Formula 1

[D365]

I hope Max will have an on track battle soon, it may lift his mood on the changes.

Eh? He spent a portion of the race battling with Gasly.

 

[EYFanatic]

Something I noticed in the race after re-watching it - it was nice to see Lewis get to be a race driver again instead of chugging along as he has done the last few years... It was like his 2008 season all over again

 

[QSK19]

Something I noticed in the race after re-watching it - it was nice to see Lewis get to be a race driver again instead of chugging along as he has done the last few years... It was like his 2008 season all over again

I sense deep down he’s probably enjoying it that way. Not only with a competitive car, but compared to simply winning without really being challenged.

Having raced myself (karting) and been in the fortunate position of having won numerous events, I did enjoy it once when I returned to the category I used to race in as a one-off “cameo” appearance (we built a kart for a team mate and I raced at an event in order to shake it down). I had battles galore within the 3rd-8th positions, no chance to rest or be complacent. I finished 4th overall and got so much fulfilment from having some enjoyable scraps for position.

Don’t get me wrong, getting 1st place trophies was great (and I preferred it that way!), but having a good battle in the thick of things was brilliant.

Seeing the Ferrari guys repeatedly trading positions was entertaining to watch and both of them must have been like excited school kids.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Eh? He spent a portion of the race battling with Gasly.

In Max's language, an "on track battle" probably means defending and holding the lead and nothing less will satisfy him...?

 

[EYFanatic]

I sense deep down he’s probably enjoying it that way. Not only with a competitive car, but compared to simply winning without really being challenged.

Seeing the Ferrari guys repeatedly trading positions was entertaining to watch and both of them must have been like excited school kids.

It really was very enjoyable to see him racing instead of "racing" and being all political and topical as he has been the last few number of years which has, I firmly believe, affected his concentration and lost him championship races and titles.

It was like he suddenly remembered he was allowed to have fun

 

[D365]

It really was very enjoyable to see him racing instead of "racing" and being all political and topical as he has been the last few number of years which has, I firmly believe, affected his concentration and lost him championship races and titles.

Hamilton was being ‘political’ in 2019 and 2020. Those were his two most successful years, statistically.

 

[QSK19]

In Max's language, an "on track battle" probably means defending and holding the lead and nothing less will satisfy him...?

True! Though I think the making of racers when it comes to on track battles is in the midfield - having multiple battles down there, whilst not necessarily resulting in (many) points, certainly makes for an entertaining, interesting experience.

I think Max and Lando are going to have to work extremely hard this season to finish in the top 3!

 

[DarloRich]

Did you see the on board from the Alonso Aston Martin? He wasn't joking about the vibrations!

 

[43096]

Did you see the on board from the Alonso Aston Martin? He wasn't joking about the vibrations!

Perhaps CAF or Hitachi should have built the simulators for Aston Martin - be more realistic!

 

[DarloRich]

Perhaps CAF or Hitachi should have built the simulators for Aston Martin - be more realistic!

i think they have better engines

 

[Narrowgauge725]

I see that Max now has the power to exclude the press see GP Fans!

Max Verstappen banishes English journalist from press conference: 'Get out'​

GP Fans

 

[DarloRich]

I note Aston Martin seem to be seeking to appoint Jonathan Wheatley as team principal after he left Audi with immediate effect. This would allow Adrian Newey to step away from his team principal activities and focus on design.

Audi team principal Jonathan Wheatley has left the team with immediate effect.

The development comes a day after news broke that the 58-year-old Englishman had been approached by Aston Martin to be their team principal.

A statement from Audi said Wheatley was leaving for "personal reasons".

Mattia Binotto will take over the responsibilities of team principal in addition to his role as head of the Audi F1 project while the company takes its time to consider its next steps.

Jonathan Wheatley: Audi boss leaves with immediate effect amid link to Aston Martin

Audi team principal Jonathan Wheatley leaves with immediate effect after an approach from Aston Martin.

www.bbc.co.uk

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Mar 2026 ==

see that Max now has the power to exclude the press see GP Fans!

a spoiled chid! Also on BBC:

The Red Bull driver refused to start his session with the written media at Suzuka on Thursday after spotting the Guardian's Giles Richards among the journalists present.

Verstappen said: "One second - I'm not speaking before he's leaving."

Richards asked whether Verstappen was serious, and whether it was to do with a question he had asked in the news conference after the final race of last season.

Verstappen responded to each of Richards' questions with a curt: "Yeah," before adding: "Get out."

When Richards left the room, Verstappen said: "Now we can start."

Max Verstappen expels journalist from Japan GP press conference

Max Verstappen ejects a journalist from his news conference at the Japanese Grand Prix over a row that dates back to Abu Dhabi last year.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Tetchytyke]

Shame on the rest of the journalists for sitting there and letting Verstappen behave like that. They should have all walked out, leave him talking to an empty room.

Of course the FIA won't do anything to discipline their golden child. He's a pathetic individual.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

The sensible thing would have been for every single other journalist to walk out with Richards.

Staying put means they have pretty much agreed to toe the Verstappen line instead of actually doing journalism. It looks like they have collectively decided that their VIP access is more important than doing their jobs properly. We cannot now believe the accuracy or impartiality of anything any of them writes.

 

[GB]

Shame on the rest of the journalists for sitting there and letting Verstappen behave like that. They should have all walked out, leave him talking to an empty room.

Of course the FIA won't do anything to discipline their golden child. He's a pathetic individual.

He wouldn't care if it's an empty room, in fact he'd probably prefer it. But yes, rather pathetic which as you say the FIA won't do anything about.

 

[DarloRich]

Piastri needs a good weekend - has he managed a lap yet?

 

[Leyland Bus]

Piastri needs a good weekend - has he managed a lap yet?

He has now, was P4 in FP1

 

[DarloRich]

He has now, was P4 in FP1

if you don't want to know the result look away now

( i haven't listened to it yet!)

 

[Leyland Bus]

Its only practice, nothing important

 

[gswindale]

Four Mercedes engines in the top 4 after both FP1 and FP2.

 

[EYFanatic]

Shame on the rest of the journalists for sitting there and letting Verstappen behave like that. They should have all walked out, leave him talking to an empty room.

Of course the FIA won't do anything to discipline their golden child. He's a pathetic individual.

Are they not required to do media work with special exemptions granted to drivers that are ill or having a baby and need to rush away

 

[JN114]

Are they not required to do media work with special exemptions granted to drivers that are ill or having a baby and need to rush away

He did do media work, he just excluded that journalist

 

[QSK19]

He did do media work, he just excluded that journalist

Nevertheless, it should not be up to a driver to decide who does and doesn’t attend press conferences. Drivers are there to answer questions and be subject to scrutiny by whomever is there. The authorities are the ones who should decide whether journalists are barred.

If Verstappen can’t stand any questions critical of him, he needs to move away from F1.

 

[davehsug]

It's striking how similar this season's situation at Mercedes is to last season's Mclaren. Then Norris was favourite to win the title, but was almost (and probably should have been) usurped by Piastri, and now Antonelli looks like he may do something similar to Russell.

 

[Leyland Bus]

It's striking how similar this season's situation at Mercedes is to last season's Mclaren. Then Norris was favourite to win the title, but was almost (and probably should have been) usurped by Piastri, and now Antonelli looks like he may do something similar to Russell.

I think we're abit early in the season for that comparison yet...

 

[EYFanatic]

With the next two races cancelled, are the teams allowed to do work on aero packages and so on?

It was good to see Oscar complete a race

 

[JamesT]

With the next two races cancelled, are the teams allowed to do work on aero packages and so on?

The teams are pretty much constantly doing development through the season. But there are limits on doing testing, including wind tunnel time. So it’s hard to say whether this break will help in that they can concentrate on development, or hinder in that they don’t have race weekends to try out new parts.

 

[EYFanatic]

The teams are pretty much constantly doing development through the season. But there are limits on doing testing, including wind tunnel time. So it’s hard to say whether this break will help in that they can concentrate on development, or hinder in that they don’t have race weekends to try out new parts.

Thats what I meant - with the two races cancelled, would the FIA allow them to use it as wind tunnel time?

 

[Leyland Bus]

With the next two races cancelled, are the teams allowed to do work on aero packages and so on?

It was good to see Oscar complete a race

Teams will be using the break to work on upgrades, likely quite substantial ones for some teams. Aston Martin-Honda will likely be glad of it, giving them more time to get to the bottom of their struggles. Remember though that teams still have to work within the cost cap too...

 

[JamesT]

Thats what I meant - with the two races cancelled, would the FIA allow them to use it as wind tunnel time?

I suspect any sort of variation to the rules like that is going to need the agreement of all the teams. Those that have already cracked it for this year are never going to allow something that might let the others catch up.