going early and taking a look at how the Constructors’ Championship might shake out without them in 2024 – which we will track as the season progresses.

Calculating the F1 Constructors’ Championship without Red Bull

As we have done in our tally for calculating the Drivers’ Championship without Max Verstappen, in this case we are excluding the results of both Verstappen and Perez and handing out their points to the drivers below by moving their places up.

Given how close the chasing pack has been behind Red Bull, we reckon the points differences given out for victories instead of the lower placings could well make a big change in these hypothetical standings.

Please remember that this is just for fun and these figures are being calculated with that in mind, as Red Bull look like they could run away with both titles once again on early evidence.

We’re going to keep track of the maths as the season unfolds, and any time a Red Bull driver earns a fastest lap point, it will be redistributed to the next-fastest driver over one lap in race trim.

So after Verstappen claimed fastest lap in Bahrain, Charles Leclerc set the second-fastest lap of the race there, and that bonus point has gone to Ferrari instead as a result.

Leclerc didn’t need any help in Saudi Arabia though, stealing the fastest lap point all on his own on the final lap in Jeddah to send Ferrari well clear at the top, with Oliver Bearman putting in a Driver of the Day performance as stand-in for Carlos Sainz to finish P7, which became a ‘fantasy’ P5 without Red Bull.

Verstappen’s retirement in Australia makes this calculation slightly easier, with only Perez and his 10 points for P5 to take into account – meaning Alex Albon would have been promoted into the points if Red Bull were not present at Albert Park.

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China saw a Sprint to factor into things, with Verstappen’s win ahead of Lewis Hamilton on that occasion meaning Mercedes would have inherited eight points there, prior to another double podium in race trim leaving others to benefit from Red Bull’s absence in our fantasy championship.

Esteban Ocon’s P11 finish would have meant he would have got Alpine off the mark this time around, but alas, that is not the case in the real world unfortunately.

That would have applied for Miami too, but with Ocon getting their first point in real life, that would have been supplemented further with the removal of the Red Bulls, alongside a couple of near-misses in the Sprint that would have elevated them into the points paying positions.

A strong weekend for RB also lifted them above Haas in these fantasy standings – but after six rounds it is Ferrari that would be sprinting clear of the opposition.

F1 2024 Constructors’ Championship without Red Bull [correct as of Miami]

1: Ferrari – 251
2: McLaren – 168
3: Mercedes – 108
4: Aston Martin – 71
5: RB – 32
6: Haas – 25
7: Alpine – 9
8: Williams – 5
9: Kick Sauber – 4

Lewis Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton had supermodel Kendall Jenner “terrified” as he gave her a high-speed tour of the Miami Grand Prix circuit…not just once.

After the Asian section that kicked off the F1 2024 calendar, Formula 1 headed over to the United States for the first of three stops in the nation this season, the Miami Grand Prix. However, Hamilton was not lapping the Miami International Autodrome in his Mercedes W15 only.

‘Holy f***!’ – Lewis Hamilton petrifies Kendall Jenner

Instead, Hamilton was also busy at the wheel of a Mercedes GT AMG, with Jenner his special guest in the passenger seat for a high-speed thrill ride. But, while Jenner it seemed would have been very happy for Hamilton to stop at one lap, he decided to throw in another for good measure.

“You ready?” Hamilton asked Jenner with a fist bump before he got the Mercedes GT AMG moving. “Yeah I guess. I’m terrified,” she responded.

“Holy f***! Lewis!” Jenner exclaimed as Hamilton put his foot down, “I can’t believe this is what you do all the time.”

But, just as Jenner thought it was all over, it was not. “We’ll go again,” said Hamilton, and while Jenner said “no, I can’t”, Hamilton was not about to listen as a beaming smile broke out and he floored it for another lap.

“Oh my god Lewis! I literally hate you!” Jenner screamed as the seven-time World Champion burned in some donuts on the Miami track for good measure.

“Okay I get! You’re really good,” was her next attempt to get Hamilton to call it quits as he set off again at speed, but, it didn’t work.

Hamilton made sure to get another “let’s go again” in, as a joke this time, with Jenner having said she felt “so much better now that it’s over”. This time, it was.

Can Lewis Hamilton return to winning ways in Formula 1? 👇

Hamilton was not the only Mercedes driver taking a celebrity for a spin in Miami, with George Russell doing the same. Music icon Ed Sheeran was in the passenger seat.

While Sheeran was a lot quieter around his rapid tour of the Miami International Autodrome, that and the spirts of nervous laughter suggested he was not enjoying the ride too much either.

“Oh my god, f***!” was about as much talking as Russell got out of him during the lap, Sheeran showing the Mercedes driver his shaking arms.

“I can’t believe you do that day in day out,” Sheeran added at the end.

As for the Miami Grand Prix action, it was another tricky outing for Mercedes, Hamilton’s P6 and Russell’s P8 meaning their wait for a first podium in F1 2024 goes on.

Christian Horner and Adrian Newey established a productive partnership at Red Bull

From Williams to McLaren and today to Red Bull, teams may state there is “no problem” when it comes to Adrian Newey leaving, but Christian Danner says it is anything but.

Red Bull announced in the build-up to the Miami Grand Prix that this season would be Newey’s last full year with Red Bull as he will leave the team in early 2025.

‘This is the beginning of the end of Red Bull Racing’s dominance’

The acclaimed design guru, who has 25 championship titles to his name with an additional two set to follow this season, has stepped away from Red Bull’s Formula 1 operations and will instead focus on the RB17 hypercar as he works in his gardening leave.

But while team boss Christian Horner has downplayed Newey’s exit, adamant he leaves behind a well-oiled technical department, Helmut Marko says it is a “huge” loss for Red Bull.

Former F1 driver Danner agrees with the Austrian.

He even went as far as to predict that this is the “beginning of the end” for the double World Champions.

“This is the beginning of the end of Red Bull Racing’s dominance,” he told Avd Motorsport magazine.

“I’m not saying they will crash, but the dominance is over with the departure of Adrian Newey. In every team Adrian worked for, when he left they always said: No problem!

“He is still the man with the overview and the man who has the matter under control.”

Red Bull have won the last three Drivers’ Championship titles and the last two Constructors’, including a 1-2 in the 2023 Drivers’ standings.

What’s next for Adrian Newey and Red Bull?

While Williams won 59 Grand Prix with a Newey-designed car, they’ve won just 11 since. As for McLaren, while they initially had success after Newey left in 2006, they’ve won just two races in the last decade.

Danner downplayed Horner’s claims that Red Bull’s personnel were up to the task of winning titles having learned from the maestro himself.

“If it were that easy, all the Adrian Newey students who would have built a winning car,” said Danner. “This is a far more serious departure than anyone would like to admit.

“Whenever things didn’t go well at Red Bull, what happened? Adrian had to come to the track.”

He also warned Red Bull that talk of retirement or being burned out would only continue for so long and then Newey, with his championship-winning record, would move onto pastures new.

“That sounds good, now a sabbatical…But then Adrian is bored to death,” he added.

Max Verstappen, hand to head

That Max Verstappen and Christian Horner had opposing views on the damage the Dutchman’s RB20 suffered when he clobbered a bollard at the Miami Grand Prix has been seen as a sign all is not well at Red Bull.

Although the Milton Keynes squad has won four of this year’s six Grands Prix, away from the track rumours of disconnect and tension in the wake of the Horner investigation continue to make headlines.

‘After that it becomes even more curious…’

So much so it has been suggested, although it must be said denied Horner, that Adrian Newey’s exit is a result of the drama from back in February.

Amidst rumours Verstappen could be off to Mercedes in the not-too-distant future, Red Bull announced last week that design legend Newey would leave the team in the first quarter of 2025.

The announcement raised eyebrows in the paddock, but that’s not the only thing that has NOS’ Formula 1 pundits wondering about the situation over at Red Bull.

Last Sunday, Verstappen lost the Miami Grand Prix to Lando Norris in a race in which the Dutchman clobbered a bollard which he joked he “didn’t like”.

He denied that his off-track excursion had any lingering effects.

“It didn’t feel different, so I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe it was already damaged. I don’t know. I mean I hit that thing and then my pace was the same so I didn’t really know if there was damage.”

But according to Horner, Verstappen had “actually done quite a lot of damage to the underside of the car” in that off-track moment.

Verstappen, in the Red Bull press release, changed his tune as he spoke of “understeer” and struggling “a lot with grip”, adding Red Bull had “found that the floor was damaged and had a hole in which could have been picked up from hitting the cone.”

Jan Dekker called the U-Turn “curious”.

“It is curious that a team boss says to twenty journalists he had significant damage and that affected his lap times,” F1 journalist Dekker told NOS’s F1 podcast. “And Verstappen says: I don’t know anything.

“After that it becomes even more curious because then there is a press release in which Verstappen said that there was damage, as if those words were put into his mouth.

“Everything is going well at Red Bull, but the internal communication… The fact that Horner says that while Verstappen says not, I find that strange.”

More on Adrian Newey’s Red Bull exit

However, his fellow pundit Jan Lammers says Dekker is making a big deal out of nothing.

“That could also just be because they haven’t spoken to each other yet,” says the 67-year-old. “You collect data and then one person has seen something and discusses it with Horner, while Max is busy with other things.

“The questions were asked to him at a time when he had not yet spoken to everyone.”

Dutch racer Jeroen Bleekemolen believes Verstappen’s press conference comments may have been made to avoid taking away from Norris’ maiden Grand Prix victory.

“Verstappen perhaps did not want to detract from Norris’s victory. He indicated that he had honestly beaten him, that he had the better car,” he said.

Max Verstappen said rumours of a big-money offer aren’t a motivation for signing for another team.

Happy Friday, everybody. We made it. If you missed any of the key F1 news action from the day, we’ve got you covered right here.

Unfortunately we have to wait another week until the action gets back underway at Imola, but that doesn’t mean we have any less to bring you – far from it. So, without further ado…

Max Verstappen responds to Zak Brown’s Adrian Newey talk

After Zak Brown claimed Adrian Newey might be the “first domino to fall” within Red Bull and later claimed McLaren had been receiving plenty of CVs from Red Bull staff members in Miami, Max Verstappen is choosing to ignore the hype Brown is creating around his team.

“He obviously wants to stir things up,” said Verstappen. “For us as a team, we can’t do anything with comments like that.

“From his point of view, I understand it of course, because everyone is trying to attract our people and that is completely normal in the world of Formula 1 as well.

“But I’m not really interested in those things either. I see the headlines, but I don’t even click on them.”

Kevin Magnussen not interested in helping Oliver Bearman

While Kevin Magnussen is not contracted beyond the end of the year yet, should he stay at Haas, Oliver Bearman is looking like a strong candidate to join the team next season.

He is slated to take part in six FP1 sessions for the team this year and with Nico Hulkenberg having already signed for Sauber for 2025, they could end up being team-mates.

But if that is the case, the teenage driver shouldn’t expect too much of a leg-up – though that could perhaps be expected, given the ruthless nature of the grid.

“I’m not really here to take care of young kids, you know? I do that at home,” Magnussen said, when asked if he’d be willing to lend Bearman a hand.

“So, hopefully, the guy we have in the car will be competent, professional, and consistent like Nico has been, and we’ll see if I’ll be in the other car.”

Martin Garrix sheds light on his perspective of Lando Norris’ ‘injury’

When Lando Norris’ nose went viral last week, his friend, the DJ Martin Garrix, has now explained what happened from his perspective – and had initially worried people thought he had broken Norris’ nose when in fact, things were nowhere near as bad as they seemed.

“Everyone made it crazier than it was,” he told Virgin Radio Dubai.

“There was a glass that was broken on the boat and we were partying all the time and he took a sip from the glass, and the upper part gave him a small cut on his nose.

“But because of where he cut himself, it was bleeding a lot. Everyone thought I broke his nose or something, which was not what happened.

“We had bandaids to put on the nose but very quickly he turned into like a mummy and then someone took a photo, and that photo went viral. The whole world saw that photo thinking it was crazy bad but luckily it was only a little scratch.”

Exclusive: Thierry Boutsen on Williams’ ‘big, big challenge’ to get back to top of F1

We spoke to three-time Grand Prix winner Thierry Boutsen about the challenges Williams face to get back to the front of Formula 1, having been away for so long.

He referenced the changes McLaren have made in their quest to get back to race-winning form, and coming from the back of the field, Williams have a huge task ahead of them – even with the changes team principal James Vowles has already implemented.

“It’s very difficult, in a way that it will take time,” he told PlanetF1.com in an exclusive interview.

“In Formula 1, you don’t learn it in a fortnight. You need a lot of time, a lot of years to understand F1 and be able to be strong.

“It’s a big, big, big challenge. If you don’t have this from the 1000 people, if you don’t have everybody giving the best of themselves, it’s even more difficult.

“[Vowles] has got a very, very difficult task in front of him and I wish him all the best to succeed.”

Fred Vasseur asked about ‘more relaxed’ management style

When it was put to Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur that his ‘less hostile’ management style compared to some of his peers may be paying off in the Scuderia’s recruitment drive, in typical Vasseur fashion, he responded with a big laugh.

“You have to ask the question to the people of the company if the management is friendly or not!” He joked.

“But no, I don’t want to lose energy for the wrong topic, I think we have a lot to do internally.

“We have to improve, we have to recruit, we have to develop the car – we have a huge amount of work on the table, and I don’t want to lose my energy, my time in my budget to fight with my colleagues, that is not my approach at all.”

Helmut Marko weighs in on Adrian Newey’s Red Bull exit

After seemingly hinting that Adrian Newey will join Aston Martin, Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko brushed that off and instead gave a new prediction for which team he believes Newey will sign for.

Newey will become a free agent after the first quarter of 2025 following the shock announcement of his Red Bull exit, though it is no surprise that a host of teams are being linked with moves to keep Newey – the designer of Formula 1 cars that have claimed a combined 25 titles – in the series especially with a huge regulatory reset coming for 2026.

Helmut Marko hints Adrian Newey heading for Ferrari

Newey has not closed the door on extending his F1 career into that new era, when sweeping chassis and power unit changes are introduced. And Marko admitted to oe24 – in reference to Newey – that he is “afraid he’ll be with a rival team” by that stage.

And with his “great colour like green” hint, it seemed Marko was teasing Aston Martin as Newey’s next destination.

However, he now says he was “misunderstood”, following that up with a fresh suggestion that Newey would end up at Ferrari, as has been heavily speculated.

“I was obviously misunderstood,” said Marko when his Aston Martin suggestion was brought up. “I would rather guess red.”

Could Adrian Newey finally make that move to Ferrari?

The overall stance from Red Bull has been to play down the impact of Newey’s exit and rather talk up the senior staff structure which has been readied to cushion this blow.

But, while Marko similarly sees the Red Bull technical team in good health, he talked up the value of the “legend” Newey, especially when it came to getting the best out of regulation changes.

“Newey is a legend. He is the best F1 designer and he was at his best when the regulations were changed, because he always knows how to best utilise the new interpretations,” said Marko.

“And with Newey you have a figurehead. With him on board, it was much easier to get young engineers because it was an honour for them to work with him.

“On the other hand, our technical team is very broadly based with a mixture of experienced people like [technical director] Pierre Waché and younger people. When there were problems, Newey was often the first to come up with a solution.”

Newey’s expert knowledge of ground effect aerodynamics has been a pivotal factor in Red Bull’s domination of this F1 era, leading to speculation over whether Red Bull can maintain this level without him. On the flip side, others at Red Bull are reportedly pleased to now have the opportunity to take their deserved credit with Newey out of the picture.

But while the Newey mystique is now gone for Red Bull, Marko does not fear them falling into a slump.

“With Newey, the myth will go, but I don’t think we’ll have a technical slump because of it,” said Marko.

“Now we have to concentrate on the World Championship and get the team back on track.”

Red Bull look well set to claim a further title double in F1 2024, with Max Verstappen leading the Drivers’ Championship and the team atop the Constructors’ standings.

Max Verstappen has been warned about jumping to Mercedes in 2026

Martin Brundle has warned Max Verstappen against leaving Red Bull, not only before 2025 when a fifth title could await him, but also ’26 as Red Bull Powertrains is looking “impressive”.

Verstappen is, at least according to Toto Wolff, contemplating his future and whether or not he wants to see out his Red Bull contract, which runs through to the end of the 2028 championship.

‘If there are cards to be played, do you want to play them?’

Wolff is hoping that if or when the time comes that Verstappen does quit Red Bull, he’ll join him in Brackley. But he doesn’t see that happening before 2026.

Waiting on the Dutchman’s “thinking” before signing Lewis Hamilton’s replacement, Wolff has stated at least twice that if he were Verstappen, he’d continue with Red Bull next season as they have the best package.

After that, “other factors” should come into play.

He added: “I think that Max knows motor racing better than anyone, he will take decisions that he feels are good for him. I think a few factors play a role.”

One of those factors would be the all-new power unit regulations that Formula 1 will adopt in two years.

The last time Formula 1 introduced new engines it was Mercedes who came to the fore, winning seven championship doubles on the trot from 2014 to 2020. It wasn’t until Verstappen wrestled the title away from Hamilton in 2021 that their run was curtailed.

Zak Brown doubles down on ‘CV’ jibe

Brundle though, has warned Verstappen against being swayed by Mercedes’ past engine success as he reckons the Red Bull Powertrain project is looking very “impressive”.

“I think it might be the power unit that bothers Max in terms of the unknown,” he told Sky Sports. “But I’ve been around the Red Bull Powertrain. Oh, my goodness, what an impressive setup that is.

“So I think it’s going to be quite interesting. If there are cards to be played in terms of exiting anywhere how quickly do they have to be played and do you want to play them indeed?”

The former F1 driver also reiterated that Adrian Newey’s departure, which was announced last week, does is not one of the possible exit cards in Verstappen’s deck.

There is, however, said to be one that included Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko with reports claiming if Verstappen wants out, he’ll walk away himself in order to open the door.

Brundle said: “I asked Christian has Max got a key man clause, an exit clause, that mentions Adrian and he specifically said no.

“If Max has got an exit clause, I would think he’s got to use it quite quickly, although they could use it as a lever to go or stay next year.

“The cars are not going change a whole lot next year so walking away from a Red Bull at the moment with the momentum, Max probably got this year’s and next year’s championship relatively easily available to him.

“So we’ll have to wait and see.”

Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington is Lewis Hamilton’s long-term race engineer

The role of an F1 race engineer is crucial to a driver’s weekend, but who are the voices in the ears of all 20 racers on the grid?

While some play a background role, there are others who have become famous in their own right as their radio messages reach millions of viewers. Here’s all 20 drivers and the race engineer in their ears.

Red Bull

Max Verstappen – Gianpiero ‘GP’ Lambiase

Gianpiero Lambiase, or GP as he is more commonly known, has been in Verstappen’s ear ever since the Dutchman moved up to Red Bull in 2016.

Before Verstappen, Lambiase was race engineer for Daniil Kvyat and has actually fulfilled the same role with Sergio Perez at Force India.

Born in London with a dual British-Italian nationality, GP has become known for his straight-talking style with Verstappen who has been prone to more than one outburst while on track.

But after the helmet has come off, the two have proven to be good friends, with team boss Christian Horner likening the two to an ‘old married couple’ on multiple occasions.

Sergio Perez – Hugh Bird

Hugh Bird is a one-club man having joined Red Bull in July 2012 first as a simulation and analysis engineer.

He worked his way up the ladder until he became Verstappen’s performance engineer in 2018 before moving on to be Sergio Perez’s race engineer in 2021, the same year the Mexican joined the team.

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton – Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington

Sharing the accolade of most famous race engineer along with GP is Peter Bonnignton or, as he is better known, ‘Bono’.

“My tyres are gone, Bono” has become part of the F1 lexicon and Bono’s relationship with Lewis Hamilton dates back to 2013 when the now seven-time World Champion joined the team.

Coining the phrase “it’s Hammer time”, the two clearly have a great relationship and Bono has quite the CV having fulfilled the same role for Michael Schumacher before Hamilton.

Before that, he was performance engineer for Jenson Button when he won the World Championship in 2009 for Brawn.

Bono’s F1 career dates back to the early 2000s when he joined Jordan as a data engineer before moving to Honda and linking up with Andrew Shovlin.

George Russell – Marcus Dudley

Having had Riccardo Musconi guide him through his debut year with Mercedes, Russell switched race engineers at the start of 2023 and brought in Marcus Dudley.

Dudley followed a familiar route into the role having started as a performance engineer in 2013 before moving to be race engineer after 10 years in his former role.

Dudley had previous experience of race engineering having stepped in for Bono at the Austrian Grand Prix in 2022 and the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix.

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc – Bryan Bozzi

Taking over from Xavi Marcos Padros in Charles Leclerc’s ear in May 2024 was Bryan Bozzi, who was no stranger to Formula 1 with already 12 years’ experience under his belt by the time he became Leclerc’s race engineer.

He began with Ferrari as a wind tunnel research and development engineer in 2012, and with Marcos having been moved to a different part of Ferrari, became Leclerc’s race engineer.

Carlos Sainz – Riccardo Adami

Riccardo Adami’s history in Formula 1 dates back to 2002 when he joined Minardi and became their race engineer in 2005.

After the team was taken over by Red Bull and turned into Toro Rosso, Adami continued to work in the same role, going on to work with the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo.

He would reunite with Vettel at Ferrari in 2015 and then after the German departed for Aston Martin, Adami stayed on to become race engineer for new recruit Carlos Sainz.

McLaren

Lando Norris – Will Joseph and Jose Manuel Lopez

Lando Norris is slightly unusual in that he has two race engineers with them rotating throughout the season.

One of them is Will Joseph who Norris has worked with for a long time but in 2023, Joseph began to share the role with Jose Manuel Lopez.

Team boss Andrea Stella explained this was due to the elongated calendar and McLaren’s desire to avoid burnout for their engineers.

Oscar Piastri – Tom Stallard

Oscar Piastri’s arrival into F1 saw him link up with Tom Stallard and, unlike Norris, Piastri has only heard Stallard’s voice in his ears.

Before Piastri, Stallard – an Olympic rowing silver medallist before moving into the F1 world full-time – operated in the same role for Ricciardo and first joined McLaren in September 2008 as a simulator test engineer.

He quickly moved up the ladder until he became race engineer for Button and later for Stoffel Vandoorne and Sainz.

Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso – Chris Cronin

After switching to Aston Martin, Fernando Alonso was allocated to Chris Cronin as his race engineer, with Alonso previously stating the importance of a race engineer in the relationship a driver has with the team.

“I think they need to become nearly a friend of the driver,” he said.

“They’re your continuation outside the car, 100%.”

Lance Stroll – Ben Michell

Long-term fans of F1 may think that poor Brad Joyce was still Lance Stroll’s race engineer after years of memorable complaints from the Canadian but Joyce moved to become head of trackside engineering in 2021 and in his place stepped Ben Michell.

Michell started F1 life at Caterham in April 2013 before joining Toro Rosso in January 2014. It was during the COVID-hit season of 2020 that he switched to Aston Martin before getting his new role a year later.

Alpine

Esteban Ocon – Josh Peckett

Esteban Ocon and Josh Peckett have been operating in similar circles since 2016 when the latter was race engineer for Ocon’s team-mate Pascal Wehrlein. But in 2020, the two were reunited when Ocon joined Renault.

Beginning first as Ocon’s performance engineer, Peckett moved up to race engineer in February 2021 at the same time the brand switched to Alpine.

Pierre Gasly – Karel Loos

After joining Alpine, Pierre Gaslky linked up with Karel Loos who has a long history in the role.

Loos has worked with Alonso, Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz, Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen and previously worked for Lotus before joining Renault/Alpine in May 2017.

Williams

Alex Albon – James Urwin

A man with plenty of experience is Alex Albon’s race engineer James Urwin who joined Williams in 2014 as a performance engineer.

In 2017, he became race engineer for Lance Stroll before continuing on in the same role for George Russell when the young Brit joined.

When Russell moved to Mercedes, Urwin kept his place as Albon arrived.

Logan Sargeant – Gaetan Jego

Guiding Logan Sargeant through his rookie year was Gaetan Jego who fulfilled the same role for Nicholas Latifi.

Jego started his F1 career at ART Grand Prix before moving to Williams in October 2019.

RB

Yuki Tsunoda – Mattia Spini

Mattia Spini has been the man in Yuki Tsundoa’s ears since the Japanese driver’s debut in 2021.

Before that, he oversaw Kvyat and Gasly but Tsunoda’s expletive-filled rants will no doubt have been a different kind of challenge for Spini to deal with.

Daniel Ricciardo – Pierre Hamelin

A different kind of year for Pierre Hamelin who has been race engineer for three different drivers all within the space of a season.

Starting with Nyck de Vries, Hamelin then became Ricciardo’s race engineer in Hungary but when the Australian broke his hand in Zandvoort, Hamelin took on his second rookie of the year in the form of Liam Lawson.

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Kick Sauber

Valtteri Bottas – Steven Petrik

After the abrupt departure of Alex Chan in early 2024, Steven Petrik was drafted in to be Bottas’ race engineer from the Miami Grand Prix in what was described as a “sudden change” by the Finn.

Petrik had almost a decade of F1 experience with him by the time he became Bottas’ engineer, having spent eight years as a race performance engineer with Ferrari before moving across.

Zhou Guanyu – Jorn Becker

Having come together for Zhou Guanyu’s rookie season, the Chinese driver and Jorn Becker stayed together for 2023 although it was a difficult year to navigate.

Haas

Kevin Magnussen – Mark Slade

Haas made the surprise decision of breaking up their driver-engineer partnership in 2022 with Mark Slade coming in towards the end of the season to partner Kevin Magnussen.

The two did have a previous relationship, though, having worked together at Renault in 2016.

Nico Hulkenberg – Gary Gannon

Nico Hulkenberg was in safe hands when he returned to the paddock as long-term race engineer Gary Gannon guided him through the season.

Gannon’s previous job was race engineer to Mick Schumacher.

Max Verstappen has driven for Red Bull Racing since May 2016

Former McLaren and Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes Carlos Sainz would be the ‘A-plus’ driver Red Bull should look to if Max Verstappen decides to leave the team.

Sainz is out of contract with Ferrari at the end of the year and is known to be in discussions with multiple teams, but has not secured his next destination in Formula 1 yet as he assesses his options moving forward.

Juan Pablo Montoya: Red Bull should look to Carlos Sainz if Max Verstappen leaves

Verstappen and Sainz were team-mates together in their rookie season at Toro Rosso in 2015, and have both gone down their own separate career paths since then.

But with Sainz having been linked with a possible move to Red Bull, the Ferrari driver currently in peak form and up until Lando Norris’ win in Miami at the weekend was the only non-Red Bull driver since mid-2022 to score a Grand Prix victory, his name has cropped up in reports as a potential candidate to return to the Red Bull stable.

But in the short term, he will be moved aside at Ferrari for the arrival of Lewis Hamilton in 2025, and Montoya is ready to see how that fight pans out between the seven-time World Champion and Charles Leclerc next season.

“It will be interesting to see how smooth that goes with Charles and Lewis in the cars, to be honest,” Montoya told RacingNews365.

“There’s going to be a personality clash there. It’s going to be fun to watch.”

But on Verstappen, his future has been up for debate given the unsettled off-track goings-on at Red Bull, though his contract runs until 2028 and he has said he remains committed to the team.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has been circling in case the reigning World Champion does decide to change his scenery however, and if the unlikely situation does occur, for Montoya, there is a clear replacement in mind already.

“I think Carlos right now would be the best choice in my opinion, especially if there’s talk of Max leaving,” Montoya said.

“If they’re thinking about Max leaving, they need to have an A-plus driver as a back-up. You can’t have Checo and Max leave because then you have nothing.

“But right now he [Sainz] is doing the job. He’s doing what needs to be done. Could there be better drivers? Probably. But I think in the right situation, Carlos can be really good.”

Sainz currently sits fifth in the Drivers’ Championship on 83 points, despite having missed the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix through having an appendectomy.

Lewis Hamilton remains ‘unhappy’ with a key decision made by Mercedes principal Toto Wolff amid another difficult season for the British star, according to reports.

Any hopes of a fairytale final season between Hamilton and the Mercedes F1 team, before the seven-time world champion departs for rivals Ferrari next year, already look over as the team’s car continues to struggle.

The Silver Arrows are yet to win a Grand Prix this season, with Hamilton frustrated by his car’s lack of competitive pace, and remains frustrated with the team’s decision to replace his former team-mate Valtteri Bottas, as per GB News.

Hamilton was supported by Bottas during his career best stint of world title runs between 2017 and 2021 before Wolff decided to promote a young George Russell into his seat at the championship-winning Formula One garage.

Russell has been more of a threat to Hamilton’s position as the team’s star driver than his predecessor, Bottas, who is now driving for Stake F1 team.

Lewis Hamilton reportedly remains unhappy with a key decision made by Mercedes principal Toto Wolff

Hamilton’s final season at Mercedes has been disappointing amidst continued struggles with his car’s performance

Hamilton is believed to be ‘unhappy’ with the decision made by Mercedes to make George Russell (left) his team-mate

Russell has finished above his team-mate in all but one of the six GP’s so far with Hamilton looking set to bow out his Mercedes career with no chance of sealing a record-breaking eight world championship crown.

‘To me, it’s still an unanswered question why he signed George to replace Valtteri because Valtteri was a very good team-mate to Lewis,’ said Formula One insider Peter Windsor on his YouTube channel.

Valterri Bottas (pictured) previously partnered Hamilton at Mercedes before being replaced by Russell

Hamilton is set to join Mercedes’ rivals Ferrari at the end of the season in a shock move

‘Lewis has never really been happy with George as we’ve said from day one, because basically George is quicker,’ he added.

Hamilton will wave goodbye to Mercedes following 11-years at the German team bossed by Wolff following the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi after deciding to join Ferrari on a two-year contract.

His decision to make the shock move to the Italian side will see him partnered with French driver Charles Leclerc who similarly to Russell also has his own ambitions of becoming a world champion.

Hamilton expects the move to give him a better chance of winning another world title than what Mercedes can that would see him overtake Ferrari legend Michael Schumacher to become the sport’s record-holder for the most championship crowns.