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Originally posted by Georgeair:
I said during the race "Watch, Max is going to figure out a way to win the WDC." Little did I know this was coming....

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Originally posted by P250UA5:
The track limits on T10 entry was a new thread. Usually it's track limits on exit.

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Isack Hadjar will step up to Red Bull in 2026 to partner Max Verstappen, with Arvid Lindblad making his Formula 1 debut with Racing Bulls alongside Liam Lawson, the energy drinks firm's two teams have announced.

Red Bull and Racing Bulls were the only squads to have free seats for 2026, though Hadjar has long been expected to replace Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull alongside four-time World Champion Verstappen after a stellar rookie season.

Hadjar has scored points in 10 Grands Prix this season, including a superb maiden podium finish at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Red Bull junior Lindblad emerged as a candidate for promotion to Formula 1 with Racing Bulls after delivering some strong races in feeder series F2 and impressing when driving a Red Bull in Free Practice 1 outings at Silverstone and in Mexico.

That left Tsunoda and Lawson to fight for the remaining seat at Racing Bulls, with the latter coming out on top to secure a second full campaign with the team – Lawson having replaced Daniel Ricciardo at the squad midway through 2024.

While Tsunoda loses his seat on the grid, he will remain part of the family as a reserve driver for both Red Bull and Racing Bulls in 2026.

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Zak Brown slams McLaren’s Qatar GP strategy disaster: "We gave his win away"

Alex Harrington
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McLaren CEO Zak Brown says the team “clearly made a huge mistake” by leaving Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris out under the Lap 7 safety car in Qatar

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has admitted the team "clearly made a huge mistake" with its strategy at the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix, admitting that better results for both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were thrown away by the decision not to pit under the early safety car.

Piastri started from pole with his team-mate alongside him on the front row. While Red Bull's Max Verstappen was able to dispatch the Briton by Turn 1, Piastri was safely controlling the race for the first seven laps.

But contact between Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Alpine's Pierre Gasly resulted in a safety car - something that McLaren failed to utilise. The team left its drivers out as all but one other driver pitted, including the reigning champion. This left both drivers out of sync on strategy, and as the race unfolded, Verstappen was able to take the win with Piastri finishing second and Norris finishing fourth.

Speaking to Sky Germany after the race, Brown didn't sugarcoat his thoughts.

“We clearly made a huge mistake. I think Oscar was absolutely impeccable all weekend. We gave his win away. I think it's the reality. There's no other way to look at it. And we gave Lando's podium away. Very frustrating,” he said.

“We clearly made the wrong call. Nothing we can do about it now other than learn from it. This is two weekends in a row with some big learnings. But we need to come back in Abu Dhabi and fight hard.

"We're leading the championship. Gave away some points for Oscar. So we need to not make these mistakes. It's obviously all a bit raw at the moment.”

Asked by Formula 1 champion Nico Rosberg if the decision was influenced by the decision to be fair between their driver pairing, the Californian insisted that this wasn't the case.

“No, it was right on the line, lap 7. So I think we played it wrong. It bit us. Pretty painful to sit there and watch. But you win together, you lose together. We just come back strong in Abu Dhabi.”

He added, “No, there was no miscommunication. It was an evaluation issue. We'll obviously go back and look at it in more depth. But no, it wasn't a communication issue. That was a decision we'd made.”

While the CEO was seen hugging Piastri following the race, he's yet to carry out a debrief with his team.

“I want to go see the drivers and give them a big hug and a big apology. Not that that will make him feel better. It's not going to make me feel better. But we'll come back strong next weekend.”

With Verstappen taking his seventh win of the 2025 season this Sunday, Brown was quick to praise the driver. “He drove a great race. Obviously, Red Bull made the right decision. But we kind of handed that one to him. Not that he didn't do a great job," he said before turning the praise to his own driver.

“I think Oscar was so dialed in all weekend. He just seemed to be on another level. He did have a little bit of damage there when he went off halfway through the race. But I think that really didn't make a difference in the result.”

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Adding up all the F1 title permutations ahead of Abu Dhabi
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For the first time in 15 years, Formula 1 has a title decider that features more than two drivers, as Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri will fight for the championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

While Norris had a chance to wrap up his first title in Qatar, his fourth place coupled with Verstappen’s victory and Piastri finishing second has left the trio covered by just 16 points, with 25 on offer at Yas Marina Circuit.

Norris remains the clear favorite for the championship as he currently holds a 12-point advantage over Verstappen, and that means he can guarantee the title is his with a podium finish, regardless of what his other two opponents manage to achieve. Beyond that simple equation, it’s most straightforward to focus on what his rivals have to do to have a chance of stopping him.

For Verstappen, a top-three finish is imperative. Fourth is not enough for him to become champion because even if he ties with Norris (fourth place pays 12 points) he would lose out on countback based on second-place finishes.

So for Verstappen to become champion, he needs:

* If Verstappen wins the race, Norris no higher than fourth
* If Verstappen finishes second, Norris no higher than eighth, Piastri not winning
* If Verstappen finishes third, Norris no higher than ninth, Piastri not winning

For Piastri, the task is even taller, and he must finish in the top two to have an opportunity of becoming champion, given his 16-point deficit to Norris.

For Piastri to win the title, he needs:

* If Piastri wins the race, Norris no higher than sixth
* If Piastri finishes second, Norris no higher than tenth, Verstappen no higher than fourth
* Piastri will automatically be eliminated if Norris finishes in the top five, but Norris could finish fifth or fourth to beat Piastri and still lose out to Verstappen if the Dutchman wins the race.

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Originally posted by ChuckFinley:
I meant scripted by Pirelli/FIA.

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Originally posted by 220-9er:
Not sure about that engine story since Honda’s going to Aston and RB to Ford next year.

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Originally posted by DanH:
Verstappen on pole with Norris 2nd. Normally, I'd say Max is the champion, but all Norris needs to do is stay on the podium and he's the champion. I think Oscar is cooked.