Essere Ferrari II

[foggy locust]

Leclerc coming back at Verstappen though, Leclerc retakes P3, what a move by Charles Leclerc!

Ocon trying to overtake Hülkenberg, and Hülkenberg sends him flying into the gravel!!!

CAR 27 (HÜLKENBERG)

Not shocked that Hülkenberg got a penalty for that. That felt needless.

Verstappen overtakes Leclerc, but Leclerc pulls the ol' Switcheroo to retake P3! This is fantastic to watch! Verstappen however getting some speed out of the next corner and grabs third back!!

(LEC) "Rears starting to drop off badly here."

(BOZ) "Yeah, understood."

(LEC) "Losing pace on Max here."

Hülkenberg is at it again!! An overtakes on Albon goes badly wrong and he wipes both into the gravel!

CAR 27 (HÜLKENBERG)

It gets worse for Albon as he locks up and he's off!

Ten seconds now for Hülkenberg. Wild.

Verstappen within striking distance of Piastri here, and this feels like it could be huge for the Drivers' Championship!

Two laps to go!

Into Eau Rouge and Verstappen's getting the better run-off and he's up to Second! Big, big damage limitation from Verstappen now!

LAST LAP

Verstappen within 2.7 of Hamilton. And it's a long lap here.

Hamilton laps Gasly, after a fashion, and is heading into the Bus Stop Chicane, he rounds the final corner, it's his fifth victory of the Season and one that completely blows the Championship fight wide open once more, LEWIS HAMILTON WINS THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX!!!

Max Verstappen home in P2, Oscar Piastri P3, Charles Leclerc just P4, and it is game on!!!

(ADA) "You've made it Lewis, P1, amazing job! Well done!

(HAM) "Wooo! Let's goooo! Get in there! Thank you guys, thank you so much. Let's keep pushing for this Championship!"

(ADA) "Amazing job, Lewis."

(BOZ) "And that's P4 Charles, P4. Tough one, but thanks for the effort. Good job out there."

(LEC) "I did a s*** job, but thank you. Tough one. Not our day, today. We'll learn from this, we'll do better."

(BOZ) "So Lewis P1, Max P2. Oscar P3. Then you. We're still top of the Championship."

(LEC) "Yeah, long way to go. Thanks guys."

Norris P5, Bottas P6, Tsunoda P7, Alonso P8, Ricciardo P9, Russell P10

2025 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATION

1. Lewis Hamilton 01.18.55
2. Max Verstappen +2.300
3. Oscar Piastri +2.014
4. Charles Leclerc +4.947
5. Lando Norris +9.020
6. Valtteri Bottas +10.738
7. Yuku Tsunoda +1.593
8. Fernando Alonso +5.745s
9. Daniel Ricciardo +8.902
10. George Russell +4.793
11. Carlos Sainz +2.619
12. Zhou Guanyu +17.655
13. Lance Stroll +13.930
14. Stoffel Vandoorne +0.152
15. Esteban Ocon +9.219
16. Alexander Albon +7.064
17. Kevin Magnussen +1.779
18. Nico Hülkenberg +5.499 10s
19. Pierre Gasly +1 lap
20. Théo Pourchaire +1 lap

DRIVER OF THE DAY: LEWIS HAMILTON, Ferrari

A superb drive from Lewis to bring home his fifth victory of the season, and take the Championship difference down to just six points. You duly noted his fantastic performance, and Lewis Hamilton is a deserving Driver of the Day!

FASTEST LAP AWARD:
Max Verstappen, Red Bull 1.43.104

DHL FASTEST PITSTOP AWARD:
Lando Norris, McLaren 2.143s

2025 FIA FORMULA 1 DRIVERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Leclerc 289
Hamilton 283
Verstappen 254
Alonso 153
Norris 142
Piastri 130
Bottas 104
Russell 50
Tsunoda 40
Sainz 27
Albon 26
Ricciardo 23
Vandoorne 10
Stroll 3
Hülkenberg 2
Zhou 0
Ocon 0
Pourchaire 0
Magnussen 0
Gasly 0

2025 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP

Ferrari 572
Red Bull-Honda RBPT 407
McLaren-Mercedes 272
Aston Martin-Honda RBPT 114
Mercedes 77
Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT 63
Williams-Mercedes 29
Haas-Ferrari 2
Alpine-Renault 0
Audi Sauber-Mercedes 0

[foggy locust]

FERNANDO ALONSO ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM FORMULA 1 - BUT NOT MOTORSPORTS

Fernando Alonso has announced that this will be his final year in Formula 1, however it may not be his motor racing swansong.

At the post Belgian Grand Prix press conference, Alonso announced that he will step aside from Formula 1 at the end of the season.

Alonso said, "It's the right time. I have very much enjoyed my career here in Formula 1, I've achieved everything that I wanted to, and driven for most of the best teams in the sport. I've got the opportunity to leave the sport on top, driving a fast, high quality car, and that opportunity doesn't come around often. This is the right time."

However, Alonso refused to admit an outright retirement, saying, "I do have one or two other goals in motorsport to achieve over the next year or so."

It's expected that Alonso may well make an appearance in next year's Indianapolis 500, as well as the Le Mans 24 hour race.

[foggy locust]

RED BULL DOWN TO TWO CANDIDATES TO REPLACE ALONSO

Red Bull Racing are reportedly down to two candidates to replace the outgoing Fernando Alonso at the team next year.

Formula E Champion and former Red Bull junior Liam Lawson, and Mercedes' George Russell are reportedly the two in consideration.

Russell's position at Mercedes has become somewhat untenable, due to a rift with teammate Carlos Sainz and feeling the team is not going in the right direction.

Meanwhile Lawson was tipped for a Racing Bulls seat last year, but after the seats were given to Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda, Lawson decided to take on Formula E instead this past year.

And Lawson has been incredibly successful in Formula E, with a dominant Championship season.

Reportedly Helmut Marko wants George Russell in the seat, while team Principal Christian Horner is pushing for either Lawson or one of the Red Bull juniors.

It's believed that Gabriel Bortoleto, Pato O'Ward and Ayumu Iwasa in particular were considered, however Lawson or Russell are considered the two standout candidates.

[foggy locust]

ALEXANDER ALBON TO JOIN MERCEDES FOR 2026

In huge 2026 grid news, Alexander Albon has signed for Mercedes-AMG Petronas for the 2026 season.

With the situation between Carlos Sainz and George Russell becoming untenable, Russell has made the decision to leave the team.

And with Alex Albon's 2025 form being a pleasant surprise, he has earned an opportunity further up the grid.

Albon joins on a one-year deal, reportedly worth $6,456,000 for the season, a bump up from his current $2m.

[foggy locust]

RED BULL RACING ANNOUNCE LIAM LAWSON FOR 2026

In somewhat shocking news, Red Bull Racing have announced the signing of Liam Lawson for the 2026 season.

Most expected George Russell to get the seat for next year, however, Red Bull have instead opted for their former junior, the current Formula E Champion.

Lawson will return to F1 having made appearances for Red Bull's soon to be former junior team, Racing Bulls, who become Andretti at the end of the year.

Lawson signs a one-year deal and will partner former World Champion Max Verstappen for the 2026 season.

NISSAN BECOME FIRST TEAM TO SELECT BRIDGESTONE FOR 2026

Nissan Renault are the first team to announce their tyre supplier for 2026, and the French-Japanese team have selected the Japanese supplier.

Bridgestone will make a comeback to the grid to share tyre duties with Pirelli, bringing on Formula 1's first tyre war since 2006.

And Nissan, the newly minted Renault works team, taking over the brand from Alpine for next year, are the first team to make their choice, opting for their compatriot's tyres.

2026 LINEUP:

Ferrari
Charles Leclerc (1) (2026)
Lewis Hamilton (44) (2026)

Red Bull-Ford RBPT
Max Verstappen (33) (2028)
Liam Lawson (30) (2026)

McLaren-TBD
Lando Norris (4) (2026)
Oscar Piastri (81) (2026)

Aston Martin-Honda
Valtteri Bottas (77) (2028)
Stoffel Vandoorne (52) (2026)

Mercedes
Carlos Sainz (55) (2028)
Alexander Albon (23) (2026)

Williams-TBD
???
Lance Stroll (18) (2028)

Haas-TBD
Nico Hülkenberg (27) (2026)
Zhou Guanyu (24) (2028)

Nissan-Renault
Esteban Ocon (31) (2028)
Kevin Magnussen (20) (2027)

Audi Sauber
Théo Pourchaire (98) (2028)
Pierre Gasly (10) (2028))

Andretti-TBD
Yuki Tsunoda (22) (2028)
Daniel Ricciardo (3) (2027)

[tired thorn]

COME ON LEWIS

loving this

[hallow oar]

Yeah let's goooooo

[humble totem]

Russell?

[foggy locust]

Thanks for the kind words

[foggy locust]

👀

[humble totem]

Back to Williams?

[foggy locust]

Nothing announced yet, but that's rumours for now 👀

[humble totem]

That's unfair
Sainz should be sent to Williams 😂

[foggy locust]

Hahaha sadly I have no editor and I have to work within the confides of the game 🤣 (well to an extent haha)

Otherwise he would've been

Although the 2026 market excites me - both Ferrari, both McLaren, one Red Bull, Aston Martin, Mercedes and Haas seat available

Williams TBD

[humble totem]

That's nice after yesterday theatrics I can't wait to see his back
Off topic I finally got Kimi to pair Charles, the only penalty is I won't have cash to upgrade facilities but got enough cash for R&D because I signed Riccardo to smile as my affiliate

😁

[foggy locust]

Hahaha nice!

[humble totem]

What's bearman ratings currently for you bro?

[foggy locust]

Currently he's 78

[humble totem]

He is 79 in my save
Second season imola
I locked him on a 4yr affiliate programme

Does he have a drive in yours?

[foggy locust]

He's my afflilate still

Contracted until end of 2026

I'm trying to build him up to get him a drive in 2026, although I'm considering my options for my seat post Hamilton

He's in contention

THE THREE WAY CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT ENTERS THE RUN-IN

With just ten races to go, a fascinating three way fight for the World Drivers' Championship has taken focus, with the current Champion defending against two of the best to ever do it.

Charles Leclerc, the defending World Champion, sits on 289 points. His teammate, seven time World Champion and arguably the best to ever do it, is on 283. And Max Verstappen, the three time Champion, is on 254.

With Hamilton aiming for his record eight Championship, Verstappen going for his fourth title, and Leclerc hoping to go back to back for title number two, a fascinating run-in awaits us.

Red Bull's top speed means it may well be favoured at tracks like Monza and Las Vegas, while Ferrari's better overall cornering should see it have the advantage at the likes of Austin and Qatar.

There's more Red Bull favoured tracks left, which means Verstappen is still very much in the fight, however with the points advantage that Leclerc and Hamilton have, a Ferrari driver remains the favourite to be Champion.

This could really go any one of the three ways, and all three would deserve to be Champion. And it's likely to go all the way to Abu Dhabi.

[foggy locust]

2025 DUTCH GRAND PRIX
WEEKEND PREVIEW

We are back after the summer break, and head into the final ten races of the season in the midst of a three way World Championship battle. It's Zandvoort, Round 15 of the 2025 Formula 1 Season, and it's a home game for Max Verstappen.

Last time around though, at Spa, Lewis Hamilton took his fifth victory of the season to close the gap to Charles Leclerc in the Drivers Championship to just six points, with Verstappen just 35 behind. Verstappen was second, with Leclerc just fourth, the Champion losing ground to both title challengers.

Circuit Zandvoort is a 4.259km track in the dunes north of the muncipality of Zandvoort, about 35km - 22 miles - west of Amsterdam. Opened in 1948, and first raced in 1950, the circuit had a long absence from Formula 1 between 1985 and its return in 2021. 72 laps of this 14 turn circuit await us, and we are most likely getting heavy rain on Sunday, which will shake the race up considerably. High and Medium Speed Corners are the focus, with two DRS zones, including an incredibly long one starring at turn 13 and ending at the first corner. However, due to the rain, DRS will likely not be in play.

And with just six points between their two drivers and a comfortable lead in the Constructors, Ferrari bring upgrades to this race in the form of a new rear wing and new chassis. Apparent wind tunnel delays stopped the progress of these before Spa, so they are instead introduced now. This is a track that generally suits the cornering of Ferrari, and with DRS most likely not a factor, Hamilton and Leclerc should be considered favourites, but it could be either one of them in this title fight.

Do not count out Max Verstappen though who will have the huge backing of his home fanbase. Verstappen will have an advantage both with the fans’ support, and the rain, arguably Formula 1's premier driver in the wet, and this is a result Verstappen badly needs in the Championship fight. Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso has announced his intention to step away from F1 at the end of the year, and with the shock announcement of Liam Lawson coming in to replace him for next year, Alonso will want that 33rd victory.

McLaren have recently been buoyed by the uptick in performance by Oscar Piastri, who's been one of F1's best drivers, especially outside the top three of Leclerc, Hamilton and Verstappen, and took another podium at Spa. However, he has four podiums to Norris’ one, which happened at Bahrain, and Lando has been struggling for form in the midfield. Piastri is just 12 points behind Norris in the Drivers’ Championship - could the Papaya civil war be arriving?

Mercedes shocked the paddock when they announced the signing of Alex Albon for 2026, meaning that George Russell will be leaving the team at the end of the season. Albon has more than earned his opportunity higher up the grid after some great form for Williams, but Russell's F1 future is in serious doubt, and with difficulties with teammate Carlos Sainz reaching a breaking point, what does that mean for Mercedes’ chances for the rest of this year?

Speaking of Williams, decision time is looming for them and their available seat, after the announcement of Albon joining Mercedes for 2026, and who will join Lance Stroll at the team for next year. Williams were tipped with bringing a rookie to the grid - Ayuwu Iwasa, Isack Hadjar and Kush Maini were tipped as options, as well as the possibility of promoting Zane Maloney. However, the curveball of Red Bull selecting Liam Lawson, and not George Russell as expected, has opened this up to Williams - do they go back for their old driver?

Aston Martin gained on Mercedes at Spa and the same as RB, increasing their advantage for fourth over the Silver Arrows to 37 points, and staying at 51 over RB. The problem remains the same for them - Valtteri Bottas is delivering, Stoffel Vandoorne is not, having suffered a miserable home Grand Prix, and the team is struggling in car development over the course of the season. With the Newey project in full swing for next season, can they hold onto fourth this year and challenge at the front in 2026?

As the Racing Bulls team winds down and begins the transition to becoming Andretti Global Autosport for 2026, the pressure is off the team entirely, particularly with the announcement of no layoffs and Red Bull re-assigning the employees staying, as well as Andretti picking up some of the team's contracts. And that includes Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo for 2026. Can the team go out on a high with just ten races of its existence left?

Speaking of teams changing to new identities, the rebrand and new partnership of Nissan-Renault is underway, however it will essentially be the same team based at Enstone, continuing Renault's tradition with their shared alliance partner. Esteban Ocon and Kevin Magnussen will be wanting to get some points on the board and try and send the Alpine name off on a high in the next ten races.

It’s the same old story at Haas, they have been heartbreakingly close to more than the two points Nico Hülkenberg claimed all the way back at Saudi Arabia. While this isn't a track that overally suits Haas, the combination of upgrades on Hülkenberg's car as well as the heavy rain could play a factor. Can Haas finally break through the barrier?

And finally at Audi Sauber, it's all about the future of that team. But we've seen dramatic results for struggling teams in the rain many a time in Formula 1, so can this be the miracle result the team, and Pierre Gasly and Théo Pourchaire, badly needs this weekend?

72 laps of racing are ahead of us this weekend at Zandvoort, and with heavy rain, a Drivers Championship in the balance, and vital Constructors Championship positions up for grabs, you surely will not want to miss it.

FP1 Reserves: Bedrin (Norris), Dürksen (Alonso), Verschoor (Ricciardo), Montoya (Vandoorne)

Sainz with yet another crash, drawing out the VSC! What has happened to the Smooth Operator since leaving Ferrari?

A SECOND VSC AS POURCHAIRE IS OFF! HE loses the Audi going into Kumhobocht, and those engineers have some work to do to have that ready for FP2!

FP1: PIA HAM LEC

Oscar Piastri's fine form continues as he takes P1 ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc! Sebastian Montoya performed very well and takes fourth, ahead of Max Verstappen at his home race! Joshua Dürksen and Richard Verschoor found themselves P8 and P9, just behind Tsunoda and Bottas, and ahead of Albon. TWO Virtual Safety Cars in this session due to crashes by Sainz and Pourchaire.

FP2: HAM LEC VER

Hamilton goes quickest in FP2 ahead of title rivals Leclerc and Verstappen, with Norris Fourth and Alonso fifth. Bottas, Tsunoda, Piastri, Vandoorne and Ricciardo complete the top ten.

Ocon takes a wee trip through the gravel via a spin, but he's kept the car running and he's back on track.

FP3: LEC VER HAM

Charles Leclerc goes quickest through FP3, as the top three in the Championship are the three fastest, with Max Verstappen second and Lewis Hamilton third. Alonso, Tsunoda and Bottas follow, then Russell, Vandoorne, and the two McLarens just ninth and tenth, Norris ninth, Piastri tenth.

Well. It's a lovely Saturday afternoon beside the seaside, and it is time for Qualifying here in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Round 15 of this Formula 1 season comes to the home nation of Max Verstappen, and we are here in North Holland, it is time for Qualifying. Can Verstappen take the fight to the Ferraris of Leclerc and Hamilton?

We are green in Q1!

3.00pm: Saturday afternoon and Qualifying is underway. Of the three title challengers, Leclerc is first to emerge, alongside Albon and Pourchaire.

3.02pm: Leclerc quickest, an 08.793. Pourchaire about 1.5 back, and new Mercedes signing Albon 0.787 back.

3.03pm: Both Hamilton and Verstappen now out on track, with Alonso, Russell and Ricciardo also out there.

3.05pm: Norris slots into second, although it quickly becomes Third as Hamilton goes 0.122 ahead of Leclerc

IT IS A RED FLAG

Daniel Ricciardo loses the RB, and he's out of Q1!! He's thankfully out of the car, but that has ended his Saturday, and also ruined the flying lap of a few drivers...including Verstappen.

3.27pm: We're back underway with the continuation of qualifying. Verstappen and Alonso heading back out.

3.30pm: Verstappen up to third, Alonso fourth.

3.31pm: Piastri just seventh, just behind Albon.

3.33pm: Russell slots into Seventh, ahead of Piastri, but behind the man who's replacing him at Mercedes next year, Albon.

3.36pm: Stroll slots into 12th, while Sainz is 9th. Vandoorne 17th.

DRIVER AT RISK: Gasly
RELEGATION ZONE: Magnussen, Vandoorne, Zhou, Ocon, Ricciardo (no time)

OH MY GOD IT IS A SECOND RED FLAG!!!

Stoffel Vandoorne with a shocker there, as he spins off and smashes into the wall. He's lucky to walk away from that unharmed, but that Aston Martin is WRECKED.

I'm surprised we're continuing Q1 here. But we are. 4 mins to go, and we've almost taken up the entire hour.

3.59pm: Normally, we'd be in the final minute of qualifying, but here we are, trying to finish Q1 after TWO Red Flags. Most of the pack are out there trying to improve their times.

4.01pm: Magnussen doesn't improve and he's out! The grip is struggling a bit here, Gasly goes up to 15th and knocks Pourchaire our who doesn't improve! And it's already over as the two Alpines don't improve!

OUT IN Q1: Pourchaire, Ocon, Magnussen, Vandoorne, Ricciardo (no time)

4.10pm: After a delay, we are back underway for Q2.

4.12pm: Leclerc with a 09.094 to go fastest initially, slower than his Q1 time. Norris within 0.139 of him.

4.15pm: Hamilton slowed quite a bit by Albon, while Verstappen goes quickest! Hamilton slots into P2, behind Verstappen and ahead of Leclerc.

4.16pm: Norris into fourth, while Sainz is fifth.

4.18pm: Leclerc goes absolutely level with Verstappen on his second attempt!

4.20pm: Hamilton goes quickest, while Alonso is just eleventh!!

DRIVER AT RISK: Albon
RELEGATION ZONE: Alonso, Stroll, Zhou, Hülkenberg, Gasly

4.23pm: Stroll doesn't improve and he's likely out. Alonso, Albon and Zhou all on fliers.

4.24pm: Alonso green through S1, Bottas up too Seventh. Gasly stays 15th.

Albon isn't improving in S1, Alonso goes up to fifth, Albon improves through S2, Russell at risk, Albon can't do enough! Hülkenberg and Zhou all trying, Zhou doesn't do enough to move up, neither does Hülkenberg!

OUT IN Q2: Albon, Stroll, Zhou, Hülkenberg, Gasly

4.32pm: We are about to begin Q3 in what has been a marathon qualifying.

4.33pm: Most drivers out there to try an early banker. Ferrari have opted for new tyres here.

4.35pm: Hamilton quickest, while Leclerc was delayed and is a full second behind his teammate! Verstappen into P2.

4.36pm: Bottas goes third, but then Norris is second! Russell sixth, Sainz seventh.

4.38pm: Tsunoda goes up to P5! Piastri fourth, then Alonso takes it off him!

Q3 AS IT STANDS: Hamilton, Norris, Verstappen, Alonso, Piastri, Bottas, Tsunoda, Leclerc, Russell, Sainz

4.41pm: A queue forming at the pitlane as drivers look to get their last laps on the board for this qualifying.

4.42pm: The two Mercs first to complete, Sainz up to sixth, but Russell stays tenth!

4.43pm: Leclerc is getting a phenomenal tow off Verstappen! Hamilton goes P1 for now...

Verstappen stays second, LECLERC ONLY FOURTH. Piastri jumps Alonso to sixth, Norris stays Third, Bottas Eighth, Tsunoda ninth, it is the FOURTH POLE OF THE YEAR FOR LEWIS HAMILTON!

Q3: Hamilton, Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Alonso, Sainz, Bottas, Tsunoda, Russell

I have a slight headache so I'm going to take an hour's break and see how I feel!

[foggy locust]

2025 DUTCH GRAND PRIX
STARTING GRID

HAM VER

NOR LEC

PIA ALO

SAI BOT

TSU RUS

ALB STR

ZHO HÜL

GAS POU

OCO MAG

PIT RIC

VAN PITLANE START - QUAL P19

And here we go. It is all systems go after the summer break, from Zandvoort to Abu Dhabi, and a thrilling Championship battle that could go all the way to Christmas. We are in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, beside the seaside and it is pouring down with rain. The 4.259km of Circuit Zandvoort has been raced on since 1950 in the World Championship, with numerous absences, including from 1985 to 2021. 14 turns, normally two DRS zones but they won't count today due to the weather. Max Verstappen has some backing from the sea of orange, but he's got Lewis Hamilton right in front of him and Charles Leclerc immediately behind as this title battle heats up even more.

Stoffel Vandoorne had a crash in qualifying, so he takes a pitlane start, which leaves Daniel Ricciardo alone on the back row, he too had a crash in qualifying. Esteban Ocon starts ahead of Kevin Magnussen on row nine, the Eighth time he's been ahead of his teammate this year, while Pierre Gasly is ahead of Théo Pourchaire on the grid for just the fourth time this year, they share row eight. It's Zhou Guanyu ahead of Nico Hülkenberg on row seven, the sixth time this year he's been ahead, and Alex Albon starts ahead of Lance Stroll on row six, with both narrowly missing Q3. George Russell begins tenth with Yuki Tsunoda ninth, while Valtteri Bottas is eighth, Carlos Sainz had a crash in practice but recovered for seventh on the grid. It's sixth for Fernando Alonso while Oscar Piastri lines up fifth, while defending Champion Charles Leclerc starts P4, a position he's won from more than once, and Lando Norris is Third on the grid. And it's the old 2021 Championship rivals and two thirds of this Championship battle on the front row, Max Verstappen attempts to win his home race for the fourth time in five attempts from second, and it is Pole Position for Lewis Hamilton, Lewis has never won this race but if he does so today, he will go top of the Championship.

Let's go racing in the rain!

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO

Hamilton holds the lead over Verstappen zthen Norris is holding off Leclerc, Piastri, Alonso, Sainz, Tsunoda, Bottas and Russell, Zhou is ahead of Stroll, Vandoorne leaves the pitlane, and Ricciardo locks up and goes off!

(BOZ) "Some LiCo for tyre temps, Charles"

(LEC) "It's going to overheat either way"

(BOZ) "Copy, good job on the pass, that is P3"

Hamilton has opened up a 1.4 gap to Verstappen, as Leclerc gets past Norris for P3. The rain is just going to continue getting heavier and heavier today.

(ADA) "You just went purple out there, good job."

HAMILTON

Hamilton has opened the gap up to Verstappen to about three seconds, but Verstappen's now under pressure by Leclerc for second here!

(LEC) "Yeah, now the rain is quite heavy"

There's a Haas off at Hugenholtzbocht! It's Hülkenberg! He's able to get back on track, but drops to last!

Verstappen and Leclerc, by proxy, have closed the gap to about 2.4 to Hamilton.

(LEC) "Ah, it's raining like crazy."

(BOZ) "Copy Charles, we're monitoring it, Class 2 rain for now, Class 3 expected later."

Leclerc continues to pressure Verstappen for P2 here, but the former Champion's resolve has not broken as of yet.

Lap 10: Hamilton, Verstappen, Leclerc, Norris, Alonso, Piastri, Tsunoda, Sainz, Bottas, Russell, Albon, Zhou, Stroll, Pourchaire, Gasly, Magnussen, Ocon, Ricciardo, Vandoorne, Hülkenberg

(LEC) "I am dealing with a lot of graining, lot of difficulty on the tyres here."

(BOZ) "So some LiCo to cool them for now."

(ADA) "Tyre phase update?"

(HAM) "Tyres still good."

(ADA) "Verstappen just 1.3 behind now. Try to protect position."

(HAM) "Understood."

Norris seems to have shaken off the challenge of Alonso and his teammate here, at least for now, and is building a gap for fourth. Still 4.8 behind Leclerc for the podium, though.

(LEC) "The tyres seem to be a bit better, still some graining though."

(BOZ) "Copy, manage them best you can for now."

This weather causing a lot of problems for tyres right now, and Tsunoda locks up, he is off!

Sainz seeming to have issues and he drops to tenth, as Russell gets past his teammate!

(HAM) "Tyres are getting hot here."

(ADA) "Some LiCo needed Lewis, get these tyres in a better window."

(HAM) "Lots of rain."

Sainz has a lock-up at Tarzanbocht! He's off and Albon, his teammate next year, takes advantage to go P10!

HAMILTON

🌧️ It is getting harder and harder to predict this rain. Most thought it would be increasing, and it is, but slower than expected.

Lap 21: Hamilton, Verstappen, Leclerc, Norris, Alonso, Piastri, Bottas, Tsunoda, Russell, Albon

(LEC) "I'm still struggling so much with temps."

Norris is off in the gravel at Tarzanbocht! A big lock-up catching a lot of drivers out! He's lost a lot of time to Leclerc, and that advantage to Alonso is all but gone!

PITSTOPS: First of the Drivers take the gamble onto Wets! Ocon, Sainz and Hülkenberg testing the Wets out for the rest of the field- Tsunoda, Albon and both Audis follow suit!

PITSTOPS: Norris, Alonso and Piastri in! McLaren do the double stack to perfection!!

(ADA) "Pit confirm and box."

(HAM) "Box this lap."

(BOZ) "Box Charles, Box this lap."

(LEC) "Copy, box."

PITSTOPS: Hamilton in from the leading he's away at 2.370, Leclerc follows Verstappen in, and Leclerc takes 2.390, good stop by all three drivers there and the order is as you were!

Hamilton emerges about 5.7 ahead of Verstappen, with Leclerc a further 3.3 back.

PITSTOP: Zhou is the last to pit, going from P9 to P13.

Lap 27: Hamilton, Verstappen, Leclerc, Norris, Alonso, Piastri, Bottas, Tsunoda, Russell, Albon, Magnussen, Zhou, Vansoorne, Stroll, Gasly, Ocon, Ricciardo, Sainz, Hülkenberg, Vandoorne

PITSTOP: A strange one as it looks like Aston Martin got Vandoorne's tyre choice wrong! He pits again, this time for Wets!!

PITSTOP: Alpine have made the same mistake with Magnussen! He has to pit for new Wets too!

Ocon locks up at Tarzanbocht! That first corner proving tricky for most today!

Lap 31: Hamilton, Verstappen, Leclerc, Norris, Alonso, Piastri, Bottas, Tsunoda, Russell, Albon

Zhou and Pourchaire currently battling for P11, but a long way back from Albon in tenth. They need something elsewhere if either is going to get into the points today.

(ADA) "Okay Lewis, it's hammer time."

About 6 seconds between Hamilton and Verstappen, while Leclerc is a further three back. This does not feel over yet.

Lap 36: Hamilton, Verstappen, Leclerc, Norris, Alonso, Piastri, Bottas, Tsunoda, Russell, Albon, Zhou, Pourchaire, Stroll, Gasly, Sainz, Ricciardo, Hülkenberg, Ocon, Vandoorne, Magnussen

🌧️ The rain decreasing a little bit here, but we only expect it to get worse over the next few!

VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR CALLED

It is heartbreak for Williams and Albon as Albon goes off at Kumhobocht, the final corner! Thankfully he's okay, but that's him out of the race and valuable points for Williams gone!

(ADA) "There was a crash. Albon in the wall."

(HAM) "Everyone OK?"

(ADA) "He is okay. Stay out, stay out."

(BOZ) "Albon in the wall, VSC, Charles."

(LEC) "Is Alex okay?"

(BOZ) "Yeah he's okay, he is out of the car. We think it's better to stay out here."

(LEC) "Good, good. Yeah, I agree."

We are racing again on Lap 39!!

Russell runs very wide on Hugenholtzbocht! He doesn't lose much time though!

And Sainz goes incredibly wide! He is lucky to avoid the barrier, but he's down to P16!

Vandoorne off as well at Hans Ercht Bocht, and after a brief gravel trip, he rejoins P18.

(ADA) "Update your tyre phase."

(HAM) "My tyres are good!"

PITSTOP: Ocon is the first to stop for new Wets, but Alpine have a massive delay!

Zhou about 1.6 ahead of Pourchaire, and as it stands: in the points

Lap 48: Hamilton, Verstappen, Leclerc, Norris, Alonso, Piastri, Bottas, Tsunoda, Russell, Zhou

🌧️ The rain coming down significantly heavily here in Zandvoort, with just 21 laps to go.

(ADA) "Are we okay with tyre temperatures."

(HAM) "Yep."

[steel talon]

Dedication

[foggy locust]

Leclerc within 2 seconds of Verstappen, Hamilton about 10 seconds ahead of Leclerc, but the Champion trying to do damage limitation here by passing his other title rival.

Pourchaire with a spin! And that could cost him any real chance of catching Zhou for P10!

PITSTOPS: Bottas, Sainz, Vandoorne and Magnussen all pitting for intermediates!

PITSTOPS: Tsunoda, Pourchaire, Zhou, Stroll, Gasly all in!

(ADA) "Box now, box, inters is quicker, box."

(BOZ) "Box for inters, inters seems to be the quicker tyre now Charles."

PITSTOPS: Hamilton and Leclerc box for Ints! Verstappen however is staying out!!

Verstappen is gambling on the weather getting heavier here.

PITSTOPS: Alonso, Russell, Hülkenberg and Ocon all onto the Ints.

Norris and Piastri also staying out on the Wets here. A risky move by McLaren.

Ricciardo going aquaplaning and into the gravel! He drops significantly down the order!

PITSTOP: McLaren are doubling down with Piastri! They've just put new Wets on for him!!

Hamilton is going for the lead and he takes the lead again!!

DRAMA AND HEARTBREAK FOR THE HOME FANS AS VERSTAPPEN HAS A PUNCTURE!!! THIS MIGHT BE THE END OF HIS TITLE BID!!

PITSTOP: Norris also goes onto the Wets, and Verstappen is able to drag thar suffering Red Bull into the pits, but he has lost A LOT of time!

BOTTAS

Lap 63: Hamilton, Leclerc, Alonso, Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Bottas, Tsunoda, Russell, Zhou, Stroll, Pourchaire, Sainz, Vandoorne, Gasly, Ocon, Magnussen, Hülkenberg, Ricciardo. Albon out of the race.

Both Ocon and Magnussen having issues with that Renault engine. Good luck for next year, Nissan

PITSTOPS: Pourchaire and Sainz both in! Russell also coming in, one lap ahead of his teammate.

PITSTOPS: Bottas, Zhou and Stroll all come in, and that puts Gasly into the points!!

Hülkenberg has a puncture!!! He's dragged the Haas round to the pits, just an awful day for him!

PITSTOPS: Both Alonso and Hülkenberg pit, and Hülkenberg is delayed due to the stop.

(ADA) "Five laps to go, stay out and bring it home."

(BOZ) "Just stay out, stay out, bring the car home."

Three laps to go of a chaotic, rainy race

Zhou has gotten Gasly again for P10!!

The two Ferraris are just easing home at the point. With two laps to go, Verstappen is cutting the advantage down, but it is not nearly going to be enough to disrupt the Ferrari 1-2.

FINAL LAP

The seven time World Champion is seeking eight, and he's going top of the table tonight, a mesmerising drive by Sir Lewis Hamilton, he takes the lead of the Drivers Championship, LEWIS HAMILTON WINS THE DUTCH GRAND PRIX!!

AND IT IS A 1-2 FOR THE SCUDERIA ONCE MORE

(ADA) "And that's the flag, P1, Lewis, P1!"

(HAM) "Get in there!!! Woooo! I am so happy with that guys, what a cracking job. Thank you, all of you."

(ADA) "What a smart race, well done, well done. And top of the Championship tonight too."

(BOZ) "And that's the flag Charles, P2, good job, well done."

(LEC) "Yeah, thank you. I think we maximised that today, Lewis was on another level, congrats to him. Good job, good race."

(BOZ) "You've done well. We're still in this, long way to go."

Verstappen has minimised the damage and gotten P3, Alonso P4, Norris P5, Piastri P6, Tsunoda P7, Nottas P8, Russell P9, ZHOU TENTH. ZHOU GETS A POINT

2025 DUTCH GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATIOB

1. Lewis Hamilton 01.40.08
2. Charles Leclerc +14.834
3. Max Verstappen +20.136
4. Fernando Alonso +6.375
5. Lando Norris +7.805
6. Oscar Piastri +9.667
7. Yuki Tsunoda +14.210
8. Valtteri Bottas +4.949
9. George Russell +1 lap
10. Zhou Guanyu +2 laps
11. Théo Pourchaire +2 laps
12. Lance Stroll +2 laps
13. Carlos Sainz +2 laps
14. Pierre Gasly +2 laps
15. Stoffel Vandoorne +2 laps
16. Esteban Ocon +2 laps
17. Kevin Magnussen +2 laps
18. Daniel Ricciardo +2 laps
19. Nico Hülkenberg +2 laps
20. Alexander Albon DNF

DRIVER OF THE DAY: ZHOU GUANYU, HAAS

A long time coming, and a driver and team that have worked very hard for this result. After several near misses, Zhou Guanyu finally hit paydirt and the points at Zandvoort. You duly noted that, and awarded him Driver of the Day!

FASTEST LAP AWARD:
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari 1.16.256

DHL FASTEST PITSTOP AWARD:
George Russell, Mercedes 2.133s

2025 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

Hamilton 309
Leclerc 307
Verstappen 269
Alonso 165
Norris 152
Piastri 138
Bottas 108
Russell 52
Tsunoda 46
Sainz 27
Albon 26
Ricciardo 23
Vandoorne 10
Stroll 3
Hülkenberg 2
Zhou 1
Pourchaire 0
Ocon 0
Magnussen 0
Gasly 0

2025 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP

Ferrari 616
Red Bull-Honda RBPT 434
McLaren-Mercedes 290
Aston Martin-Honda RBPT 118
Mercedes 79
Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT 69
Williams-Mercedes 29
Haas-Ferrari 3
Audi Sauber-Mercedes 0
Alpine-Renault 0

WILLIAMS SELECT PIRELLI FOR 2026, WILL ANNOUNCE NEW DRIVER AT MONZA

Williams Racing have announced that they will take Pirelli's tyres for 2026.

James Vowles, when asked at a press conference following the race at Zandvoort, confirmed Williams' tyre choice, remaining with F1's current tyre supplier and resisting the switch to Bridgestone.

Vowles also said that the team's new driver will be announced at Monza. While it was believed that one of Zane Maloney, Ayuwu Iwasa or Franco Colapinto were favourites for the seat, the surprising choice of Liam Lawson over George Russell may have caused a rethink over at Grove on their decision.

Maloney was being tipped as the favourite, however most are now expecting the return of George Russell to the team he made his debut with.

[humble totem]

Things not looking good for our boy Charles
Have you noticed that Hamilton radios are not very clear or audible?
By the way Charles can't afford not to win Monza mate
It is a must😁

[hallow oar]

Hamilton 9th Title?🤩

[foggy locust]

I haven't noticed particularly! Seems okay to me

Hamilton could be on, but it is very close with Leclerc

Monza might be tricky, my top speed isn't as good as the Bulls or McLaren

[humble totem]

How is your high-speed cornering?
If it's good ,you are fine

Ok Lewis radio always sounds a bit like an actual radio looking for the right frequency , too cracky

[sterile breach]

been that way for a while irl

hopefully that will change when he goes to ferrari

[humble totem]

Oh thanks for the clarification
That's sucks
Not fun to listen to

[sterile breach]

heck, his 2014-2016 radio sounded better quality

[foggy locust]

1st and 2nd

I'm top in all three cornering

But my car is about 1kph slower than Red Bull

[sterile breach]

as long as your car is able to keep up with red bull in the corners before the drs zones on top speed tracks, you should be able to throw verstappen out of contention by the mexico-vegas area

[foggy locust]

Fingers crossed

[foggy locust]

WILLIAMS ANNOUNCE GEORGE RUSSELL RETURN FOR 2026 AND BEYOND

Williams Racing have today announced the signing of George Russell on a four-year deal.

Russell, who made his debut with the Grove team, makes a shock return after confirming his Mercedes exit for 2026.

While Williams were expected to sign a rookie for 2026, the news that Russell was leaving Mercedes combined with Red Bull's decision to sign Liam Lawson to a race seat suddenly meant that Russell was available for 2026.

And Russell has signed on for a multiple year deal, believing in the Williams project.

SCUDERIA FERRARI TO PARTNER WITH BRIDGESTONE FOR 2026

The first major domino in F1's brand new "tyre war" has fallen.

Scuderia Ferrari, the reigning F1 Champions, have announced their decision to partner with Bridgestone for the 2026 season.

Ferrari had a major run of success with the Japanese manufacturer in the mid 2000s, and the good relationship with the company will continue from 2026 onwards.

Ferrari look likely to secure a second consecutive Championship in 2025, leading Red Bull by 182 points going into this weekend's Italian Grand Prix.

2025 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
WEEKEND PREVIEW

It is Monza weekend, home of Scuderia Ferrari, and the Tifosi will be in full force this weekend, hoping for a second Ferrari victory here in a row after Charles Leclerc's magnificent win twelve months ago.

But last time around, it was Lewis Hamilton who led Leclerc home in Zandvoort to take top spot in the Championship away from his defending Champion teammate. As Hamilton is seeking his record Eighth Championship, he leads Leclerc by just two points, with Max Verstappen 40 behind. Verstappen suffered a puncture in Zandvoort at his home race, but recovered to take Third and mitigate the damage.

Autodromo Nazionale di Monza is a 5.793 km circuit, and the oldest purpose-built racetrack in Europe, built in 1923. The Italian Grand Prix has been held every year here since 1949, with the exception of 1980. It will be 53 laps of the “Temple of Speed”, known as such due to its long straights and fast corners, with 11 turns and 2 DRS Zones.

And Ferrari come into their home race as the favourites due to their cornering, even if Red Bull will challenge them on the straights. Ferrari will of course have the significant home backing, with Leclerc seeking his third victory at Monza, and second in a row. This is also of course the first race that Hamilton will have the backing of the Tifosi while racing in Red, a fascinating dynamic incoming between the Tifosi’s favourite son, and their new hero.

But as mentioned, if anyone is going to break Tifosi hearts at Monza, the favourite to do so is Max Verstappen. Ferrari have won the last five races, and Verstappen has not been victorious since Spain (where have we heard that before), and finds himself falling back in the Championship fight. He, and Red Bull, need this one, even if it is likely to come too late for the Constructors fight. Fernando Alonso will take part in his final Italian Grand Prix, Alonso of course having won this race for Ferrari in front of the Tifosi in 2010.

McLaren famously had a 1-2 back in 2021 at this circuit, where Daniel Ricciardo led Lando Norris home for a famous victory. Norris and current teammate Oscar Piastri have yet to take a win this season, however Piastri in particular came close at the Hungaroring and Spa. McLaren have looked the favourites to be a non Ferrari or Red Bull win - can they potentially get it over the line here?

Aston Martin had more of the same last weekend at Zandvoort, Valtteri Bottas bringing home points for the team, Stoffel Vandoorne struggling, and after a Q1 crash and a pitlane start, finishing 15th - however the good news for them was that neither RB nor Mercedes were able to gain significantly on Aston Martin. Aston Martin now have a 39 point advantage to Mercedes and a 49 point advantage to RB as we go into the final nine races, but the fight for fourth is not over.

Racing Bulls had a mixed weekend out of Zandvoort, and despite this, they remain in the fight for fourth, having outscored both Aston Martin and Mercedes in the Netherlands, but having closed the gap to 49, and being within 10 of the Silver Arrows, they did have Daniel Ricciardo crash out in Q1 and start from the back of the grid, and finish just 18th. RB look to send the junior team off strongly before becoming GM Andretti Cadillac for 2026.

Mercedes’ struggles continued out of Spa, and this feels like a team in the need of a serious reset for 2026, with George Russell's departure announced, and Carlos Sainz struggling for form. With Alexander Albon coming in for next year, can Mercedes make the most for the rest of 2025 and truly challenge Aston Martin for fourth as they prepare for the brand new regulations of 2026? To do so, they need Carlos Sainz to rediscover his Ferrari form and start scoring big points again.

And of course Williams had the big announcement coming into this weekend, with George Russell returning to the team that gave him his Formula 1 debut - and shockingly committing to a four year deal, clearly believing in the Williams project being put together by James Vowles. For now, Alex Albon remains in the team before his move to Mercedes for 2026, the team flirted with the points last time but they look settled in seventh in the Championship - it will take a big result to change that for Albon and Lance Stroll.

Haas finally got a big reward for weeks of effort and near misses, as Zhou Guanyu got on the board for this season, and the team scored their third point of the year - and just their second points finish. Having gotten that off their backs, Haas will now focus on adding to that as much as they can in the run-in. Nico Hülkenberg suffered a puncture at Zandvoort which wrecked his race, and will look to bounce back here.

Audi Sauber came very close to their first point of the year, with Théo Pourchaire finishing a fantastic eleventh at Zandvoort, and the team coming close to finally breaking into the points. Can they build in that this year? Pierre Gasly was 14th in a result that combined took Audi Sauber above Alpine in the Constructors, but a single point for either could change that yet.

And Alpine, soon to be Nissan Renault, announced their tyre choice for 2026 along with their rebranding, and after a tough Zandvoort continuing a tough season, 2026 cannot get here quickly enough for the Enstone based team. Alpine very much need a miracle result to get any joy out of this season, however any points would take them above Audi Sauber, and multiple could take them above Haas - there's still something to play for.

No rain expected at Monza this weekend, so it should be dry running and that means Ferrari and Red Bull should be favourites. A one and two stop are both viable here, which means options are very, very open. But can Hamilton or Leclerc take home another famous victory in Red? Will Verstappen upset the applecart? Or will it be a shock victory outside the top three? One thing's for sure, you won't want to miss it.

FP1 Reserves: Dürksen (Alonso), Maini (Ocon), Verschoor (Tsunoda), Montoya (Bottas)

[foggy locust]

FP1: HAM PIA VER
LEC P5

Hamilton goes fastest in FP1 in his first session in Red, ahead of Piastri and Verstappen, with Norris Fourth, and Leclerc just Fifth. Russell ahead of Ricciardo, Verschoor, Vandoorne and Dürksen round off the top ten.

FP2: LEC HAM VER

Leclerc goes fastest in the second Friday afternoon session at Monza, to the delight of the Tifosi, and there is further joy as it is a Ferrari 1-2. Verstappen Third with Alonso Fourth, Sainz fifth at the home of his former team, Piastri, Russell, Pourchaire, Vandoorne and Tsunoda rounding off the top ten.

FP3: PIA ALO LEC
HAM P6

Oscar Piastri is quickest through FP3, with Alonso second and Leclerc third. Verstappen in fourth, Norris fifth and Hamilton sixth. Russell, Stroll, Sainz and Zhou in the top ten.

Welcome to the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. The Temple of Speed, the home of Ferrari. And there's only one result that the Tifosi want to see here, a Ferrari victory. But it might be closer than it seems, Red Bull and McLaren both showed pace in practice as well as the Scuderia. So it's anyone's game here at this famous circuit.

Green light for Q1!

4.00pm: As the cars queue up at the pitlane, Leclerc, Alonso, Stroll, Tsunoda, Pourchaire and Bottas are all on track for the early going.

4.03pm: A lot of traffic emerging, but Leclerc seems to have gotten a clean rn. He's quickest, 7 tenths ahead of Bottas. Hamilton and Norris on outlaps now.

4.04pm: Alonso goes Second, within 4 tenths of Leclerc. Albon has a spin! He abandons his first attempt with that spin.

4.06pm: Norris just Sixth, behind Tsunoda and Hülkenberg. Hamilton second, just 0.040 behind Leclerc!

4.09pm: Sainz up to fourth, as Piastri rounds the Parabolica to complete his lap...he goes Fourth!

4.10pm: Vandoorne runs a bit wide there, although he's on his in lap so it won't mean anything.

4.11pm: Verstappen up to third, 0.190 behind Leclerc. It is tight between the top three in the Championship.

DRIVER AT RISK: Stroll
RELEGATION ZONE: Magnussen, Ricciardo, Albon, Ocon, ;Audi: Gasly

4.14pm: Worth noting that Lando Norris is only 14th right now, as he heads out of the pitlane to begin an outlap.

: Norris gets a clean run of things and goes Fifth. Stroll at risk and doesn't improve. Magnussen, Ricciardo and Albon are all out! OCON PURPLE S1. Gasly just 19th, Ocon Eighth!

OUT IN Q1: Stroll, Magnussen, Ricciardo, Albon, Gasly

Q2 is underway!

4.25pm: Both Ferraris are the first two out on track, to a big cheer from the Monza crowd, wanting to get an advantage of clean air here

4.27pm: Leclerc slowed a little bit by Sainz there, and lost two tenths. Leclerc not happy about it on the radio.

(LEC) "Carlos, come on!"

4.29pm: Hamilton quickest, 5 tenths ahead of Leclerc, 7 tenths ahead of Hülkenberg.

4.30pm: Sainz currently 3 and a half tenths behind his former teammate, and into third.

4.33pm: Just Sixth for Verstappen, at least for now, with Alonso and Norris on fliers. This is of course Alonso's last Italian GP in the sport.

4.35pm: Alonso goes Second, then has a spin on his inlap! Norris up to sixth

DRIVER AT RISK: Tsunoda
RELEGATION ZONE: Pourchaire, Hülkenberg, Piastri, Zhou, Ocon

4.37pm: Sainz with a big lock-up at Prima Variante! He's P5 so likely safe but that wrecks his second attempt!

Piastri at risk, he is improving here, but HE ONLY GOES 13TH! PIASTRI IS OUT! Zhou and Ocon both out as neither improves, Tsunoda up to fifth, Russell into the drop zone, VERSTAPPEN AT RISK, but he goes Fourth, so Vandoorne at risk, Pourchaire knocks Vandoorne out!! POURCHAIRE GETS Q3!!

OUT IN Q2: Vandoorne, Hülkenberg, Piastri, Zhou, Ocon

Q3 goes Green! Who's taking Pole?

4.48pm: Leclerc, Alonso and Hamilton the first three out on track for Q3. Tsunoda and Pourchaire, in his first career Q3, follow suit.

4.51pm: Leclerc quickest, but briefly as Alonso goes 0.010 ahead of Leclerc! Hamilton however takes P1 with a stormer of a S3!

4.52pm: Tsunoda fourth, and Pourchaire fifth.

4.53pm: Bottas up to fourth, less than four tenths behind Alonso, while Russell is fifth.

4.54pm: Verstappen goes quickest for now, while Sainz slots into sixth.

Q3 AS IT STANDS: Verstappen, Hamilton, Alonso, Leclerc, Bottas, Sainz, Russell, Norris, Tsunoda, Pourchaire

4.58pm: Last of the fliers are beginning now. Who will take Pole?

4.59pm: Bottas into fifth, Tsunoda Sixth. Right now, Leclerc getting a tow off Verstappen.

Norris up to fifth, the track is ramping up here. HAMILTON GOES QUICKEST, Verstappen second, just fourth for Leclerc!! Russell stays ninth, Sainz stays Eighth, but it IS POLE POSITION FOR LEWIS HAMILTON!

Q3: Hamilton, Verstappen, Alonso, Leclerc, Norris, Bottas, Tsunoda, Sainz, Russell, Pourchaire

[humble totem]

Whats Charles morale in comparison to Lewis?
He is really performing badly

[foggy locust]

Both enthusiastic

Lewis has won the last two, Charles won the two before that

2025 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
STARTING GRID

HAM VER

ALO LEC

NOR BOT

TSU SAI

RUS POU

VAN HÜL

PIA ZHO

OCO STR

MAG PIT

ALB GAS

RIC PITLANE START - QUAL P18

[humble totem]

Hmmm hope he wins but great work mate I praise your dedication to your fine career update
You deserve an award

[foggy locust]

Aww thank you mate. Means a lot, that!!

[sterile breach]

Bit of an unfair comparison but my experience nonetheless.

My Leclerc in 2032 is drowning badly in a top tier Audi (my team). His teammate is 3rd in the standings with 81 points, he is 9th in the standings with 40 points

86 overall or something, not even that hard a decline

[humble totem]

Who is his teammate and rating?

What's his teammate morale and his?

[foggy locust]

Pausing for tonight I think

Race tomorrow!

[humble totem]

Rest mate well done

[sterile breach]

Patricia David, a generated driver, 92 overall, neutral
Leclerc is 86 overall (not even that hard a decline), also neutral

yet the car is 2nd fastest, no idea why they arent happy

[humble totem]

92 and 86 are massively different

Just like 88 and 80

He should perform relatively poorly in comparison to the 92 overall

[sterile breach]

odd thing was, 2030 he beat her by a long shot and 2031 he was keeping on her heels the whole season

[humble totem]

Maybe she was still 87 or 88 rated then

[sterile breach]

she was in the 90s, both seasons

[humble totem]

And I am sure she has better pace stats than Charles right?

[sterile breach]

only by a bit

[humble totem]

Ok were they both on neutral mentality then?
Because neutral mentality shows the true difference in drivers

[sterile breach]

not neutral, but they were on the same mentality, either positive or enthusiastic at the same time

[humble totem]

Too bad for Charles
At least you save him from rotting to 80 rated

[sterile breach]

oh god, that would be at best

he could be norris and stroll at 72 overall if i didnt sign him then

shows how busted driver regression is (except for piastri, guy is broken, 31 and still has high dev rate)

[humble totem]

Did you ever sign piastri?
Because the team hub thing glitches drivers for Life

[sterile breach]

ah, explains it now

[humble totem]

Even when the driver leaves your team the Dev won't turn back normal

If they were at 100 when they left thanks to team hub glitch, they will keep losing 5 points every year so that's why a 31 yr old piastri is still at high dev rate

[foggy locust]

We go after IRL qualifying

[foggy locust]

Welcome along to Monza, and to the home of Ferrari. And today, the Greatest of All Time has a chance to put his name in Ferrari history, alongside the other Greatest of All Time. However he'll have two Red Bulls between him and his teammate who's won here twice before in Ferrari Red. 53 laps of this famous 5.793km circuit, the oldest purpose-based track in Europe, the Temple of Speed has 11 turns, 2 DRS zones and a whole sea of Red supporting their beloved Scuderia. Maybe a one stop, maybe a two, both are viable options and it should be fascinating to see how it plays out.

Daniel Ricciardo takes a pitlane start after a Q1 crash, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon are on the back row, and Ricciardo in the pitlane leaves Kevin Magnussen alone on row nine. Lance Stroll starts ahead of his teammate for just the sixth time this season and he has Esteban Ocon for company. Zhou Guanyu on row seven beside Oscar Piastri who shockingly dropped out in Q2, Nico Hülkenberg and Stoffel Vandoorne on the sixth row. Theo Pourchaire has his first top ten start after his first Q3 appearance, George Russell alongside him, then Carlos Sainz starts Eighth in his first race here away from Ferrari since 2020, Yuki Tsunoda starts Seventh. Valtteri Bottas is 16-0 against his teammate in qualifying and begins Sixth, Lando Norris lines up fifth, while Charles Leclerc starts fourth and he's won here from that position before, while Fernando Alonso lines up Third in his final Italian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen begins second hoping to spoil the hopes of the Tifosi, and in his first Italian Grand Prix as a Ferrari driver, it is Pole Position for Lewis Hamilton.

Formation lap has been completed, one light, two, three, four, five...

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO

Hamilton holds the lead, Alonso gets Verstappen for P2, Norris ahead of Leclerc, LECLERC GOES WIDE and Tsunoda gets ahead of him! A disaster of a start for the Champion! Bottas ahead of the two Mercs, Vandoorne has got ahead of Pourchaire for P10, Tsunoda ahead of Norris who now falls behind Leclerc!

Leclerc gets Tsunoda for P4, and Tsunoda falls behind Norris!

Pourchaire retakes tenth from Vandoorne, and Piastri grabs eleventh!

Leclerc has recovered fantastically from his poor start, he goes past Verstappen and Alonso and he's into the top Two!

(LEC) "We are fast, we have good pace."

Leclerc going for the lead going into the Parabolica, and he takes the lead from his teammate!

Verstappen trying to take P2 off Hamilton in the process, but Lewis holds Max off for now!

Ricciardo has a spin! And Tsunoda is struggling a little and has fallen down to P9!

Vandoorne gets Sainz for tenth, and then is up to ninth, then quickly into Eighth!

Norris is up to third, and that's left the door open for Bottas to get past Verstappen!

Norris is going for the lead and he's into the lead! He got past both Ferraris!

Leclerc however retakes P1 from Norris a lap later!

TSUNODA GOES OFF! HE SPINS OFF GOING INTO 1ST CURVA DI LESMO. He's down to 15th

Hamilton struggling with his tyres here, and he's managed to drop all the way down to P6, behind Verstappen, Bottas and Alonso.

(LEC) "I'm struggling so much on the straights here, so much."

(BOZ) "Head down, keep on with it."

Hamilton with a fightback, getting past both Verstappen and Alonso!

Valtteri Bottas, yes Valtteri Bottas now leads this race! He's ahead of Leclerc, as Norris is losing pace!

Lap 10: Bottas, Leclerc, Alonso, Hamilton, Norris, Verstappen, Russell, Vandoorne, Piastri, Pourchaire, Sainz, Zhou, Hülkenberg, Stroll, Tsunoda, Ricciardo, Ocon, Magnussen, Gasly, Albon

There's about six cars keeping pace at the front, and the lead keeps changing. Leclerc back to P1, Alonso now P2.

(HAM) "Need more power on these straights."

There's about six cars keeping pace at the front, and the lead keeps changing. Leclerc back to P1, Alonso now P2.

(LEC) "FOR FUCK'S SAKE, HE PUSHED ME WIDE!"

Alonso goes for the lead and does indeed take it, but pushes Leclerc wide off the track! Leclerc drops all the way down to P5!!

Meanwhile, it is Valtteri Bottas back into the lead of this Grand Prix!

Verstappen now into the DRS range of Bottas, and this feels very inevitable right now. Verstappen takes the lead!

Hamilton now up to P2, and he's gaining a lot on his teammate who is struggling in Sixth.

Make that Fifth, as Leclerc gets past Norris.

Lap 20: Verstappen, Alonso, Hamilton, Bottas, Leclerc, Norris, Piastri, Russell, Vandoorne, Pourchaire

Piastri already up to Seventh albeit about 15 seconds off his teammate.

PITSTOPS: Russell and Hülkenberg both in, and Russell seemed to have a slight delay. Both onto Hards.

Hamilton has reeled in Verstappen and is challenging for the lead!

(BOZ) "Box, box"

PITSTOPS: Pourchaire and Ocon in, Ocon onto Mediums, Pourchaire onto Hards.

(ADA) "Tyre phase update?"

(HAM) "Tyres are dropping off a bit."

PITSTOPS: Piastri, Sainz, Gasly and Albon all in!

Lap 25: Verstappen, Hamilton, Norris, Bottas, Alonso, Leclerc, Ricciardo, Piastri, Russell, Vandoorne, Tsunoda, Hülkenberg, Pourchaire, Stroll, Sainz, Zhou, Magnussen, Gasly, Ocon, Albon

PITSTOP: Bottas comes in from fourth! He's onto Hards until then end, and rejoins P6.

PITSTOP: Norris in from P3, it will be close with him and Leclerc, but Lecleec is ahead! Ricciardo also in from P7.

HÜLKENBERG

PITSTOP: Verstappen in on Lap 29, and he's going onto Mediums!

(ADA) "Box, box"

PITSTOP: Hamilton in from the lead! He's taking the Softs, and a 2.181 stop! Phenomenal work from the Ferrari pitcrew!

BOTTAS AND NORRIS COLLIDE! Norris was overtaking and Bottas tried to defend, and they make contact!!

Albon having issues with his car, both in the gearbox and ERS!

Hamilton and Verstappen, on fresher tyres, closing in on Leclerc for second, who is closing down Alonso for P1!

Hamilton gets past his teammate, but Leclerc is able to hold Verstappen off for now!

Lap 35: Alonso, Hamilton, Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, Bottas, Piastri, Russell, Hülkenberg, Tsunoda, Stroll, Sainz, Pourchaire, Vandoorne, Ricciardo, Magnussen, Gasly, Ocon, Albon

LECLERC

SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED. VANDOORNE'S ENGINE BLOWS UP AND THATS THE END OF HIS RACE.

(ADA) "Box, box"

(BOZ) "Box, box"

PITSTOPS: Alonso, Hamilton and Leclerc all pit for fresh Softs. Verstappen takes the lead on track, Norris up to third on track.

Lap 37, under the SC: Verstappen, Alonso, Norris, Hamilton, Leclerc, Piastri, Russell, Bottas, Zhou, Sainz, Pourchaire, Tsunoda, Hülkenberg, Stroll, Ricciardo, Magnussen, Gasly, Ocon, Albon. Vandoorne out of the race.

LAPPED CARS MAY NOW OVERTAKE

That means Albon and Ocon, for the record.

No punishment for Bottas or Norris for the earlier incident, BTW.

Likely going green next lap

(BOZ) "Safety Car in this lap, focus these tyres to get ready."

(LEC) "Yeah, copy."

(ADA) "Safety Car is entering the pits. We are green."

(HAM) "Understood."

And we go racing on Lap 41!

ALONSO HAS A HORRIBLE RUN OFF AND LECLERC IS AHEAD OF HIM AND HAMILTON

AND IT IS IMMEDIATELY A VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR!! LANCE STROLL LOSES THE CAR AND IS IN THE WALL!! LOOKS LIKE DANIEL RICCIARDO HIT HIM!

CAR 3 (RICCIARDO)

Ricciardo immediately pulls into the pits to take that penalty, and rejoins last of all.

We go racing again on Lap 44!

Leclerc immediately gets off to a hot start and he's into P1 ahead of Verstappen and Norris! Can he pull away here though?

Hamilton ahead of Norris and is now challenging Verstappen for P2, Lewis Hamilton up to P2!!

Alonso gets ahead of Verstappen, while Norris puts Verstappen down to P5! Could this be the end of his title challenge?

Tsunoda basically runs Zhou off the road there!!! Heartbreak for Zhou who was running in the points!

Hülkenberg and Russell make contact! All going wrong now for Haas!

CAR 22 (TSUNODA)

An awful day for Williams, as Albon's gearbox has gone and he pulls into the pitlane to retire. Double DNF.

Bottas moves ahead of Verstappen, and Max's title challenge may well be ending today.

Ocon and Sainz bang wheels! More chaos late here in this race!

Lap 50: Leclerc, Hamilton, Alonso, Norris, Bottas, Verstappen, Piastri, Hülkenberg, Russell, Gasly, Magnussen, Pourchaire, Ocon, Sainz, Ricciardo, Tsunoda, Zhou. Albon, Stroll and Vandoorne out of the race

Very much looks like one of Gasly, Magnussen or Pourchaire are finally going to get a point on the board in this race.

Verstappen back up to fifth but is having mechanical issues! Piastri up to sixth, ahead of Bottas.

Gasly and Pourchaire make contact!!! Gasly steals the point from his teammate but might get a penalty that hands it to Alpine!

Magnussen runs wide, and that eases the pressure on Gasly!

NO PENALTY GIVEN. Gasly gets away with one, and looks likely to score his first point of the year!

FINAL LAP

Leclerc is defending with everything he's got from his teammate, it's been a wonderful performance from both Ferraris, and it has been brilliant, clean racing, BUT CHARLES LECLERC IS GOING TO HANG ON, CHARLES LECLERC WINS THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW!!!

AND IT IS A 1-2 FOR THE SCUDERIA ON HOME SOIL!!!

(BOZ) "Ma come mi fai sognaree, two in a row. Congratulations Charles, brilliant. Just brilliant!"

(LEC) "SI! SI SI SI, GRANDISSIMI!! Mamma Mia, mamma Mia. This was incredibly difficult, what a race, what a win. It means everything here. Grazie, grazie."

(BOZ) "Grazie Charles, grandissimi."

(ADA) "P2 on the line, P2 on the line. Great job, great effort, Lewis."

(HAM) "I gave that everything, everything. Thank you guys, good job. Let's keep pushing, still a Championship on."

(ADA) "Nice job out there, good result."

Alonso gets a podium in his final Italian GP!

Norris P4, Verstappen P5, Piastri P6, Bottas P7, Hülkenberg P8, Russell P9, GASLY GETS A POINT FOR AUDI SAUBER

1-2 in the DHL, too

2025 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATION

1. Charles Leclerc 01.21.37
2. Lewis Hamilton +0.241
3. Fernando Alonso +5.017
4. Lando Norris +0.601
5. Max Verstappen +3.703
6. Oscar Piastri +0.549
7. Valtteri Bottas +0.966
8. Nico Hülkenberg +7.822
9. George Russell +0.206
10. Pierre Gasly +8.895
11. Théo Pourchaire +1.949
12. Kevin Magnussen +0.335
13. Esteban Ocon +0.525
14. Carlos Sainz +5.577
15. Daniel Ricciardo +9.055
16. Yuki Tsunoda +1.969
17. Zhou Guanyu +7.539
18. Alexander Albon DNF
19. Lance Stroll DNF
20. Stoffel Vandoorne DNF

DRIVER OF THE DAY: CHARLES LECLERC, Ferrari

From P4 to P1, back to the top of the Championship table and a superb second Italian Grand Prix win in a row, and third for Ferrari, Charles Leclerc held off Lewis Hamilton for a stunning Ferrari victory on home soil. You duly recognised this, and voted the defending Champion Driver of the Day!

FASTEST LAP AWARD:
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari 1.20.650

DHL FASTEST PITSTOP AWARD:
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari 2.142s

2025 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

Leclerc 333
Hamilton 327
Verstappen 279
Alonso 180
Norris 164
Piastri 146
Bottas 114
Russell 54
Tsunoda 46
Sainz 27
Albon 26
Ricciardo 23
Vandoorne 10
Hülkenberg 6
Stroll 3
Zhou 1
Gasly 1
Pourchaire 0
Magnussen 0
Ocon 0

2025 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP

Ferrari 660
Red Bull-Honda RBPT 459
McLaren-Mercedes 310
Aston Martin-Honda RBPT 124
Mercedes 81
Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT 69
Williams-Mercedes 29
Haas-Ferrari 7
Audi Sauber-Mercedes 1
Alpine-Renault 0

[hallow oar]

Noooo Lewis was sooo close😭

[foggy locust]

Long way to go in this Championship

[foggy locust]

McLAREN TO CONTINUE WITH PIRELLI FOR 2025

Ahead of this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the fourth team to confirm their tyre choice for 2025 is McLaren, who have opted to remain with Pirelli for next season.

McLaren rejected a big offer from Bridgestone to stick with Pirelli, with Zak Brown confirming the news in an interview in Baku this week.

McLaren look locked into third in the Constructors for 2025, and hope to take the step up to challenge for next year with the new regulations. They will be sticking with the Italian tyre manufacturer for their challenge.

McLaren join Williams in confirming the choice of Pirelli, while defending Champions Ferrari and the newly minted Nissan Renault have opted for Bridgestone.

[foggy locust]

AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX 2025
WEEKEND PREVIEW

And so to Baku. With just eight rounds remaining in a thrilling 2025 season, we are fully into the run-in and this fantastic street circuit.

After a Monza that delighted the Tifosi with a Ferrari 1-2, and continued a growing Championship battle between their two drivers, with Red Bull and Max Verstappen losing ground, Charles Leclerc took home his third Monza victory for Ferrari in front of the Tifosi. He now leads Lewis Hamilton by just six points in the Drivers, while Ferrari have a very comfortable 201 point lead over Red Bull.

The Baku City Circuit is a 6.003km track set around the Streets of Baku, mixing in 12th and 15th Century architecture, such as Maiden Tower and the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, with modern buildings around the Azadliq Square. It is the second longest circuit of the season, behind Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, and was once thought of as the fastest street track in the world, having now conceded that title to first Jeddah, and now Vegas. However, it remains a favourite on the calendar, with long straights and low speed corners. 20 turns and just 2 DRS zones in the first sector.

And while Ferrari have built up a comfortable lead in the Constructors and thoughts turn to when they can clinch their second straight, and eighteenth overall, Championship, it remains a lot closer in the Drivers. Charles Leclerc is six points above Lewis Hamilton after his Monza victory, but this remains a tight Championship battle that could go either way. Leclerc and Hamilton have been clean racing with each other all season, will this continue at the ever present danger of the walls of Baku?

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen has lost ground to both Leclerc and Hamilton and is now 48 points behind Leclerc for the lead of the Championship. He, and Red Bull, badly need to start picking up some more victories and cutting down the lead in the title race. Fernando Alonso meanwhile is still searching for that monumental 33rd victory as his F1 career winds down - he wasn't far off at Monza, but a poor Safety Car restart cost him any chance, although he did land another podium.

McLaren meanwhile have not been far away in the fight for individual wins, even if their hopes of fighting for a Championship didn't materialise this season. With Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in a contract year next year, and new regulations looming, 2026 feels like a big year for the Papaya - but what can they do with the rest of this year? Can they take a much needed victory?

For Aston Martin, Valtteri Bottas once again scored points while Stoffel Vandoorne did not, however this time it was Vandoorne's Honda RBPT engine that let him down, giving up about halfway through the race and bringing out a Safety Car. Despite low points scoring in the last few races, Aston gained on Mercedes and RB last time around at Monza.

Speaking of Mercedes, it has been a tough year for the Silver Arrows, down in fifth in the Championship and still under threat for fifth from RB, who remain just 12 points behind. Carlos Sainz has really struggled at his new team since his move from Ferrari, and difficulties with George Russell has pushed Russell to a move back to Williams. Where do the Brackley team go from here? A good weekend at Baku could go a long way towards helping.

It was tough sledding for Racing Bulls last time, as Yuki Tsunoda landed himself a penalty for a collision with Zhou Guanyu, ending any chances of points, and a qualifying crash and a pitlane start ended Daniel Ricciardo's chances before they really began, and he also landed a penalty for sending Lance Stroll into the barrier. It's a pick yourself up, dust yourself off and go again kind of weekend for RB, especially seeing as the gap to Mercedes remains just 12 points.

It was even worse for Williams in Italy, who saw both Alexander Albon and Lance Stroll fail to reach the chequered flag, as Albon had a gearbox failure and Stroll was sent into the barrier by Ricciardo. Williams remain in a good spot for next year with the return of Russell, replacing the Mercedes bound Albon, but anything short of a big result or two for themselves or elsewhere means that Seventh in the Championship is the likely ceiling, or floor for them this year.

Haas hit paydirt for just the third time this season, with Nico Hülkenberg's Eighth Place finish at Monza getting valuable points for the team. They still remain under threat from Audi Sauber and Alpine, but a tiny bit of breathing room for a team who is desperately trying not to finish last. They looked on for double points before Tsunoda wrecked Zhou Guanyu's race and chances of points, but something to build on for Baku.

And it was finally joy for Audi Sauber after a very rough season, as they had their best weekend of the year. Théo Pourchaire qualified P10, his first ever Q3 appearance and the team's first of the season, before Pierre Gasly managed to go from P20 to his first point of the season. Despite a coming together from the team's two cars, they held on, and just avoided a penalty, for the first point of the year.

And Alpine came very close to getting their first point of the year through this carnage - Kevin Magnussen was pressuring the two Audis before running wide late and ruining any chance of catching Gasly and Pourchaire. Alpine must simply go again, and hope Magnussen and Esteban Ocon can secure a point or two to get them off the bottom of the table.

53 laps await us in Baku, and clear skies are the way ahead, with no rain expected at all this weekend. With just eight races remaining, this Championship battle and the fights across the board are heating up. You surely won't want to miss it.

[foggy locust]

FP1 Reserves: Bedrin (Norris), Dürksen (Verstappen)

Bedrin in the wall! He's kept the car running but with severe damage to Norris' car!

FP1: ALO LEC HAM

In a good sign for Red Bull, Alonso goes quickest ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton, with Piastri fourth and Tsunoda fifth.

FP2: VER ALO LEC
HAM P4

Verstappen returns to practice and immediately goes quickest with Alonso second in a Red Bull 1-2. Leclerc third and Hamilton fourth, with Norris fifth, ahead of Hülkenberg, Russell and Bottas. Pourchaire and Sainz round off the top ten.

Ocon off at turn 16! He's out of the car and out of the session, and the Alpine mechanics have work to do for this afternoon's Qualifying. VSC called.

Tsunoda tags the barrier with just 7 mins left!!

FP3: LEC HAM ALO

Leclerc goes fastest in FP3, ahead of Hamilton, with Alonso Third. Piastri, Norris and Verstappen follow, with Bottas, Russell, Pourchaire and Vandoorne in the top ten.

Welcome to Baku and to qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix! We've seen a very mixed practice with Red Bull being quickest on Friday, and so far Ferrari being quickest today, but it feels like anyone's game really. McLaren Aston Martin, Mercedes and even Theo Pourchaire's Audi Sauber have been in and around the top ten, this should be fun.

We are a go for Q1!

4.00pm: We're underway here in Q1, and Leclerc and Ricciardo are the first two heading out onto track.

4.04pm: Leclerc sets a 41.710, about 1.948 ahead of Ricciardo. That was a flier from the Ferrari.

4.05pm: Ocon the next name on the board, and he's about 2 seconds back.

OH MY GOD IT IS A RED FLAG

Alex Albon, who moves to Mercedes in the offseason, has just spun off and binned the car halfway through his flier. He's out of qualifying, thankfully okay, but we have a stoppage. That also wrecked the flier of Lewis Hamilton, BTW.

4.28pm: We are back green here and we go again.

4.30pm: Quite a few cars out on track trying to get a flier in now, including Hamilton, making up for his previous lost lap, both McLarens and both Red Bulls.

4.33pm: Hamilton into second, but half a second down on Leclerc. Will he have to go again?

4.34pm: Verstappen 6 tenths down on Leclerc now. Russell meanwhile into fourth.

4.35pm: Alonso got caught in traffic, as did Sainz, and both are in the bottom five!!

DRIVER AT RISK: Magnussen
RELEGATION ZONE: Sainz, Gasly, Pourchaire, Alonso

4.39pm: The bottom five, minus Albon of course, and Magnussen all on fliers. Magnussen not improving, the rest are.

Pourchaire tenth and he's safe, Stroll at risk. Sainz has a bad middle sector...Sainz still just 14th, now 15th and Alonso is improving...Magnussen doesn't improve, Norris goes up to fourth, Gasly out, Alonso Seventh, SAINZ IS OUT!

OUT IN Q1: Sainz, Stroll, Magnussen, Gasly, Albon

4.45pm: We are green for Q2!

4.46pm: With the earlier Red Flag, quite a few getting a banker lap in early here, including both Leclerc and Hamilton.

4.49pm: Hamilton quickest, with a 42.106, Leclerc about 0.102 behind. Zhou and Vandoorne well behind.

4.50pm: Piastri into third, well behind the two Ferraris.

4.51pm: Just fifth for Verstappen! Alonso goes third, dropping Max to sixth behind Piastri and Russell.

DRIVER AT RISK: Ricciardo
RELEGATION ZONE: Hülkenberg, Pourchaire, Zhou, Vandoorne, Ocon

4.36pm: Everyone heading out for another go of it here. Vandoorne up to tenth, still at risk.

Verstappen purple through S1, Ricciardo improving, Leclerc purple through S2, Vandoorne still tenth, Ricciardo ninth, Tsunoda at risk, Verstappen stays sixth, Pourchaire doesn't improve, Ocon out, Hülkenberg out, so is Zhou!

OUT IN Q2: Vandoorne, Hülkenberg, Pourchaire, Zhou, Ocon

Q3 is Green!

5.11pm: All ten remaining are out on track right now.

5.13pm: Hamilton currently quickest in both S1 and S2 👀

5.14pm: Hamilton up to P1, 0.140 ahead of Leclerc! Verstappen into Third. Russell Fourth, Ricciardo fifth.

5.15pm: Piastri goes fourth, ahead of Alonso in fifth and Norris sixth. Ricciardo ninth, Tsunoda tenth. Bottas up to seventh.

Q3 AS IT STANDS: Hamilton, Leclerc, Verstappen, Piastri, Alonso, Norris, Bottas, Russell, Ricciardo, Tsunoda

5.18pm: Norris on his flier, the other nine heading out on outlaps.

5.20pm: Norris up to third!!

Hamilton purple through S1, then Leclerc takes purple. Bottas P7. Piastri stays fifth, no improvement. Russell eighth, Hamilton doesn't improve through S2, Leclerc is FLYING, Second purple sector, JUST FOURTH FOR VERSTAPPEN, Hamilton stays P1 BUT LECLERC SNATCHES POLE FROM HIS TEAMMATE BY 0.321!!! WHAT A LAP BY CHARLES LECLERC!!

Q3: Leclerc, Hamilton, Norris, Verstappen, Piastri, Alonso, Bottas, Russell, Ricciardo, Tsunoda

Okay, I will pause and do the GP tomorrow afternoon I think!

[foggy locust]

2025 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX
STARTING GRID

LEC HAM

NOR VER

PIA ALO

BOT RUS

RIC TSU

VAN HÜL

POU ZHO

OCO SAI

STR MAG

GAS PIT

ALB PITLANE START - QUAL P20

Hello and welcome to Baku, it is time to go racing around the Baku City Circuit for the 9th time, having hosted the European Grand Prix in 2016, and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix eight times including today. 51 laps of this 6.001km circuit, Round 17 of this mammoth season. 20 turns, 12 to the left, 8 to the right, 2 DRS zones, tyre degradation is very low here and that Turn 1 is looming with danger and potential overtakes.

Alex Albon will avoid it though as he will take a pitlane start, leaving Pierre Gasly on the back row alone, Kevin Magnussen and Lance Stroll on row nine. Carlos Sainz went out in Q1 in a shock exit in a tough first season for Mercedes, Esteban Ocon alongside him. It's Zhou Guanyu and Theo Pourchaire on the Seventh row, Nico Hülkenberg directly ahead of his teammate and Stoffel Vandoorne begins 11th. Daniel Ricciardo starts just ahead of teammate Yuki Tsunoda on row five, while George Russell is Eighth beside Valtteri Bottas in seventh. Fernando Alonso begins today from sixth, with Oscar Piastri Fifth, its Lando Norris and Max Verstappen on the second row in a must win situation for Verstappen to keep his title fight alive, and Ferrari lock out the front row again. Lewis Hamilton begins from P2, and it's the fifth Pole for Charles Leclerc, he's never won here, can today be the day?

Formation lap done

One light, two, three, four, five

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO

Leclerc gets off to a good start, Hamilton stats second, Verstappen up to third ahead of Norris, RUSSELL HAS GONE OFF!!! He's able to avoid the barrier and rejoin safely but he's down to P20!!

(BOZ) "And defend best you can, free to race"

(LEC) "Yeah, copy."

(ADA) "This is a good pace Lewis, good work."

The two Ferraris have broken away from the pack on lap 3 and are currently trading DRS.

Verstappen and Norris battling for P3!

IT IS A VERY, VERY EARLY SAFETY CAR!!! ALONSO PLOWS INTO THE WALL! HE IS OUT AT TURN 15

IN FACT IT HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO A RED FLAG

Restart order: Leclerc, Hamilton, Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Bottas, Tsunoda, Ricciardo, Hülkenberg, Vandoorne, Ocon, Pourchaire, Zhou, Sainz, Magnussen, Albon, Gasly, Stroll, Russell. Alonso out of the race

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO AGAIN ON LAP 5

[steel talon]

Woah

[foggy locust]

Leclerc holds firm again, Hamilton second, Verstappen stays ahead of Norris, Bottas ahead of Piastri, Tsunoda stays 7th, Hülkenberg 8th ahead of Ricciardo, Ocon into the points!

Tsunoda having an issue with the gearbox and that is not ideal for the RB, who loses a place to Nico Hülkenberg as a result!

Up the front, Hamilton snatches the lead from Leclerc, as the two have built up a big gap to Verstappen! This is proving to be more of a Ferrari track than expected, but Leclerc grabs P1 back going into turn 1, now Hamilton's got it back again!

Bottas under pressure from Oscar Piastri for P5 here, but the Aston Martin holding firm.

Speaking of which, Vandoorne gets Ocon for P10!

In a very clean move, Leclerc retakes the move from his teammate! They were going wheel to wheel for the longest time! Great racing from the Ferraris!

OCON SPINS OFF!!! That's likely his chances of points gone!!

Norris gets Verstappen for P3, just as Piastri gets ahead of Bottas for fifth!

It gets worse for Alpine as Kevin Magnussen, trying to overtake Alex Albon for P14, clips the barrier! He's continuing but with major car damage!

(BOZ) "This is good work Charles, keep this up."

(HAM) "Need more power if possible"

(ADA) "Yeah, no worries, no worries. What you're doing with tyres is OK."

(BOZ) "Some light LiCo for tyre management, Charles."

Norris is going for that third from Verstappen and he takes it!

Lap 12: Leclerc, Hamilton, Norris, Verstappen, Piastri, Bottas, Tsunoda, Vandoorne, Ricciardo, Pourchaire, Zhou, Sainz, Russell, Albon, Stroll, Gasly, Magnussen, Ocon. Alonso out of the race

NORRIS

Lewis Hamilton going for the lead going into the castle section of the track, Hamilton leads the Azerbaijan GP with a great overtake on Leclerc!

Tsunoda continuing with the gearbox issues and he's down to P8, behind Vandoorne!

Verstappen has reclaimed third in his battle with Norris!

There's about less than three seconds between the two Ferraris and the battle between Verstappen and Norris. Getting closer at the front.

(BOZ) "And mode push Charles, mode push."

Leclerc and Hamilton opening up a bit more of a gap, and Leclerc goes back into the lead of this GP!

Lap 21: Leclerc, Hamilton, Norris, Verstappen, Piastri, Bottas, Ricciardo, Vandoorne, Tsunoda, Sainz

Norris has broken free of Verstappen's DRS! He's now trying to chase down Leclerc and Hamilton!

Never mind, Verstappen back in Norris' DRS and the two have closed in on the two front runners!

PITSTOPS: Stroll, Zhou and Magnussen all the first on the day to make pitstops. Zhou onto Softs, Stroll Mediums, Magnussen Mediums. Will those make it to the end for Zhou?

(ADA) "Let's go hunting, Lewis"

(HAM) "Understood"

PITSTOP: Tsunoda is pulling into the garage, and the mechanics are pulling him up. He's retired and out of the race.

(ADA) "Update your tyres please when you can?"

(HAM) "Rears dropping off a bit"

BIG mistake from Vandoorne as he tags the barrier! He drops to P13, having kept the car going.

PITSTOPS: Meanwhile Bottas is the first of the frontrunner to make a stop, and that was a slow stop! Onto Medijms and rejoins P12. Vandoorne follows his teammate in not long after, Gasly in too. Vandoorne has to get a new front wing so he's delayed!

(BOZ) "Box, box"

PITSTOP: Sainz in from P9! He's onto Mediums and rejoins P12.

Albon and Bottas make contact as Bottas overtakes him!

PITSTOP: Leclerc in from P2! A very, very quick stop, 2.191, and he's back out there on fresh Mediums in P5.

(ADA) "Box, box"

PITSTOP: Hamilton pits and. HAS A MASSIVE DELAY!! WHAT WERE FERRARI'S PIR CREW DOING? 6.192? Verstappen, Piastri and Ricciardo also pit. Hamilton onto the Mediums and rejoins about seven seconds behind Leclerc!

[sterile breach]

relatable

I'd want to fire every one of my pit crew

[foggy locust]

(HAM) "F**K, man! What was that?"

(ADA) "Sorry about that, the jack didn't set correctly."

(HAM) "Likely cost me this race. We'll talk later."

LECLERC

PITSTOP: Russell in and onto the Softs again as he chases down his teammate.

BOTTAS

On a technicality - Lando Norris, running P1, doesn't actually have to pit here. Leclerc however is gaining on him quickly.

Alex Albon is having a day of it. Daniel Ricciardo, overtaking him for P8, clips the side of the Williams.

Lap 30: Norris, Leclerc, Hamilton, Verstappen, Piastri, Bottas, Hülkenberg Ricciardo, Albon, Sainz, Russell. Zhou, Stroll, Pourchaire, Ocon, Gasly, Vandoorne, Magnussen. Tsunoda and Alonso are out of the race.

[foggy locust]

Yeah, not best pleased with them there

Hamilton under pressure now from Verstappen, who also just took the FL.

PITSTOP: Albon in, and onto the Softs. Will be a bit of a miracle if he gets points here.

Leclerc makes light work of getting past Norris and retakes P1 of this race!

(BOZ) "Norris DRS...never mind, he's pitting."

(LEC) "Copy, copy."

PITSTOP: Norris does indeed pit, and takes on new Softs. He's down to P4, 18 seconds behind Leclerc, about eight behind Hamilton and Verstappen.

Hamilton and Verstappen drag racing down the main straight, and Hamilton stays ahead!

PITSTOP: Nico Hülkenberg makes a stop, and he's onto Softs, which means Théo Pourchaire is into the points!

HAMILTON

(ADA) "Was a very good lap, well done. Some LiCo for tyre temps."

(HAM) "Understood."

Lap 38: Leclerc, Hamilton, Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Bottas, Ricciardo, Sainz, Russell, Pourchaire

Rookie Théo Pourchaire desperately trying to defend the point, which would be his first F1 point, under serious pressure from Hülkenberg.

Alas, Hülkenverg with too much pace and he gets past Pourchaire for tenth!

PITSTOP: Zhou's Softs haven't lasted and he's back into the pitlane for another set of Softs.

Russell gets past Ricciardo for Seventh.

Pourchaire is not going away quietly here, as he continues to pressure Hülkenberg for tenth.

The two Mercedes working well here as Russell defends Ricciardo close enough for Sainz to take and overtake him. Or is Russell giving DRS to Ricciardo to block his teammate?

PITSTOP: Stroll has a delay in the pits! Williams having a rough one today. He's 17th, a lap down and onto Softs.

Russell finally builds up a gap and Sainz gets the move done on Ricciardo for P8. Sainz having a low key very good drive today.

Lap 43, and the closest battle is between the two Mercedes drivers. Sainz within 1.5 of Russell.

Sainz has DRS on his teammate, but he's managed to drag Ricciardo along with him!

A rough day for Zhou as he's now having some gearbox issues.

Sainz going for P7 on his teammate and Russell continues to defend it!

Leclerc about 6.5 ahead of Hamilton now. Hamilton closing but not quickly enough. Four laps remain.

IT IS DISASTER FOR VERSTAPPEN. HE IS HAVING CAR ISSUES AND HE DROPS BEHIND NORRIS, THEN PIASTRI AND SLOWING A LOT! Can he get it to the end here?

Big permutations in both Championships here, as Ferrari are likely to be almost 250 ahead with seven races remaining (and three Sprints). Meanwhile this will likely end Verstappen's WDC title challenge.

NORRIS

Norris having ERS issues, he most likely will get to the end on that but issues for McLaren to fix.

FINAL LAP

(ADA) "Full push, let's see if we can get that extra point."

Five Pole Positions on this track, this has been a long time coming for Charles Leclerc, his sixth victory of the season, his first around here, CHARLES LECLERC WINS THE AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX!!! AND IT IS A 1-2 FOR FERRARI AGAIN, LEWIS HAMILTON SNATCHES THE FASTEST LAP ON THE FINAL LAP!!

HAMILTON

(BOZ) "And that's P1, another win, Sixth win of the season! Congrats Charles, amazing job!!"

(LEC) "LET'S GOOOOO! Let's go, come on!! Ahhh, fantastic, fantastic job guys. Great win, great result. Thank you."

(BOZ) "Brilliant job, Charles."

(ADA) "And taking the flag, P2, and the fastest lap at the end. Good job, Lewis."

(HAM) "Yeah, think we did everything we could do today. Shame about that pitstop, we were in contention before that. Let's keep pushing."

(ADA) "You've done a good job."

Norris P3
Piastri P4
Verstappen drags it home for P5
Bottas P6
Russell P7

Unbelievably, Ricciardo has stolen P8 from Sainz at the line!!

P10 Hülkenberg

2025 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATION

1. Charles Leclerc 01.31.23
2. Lewis Hamilton +4.758
3. Lando Norris +20.043
4. Oscar Piastri +6.566
5. Max Verstappen +8.828
6. Valtteri Bottas +11.310
7. George Russell +21.241
8. Daniel Ricciardo +3.130
9. Carlos Sainz +0.022
10. Nico Hülkenberg +2.855
11. Théo Pourchaire +11.298
12. Alexander Albon +3.618
13. Esteban Ocon +3.618
14. Lance Stroll +1 lap
15. Zhou Guanyu +1 lap
16. Pierre Gasly +1 lap
17. Stoffel Vandoorne +1 lap
18. Kevin Magnussen +1 lap
19. Yuki Tsunoda DNF
20. Fernando Alonso DNF

DRIVER OF THE DAY: GEORGE RUSSELL, Mercedes

A great recovery drive from a lap 1 mistake from George Russell saw him power back to take valuable points for Mercedes and hold off the challenge of teammate Carlos Sainz and RB's Daniel Ricciardo for seventh. George Russell is your Driver of the Day!

FASTEST LAP AWARD:
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari 1.44.270

DHL FASTEST PITSTOP AWARD:
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari 2.190s

2025 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

Leclerc 358
Hamilton 346
Verstappen 289
Alonso 180
Norris 179
Piastri 158
Bottas 122
Russell 60
Tsunoda 46
Sainz 29
Ricciardo 27
Albon 26
Vandoorne 10
Hülkenberg 7
Stroll 3
Zhou 1
Gasly 1
Pourchaire 0
Ocon 0
Magnussen 0

2025 FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP

Ferrari 704
Red Bull-Honda RBPT 469
McLaren-Mercedes 337
Aston Martin-Honda RBPT 132
Mercedes 89
Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT 73
Williams-Mercedes 29
Haas-Ferrari 8
Audi Sauber-Mercedes 1
Alpine-Renault 0

[hallow oar]

Noooooooooo. Lewis only p2😭

[foggy locust]

Still seven races to go, he's in with a shout

Verstappen's chances of his fourth are fading

[hallow oar]

at least this. But if Ham wont win his 8th now he probably will never

(I mean yeah in 2026 his 9th but later... 🙂

[foggy locust]

NISSAN WITHDRAW FROM F1 DEAL, RENAULT LOOKING FOR NEW PARTNERSHIP

Breaking news as Nissan have pulled the plug on their planned partnership of Renault's F1 works team.

Citing financial issues, Nissan have withdrawn from the rebranding of Alpine for the 2026 season.

Renault will now look elsewhere for options for the naming rights and a partnership for the 2026 season and beyond.

[foggy locust]

The new regs will be vital for us as well for 2026

[foggy locust]

SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX 2025
WEEKEND PREVIEW

Welcome to Singapore, F1's original night race, and with seven rounds to go, Ferrari are closing in on a second consecutive Constructors’ Championship, and the Drivers’ Championship is heating up.

Charles Leclerc extended his advantage over Lewis Hamilton to 12 points in Baku as he secured his sixth victory of the season in another Ferrari 1-2, while Max Verstappen suffered a power unit issue that dropped him from third to fifth and reduced his chances in the Championship.

63 laps of this 4.940km circuit await us, 23 turns, 3 DRS zones and not much room for overtaking. Traditionally chaos usually follows at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Including of course, Crashgate, the most infamous incident taking place in the initial running back in 2008, when Nelson Piquet Jr crashed intentionally to help Fernando Alonso to victory. There has been a total of 24 safety car deployments in 15 races here, so expect at least one again on Sunday.

Ferrari have built up a 235 point advantage in the Constructors, and could clinch it as soon as Texas - another 1-2 here could go a long way, it would become their twelfth of the season. The focus might well be on the Drivers’ Championship, and Leclerc leads Hamilton by 12 points after back to back wins in Italy and Azerbaijan. Can Hamilton reduce the gap towards his defending Champion teammate in the search for his Eighth, or can Leclerc extend his lead?

Max Verstappen is the only one to beat the two Ferrari drivers this season, and he's done it six times, but after a power unit failure in Azerbaijan costing him two places towards the end of that race and finds himself with a not so nice 69 point deficit to Leclerc. Verstappen hasn't won since Catalunya, but did break his Singapore curse here last year and very much needs to do that again to keep his ailing title challenge alive. For Fernando Alonso, his search for that elusive 33rd win goes on as he winds down his illustrious F1 career, he will make way for Liam Lawson at the end of this season.

McLaren have come close and once again bringing upgrades in their bid to take the fight to Ferrari and Red Bull this season. Oscar Piastri has had a bit of a breakthrough this year with four podiums, while Lando Norris took his second of the year last time out in Baku. But the Papaya team came into this year hoping to challenge for victories and potentially the Championship, and the latter definitely hasn't panned out, the former could well still come in, hence the upgrades.

Aston Martin had the same problem they've been having all year last time out - one driver delivered, one driver did not. Valtteri Bottas has seen his career rejuvenated this season in the British Racing Green, while Stoffel Vandoorne, who many saw as a surprising choice over Felipe Drugovich to replace the outgoing Lance Stroll, has struggled. Vandoorne has been confirmed for a second season, but needs to start picking up the results as soon as possible.

Mercedes got a much needed double points last time out, as both George Russell and Carlos Sainz recovered from mistakes made over the weekend to score 7th and 9th. The Silver Arrows needed the boost as they challenge for fourth, but find themselves 43 points back from Aston Martin and just 16 ahead of the Racing Bulls with seven rounds remaining. With Russell making way for Alex Albon next season, Mercedes could do with a big result this weekend.

Speaking of the Racing Bulls, the future Andretti are just 16 points back but were plagued by reliability gremlins in Baku, with Yuki Tsunoda having to retire from the race due to gearbox and engine issues. Daniel Ricciardo did rescue some points, overtaking Sainz on the line to take eighth in the Azerbaijani capital, but the Red Bull junior side lost ground to Mercedes last time around, and will be aiming to try and overtake them in the next seven races.

Williams are preparing for the arrival of former and future driver George Russell to help lead the team into the future, alongside Lance Stroll who will remain with the team for next year, with Alex Albon heading for Mercedes for 2026. The team have been scoreless for the last four races however and have to arrest a bit of a downturn, however this is a track that does suit their car so hopes are high for thos weekend.

After the breaking news that the Nissan project has been pulled, Alpine will now look in a different direction for their team's future. For now, all focus is going onto trying to get their team's first point of the year. Esteban Ocon and Kevin Magnussen have had a rough first year of their partnership, is there any turning it around?

Haas have scored with Nico Hülkenberg in both Italy and Azerbaijan and seem to be turning their season around, but still face a 21 point deficit to Williams for P7, and seven races (and three sprints) to reduce that, meaning a pace of 3 points gained per weekend - very doable at the rate both teams are currently going. Hülkenberg and Zhou, if they can get into the lower points, have a chance at that P7.

And for Audi Sauber, they have a single point this year, and Théo Pourchaire has come close to claiming his first F1 point, finishing 11th in the last three races, while Pierre Gasly took 10th in the Netherlands for that point. Can Pourchaire finally make the breakthrough here?

With no rain on Saturday or Sunday, but some on Friday, it could be a very unpredictable weekend. Who will take victory in Singapore and boost their chances at either end of the table? You won't want to miss it.

OLLIE BEARMAN TO RUN FP1

Ferrari will once again prepare for the future as Oliver Bearman will run FP1 in Lewis Hamilton's car.

Bearman is seen as a potential successor to Hamilton, and Ferrari continue to prepare the young English driver for his future in F1.

FP1 Reserves: Bearman (Hamilton), Bedrin (Norris), Dürksen (Verstappen), Antonelli (Sainz), Maini (Magnussen), Montoya (Vandoorne)

FP1: LEC BEAR PIA

A Ferrari 1-2 to kick off the weekend in the pouring rain as Leclerc is 0.159 ahead of Bearman, and over a second ahead of Piastri in third. Hülkenberg Fourth ahead of the two Red Bulls of Alonso and reserve Dürksen, while Bedrin of McLaren, Montoya, Ricciardo and Antonelli complete the top ten.

(HAM) "Ran wide there."

(ADA) "Copy, understood."

(HAM) "Can we check the floor, see if there's damage?"

(ADA) "Looks like no damage here but we will check that"

Hamilton runs wide on turn 1, but seems to get away with it.

Sainz, running P6, tags the wall! He's able to keep the car going and looks like minimal damage.

FP2: PIA VER LEC
HAM P4

A statement of intent from Oscar Piastri, who goes quickest in the first dry running of the weekend, ahead of the three title protagonists. Max Verstappen ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, which is what he needs for his title challenge. Bottas fifth, with Sainz sixth despite tagging the barrier. Albon, Norris, Alonso and Tsunoda is your top ten.

FP3: LEC HAM TSU

Charles Leclerc quickest in FP3 ahead of Lewis Hamilton, while Yuki Tsunoda took a very impressive P3. Fernando Alonso fourth, with Lando Norris fifth and Max Verstappen sixth, while Oscar Piastri was seventh. Pourchaire, Stroll and Vandoorne round off the top ten.

It is time to go Qualifying here on the docks of the Marina Bay, this high downforce Street Circuit usually throws up a few surprises and often some chaos, to boot. It is the Singapore Grand Prix Qualifying, and while Ferrari generally have looked quickest, Oscar Piastri topped FP2 and may be in with a shout, and you cannot discount Red Bull either. This will be interesting. Qualifying very important today as overtaking is incredibly difficult around here, let's see how we go.

We go green for Q1!

9.00pm: Both Ferraris immediately out onto track first here, remember Red Flags are always a danger around here, and traffic can be tricky. A clear track could make a big difference.

9.02pm: Somewhat vitally, both Ferraris got onto their qualifying lap ahead of Sainz, Ocon and Magnussen exiting the pit, so the clear track is ahead of them.

9.03pm: Leclerc sets a 26.771, meanwhile Hamilton is 0.919 behind! That is either a shocker by Lewis, or Charles has put up a worldie. Let's see.

9.04pm: Sainz goes TWO seconds behind Leclerc, so I'm guessing it might have just been a brilliant lap by the World Champion. The two Alpines well back as well in fourth and fifth.

9.09pm: The Green Teal Arrows, as they are this weekend, are struggling for pace. Russell goes 1.777 behind.

9.10pm: Veratappen just fourth, almost a second off, and I'm sensing Leclerc just put a ridiculously good lap together.

9.11pm: Norris up to third, and Piastri fourth.

DRIVER AT RISK: Ricciardo
RELEGATION ZONE: Ocon, Hülkenberg, Gasly, Magnussen, Zhou

9.14pm: Hamilton back out there, and he doesn't quite trust his first lap. Interesting.

9.15pm: Hamilton hitting traffic and isn't improving! Ricciardo meanwhile goes up to Eighth and Pourchaire now at risk.

9.16pm: Hamilton doesn't improve, but of the bottom five, only Zhou is currently improving.

9.17pm: Norris up to P2, Sainz goes eighth and safe. Zhou stays last despite improving his time.

None of the bottom five improve as the session ends. Pourchaire stays P15, but he's through.

OUT IN Q1 Ocon, Hülkenberg, Gasly, Magnussen, Zhou

Q2 goes Green!

9.25pm: Norris, Leclerc and Hamilton first on track.

9.28pm: Norris quickest, then Leclerc goes fastest, then Hamilton takes P1 by 0.080!

9.29pm: Verstappen up to third, just 0.317 back off Hamilton.

9.32pm: Pourchaire up to eighth, ahead of the two Williams drivers.

9.33pm: Just 13th for Sainz, make that 14th as Piastri goes up to 4th.

DRIVER AT RISK: Tsunoda
RELEGATION ZONE: Pourchaire, Stroll, Albon, Sainz, Vandoorne

9.36pm: Traffic proving very heavy and difficult to negotiate here.

9.37pm: Stroll stays 12th, no improvement for Hamilton or Leclerc despite a third sector purple for the latter.

9.38pm: Alonso up to sixth, Albon goes tenth but very much at risk.

Sainz just 11th, he's out!! Tsunoda goes eighth and knocks Albon out! Neither Vandoorne nor Pourchaire improve and both are out.

OUT IN Q2: Albon, Sainz, Pourchaire, Stroll, Vandoorne

We are green for Q3!

9.50pm: Leclerc, Hamilton and Verstappen all on fliers right now. As is Bottas. The other six still remaining are all on outlaps.

9.51pm: Hamilton quickest, 0.256 ahead of Leclerc and 0.387 ahead of Verstappen.

9.52pm: Bottas goes about 2 seconds behind Hamilton, while Norris is up to Third ahead of Verstappen!

9.53pm: Tsunoda up to 5th, then Piastri takes 5th.

9.54pm: Alonso slots into 5th, Russell 8th, Ricciardo 10th.

Q3 AS IT STANDS: Hamilton, Leclerc, Norris, Verstappen, Alonso, Piastri, Tsunoda, Russell, Bottas, Ricciardo

9.57pm: Last of the outlaps beginning now.

Russell stays Seventh, Alonso fifth. Hamilton doesn't improve...neither does Leclerc! Verstappen does and he is up to P3, Norris stays Fourth, Ricciardo ninth, Bottas goes eighth! IT IS POLE FOR LEWIS HAMILTON!!

Q3: Hamilton, Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, Alonso, Piastri, Russell, Bottas, Tsunoda, Ricciardo

2025 SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX
STARTING GRID

HAM LEC

VER NOR

ALO PIA

RUS BOT

TSU RIC

ALB SAI

POU STR

VAN OCO

HÜL GAS

MAG ZHO

Going to have dinner and a break, back later for the race

[foggy locust]

Welcome along to the docks of the Marina Bay, and the 24th Singapore Grand Prix. We've raced under the lights here since 2008, with a couple of absences. 62 laps of this 4.940 km circuit around the Streets of Singapore, 23 corners, 14 to the left, 9 to the right, and danger lurking at almost every turn, we've only ever had one race here that didn't have a Safety Car - this time last year.

Zhou Guanyu starts at the very back and he has Kevin Magnussen for company, Pierre Gasly 18th and Nico Hülkenberg 17th after a surprising Q1 exit, Esteban Ocon begins 16th with Stoffel Vandoorne just ahead in 15th. Lance Stroll begins 14th while Théo Pourchaire is 13th in his first time around these streets in an F1 car. Carlos Sainz had another Q2 exit and lines up 12th, his future teammate Alex Albon 11th. The two RBs of Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo are 9th and 10th, they'll be Andretti Cadillac this time next year. Valtteri Bottas lines up 8th with George Russell 7th, while Oscar Piastri lines up 6th and Fernando Alonso, who won the first night race here under controversial circumstances starts his last race here from 5th. Lando Norris lines up 4th while Max Verstappen begins today from 3rd, and it is once again a Ferrari front row lock-out. World Champion Charles Leclerc starts from 2nd, and seven time World Champion and closest challengers Lewis Hamilton on Pole once again. Lewis has won this race four times but not since 2018, can he win it for the fifth time?

Lewis starts on the Mediums, Charles on the Softs

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO

Hamilton gets off to a good start, Leclerc holding firm, Alonso gets ahead of Norris, Russell gets Piastri at the start...

OH MY GOD IT IS A RED FLAG ON THE FIRST LAP

Nico Hülkenberg tries an overtake on Esteban Ocon, and plows himself, and Ocon straight into the barrier!! Both men are out of the race which has been brought to an early halt!!

Restart order: Hamilton, Leclerc, Verstappen, Alonso, Norris, Russell, Piastri, Tsunoda, Bottas, Ricciardo, Albon, Sainz, Pourchaire, Stroll, Vandoorne, Magnussen, Gasly, Zhou. Ocon and Hülkenberg out of the race.

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO AGAIN

Hamilton holds firm from Leclerc again, Norris has regained position from Alonso, Albon up past Ricciardo

OH MY GOD. SAFETY CAR CALLED. Stoffel Vandoorne has just put Lance Stroll into the barriers

AND FOR THE SECOND TIME IN AS MANY LAPS, WE HAVE ANOTHER RED FLAG

Lance Stroll is out of the race.

Stoffel Vandoorne has damage, is able to continue, but will likely take a penalty.

Restart order, lap 5: Hamilton, Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, Alonso, Russell, Piastri, Tsunoda, Bottas, Albon, Ricciardo, Pourchaire, Sainz, Vandoorne, Magnussen, Gasly, Zhou. Stroll, Ocon and Hülkenberg out of the race.

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO AGAIN

Hamilton again holds the lead, Leclerc still second, Verstappen third, Alonso gets Norris once more, Piastri, Tsunoda, Bottas, Albon are your top ten, Pourchaire ahead of Sainz

PENALTY: CAR 52 (VANDOORNE)

As expected, Stoffel Vandoorne gets a penalty for ending the race of the man he replaced, Lance Stroll...and probably a ticking off from Stroll's father, Vandoorne's boss.

Leclerc is going for the lead of this race and he's into the lead!!

OH MY GOD. A SAFETY CAR HAS BEEN CALLED. Stoffel Vandoorne locks up and plows straight into Kevin Magnussen, ending the race of both drivers.

Two Red Flags and a Safety Car.

It's lap seven.

PITSTOPS: Russell, Bottas, Albon and Ricciardo all come in, they, aside from Hamilton were the only ones left to stop. Everyone else took tyres under the Red Flag, including Leclerc, who switched to Mediums.

(LEC) "The Safety Car is a bit too slow.

(BOZ) "Yeah, confirm Charles, keep working on those tyres in the meantime."

(HAM) "Should we have pitted?"

(ADA) "We feel it is too early here."

Lap 10, under SC: Leclerc, Hamilton, Verstappen, Alonso, Norris, Piastri, Tsunoda, Pourchaire, Sainz, Gasly, Russell, Bottas, Albon, Ricciardo, Zhou. Vandoorne, Magnussen, Stroll, Ocon, Hülkenberg all out of the race.

It has to be said, Théo Pourchaire, if he can get round here, has a fantastic chance of his maiden points tonight.

WE ARE RACING

Leclerc and Hamilton once again breaking away on the restart. That Ferrari's cornering is just ridiculously good round here. Hamilton goes down the inside of his teammate for the lead on lap 12!

(ADA) "Some slight engine cooling please."

(HAM) "Understood."

Norris and Piastri battling for P5, with Tsunoda trying to overtake Norris

OH MY GOD. RED FLAG #3

TSUNODA LOCKS UP AND TAKES HIMSELF AND NORRIS OUT OF THE RACE. Oh, my, God.

Thirteen laps. Three Red Flags, one Safety Car.

Restart order: Leclerc, Hamilton, Verstappen, Alonso, Piastri, Sainz, Pourchaire, Russell, Bottas, Gasly, Albon, Ricciardo, Zhou.

Norris, Tsunoda, Vandoorne, Magnussen, Stroll, Ocon, Hülkenberg out of the race.

Lap 15.

It's 9.15pm.

This race started at 8pm.

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO ONCE MORE

Leclerc holds the lead over Hamilton for now, Verstappen Third, Alonso, Piastri, Sainz Sixth, Pourchaire Seventh and currently on for his Maiden points but who the hell knows in this race anymore

CAR 22 (TSUNODA)

The demolition Derby continues as Zhou Guanyu smashes into Daniel Ricciardo while passing him, giving both cars damage!! They will both be able to continue this race, somehow though.

[sterile breach]

Wreckfest

Drive Hard, Die Last

[foggy locust]

Carnage. Avaolute carnage. Fernando Alonso, overtaking his own teammate Max Verstappen, clips him and causes the former Champion quite a bit of damage!!!

It's utter chaos

CAR 14 (ALONSO)

Piastri has taken advantage of the chaos involving the two Red Bull's to take third step on the podium.

Verstappen is absolutely furious with his teammate, and he's badly losing time and positioning here, having now dropped to P6.

Piastri is keeping the two Ferraris in check here, the gap being about 2.6.

Hamilton seems to be having some issues with engine cooling right now.

(HAM) "Overheating a little bit here."

(ADA) "Do what you can with it."

Hamilton goes down the side of Leclerc at turn 1 and now leads the race! With Verstappen struggling, Hamilton needs this one, but Leclerc retakes the lead!

Hamilton going for P1 again on lap 25, and a beautifully clean move, Leclerc battles it but Hamilton takes position!

Lap 25: Hamilton, Leclerc, Piastri, Alonso, Sainz, Verstappen, Albon, Russell, Pourchaire, Bottas, Ricciardo, Gasly, Zhou

(LEC) "Aaargh."

(BOZ) "It's a long race Charles, keep it up, this is a good pace and good tyre management, very good racing."

In the three stoppages, Alonso has taken on three different Mediums, and that is it. He is the only driver who has to take a mandatory stop, although it is likely that neither Albon nor Zhou will make it to the end on their current Softs.

Leclerc is going for the lead once more and Charles Leclerc once again leads this race!

Pourchaire currently hanging onto P9, but Bottas with DRS gets the move done.

Sainz is having a good recovery drive, at the venue of potentially his most famous win back in 2023.

(BOZ) "Update on tyres?"

(LEC) "They're good, no issues."

(HAM) "Can't get that much closer."

(ADA) "Focus on consistency."

PITSTOP: Zhou comes in to take his penalty, he takes said penalty...then Haas make a mess of getting his tyres on and delay him even further. He is now a full minute behind Gasly. Good lord.

No crashes for a bit

...just as we say that, Pourchaire clips the wheels of Albon! Pourchaire up to P9, Albon reporting slight damage

Despite his car issues, Verstappen is making a fight for it with Sainz for P5.

PITSTOP: Albon comes in to make a stop and get that front wing changed. He returns, 16 seconds behind Gasly and that might have cost Williams points today.

Gasly makes the move! He's up to P10 and as if stands, double points for Audi Sauber!!

Verstappen comes in and gets his front wing changed!! He's down to P11 and out of the points right now!

Leclerc defending P1 from Hamilton but Hamilton retakes the lead off his teammate and Championship rival!

Verstappen on the recovery charge, has already got Ricciardo and is back in the points, and then picks off Gasly for Eighth.

Leclerc is back in front on lap 36!

PITSTOP: Ricciardo in on lap 37! He re-emerges on the Mediums.

Oh my god, Sainz now having major issues with his car, he is pitting, but goes onto the Hards and is indeed continuing in this race.

PITSTOPS: Piastri and Alonso both come in! McLaren are quicker and they get Piastri out ahead of Russell, while Alonso serves his five second penalty, and rejoins behind the Mercedes.

(BOZ) "Thoughts on Plan C?"

(LEC) "Optimistic, but possible"

PITSTOP: Pourchaire is in! He takes on new Mediums and will rejoin P11.

(HAM) "What is the gap to third?"

(ADA) "Piastri, 22.8."

(LEC) "Tyres are going off quicker than expected."

(BOZ) "Box now, box."

PITSTOP: LECLERC IN! He takes on new Softs, 2.267 stop, and rejoins behind Piastri.

(HAM) "The tyres are gone."

(ADA) "Yeah, box, box, we are ready for you."

Oscar Piastri now leads this Grand Prix, Leclerc and Hamilton are in chase mode.

Lap 46: Piastri, Leclerc, Hamilton, Alonso, Verstappen, Russell, Sainz, Albon, Bottas, Pourchaire, Ricciardo, Gasly, Zhou

LECLERC

PITSTOP: Gasly in once more, and he's also going onto the Softs.

HAMILTON

PITSTOP: Russell is going onto the Softs. This an attempt to steal the FL?

Leclerc has closed the gap to 2.3 on Piastri, while Hamilton a further 2.4 back.

Piastri now has the World Champion directly behind him, and now directly in front of him as Leclerc makes the move and regains the lead of this race!!

Piastri is not giving up easily however, as he grabs the lead back!

Leclerc back into the lead with a fantastic move down the inside of turn 1! He's now getting away from the McLaren!

ALONSO AND VERSTAPPEN MAKE CONTACT AGAIN! Verstappen was the guilty party this time and gets past Alonso, damaging his teammate's car in the process, and Alonso is not pleased!

Hamilton going into turn 8 and overtakes Piastri for P2! Now can he chase down his teammate?

Piastri is quite smartly hanging onto Hamilton's DRS and trying to get himself back in the conversation for the lead!

Hamilton is going for the lead and Hamilton retakes the lead from Leclerc!!

Leclerc gets ahead of Hamilton while lapping Zhou, and Zhou holds up Hamilton for a second, allowing Leclerc, at least for now, a gap to the lead!

Five laps to go!

Leclerc now 1.7 ahead of Hamilton, who has Piastri to contend with. This is fascinatingly close.

Hamilton has now broken clear of Piastri, and is in sights of his teammate. This is going to go all the way to the final lap!

Lap 62, and Leclerc is still holding out from Hamilton

HAMILTON HAS DRS AND THE LEAD!! WHAT A RACE THIS IS!

FINAL LAP

4.9km that could go a long way in this Championship

THE FERRARIS ARE WHEEL TO WHEEL AND HAMILTON JUST HOLDS ON

BOTH OF THESE DRIVERS HAVE GIVEN IT EVERYTHING, IN A RACE THAT HAS HAD EVERYTHING, BUT LEWIS HAMILTON ROUNDS THE FINAL CORNER TO WIN THE SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX AND BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO THIS TITLE RACE!!! CHARLES LECLERC P2, WHAT A RACE. WHAT. A. RACE.

(ADA) "You've done it baby, P1! Amazing, amazing job!"

(HAM) "YESSSSS! GET IN THERE!! Ahhh, thank you, thank you. Amazing guys, thank you so much. Credit to the entire team, and to Charles who pushed me all the way. Great job today."

(ADA) "A fantastic job."

(BOZ) "And P2, P2. That was incredibly close, Charles, there's nothing more you could've done. A great drive today."

(LEC) "Aaaargh, I really wanted that, I really did. P2 is good, but I really wanted that. Thank you, great job guys. Tough race, congrats to Lewis."

(BOZ) "You've done very well, and this isn't over yet."

Oscar Piastri with a deserved podium

Alonso P4

Verstappen P5

Bottas P6

Sainz P7

Russell P8

Albon P9

THEO POURCHAIRE SCORES HIS MAIDEN F1 POINT

Ricciardo, Gasly and Zhou the only others to finish.

2025 SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATION

1. Lewis Hamilton 01.37.12
2. Charles Leclerc +0.321
3. Oscar Piastri +5.844
4. Fernando Alonso +21.724
5. Max Verstappen +5.870
6. Valtteri Bottas +24.038
7. Carlos Sainz +1.677
8. George Russell +5.773
9. Alexander Albon +14.783
10. Théo Pourchaire +4.971
11. Daniel Ricciardo +5.024
12. Pierre Gasly +1 lap
13. Zhou Guanyu +1 lap
14. Lando Norris DNF
15. Yuki Tsunoda DNF
16. Kevin Magnussen DNF
17. Stoffel Vandoorne DNF
18. Lance Stroll DNF
19. Kevin Magnussen DNF
20. Nico Hülkenberg DNF

DRIVER OF THE DAY: LEWIS HAMILTON, Ferrari

Just a phenomenal drive from Lewis Hamilton under pressure from both his teammate Charles Leclerc and McLaren's Oscar Piastri, the seven time Champion showed a cool head and came out on top. Lewis Hamilton is your Driver of the Day!

FASTEST LAP AWARD:
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari 1.31.019

DHL FASTEST PITSTOP AWARD:
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari 2.115s

Will update the tables later on

[foggy locust]

2025 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

Leclerc 376
Hamilton 372
Verstappen 299
Alonso 192
Norris 179
Piastri 173
Bottas 138
Russell 64
Tsunoda 46
Sainz 35
Albon 28
Ricciardo 27
Vandoorne 10
Hülkenberg 7
Stroll 3
Pourchaire 1
Zhou 1
Gasly 1
Ocon 0
Magnussen 0

2025 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP

Ferrari 748
Red Bull-Honda RBPT 491
McLaren-Mercedes 352
Aston Martin-Honda 140 RBPT
Mercedes 99
Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT 73
Williams-Mercedes 31
Haas-Ferrari 8
Audi Sauber-Mercedes 2
Alpine-Renault 0

[foggy locust]

ASTON MARTIN CONFIRM PIRELLI FOR 2026

The latest domino in the growing tyre war has been confirmed - Aston Martin will run Pirelli tyres in 2026.

The British team have stuck with the current tyre manufacturer for 2026, turning down the option to switch to Bridgestone.

They become the fifth team to confirm their tyre choice for 2026.

[foggy locust]

Constructors gap needed:

COTA: 309
Mexico: 250
Brazil: 206
Vegas: 147
Qatar: 103
Abu Dhabi: 44

[foggy locust]

UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX 2025
WEEKEND PREVIEW

With just six rounds left of this fantastic 2025 Formula 1 season, we head to the Circuit of the Americas, deep in the heart of Texas, with the Drivers Championship poised nicely at just four points, while the Constructors Championship remains with a 257 point gap, and the first chance to clinch for Ferrari.

With this being a Sprint weekend, and 59 points being available, Ferrari can take the Constructors if they are not outscored by Red Bull by 8 points over the course of this weekend, which would be their second consecutive Constructors Championship, and eighteenth title overall.

After a chaotic Singapore, which saw seven total retirements due to crashes, Lewis Hamilton narrowly pipped Charles Leclerc to the line in yet another Ferrari 1-2, while Max Verstappen found himself fifth and now 77 points back in the Drivers’ Championship race.

And while the Drivers’ Championship battle will rage on, the focus for the Scuderia will likely be the Constructors and sealing the team Championship, which means Leclerc and Hamilton may have to work together - something they've not had any problems doing this season, however with both fighting for the Drivers, could we see tensions boiling over?

It is now or never for Max Verstappen and Red Bull in their bid to regain the Championships. This is must win for both driver and team if they hope to take the Championship beyond COTA, and while Verstappen cannot be mathematically eliminated this race, he can all but. Tensions flared between Verstappen and teammate Fernando Alonso at Singapore as they made contact twice, but the team and both drivers have said the two have cleared the air since.

There is also an interesting inter-team battle developing down at McLaren, as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri battle for fifth in the Drivers’ Championship, and both still have a good shot at catching the soon to be retired Fernando Alonso for fourth, with Norris 13 points behind and Piastri 17 behind the two time former Champion. Norris was taken out by Yuki Tsunoda at Singapore, while Piastri took his fifth podium of the season.

Stoffel Vandoorne's struggles continued as he was responsible for the exits of Lance Stroll, Kevin Magnussen AND himself at Singapore, and he will carry a grid penalty for this race, the last thing he or Aston Martin needed as they try and hold off Mercedes and RB for fourth, and may once again have to rely on the resurgent Valtteri Bottas.

Mercedes were one of the benefactors of the Singapore chaos, however with Bottas sixth, George Russell seventh and Carlos Sainz eighth, they did only gain two points on Aston Martin and remain 41 points behind them as they chase Fourth in the Championship, although with neither Racing Bulls driver scoring points, they now sit a good 26 points ahead of the Red Bull juniors.

Speaking of, Yuki Tsunoda will also have a grid penalty for causing the crash of Lando Norris and himself at Singapore, ending the races of both men, while Daniel Ricciardo finished just outside the points in heartbreaking circumstances. Singapore was a rough weekend for the Racing Bulls, one they will have to put behind them quickly as they harbour hopes of catching Mercedes, and potentially even Aston Martin, but they'd need a big swing in the last six for that.

Williams look settled in seventh in this year's Championship, as they prepare for the return of George Russell to lead them into the new regulations. In the meantime, Alex Albon scored a couple of points at Singapore, while Lance Stroll's race was ended through no real fault of his own in that chaotic race. Williams have picked up points for the first time since Hungary, now they look to build on that at COTA.

Haas meanwhile struggled last time out, Nico Hülkenberg with a penalty incoming at this race, for the clash with Esteban Ocon, while Zhou Guanyu had car difficulties and a delayed pitstop slowing him down, finishing 13th and last of those who made it to the line. This is of course a home race for Haas, who look to build up points to try and challenge Williams for Eighth, but remain at risk from Audi Sauber behind them.

That's because after several near misses, Théo Pourchaire found paydirt for the first time in his F1 career, scoring tenth and his first career point - first for many? He and Pierre Gasly will be hoping for a much better car next year, but both drivers have scored a single point this year and hope to add to that in the final six races.

And that's one more point than either Alpine, who saw both of their cars wiped out in the chaos of Singapore. A hefty repair bill and no points for a team who saw the deal with Nissan fold a few weeks back, and are still looking into their options for the 2026 season. All we know is that whatever form the team takes - Esteban Ocon and Kevin Magnussen will be retained for next season, despite neither scoring a point this year so far. Can that change this weekend?

COTA's Sprint Weekend comes into focus here, and with no rain expected, this is a vital day in both Championships, with the Drivers’ title battle continuing between the two Ferrari drivers, on a day their team could clinch the Constructors. You won't want to miss it.

We'll be doing the Sprint today, Qualifying/Race tomorrow most likely

FP1 Reserves: Bedrin (Norris), Dürksen (Verstappen), Maini (Ocon), Boya (Pourchaire)

Bottas having Engine issues during FP1! He's had to retire and will take no further part in this session.

FP1: ALO PIA BED
LEC P16, HAM P18

Fernando Alonso quickest in the only practice session ahead of Oscar Piastri, with McLaren reserve Nikita Bedrin Third. Stoffel Vandoorne was fourth but he will take a grid penalty, while Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas followed in fifth and sixth. Hülkenberg and Tsunoda also have grid penalties and took Seventh and Ninth, with Red Bull's reserve Joshua Dürksen Eighth and Carlos Sainz tenth. Notably, the two Ferraris of Leclerc and Hamilton just P16 and P18.

It is time for a shootout here in Texas, as we go Sprinting around the Circuit of the Americas. The fourth Sprint of the Season, and Red Bull and McLaren set the pace early this weekend, Ferrari were much lower down the order on a weekend where they can clinch the Constructors again - should the Champs be worried? Let's find out, shall we?

We're Green here for the Sprint shootout in SQ1!

4.30pm: Friday afternoon and we are going. Leclerc, Hamilton, Verstappen all on track, as are both McLarens and both Alpines.

4.32pm: Hamilton slowed by the Audi of Gasly, meanwhile, Vandoorne spins off!!

4.34pm: Leclerc quickest, Hamilton almost a second behind. Verstappen just fourth, in between the two Alpines! Piastri goes up to second, splitting the Ferraris.

4.35pm: Albon with a spin off! He's wrecked his flying lap and abandons it there!

DRIVER AT RISK: Russell
RELEGATION ZONE: Vandoorne, Magnussen, Verstappen, Ocon, Albon

4.38pm: Not all that much time for those trying to get a flier going. The bottom five all now on track again, including Verstappen, currently in the bottom five.

4.40pm: Ocon up to P12, Russell into the dropzone, Hülkenberg at risk.

4.41pm: Russell not improving through S1. Magnussen stays 18th, Verstappen up to 4th and safe.

Russell improves through S2, as does Hülkenberg. Pourchaire now at risk. Russell up to 13th, Hülkenberg 16th, Vandoorne stays 18th! He's out! Zhou at risk. Pourchaire 17th, Albon goes 14th, Zhou is out!

OUT IN SQ1: Zhou, Hülkenberg, Pourchaire, Vandoorne, Magnussen

Onto SQ2!

4.55pm: All 15 remaining are out onto the track.

4.58pm: Hamilton quickest through S1, Alonso through S2. ALBON GOES QUICKEST. Both Ferraris slowed by Ocon, however. Tsunoda 3rd!

4.59pm: Both Leclerc and Hamilton in the bottom five, an absolutely disastrous first lap.

5.01pm: Absolutely no messing about by Ferrari as they quickly send both cars out onto the track again.

5.04pm: NEITHER FERRARI IS IMPROVING. This could be a disaster incoming...

5.05pm: Hamilton goes purple, Leclerc green through S2. Norris still fastest for now

Hamilton up to P1, then Leclerc P1, Norris stays Third. Piastri in the dropzone, Ricciardo at risk. Sainz eighth, Stroll just 11th, Verstappen only Seventh but improving. Piastri up to 6th, Verstappen goes quickest. Albon 11th, Gasly 14th, Ocon 15th.

OUT IN Q2: Albon, Ricciardo, Stroll, Gasly, Ocon

Green for SQ3!

4.21pm: Tsunoda, Piastri, Bottas and Verstappen all on track right now.

4.22pm: Tsunoda goes quickest initially. Hamilton and Leclerc starting outlaps.

4.23pm: Russell a full 1.367 behind Tsunoda! Horrendous for Mercedes here.

4.24pm: Alonso, Sainz and Norris all the last ones to attempt laps. Piastri just third!

4.25pm: Verstappen up to P1 for now, Hamilton purples through the first two, and he goes fastest! Leclerc just 0.093 behind!

The two Ferraris are trying again here, and Leclerc is purple through S1. Sainz up to P7, ahead of Russell. Leclerc purple through S2, LECLERC TAKES SPRINT POLE, Norris Fourth, Alonso Fifth!

SQ3: Leclerc, Hamilton, Verstappen, Norris, Alonso, Tsunoda, Bottas, Piastri, Sainz, Russell

2025 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX
SPRINT GRID

LEC HAM

VER NOR

ALO TSU

BOT PIA

SAI RUS

ALB RIC

STR GAS

OCO ZHO

HÜL POU

VAN MAG

Gonna make dinner and then do the Sprint later I think

[foggy locust]

It is time to go Sprinting around the Circuit of the Americas. 19 laps of this 5.513km circuit await us deep in the heart of Texas, and the Constructors Championship is coming closer and closer into view for Ferrari. Can anyone stop them today? Well the two leaders of the Drivers Championship will be starting one and two, it's going to be a tough task.

Kevin Magnussen starts at the very back with Stoffel Vandoorne alongside, Théo Pourchaire fresh off his first point had a disappointing SQ1 exit, he's beside Nico Hülkenberg on row nine. Zhou Guanyu starts alongside Esteban Ocon on the Eighth row, then it's Pierre Gasly 14th and Lance Stroll 13th. Daniel Ricciardo begins today from 12th while Alexander Albon is 11th, just behind the two drivers of his future team Mercedes, Carlos Sainz just ahead of George Russell on row five. Oscar Piastri begins from 8th with Valtteri Bottas 7th, then it's Yuki Tsunoda 6th and Fernando Alonso 5th. Lando Norris will start today from fourth while Max Verstappen lines up Third, and the Ferraris once again lock out the front row, with Lewis Hamilton starting the Sprint second, and Pole Position for Charles Leclerc.

Let's go Sprinting!

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO

Leclerc holds the lead from Hamilton, Verstappen Third, Alonso ahead of Norris into fourth, Bottas gets Tsunoda for sixth, Stroll up to 11th!

Hamilton already pushing for the lead on his teammate, and Hamilton goes in front!

(ADA) "Manage the tyres for now."

(HAM) "Understood."

Bottas with a big lock-up! Yellow flags waving as he drops to the back of the pack!

Alonso going for P3 off Verstappen and takes it!

Lap 3: Hamilton, Leclerc, Alonso, Verstappen, Norris, Tsunoda, Piastri, Sainz

Sainz drops behind Russell who goes for the divebomb and he's into P8!

(BOZ) "Keep it tidy, a reminder on ERS."

(LEC) "Yeah, will do my best here."

Leclerc goes down the inside of Hamilton but Hamilton is defending, the Champion makes the move stick!

And now Alonso gets Hamilton for P2, albeit briefly!

Tsunoda runs wide and will get a first strike for track limits.

Sainz's first season for Mercedes continues getting worse. He's having technical issues and has dropped down to P11.

Hamilton meanwhile has retaken the lead off Leclerc on lap 6!

Hamilton and Leclerc now under pressure from Verstappen and Alonso here!

Piastri has made his way through the pack and is up to P5!

Russell back into the points, but under pressure from both Ricciardo and Stroll for that final point.

(LEC) "I'm faster, but cannot overtake for now."

(BOZ) "Keep racing, you're doing well."

Leclerc makes the overtake work and is ahead of Hamilton for the lead!

Lap 9: Leclerc, Hamilton, Alonso, Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Tsunoda, Russell, Ricciardo, Stroll, Sainz, Albon, Zhou, Ocon, Pourchaire, Hülkenberg, Vandoorne, Gasly, Bottas, Magnussen

Ricciardo is up to eighth ahead of Russell!

Scratch that as Russell makes the move stick not only on Ricciardo, but Tsunoda as well!

Lap 14 and Hamilton regains the lead from Leclerc! This remains so, so close!

Alonso has gotten Third on Verstappen against and that looks very vital in ending the challenge of Verstappen for the WDC!

Leclerc is back in front but Hamilton has DRS and the lead again on lap 16!

Lap 18 and Hamilton is holding off Leclerc here, but it is so, so close heading into the final lap!

LAST LAP

LECLERC TAKES THE LEAD OFF HAMILTON GOING INTO THE FINAL LAP

BUT HAMILTON HAS DRS AND HAS THE LEAD AGAIN!!!

LEWIS HAMILTON ROUNDS THE FINAL CORNER TO WIN THE UNITED STATES SPRINT!!!

Charles Leclerc comes home just behind his teammate, and the gap is now just three points!

(HAM) "YES GUYS!"

(ADA) "What a smart race, fantastic job, Lewis! P1!"

(HAM) "Thanks guys, thanks for all the hard work, to all the team and at the factories. Great start to the weekend!"

(ADA) "Fantastic. Some pick-up please."

(BOZ) "So, P2, Charles. Very, very close. Great effort."

(LEC) "Yeah, good job guys."

(BOZ) "You've done a good job. P0, P0."

Alonso comes home 3rd, Verstappen 4th, Norris 5th, Piastri 6th, Tsunoda 7th, Russell 8th.

2025 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX
SPRINT CLASSIFICATION

1. Lewis Hamilton 00.30.47
2. Charles Leclerc +0.302
3. Fernando Alonso +5.774
4. Max Verstappen +0.317
5. Lando Norris +4.426
6. Oscar Piastri +0.437
7. Yuki Tsunoda +16.510
8. George Russell +0.374
9. Daniel Ricciardo +5.959
10. Carlos Sainz +4.598
11. Lance Stroll +2.595
12. Zhou Guanyu +4.251
13. Nico Hülkenberg +0.371
14. Théo Pourchaire +0.737
15. Alexander Albon +0.324
16. Stoffel Vandoorne +3.416
17. Pierre Gasly +2.854
18. Esteban Ocon +0.470
19. Valtteri Bottas +0.909
20. Kevin Magnussen +9.208

2025 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

Leclerc 383
Hamilton 380
Verstappen 304
Alonso 198
Norris 183
Piastri 176
Bottas 138
Russell 65
Tsunoda 48
Sainz 35
Albon 28
Ricciardo 27
Vandoorne 10
Hülkenberg 7
Stroll 3
Pourchaire 1
Zhou 1
Gasly 1
Ocon 0
Magnussen 0

2025 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP

Ferrari 763
Red Bull-Honda RBPT 502
McLaren-Mercedes 359
Aston Martin-Honda 140 RBPT
Mercedes 100
Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT 75
Williams-Mercedes 31
Haas-Ferrari 8
Audi Sauber-Mercedes 2
Alpine-Renault 0

Championship permutations:
Red Bull must now outscore Ferrari by 12 points to keep the Constructors Championship alive past COTA.

We will continue tomorrow

[hallow oar]

thats what we love to see 🤩 🔥

[hallow oar]

its getting close there at the top🥶

[foggy locust]

It is time to go Qualifying here in Austin, and with the Drivers' Championship on an increasing knife-edge, and a Constructors Championship that could be decided as early as this weekend. Red Bull must outscore Ferrari by 12 points or more, or the Scuderia have their record 18th Constructors Championship, breaking their previous record. McLaren could also find themselves in the mix, today may go a way to deciding, but Ferrari have to be the favourites here.

We are Green for Q1!

5.01pm: As we hit golden hour here in Texas, Hamilton, Piastri, Alonso and Zhou are the first four out on track.

5.03pm: Verstappen and Leclerc both now heading out onto track, as are Albon and both Astons.

5.04pm: Hamilton sets the first time, a 32.225. Piastri however is going purple through the first two and goes 0.085 faster than Hamilton! Alonso about 0.458 back.

5.06pm: Verstappen up ahead of Piastri by 0.092, but then Leclerc goes quickest, just 0.010 ahead! It is very close right now!

5.07pm: Lando Norris up to P6, going in behind Valtteri Bottas.

5.09pm: Sainz slots into tenth, behind Zhou and Albon. Gasly then goes up to tenth.

5.12pm: Russell last of all there. Did he hit traffic or was it the old tyres?

DRIVER AT RISK: Hülkenberg
RELEGATION ZONE: Stroll, Ocon, Vandoorne, Magnussen, Russell

5.15pm: Stroll goes up to 13th. Worth noting that Sainz is also not far off the danger zone, being 14th, with Pourchaire 15th. This is a fascinating finale to Q1.

5.16pm: Not for Kevin Magnussen, who doesn't improve from 19th. He's out.

5.17pm: Gasly has a bit of a lock-up! That'll have wrecked this lap, will P12 be enough for him?

Vandoorne doesn't improve enough to get up out of the bottom five! Ocon also out, Hülkenberg 10th, Pourchaire into the bottom five, Norris goes fastest! Russell 11th, Stroll at risk, Sainz into the dropzone, Pourchaire 12th and safe, Gasly at risk, Stroll out, Sainz goes 9th and that knocks out Gasly!!

OUT IN Q1: Gasly, Stroll, Ocon, Vandoorne , Magnussen

Q2 goes Green!

5.25pm: Hamilton and Pourchaire the first two heading out.

5.28pm: Hamilton quickest, 31.818, while Pourchaire is about 2.4 seconds back. Ooft. Sainz goes within 0.848. Leclerc, Piastri, Norris and Alonso all on outlaps.

5.30pm: Russell fourth, and that's better than his first lap last time. Piastri now up to second, with Tsunoda third!

5.31pm: Leclerc up to P1, 0.259 ahead of Hamilton, while Norris goes sixth.

5.33pm: Alonso up to P3, while Verstappen completes his first lap...just Sixth.

DRIVER AT RISK: Russell
RELEGATION ZONE: Zhou, Ricciardo, Hülkenberg, Pourchaire, Albon

4.37pm: Everyone bar the two RBs out on track attempting a lap on fresh Softs.

Alonso up to Third, Hamilton second, Leclerc stays first, WE HAVE A COLLISION!!! HÜLKENBERG AND POURCHAIRE MAKE CONTACT ON THEIR FLIERS, and that yellow flag will end the session! Sainz is in the bottom five and is out, Zhou, Albon cannot improve either!!

OUT IN Q2: Sainz, Zhou, Hülkenberg , Albon, Pourchaire

Before we go to Q3, we need to analyse the Hülkenberg/Pourchaire incident. Pourchaire seemed to lock up and take out Hülkenberg, who was a passenger in the whole thing, with him. It didn't cause a Red Flag, but wrecked any chances of Sainz, Zhou and Albon improving due to the double yellows.

Hülkenberg had a penalty anyway and will almost certainly take a pitlane start now. Pourchaire will probably have to join him there.

Q3 is a go!

5.48pm: No Red Flag from the last session, so we continue as we were, after Hülkenberg and Pourchaire's collision. Thankfully both are OK.

5.51pm: Hamilton goes quickest, Tsunoda second, just third for Leclerc and fourth for Piastri.

5.52pm: Bottas up to second, Russell goes ahead of him, Alonso second and Verstappen third!

5.54pm: Ricciardo goes Seventh, ahead of Leclerc, while Norris is just ninth.

Q3 AS IT STANDS: Hamilton, Alonso, Verstappen, Russell, Bottas, Tsunoda, Ricciardo, Leclerc, Norris, Piastri

5.56pm: Final outlaps beginning now.

Piastri purple through S1, Leclerc improving, Piastri goes second!! He can't top Hamilton's time, Bottas also purple through S1! Leclerc just Third!! Hamilton doesn't improve, Bottas is improving, Norris goes fourth, Bottas just Sixth, Verstappen fourth, IT IS POLE FOR LEWIS HAMILTON

Q3: Hamilton, Piastri, Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, Alonso, Bottas, Tsunoda , Russell, Ricciardo

2025 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX
STARTING GRID

HAM PIA

LEC VER

NOR ALO

BOT RUS

RIC SAI

TSU ZHO

ALB POU

GAS PIT

STR OCO

MAG VAN

HÜL PITLANE START - QUAL P13

Tsunoda Qual P8, 3 place Penalty. Hülkenberg Qual P13, 3 Place Penalty, taking pitlane start. Vandoorne, Qual P19, 11 Place Penalty.

Gonna take a break for a bit for a rest, charge my phone etc. It'll be later this evening for the race

[foggy locust]

It is time to go racing here around the Circuit of the Americas. The 45th World Championship United States Grand Prix, and what a Grand Prix awaits us on the day Ferrari can clinch their 18th Constructors Championship. 56 laps of this 5.513km circuit await us, 20 turns, 2 DRS zones, a top speed of 211.3mph around here, it is fast, and it is exciting.

Nico Hülkenberg takes a pitlane start, he would've had a penalty anyway, it's 11 places for Stoffel Vandoorne who finds himself at the very back with Kevin Magnussen. Esteban Ocon 18th and Lance Stroll 17th, Pierre Gasly is on row eight alone with the pitlane start for Hülkenberg. It's Théo Pourchaire just ahead of his teammate and Alex Albon alongside him on row seven, Zhou Guanyu starts 12th and Yuki Tsunoda takes a three place penalty to start 11th. Carlos Sainz begins from 10th with Daniel Ricciardo 9th, George Russell begins directly in front of his teammate and Valtteri Bottas is 7th. Fernando Alonso starts today from 6th while Lando Norris is 5th, Max Verstappen lines up fourth and Charles Leclerc, last year's winner here, starts one place further ahead in third. And it's a front row start for Oscar Piastri while Lewis Hamilton starts from Pole, Hamilton clinched the Drivers' title here in 2019 and he can help clinch the Constructors for his new team today.

One light, two, three, four, five

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO

Hamilton holds firm, LECLERC GETS OFF THE LINE WELL AND GETS PAST PIASTRI, WHO'S HAD A HORRIBLE START AS VERSTAPPEN GOES BY HIM AS WELL!!

And Leclerc goes round Hamilton on the first lap and now leads the race!!

(BOZ) "And P1."

(LEC) "Whoo hoo hoo!"

Daniel Ricciardo moves up to eighth, while Yuki Tsunoda has gotten up into tenth ahead of Carlos Sainz.

Leclerc and Hamilton have broken well clear of the chasing pack.

Said chasing pack consists of Verstappen, Piastri, Norris, Bottas and Alonso. A bit of a DRS train forming right now.

Tsunoda up to Eighth, ahead of Ricciardo and Russell. In fact, make that Seventh as the two RBs have gotten past Bottas, and found their way into the aforementioned train.

Said train is not involving Verstappen though who's gotten away from the pack.

(ADA) "This is a good pace, keep it up."

(HAM) "Tyres are graining a little more than expected."

Alonso up to fourth, ahead of Norris!

Piastri struggling a bit for pace right now, and has dropped to P7.

Tsunoda absolutely on it though, and has made his way up to sixth!

Hamilton takes the lead from Leclerc on lap 9!!

VANDOORNE SPINS OFF AND HITS THE WALL!!! He's out of the race, VSC has been called!!

(BOZ) "Virtual Safety Car called, box now, box now."

(LEC) "Is he alright?"

(BOZ) "Yeah, he is okay."

(LEC) "Copy, box."

Only Leclerc pitted under VSC

2.210s for Leclerc, btw

Leclerc had to clear Tsunoda quickly, and he's done precisely that.

(ADA) "Update your tyre?"

(HAM) "Still some life in them yet."

PITSTOP: Alonso comes in and goes onto the Mediums! Albon and Ocon also in. Albon onto Mediums, Ocon onto Hards.

(ADA) "Box this lap, Lewis."

(HAM) "Yeah, box."

Pourchaire, running P14, has a lock-up!

PITSTOP: Hamilton in, and onto the Hards, 1.985!!! That was a ridiculously quick stop from Ferrari, the quickest so far this season!!

Verstappen and Norris battling for the lead right now, but Leclerc isn't too far behind, and unlike the front two, he has stopped once already.

Lap 16: Norris, Verstappen, Leclerc, Hamilton, Tsunida, Piastri, Bottas, Alonso, Ricciardo, Sainz

PITSTOPS: Ricciardo and Zhou both make their first scheduled stops. Ricciardo onto Hards, Zhou swaps Mediums for Mediums so he will have to stop again. Magnussen in too and onto Hards.

Leclerc going for the lead here again and he's back in front of the race!

Verstappen is up to P2 ahead of Norris.

Pourchaire runs wide, and loses P11 to Albon.

PITSTOP: Verstappen in from P2! He's going onto Softs from Medium, and rejoins P7.

Lap 20: Leclerc, Norris, Hamilton, Alonso, Piastri, Bottas, Verstappen, Tsunoda, Russell, Stroll

The Audi lads are having a rough day, with Gasly having a spin on turn 12 and dropping to the back of the pack.

PITSTOP: McLaren are double stacking!! There's enough of a gap that both drivers can get in and out without interference, and both are away

Lap 23: Leclerc, Hamilton, Alonso, Verstappen, Norris, Tsunoda, Piastri, Russell, Stroll, Bottas

About four and a half between Leclerc and Hamilton right now.

(LEC) "A lot of graining right now, tyres are a lot worse than expected."

(BOZ) "Copy, we believe it will be soon Charles, do what you can in the meantime."

(LEC) "Copy that."

Leclerc and Hamilton about 2 seconds apart, the tyre difference starting to show now.

(BOZ) "Box, box"

PITSTOP: Leclerc makes his second stop of the day, onto the Hards. 2.333, and he is rejoining in P4.

PITSTOP: Alonso in and onto the Hards as well! He comes back out in P6, nearly clipping Piastri on his way out of the pitlane!

PITSTOP: Verstappen back out there in P6!

Ocon goes wide! He returns to the track, having not lost position but a bit of time.

Leclerc and Norris battling for P2 right now, while Hamilton is about 15 seconds in front. This is good news for the 7 time Champion, however.

PITSTOP: Hülkenberg has a bit of a delay going onto the Hards!

Lap 36: Hamilton, Leclerc, Norris, Alonso, Piastri, Verstappen, Russell, Bottas, Ricciardo, Sainz

Piastri overtakes Alonso, and puts a bit of a dent in his sidepods in the process! Alonso with a bit of damage from that!!

PITSTOP: Russell puts on a fresh set of Hards and rejoins P9.

CAR 81 (PIASTRI) - 5s

PITSTOP: Alonso comes in and it looks like his front wing was damaged in the process. New one on, as well as new tyres and he's away in P6.

VERSTAPPEN

(ADA) "Box, box"

PITSTOP: Hamilton comes in, 8.7 up on Leclerc, but that stop was much longer!! 3.188!! That has dropped him to fourth!

16 laps to go, and Hamilton finds himself 11.7 seconds behind Leclerc in the lead. He's got Verstappen, who has pitted, and Norris, who hasn't, to negotiate before he thinks about challenging his teammate.

PITSTOPS: A second McLaren double stack, Norris gets away cleanly, but Piastri has to serve his five second penalty, which he does...but then McLaren cannot get the car off the jack! That was a disaster of a stop!

Hamilton gets past Verstappen for P2!

A brilliant move from Tsunoda to get P6 from Piastri!

(BOZ) "Lap times last time, you, 35.984, Lewis, 36.204."

(LEC) "Keep me posted on Lewis' laptimes."

(ADA) "Gap to Charles is 8.9, he is currently hitting traffic with backmarkers."

(HAM) "Yeah, understood."

Ten laps to go, and Ferrari will clinch the Constructors today, as it stands.

AS IT STANDS:
806 527

6.4 seconds between Leclerc and Hamilton with six laps to go. Leclerc again hitting traffic with the backmarkers, but also getting DRS from them.

Lap 52: Leclerc, Hamilton, Verstappen, Norris, Alonso, Piastri, Tsunoda, Russell, Ricciardo, Sainz, Stroll, Bottas, Hülkenberg, Albon, Zhou, Pourchaire, Ocon, Magnussen, Gasly. Vandoorne out of the race.

Hamilton is closing in on Leclerc, but he news over a second a lap. Last time around: 8 tenths. That won't be enough.

Hamilton is absolutely closing in now on Leclerc with just two laps left and he's about to be in DRS range!

LAST LAP

Hamilton is right behind Leclerc now and this is going to be a battle away the way to the chequered flag now!!

HAMILTON HAS DRS AND THE FERRARIS ARE GOING WHEEL TO WHEEL HERE ROUND THE LAST FEW CORNERS

AND CHARLES LECLERC JUST HOLDS LEWIS HAMILTON OFF AS WE GO INTO THE FINAL CORNERS AND BY THE NARROWEST OF MOMENTS, CHARLES LECLERC WINS THE UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX FOR A SECOND YEAR IN A ROW!!!

LEWIS HAMILTON SECOND, AND FERRARI ARE THE CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD!!!

(BOZ) "We've won it!! P1 today, P2 for Lewis, we are Constructors Champions, Charles!!!"

(LEC) "Mamma mia...YESSSSS! YES YES YES!!! Ahhh, yes, yes, yes! Fantastic, fantastic! Ahhh, brilliant to bring home the Constructors again. Brilliant. Thank you to all of the team!"

(BOZ) "Amazing job today. Still P1 in the Drivers, too."

(ADA) "And P2, Lewis, that is us confirmed Constructors Champions, congratulations!"

(HAM) "WOOOO, LET'S GO! Get in there! Great job to all the team, all the guys and girls at the factory. You've earned this for us."

(ADA) "Amazing job this season. Drivers' title is still on, too."

Verstappen P3, Norris P4, Piastri P5, Alonso P6

Tsunoda P7, Russell P8, Ricciardo P9, Sainz P10.

2025 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATION

1. Charles Leclerc 01.33.22
2. Lewis Hamilton +0.518
3. Max Verstappen +22.092
4. Lando Norris +5.612
5. Oscar Piastri +10.639
6. Fernando Alonso +5.132
7. Yuki Tsunoda +10.772
8. George Russell +20.168
9. Daniel Ricciardo +4.899
10. Carlos Sainz +5.064
11. Valtteri Bottas +12.250
12. Lance Stroll +19.863
13. Zhou Guanyu +1 lap
14. Alexander Albon +1 lap
15. Nico Hülkenberg +1 lap
16. Théo Pourchaire +1 lap
17. Esteban Ocon +1 lap
18. Kevin Magnussen +1 lap
19. Pierre Gasly +2 laps
20. Stoffel Vandoorne DNF

DRIVER OF THE DAY: YUKI TSUNODA

A superb drive from Tsunoda to go from P11 to P7, pushing the McLarens and Alonso well and outclassing the Mercedes, Yuki Tsunoda is your Driver of the Day!

FASTEST LAP AWARD:
Oscar Piastri, McLaren 1.35.508

DHL FASTEST PITSTOP AWARD:
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari 1.985s

2025 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

Leclerc 408
Hamilton 398
Verstappen 319
Alonso 206
Norris 195
Piastri 187
Bottas 130
Russell 69
Tsunoda 54
Sainz 36
Ricciardo 29
Albon 28
Vandoorne 10
Hülkenberg 7
Stroll 3
Pourchaire 1
Zhou 1
Ocon 0
Magnussen 0

2025 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP

Ferrari 806
Red Bull-Honda RBPT 525
McLaren-Mercedes 382
Aston Martin-Honda RBPT 140
Mercedes 105
Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT 83
Williams-Mercedes 31
Haas-Ferrari 8
Audi Sauber-Mercedes 2
Alpine-Renault 0

CHRISTIAN MANSELL CLINCHES F3 TITLE

In a later than normal finale at the US Grand Prix, Christian Mansell took home the F3 World Championship by just four points over Taylor Barnard.

The McLaren junior sealed victory in the US Feature Race to win the Championship by just four points over his MP Motorsport teammate.

Mansell, who will remain with the McLaren project next year, is expected to compete in F2 next year.

[foggy locust]

RED BULL RACING TO RUN BRIDGESTONE TYRES FROM 2026

In a shock announcement, Red Bull Racing have opted to make the switch to Bridgestone for 2026.

In F1's latest tyre war announcement, the Austrian team have followed their Italian rivals Ferrari in switching away from F1's current tyre supplier to the traditional one.

Red Bull, Ferrari and Alpine have all selected Bridgestone for 2026, while McLaren, Aston Martin and Williams will stick to Pirelli. We still await the choice of Mercedes, Haas, Audi Sauber and new team Andretti Cadillac.

[foggy locust]

MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX 2025
WEEKEND PREVIEW

And so to the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, it is time for the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix, Round 20 of this incredible 2025 Formula 1 World Championship season. With the Constructors’ Championship sealed by Ferrari at the Circuit of the Americas, the focus turns to the Drivers’ Championship battle which remains very, very close.

The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez has been hosting Formula 1 racing since 1986, when Gerhard Berger took victory for Benetton while suffering illness, as tyre problems struck most of the field. The tyre degradation has gotten a lot easier since around here, but the altitude of this circuit remains very much in play. 71 laps of this 4.304km, 17 turns, three DRS zones including the long main straight, and plenty of overtaking chances. It is likely a two stop, but a one stop is possible.

With Ferrari confirmed Constructors Champions, their two Drivers remain in a battle for the World Drivers’ Champion. It's defending Champion Charles Leclerc looking for his second consecutive title against seven time Champion Lewis Hamilton, looking to take his record Eighth title. With the two trading victories last weekend in Texas - Hamilton taking the Sprint and Leclerc the main race, Leclerc now holds a ten point advantage over his teammate with five rounds remaining. The two remain favourites for yet another 1-2 - Eight of the eleven last races have ended with Ferrari taking the 1-2 - but in which order may go a long way towards the fate of the Drivers’ Championship.

Meanwhile Max Verstappen was once again the best of the rest in Texas, but having not won a race since Spain, his Championship hopes are fading significantly, finding himself 91 points behind Championship leader Leclerc and 81 behind Hamilton with just five rounds to go. While not mathematically eliminated - there is 146 points to play for, and he is the only driver who can stop either Ferrari driver becoming Champion - it is a massive ask. As for teammate Fernando Alonso, in his final F1 season he remains in a fight with the two McLaren Drivers for P4, as well as looking for that one final elusive victory.

P4 is also in play for both McLaren Drivers as mentioned, and it is pretty much a matter of pride for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in their inter-team battle. Both drivers are of course out of contract next season, and both will be putting forward a case to be the long-term leader of McLaren, however the team will likely want to renew both as the new regulations come in to lead them for the next several years.

It's safe to say last weekend was not great for Aston Martin, with Stoffel Vandoorne crashing out of the race and Valtteri Bottas finishing out of the points due to a parts failure. The solace for the British Racing Green side is that Mercedes only gained 6 points on them, and RB 10 - but RB being much further back than Mercedes in the Championship. The gap remains 35 points to the Silver Arrows - Aston Martin will need to start outscoring them soon if they want to keep Fourth.

Mercedes right now look on for their worst season since 2012, sitting 5th in the Championship, the aforementioned 35 back from Aston Martin, and 22 ahead of Racing Bulls. Mercedes have scored double points regularly recently, but don't look close to troubling the top three teams, and with races running out before the 2026 engine regulations, they will be glad to see the back of the ground-effect era - but they still have something to play for here.

As do Racing Bulls, who saw a Driver of the Day performance from Yuki Tsunoda last time around, as well as Daniel Ricciardo taking points, as the team outscored both Mercedes and Aston Martin. A new name and new identity is in their future, but equalling fifth or even the pipedream of taking fourth is still very much in play for the Racing Bulls, and a good result here would go a ways towards that.

Williams have been struggling in the second half of the season so far, with just one points finish since Hungary, and the team didn't score again at COTA in either the Sprint or the main race. A team that look likely to be building towards 2026 at this point, but still remain at risk if Haas can pick up a good result or two - any points they can get would be a big help towards securing seventh.

Speaking of Haas, their home race came and went without much incident, or anything in the way of progress, really. Neither driver crashed, both finished the race, but well out of the points. It has been a better season than 2024 - could it have been worse? - but a team that is very much looking for that one big result to boost the confidence going into next year.

Meanwhile, Audi Sauber will take heart from the performances of rookie Théo Pourchaire, who has looked strong this year, although Pierre Gasly has struggled in a difficult car. The team will hope they can give the two a much better car in 2026 - after all, this is what the Audi project has been building to all along.

And Alpine are just looking to avoid a scoreless season once more, a team very much looking for any sign of hope or an identity. Singapore might have been the chance with so many crashes - if only their own cars weren't both involved in said crashes. A miracle needed for the French team.

We go racing in Mexico as this fantastic 2025 season is coming to a close with just five race weekends left - this second part of a triple header is crucial, and you won't want to miss it.

COLAPINTO, PULLING TO RUN FP1 FOR FERRARI

Ferrari are opting to give both Franco Colapinto and Abbi Pulling an FP1 appearance in Mexico this weekend.

Colapinto sits 9th in F2 and will make another FP1 appearance as he aims to work his way towards the F1 grid.

Meanwhile Pulling had a successful debut F3 campaign, finishing ninth in the Championship with two Podiums. She will make her debut FP1 appearance this weekend.

FP1 Reserves: Colapinto (Leclerc), Pulling (Hamilton), Dürksen (Verstappen), Hauger (Zhou), Verschoor (Tsunoda), Miyata (Ricciardo)

[foggy locust]

FP1: PIA NOR DUR
PUL P4, COL P5

A McLaren 1-2 to start this weekend off, with Red Bull's reserve Dürksen ahead of Ferrari's two reserves of Pulling and Colapinto. Russell sixth, ahead of Alonso, while Bottas, Hauger and Sainz complete the top ten.

FP2: LEC HAM PIA

Leclerc goes fastest in FP2, with Hamilton second and Piastri third. Verstappen fourth, Bottas fifth, Alonso sixth. Ricciardo, Pourchaire, Tsunoda and Stroll finish off the top ten.

FP3: ALO NOR VER
HAM P5, LEC P8

Alonso goes quickest ahead of Norris and Verstappen in FP3, with Piastri Fourth. Hamilton fifth and Leclerc eighth, while Bottas takes sixth and Tsunoda seventh. Sainz and Ricciardo round off the top ten.

Welcome to Mexico City and to qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix! With the Drivers' Championship on a knife edge, this is a crucial weekend for both Ferrari drivers, as well as Max Verstappen trying to keep his hopes alive. McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull all topped practices, this could well be anyone's game.

Green for Q1!

3.00pm: We are a go for Q1, and Leclerc and Hamilton the first two out on track, followed by Tsunoda.

3.02pm: Alonso and Sainz both on fliers right now.

3.03pm: Hamilton sets a 13.356, Leclerc 0.193 behind. Tsunoda goes 0.432 behind.

3.05pm: Alonso 6 tenths behind, with Sainz over a second back.

3.07pm: Verstappen 0.126 behind, splitting the Ferraris. Sainz heading right back out.

3.09pm: Sainz up to Eighth, Hülkenberg Eighth, Zhou tenth

3.11pm: Tsunoda fourth fastest!

3.13pm: Piastri up to P2, Bottas sixth, Norris just 9th!

DRIVER AT RISK: Pourchaire
RELEGATION ZONE: Stroll, Gasly, Albon, Magnussen, Ocon