Fernando Alonso has “no idea” what he will decide to do once he eventually calls time on his Formula 1 career, as intrigue over his future continues.

The two-time F1 world champion has consistently stated he will make a decision on his future in grand prix racing around the summer break, while dismissing the timeline being linked to Aston Martin’s upcoming upgrade package set to arrive at the final race before the summer break in Hungary.

Fernando Alonso denies claim that Aston Martin's F1 Hungarian GP upgrade will decide his future

While Aston’s current woes and his general displeasure at the new generation of F1 cars are well known, speculation has grown that this could be Alonso’s final year in the series – talk he heightened when he stated last month’s Barcelona Grand Prix would be his last time at the venue.

But regardless of when Alonso calls time on his F1 career, the 44-year-old says he’s made no plans about what is next. When asked if he knew what he would do if he was not in F1, he simply said: “No, no idea.”

During the same media appearance at Silverstone, Alonso was specifically asked about walking the Camino de Santiago – a pilgrimage across Spain to Galicia with one of the routes going through his hometown of Oviedo – which he was open to but not until his newborn son is older.

“I wish I do it one day, but it will not be exactly right after the retirement,” he said. “Especially now with my son being three months old, I cannot think about going three weeks walking around Spain all with him. So I will have to wait a couple of years.”

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images

Alonso alluded to an aim of staying in motorsport, either in a different discipline or in a non-driving role in an F1 team.

“I have definitely some challenges ahead. Most of them are motorsport related. I want to win Dakar, I said many times,” he said.

“I may want to win different things. I want to challenge myself in endurance racing again, especially if Max [Verstappen] wants to do it one day as well. When I stop racing, I said I would like to continue with this team in a different role, try to help.

“I've been in Formula 1 for 26 years now and I think I can help the team. Probably I'm the second- or third-most experienced guy in the team at the moment.

“I think there are things that can be useful for the team and I prefer to use that expertise rather than being at home watching [on] TV.”

Alonso’s exploits outside of F1 during his stint away from the series in the late 2010s saw him become World Endurance Champion in 2018-19 and a two-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner with Toyota in 2018 and 2019, as well as Daytona 24 Hours winner with Cadillac in 2019. The Spaniard also made three Indianapolis 500 entries, plus an outing at the 2020 Dakar Rally.

#310 Toyota Gazoo Racing: Fernando Alonso, Marc Coma

Photo by: A.S.O.

The 32-time grand prix winner also hinted at a return to sportscar racing, but felt sticking with Aston Martin was the most likely scenario. Aston Martin currently competes in both the WEC and IMSA with the Valkyrie Hypercar.

Alonso’s future is also one of the key focus points of the F1 driver market for this season, as if he opts to retire then it will leave a spot vacant at Aston Martin alongside Lance Stroll.

On Aston’s part, the team is eager to see Alonso remain in the race seat for 2027, with team boss Adrian Newey stating he hopes the team’s upgrade package for Hungary will entice him to stay for next year.

Adrian Newey hopes Aston Martin upgrades keep Fernando Alonso "in the cockpit for another season"

Fernando Alonso: No "driver talent" is needed with F1 2026 cars

iRacing and IndyCar have officially announced IndyCar Racing The Game, a highly anticipated standalone video game developed by iRacing Studios, the world-renowned motorsport simulation company. The title is scheduled to launch in early 2027 in the countdown to the 111th Running of the Indianapolis 500, marking the sport's first dedicated standalone video game in more than 20 years.

The upcoming release aims to bring the raw speed, precision, and drama of the IndyCar Series to a brand-new generation of racing fans and gamers. By leveraging iRacing Studios' industry-leading expertise in authentic motorsport simulation, the game promises to deliver an unmatched open-wheel racing experience. Players will be able to compete on the sport's most celebrated ovals, including the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as well as its famous road courses and street circuits.

“IndyCar features the most competitive and action-packed racing on the planet, challenging drivers at every turn with incredible speeds and demanding layouts,” said Alex Damron, IndyCar Chief Marketing Officer. 

“Our new video game is going to capture the energy and drama of our sport with hyper-realism, bringing our series to a new generation of gamers. Partnering with iRacing — the gold standard in racing simulation — ensures this will be a truly special new chapter in our gaming history. We can't wait for fans to get behind the wheel."

IndyCar Racing The Game will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. Additional game details, including specific features, gameplay modes, and pre-order information, will be formally announced in the coming months. 

"This is a project our team has been passionate about for a long time," said Tony Gardner, iRacing President. "We're bringing everything we know about authentic, immersive racing to consoles and PC, and creating an experience worthy of the IndyCar name. 2027 can't come soon enough."

More information and future updates can be found visiting the official website at www.indycargame.com.

Winners and losers from the IndyCar race at Mid-Ohio

Arrow McLaren signs Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist for 2027 IndyCar season

“You should ask him” - Felipe Nasr keeps the pressure on Roger Penske for IndyCar seat

Marc Marquez ended Friday Practice for the German Grand Prix on top, as three Ducati riders finished inside the top four.

The reigning MotoGP champion set a best time of 1m19.394s on the factory Ducati, beating the Trackhouse Aprilia of Raul Fernandez by 0.166s as the two Italian manufacturers spent much of practice trading the top spot.

When the hour-long session began, Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi wasted little time in lighting up the timesheets, quickly usurping Fernandez’s benchmark from FP1 before lowering it further to a 1m20.646s.

That put him just over a tenth clear of the Ducatis of Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez, while Fernandez slotted into fourth for Trackhouse.

The order remained unchanged until the halfway point of the session, when Bezzecchi found almost another tenth to extend his advantage over the rest of the field. The Italian’s time stood until the final quarter of the session, when VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio raised the bar with a blistering 1m20.104s. 

Alex Marquez managed to close within a second of Bezzecchi on the Gresini Ducati, before Marc Marquez stormed to the top with 14 minutes remaining, becoming the first rider to set a sub-1m20s lap.

Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

Di Giannantonio quickly snatched the top spot again with a 1m19.674s, with Alex Marquez also going quicker than the reigning Sachsenring winner to move up to second.

But it was Marc Marquez who had the last laugh, his final effort with three minutes left putting him on top by a tenth-and-a-half.

Fernandez ended up as Marquez’s closest rival in second with a late flying lap, leaving Di Giannantonio and Alex Marquez in third and fourth respectively.

Jack Miller put together an impressive lap to end up fifth-fastest for Pramac Yamaha, finishing ahead of the remaining three Aprilias of Ai Ogura, Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin.

Pedro Acosta was consigned to a lowly ninth on the factory KTM, six tenths off top, while VR46’s Franco Morbidelli jumped to 10th at the death of the session, earning a direct slot into Q2.

The most high-profile rider to miss out on top 10 was Francesco Bagnaia, who ended up 13th behind the KTMs of Enea Bastianini and Brad Binder. A late yellow flag triggered by Bastianini crashing at Turn 9 may have affected Bagnaia’s momentum, but the track was cleared in time for riders to complete their final flying laps.

Behind the two-time MotoGP champion, Luca Marini ended up 14th on the best of the Hondas, with Yamaha counterpart Fabio Quartararo finishing just 0.004s adrift in 15th.

Marini’s team-mate Joan Mir was classified 16th after a late off in the final three minutes.

German GP in Photos - Friday

Former Formula 1 driver Anthony Davidson believes Mercedes' mounting reliability problems have handed Ferrari a viable path to the championship, suggesting that the Maranello outfit can rely on its "bulletproof" machinery.

Davidson assessed the championship picture after the ninth round of the 2026 season, the British Grand Prix, where Ferrari's Charles Leclerc won. The Monegasque driver was joined on the podium by Mercedes' George Russell in second and his Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton in third. 

Mercedes driver and current championship leader Kimi Antonelli had looked set to fight Leclerc for the win at Silverstone. But a dislodged wheel shield hampered his race. As he battled with his broken car, struggling to keep it on track, the Italian finished 15th after a track limits penalty.

As a result, Russell is now only 25 points behind his team-mate in the standings. Hamilton and Leclerc follow in third and fourth in the championship, seven and 46 points behind Russell, respectively.

"George Russell is within a one-race victory of points behind, it's 25 points," Davidson explained on the Sky Sports F1 Show. "The reliability issues, they must be more than a concern for Mercedes.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, George Russell, Mercedes

Photo by: Manuel Eletto / Getty Images

"And Ferrari as a team, they must be thinking, 'Well, even if we don't have the fastest car, maybe we can rely on this for the rest of the season.' Because so far, they've been bulletproof."

While Mercedes has won seven of the first nine grands prix this season, both Russell and Antonelli have suffered retirements. Russell retired from the lead of the Canadian Grand Prix with a battery issue and Antonelli was forced to retire from second at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix due to an electrical shutdown and engine failure.

Ferrari still has some work to do in the constructors' championship. Mercedes leads with 333 points and the Fred Vasseur-led team follows in second with 255 points. McLaren sits third with 179 points.

Toyota has received a strong level of interest from customers wishing to purchase its new 2027 World Rally Championship car that is currently in development for next year.

The Japanese brand is the only traditional automotive manufacturer developing a car to the FIA’s new WRC technical regulations to be introduced in 2027. Tuner operations Project Rally One and RMC Motorsport have also confirmed plans to develop cars to the new rules.

Toyota is reaching a critical point in the development with its final durability testing set to be completed this summer, before it begins the homologation process. The exact Toyota model the car is based around is yet to be announced.

Under the new FIA regulations, constructors have to make their cars available to customers. The homologation conditions for WRC27-type cars mandate the production of at least 10 units within 24 months of the homologation date. Constructors must also be capable of supplying at least 10 race-ready WRC27-type cars per calendar year to customers.

With less than six months until the 2027 season begins in Monte Carlo next January, Toyota’s car has already generated plenty of interest from prospective customers.  

“We've had a really strong level of interest in the car. I think the main part that's missing on that side is that there is a little bit of confusion in the customer base about where they can use the cars and how to use the cars in the categories and so on,” Toyota’s technical director Tom Fowler told Motorsport.com.

WRC 2027 Rally car

“But for sure, we have a lot of people that have made requests to go on the list to get cars. Some are kind of a little bit still uneasy about where they would actually use them.”

It appears Spanish squad Teo Martin Motorsport, which currently fields Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 cars for the likes of Alejandro Cachon in WRC2, is among those on the waiting list.

Team boss Teo Martin announced during an interview on Spain’s Rallycast podcast that he plans to buy at least two 2027 spec Toyotas.

"My first car will be delivered in December and the second five months later,” said Martin. “I still want to speak with Toyota and ask whether I could have the second car available already for Rally Monte Carlo. I’d also like to know if it will be possible to have a third car dedicated to testing.”

Toyota is already working on putting a production programme together for the construction of its 2027 cars in anticipation of supplying customer teams next year.

“We are in the process now of putting together a production programme," added Fowler.

"I think if you look back at the introduction of any Rally2 car, including our own one in 2024, the first production is slightly limited because you can't get hold of enough of the big bits like transmissions and engines and so on.

"In the start, the number of cars will be a little bit lower, but we intend to come to a point during the production that we can produce cars for other people. The exact production numbers are not defined yet, but we will be working on it.

“There's still a lot of things to work through about how to manage this topic. It's a very difficult position that we're in. We're the first ones to make the WRC 2027 car, so we need to be a little bit careful in terms of where the cars go and who's using them. It's no different than normal.”

Ott Tanak: Never say never on WRC 2027 return but “no plan” for the moment

2009 Formula 1 champion Jenson Button believes Max Verstappen is growing increasingly frustrated and "lonely" at Red Bull, predicting that the four-time champion will actively seek to exit the team. He tipped Mercedes as the most likely destination for Verstappen.

Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Show, Button shared his thoughts on the Dutchman's future at the Milton Keynes outfit. The discussion was framed by host Simon Lazenby, who pointed to the exit clause in Verstappen's contract, which is understood to potentially come into effect at the summer break if he is not in the top two in the drivers' championship. 

"If his management weren't asking around, they're not doing their job properly," Button explained.

"I'm sure there are two teams that he'd be interested in: McLaren, possibly, and obviously the big one at the moment, Mercedes. All drivers have contracts, but money talks. There's always a way of moving a driver on to somewhere else."

He added: "I think he sounds really frustrated at the moment. He puts a happy face on a lot of the time, but I think he's very frustrated with the situation. A lot of people that he's worked with for many years and won championships with have left and gone elsewhere.

"It must be very strange. It must feel a bit lonely within that team for him. Everyone's brand new around him. So I think he'll be looking elsewhere. Yeah, I really do for next year."

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Manuel Eletto / Getty Images

For Button, the obvious choice of next team is current championship leader Mercedes. The Brackley outfit has won seven out of the first nine grands prix of the 2026 season.

"The team that, if I was his management, I would want to put him in is Mercedes, obviously alongside Kimi [Antonelli] or alongside George [Russell], whichever one they choose to move on," Button added.

"You have to be ruthless. You've got to be selfish in his position because you know he's a lot further into his career."

In an appearance on the 'Bussin with the Boys' podcast, Front Row Motorsports driver Zane Smith did not mince words while bluntly discussing his opinion of Carson Hocevar

The two tangled at Chicagoland last weekend, with Smith wrecking Hocevar from behind, ultimately taking himself into the wall with the Spire Motorsport driver. These two were once teammates at Spire as well.

Late in the podcast, which also featured 23XI Racing's Riley Herbst as a guest, they were shown a picture of various Cup stars and asked to describe them with one word.

"Bumf***," said Smith after being shown Hocevar's picture. This led into a deeper discussion about his issues with Hocevar.

"He'll try to talk to you after ,saying 'I don't talk to anybody out there' -- he's full of s***," remarked Smith. "He tries to be your buddy, and then will go and screw you. And so it's like, don't even talk to me in the first place, because one, I don't like you, and we're gonna eventually have a run-in together, so let's just not talk in the first place."

Smith said that Hocevar puts on an act of sorts, and focused on an incident at Iowa last year, when he spun off the nose of Hocevar.

"He'll put us both into a bad spot to where it's costing us lap time and neither of us are benefitting from it, so that part gets frustrating," began Smith. "But I remember, he made a mistake -- or I don't know if he made a mistake -- but he wrecked us, and then he spends the rest of the race waving at me, playing nice guy, like 'oh man, I'm so sorry.'  And then he goes on social media and posts like 'I don't give a f***' ... If you're going to be the guy hiding behind social media, that's a coward in my opinion. Act that way in person. Say that to my face -- but don't be one way in person, and then hide behind your phone."

Watch: In-car cameras: Smith makes contact with Hocevar

This week, Smith has also been on the receiving end of an onslaught of negative social media comments from Hocevar's growing fan base following what appeared to be an awkward attempt at payback at Chicagoland.

"His fans are the worst part," noted Smith on the show. "Have you ever seen the South Park 'huge guy' that's typing on the keyboard -- those are like all of his fans."

The character he's referencing has been used to call out so-called keyboard warriors and online trolls.

When asked if Hocevar had the worst fan base, Smith replied: "Pretty much."

NASCAR payback gone wrong: When vengeful drivers wrecked themselves

NASCAR officials detail reasons to not issue penalties after Chicagoland

The 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed is underway this weekend, bringing together current Formula 1 stars, world champions and racing legends for four days of demo runs at the famous hillclimb. 

With this year's event avoiding a clash with the F1 calendar, several current grand prix drivers will be in attendance alongside a host of former racers and champions from other disciplines.

The headline star on this year’s entry list is reigning F1 champion Lando Norris, who will take the wheel of the McLaren MCL60 with which he scored seven podiums in 2023. It is a significant car for the British team, having been launched in 2023 to mark the 60th anniversary of Bruce McLaren founding the outfit.

Norris will also get a taste of McLaren's future by driving the MCL-HY on its public debut ahead of the Hypercar's entry into next year's Le Mans 24 Hours.

Current points leader Kimi Antonelli is also at the famous festival, and was seen doing burnouts in a Mercedes road car on Thursday.

Alpine duo Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto are also in action, taking turns in the rebranded Lotus E20 from the 2012 season. Now-retired Kimi Raikkonen famously drove the V8-powered challenger to victory at that year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Meanwhile, rising star Isack Hadjar will represent Red Bull, driving the Adrian Newey-designed track-only RB17 supercar along with Newey himself. Yuki Tsunoda will also take turns behind the wheel of the 1200bhp machine.

A whole host of former F1 drivers will also be seen at the Festival of Speed, including world champions like Mario Andretti and Emerson Fittipaldi.

Several stars from the sportscar world will also grace Goodwood, including Le Mans 24 Hours winners Tom Kristensen and Derek Bell. Fans will get to see several iconic prototype sportscars over the course of the four-day event, including the Porsche 962, the Ford GT MKII and the McLaren F1 GTR.

Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Seven-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi will be the biggest name from the motorcycling world, but following his switch to car racing, he will be driving the BMW V12 LMR that won Le Mans in 1999. Fans wanting to see him back on a bike won’t be disappointed either, as he will also jump aboard a 2020-spec Yamaha M1.

Rally drivers will also be present, including Sebastien Loeb, Sebastien Ogier, Petter Solberg and Nasser Al-Attiyah. Further, Dan Ticktum will run Formula E’s new Gen4 prototype to demonstrate the capabilities of a modern electric racing car.

Current F1 drivers at Goodwood

Former F1 drivers at Goodwood

Other notable names at Goodwood

All F1 cars at Goodwood

The new regulations ushered in by Formula 1 for the 2026 season have reset the development cycle that left McLaren at the top of the pyramid, with Mercedes taking the Woking-based squad's place.

But with the new cycle brings greater opportunity to find greater gains through upgrade packages, with the law of diminishing returns returning back to the beginning of its spectrum.

And while Mercedes was the dominant force in the early stages of the campaign, Ferrari has been aggressive with the development of its SF-26, the work back at Maranello beginning to bear fruit with victories in Spain and Great Britain for Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

That philosophy has raised eyebrows across the paddock, not least from Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who has questioned whether the Scuderia would be able to remain under the championship's budget cap while updating its package so frequently.

Ferrari counterpart Fred Vasseur was far from happy that his long-time friend had singled his squad out when speaking at Silverstone and, when asked why he thought that may be the case, the Frenchman suggested that the team's 'upgrades' were being taken for more than they are in reality.

Toto Wolff: "Emotional" Fred Vasseur misunderstood comments on Ferrari

"I found it a bit weird because I think the more performance you can bring at the beginning, we are all in December, if we can bring something at the beginning we do it, and it’s better to have a couple of tenths for five races than a couple of tenths for the last two," explained Vasseur.

"But sometimes it’s difficult to find performance, sometimes a bit less. Sometimes you can have the feeling that we are bringing a big upgrade but this is just a modification of some parts, nothing else."

Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari

Photo by: James Sutton / LAT Images via Getty Images

While Ferrari has the firepower to be able to incrementally add to its machinery, as has Red Bull in recent races, further down the pecking order the development plan is more complicated.

Williams is one squad that has got off to a subdued start to a season once billed to be a major step forward from the midfield space it has filled. Detailing why the Grove-based outfit can't follow Ferrari's aggressive development strategy, team principal James Vowles explained: "Even if I had everything on time and working, our efficiency level is not at the level of a Formula 1 team that's an established way of working for 10 years. That's just a fact behind it.

"So they have a far more efficient set of processes behind them. Take Williams, we didn't have an external supply network at the right level because there's no funds to pay them fundamentally.

"Mercedes for 12 years built up a relationship to have the best suppliers and the best people in their suppliers working on their product on time with the right communication and the ways of working - basic, I know.

"But if that's missing, in two years I'm trying to build up what happened elsewhere for 10 years with them not having necessarily the best allocation of people around it. That won't happen overnight.

"That means there's a loss of efficiency and it can be time or cost. You can choose whichever one of those two levers you want to pull or both of them you want to pull.

James Vowles, Williams

Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images

"Ferrari have the same. All the top teams have the same. Our job in all of that is draw a pathway for how we get to that level or even think differently to them and get ourselves there.

"But I think fundamentally for two sides of the grid, it will cost more money and take more time in order to produce parts."

Aston Martin has found itself right at the back of the grid after a nightmare start to the season, though it sits ahead of newcomer Cadillac by virtue of an inherited point at the controversial Monaco Grand Prix in June.

Minimal updates have been added to the AMR26 since the beginning of the campaign but a wide-ranging package is expected for the Hungarian Grand Prix ahead of the summer break.

Asked how Ferrari's strategy could be possible and whether the Silverstone squad could replicate it with its own car, chief trackside officer Mike Krack replied: "That depends on the plan. At the end of the day, the decision was made. You will recall that we will not bring race on race on race.

"And if their plan was different, then it was different. You must just not forget one thing. If you bring an upgrade every week, you have to plan this long in advance.

"You cannot say, I was poor in Austria and I have an upgrade in Silverstone the week after.

"So, this is all following a plan that has taken a long time to do, where you factor everything in logistics, production, technicalities of the circuit and all that. So, each team has their plan and they work to their boundary conditions."

Audi's Mattia Binotto calls for F1 ADUO rethink amid exploit fears

Tech3 CEO Guenther Steiner says he is "happily staying out" of the ongoing contract dispute between Maverick Vinales and KTM, insisting the matter has nothing to do with him or his team. 

Vinales caused a stir on Thursday ahead of the German Grand Prix when he claimed that KTM had offered him a new deal for 2027, which he subsequently signed, only to be told just weeks later it was no longer valid.

This followed previous comments from the 10-time grand prix winner, in which he heavily criticised the way the Austrian manufacturer had handled his contract situation and the lack of confidence it had shown in his recovery from injuries.

Although Vinales races for Tech3, both he and team-mate Enea Bastianini are directly contracted by the factory, with both deals signed long before Steiner’s consortium took over the French squad.

The former Haas Formula 1 team boss has never been happy about Vinales publicly blaming KTM for being left without a seat next year, and said the dispute is strictly between rider and manufacturer. 

“I'm not involved with his contract. It's a KTM contract,” he stressed. “I've got opinions, but I cannot have an opinion. I normally don't read a lot of the articles, because then you get influenced about your thinking, but I saw the headlines and I said, ‘I hope I'm not in the middle of this, because it has nothing to do with me personally or with Tech3’.

“It has nothing to do with it, because it's a contract between Maverick and KTM, and I don't know what was done. If people tell me what they did, then I would need to check if it is true or not, but that's not my position.

"I'm happily keeping out of that. I've got enough on my plate, to be honest. So I let them sort that one out because honestly, I do not know his contract. I've never seen it, you know, and by the way, I don't want to see it, because then again, it's like, either you're part of it or not, and I'm not."

Maverick Vinales, Red Bull KTM Tech 3

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

Vinales was initially offered a move up to the factory squad for 2027, but his poor form at the start of the season due to the lingering effects of a previous injury led KTM to reconsider its plans.

The Mattighofen marque recently announced that it has signed Alex Marquez and Fabio di Giannantonio from Ducati, while Tech3 is now aiming to pair Honda’s Luca Marini with a Moto2 graduate for the start of MotoGP’s 850cc rules era.

Vinales had already conceded that his chances of staying in MotoGP next year are all but over, citing KTM’s decision to snub him from the first official 850cc test at Brno last month.

Steiner also suggested the relationship between Vinales and KTM may now be beyond repair.

"Somehow, with the situation what we just discussed, it's very difficult to fix that situation because it is not a good situation," he added. "If you go in the press against each other, you know…. 

“So, in the end, we still work with KTM in the future, so we have to do something that he feels happy as well and I don't think he feels happy to be in this stable. 

“But at the moment, as I said, we are speaking with a few riders and we haven't made a decision." 

Steiner on Marini’s Tech3 chances

Luca Marini, Honda HRC

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

While both Vinales and Bastianini are currently employed by KTM, Steiner revealed that Tech3 will directly hire its riders for 2027, giving the team greater control over its line-up. 

"They will be Tech3 contracts," he said. "That was the past, because when we took the company this year, contracts were all in place, but the future going forward, we go our own way."

Steiner admitted that Marini would be a good fit for Tech3, having already earned a strong reputation at HRC for his technical know-how, but denied that the team has already signed him for next year.

"I spoke with a few riders because I want to get to know them, if they join the team, because you not only get a guy who rides a bike, you get a person who needs to be part of the team and they need to fit in also to the team,” he said.

“So I met with a few people. I didn't know Luca before and I think he's a very blessed guy, and obviously, he has got lots of experience and maybe he can help us to get better, but we have not made the final decision, just to be clear about that one, what we are going to do."

German GP in Photos - Friday

Maverick Vinales: 'KTM sent me a contract, I signed it, and two weeks later they cancelled it'

Guenther Steiner: Maverick Vinales blaming KTM “not the smartest thing to do”

Cam Waters led a Ford Mustang parade to win the first of three Supercars races on the Reid Park street circuit in Townsville, Queensland.

Waters and Dick Johnson Racing’s Brodie Kostecki went into the final tour of the 35-lap race nose-to-tail but Kostecki, who had been on a charge through the field in the late laps, fell just short of the win.

Kostecki started from pole for the fifth time this season but dropped places at the start, with Waters and Matt Payne (Grove Racing) passing him immediately. But Kostecki quickly reclaimed his speed and settled into second behind Waters before the pitstop cycle commenced.

Waters came into the pits on lap 18 but Kostecki stayed out for another six laps. The net result was that Waters stretched his lead, but it was Payne in second when Kostecki resumed.

The DJR Mustang, in a special yellow livery for the weekend, closed while he found a way around Payne, Waters prevailed by 0.200s. “Brodie got a bad one [start] but I was pretty keen to get to Turn 2 first,” he said. “I was a little bit shocked to get P1.

“I just tried to manage that whole last thing, I knew he was behind me and I was just managing that lap. But I am glad there was not one more lap. It’s nice to be at the pointy end.”

Cameron Waters

Photo by: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

Kostecki reported that he made the call to pit after he watched Waters come into the pit lane.

“[It was] a call from me,” he said. “I thought [when] Cam had pitted, I did not want to pit behind Cam. We are looking pretty good for tomorrow. I thought I have a big dive down the last corner, but Cam is a pretty smart racer.”

After his 11th podium of the season, Payne was very happy, particularly considering that not all was right with his car.

“I picked up a bit of a vibration early on,” he said. “It didn’t get any worse and I managed to finish. We need a little bit more [speed]. I was really hoping he [Kostecki] had a lap or two more [to pressure Waters], it would have been a good battle. Cool strategy, it turned out to be really close.

“I knew starting up the front we had a good chance of converting it into some good points.”

Payne’s team-mate Kai Allen took fourth after ceding a position to him after their respective pit stops, while Chaz Mostert took fifth.

The Walkinshaw TWG Supra had a minor engine issue during qualifying, but it was clearly the fastest of the Toyotas and he jumped to second on the opening lap before losing places.

Cameron Waters

Photo by: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

Thomas Randle took sixth for Tickford, an especially impressive result given that he lost half of his practice session after a technical problem left him on the sidelines. With a place in the all-important championship top 10 in the balance, Randle drove a clever race and stayed out of trouble for all 35 laps.

If that was a strong drive, so was what came next. Both Triple Eight drivers had tough Fridays. Broc Feeney qualified 16th and Will Brown was 19th, the first time in three years in which the top 15 grid spots have not featured at least one of the team’s cars.

Brown’s Mustang had a wheel come loose late in qualifying and Feeney simply lacked his trademark one-lap speed. Once the race started though, Brown put all that behind him to charge through to seventh, reminding everyone why he has been one of the category’s best overtakers.

Feeney made it to 10th, at one stage hung wide on a corner, from where he watched Brown spear past two cars – including Feeney’s – at once.

Feeney carried a 15-point lead coming into the weekend, but the results have handed Payne the series lead and Grove – which claimed the teams’ points lead and with it, prime position in the pit lane last time out in Darwin – much to fight for.

Two more 200km races, one each on Saturday and Sunday, will complete Supercars’ mid-winter northern swing.

Supercars Townsville Race 1 results

Audi Formula 1 boss Mattia Binotto is calling on the FIA to "rethink" the ADUO upgrade scheme after Mercedes was one of the manufacturers afforded room for additional power unit upgrades.

The Mercedes engine is widely regarded as the strongest in 2026, helping the squad win seven out of the first nine grands prix.

But because only V6 power is measured to determine which power unit manufacturers qualify for upgrades, Mercedes had been one of the manufacturers allowed to conduct further work on its engines.

Meanwhile, the Red Bull Ford Powertrains V6 was determined by the FIA to be the benchmark, locking it out of further improvements beyond the restricted homologation schedule.

A frustrated Red Bull has contested this outcome, but additional reviews by the FIA have not changed its findings.

Rival manufacturers have long suspected the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari are holding back the performance of their V6s, whether for reliability reasons or to game the ADUO system.

Red Bull Ford Powertrains

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Speaking exclusively to Motorsport.com, Binotto therefore feels the upgrade system needs an overhaul.

"In my opinion, the limit has been that it has exclusively measured performance on the track. A car with an overall advantage can afford not to fully exploit the potential of its power unit," Binotto explained.

"It's possible, for example, that Mercedes had an engine with superior potential, but had no need to push it to the limit because it already had an advantage thanks to the car. If that were the case, it could have also gained additional development margin.

"That's why I think the regulation needs to be rethought in this regard. This wasn't the original intent of the ADUO: the goal was to help those who were actually falling behind, not to create situations in which the true potential of a power unit might be difficult to assess."

F1 newcomer Audi is one of the reasons why the ADUO system exists in the first place, as it had been worried over the initial performance of its very first power unit and the system was a helping hand to ensure the German powerhouse wouldn't be stuck if its engines had been off the pace.

Audi's engines, while not up to par with those of its rivals as expected, have made a reasonable start, with instead Honda being the party that desperately needs the catch-up mechanic the FIA devised.

Binotto says he's not doubting the FIA's findings, but thinks the ADUO system has strayed too far from its original premise.

Nico Hulkenberg, Audi F1 Team

Photo by: Manuel Eletto / Getty Images

"On the results, I'm not questioning the work done by the FIA. They have all the tools and data necessary to make their assessments, despite the limitations that any measurement system inevitably entails," Binotto added.

"However, I believe it's important to remember the original objective of the ADUO. When it was first discussed, the concept was that of a sort of safety net. If a manufacturer was far behind at the start of the regulatory cycle, with regulations virtually frozen and very little room for development, it would risk dragging that disadvantage for five years.

"This gave rise to the concept of performance convergence: allowing those who were further behind to have a greater chance of catching up. Ultimately, it's the same principle that already exists for chassis and aerodynamics.

"Those further back in the standings have more hours in the wind tunnel. Likewise, those who are further behind in terms of power unit performance receive greater development opportunities to catch up with the others and make the championship increasingly balanced."

ADUO's sliding scale affords manufacturers upgrade tokens for every two percent their V6 engine is down on power, which is a minuscule amount.

The other sticking point is that while only the performance of the V6 engine is taken into account to award upgrade tokens, qualifying manufacturers can then overhaul virtually their entire power unit, including hybrid components.

It creates an environment in which manufacturers could radically improve their overall power units without adding performance to the V6 specifically, guaranteeing further upgrade opportunities down the line while freezing the leading manufacturer Red Bull out.

The FIA was keen to take more factors into account when coming up with the ADUO system, but F1's governing body says it was the manufacturers who were backing the idea to stick to V6 power as the determining factor.

Mercedes investigating George Russell's British GP top speed issue

NASCAR: Everything you need to know before watching a race is racing at both Atlanta and Lime Rock this weekend, with the top two divisions taking on EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta for another wild drafting race. TNT Sports is broadcasting the Cup race as the third of five events in their summer stretch, with all races simultaneously streamed on HBO Max along with live on-board cameras.

Chase Briscoe earned his first win of the 2026 season last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway, but Atlanta is a race where almost anyone can reach Victory Lane. Tyler Reddick is the most recent winner there, while Chase Elliott is the defending winner of the summer Atlanta race.

Denny Hamlin extended his newly won championship lead, and is now 44 points ahead of Reddick.

Chicagoland was also Round 2 of the In-Season Challenge, with two true underdogs still in the fight and busted brackets left and right. You can find out who else was eliminated and what the Atlanta matchups will be HERE.

In this story, you can find all the information you need to watch this weekend's action at both Atlanta and Lime Rock, from the weekend schedule to where to watch, and even the full entry list.

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1:00pm EST -- ARCA Menards Series practice -- N/A

2:15pm EST -- ARCA Menards Series qualifying -- N/A

4:00pm EST -- ARCA Menards Series race at Lime Rock [68 laps] -- FOX SPORTS 2

9:00am EST -- NASCAR Truck practice -- FOX SPORTS 1

10:05am EST -- NASCAR Truck qualifying -- FOX SPORTS 1

11:00am EST -- NASCAR O'Reilly qualifying -- CW APP

1:00pm EST -- NASCAR Truck race at Lime Rock [100 laps] -- FOX SPORTS 1

4:30pm EST -- NASCAR Cup qualifying -- TRUTV / HBO MAX

7:00pm EST -- NASCAR O'Reilly race at Atlanta [163 laps] -- THE CW NETWORK

6:00pm EST -- NASCAR Cup Series pre-race show -- TNT & HBO MAX

7:19pm EST -- Green flag for NASCAR Cup race at Atlanta [260 laps] -- TNT / HBO MAX

Todd Gilliland, Front Row Motorsports Ford, Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford

Photo by: Chris Graythen - Getty Images

How can I watch the NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta?

Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, Noah Gragson, Front Row Motorsports

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

Who is competing in the 'Quaker State 400 available at Walmart' at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta)

There are 38 entries with two open entries. The No. 66 with Chad Finchum will be in the field, as well as the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet of B.J. McLeod.

Open entries italicized

Mercedes Formula 1 driver George Russell has joked that the memories of the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix will remain with him until his "deathbed", as he prepares to return to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

The iconic track holds some bitter memories for the British driver due to the events two years prior, when he took a spectacular victory only to be disqualified post-race when his Mercedes machinery was found to be underweight. As a result, his team-mate at the time, seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, inherited the win after crossing the line to finish second on the road.

Reflecting on whether the circuit 'owes' him a victory after that heartbreak, Russell was quick to dismiss the notion, though he admitted the race had left a mark on his mind. 

"No, I don't feel like it owes me anything, to be honest," the 28-year-old said during an appearance on the Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show. 

"Because that race still is a race that I'll remember. And I'll probably remember it more. The day I'm lying on my deathbed, I'll probably remember that race because of what happened," he joked.

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, 1st position, arrives in Parc Ferme

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

"I wasn't in a championship fight that year. Of course, it was a shame not to keep the trophy. But that was a great race. And it's a track that I love. But it's going to be difficult this year, like Shov [Andrew Shovlin] said, with the energy management and a lot of challenges. It's a tough track at the best of times."

Heading into the 10th round of the season at Spa, Russell sits second in the drivers' championship with 154 points. His teenage team-mate Kimi Antonelli leads with 179 points, and Hamilton is third with 147 points. 

The Belgian Grand Prix will take place from 17-19 July.

Team principal Toto Wolff says Mercedes is looking into the top speed issue that held George Russell back in Formula 1 British Grand Prix qualifying.

Russell qualified almost four tenths down on team-mate Kimi Antonelli at Silverstone, losing most of that time on the Hangar Straight as Antonelli was an average of around 6km/h faster. Both Mercedes drivers appeared to use similar energy harvesting techniques through the preceding Maggotts-Becketts section, so the telemetry didn't point to an obvious difference there. The top speed deficit was also apparent in sprint qualifying, albeit to a lesser extent, while in the race the difference was also much smaller, around 3 to 4km/h.

Speaking after the race, Wolff said the team would have to conduct a deeper investigation into the issue as there was no apparent difference on a power unit level.

"He had a straight-line issue all weekend," Wolff explained. "We couldn't see anything on engine power. It must have been down to some kind of mechanical situation, whether it was a tow or something else. But definitely the data confirmed that he was down, but very difficult to identify.

"That was much better [during the race]. We didn't see that anymore. But nevertheless, it's something we need to understand."

Speaking after qualifying on Saturday, Russell said: "This whole weekend we've been struggling with straightline speed, we don't know why. Compared to all the other Mercedes cars losing 6km/h in the last sector, 3km/h in the middle sector, there's a couple tenths over the lap compared to all the other Mercedes cars so I don't really know why that is.

Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images

"The team is working super hard to try and understand. This morning we thought we found the problem because it was there yesterday but it wasn't the issue, so that's not making things easier. If I'm losing 5km/h in the straight, you know you can't fight."

On Sunday night, after Russell managed to recover from an extra pitstop for a slow puncture to finish second behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, the Briton admitted that his own performance also needed to be taken up a notch to challenge championship leader Antonelli.

"The feeling was good, but the lap times were slow. And as I said, there were things outside of my control that contributed a lot towards that, and things in my control," he said, going into next week's Belgian Grand Prix 25 points behind Antonelli.

"I'm still struggling to understand this car. I will probably still leave this weekend, albeit extremely grateful to stand on the podium, I leave less satisfied than probably Canada, when I broke down from the lead.

"If I want to fight for the championship, the performances need to be better. I need to be better. I need to be working better with my team. We need to be maximising everything. We've got a close fight now with Ferrari, so it's not just Kimi and I, Lewis is still very close. It needs to be improved."

One year on: How Red Bull changed post-Christian Horner

Is Red Bull better or worse off one year after Christian Horner's sacking? Our writers have their say

Marc Marquez has ramped up the psychological pressure on his MotoGP title rivals by claiming that his sternest opponent is his own body. 

The factory Ducati rider has battled injuries for years, and still hasn't fully recovered from the consequences of his fall in Indonesia last season. 

But despite the state of his fitness, he is fifth in the world championship, 40 points behind leader Jorge Martin. And given his nine victories at the Sachsenring, he will go into this weekend's German Grand Prix as favourite.

On the eve of the halfway point of the season, which will be followed by MotoGP's summer break, Marquez was asked whom he saw as his biggest rival as several riders try to make a decisive move in the championship.

Rather than respectfully naming names, the wily Marquez hinted they would be powerless to stop him if he achieves full fitness in the second half of the season. 

"My biggest rival - or what I'm more worried about - is my physical condition," said the Catalan. "The rest, I don't care. It's true that they are super fast, but this is my main opponent - to continue growing my level in the next races."

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

Responding to a different question about his strategic approach to a championship fight involving so many riders, Marquez again said the battle was with himself rather than others.

"Of course, if a championship is open, it means that nobody has a clear advantage." he said.

"In my opinion, for example, Marco Bezzecchi has been the fastest one during the first part of the season. But not the best one, because Jorge Martin is leading the championship. 

"So, in the end, you need to approach [things] in a different way when you are fighting against one rider, or when you are fighting against four riders.

"But at the moment, my fight is another one. After the summer break, I will understand where I can arrive [finish the season]."

German GP in Photos - Friday

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Marco Bezzecchi plays down German GP chances: 'I'm in a lot of pain'

Pedro Acosta says Brad Binder deserves 2027 MotoGP seat: “I’d give him my bike”

On this day one year ago, Christian Horner was sacked as Red Bull Formula 1 team principal after 20 years in charge.

Since then Laurent Mekies was installed as the new team boss, the team enjoyed a resurgence in 2025 in which Max Verstappen came two points off taking a fifth world title and the team began its new era with Red Bull Ford Powertrains.

There’s been bumps along the way, from Yuki Tsunoda’s demotion and Isack Hadjar installed in the tricky second seat alongside Verstappen, to losing key personnel to rival squads, to an unhappy Verstappen who is pondering his future both at the team and in F1.

So, is Red Bull better or worse off than where it was 12 months ago? Our writers have their say.

One year on: How Red Bull changed post-Christian Horner

Growing pains under new management should pay off – Jake Boxall-Legge

When there's a change in management at a Formula 1 team, a new team principal often wants to change the way that a team operates. Since Red Bull spent 20 years under Christian Horner's aegis, his style of leadership and his expectation of the team's working practices have been deeply ingrained throughout the Milton Keynes factory's halls for some time. It takes a long time to change those habits.

On Horner's dismissal, later supplanted by Laurent Mekies, it was unsurprising that Mekies wanted to take a different approach. Perhaps an F1 car is the best allegory for this; it might be designed to function in a certain way, based upon a previous driver's feedback to get the best out of their attributes and skillset. Put another driver in it, with a vastly different driving style, and they might struggle to operate at the car's peak.

Over 20 years, Red Bull has been designed to function under a certain brand of leadership; when the team is asked to operate with a different approach, it exposes flaws and redundancies in the system. That's no bad thing, and nor is it a bad thing that some of Red Bull's biggest players have trickled out of the exit door over the past year. A team cannot realistically expect to keep its key staff forever. Red Bull is undergoing a painful metamorphosis, sure, but it's one that needed to happen at some point down the line. Pain now, or pain tomorrow? That's the choice, and Red Bull chose to take the hit in the present.

Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Racing Team Principal

Photo by: Mark Thompson / Getty Images

Red Bull had existed in a largely similar state for years; when that produced a winning car, it was great, but the slide in performance through 2024 and 2025 actually accentuated flaws, those that could be exposed when McLaren - which had been through the same issues itself over the 2010s - finally got the ingredients right at Woking. Winning demonstrates what a team gets right; losing demonstrates what it gets wrong.

And here's the situation: Red Bull's old wind tunnel was no longer fit for purpose, the team relied too much on certain members of staff, and continues to rely on Max Verstappen to overcome the deficiencies in machinery. It's had to wean itself off many of the aspects that covered up its weaknesses.

So, is Red Bull better off without Horner? Long-term, it probably is. Had it kept its former overlord, the team will have continued to function in much the same way as it had over the previous two decades, and perhaps remained comfortable enough to overlook the flaws. In following Mekies' vision, the team has to take a new approach. It might be uncomfortable, and it might come with a drop in performance as the team players adjust to their new environment, but it's all in the name of future-proofing. 

It might not feel like Red Bull is going anywhere at the moment, given that the folk who follow F1 demand instant success. But the F1 teams which lasted have undergone myriad rebuilds, and it's now Red Bull's time to have a turn with the patching trowel.

It's like this: if a bird defecates on your windscreen and you don't care enough to clean it, your brain eventually wires itself to ignore the mark. It takes someone else to point out that there is, indeed, a bird poo on your car...

Red Bull in a more difficult position, but not because of the leadership change – Ronald Vording

Looking at the current situation, the challenges Red Bull face are greater than they were a year ago. Max Verstappen was also unhappy with the car's performance back then, but the team still managed to produce a remarkable turnaround. This year, however, such a recovery appears highly unlikely, something Verstappen himself also acknowledged at Silverstone.

On the chassis side, there is only so much the team can do after the major upgrade packages in Miami and Spielberg, while on the power unit side Red Bull appears to be lacking on the electrical front. Mekies openly admitted on Sunday that Red Bull struggles at energy-starved circuits, meaning that after Silverstone, Spa and Monza could prove equally challenging.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images

There is no short-term solution, as Red Bull currently tops the FIA's internal combustion engine ranking. That means the manufacturer is not eligible for an ADUO token and is therefore unable to modify the hardware of its power unit. Taken together, those factors make it extremely difficult for Red Bull to turn its season around in the way it managed to do last year.

Why there are no quick fixes for all of Max Verstappen’s frustrations at Red Bull

Those issues are not something that can be blamed on Mekies, though. Last year's political turmoil meant something had to change, with Christian Horner ultimately having to step aside if Red Bull wanted to retain the Verstappens. Given that leadership change and the political reality at the time – with Verstappen speaking positively about Mekies – it was logical for him to stay for 2026, even if that decision has made his position on the driver market more complicated.

Mekies arrived with a refreshing approach and was widely praised for implementing his engineering background, resulting in largely positive feedback from within the team during his first months in charge. Life in F1, however, comes with peaks and troughs – even for the most successful team principals in the paddock – and this is probably the first crisis Mekies has had to deal with at Red Bull.

The performance is falling short, quick solutions do not appear to be available, and then there is Verstappen's frustration, which he has not hidden in public. Verstappen has always been straightforward with the media – something the international press appreciates about him – and in Canada and Austria he openly stated that the team had not listened to him. That is notable given that Mekies has repeatedly described Verstappen as "the most important sensor" in the car.

While the disappointing performance in 2026 and the limited opportunities to turn things around quickly should not be held against Mekies, it will be fascinating to see how Red Bull's new leadership handles the current situation. In many respects, this seems the most challenging period the Milton Keynes-based team has faced since the Frenchman took over 12 months ago.

The Max Verstappen factor will decide the narrative – Filip Cleeren

It depends on who you ask, but for all the technically oriented solutions Laurent Mekies has brought to the team, there are also those who will miss Horner's influence. Mekies was credited for bringing a free mindset to the team, an engineering-led approach that found solutions to some of Red Bull's biggest 2025 car problems. It also restored some sense of calm after a turbulent power struggle that split the leadership team in camps.

At the same time, Horner did bring strong leadership to the table, and his free rein to run Milton Keynes as he pleased, which ended up contributing his downfall, also shielded the team from scrutiny from Red Bull Austria. I have yet to be convinced that his replacement Mekies is afforded the same leeway, and that hard-nosed Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff is letting the team get on with things the same way Red Bull did before.

Oliver Mintzlaff, Managing director Red Bull GmbH, Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

A disappointing start to 2026, coinciding with the same old rumours around Max Verstappen's future, certainly isn't easing the pressure on Red Bull's leadership team.

Contract extensions for Russell and Hamilton shed new light on Verstappen-McLaren rumours

There has been a narrative of a brain drain created around the team, with many key names either leaving the team or on their way out. The team has disputed this, boasting its tremendous strength in depth. It is true that Red Bull's F1 team is employing over a thousand people in Milton Keynes, and that the leaders leaving the team like Gianpiero Lambiase and Paul Monaghan are a handful of high-profile names that the media and public happen to know about while their undoubtedly talented replacements, if coming from within, are not.

But even if the team is right in saying it has the strength in depth, and that it keeps receiving plenty of high-calibre CVs of talent wanting to work for the squad, perhaps there is at least a perception issue there. Pulling off a few coups on the transfer market would help with that.

Red Bull's biggest plus has been the performance of its first in-house power unit, at least the internal combustion engine, which has been deemed the most powerful of the field. That has had significant implications with the ADUO upgrade scheme, which Red Bull now appears to be frozen out of. Has the FIA made a mistake there? Or has Red Bull been found out by not playing the political game well enough compared to the likes of Mercedes and especially Ferrari? If you ask around in the F1 paddock, both opinions are available. If the latter is true, it would be a harsh lesson to learn for Horner's successor.

It's worth keeping in mind that turning around a huge enterprise like a frontline F1 team takes time. Fred Vasseur took charge of Ferrari at the start of 2023 and it took until 2025 for him to get some key signings in, and for this season for those changes to truly take effect. Mekies will similarly need time to make Red Bull Racing his own.

At the end of the day, what was true for Horner is also true for Mekies. How the team is dealing with the Max Verstappen factor, and handle his possible departure, will change the narrative around their leadership.

Right now, it's neither – Oleg Karpov 

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images

Even if we think back to where Red Bull was a full calendar year ago, there isn't a huge difference. The resurgence came in the second half of last season, when Red Bull finally gave Max Verstappen the tools to take the fight to the McLaren drivers in the championship battle, but the middle part of the year wasn't particularly strong either.

This season has been far more challenging, and Red Bull will need a miracle to remain in title contention. As things stand, Verstappen's team is not in the fight. But is that enough to declare the organisation to be in crisis? Not necessarily.

With the major regulation changes, it was inevitable that the pecking order would be shaken up. Coincidence or not, the two teams that had the biggest reasons to continue developing their 2025 cars late into last season are the ones that have fallen behind. It's not only Red Bull that is struggling this year, but McLaren too. You could argue that the papaya team has slipped back partly because of its customer status. But Red Bull has also had to build an entirely new power unit programme from scratch, and has done a lot better than almost anyone expected.

During his appearance in the Silverstone paddock, Christian Horner was keen to point out how proud he is of the work done by Red Bull Powertrains, which he played a key role in establishing, and there is no reason he shouldn't be. But to suggest that his departure is already being felt would be premature.

This is still largely the same organisation, with the same processes and systems in place. Like any well-built organisation, it can continue to function without being overly dependent on any one individual. The real test of Red Bull's strength in depth will come over the next few years, not now.

The departures of senior figures, including Horner, will require others to make the necessary adjustments to the team's systems and tools as they adapt to F1's ever-changing environment. This year's slump was always a possibility given the circumstances Red Bull found itself in - fighting for the drivers' title until the end of last season while simultaneously building a powertrain division from scratch. With or without Horner, it was always going to be a challenge.

Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Racing Team Principal

Photo by: Clive Mason / Getty Images

Laurent Mekies' job now is to ensure Red Bull continues adapting in the right direction, especially as it enters a completely new era as an engine manufacturer. But the real judgement on his leadership will only come in 2027 and beyond.

Power struggle still remains, maybe Horner wasn't the issue? – Ewan Gale 

When the bombshell news dropped that Christian Horner was being axed by Red Bull, there was plenty of intrigue as to which direction the squad would travel.

The change at least paid dividends at the end of the season with Laurent Mekies coming in as team principal and his engineering-focused leadership helping transform fortunes, working in tandem with Max Verstappen to lead an end-of-season title charge.

But there have been challenges at the start of the new campaign in amongst other high-profile departures and, while concerns over a power struggle were a contributing factor to Horner's demise, there is little sign that those have disappeared.

While a barren spell on the track can be expected throughout a team's life cycle in F1 - look at Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren - the constant niggling behind the scenes cannot be attributed to a successful entity.

Verstappen's future is the subject of constant speculation: will he leave F1, will he move to McLaren, or Mercedes, or anywhere else? The speculation has, in the past at least, been driven by his personal team and with this seemingly continuing with Mekies at the helm, maybe Horner wasn't the problem?

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Manuel Eletto / Getty Images

One major positive since Horner departed has been the fact Isack Hadjar has been able to play on a somewhat level playing field with Verstappen, giving Red Bull two competitive cars rather than the one. The Frenchman has dispelled the curse of the second seat that had overhung since Pierre Gasly replaced Daniel Ricciardo in 2019, one that didn't seem likely to be exorcised with Horner at the helm.

But has anything really changed in Milton Keynes? You'd have to say, not really.

Too early to say, but initial signs aren’t positive – Haydn Cobb

Yes, I am getting splinters sitting on the fence. Sometimes an entire year is enough for a transformational change to occur at an F1 team. Example in the positive: Alpine. Example in the negative: Aston Martin.

But taking the nuanced and detailed approach, there are thousands of factors that all play a role in how Red Bull looks one year on from Horner’s departure. The new engine programme, one of Horner’s lasting legacies at the team, has arguably been too successful as it positioned itself at the top of the performance charts and got snookered by its rivals in the ADUO scales. But it is also fair to say the overall power unit package cannot be described as the top of the class, even if the measurements taken from its V6 push out more power than the rest.

Beyond that political hot potato, the engine project has had an encouraging start to life – especially when you compare it to the other brand new programmes at Audi and Honda – and the fine tuning over these early stages will aim to aid the driveability and shift issues Max Verstappen so regularly complains about.

The team is still a frontrunning operation and while it has slipped to fourth in the pecking order, compared to second which it held at the time of Horner’s exit, it is in touch with McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari and has the potential to fight back.

However, there’s a feeling the powers of recovery Red Bull had last year, which almost saw Verstappen clinch a fifth world title, are not there this year under the new regulations. A misbehaving flipping rear wing has put the team in the spotlight, while Verstappen hasn’t held back at his unhappiness at the team and disagreements over race weekend decisions.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images

Verstappen has become the all-encompassing focal point of the team (not that he wasn’t before) but with Horner, Adrian Newey et al gone it is even more all about the four-time champion. But whether he has the patience to hang around for a recovery, or even has tolerance to continue in F1 at all, is largely what will decide Red Bull’s short- to medium-term future.

Horner’s axing was aimed at calming relationships internally, but it hasn’t stopped the bleed of high-profile personnel being headhunted by rival teams. In the last 12 months it has been announced that head of race engineering Gianpiero Lambiase is off to McLaren and chief engineer Paul Monaghan is set to join Cadillac. And Red Bull waved goodbye to Helmut Marko over the winter – but that was out of choice rather than enforced.

So, the signs aren’t looking good this year versus last year, while if the team was to also lose Verstappen it’d be the end of an era as a title-fighting operation. But if the team can convince Verstappen to stay and show signs of recovery once again, then perhaps things are better off than 12 months ago.

Maverick Vinales has revealed he signed a new MotoGP deal with KTM, only to be told that the contract was "not valid" by the Austrian manufacturer.

The end of Vinales' MotoGP career appears to be approaching, with the Spaniard stating on Thursday at Sachsenring that he feels "outside this world" in reference to MotoGP.

The 2027 grid is almost complete, with only Tech3 - Vinales's current team - yet to finalise its line-up for next year. 

Already at Assen last fortnight, Vinales admitted that "not having been called up for the Brno test makes it clear that I'm not going to continue with KTM," a prediction that he fully confirmed this Thursday by admitting that conversations with the team are now non-existent.

"Not anymore. I'm not going to talk to them. I think last week were the final terms. So after that, obviously I don't talk anymore," he said.

Regarding his future plans, he ruled out staying in MotoGP, where there are effectively no vacant seats.

"I don't know. I think on the bike I did everything I could," he said. "Obviously, there may be good opportunities or there may not. I don't know. I'm not even looking for them, in other categories.

Maverick Vinales, Red Bull KTM Tech3

Photo by: KTM Images

"Maybe I want to race and enjoy racing. But at this moment, I'm not looking for anything. I'm looking for an amazing holiday."

Pressed further on the subject, he added: "After Montmelo, because of what was published, I knew Fabio Di Giannantonio was going to take my place.

"So I asked KTM about it and then, when I arrived at Mugello [31 May], they sent me a contract. They sent it to my email. And I signed it.

"Okay, the truth is that it wasn't good at all [the contract]. But in any case, I wanted to race. I really believe in KTM's engineers. That's why, even though it was against my own interests, I signed it.

"And two weeks later, they told me it wasn't valid. What can you expect after that.

"I don't want to stay here. They didn't take it seriously. That's why I feel outside the world of motorcycling.

"The problem is that, for me, it's difficult to put all motorcycles in the same circle. Because I love racing, I love motocross. I'd love, maybe in the future, to take part in other races.

"The last time I was watching Jack Miller at the Suzuka 8 Hours, I thought it looked like great fun. So yes, I'd like to do something different. But right now, for the moment, I feel outside this world. So I don't think I'll continue."

Marco Bezzecchi plays down German GP chances: 'I'm in a lot of pain'

How technical issues have cost Francesco Bagnaia 40 points in 2026 MotoGP title fight

On 9 July 2025, the news of Christian Horner's shock ousting as Red Bull Racing's F1 boss sent shockwaves through the paddock.

Bringing an end to a 20-year period which yielded two dominant, title winning dynasties, Horner was removed following a protracted political battle within Red Bull, with a wide array of dominoes all contributing to a sensational end result.

In came Laurent Mekies, a well-regarded figure formerly heading up sister team Racing Bulls, as Red Bull Austria opted to run a tighter ship, rather than letting one figure amass total control over Milton Keynes.

How Christian Horner's Red Bull sacking will shake the team and the whole F1 paddock

Evolution, not revolution

When Mekies got his feet under the desk, his first point of order was to get the lay of the land rather than push through drastic changes. A clean break suggests Red Bull needed to start from scratch, but that obviously wasn't the case. The large majority of the people who made Red Bull successful in 2022 were still there, and it would also sell Horner's own monumental contributions short.

It also took Mekies time to understand what made a team of over 1000 staff tick, and where he could make subtle improvements to get the best out of them. "I still look at these guys as most people outside of the team look at them," Mekies said in his first public announcement since taking over the role. "We look at you guys and we see the very best people in the world at what they do. The focus will really be on making sure that all the talented people here have what they need to perform at their best, because they are already the very best."

That didn't mean Mekies didn't make any changes, especially trackside. Despite refusing to take credit, Mekies did bring a more engineering oriented approach, and asked his engineers the right questions. "I do like how Laurent is working, very motivated, constantly asking the right questions to me, but also to the team. I think it's nice to see," Verstappen said after a few weekends of working under the Frenchman.

Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Racing Team Principal

Photo by: Clive Mason / Getty Images

Mekies was at least partially credited with Red Bull finding some solutions to its handling problems with the 2025 car, which enabled Verstappen to turn up the heat on McLaren until the bitter end. It was a promising start to the post-Horner era.

But at that stage Red Bull's biggest challenges still lay ahead, in the form of the double whammy of 2026's radical regulations overhaul and the squad building its in-house power units for the very first time, the brainchild of Horner.

Playing the political game as Red Bull becomes a manufacturer

To Horner's credit, Red Bull Ford Powertrains, under former Mercedes man Ben Hodgkinson, has defied expectations with a potent V6 engine, while there is still a lot of work to be done on the electric side and on the RB22's start procedure.

But it now also appears that Red Bull might be a victim of that early success, with it set to be frozen out of engine upgrades as its engine was determined to be the most powerful of the grid. Red Bull has disputed this and asked the FIA to commission a thorough review, but Motorsport.com understands that review has only confirmed the governing body's initial findings and has been a frustrating experience.

Does Red Bull have the right to feel aggrieved or has it been outmanoeuvred by the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes? Time will tell. But Horner was and still is a master politician and communicator, and amid the controversy over the 2026 rules and the ADUO upgrade scheme, one wonders if the former boss would have had a different approach.

Fixing Red Bull's second seat syndrome

If one good thing had come out of 2026 for Red Bull, it's that its second seat syndrome appears to be cured. Following a range of drivers who struggled to make the seat alongside Verstappen their own, Red Bull's former junior driver Isack Hadjar has broken that spell with an impressive start to life at Red Bull Racing, confirming the instant performance he displayed at the satellite team in his 2025 rookie campaign. Hadjar took third on the grid at his first time of asking in Melbourne, and climbed the podium in Monaco even if that was later handed back to Alpine's Pierre Gasly.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

Hadjar being able to deliver is more likely the by-product of the all-new regulations than anything the team could have deliberately done, as well as a credit to the young Frenchman's mental fortitude under the spotlights of the big team.

Groundhog day as Max Verstappen rumours flare up and staff turnover continues

The good thing is that Hadjar isn't significantly struggling more for confidence and car balance than Verstappen. The bad news is that both drivers are going through it. And that has triggered inevitable speculation over the team's prized asset.

It wouldn't be an F1 season without rumours linking Verstappen to rival team, or indeed an early F1 retirement over how much the Dutchman is disillusioned with the current rulebook. What the future holds is something only the four-time world champion knows, despite what attention seekers on the internet may profess to know.

But the job ahead for Mekies is the same one as it was for Horner, and that's ensuring all circumstances are right for Verstappen to see out his contract and for all those rumours to come to nothing.

Having back-to-back rear wing failures won't help inspire confidence, and the team is now going through another crunch to find meaningful solutions to its shortcomings, whether operationally or in terms of pure performance.

This comes against the backdrop of more key Red Bull staffers either having left or heading to the exit door shortly. Since Horner's ousting a year ago, the team also parked long-time Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, while Verstappen's long-time ally and race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase has signed a deal to head to McLaren by 2028 and Paul Monaghan looks set to leave for Cadillac.

Gianpiero Lambiase, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Kym Illman / Getty Images

Is Red Bull's brain drain real or there is too much attention on some of its departures, simply because of their media profile? Perhaps the truth is somewhere in the middle.

The name of the game hasn't changed for Mekies though. The only thing that truly matters is building the fastest car. And if not this year, then putting all the people and tools in place to ensure that you can next year.

If Mekies can reassure Verstappen that that's the case, and the Dutchman isn't too fed up with F1 as a whole to do something else with his life, then everything else will fall into place.

In case it still needed to be said, what matters to the Verstappens is the same thing that matters to every other driver. It's all about winning. That was the case under Horner, and it still is 12 months on.

Why Red Bull and Max Verstappen struggled at Silverstone – and expect the same at Spa

Francesco Bagnaia believes technical gremlins have cost him more than 40 points in MotoGP this season, taking some of the momentum out of what has otherwise been an impressive comeback from his 2025 nadir.

The factory Ducati rider suffered another painful retirement at the last round in Assen, pulling into the pits from fourth place with a suspected braking issue. 

Curiously, Bagnaia declined to reveal the exact cause of his retirement when he spoke to the media ahead of this weekend's German Grand Prix at Sachsenring. 

“I cannot say anything. The bike just... I needed to go back to the box, to the garage,” was all he would say about his sudden exit from the Dutch GP. 

However, he acknowledged that a series of reliability and technical issues has had a significant impact on his title challenge: “Considering what happened in the front, yes. If I just consider the points lost between Jerez, Le Mans and Assen, there are more than 40 points.”

Bagnaia sits eighth in the championship heading into this weekend’s German GP, having rediscovered much of his pace with what he has previously described as a new development direction for the Ducati.

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

Between Catalan and Czech Grands Prix, he scored four Sunday podiums in a row, while also claiming a crucial sprint win at Brno.

While the loss of points has been significant, he is confident that he will have an opportunity to recover lost ground: “If I consider 40 points [lost], I'm 63 [points behind], [which is] not bad. It could have been better, but it's what it is.

“I already understand in many situations in my career that points are points and you can regain what you lost. It's what it is.”

Where Bagnaia's 40-point estimate comes from 

While not quite at the same level as some of his Ducati stablemates, including his team-mate Marc Marquez, Bagnaia has performed consistently well in recent rounds, a stark contrast to the mixed form that blighted his 2025 campaign.

However, a string of non-scores has left him 63 points behind championship leader Jorge Martin and 47 points adrift of Ducati’s top performer Fabio di Giannantonio.

At the Spanish GP, he was running in ninth place when he retired just after the halfway point due to what was described as a brake problem.

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

However, he suffered an even bigger disappointment two weeks later when he crashed out of second place at the French GP. While Bagnaia admitted that he was overambitious, he also pointed to an unspecified technical issue that dented his confidence and contributed to his fall.

His most puzzling retirement came at Assen, where Bagnaia slowed down suddenly while running in fourth place. Whether it was related to the brake issue that affected him at Jerez and Le Mans remains unclear, with Bagnaia refusing to elaborate on the cause. 

It is impossible to know where Bagnaia would ultimately have finished in each of those races. But if his running position at the time of retirement is taken as the final result, the points lost add up to exactly 40, supporting the estimate he cited ahead of this weekend's German GP race. 

Apart from three rounds, Bagnaia also crashed out of the Brazilian GP in April while running inside the top 10, although that retirement was unrelated to the technical issues he referenced.

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