🏁 The New(ey) Deal

🥇Max Verstappen [303]: Christian Horner praises Max’s effort to correct “monster” (in a bad way) of a car in the RB20 as he works with engineers to fix problems. “He was in early this morning, he was on zoom calls last week, he’ll be in the simulator next week, he’s working hard at this.”

🥈Lando Norris [241]: Has “changed a lot” since entering F1. “I'm happy to disappoint people and give my own opinion, whether it's right or wrong sometimes.”

🥉Charles Leclerc [217]: Praised TP Vasseur for bringing “balance” to the Force team upon his arrival in Maranello. “Passion also means emotion, and sometimes when it goes very bad, it can affect more the people inside the team than in any other teams. He's very emotionally flat and that is a really good thing for a team like Ferrari.”

4️⃣ Oscar Piastri [197]: One writer’s opinion on why he’s already showing signs of being an F1 great. Ok that’s a bit strong, but he’s been very impressive in only 1.5 years in the sport.

5️⃣ Carlos Sainz [184]: TP Vasseur says he has “huge respect” for the “mega professional” and says he’s open to working with him again if the opportunity arises. Carlos himself has said he’s open to returning to the Scuderia one day, and with Hamilton having 9 years on Carlos, who knows?

6️⃣ Lewis Hamilton [164]: Took in the U.S. Open this past week, sitting between two people who summarize the 7 (8?) time champ succinctly: U.S. Olympic 100M gold medalist Noah Lyles (fast) and notable designer-person Anna Wintour (fashion). Hamilton: Fast + Fashion.

7️⃣ Sergio Perez [143]: “I’m towards the end of my career.” Says Red Bull “has given me everything, and I want to give everything back to them as well. Before that, hopefully we are able to win a few more championships.”

8️⃣ George Russell [128]: Toto Wolff mentioned in hindsight they kept George at Williams too long, saying Kimi Antonelli’s mistakes will be more magnified since he’s joining the Varsity squad straight away. Russell added: “When I look back to when I was 18 years old, there’s obviously so much to learn…But I think, as a driver, you have the speed or you don’t have the speed, and I’m very confident Kimi has the speed.”

9️⃣ Fernando Alonso [50]: “I'm not super happy with the season from myself - but I'm much more happy than what the people think about the season of Fernando.” Love a third person reference. Just wait until Newey arrives. Look for 2026 to be the real “Season of Fernando.”

🔟Lance Stroll [24]: On the Newey signing: “I think it’s really the most exciting day in this team’s history…2026 is not far away, a completely new set of regulations, a lot of opportunity, and we’re really constructing an incredible team with so many talented that are already here.” Is that… excitement in Lance’s voice?

11. Nico Hulkenberg [22]: Hitched a ride to Azerbaijan with Max and Lando on Max’s private jet. Wonder what they talked about? Does Hulk get perturbed when he can’t join in on the title fight conversation? High class problems I suppose.

12. Yuki Tsunoda [22]: Other midfield team’s have reached out to him prior to this season, and Helmut Marko admits that it will become increasingly difficult to keep him in coming years.

13. Daniel Ricciardo[12]: Set to executive produce a new scripted half hour series for Hulu, “Downforce”. Think Entourage on an F1 paddock. The series will “follow the heiress to a racing dynasty after she is thrust back into the family business. The series will chart the difficult choices she has to make about the future of the F1 team and her family’s legacy.” Sounds a lot like Claire Williams.

14. Pierre Gasly [8]: A big fan of Baku: “I love this track, it is truly incredible…given the high level of risk that characterizes the track…finding the right balance between caution and risk can bring great benefits. The track gives me a huge adrenaline rush, especially because in many places you are always very close to the wall, especially in the very narrow castle section.

15. Ollie Bearman [6]: While subbing for K-Mag this weekend, he’ll become the first driver to drive for 2 different teams in the same season since George Russell in 2020. George was with Williams that year and subbed for Hamilton at Merc when he was out with Covid - and nearly won in Bahrain.

16. Kevin Magnussen [6]: All the penalties he collected over the past calendar year to earn a race ban this weekend. He’ll be back to 0 penalty points next weekend with likely 7 races left in his F1 career. Watch out for full viking mode.

17. Alex Albon 📈 [6]: On Newey, whom he worked with at Red Bull in 2019 and 2020: “Super, super nice guy. Very humble considering how successful he is. Very open-minded, which I think is what makes him so good.”

18. Esteban Ocon 📉 [5]: On the circuit this weekend: “The circuit is always a favorite with drivers…The relentless second sector bottleneck through the old city requires absolute concentration as even the smallest mistake can cost you, before heading into the long start/finish straight, where multiple cars can drive alongside each other.”

19. Zhou Guanyu [0]: On his tough season so far: “Of course I have some regrets, you always feel like you do.”

20. Logan Sargeant [0]: Some think Prema Racing will announce him as a driver in one of their series soon.

21. Franco Colapinto 📈 [0]: The new drivers’ backers are reportedly paying Williams $4.5M for the seat, or $500K per race.

22. Valtteri Bottas 📉 [0]: Doing Bottas things: Crossed the Mediterranean Sea in 22 hrs on a half bike half boat contraption, raising money for the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation. More like Boatas, amirite? This guy’s an animal.

Constructor’s Corner

🥇Red Bull [446]: Christian Horner: “We were the fourth fastest car today [in Monza] and that’s the reality. He acknowledged that both championships are being threatened right now, and added “nobody likes the situation we’re in at the moment, nobody’s happy with it and we’ve got to work really hard to turn it around. But the one thing this team has is strength and depth in talent, and we’ll come back.” I do get the feeling they are going to fix some problems and win races again this year.. which is why McLaren needs to take advantage and stack points while they’re ahead.

🥈McLaren [438]: The team has some upgrades nearly ready to go (including a new floor), but is using extra caution before bringing them to track. They’re weary after seeing failed upgrades from other teams this year, and want to be sure any developments are mature before implementing them. The ‘ol don’t fix it if it ain’t broke. They’ll be forced to react if any of the top teams get closer, but makes sense to play it safe for now when their car is on top.

🥉Ferrari [407]: The next rounds of upgrades including a new front wing are slated for Austin and Qatar. Nothing will be changed for Baku after all available updates were pushed up to Monza.

4️⃣ Mercedes [292]: Toto has no ill will towards Hamilton after his Ferrari move: “It was also for the good of him to change. This was the longest run between a driver and a team. It was 12 years overall. And maybe he needed to, in a way, change and reinvent himself.”

5️⃣ Aston Martin [74]: New tools for Newey to use: They’ve completed construction on their new wind tunnel, and will take the next 2-3 months to ensure the floor is striking the car model according to expectations.

6️⃣ VCARB [34]: Looking to join the new floor party in Austin, and will be taking pieces of body work, the gearbox, and rear suspension from the RB20 by the time we race in Las Vegas.

7️⃣ Haas [28]: TP Komatsu says Bearman’s preparations for a full F1 season are “already quite advanced,” and isn’t concerned with two brand new drivers effecting continuity of car development: “We value both Nico and Kevin’s feedback on this year’s car, which will translate into next year’s car.”

8️⃣ Alpine [13]: Executive Technical Director David Sanchez says the team hoping to set themselves up to be competitive “especially from 2026 onwards.” Added: “We’re building quite a lot of rigs, a new simulator, and all this again to make sure as a team we have all the resource to materialize all the ideas of the engineers around.”

9️⃣ Williams [6]: TP Vowles says signing Sainz was “one step out of a thousand.” When told that Alex Albon said the team could fight for wins by 2027 he replied “Crikey, I didn’t realize he said that.” Though, he did say that 2028 is the year he would more confidently give to compete for wins. Love a good crikey drop. RIP Steve. Someone remind me of this Williams win target 3.5 years from now. Thanks in advance.

🔟Kick Sauber [0]: The Race details Audi’s biggest problem areas - and what Binotto has in store as he takes over the team lead. One potential big question mark - how will their power unit stack up against the competition?

• Exercising Caution: Ferrari is seeking more evidence to confirm that new floor has fixed bouncing issues despite Monza win, and Mercedes says it remains unsure if the new floor of their own has improved the W15’s balance issues.

• Staying Put: After Red Bull’s high profile departures in Newey and Wheatly, Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is staying with the team - even after reportedly being courted by courted by both Ferrari and McLaren.

• Tech Weekly: An inside look at Williams’ aero upgrade, with a second installment coming next week in Singapore. According to Alex Albon: “The first part is about load and the second part is about balance.” The first enhancement brought a new floor redesigned around the front of the sidepod and radiator inlet. The next update will likely revolve around the front and rear wings.

• Fender Bender: Charles Leclerc love tapped a car ahead of him in regular traffic in Monaco during the off week. Cue professional driver jokes. He just must not be used to going that slow. “It was just an inchident.”

• Bendin’ the Fender: Watch this shred master recreate V10 engine sounds on his guitar.

• Ultimate F1 Fan Cave: The dude with the greatest F1 watching set up in history is back with another video, and somehow he’s added more to his racing basement haven and my word it’s even better than before. I gotta find this guy and befriend him immediately.

Quick Question (My Answer)

They’ll be strong in 2026. While the new regs are said to favor engines more than aero, I wouldn’t be surprised if they build the top car. I say Fernando wins on the table… and even Lance podiums.