Last Updated on November 25 2025, 10:50 am
Welcome to TJ13’s daily rolling F1 news and comment. Here you’ll find the latest stories, rumours, and paddock whispers, all served with our usual splash of satire. We’ll be updating this page all day as the news breaks and the drama unfolds, so be sure to check back regularly for the latest updates straight from the F1 circus, and please leave a comment at the bottom of the page.
Senior Red Bull individual “has to go” – updated 15:03 UK
Max Verstappen’s hopes for a record fifth consecutive Formula One drivers’ title now hand by a thread. Having closed down a gap to the leader from 104 points to just 36, a Sau Palou disaster is likely to finish the world champion’s resurgent charge.
The RB21 was slow ‘out of the box’ despite copious pre-race weekend simulations and feeling compromised due to the car’s lack of grip, Verstappen could only qualify sixth for the Sprint. His pace in the shorter race on Saturday at times was good, wit him even being the quickest car on track for several Laos toward the end of the race.
Yet despite Piastri crashing out, Verstappen would lose ground on Norris who won the Brazilian Sprint and the Red Bull technical team decided to make revolutionary changes to the car for qualifying.
This decision spectacularly failed and despite no mechanical gremlins Verstappen for the first time in his long career failed to make it out of Q1 due to pace only. Even since the Monza upgrade, the RB21 has been up and down, being thrashed in Mexico by Lando Norris more than 30 seconds down the road.
Pierre Wache – “not the right man”
Questions are being asked of Red Bull’s technical director, Pierre Wache who is solely responsible for this year’s car for the first time since Adrian Newey departed the team. “Red Bull now faces two tasks: on the one hand, they have to complete the driver line-up for next year,” says former F1 racer Ralf Schumacher on Sky Germany. “The position of team boss is now well filled, that’s done.
“But in my view, and I know I’m going to get in trouble for this tomorrow, Pierre Waché is not the right man to get a grip on the situation in the long term.” Schumacher continued: “We have seen brilliant races from Red Bull, but we see it constantly going up and down. Then the expectations have to be adjusted again.
“At some point, they seem to understand where it has gone wrong, but then again, later it turns out not to. Formula 1 is now just too competitive and too complex to be able to afford that if you want to be champion.”
Norris triumphs as Verstappen’s pit-lane heroics steal the show – 19:36 UK
Lando Norris has done it again: another flawless weekend and another nail in the coffin of Max Verstappen’s title defence. The McLaren driver won both the sprint and the Grand Prix in Brazil, holding off a rampant Verstappen, who somehow hauled his Red Bull from the pit lane to the podium. While Norris celebrated with his team, Verstappen’s comeback dominated the headlines, stealing some of McLaren’s thunder.
The race itself was pure Interlagos chaos. Ferrari imploded before the first pit window, with Hamilton smashing his front wing and Leclerc being forced to retire thanks to a chain reaction involving Antonelli, Piastri and Stroll.
Piastri’s subsequent penalty left McLaren’s rivals seething, but it changed little in terms of the outcome, Norris simply had too much pace. Even when Verstappen cut through the pack and briefly took the lead, the papaya pit wall barely flinched. By the time the chequered flag was waved, Norris had secured his seventh win of the season, with Antonelli in second place and Verstappen completing the podium after his miraculous drive.
Organisers Modify Interlagos ahead of Sao Paulo GP – updated 14:44 UK
Brazilian Grand Prix organisers have made a small but significant change to Turn 3 ahead of what’s expected to be a wet-dry Sunday at Interlagos, after the treacherous corner claimed Oscar Piastri and Franco Colapinto during Saturday’s Sprint.
Piastri had been running third in the 24-lap race, chasing Kimi Antonelli and hoping to mount a challenge against his McLaren teammate Lando Norris for victory — and a valuable eight championship points.
The drama unfolded on Lap 6, when Piastri lost control of his McLaren through Turn 3. Within seconds, Nico Hülkenberg and Franco Colapinto also spun off at the same spot, all victims of the same slick kerb surface.
Norris drags water onto track
Antonelli reported over team radio that, “Norris hit the kerb and a lot of water went onto the racing line,” suggesting runoff from the outer edge of the track was compromising grip. The Sprint was red-flagged soon after. Hülkenberg managed to limp back to the pits, but both Piastri and Colapinto were forced to retire on the spot.
Reflecting on the incident, Piastri confirmed that water carried onto the circuit by cars running over the kerb played a decisive role: “I used it [the kerb] a little bit the lap before,” he said. “Looking back, a couple of the guys ahead also used it and probably dragged some water onto the line where I went. I probably shouldn’t have been on the kerb anyway, but the track had changed compared to the previous lap — and clearly I wasn’t the only one caught out.
“It was only a little wide, nothing major, and I took the same line as the cars ahead. Unfortunately, the consequences were a lot bigger.”
Turn 3 modified to drain water
The Australian added that the moment caused a visible splash of water as he ran across the kerb, leaving him helpless once traction broke: “It clearly splashed up quite a lot of water when that happened. Again, I probably shouldn’t have been on it, but a bit unfortunate that the consequences were so high.”
With more rain forecast for Sunday, circuit officials moved quickly to mitigate the issue overnight. According to The Race, workers cut a makeshift drainage channel through the Turn 3 kerb to allow water to run off the surface rather than pool at the racing line.
The fix aims to prevent a repeat of Saturday’s chaos, ensuring that any water collected along the kerb drains away before cars reach the corner. The FIA’s early forecast for the race had predicted only a “moderate chance of drizzle or light rain,” but conditions on Sunday morning were anything but light — the heavens opened over Interlagos, soaking the track well before lights-out.
With the circuit already drenched and more rain incoming, Turn 3 could once again prove to be a decisive — and dangerous — corner in Brazil’s unpredictable 2025 Grand Prix.
The forecast teases classic Brazilian chaos, with rain predicted for race day – Updated 08:45 UK
Interlagos might yet deliver the one thing that every F1 fan secretly hopes for: a proper Brazilian Grand Prix downpour. After Saturday’s sprint avoided the feared cyclone and took place in mostly dry conditions, forecasts now predict a “slight to moderate” chance of rain for Sunday’s race — around 40% at the start, easing to 20% by the final laps.
The FIA’s weather system predicts a cool, cloudy afternoon with temperatures around 18–19°C and wind gusts of up to 40 kph — conditions that could cause even the best setups to malfunction. Pole-sitter Lando Norris is the favourite, but Max Verstappen, marooned in 16^(th) place after his first ever Q1 exit based on pure pace, will be praying for strategic chaos to rescue his title campaign.
For TJ13’s jury, it’s simple: drizzle equals drama. Interlagos has a history of wet-weather classics, from Senna’s mastery to Russell’s heartbreak, and 2025 could well join that highlight reel. If the rain hits mid-race, expect Norris to struggle, Verstappen to take risks, and Ferrari to make the wrong tyre call.
Button amused as F1 suddenly remembers it likes Verstappen – 08:00 UK
Jenson Button has noticed something deeply amusing about Formula 1’s collective memory: the same people who once branded Max Verstappen reckless, arrogant and a menace now cheer him like he’s everyone’s favourite underdog. Funny how a 104-point comeback can wash away a few seasons of elbows-out chaos.
The 2009 world champion told Autosprint he finds it “funny to see almost everyone supporting Max” now that he’s hunting a fifth straight title. Button credits Verstappen’s “exceptional” form — and a rare sense of calm — for transforming public opinion. But the subtext is clear: F1 fandom is fickle, and nothing endears a driver to the crowd quite like a comeback story, especially when McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri currently wear the role of establishment favourites.
For TJ13’s jury, this is classic F1 hypocrisy at work. When Verstappen dominates, he’s a tyrant; when he’s chasing, he’s heroic. The same critics who once decried his wheel-to-wheel brawling now describe it as “on the edge brilliance.” In truth, Max hasn’t changed — he’s just become the villain people missed. Give it a few weeks and another late lunge at Norris, and the pitchforks will be back out again.
Brazil bombshell: Verstappen facing pit-lane start dilemma – 00:15 UK
Red Bull’s Brazilian weekend has gone from hopeful to humiliating, with Max Verstappen’s RB21 performing as erratically as a caffeine-fuelled intern on their first day. Knocked out in Q1 and languishing in 16th place, the reigning champion now faces an unpleasant choice: start from mid-pack in a car that lacks grip, or break the parc fermé rules, change the setup, and start from the pit lane.
Helmut Marko, never one to sugarcoat a crisis, admitted that drastic changes are on the table. The team’s Friday experiment to broaden the car’s setup window backfired spectacularly — it slid everywhere except where it mattered on the track. Laurent Mekies called it ‘the price you pay when you roll the dice’, though in Red Bull’s case, the dice seem to be stacked against them. The RB21 looked nervous going into corners, sluggish coming out of them and sensitive to the bumps of Interlagos.
This is more than just a bad session, it’s a sign that Red Bull’s ‘new normal’ is not only slower, but also confused. Verstappen has been carrying the team through mechanical issues for weeks, but even he cannot conjure miracles from a car that is both light on downforce and heavy on drama. A pit-lane start might provide the reset he needs, or confirm that Red Bull’s upgrades have put them in a difficult position. Either way, Sunday’s damage limitation exercise may reveal more about their season than any podium yet.
Ferrari crowned the 2025 World Endurance Champions in Bahrain – 00:10 UK
While Ferrari’s Formula 1 team continues to struggle, the Prancing Horse’s endurance racing division has found its winning form. While the Formula 1 squad continues to redefine the phrase ‘glorious underachievement’ – one pit call, one penalty and one post-race shrug at a time – Ferrari’s World Endurance Championship team has quietly dominated the competition. It seems that all that competence and calmness was being kept in Maranello’s other garage.
Ferrari capped off a remarkable 2025 campaign by sealing both the FIA Hypercar Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ World Endurance Championships with a controlled run to fourth in the season finale, the 8 Hours of Bahrain. This result brings to an end more than 50 years of waiting for a top-tier endurance crown — the last of which came way back in 1972 — and confirms the Italian marque’s 499P prototype as the benchmark of this WEC season.
Antonio Giovinazzi, James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi steered the #51 Ferrari AF Corse to victory after a year of consistent performances, which included four consecutive wins in the opening rounds. Completing Ferrari’s dominance, the #83 privateer 499P of Robert Kubica, Phil Hanson and Yifei Ye claimed the runner-up spot, while the sister #50 car of Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina took third — a clean sweep that few would have predicted at the start of the hybrid Hypercar era.
This isn’t just a win, it’s a statement. Ferrari’s return to the forefront of world endurance racing proves that Maranello can still build a masterpiece when politics, patience and power align. While Formula 1 is preoccupied with balance sheets and apportioning blame, Ferrari’s sports car division has just reminded the paddock what old-school Italian execution looks like: measured, methodical and, ultimately, magnificent.
Concrete surgery at Turn 3: Interlagos gets the saw out after sprint chaos – 00:00 UK
In what is perhaps the most Brazilian solution to a modern Formula 1 problem, the race organisers at Interlagos have literally used a concrete floor saw on the circuit. After Saturday’s sprint turned into a watery demolition derby at Turn 3, with Piastri, Hülkenberg and Colapinto spinning off in quick succession, officials grabbed an industrial cutter and sliced a drainage channel straight through the kerb. Forget DRS upgrades; this weekend’s big innovation is plumbing.
The crash chain began when race leader Lando Norris splashed through standing water that had been trapped inside the stepped kerb design. This caught out Oscar Piastri seconds later, whose McLaren pirouetted into the barriers, inviting Hülkenberg and Colapinto to join the party. Described as “crude but effective”, the fix now runs the length of the outer kerb, diverting water down the hill and onto the grass — hopefully preventing another impromptu synchronised spin routine.
For TJ13’s jury, this is the epitome of F1: millions spent on simulators and CFD, only for the ultimate solution to be a man with a saw and some wet concrete. Nevertheless, credit where credit’s due, at least Interlagos fixed the problem overnight instead of setting up a committee to discuss it. One might suggest sending that same saw crew to Ferrari’s strategy department next.
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With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
The whole supporting of BLM by Hamilton demonstrated he didn’t understand what they were about beyond the slogan
I’m not sure that Norris bringing water on track is the reason for the offs. Didn’t affect Antonelli, Russell Max. Piastri went wider than the others and picked up the throttle too quickly
Never been convinced about Wache. His education was in biomechanics and his early F1 experience was with Michelin and then to Sauber as track engineer responsible for tyres and suspension.
No aerodynamics practical experience other than studying under Newey for 4 years before becoming RBR Tech director when Newey was bored and designing boats