🏁 Are We There Yet?

🥇Max Verstappen [331]: Sounds like staying with Red Bull could be his move amid the recent silly rumors: "At the moment, anything is possible. It’s very easy to change teams, but I don’t want my career to be marked by that. I don’t want to be part of four or five different teams. I want to feel at home. Changing teams is not my thing and is not something I am concerned with at this stage of my career."

🥈Lando Norris [279]: On being in the title hunt, with the added pressure weighing on him: “It’s definitely helped me become a better driver and a more complete driver.”

🥉Charles Leclerc [245]: Says having Hamilton as his teammate next year will “be amazing for me”, adding “That will be both extremely interesting for me to learn from one of the best ever, as well as a really big challenge and motivation to beat Lewis and to show what I'm capable of.”

4️⃣ Oscar Piastri [237]: Former Alpine TP Otmar Szafnauer claims that the infamous contract dispute with the McLaren driver wasn’t his fault, since HR was in charge and they didn’t report to him. “I had absolutely nothing to do with not signing Oscar Piastri correctly. So in November, the Piastri contract was meant to be signed. It was never signed… they didn’t submit the SRB documents correctly and never signed a contract. Bit of a goof, huh?

5️⃣ Carlos Sainz [190]: Carlos Sainz Sr. on his son’s decision to move to Williams: “It wasn’t an easy decision, nor a clear one. There were three or four options and in the end he is the one who has to decide his future and we support him as much as possible. And that’s what we’ve done. Williams is a project that is going up, at the end of this year it has started to go better and we have to hope, and we trust in it, that next year it will continue on an upward trend.”

6️⃣ Lewis Hamilton [174]: Named a co-chair of this year’s Met Gala with the theme: “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” Gotta admit I have no idea what to wear to that. That’s why I’m not going.

7️⃣ George Russell [155]: Just George Things: Found himself wearing a matching outfit with his partner Carmen. He claims it was an accident since they’re both Tommy Hilfiger ambassadors… but we know better George. We know.

8️⃣ Sergio Perez [144]: Latest rumor is that it’s a head-to-head battle of Tsunoda vs. Lawson to see who will become Max’s teammate in 2025.

9️⃣ Fernando Alonso [62]: His theory on the lack of safety cars since Spain: "So if you drive at 90%, sometimes you are faster because you don't put the platform in an inconvenient angle or ride heights. You are not pushing the limits, and it's where everything falls apart. So sometimes driving at 90% is fast.” It’s like the adage that not trying as hard is actually better, in other athletics, or at work… you’re more relaxed, and less likely to make mistakes, just letting flow take over.

🔟Nico Hulkenberg 📈 [24]: If you need to brush up on your Gen Z slang, check out his garage tour that features phrases that are confusing and scary.

11. Lance Stroll 📉 [24]: Claire Williams rues not trying to enter a deal with Papa Stroll, which could have prevented the team’s sale in 2020. I think it’s fitting that the Lance section is sometimes just about his dad, right?

12. Yuki Tsunoda [22]: Ranked #11 on People Magazine’s Top 15 Sexiest F1 Drivers. Now that’s a sentence I never though I would type. Legit could not get through it without laughing. But good for Yuki. I support the choice. Also there’s only 20 drivers so.. imagine you’re one who was left off the list?

13. Alex Albon [12]: Welcomes the challenge of competing against new teammate Carlos Sainz next season: "Carlos is very highly regarded. I welcome it. I feel like it's great to have that competition and I enjoy that. For me, I feel like it's a great thing to have and we'll be able to learn from each other." Albon hasn’t really been pushed by a teammate yet.. looking forward to seeing this battle next year.

14. Daniel Ricciardo [12]: How he became the DTS darling by embracing the series. DTS EP Gay-Rees: “He’s very relaxed with himself, he doesn’t overthink it, he’s charismatic, and he’s a very genial human being, so I don’t think he found it particularly problematic being filmed.”

15. Pierre Gasly [8]: On spending a short amount of time with Adrian Newey when he briefly drove for Red Bull: “He's got a very unique way of approaching racing, approaching design. I walk in the factory and see him in front of his board drawing all sort of stuff which I could not even tell what what was really going on there."

16. Ollie Bearman [7]: Komatsu has been impressed with his “maturity” and “ability to see the bigger picture.”

17. Kevin Magnussen [6]: Planning a food tour of Denmark anytime soon? K-Mag has you covered, ranking the best Danish foods. You won’t believe what he said about Honsekodssuppe!

18. Esteban Ocon [5]: Says recovering P8 will be tough to wrestle back from Williams who has jumped them in the standings. “Even if it’s been difficult, I’m not giving up.”

19. Franco Colapinto [4]: Some may have been surprised by his strong F1 start, but he wasn’t: “I know what I can do, and I was expecting to be quick.”

20. Zhou Guanyu [0]: Check out the fashion guru’s custom beats headphones adorned with the Shanghai skyline, his driver logo, and Chinese porcelain designs.

21. Logan Sargeant [0]: Will still get a test, but IndyCar seats are also in short supply.

22. Valtteri Bottas [0]: Just Bottas Things: Competed in the UCI World Gravel Championships last weekend. Said he likes that YOU do the propelling on a bike. Not like the leisurely activity of driving an F1 car.

23: Liam Lawson [0]: Set for his mid-season take over, here are 5 mid-season driver swaps that worked and 5 that did not. One that did work? Max Verstappen replacing Daniil Kvyat at Red Bull in 2016. Wouldn’t be the last time Max would replace Daniil…

🥇McLaren [516]: If Lando and Oscar can continue to deliver, they’ll capture the first Constructors’ title for the team since 1998, when Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard were papaya’s people.

🥈Red Bull [475]: With the team forced to put more time into the RB20 to correct current issues, their development on the 2025 car has naturally been delayed as they figure out the best path forward. I think (and hope) 2025 can match the excitement we’ve seen so far in 2024.

🥉Ferrari [441]: Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya says that Ferrari must listen to Lewis next year to ensure success: “They really need to listen to what Lewis needs and build a car around him…I think we’ll see the Lewis of old. He’s going to be out with a revenge to prove everybody wrong…I think if everything lines up, I think Lewis can be a huge threat for a championship."

4️⃣ Mercedes [329]: Toto Wolff says the team didn’t properly assess the risk factor in giving Kimi Antonelli his F1 practice debut in Monza this season: “I think we weren't completely right in assessing the pressures that he could find himself under..it's a different ball game if you're an Italian driver, you're 18 years old in Monza and it's your first opportunity…probably it would have been wise to give him an FP1 that would have been in a totally different time zone than Italy. But he will learn a lot from that.”

5️⃣ Aston Martin [86]: TP Mike Krack says F1 is no longer just about piling on the downforce, as McLaren has demonstrated. “Here it is more about getting the stability, getting the balance and the load, obviously, as well.”

6️⃣ VCARB [34]: Former Driver Daniel Ricciardo’s clothing brand Enchante will be having a pop-up shop next weekend in Austin.

7️⃣ Haas [31]: Toyota returns to the grid for the first time since 2009, signing a technical partnership deal with the American-owned team. Toyota Gazoo Racing “will provide design, technical and manufacturing services to Haas, while Haas will offer technical expertise and commercial benefits in return.”

8️⃣ Williams [16]: Check out the FW14-B Mini, a 75% scale electric replica of Nigel Mansell’s 1992 WDC winning car. The original was designed by Adrian Newey and is regarded as one of the most advanced F1 cars ever due to it’s traction control, semi-automatic gearbox, and active suspension - which was banned the next year.

9️⃣ Alpine [13]: CEO Luca de Meo on how finances played a role on the recently announced engine switch for 2026: “We [fans] support a driver, a color, a brand – not an engine. Alpine, given our position is losing bonuses. Sponsors are rare. We have a hole in the air. My shareholders know how to count. Alpine has to make money.” TLDR: C.R.E.A.M. (if you’re not big on acronyms, TLDR: Too Long, Didn’t Read. C.R.E.A.M.: Cash Rules Everything Around Me. Popularized by the 1993 Wu Tang Clan song of the same name.

🔟Kick Sauber [0]: Mattia Binotto says the team’s 2026 power unit will be weaker than its rivals. That’s a tough look if you’re already saying that.. Could be awhile before they get that elusive point..

• 3 Upgrades that Worked: Tech Weekly from Hughes and Piola call out 1. McLaren’s Miami upgrade that saw a new front wing, bodywork, suspension, brake ducts, and more propelled Lando to his first win 2. Mercedes in Monaco which included floor and front wing changes, and 3. Ferrari in Imola which featured new sidepods, rear lower body work, and other aero gains.

• 3 Upgrades that Didn’t Work: On the flip side, the techies name the flops as 1. Ferrari in Spain, where the attempted floor upgrade set them back months, 2. Red Bull in Hungary where their high downforce package failed to make the car better, and 3. Mercedes floor update in Spa that was removed before the race - resulting in a 1-2 finish with the old floor before Russell’s DQ. The ‘ol reverse upgrade by bringing an upgrade then not using it then winning the race. I wonder how many times that’s happened..

• Confirmed COTA Upgrades: Bringing reinforcements next weekend will be Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, Haas, Alpine, VCARB, and Sauber. McLaren has some in the pipeline, but the timing is not yet confirmed. Which of the first two tech talk categories will these fall into? Will be absolutely critical to get right for the top teams in the final six race push to the finish - the ‘ships could be swung with a good or bad upgrade.

• Max Verstappen, Attorney at Law: The WDC leader got his catch phrase “simply lovely” trademarked after Zandvoort, where his closest competitor Lando cheekily dropped his phrase over the radio after his win.

• Presidential Fan: Kamala Harris appeared on Howard Stern this week, and is apparently an F1 fan. Favorite driver? “Lewis Hamilton, of course.” PSA: PLP is proud to be a bipartisan publication, so here’s a Trump F1 tidbit - He was present in the McLaren garage for this year’s Miami GP - and told Lando he was the driver’s “lucky charm” after his maiden F1 win.

• Weekly Best Helmet Award: This week’s best helmet award, which is given out every week, and is definitely never missed, goes to K-Mag for his rustic-U.S.A.-Haas-American-ownership inspired design 🔽 

Quick Question (My Answer)

You really can’t go wrong, it’s all delicious. I usually go brisket and ribs. And sometimes pork belly. And definitely wings. Also I absolutely LOVE CORNBREAD. I had some Texas BBQ myself this week and the sausage was absolute FIRE. And now I’m hungry.