1 hr. ago
Max Verstappen has admitted he was "closer to retiring than changing teams" as he explained why he has committed to Red Bull and Formula 1 until 2030.
The four-time F1 world champion has penned a four-year extension to his contract with improved terms, despite a difficult start to the 2026 campaign which sees him winless and lying sixth in the drivers' standings.
The 28-year-old was heavily linked with McLaren and Mercedes but also hinted at retiring from the sport after 12 consecutive seasons, given his dissatisfaction with the much-criticised new generation of cars – which Verstappen had previously described as "anti-racing."
Yet before his home race, the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort this weekend, Verstappen announced his commitment to Red Bull for the long-term – and admitted he had his eye on finishing his F1 career with the Milton Keynes-based team.
"I was closer to retiring than changing teams," Verstappen said at a Red Bull press conference in Zandvoort on Thursday.
#zandvoort #admitted #teams
The four-time F1 world champion has penned a four-year extension to his contract with improved terms, despite a difficult start to the 2026 campaign which sees him winless and lying sixth in the drivers' standings.
The 28-year-old was heavily linked with McLaren and Mercedes but also hinted at retiring from the sport after 12 consecutive seasons, given his dissatisfaction with the much-criticised new generation of cars – which Verstappen had previously described as "anti-racing."
Yet before his home race, the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort this weekend, Verstappen announced his commitment to Red Bull for the long-term – and admitted he had his eye on finishing his F1 career with the Milton Keynes-based team.
"I was closer to retiring than changing teams," Verstappen said at a Red Bull press conference in Zandvoort on Thursday.
#zandvoort #admitted #teams
3 hours ago
Mercedes technical director James Allison believes reliability will be the key factor in deciding which way the F1 **** le race swings over the second half of the season.
Kimi Antonelli leads the drivers' championship by 50 points with a scheduled 12 rounds remaining, with Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton his closest challenger and George Russell a further five points back.
Mercedes, meanwhile, have a 72-point lead in the constructors' championship over Ferrari as Formula 1 returns this weekend with the final iteration of the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.
Allison, who leads Mercedes's power unit programme and has now been at the team for a decade, believes that the potential cost of losing a maximum of 25 points with a mechanical failure is more significant than updates over the remaining weekends.
"Everyone naturally focuses on upgrades because they're visible and they're exciting, but reliability may end up having a much bigger impact on the championship," Allison told Mercedes' Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show.
#believes #leads #james
Kimi Antonelli leads the drivers' championship by 50 points with a scheduled 12 rounds remaining, with Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton his closest challenger and George Russell a further five points back.
Mercedes, meanwhile, have a 72-point lead in the constructors' championship over Ferrari as Formula 1 returns this weekend with the final iteration of the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.
Allison, who leads Mercedes's power unit programme and has now been at the team for a decade, believes that the potential cost of losing a maximum of 25 points with a mechanical failure is more significant than updates over the remaining weekends.
"Everyone naturally focuses on upgrades because they're visible and they're exciting, but reliability may end up having a much bigger impact on the championship," Allison told Mercedes' Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show.
#believes #leads #james
6 hours ago
Buoyed by Mercedes' strong results in the first half of the season, Toto Wolff is hoping the team can add Zandvoort to its list of successes at the upcoming Dutch Grand Prix, a circuit where the Brackley-based team has yet to win since its return to the Formula 1 calendar in 2021.
The W17 has undoubtedly been the strongest car on the grid so far this season, at times even proving dominant, with six victories from the opening 11 races. That tally could have been even higher without a number of reliability issues that have forced both drivers to retire from races.
Speaking ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, Wolff acknowledged that Mercedes still has work to do despite its strong first half of the season. The team has missed opportunities to maximise its points haul, while its rivals have managed to close the performance gap, increasing the pressure heading into the remaining 12 races.
"We have left points on the table, our rivals have reduced the performance gap, and we know the second half of the year will demand more from us than the first."
The Mercedes team principal believes the outcome of the championships will largely depend on how effectively the team executes each weekend and how much performance it can extract through development. Although Mercedes is currently on a slightly different upgrade schedule compared to its rivals, Wolff remains confident that there is further potential to unlock from the car and that the team has a clear plan for its upcoming developments.
#team #first
The W17 has undoubtedly been the strongest car on the grid so far this season, at times even proving dominant, with six victories from the opening 11 races. That tally could have been even higher without a number of reliability issues that have forced both drivers to retire from races.
Speaking ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, Wolff acknowledged that Mercedes still has work to do despite its strong first half of the season. The team has missed opportunities to maximise its points haul, while its rivals have managed to close the performance gap, increasing the pressure heading into the remaining 12 races.
"We have left points on the table, our rivals have reduced the performance gap, and we know the second half of the year will demand more from us than the first."
The Mercedes team principal believes the outcome of the championships will largely depend on how effectively the team executes each weekend and how much performance it can extract through development. Although Mercedes is currently on a slightly different upgrade schedule compared to its rivals, Wolff remains confident that there is further potential to unlock from the car and that the team has a clear plan for its upcoming developments.
#team #first
3 days ago
F1 unveils new global campaign 'Five Lights' featuring actor Colin Farrell, as the sport gets back into racing mode after summer break with the Dutch GP at Circuit Zandvoort.
Having featured F1 ambassador Damon Idris in the pre-season marketing campaign to start the new era of Formula 1, they have unveiled a new global marketing campaign, 'Five Lights', featuring another Hollywood actor Collin Farrell, as the voiceover artist.
The campaign, which is a 90-second film, will run from August 16 until September 13, across social media and digital platforms of F1. It will cover six major and recognisable entertainment and cultural destinations across the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
The locations include Piccadilly Circus and The Outernet in London, Sunset Boulevard, The Moxy and the Music District in Los Angeles, Times Square at the intersection of 45th Street and Broadway in New York, and Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip.
The video captures all the 22 F1 drivers. They have used the famous five lights, which illuminates before every grand prix start. While Farrell is narrating the storylines, the music track Reign by UNKLE featuring Ian Brown, plays alongside, further adding to the film.
#five
Having featured F1 ambassador Damon Idris in the pre-season marketing campaign to start the new era of Formula 1, they have unveiled a new global marketing campaign, 'Five Lights', featuring another Hollywood actor Collin Farrell, as the voiceover artist.
The campaign, which is a 90-second film, will run from August 16 until September 13, across social media and digital platforms of F1. It will cover six major and recognisable entertainment and cultural destinations across the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
The locations include Piccadilly Circus and The Outernet in London, Sunset Boulevard, The Moxy and the Music District in Los Angeles, Times Square at the intersection of 45th Street and Broadway in New York, and Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip.
The video captures all the 22 F1 drivers. They have used the famous five lights, which illuminates before every grand prix start. While Farrell is narrating the storylines, the music track Reign by UNKLE featuring Ian Brown, plays alongside, further adding to the film.
#five
3 days ago
The fifth of six sprint races in 2026 takes place at the Dutch Grand Prix, from 21-23 August.
The format is largely the same as last year except now the six slowest cars - instead of five - will be eliminated from the first two qualifying sessions.
Sprint qualifying takes place on Friday, after the only practice session of the weekend.
The 100km sprint, which lasts about 30 minutes, is the first track action on Saturday.
At Zandvoort, the sprint is 24 laps long and starts at 11:00 BST.
#grand #prix #august
The format is largely the same as last year except now the six slowest cars - instead of five - will be eliminated from the first two qualifying sessions.
Sprint qualifying takes place on Friday, after the only practice session of the weekend.
The 100km sprint, which lasts about 30 minutes, is the first track action on Saturday.
At Zandvoort, the sprint is 24 laps long and starts at 11:00 BST.
#grand #prix #august
3 days ago
Formula 1 says farewell to the Dutch Grand Prix this weekend with the final event at Zandvoort before it drops off the calendar.
Orange smoke has hung in the air of the seaside venue since it returned to the schedule in 2021 after a 36-year absence, with sell-out crowds overwhelmingly supporting Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Despite its popularity, organisers have not been able to make the event work financially and have decided not to continue hosting F1.
Before Zandvoort signs off, we take a look back at a selection of images from the Dutch Grand Prix, which was first run as an F1 event in 1952.
Jim Clark (left), Graham Hill (centre) and Bruce McLaren lead the field away at the start in 1963 [Getty Images]
#formula #despite
Orange smoke has hung in the air of the seaside venue since it returned to the schedule in 2021 after a 36-year absence, with sell-out crowds overwhelmingly supporting Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Despite its popularity, organisers have not been able to make the event work financially and have decided not to continue hosting F1.
Before Zandvoort signs off, we take a look back at a selection of images from the Dutch Grand Prix, which was first run as an F1 event in 1952.
Jim Clark (left), Graham Hill (centre) and Bruce McLaren lead the field away at the start in 1963 [Getty Images]
#formula #despite
4 days ago
The race starts during the Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2025 in Zandvoort, Netherlands, on August 31, 2025. (Photo by Gabriele Lanzo - Alessio Morgese/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Formula 1 is back in action after its annual three-week summer break, with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort kicking off the second half of the 2026 season.
Right before the pause, defending champion Lando Norris celebrated his first win of the year in Hungary, crossing the line in his McLaren 15.080 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen of Red Bull.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli rounded out the podium in third place for Mercedes and further strengthened his grip on the championship lead.
He now holds a 50-point advantage over second-place Lewis Hamilton heading to Zandvoort and is 59 points clear of teammate George Russell in third.
#second #Third #place
Formula 1 is back in action after its annual three-week summer break, with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort kicking off the second half of the 2026 season.
Right before the pause, defending champion Lando Norris celebrated his first win of the year in Hungary, crossing the line in his McLaren 15.080 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen of Red Bull.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli rounded out the podium in third place for Mercedes and further strengthened his grip on the championship lead.
He now holds a 50-point advantage over second-place Lewis Hamilton heading to Zandvoort and is 59 points clear of teammate George Russell in third.
#second #Third #place
8 days ago
Cadillac F1 has named a new team principal as it prepares for the second half of the GM brand's inaugural Formula One season.
Marcin Budkowski, a 49-year-old Polish-French engineer, will take the helm as Cadillac has struggled to gain consistency from the back of the field. Determined to be competitive in its first year, Cadillac F1 CEO Dan Towriss said the leadership change was a planned transition from building a team to putting points on the board. Future challenges include developing the team's 2027 car and preparing for hybrid powertrain changes that could include a V-8.
Cadillac F1 is the only team yet to score a point at the midseason break. The world's fastest and most popular motorsport returns Aug. 23 at Circuit Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix.
"We're at this inflection point with the summer break," said Towriss in a call with media Wednesday. "Cadillac has gone through this initial build phase . . . and now as we look at the development phase, there's a real opportunity here to build something new. We're delighted to welcome Martin to Cadillac Formula One (and) excited about what he brings to the table. This is the perfect time to make (a leadership) change as we go into the second half of our inaugural season (and) as we start to think about building the 2027 car."
Budkowski replaces Graham Lowden, who did yeoman's work to get the F1 field's 11th team to grid in just 10 months after Cadillac received approval to race in 2025.
#formula #budkowski #towriss #we 're
Marcin Budkowski, a 49-year-old Polish-French engineer, will take the helm as Cadillac has struggled to gain consistency from the back of the field. Determined to be competitive in its first year, Cadillac F1 CEO Dan Towriss said the leadership change was a planned transition from building a team to putting points on the board. Future challenges include developing the team's 2027 car and preparing for hybrid powertrain changes that could include a V-8.
Cadillac F1 is the only team yet to score a point at the midseason break. The world's fastest and most popular motorsport returns Aug. 23 at Circuit Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix.
"We're at this inflection point with the summer break," said Towriss in a call with media Wednesday. "Cadillac has gone through this initial build phase . . . and now as we look at the development phase, there's a real opportunity here to build something new. We're delighted to welcome Martin to Cadillac Formula One (and) excited about what he brings to the table. This is the perfect time to make (a leadership) change as we go into the second half of our inaugural season (and) as we start to think about building the 2027 car."
Budkowski replaces Graham Lowden, who did yeoman's work to get the F1 field's 11th team to grid in just 10 months after Cadillac received approval to race in 2025.
#formula #budkowski #towriss #we 're
20 days ago
Summer keeps rolling on, far faster than we'd like it to. June brought the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup. July followed with Wimbledon, Tour de France and World Cup pageantry. Now comes August (and Everything After).
The month ahead is extensive. There are Little League World Series in baseball and softball, and Hall of Fame inductions in football and basketball. Soccer leagues commence while MLB moves toward its homestretch. The Seattle Seahawks lace up for "Hard Knocks" as the "Ted Lasso" crew returns after a three-year absence. And the Dutch Grand Prix says farewell at Zandvoort.
Here is The Athletic's grand guide to August. It's not a complete list of every sporting event, but we try to cover a lot of ground. All times are ET, and all channel listings are for U.S. viewers.
You can watch live sports on Fubo (Stream Free Now).
Aug. 2, 7 a.m. on USA Network and noon on NBC
#tour
The month ahead is extensive. There are Little League World Series in baseball and softball, and Hall of Fame inductions in football and basketball. Soccer leagues commence while MLB moves toward its homestretch. The Seattle Seahawks lace up for "Hard Knocks" as the "Ted Lasso" crew returns after a three-year absence. And the Dutch Grand Prix says farewell at Zandvoort.
Here is The Athletic's grand guide to August. It's not a complete list of every sporting event, but we try to cover a lot of ground. All times are ET, and all channel listings are for U.S. viewers.
You can watch live sports on Fubo (Stream Free Now).
Aug. 2, 7 a.m. on USA Network and noon on NBC
#tour
2 months ago
Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll propped up the field in sprint qualifying at Silverstone on Saturday, finishing 21st and 22nd respectively – more than 3.5 seconds adrift of Lewis Hamilton‘s pole-setting Ferrari. For most teams, that would be a crisis. For Aston Martin right now, it was almost beside the point.
Adrian Newey spoke to Sky Sports F1 on the sprint grid and made no attempt to dress up where the team stands. The AMR26 has scored a single championship point across eight rounds in 2026, and the car that arrived at Silverstone is not the car the team believes it can build. Newey’s message was straightforward: don’t judge us yet. “A first phase of upgrades will arrive for Hungary and another one along with the Honda engine in Zandvoort,” he said.
The package Newey has been building toward is substantial. Per his own description to Sky Sports, the team has re-homologated and crash-tested a revised forward chassis after extracting meaningful weight from it, developed a new nose, and substantially reworked the aerodynamic surfaces. The rear suspension has been revised, though the core structure – gearbox architecture and chassis fundamentals – stays in place. Newey described it as “a big aerodynamic package coupled with significant weight reduction.”
One race later at Zandvoort, Honda brings its sole permitted mid-season power unit upgrade, targeting combustion chamber and pre-chamber improvements according to Honda’s general trackside manager Shintaro Orihara. The FIA’s ADUO regulations allow Honda two upgrades this season, and the Zandvoort unit represents their only mid-season token.
The decision to bank everything on a single large Hungary package rather than drip-feed incremental updates was, in Newey’s words, “painful but correct.” While that call has left Aston Martin getting eclipsed even by Cadillac – a team that didn’t exist in F1 twelve months ago – he argues the long-term logic holds.
Adrian Newey spoke to Sky Sports F1 on the sprint grid and made no attempt to dress up where the team stands. The AMR26 has scored a single championship point across eight rounds in 2026, and the car that arrived at Silverstone is not the car the team believes it can build. Newey’s message was straightforward: don’t judge us yet. “A first phase of upgrades will arrive for Hungary and another one along with the Honda engine in Zandvoort,” he said.
The package Newey has been building toward is substantial. Per his own description to Sky Sports, the team has re-homologated and crash-tested a revised forward chassis after extracting meaningful weight from it, developed a new nose, and substantially reworked the aerodynamic surfaces. The rear suspension has been revised, though the core structure – gearbox architecture and chassis fundamentals – stays in place. Newey described it as “a big aerodynamic package coupled with significant weight reduction.”
One race later at Zandvoort, Honda brings its sole permitted mid-season power unit upgrade, targeting combustion chamber and pre-chamber improvements according to Honda’s general trackside manager Shintaro Orihara. The FIA’s ADUO regulations allow Honda two upgrades this season, and the Zandvoort unit represents their only mid-season token.
The decision to bank everything on a single large Hungary package rather than drip-feed incremental updates was, in Newey’s words, “painful but correct.” While that call has left Aston Martin getting eclipsed even by Cadillac – a team that didn’t exist in F1 twelve months ago – he argues the long-term logic holds.
