Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has confirmed Max Verstappen disagreed with Red Bull swapping Liam Lawson for Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda just two rounds into the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Red Bull made the call after Lawson failed to perform at both Albert Park and Shanghai, with him placing last in both qualifying sessions at the Chinese Grand Prix a fateful lowlight.
Eagle-eyed observers may have caught a discreet glimpse of Verstappen’s opinion on the matter in the form of an Instagram post by former F1 racer Giedo van der Garde, which was liked by several current drivers – including the four-time world champion.
“I’m getting a bit tired of all the comments that F1 is the toughest sport in terms of performances and when you’re underdeliver [sic] you’ve gotta face the consequences,” van der Garde wrote.
“Yes, you gotta perform. Yes, the pressure is insane. But in my opinion this comes closer to bullying or a panic move than actual high athlete achievements. They made a decision – fully aware – gave Liam two races only to crush his spirit.”
The like suggested Verstappen would have preferred to continue with Lawson and, asked by Autosport’s sister publication Formel1.de in an exclusive interview whether this is a fair conclusion, Marko confirmed: “That conclusion is correct, and he did express that. But we explained to Max that, in order to win the championship, we have to do everything we can to have two cars in the top 10.”
Red Bull’s second car has been a more visible weakness since the team lost its advantage at the front of the field.
Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing, Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Verstappen single-handedly earned his fourth world title in 2024 as Sergio Perez spent just 91 out of 1113 racing laps in the top five positions over the last 18 rounds of the season – with no actual top-five finish to his name over that period – which likely cost the team a third successive constructors’ crown.
Still, Verstappen did make a case for his New Zealand team-mate as Red Bull pondered its options.
“Max argued that the car is very difficult to drive and that, if the car were better, Lawson’s performance would improve as well,” Marko explained. “Of course, we’re working on further development but, at the moment, it’s hard to predict how quickly that will come.”
Red Bull has a reputation for ruthlessness with its drivers, with many having been demoted from the main team to the sister squad or let go from either over the past two decades.
Lawson was Verstappen’s fourth team-mate since Daniel Ricciardo – still the last driver to match the Dutchman in equal machinery – left the squad at the end of 2018, after Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Perez all struggled to various extents.
However, Marko is keen to argue that wording this decision as a ‘demotion’ is inaccurate.
“First of all, he’s not being demoted – he’s moving to Racing Bulls, which is a very competitive car and much easier to handle than the RB21,” the Austrian insisted.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
“The change happened after a start that I’d say was rather unfortunate. The third practice session in Australia was cancelled [Lawson was unable to set a lap amid hydraulics woe], and that’s where the problems began. That naturally affected Liam’s confidence.
“Unfortunately, things continued in China, which also had a sprint race – so again, only one practice session. And, at the same time, we have to acknowledge that the RB21 is difficult to drive. It’s not the fastest car, and the gap in performance just kept growing.
“But back to the topic of being ‘demoted’: we mentioned Gasly. He later came back into strong form and is now a very successful grand prix driver with Alpine. The same applies to Albon. Everyone had the same fate next to Max, but they bounced back and found their form again in a less competitive environment.”
Lawson will at least get a chance to regroup and put his F1 career back on track in the Racing Bulls surroundings where, in 2024, he shone enough to gain that Red Bull promotion over Tsunoda in the first place.
Although there was speculation regarding Alpine reserve driver Franco Colapinto – most likely initiated by the Argentinian driver’s camp – with Marko’s visit to the Alpine hospitality in China fuelling rumours, the latter said he was actually discussing Red Bull juniors with Hitech Grand Prix founder and Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes.
“I have a good relationship with Ollie Oakes,” Marko said. “He has regularly run some of our drivers in his various teams across the junior categories. One of his drivers is currently racing in British [F4], for example. That was the reason I met with him. Colapinto wasn’t a topic.”
In this article
Ben Vinel
Formula 1
Max Verstappen
Liam Lawson
Red Bull Racing
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Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has confirmed Max Verstappen disagreed with Red Bull swapping Liam Lawson for Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda just two rounds into the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Red Bull made the call after Lawson failed to perform at both Albert Park and Shanghai, with him placing last in both qualifying sessions at the Chinese Grand Prix a fateful lowlight.
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Eagle-eyed observers may have caught a discreet glimpse of Verstappen’s opinion on the matter in the form of an Instagram post by former F1 racer Giedo van der Garde, which was liked by several current drivers – including the four-time world champion.
“I’m getting a bit tired of all the comments that F1 is the toughest sport in terms of performances and when you’re underdeliver [sic] you’ve gotta face the consequences,” van der Garde wrote.
“Yes, you gotta perform. Yes, the pressure is insane. But in my opinion this comes closer to bullying or a panic move than actual high athlete achievements. They made a decision – fully aware – gave Liam two races only to crush his spirit.”
Does that mean Verstappen would have preferred to continue with Lawson? Asked by Motorsport.com’s sister publication Formel1.de in an exclusive video interview whether this is a fair conclusion based on this Instagram like, Marko confirmed: “That conclusion is correct, and he did express that. But we explained to Max that, in order to win the championship, we have to do everything we can to have two cars in the top 10.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Red Bull’s second car has been a more visible weakness since the team lost its advantage at the front of the field.
Verstappen single-handedly earned his fourth world title in 2024 as Sergio Perez spent just 91 out of 1113 racing laps in the top five positions over the last 18 rounds of the season – with no actual top-five finish to his name over that period – which likely cost the team a third successive constructors’ crown.
Still, Verstappen did make a case for his New Zealand team-mate as Red Bull pondered its options.
“Max argued that the car is very difficult to drive and that, if the car were better, Lawson’s performance would improve as well,” Marko explained. “Of course, we’re working on further development but, at the moment, it’s hard to predict how quickly that will come.”
Red Bull has a reputation for ruthlessness with its drivers, with many having been demoted from the main team to the sister squad or let go from either over the past two decades.
Lawson was Verstappen’s fourth team-mate since Daniel Ricciardo – still the last driver to match the Dutchman in equal machinery – left the team at the end of 2018, after Pierre Gasly, Alexander Albon and Perez all struggled to various extents.
However, Marko is keen to argue that wording this decision as a ‘demotion’ is inaccurate.
“First of all, he’s not being demoted – he’s moving to Racing Bulls, which is a very competitive car and much easier to handle than the RB21,” the Austrian insisted.
“The change happened after a start that I’d say was rather unfortunate. The third practice session in Australia was cancelled [it wasn’t, but Lawson was unable to run due to reliability issues], and that’s where the problems began. That naturally affected Liam’s confidence.
Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
“Unfortunately, things continued in China, which also had a sprint race – so again, only one practice session. And, at the same time, we have to acknowledge that the RB21 is difficult to drive. It’s not the fastest car, and the gap in performance just kept growing.
“But back to the topic of being ‘demoted’: we mentioned Gasly. He later came back into strong form and is now a very successful grand prix driver with Alpine. The same applies to Albon. Everyone had the same fate next to Max, but they bounced back and found their form again in a less competitive environment.”
Lawson will at least get a chance to regroup and put his F1 career back on track in the Racing Bulls surroundings where, in 2024, he shone enough to gain that Red Bull promotion over Tsunoda in the first place.
Although there were talks regarding Alpine reserve driver Franco Colapinto – most likely initiated by the Argentinian driver’s camp – with Marko’s visit to the Alpine hospitality in China fuelling rumors, the latter says he was actually discussing Red Bull juniors with Hitech Grand Prix founder and Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes.
“I have a good relationship with Ollie Oakes,” Marko said. “He has regularly run some of our drivers in his various teams across the junior categories. One of his drivers is currently racing in British [F4], for example. That was the reason I met with him. Colapinto wasn’t a topic.”
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In this article
Ben Vinel
Formula 1
Max Verstappen
Liam Lawson
Red Bull Racing
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Christian Klien, Scott Speed, Sebastien Bourdais, Daniil Kvyat (twice), Pierre Gasly, Nyck de Vries, Daniel Ricciardo – the list of drivers being replaced mid-season by Red Bull or its sister team is lengthy. As of this week, Liam Lawson joins that group and, in a way, he’s even a record-breaker: no Red Bull-contracted driver has been dropped faster. That Lawson was given just two rounds with the senior team is remarkable, even by Red Bull standards, particularly when considering both tracks were new to him.
Lawson’s demotion: Ruthless or protective?
When Motorsport.com/Autosport caught up with Helmut Marko in the Shanghai paddock last weekend and put Lawson’s comments to him – “I need more time in the car, but I know I don’t have it”- Marko simply replied: “He’s right.”
It might not have been the answer Lawson was hoping for, but speaks volumes about Red Bull’s philosophy: open and straightforward, but also brutal and mentally challenging for drivers. Most of the names on the list can relate to it: early-morning phone calls, mid-season exits, and even de Vries finding out months after his dismissal that Marko called him the “biggest mistake” of his career.
Red Bull isn’t afraid to act quickly when things don’t go to plan, with Sergio Perez being the only exception in recent years. Red Bull showed uncharacteristic patience with the Mexican, but that was largely due to substantial backing from his sponsors. As Lawson’s brief stint shows, the real problem may not lie with the driver, but with a notoriously difficult car – something Max Verstappen has repeatedly alluded to when Perez’s performances were discussed in the media.
Lawson’s removal from the Red Bull seat is perhaps the most extreme example to date, although it can be seen differently as well. Christian Horner stressed in China that Red Bull has “a responsibility” towards the New Zealander. It could be interpreted as giving him more time in the main team, but also as removing him from an impossible situation: dealing with the RB21 and trying to keep up with Verstappen in equal machinery. Putting him back into a more forgiving environment – both in terms of pressure and the car – might save his F1 career long-term.
The Antonelli example: TPC testing and playing the long game
Red Bull’s way of dealing with junior drivers differs from most F1 teams. The way Mercedes has brought Andrea Kimi Antonelli in is a prime example. When the young Italian was announced at Monza, team boss Toto Wolff said: “Five minutes after Lewis told me he that was going to Ferrari, I already made up my mind.”
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, George Russell, Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team
Photo by: Mercedes AMG
The reality was a bit different. Just a week prior to that in Zandvoort, Wolff had openly talked about the possibility of luring Verstappen to Mercedes, but his words in Monza were all about perception and the message of supporting his own drivers. Once the Verstappen option had faded for 2025, Mercedes closed ranks around Antonelli, shielding him from all pressure and media speculation.
Beyond this messaging, Mercedes backed up its words with extensive preparation. Antonelli has covered over 9,000km in Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) sessions, whereas Lawson only got a filming day in Abu Dhabi and a Silverstone test in the RB20. During the post-session test at the Yas Marina Circuit he surprisingly drove the Racing Bulls car, with Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar in the Red Bull cars – even though it was clear by then that Lawson would get the nod for the second Red Bull seat.
While Lawson wasn’t a total rookie with 11 grands prix under his belt, the lack of an extensive TPC programme is still an interesting factor, especially given how effective those have been for others. Piastri greatly benefited from his extensive testing with Alpine (even if McLaren ultimately capitalised on it), and Ferrari gave Hamilton a taste of Maranello machinery well ahead of his 2025 debut.
Given how specific the Red Bull car characteristics are – “a [computer] mouse with sensitivity on 100%” as Alex Albon put it – some extra seat time in cars with that philosophy wouldn’t have hurt Lawson.
The Red Bull programme and a changed landscape
For years, Red Bull’s biggest edge in driver development was speed: how quickly it could bring talent into F1. Seven of the current 20 drivers on the grid came through Red Bull’s system. It’s an impressive stat and speaks to the opportunity that the brand offers. But the model is high-risk, high-reward. Even from karting, Red Bull favours quick transitions into single-seaters, often with the pressure to deliver straightaway – even though the step from karting to single-seaters is a difficult one.
Furthermore, times have changed a bit. Red Bull was once the only team investing this heavily in junior talent, but this season the F1 grid features no fewer than six rookies. More teams have started to bet on young talent, with Oliver Bearman’s Ferrari debut in Jeddah serving as a wake-up call. An F2 driver that was struggling with Prema at the time stepped into a Ferrari and delivered a near-flawless weekend. It gave teams like Mercedes and Sauber the belief that backing youth for 2025 would be the right thing to do – especially if properly prepared.
Oliver Bearman, Scuderia Ferrari
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
In this new reality, Red Bull no longer has a monopoly on fast-tracking talent to F1. Alongside the Ferrari Driver Academy – responsible for Charles Leclerc – there is now serious investment in driver development at Mercedes, Alpine, McLaren and Williams.
Yes, Red Bull still has the best track record and has produced generational talents like Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen – even if Verstappen was signed just before his F1 promotion and not really nurtured by Red Bull. But since the Verstappen and Carlos Sainz line-up at Toro Rosso in 2015 many of the brightest talents have emerged elsewhere. Top-tier prospects climbing the ladder have tended to come through at other programmes: Leclerc (Ferrari), Norris (McLaren), Russell and Antonelli (Mercedes), Piastri (Alpine, and then McLaren).
When it comes to Red Bull, Arvid Lindblad is rated highly and Hadjar has made a good impression so far, but the developments in recent years do raise the question: is Red Bull still the best place for young talent, is it the benchmark it used to be?
Does perception matter more than ever before?
In today’s hyper-competitive landscape of chasing young talent, Red Bull must try to be the most attractive path to F1. That applies not just to how quickly it can promote drivers to F1 with two teams on the grid, but how effectively it nurtures and supports them beyond that promotion. Dropping a driver from the main team after just two race weekends sends a message that will not resonate well with the next generation.
If young talents in karting have interest from various junior programmes, examples like the Lawson decision are likely to be part of their considerations. It is that perception Red Bull has to take into account to some extent, especially if Verstappen decides to leave Red Bull one day. After all, that’s when a strong junior programme could be invaluable.
Red Bull used to have that succession plan in place, but there’s work to be done to restore past glories: not just on track and in the spotlight of F1, but also on the ladder that should take young talent there. As the grid evolves and Red Bull’s rivals refine their pathways to F1, perception matters more than ever. Weeks like this may not help.
In this article
Ronald Vording
Formula 1
Yuki Tsunoda
Liam Lawson
Red Bull Racing
RB
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Pre-season, those amenable to a wager would have thought the odds on Jack Doohan being fired before Liam Lawson insufficiently lucrative to justify placing a bet. It seemed to be a dead cert, what with Alpine lining up Franco Colapinto as a ‘test and reserve driver’ within a month of Doohan’s low-key first race outing in Abu Dhabi.
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In the run-up to Lawson’s demotion back to the Racing Bulls team, there was a good deal of Sturm und Drang about the possibility of Colapinto replacing him. Crucially, though, the source of the noise was Colapinto’s management, with the media acting as an amplifier over the rumours.
No, Colapinto has a three-year deal with Alpine, from which he can of course be extracted – but at a cost. His management are understandably keen to keep his name out there as a credible race driver, but an Alpine seat on an as-soon-as-possible basis remains the short-term goal.
While Doohan was among the first of this season’s rookies to be confirmed in a race seat – the announcement was late last summer – it’s widely believed a performance clause in his contract gives Alpine the option to replace him after six races. While the existence of such clauses for both parties to a contract is commonplace in F1, having the threshold so early is rather unusual.
So for a good three months before Doohan essayed his first laps as an Alpine race driver, his bosses were in the market for another eligible candidate. When Esteban Ocon was abruptly dumped after the Qatar GP so Doohan could take his place in Abu Dhabi, those members of the opinionati who were asleep at the wheel concluded that this was to enable Jack to ‘hit the ground running’ in what was expected to be a tightly contested 2025 season.
In fact, Alpine ‘executive advisor’ Flavio Briatore was already well down the road to signing Colapinto by this point. Given the importance of the Latin American market to Renault, Alpine’s parent company, and the supposed honey pot of big-ticket sponsors there just waiting to throw money at F1, what’s not to like about a driver who is already Argentina’s second most famous sports personality?
Franco Colapinto, Alpine
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
Signing off Abu Dhabi by finishing 15th, from 20th on the grid, while his (admittedly) more experienced teammate Pierre Gasly was seventh, was an inauspicious way to spend one of those six contractual ‘lives’. And while there have been some positives over the following two outings, they were accompanied by high-profile blunders.
Granted, Doohan qualified five places behind Gasly in Australia, but he had been quicker than Gasly in Q1 and was inconvenienced by a Lewis Hamilton-induced yellow flag in Q2, which skewed the picture somewhat. It seems unfair to lambast him too much for shunting in the race since he was neither the first nor the last to do so in difficult conditions.
In China he outqualified Gasly for the sprint race (albeit 16th vs 17th), then promptly lost two places on the opening lap and picked up a penalty for escorting Gabriel Bortoleto off track while trying a last-gasp pass for 17th on the final lap. The stewards handed Doohan a 10-second time penalty – irrelevant given his finishing position – and two penalty points.
There are those who would lament a penalty for attempting an overtake – “when you no longer go for a gap, you are no longer a racing driver” and all that – but such are F1’s closely prescribed regles de jeux these days. Doohan committed to outbraking Bortoleto at the Turn 14 hairpin, on the inside line, from so far back that the Sauber driver had clearly written off the possibility of an attack as he turned in on the usual line. To call Doohan’s move ‘optimistic’ would be charitable indeed.
“I need to have a look into it and see what happened so that it doesn’t happen again,” Jack said afterwards.
And yet the very next day… whoops, he did it again. The circumstances were slightly different, since it came at a point where Doohan had spent around a third of the grand prix fending off Isack Hadjar, owing to Racing Bulls having failed to receive the memo that this race required just one pitstop. But the conclusion was similar, in that Hadjar found himself exploring the hinterlands of the Turn 14 run-off area, and the stewards took a similarly dim view.
Jack Doohan, Alpine, Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Again, since Doohan finished 14th on the road, lost two places to the penalty, then gained three as a result of disqualifications ahead to be classified 13th, no points were squandered. The team did that itself, as Gasly was stripped of his ninth place after his car came up short on the weighbridge. And, given that Gasly had only recently been passed by Oliver Bearman’s Haas – a car with well-documented aero issues temporarily flattered by this circuit – this was not a weekend worthy of cracking open the champagne at Alpine’s Enstone HQ.
“I think, for me, there’s a lot of positives,” was Doohan’s take. “We haven’t had that result quite yet to really show it, but the inner circle understands that, and I think that’s what’s most important. The guys are super happy in the team, for sure.”
By ‘inner circle’ he means the likes of Briatore and team principal Oliver Oakes. When invited to comment on Doohan’s future, though, they are markedly less unequivocal about their happiness levels.
For the betting people out there, it seems to be a question of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’.
In this article
Stuart Codling
Formula 1
Jack Doohan
Franco Colapinto
Alpine
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Pre-season, those amenable to a wager would have thought the odds on Jack Doohan being fired before Liam Lawson insufficiently lucrative to justify placing a bet. It seemed to be a dead cert, what with Alpine lining up Franco Colapinto as a ‘test and reserve driver’ within a month of Doohan’s low-key first race outing in Abu Dhabi.
In the run-up to Lawson’s demotion back to the Racing Bulls team, there was a good deal of Sturm und Drang about the possibility of Colapinto replacing him. Crucially, though, the source of the noise was Colapinto’s management, with the media acting as an amplifier over the rumours.
No, Colapinto has a three-year deal with Alpine, from which he can of course be extracted – but at a cost. His management are understandably keen to keep his name out there as a credible race driver, but an Alpine seat on an as-soon-as-possible basis remains the short-term goal.
While Doohan was among the first of this season’s rookies to be confirmed in a race seat – the announcement was late last summer – it’s widely believed a performance clause in his contract gives Alpine the option to replace him after six races. While the existence of such clauses for both parties in a contract is commonplace in F1, having the threshold so early is rather unusual.
So for a good three months before Doohan essayed his first laps as an Alpine race driver, his bosses were in the market for another eligible candidate. When Esteban Ocon was abruptly dumped after the Qatar GP so Doohan could take his place in Abu Dhabi, those members of the opinionati who were asleep at the wheel concluded that this was to enable Doohan to ‘hit the ground running’ in what was expected to be a tightly contested 2025 season.
In fact, Alpine ‘executive advisor’ Flavio Briatore was already well down the road to signing Colapinto by this point. Given the importance of the Latin American market to Renault, Alpine’s parent company, and the supposed honey pot of big-ticket sponsors there just waiting to throw money at F1, what’s not to like about a driver who is already Argentina’s second most famous sports personality?
Franco Colapinto, Alpine
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
Signing off Abu Dhabi by finishing 15th, from 20th on the grid, while his (admittedly) more experienced team-mate Pierre Gasly was seventh, was an inauspicious way to spend one of those six contractual ‘lives’. And while there have been some positives over the following two outings, they were accompanied by high-profile blunders.
Granted, Doohan qualified five places behind Gasly in Australia, but he had been quicker than Gasly in Q1 and was inconvenienced by a Lewis Hamilton-induced yellow flag in Q2, which skewed the picture somewhat. It seems unfair to lambast him too much for shunting in the race since he was neither the first nor the last to do so in difficult conditions.
In China he outqualified Gasly for the sprint race (albeit 16th vs 17th), then promptly lost two places on the opening lap and picked up a penalty for escorting Gabriel Bortoleto off track while trying a last-gasp pass for 17th on the final lap. The stewards handed Doohan a 10-second time penalty – irrelevant given his finishing position – and two penalty points.
There are those who would lament a penalty for attempting an overtake – “when you no longer go for a gap, you are no longer a racing driver” and all that – but such are F1’s closely prescribed regles de jeux these days. Doohan committed to outbraking Bortoleto at the Turn 14 hairpin, on the inside line, from so far back that the Sauber driver had clearly written off the possibility of an attack as he turned in on the usual line. To call Doohan’s move ‘optimistic’ would be charitable indeed.
“I need to have a look into it and see what happened so that it doesn’t happen again,” Doohan said afterwards.
And yet the very next day… whoops, he did it again. The circumstances were slightly different, since it came at a point where Doohan had spent around a third of the grand prix fending off Isack Hadjar, owing to Racing Bulls having failed to receive the memo that this race required just one pitstop. But the conclusion was similar, in that Hadjar found himself exploring the hinterlands of the Turn 14 run-off area, and the stewards took a similarly dim view.
Jack Doohan, Alpine, Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Again, since Doohan finished 14th on the road, lost two places to the penalty, then gained three as a result of disqualifications ahead to be classified 13th, no points were squandered. The team did that itself, as Gasly was stripped of his ninth place after his car came up short on the weighbridge. And, given that Gasly had only recently been passed by Oliver Bearman’s Haas – a car with well-documented aero issues temporarily flattered by this circuit – this was not a weekend worthy of cracking open the champagne at Alpine’s Enstone HQ.
“I think, for me, there’s a lot of positives,” was Doohan’s take. “We haven’t had that result quite yet to really show it, but the inner circle understands that, and I think that’s what’s most important. The guys are super happy in the team, for sure.”
By ‘inner circle’ he means the likes of Briatore and team principal Oliver Oakes. When invited to comment on Doohan’s future, though, they are markedly less unequivocal about their happiness levels.
For the betting people out there, it seems to be a question of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’.
In this article
Stuart Codling
Formula 1
Jack Doohan
Franco Colapinto
Alpine
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Before the 2025 Formula 1 campaign actually began, figuring out the pecking order in the midfield based on pre-season testing was tricky, with the data pointing to a close fight.
Fast-forward two weeks, and Racing Bulls has consistently qualified top of the midfield – Yuki Tsunoda fifth in Melbourne, then Isack Hadjar up to seventh at Shanghai with his team-mate ninth. China’s sprint qualifying session delivered the same verdict, with Tsunoda eighth.
Yet, if it weren’t for the Japanese racer’s sixth in the Shanghai sprint, Racing Bulls would be point-less – even with a trio of disqualifications following the Chinese Grand Prix.
Down Under rain throws race upside down
The first missed opportunity came in Australia, where Tsunoda was overtaken by Charles Leclerc on the opening lap but ran sixth for most of the wet-dry-wet race.
When it started raining again at Albert Park, most cars pitted for intermediate tyres on lap 44. However, like the Ferraris, the Racing Bulls driver stayed out until lap 47, when increased rain meant they had no choice but to follow suit and change tyres. Tsunoda eventually finished 12th.
“We understood everything,” he commented a few days later in the Shanghai paddock. “It’s obviously a bit of a gamble and, at the same time, probably we had very painful memories from Brazil last year that we didn’t stay out, so definitely maybe that was creating a bit of a difficult decision for us.”
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Pierre Gasly, Alpine, Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Back at the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix, Tsunoda ran third for the first 26 laps, then was overtaken by Esteban Ocon and further lost out when he pitted for full-wet rubber while three drivers – Max Verstappen and both Alpine racers – were able to change tyres during a subsequent red flag and lock out the podium positions.
As far as the recent Melbourne race is concerned, Tsunoda said it was “hard” for him “to monitor every single corner because every lap keeps changing”. However, he added: “It was quite a clear situation that we should box. We reacted too late.
“I don’t think I made a mistake in terms of communication, everything, I’m pretty happy with it. We know what’s happened, and the team definitely apologised to me right after the race. That’s the most important thing, and we move on.”
Speaking to Autosport in an exclusive interview, team principal Laurent Mekies was keen to point out Racing Bulls had got other decisions right in that same race, but still took responsibility for this failure.
“We got the last [call] badly wrong,” Mekies said. “There is no bad luck, bad luck doesn’t exist in this game. So, we got it wrong.”
With hindsight, the Frenchman wishes the team’s strategists had accepted to “cut [their] losses” as early as they realised staying on track was not going to pay off – like Red Bull, Alpine and Haas did with Verstappen, Gasly and Ocon respectively – instead of gambling further on an eventual improvement in track conditions or a potential race interruption.
“In the end, [cutting your losses] is what it is about,” Mekies insisted. “If you are not in the first train of cars and you see an opportunity, if you don’t take it, you need to accept that you have lost something already compared to the guys that pitted straight away.
Laurent Mekies, Team Principal of Visa Cash App Racing Bulls
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
“So it’s how much, in that position, you accept to cut your losses – meaning ‘guys, it’s still a very good result, it’s raining out there’, compared to dreaming in that case of something even better which will never materialise, because the hard fact is that it’s too wet.
“It’s a work in progress. We’re still a young team, but I have no doubt that we have everything to perform very well in these conditions.”
Incidentally, Racing Bulls may be – to some extent – Red Bull’s junior squad, but calling it a “young team” is a stretch. After all, the team joined F1 in 1985 as Minardi and has been owned by the energy drinks giant for nearly 20 years, becoming an elaborate race operation with two race victories to its name.
Two stops – one too many – in China
Racing Bulls could have made amends for its Melbourne error at Shanghai – and to some extent did so in the sprint race as Tsunoda scored a valuable three points, but a much bigger opportunity was squandered on Sunday.
Pirelli had made it clear before the race that the only viable strategy would be a two-stopper, regardless of the compounds that may be used. The Italian brand’s motorsport chief Mario Isola added “I don’t think it’s a three-stop” and didn’t even mention the potential for a straightforward one-stop tactic, so remote did it look at the time.
In the end, tyre degradation was much less than planned, and all cars switched to a one-stop strategy, with a few notable exceptions: Lewis Hamilton (who had nothing to lose when he pitted again), Liam Lawson (who was terribly struggling)… and the Racing Bulls cars.
From ninth and seventh on the grid respectively, Tsunoda and Hadjar ran eighth and ninth in their first stint, then ninth and 12th in the middle run, before dropping to 15th and 16th following their second stop.
Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team, Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
The additional performance from fresher rubber far from sufficed to compensate for the time lost in the pits. In fact, their respective fastest laps were barely faster – down to a few thousandths of a second – than Gabriel Bortoleto’s, with the Sauber driver on an effective one-stop after he pitted on lap 1.
Hadjar’s particular case highlighted the 20-year-old’s lack of experience as he felt he didn’t have the authority to question his strategy.
ANALYSIS: How did Hadjar compare to Tsunoda in first F1 race start at Shanghai?
“It’s my second race, in the end. It’s my first full race in Formula 1, so I’m not going to invent strategy,” the Frenchman, who failed to start in Melbourne after a spin on the formation lap, sullenly stated. “If we say the plan is this, then we stick to this, as simple as that. I’m not going to fight on race one.
“If we pitted only once, we would have finished in the points – at least P7,” he added – though there is little evidence he would have been able to claim such a result.
Tsunoda’s race was ultimately scuppered by the freak front wing failure he suffered late on, but he still felt he should’ve been in contention for points before that problem.
“Very disappointed,” Tsunoda lamented. “We’re losing so much points, these two races. This kind of tight season, each point is very important, and we definitely have to maximise when we have the pace in the car. Now, it’s just wasting the pace in the car. We definitely have to refocus and score points from the next race onwards.”
This may not be Tsunoda’s problem anymore as he’s moving up to the Red Bull team, but the constructors’ standings corroborate his analysis. With two rounds down, Racing Bulls already has a 14-point deficit to Williams, which is currently fourth – on equal terms with Ferrari. Sixth-placed Haas leads the Italian outfit by 11 points.
Twenty-two grands prix to go is more than enough time for Racing Bulls to recover its deficit – but the Faenza-based squad can’t afford for its strategy to be a weakness in every race.
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Ben Vinel
Formula 1
Yuki Tsunoda
Isack Hadjar
RB
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Before the 2025 Formula 1 campaign actually began, figuring out the pecking order in the midfield based on pre-season testing was tricky, with the data pointing to a close fight.
Fast-forward two weeks, and Racing Bulls has consistently qualified top of the midfield – Yuki Tsunoda fifth in Melbourne, then Isack Hadjar up to seventh at Shanghai with his team-mate ninth. China’s sprint qualifying session delivered the same verdict, with Tsunoda eighth.
Yet, if it weren’t for the Japanese racer’s sixth in the Shanghai sprint, Racing Bulls would be point-less – even with a trio of disqualifications following the Chinese Grand Prix.
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Down Under rain throws race upside down
The first missed opportunity came in Australia, where Tsunoda was overtaken by Charles Leclerc on the opening lap but ran sixth for most of the wet-dry-wet race.
When it started raining again at Albert Park, most cars pitted for intermediate tyres on lap 44. However, like the Ferraris, the Racing Bulls driver stayed out until lap 47, when increased rain meant they had no choice but to follow suit and change tyres. Tsunoda eventually finished 12th.
“We understood everything,” he commented a few days later in the Shanghai paddock. “It’s obviously a bit of a gamble, and at the same time probably we had very painful memories from Brazil last year that we didn’t stay out, so definitely maybe that was creating a bit of a difficult decision for us.”
Back at the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix, Tsunoda ran third for the first 26 laps, then was overtaken by Esteban Ocon and further lost out when he pitted for full-wet rubber while three drivers – Max Verstappen and both Alpine racers – were able to change tyres during a subsequent red flag and lock out the podium positions.
Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01
Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images
As far as the recent Melbourne race is concerned, Tsunoda said it was “hard” for him “to monitor every single corner because every lap keeps changing”. However, he added: “It was quite a clear situation that we should box. We reacted too late.
“I don’t think I made a mistake in terms of communication, everything, I’m pretty happy with it. We know what’s happened, and the team definitely apologised to me right after the race. That’s the most important thing, and we move on.”
Speaking to Motorsport.com in an exclusive interview, team principal Laurent Mekies was keen to point out Racing Bulls had got other decisions right in that same race, but still took responsibility for this failure.
“We got the last [call] badly wrong,” Mekies said. “There is no bad luck, bad luck doesn’t exist in this game. So, we got it wrong.”
Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
With hindsight, the Frenchman wishes the team’s strategists had accepted to “cut [their] losses” as early as they realised staying on track was not going to pay off – like Red Bull, Alpine and Haas did with Verstappen, Gasly and Ocon respectively – instead of gambling further on an eventual improvement in track conditions or a potential race interruption.
“In the end, [cutting your losses] is what it is about,” Mekies insisted. “If you are not in the first train of cars and you see an opportunity, if you don’t take it, you need to accept that you have lost something already compared to the guys that pitted straight away.
“So it’s how much, in that position, you accept to cut your losses – meaning ‘guys, it’s still a very good result, it’s raining out there’, compared to dreaming in that case of something even better which will never materialise, because the hard fact is that it’s too wet.
“It’s a work in progress. We’re still a young team, but I have no doubt that we have everything to perform very well in these conditions.”
Incidentally, Racing Bulls may be – to some extent – Red Bull’s junior squad, but calling it a “young team” is a stretch. After all, the team joined F1 in 1985 as Minardi and has been owned by the energy drinks giant for nearly 20 years, becoming an elaborate race operation with two race victories to its name.
Two stops – one too many – in China
Racing Bulls could have made amends for its Melbourne error at Shanghai – and to some extent did so in the sprint race as Tsunoda scored a valuable three points, but a much bigger opportunity was squandered on Sunday.
Pirelli had made it clear before the race that the only viable strategy would be a two-stopper, regardless of the compounds that may be used. The Italian brand’s motorsport chief Mario Isola added “I don’t think it’s a three-stop” and didn’t even mention the potential for a straightforward one-stop tactic, so remote did it look at the time.
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In the end, tyre degradation was much less than planned, and all cars switched to a one-stop strategy, with a few notable exceptions: Lewis Hamilton (who had nothing to lose when he pitted again), Liam Lawson (who was terribly struggling)… and the Racing Bulls cars.
From ninth and seventh on the grid respectively, Tsunoda and Hadjar ran eighth and ninth in their first stint, then ninth and 12th in the middle run, before dropping to 15th and 16th following their second stop.
Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team, Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
The additional performance from fresher rubber far from sufficed to compensate for the time lost in the pits. In fact, their respective fastest laps were barely faster – down to a few thousandths of a second – than Gabriel Bortoleto’s, with the Sauber driver on an effective one-stop after he pitted on lap 1.
Hadjar’s particular case highlighted the 20-year-old’s lack of experience as he felt he didn’t have the authority to question his strategy.
“It’s my second race, in the end. It’s my first full race in Formula 1, so I’m not going to invent strategy,” the Frenchman, who failed to start in Melbourne after a spin on the formation lap, sullenly stated. “If we say the plan is this, then we stick to this, as simple as that. I’m not going to fight on race one.
“If we pitted only once, we would have finished in the points – at least P7,” he added – though there is little evidence he would have been able to claim such a result.
Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
“Very disappointed,” Tsunoda lamented. “We’re losing so much points, these two races. This kind of tight season, each point is very important, and we definitely have to maximise when we have the pace in the car. Now, it’s just wasting the pace in the car. We definitely have to refocus and score points from the next race onwards.”
This may not be Tsunoda’s problem anymore as he’s moving up to the Red Bull team, but the constructors’ standings corroborate his analysis. With two rounds down, Racing Bulls already has a 14-point deficit to Williams, which is currently fourth – on equal terms with Ferrari. Sixth-placed Haas leads the Italian outfit by 11 points.
Twenty-two grands prix to go is more than enough time for Racing Bulls to recover its deficit – but the Faenza-based squad can’t afford for its strategy to be a weakness in every race.
Read Also:
In this article
Ben Vinel
Formula 1
Isack Hadjar
Yuki Tsunoda
Racing Bulls
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Red Bull has already called time on Liam Lawson’s very short stint with the team, as the 23-year-old has been dropped after just two grands prix in 2025.
Lawson will return to Red Bull’s sister squad Racing Bulls, with his former team-mate Yuki Tsunoda heading to the ‘A’ team after a point-less start to the Formula 1 campaign for the New Zealander.
It comes in time for Tsunoda’s home race in Japan next weekend, so Autosport’s Stuart Codling sits down with Jake Boxall-Legge and Alex Kalinauckas to discuss the driver swap.
The trio ponder whether Lawson deserved more time, the misconceptions around Max Verstappen and the RB21’s development and what happens next for Tsunoda and Lawson.
In this article
Formula 1
Yuki Tsunoda
Liam Lawson
Red Bull Racing
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The 2025 Formula 1 season may only be two races old, but it has not been short on either on-track storylines or off-track intrigue — with some of those narratives centring around the Mercedes team. Motorsport.com’s Roberto Chinchero sat down with its team principal, Toto Wolff, over the Chinese Grand Prix, to discuss the latest developments within the team, and insight on the series’ V10 political battleground.
Motorsport.com: Toto, how is it possible that we are starting to talk about V10 engines in March 2025, nine months before the start of the new rules with all-new hybrid engines?
Toto Wolff: I think it’s people that have the feeling that they are maybe not as competitive as they would wish for next year. Remember 2014, the same people talked down the engine regulations back in the day because their power unit supplier wasn’t competitive at the beginning. Now they are doing their own engines and I think there is a lot of fear there that it isn’t going that well and that’s why suddenly the manipulation business starts and the V10 comes up as an idea.
But having said that, I think we as Mercedes are always open to having these discussions. What is the engine of the future? Is it a V8, is it a V10, what kind of hybrid system does it have on the car? Sustainable fuel clearly is going forward, is it a naturally aspirated or turbo engine? And any challenge that comes up is fine for us, as long as there is a proper governance on how this engine is being decided upon. That governance is in place today, so let’s stick our heads together with all the engine manufacturers and see what is it we want for the future, what is it we want to have beyond 2030 and then come up with a plan that is good for Formula 1. And as I said, completely open to any solution.
MS: But if the five-year homologation period of the new engine were to be reduced to three years, for just 2026, 2027, and 2028, is that something you could accept?
TW: If there are the right arguments on bringing it forward. We are looking a little bit silly as Formula 1 when we are attracting the likes of Audi and we are pitching a great hybrid engine with sustainable fuels and then suddenly we are saying we actually only want to keep it three years and not five. We need to be a stable and reliable partner that says: ‘These are the regulations, that is the investment budget, you need to calculate for it’. And then people can join or not. But – before regulations have even started – to say let’s look at the next engine and power unit, I just think it makes Formula 1 look a little bit erratic. And that is why we all have the same interest between the FIA, Formula 1 and the teams; we want to sport to be great rather than looking at the success of a single race or season. There needs to be a long-term plan and everybody is pulling on the same side.
Toto Wolff, Mercedes
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
MS: You hear different opinions about the 2026 car in the paddock, some people are scared about how they will run and where they will be able to run at full power.
TW: People will never see any difference, you will see a car out there that is driving fast. We will be having aero solutions that are innovative, there are components where you recharge at the end of the straight, which exists today. Contrary to what people believe, today a Formula 1 car does not accelerate until the end of the straight, but we have derating. We have a speed profile that flattens at the end of the straight, very different to what it was 10 years ago. And I think that is going to be the case in the next years. It is a brand-new engine, but there is a lot of scaremongering over what it will be like. I think the engineering genius in Formula 1 has always provided the right solutions, so I have no doubt it is going to be a spectacular show as always.
MS: Are you happy with the new Concorde agreement?
TW: Yes, I think it is a great success for Formula 1 that there is a Concord now until 2030. All 11 teams signed. I think Cadillac made the case very well in Melbourne to us why they believe they can be adding to the business. So ready start go, 11 teams and we have a commercial framework now and that is really good.
MS: Let’s move on to George Russell’s future. The driver market is closed, only George is a free agent at the moment for 2026, so is that a situation that is going to be resolved soon?
TW: Yes, absolutely. I mean, it is almost an open secret that we have every intention to keep our drivers for the long term. We are not disclosing every discussion that we have with the drivers and that is why this is going in the direction that it should go.
MS: The reason we’re asking is because this speculation around you signing Max Verstappen has never really stopped. But as soon as you sign the contract with George, it will.
George Russell, Mercedes, Toto Wolff, Mercedes
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
TW: Yes, exactly. But there is more to any contract than just giving a driver the fixed guarantee that he is going to be in the car. There are terms to it that you need to discuss for the best interest of the team and the driver, so it is a structured process.
MS: George seems to be a bit underrated in the paddock.
TW: Not with us. Why is he underrated? I don’t know. He is a top, top driver and we are lucky to have him. The decision to take Kimi on board, we dared to do it because we knew that we have George as a benchmark. The car doesn’t go much faster than George and we know where the car will be with George, and that is the benchmark for Kimi.
MS: And the benchmark for George was Lewis, so you were able to understand how much he was improving.
TW: Exactly.
MS: But George was unlucky because he arrived at the moment the team stopped winning.
TW: Exactly, he expected different. But you can also see George’s performance against Lewis, and today’s performance of Lewis against Charles Leclerc, clearly we are talking about a top driver.
MS: About Kimi, you said you made up your mind about signing him the same day Lewis Hamilton said he was going to Ferrari. And he was a Formula Regional driver at that moment, he didn’t even drive in F2 yet.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
TW: Absolutely. I think I never struggled with being confronted with a situation. ‘This is the fact, what next?’ And when Lewis said he was leaving, it was clear that this was ending. So, with all the respect to the 12 years we had and the friendship and the success that we had, my thinking went immediately into who is next in the car. And there is two schools here, you take a risk with your youngest that is deemed to be capable in Formula 1 or you bank a fast, current driver. So, taking up the young one, you either put him in another team, but any other team like Williams would have demanded at least a couple of years. So, this is what we didn’t want to commit to. And on the other side, every driver that has proven their worth will undoubtedly not be at ease with a one-year contract. That was my thinking in the minutes after Lewis told me.
MS: And how many people were involved in this choice, was it just you?
TW: No, obviously Mercedes was involved in the decision; Ola Kallenius, as the main guy because he knows the business, Marcus [Schaefer], who is our chairman. And then from our side the group was Gwen [Lagrue], James Allison, Bradley [Lord] and myself. As much as I had a firm view, I want that view to always be challenged and it was a really good discussion with the pros and cons.
MS: No second thoughts last year when he was struggling in F2?
TW: No, F3 and F2 are complex. You need to be at the right team at the right time. And we have no doubt about his speed and his personality, his values. We know that he needs time, the trajectory has been very steep. But it feels like it’s the right time in 2025 because of the regulation change next year. We wanted him to have a year under his belt where he is just able to learn and make himself ready for next year.
MS: He told us that you call him Kimi when everything is going well, and Andrea when it isn’t…
TW: Yes. (laughs) I call him Kimi because Kimi is a young man, Andrea is more serious when I am not happy. So, he knows my state of mind very quickly!
MS: Is the new car working as you expected, is it a step up compared to 2024?
TW: It is a more stable platform, it is not like last year where the rear was the weak point and the front the strong, now it goes more hand in hand. But still, we are not happy about the width of the [operating] window, we still want it to be a bit wider. It is still tricky to land it properly, you can go from being the hero in one session to being sixth or seventh the next session. But it is happening to all teams. If you look at Ferrari, Lewis seemed at ease [in China’s sprint], and a week ago it was too difficult. We are going to see that all throughout the year.
George Russell, Mercedes
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
MS: There was some funny speculation over your wife Susie running for president of the FIA. Surely that would have meant you were going to have to retire?
TW: That’s the only possibility to make that happen (grins) – no, that was never on with Susie. We are an entrepreneurial family. She’s all-in on the F1 Academy to make it a success, and not yet [ready] for an ambassadorial, representative role, as much as it’s honourable to be the FIA president. But no, she’s not going to do that.
MS: So, you are continuing. And so is F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali. Are you happy with the news that he will stay another five years?
TW: So important. He’s a good guy, he has all the right values, he has a good commercial sense, he’s brilliant with the promoters, and he takes no bullshit. And the stability that he stays with us for the next five years is just really great news. The sport needs stability, the sport needs trajectory, and he’s providing that.
MS: One of Domenicali’s challenges is the calendar, because it looks like we are going to have fewer and fewer races in Europe and the calendar is becoming even more global. We are going to lose Spa for two seasons. Is that a natural development or do we need to keep circuits like Spa?
TW: I think, first of all, we’re in good hands. Stefano comes from Imola. They literally have their apartment opposite the track. So with Stefano, we have someone that very much understands the heritage of the sport, and that we need to go to these places in order to make Formula 1 popular in other regions of the world. Striking that right balance is really the trick. Keep the traditional ones that are spectacular and add new ones, and that mix is important. And Stefano is clearly the best one to judge that.
In this article
Roberto Chinchero
Formula 1
Mercedes
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Mercedes Formula 1 chief Toto Wolff believes the series would look ‘silly and erratic’ if it were to introduce V10 engines before 2031 and reduce the planned five-year period for the 2026 hybrids.
The return of V10 power units has been placed on the agenda by FIA president Mohamed Ben Sulayem, with various options under discussion at this stage.
The most straightforward idea is to stick to the current plans to run the all-new hybrid engines for a five-year period between 2026 and 2030, and switch to a radically different formula from 2031 onwards.
But some parties are also pushing to introduce V10s as early as 2028, with the secondary question becoming what to do with the 2026 power units that convinced the likes of Audi and Honda to sign up.
The FIA’s single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis, for example, said at last weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix: “I think the right way to go about it is: do we want three or four years later to go to a different type of power unit? If the answer to that is yes, then there’s question number two – what we do in the intervening period.
“The progress with sustainable fuels has led to views that maybe the engines could be simpler. The world economy does lead to views that maybe we should try to cut costs a bit more, and the current power units are way too expensive. That’s why the president made the comments about a V10 engine in 2028 and so on.”
The European V10
Photo by: Minardi Formula 1
But speaking in an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com, Wolff says it would not reflect well to backtrack from the 2026 regulations that were meant to be used for five years, as F1 needs to be a “reliable partner” that manufacturers can build around.
Asked if he could accept the new regulations only being used for two or three years, Wolff replied: “If there are the right arguments on bringing it forward.
“We are looking a little bit silly as Formula 1 when we are attracting the likes of Audi and we are pitching a great hybrid engine with sustainable fuels, and then suddenly we are saying we actually only want to keep it three years and not five.
“We need to be a stable and reliable partner that says: ‘These are the regulations, that is the investment budget, you need to calculate for it’. And then people can join or not.
“But – before regulations have even started – to say let’s look at the next engine and power unit, I just think it makes Formula 1 look a little bit erratic.
“And that is why we all have the same interest between the FIA, Formula 1 and the teams; we want the sport to be great, rather than looking at the success of a single race or season. There needs to be a long-term plan and everybody is pulling on the same side.”
Audi CEO Gernot Dollner and Mattia Binotto, CEO and CTO, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Without directly mentioning Red Bull, which faces the huge task of developing its own in-house engines for 2026, Wolff suggested Mercedes’ fierce rival is stirring up the idea of curtailing the upcoming rules and fast-tracking V10 engines as it is worried about its own performance with the new hybrids – a suggestion Red Bull has publicly denied.
“I think it’s people that have the feeling that they are maybe not as competitive as they would wish for next year,” he said.
“Remember 2014, the same people talked down the engine regulations back in the day because their power unit supplier wasn’t competitive at the beginning.
“Now they are doing their own engines and I think there is a lot of fear there that it isn’t going that well and that’s why suddenly the manipulation business starts and the V10 comes up as an idea.”
But Wolff did reaffirm that Mercedes is open minded about where F1 should go next with its future power units, as long as there is a proper process in place to ensure all interested manufacturers are aligned.
“As Mercedes we are always open to having these discussions,” he explained. “What is the engine of the future? Is it a V8, is it a V10, what kind of hybrid system does it have on the car? Sustainable fuel clearly is going forward, is it a naturally aspirated or turbo engine?
“Any challenge that comes up is fine for us, as long as there is proper governance on how this engine is being decided upon. That governance is in place today, so let’s stick our heads together with all the engine manufacturers and see what it is we want to have beyond 2030, and then come up with a plan that is good for Formula 1.”
Read Motorsport.com’s full interview with Toto Wolff here.
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In this article
Filip Cleeren
Formula 1
Mercedes
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