Motor Sport
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F1 Q&A: Norris, Verstappen, Ocon, Perez, Ricciardo, Magnussen, Newey - BBC Sport
Some points from this article:
Based take on McLaren’s and Lando’s struggles:
*Norris' big issue right now is that he and McLaren are collectively making too many mistakes.
They
He had a chance to win the Canadian Grand Prix - but he and the team did not decide quickly enough to pit under a crucial safety car. Had they, he would have had the lead over Verstappen and track position in the closing stages.Norris was on pole in Spain, but a slightly less good start than Verstappen's cost him the win there.
In Austria, his crash with Verstappen was
unquestionably the Red Bull driver's fault, and he was penalised for it. But could Norris have passed him earlier, or avoided the collision by moving further left and then having another go?And at Silverstone, he missed his marks in the crucial final pit stop, and between him and the team the wrong choice of tyres was put on the car.
Had they chosen mediums - their default choice going into the race, and one they considered at the time - he would likely have passed Lewis Hamilton in the closing laps, judging by the pace of team-mate Oscar Piastri, who did fit mediums.
The feeling is that McLaren are still very new at racing at the front, and are not quite up to the required standard operationally. All teams go through this learning process.*
The most Ferrari thing ever. Arrogant self-own. The whole point of hiring Newey is to “override the system in the company” because it’s never been effective. The last time they were winners was when Schumacher did exactly that.
*Newey was asked in an interview with BBC Sport last November which driver he most wished he had worked with, and he actually named Fernando Alonso, although I believe he has expressed similar sentiments about Hamilton.
As for design chief Newey's future following his decision to leave Red Bull, the word is that the chances of him moving to Ferrari have receded significantly.
Sources close to Ferrari have told BBC Sport that chief executive officer Benedetto Vigna has baulked at the level of salary Newey commands and that there is a concern he would have too much power and could override the system inside the company.
Senior sources in the sport say that Newey is actively engaged with Aston Martin at the moment, and that this is looking his most likely destination. McLaren remain another possibility.
Newey, meanwhile, is said not to have made up his mind where to go.*
Newey to Aston Martin seems even more of a sure thing now.
Think it, be it.
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I'm late to this one but any WRC fans here? I find it to be the most interesting motorsports real roads, with different road surfaces, driver against the clock , co-drivers yelling directions, the possibility of giraffes running in front of the car, jumps and bumps, and overall some of the most technical and skilled driving you will see....
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Love WRC. Massive respect for the sport. It’s cooler than F1 in many ways.
But it’s not very available to me in the US without a WRC subscription.
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@mclaincausey Those are all very good points and definitely reinforce my own thoughts. Regardless of these developments though, I think the 2026 change-up will reset the field and be the biggest factor in how the teams fare. I think i'm most interested to see how the rules work out with the double DRS setup with no zones, along with the battery stores apparently no longer harvesting power, and proprietary fuels. Have these things been clearly defined yet or am I commenting on speculation?
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They’re ditching DRS in favor of a “push to pass” paradigm I think. I like that the cars are getting a bit smaller, though I really want them to be even smaller if that can be done safely. Agreed it should reset the field though afford Aston Martin an advantage, presuming they’ll have Newey.
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@mclaincausey I saw on a recent episode of "Tech Talk" that they showed an FIA concept of the 2026 cars and discussed some of the features. From what I gathered, "DRS flaps" will remain and even be added to the front wing. They'll be open for straight sections and close for corners. The cars will be slightly smaller and have some reduced downforce due to some simplification to the ground effects regs. And the push-to-pass will not have a regenerative function. So i take that once the battery is depleted, the car would be at a significant disadvantage. This would make for some drastically different strategies. I wonder with the proprietary fuels how much dev is going to go from aero into fuel development, because it seems to me they'd get more bang for the buck from fuels than aero to a degree. Of course any team with Newey wouldn't be hurting in that department.
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@WhiskeySandwich yeah—I like the term active aero more for it. It can reduce drag, sure, but it can also angle to enhance cornering, and not just rear grip. It’s quite different from what DRS was. The push to pass / manual override thing seems more in the spirit of DRS functionally since it in confluence with low drag aero would be used for overtakes, which was the purpose of DRS.
I’m wondering about what happens when there is wing damage. Could be quite unsafe.
Also wondering if the 50/50 ICE/electric PU balance is wise but I guess we will see.
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@mclaincausey guess it doesn’t matter much what name they slap on it (like Sam Collins calling it the return of “barge boards”), I just want to see it in action.
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@WhiskeySandwich the weather and that red flag have made this a very entertaining quali. Hope the Grand Prix is just as fun.
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Checo is gone. Sainz to Red Bull and a possibility of Max to Merc.
Chuffed about quali and the McLaren 1-2.
Bring it home Lando, and P2 please Oscar! Let’s get a race going!
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I’m with yall. I think it’ll be a good show. Prob right, I’m thinking Lando, Oscar, max…
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Race of the year! …but also the worst way you could have a McLaren 1-2 and a first GP win. Pit in the correct order instead of tainting Piastri’s first win by having Norris have to give up a 6s lead.
Robbed Piastri of a chance to have a clean win and Norris the chance to fight for a win, and in a race where Piastri wins his first GP, Lewis and Max fight and collide, and McLaren finally locks down 1-2, the story is Norris giving the win to Piastri. This pit wall has just been a mess.
MCL still learning how to be out in front but at least they finally got that 1-2.
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@mclaincausey if it’s a 1-2 the order in which they cross the line won’t impact constructors, or am I missing something?
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Team orders makes sense to me only when the faster car needs to pass the slower car safely. Or when it can be used to build a points gap for a championship opportunity (as if Piastri and Lando's roles were reversed in this example). I think McLaren demonstrated exactly how NOT to execute. That's not how you want to win your first GP. I agree with Lando: "Tell him to catch up then."
