🏁 Giddy Up

🥇Max Verstappen [331]: Hoping that the worst is behind them after taking “good step” with recent upgrades. He noted the effects of trying to correlate on track performance with wind tunnel data: “All teams have had their own problems, including teams with modern wind tunnels. I think it is just extremely difficult to fine-tune things perfectly or to get exactly the right data out of it. That can be down to a lot of things in the wind tunnel itself or how it correlates with the track.”

🥈Lando Norris [279]: Helmut Marko this week said the driver has “mental weaknesses” that will cost him the Championship. Harsh! Helmut needs a PR guy to translate what he’s saying. It’s no secret Lando’s made some mistakes, but there’s gotta be a better way to say this..

🥉Charles Leclerc [245]: Driver coach Jock Clear thinks he’s shed his “unfair” reputation of weak race performance vs qualifying, and thinks that he will deliver a WDC if given the right car. Sharl also turned 27 this week. HBD, young Monegasque.  

4️⃣ Oscar Piastri [237]: Max with high praise for the Aussie: “He’s definitely not a [number two driver] and if I was him I would never accept it.” Max played 4D chess here by boosting Oscar’s ego so he’s less likely to help Lando in the remaining races? Big if true.

5️⃣ Carlos Sainz [190]: Hulkenberg says his decline of the 2025 Audi seat was “not surprising” considering how long he took to make the decision to join Williams.

6️⃣ Lewis Hamilton [174]: His 2025 TP Vassuer had this to say about him: “The main difference between Lewis and the majority of the grid - is that he is organized like a company. In his mind, in his approach, he knows what he wants to do, when he wants to do it.” That’s a great way to put it. He carries himself that way. Very brand and image conscious. Greatness shows up everywhere when you’re on that level, I suppose.

7️⃣ George Russell [155]: Says Antonelli will “keep me on my toes” next year. “I think you’ve either got the speed or you don’t have the speed, and Kimi absolutely has the speed. He’s proven that in all of his categories.”

8️⃣ Sergio Perez [144]: Eager to get going at one of his favorite races of the season: “It’s a special race for me, everyone jokes I have so many home races, but Austin always feels like one for me and the support is really nice. I have been training hard back home in Mexico.”

9️⃣ Fernando Alonso [62]: Reveals that he contacted Newey himself during negotiations, texting him: “If you ever think you would like a new challenge, I would love to work with you one day.”

🔟Nico Hulkenberg 📈 [24]: Like his teammate last week, watch him rank his favorite home country foods. He basically put everything in the top tier. Even Schweinshaxe!

11. Lance Stroll 📉 [24]: Former driver Juan Pablo Montoya says Aston needs to chase another top driver to place alongside Alonso - and that Newey alone isn’t enough.

12. Yuki Tsunoda [22]: Asked if he thinks he deserves a shot on varsity squad: ““I don’t know about previous years, but this year, yeah.”

13. Alex Albon [12]: Making his 100th race start this weekend. “I think when you pass the milestone, or when I do, there'll be a little bit of reflection on my ups and downs in my Formula 1 career so far. But, at the same time, you don't win a trophy for it!”

14. Daniel Ricciardo [12]: Posted some BTS (behind the scenes, not the K-pop group) pictures of his last race in Singapore. This will be the first ever US GP in Austin without our hero. 😢 

15. Pierre Gasly [8]: Will receive upgrades this weekend ahead of Ocon - who got first dibs in China.

16. Ollie Bearman [7]: Veteran F1 engineer Jock Clear on part of the reason why rookies are thriving in F1: “You think, how on earth is it possible that Bearman can get in a car that he virtually hasn’t driven, qualify P11 and race to P7 in his very first event, having never tested that car? I think the simulators now are very good and that is a natural progression of the technology.”

17. Kevin Magnussen [6]: On the team’s home race: “It’s a massive event for us, and we’re really keen to do well. COTA is a great track, and with it being a medium-downforce circuit, it should suit us. I’ve had some good battles here in the past, and I’m hoping to score points for the home crowd.”

18. Esteban Ocon [5]: The 2025 Haas racer is excited about the Toyota partnership: “The ability to tap into the resources and knowledge base available at TGR, while benefiting from their technical and manufacturing processes, will be instrumental in our own development.”

19. Franco Colapinto [4]: Doesn’t want people to spend too much on the new Williams merch. "You buy that and then spend 2 months eating rice". Look at this guy looking out for the fans!

20. Zhou Guanyu [0]: Hanging out with a tennis legend during the break. Hint: Their couple name could be Zhokovic.

21. Logan Sargeant [0]: James Vowles says he “can be a champion in many other series adding “I think where Logan was, he gave me everything that he had, but it wasn’t at the right level or the right value for what we needed – as simple as that.”

22. Valtteri Bottas [0]: More Bottas things: Vacationing in Baja California. Of course a vacation for him is putting a ton of miles in on the bike.

23: Liam Lawson [0]: Admits there will be “mountains to climb” with his return to F1 this weekend. “Austin I haven’t done before, either, so even though I’ve done plenty of sim work it’s going to be a big challenge. I would say I’m better prepared, definitely more prepared this year than I was last year.”

🥇McLaren [516]: Have been able to avoid development missteps unlike their closest rivals this season. Their cautious approach (such as not running a new floor in Zandvoort since they were clearly fast enough already to get the W) has left them with many potential upgrades still up their sleeve.

🥈Red Bull [475]: Christian Horner says Red Bull can’t afford to have a large disparity between their drivers in 2025: “When you look at our opponents, Ferrari will be strong next year, with Hamilton and Leclerc. Plus McLaren with Norris and Piastri. We need to make sure that with both of our drivers, that there's not a big gap between them, because you can't afford to have that."

🥉Ferrari [441]: The 5 GP winning Ferrari 248 F1 driven by Michael Schumacher in his last season at Ferrari in 2006 is set for auction, with an expected price $15M. Who wants to split it with me?

4️⃣ Mercedes [329]: Set to bring a “substantial” update this weekend, including a new floor. Technical Director James Allison: “[In the break] we'll be trying to figure out how to mitigate what ailed us [in Singapore], how to figure out how to make the tires run better on these sort of overheating circuits and we'll be also doing quite a lot of work to bring our last upgrade of the season together.”

5️⃣ Aston Martin [86]: Nico Rosberg warns the team from becoming the PSG of F1. PSG (Paris Saint-Germain) is a football (soccer) club in (you guessed it) France that has become known for signing the best players in the world (Messi, Neymar, Mbappe) but never winning the Champions League. “Adrian Newey on his own is not going to be able to make that car a world-championship-winning car. He needs the rest of the team. He can give them a good direction, he can give very good guidance, but he still needs the team to excel with him.”

6️⃣ VCARB [34]: Red Bull’s upgrade struggles are trickling down, and the lack of a better car is making it more difficult for Yuki and Liam to prove themselves worthy of a seat at the top team. They are still leading the midfield though.. so could be worse.

7️⃣ Haas [31]: Fresh off the Toyota partnership, announce another deal with insurer Orion180. Not as exciting as the Toyota deal, but gotta get that $$$ ya know. Along with their new sponsorship branding, they’ll bring an updated floor and bodywork this weekend.

8️⃣ Williams [16]: Vowles on being out of the Newey sweepstakes: “It had nothing to do with the money, although there was a bidding war in the end that we didn’t want to participate in.” First rule of life: If they says it ain’t about the money… it’s about the money.

9️⃣ Alpine [13]: Oliver Oakes on the call he received from Toto Wolff upon be named the new Team Principal: “He said ‘it’s good to have some young blood [among] us dinosaurs!’ I was laughing away, it was nice of him to be so welcoming. People at home don’t often get to see that part of F1 – how close people are, how so many people have come up through the ranks together in different ways. I think it’s quite cool.” Read the dinosaur quote in Toto’s voice. Makes it better, right?

🔟Kick Sauber [0]: Mick Schumacher is still a contender for the 2025 seat. Mattia Binotto: “I know his strengths and weaknesses. He is one of the names we have in mind.”

• Ride Height Rigmarole: Red Bull has confirmed to be using a ride height adjustment work around (a cockpit setting vs a manual parts adjustment) under parc ferme conditions, which triggered a response from the FIA and an agreement from the team to make changes.

  • From @dr_obbs on X on the implications: “Ground clearance from the bib under heavy fuel is a bounding point for ride height setup. If this is now variable, you can setup the ride height if the car optimally for low fuel without the front grounding penalty under heavy fuel. And ride height is a HUGE performance multiplier for these ground effect cars. The change impact could be quite disruptive.”

• Gimme a Brake: 2026 regulations will allow for teams to use four pads per brake caliper vs the current two. Expectations are for a 20% increase in braking demand on the front axle with a 60% reduction on the rear axle under the new regs - and the caliper addition will aid with lower pad consumptions and help cope with higher top speeds.

• 25 Races Too Much? FIA Pres MBS says that adding another race would too much for the FIA at the moment - but is open to it in the future if he can staff up: “Can the drivers take it physically and mentally? This is a question I will ask the drivers. And what about the teams? As for the FIA, we cannot do it with this one team. We have to have a rotation of two teams, when it comes to the staff on the ground.”

• No More Fastest Lap: Announcement dropped this week that a point for the fastest lap would no longer be rewarded starting in 2025. To this I say: Booooooooo. Fastest lap added something to the race. More points should be given out, not less!

• Villa Steiner: Guenther Steiner has opened his on Bed & Breakfast in Merano, Italy where all the rooms are named after F1 circuits. The former Haas boss: “So yes, if you go on vacation there, you must go there. Put it in your story that if people go that way, they should go to Guenther’s f****** B&B.” Do you want to see Guenther in a little chef’s hat and apron cursing while overcooking eggs and burning his hand while simultaneously cursing out the guest who won’t stop complaining about the drafty windows in the Suzuka room? Then Villa Steiner is for you!

• Fit Check: Who’s livery do you like best for this weekend? 🔽 McLaren doppelganger Alpine with an XBOX and Indiana Jones video game collab, McLaren’s shiny chrome, or American owned Haas’ eagle head?

Quick Quiz (Answer)

Hamilton and Perez. Bottas debuted in 2013, K-Mag in 2014, and Alonso didn’t race in 2019 and 2020.