Irony as Russell success may cost him his Mercedes’ seat – Much has been written in recent weeks about Max Verstappen leaving his Red Bull family from where all of his F1 success has come. He has release clauses in his contract which state should he lie fourth or lower in the drivers’ title race come the summer break, Max can extract himself from his contract which currently runs until the end of 2028.

Currently Verstappen is in third place, ironically 19 points ahead of George Russell who he could replace at Mercedes. Coming up before the summer shutdown are the Belgian and Hungarian Grand Prix and including the Sprint event this means there are some 58 points on offer.

Following the British Grand Prix, Verstappen’s private jet was tracked to Sardinia, where per chance Toto Wolff’s yacht was moored. Yet Mercedes have now denied there was any meeting between the pair and that them holidaying on the same Island was a mere coincidence.

 

 

 

Assumption Mercedes will ace the new engine regs

With the recent dismissal of Red Bull’s team principal, Christian Horner, a number of theories have emerged over the implications for Verstappen, ranging from the move to depose the team boss was required to secure Verstappen’s services for next season.

Yet the Red Bull Racing organisation looks to be on a shaky footing and the departure of Horner will leave another hole of experience which may prove hard to fill by his replacement Laurent Mekies. For this reason alone Verstappen may think its time to join the rest of the rats leaving the sinking ship, but the timing is not ideal given the high new regulation changes coming in 2026.

Adrian Newey said on his outing to the Aston Martin pit wall earlier in Monaco, that in his opinion any of the big teams may ace their 2026 challengers ahead of the competition, but nobody knows who will find the best solution for either the new power units along with the radical new chassis.

There’s a general assumption that Mercedes will come out again top dog as they did in 2014. Perceived as engine specialists in the V6 turbo hybrid era, Mercedes dominated the sport for eight seasons as their massive research and development budget paid off, making the silver arrows along with Lewis Hamilton the all conquering champions for nigh on a decade.

Verstappen bomb to explode in Spa

 

 

 

Any F1 team may find the silver bullet

Yet this time around the FIA have learned some from some of the rookie mistakes they made when specifying the 2014 V6 hybrids. This time around each of the manufacturers have a cost cap for total spend on their engine designs along with the restriction on the hours of bench testing.

Various power output ceilings have been set and even should one manufacturer find the silver bullet for 2026, there has been talk from F1’s CEO, Stefano Domenical, that some form of equalisation process will be implemented.

Whilst the cost restrictions will prevent one power unit manufacturer from blowing away the competition, as did Mercedes for 2014, it will also restrict a teams ability to catch up should the find themselves way behind the others. 

In the WEC, the power units are regulated by the FIA, who control the balance of power each is able to deliver. However, no such system in F1 currently exists. Speaking ahead of a meeting with the OEM’s in Bahrain, Domenicali told Autosport: 

Honda washes its hands of Tsunoda

 

 

 

Catch up system needs devising

“Nothing prevents us from working to improve the package. The FIA, together with the manufacturers and teams, can always assess if there are areas for improvement.

“We’re on the brink of a major regulatory shift, and I personally believe it’s crucial that the system allows for a faster recovery if a manufacturer falls behind significantly. That’s an issue we must address quickly – it could happen to anyone.”

Domenicali hinted the case could be made for a handicap system given another period of significant Comanche from one team would damage the current growth spurt of the sport.

The 2014 regulations were written following a mass exodus from the sport in 2009, when Honda, Toyota and BMW all walked out following the global finical banking crisis. The 2026 regulations were meant to broaden the support of manufacturers in F1, an objective the FIA believe would protect them from the precarious position where at one point there were just three engine producers. 

Horner mourns tragic loss

 

 

 

Russell success may allow Max to activate exit clause

Yet this thinking was rooted in in decisions made by the FIA back in 2017, whilst now there appears to be a change of emphasis on what is required for the future. Cheaper, less complex and more nosy engines are now seen as the future by both the president of the FIA and Stefano Domenicali.

This would open the door to third party organisations taking part in F1, such as Cosworth who despite leaving the sport more than a decade ago, remain third on the all time list of engine F1 wins.

With no contract yet for next season, the situation George Russell finds himself in is somewhat comical. Should he overhaul Verstappen for third in the drivers’ championship in the next two race weekends, it could be this which opens up Max’s release clause, for him them to replace Russell at Mercedes.

Russell is clearly at risk of losing his seat despite him scoring more than two thirds of the points this year for the Mercedes team. Otherwise he would have his shiny new contract done and dusted and it would be Antonelli looking to continue his F1 education elsewhere and at Mercedes expense.

Given the fact nobody knows which team will end up on top come early in the 2026 campaign, it seems nonsensical for Max to make a commitment for next season, because for 2027 he would have the pick of the field. Further, Ferrari have promised Lewis Hamilton at least two seasons with the Scuderia and whilst it would be ‘box office’ seeing Verstappen and Hamilton as team mates, the British driver is unlikely to sanction this move.

 

 

 

Gasly reacts to Bottas to Alpine

Gasly Dismisses Bottas Speculation as “Much Ado About Nothing”, But the Alpine Driver Market Is Anything But Quiet – In the wonderfully whacky theatre of Formula 1, the casting never stops. And now, the spotlight shifts to the paddock whispers linking Valtteri Bottas with yet another seat on the grid — this time at Alpine. But while some are busy connecting dots and forecasting the next plot twist, Pierre Gasly is rather unimpressed by the drama. In his words, this is simply “much ado about nothing.”

Yet, as we all know in F1, where there is smoke, there is usually a smoke machine run by an anonymous PR intern at full throttle. So let us examine the swirling speculation and why Gasly might be whistling past the graveyard….. READ MORE