🏁 Andretti & Alpine Make Moves

🥇Max Verstappen [331]: Speaking of birthdays, Max turned 27 on Monday - which also marked the 862nd day leading the WDC since he took over the top spot in Barcelona on May 22nd, 2022. The all time record is held by Michael Schumacher at 896 days - which Max will almost undoubtedly break.

🥈Lando Norris [279]: Auctioning off his pole position tire award from Singapore to support Sir Jackie Stewart’s charity that funds breakthrough dementia research.

🥉Charles Leclerc [245]: Ferrari’s improvement has him dreaming of a title fight, saying he believed it’s possible in the near future. "Every season that we go into, we always think about and target the title…That's what Ferrari should target.”

4️⃣ Oscar Piastri [237]: How’s this for a flawless season: In every race so far, he’s scored points, made Q3, and completed every lap. And now we have a record of the jinx incoming fro Austin in two weeks. Sorry Oscar.

5️⃣ Carlos Sainz [190]: Getting one last win as a Ferrari driver is his #1 goal before moving to Williams for 2025. “I think we also need to show progress at the other kinds of circuits like Brazil, Austin, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, which are more normal circuits…If we show progress there I think we might have a chance.”

6️⃣ Lewis Hamilton [174]: On his winless streak of nearly 1,000 days before taking P1 in his home race this year: “It’s a battle of the mind…Ultimately, it always comes back to persistence and dedication. Hard work. It always does eventually pay off.”

7️⃣ George Russell [155]: Christian Horner, ever the ruffler of Toto’s feathers, threw George’s name out on a list of potential Red Bull targets in the future. “Look, we’re not afraid to go out of the pool. George Russell is out of contract at the end of next year. It would be foolish not to take that into consideration.”

8️⃣ Sergio Perez [144]: Responded to the rumor that he’d be announcing retirement at the Mexico GP with a classic Leo “I’m not f****** leaving!” Wolf of Wall Street clip. Well played by Checo here. Though a cheeky internet fellow did quip that in that particular scene, Jordan Belfort is basically sealing the fate of himself and his company. 😁

9️⃣ Fernando Alonso [62]: On waiting for Newey to make an impact: “I don’t have time.” He’s looking for the team to take steps forward sooner, pointing to potential catalysts like the new wind tunnel that will be ready in a few months time.

🔟Nico Hulkenberg 📈 [24]: Komatsu points to his tire management learnings from the start of pre-season testing as a contributor to his success this season. “Yes, the car is better, so it's easier to manage. But from his side as well, I think his understanding is much better.”

11. Lance Stroll 📉 [24]: Guenther Steiner on a recent podcast appearance said about Stroll: “You never speak good or bad about him, he’s just non-existent…He was never young, he will never be old. He will just be there. He’s above the rules.” Philosopher Steiner over here.

12. Yuki Tsunoda [22]: Continued his recent string of bad luck when his power unit caught fire during a demo of the RB8 in Taiwan.

13. Alex Albon [12]: Ran a demo of the FW45 at the Gulf Speed Festival in Sao Paulo. “In terms of doing donuts and burnouts and all this kind of stuff, weirdly or not, we don't actually practice it that much! So it takes a little bit of learning to get used to it.”

14. Daniel Ricciardo [12]: F1 feature: How he left his mark on the sport both on and off the track

15. Pierre Gasly [8]: Comments surfaced this week about what he witnessed from Jos Verstappen while racing against Max in the karting days: “After a race in Spain, I won that race and Max finished second behind me, I come back and his dad lost his s***, yelling in Dutch, then insulting him in English words I won't repeat on camera, but they weren't nice. He grabbed Max’s helmet, took it and threw it at him saying ‘No, get out! Go back to the tent! You can't even win one of your races!’ So the pressure was obvious. It was intense pressure, race after race." Can’t say that’s healthy way to encourage your son, but also can’t argue with the results. Max is the exception though. That kinda thing usually ends poorly.

16. Ollie Bearman [7]: Did his performance along with Colapinto’s sway the Red Bull driver shuffle? Christian Horner: “The young guys, they get in, they’re hungry, and they just drive the wheels off it.”

17. Kevin Magnussen [6]: A shot from Singapore that shows a unique perspective.

18. Esteban Ocon [5]: From his post on the Daniel Ricciardo news: “It’s been a pleasure DR! You’re a top guy and I learned a lot from you during our time together. You made your mark on the sport and should be very proud of your achievements. I know you’ll lick the stamp and send it and find success in whatever you do next!” They were teammates at Renault in 2020.

19. Franco Colapinto [4]: Rumor is talks are advancing with Sauber, with Williams working to help get a deal done.

20. Zhou Guanyu [0]: On his love of fashion: “From the age of 13 or 14 I was able to have my own kind of taste and decide what I want to wear. [My mom] let me do it because she could see that I wasn’t doing something stupid or crazy.” Please check out this picture. He just needs his cat in there.

21. Logan Sargeant [0]: We’ll miss you on home soil in two weeks, cowboy.

22. Valtteri Bottas [0]: Thinks he’s driving better now than during his five year stint at Mercedes. Saw another rumor that his signing with Sauber is imminent. So idk about Colapinto next year..

23: Liam Lawson [0]: Set to receive a 10 place grid penalty in the Austin Sprint race for taking a new power unit. How’s that for a welcome to F1?

🥇McLaren [516]: Bad news for rivals: They’ve still got some upgrades in the pipeline. But TP Stella has been tight lipped about when we’ll see them.

🥈Red Bull [475]: The team wants to keep Daniel Ricciardo in an “ambassadorial capacity”, and Christian Horner has even left the door open for a return: “One never really knows, if Liam doesn’t get the job done, if Checo doesn’t get the job done, we know what Daniel’s capability is.” Don’t tease us like that!

🥉Ferrari [441]: Announced the signing of former McLaren Aero Design Engineer Miles Ratcliffe.

4️⃣ Mercedes [329]: Kimi Antonelli says he’s ready to face the pressure of F1 - but doesn’t want to be viewed as “Hamilton’s replacement”, adding “He’s such a great figure in the sport of today, and he has achieved so much in his career…I’m just the next driver for Mercedes in ’25, so I’m really excited for that.” Impossible shoes to fill. Sounds like he’s got a level head on his shoulders though at such a young age.

5️⃣ Aston Martin [86]: How long until Newey’s influence to leads to results on track? If history is any indication, his designs usually deliver impressive results.

6️⃣ VCARB [34]: It also came out this week that Helmut Marko wanted Ricciardo out after Spain. Very likely that Christian Horner was the one who fought to keep him there. This explains the words “not without a fight” found on his helmet during the Barcelona weekend.

7️⃣ Haas [31]: With the team outperforming this season, Gene Haas is investing more $$$. TP Komatsu: “But the good thing is Gene, he always said he will invest as long as we can show as a team we can maximize what we got. This is exactly what we've done.”

8️⃣ Williams [16]: TP Volwles appeared on the Beyond the Grid podcast and talked about how he thinks the team is on the right track with “the best driver lineup on the grid” next year in Sainz and Albon. 2025 McLaren and Ferrari would like a word…

9️⃣ Alpine [13]: 50 years of Renault building power units will come to and end as they become a customer team in 2026. Renault, a popular car manufacturer in France, rebranded their F1 team to Alpine in 2021 to promote their sports car brand.

🔟Kick Sauber [0]: Average pit stop time in the past 5 races: Sauber? 2.85. Red Bull? 2.9s. Gotta take the small victories.

• Mexican Tire Test: FP2 will be extended by 30 minutes at the upcoming Mexico GP to test 2025 soft compounds.

• Red Bull Gives Themselves Wings: Set to bring a new flexible front wing (now joining McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari) along with a revised floor to Austin.

• Carbon Based Car Form: Wanna know how carbon fiber is used on an F1 car in only 90 seconds? Check it out here. Always loved the carbon fiber look dating back to customizing my own car on Need For Speed Underground back in the day. Classic.

• Franco Bump: Argentina is reportedly exploring the possibility of hosting it’s first Grand Prix since 1998 fresh off the boost of hometown interest thanks to Franco Colapinto’s F1 debut.

• Where’s the Credit? F1 president Mohammed Ben Sulayem doesn’t think the FIA gets enough credit for what they do, saying “We will never get the credit. Impossible. We'll only get rubbish. That I know…When you look at it, everybody made money out of the FIA, everyone except the FIA. Everyone gets the credit, except the FIA.” Kinda comes with the territory. The rule enforcer is always the bad guy (See: Roger Goodell of the NFL). Do you expect people to be like: “Yea ya know I think the IRS does a great job, they’ve spent my tax dollars quite efficiently. Heck, they should take more!”

• Sorry Rookies: The planned rookie sprint race in Abu Dhabi has been postponed until 2025 due to “timing and organizational constraints.” Funny enough, that’s the same excuse I use when I forget clean the dishes sitting in the sink.

• High Fashion: Luxury brand LVMH is now officially a global partner for F1, starting a 10 year deal in 2025.

Quick Quiz (Answer)

2012. It was Lewis Hamilton’s last win at McLaren, before moving to Mercedes the following year.