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'Concerned' engineers drove Red Bull driver swap
Red Bull Formula 1 team boss Christian Horner says "concerned" engineers coming to him was part of the team's logic for its brutal Liam Lawson/Yuki Tsunoda swap. Lawson had just 11 grands prix before he made his senior team debut at the Australian Grand Prix, with two disastrous weekends following that triggered Red Bull's fastest sacking ever.
What we learned at Tsunoda's grand Red Bull ...
'Complete tear-up' - Inside an F1 engine giant's 2026 project
While Formula 1 paddock chatter is being dominated by the V10 debate, work back at the engine factories right now is entirely focused on putting the finishing touches to the turbo hybrids that are coming for 2026.Development progress with the new power units - which will run on fully sustainable fuel and get 50% of their power from the internal combustion engine and 50% from electrical energy - ha...
What we learned at Tsunoda's grand Red Bull 'debut'
Yuki Tsunoda is oozing confidence and excitement ahead of his Red Bull Formula 1 debut at the Japanese Grand Prix.The grey clouds and drizzle that accompanied Tokyo's F1 showrun on Wednesday could have conveyed a pathetic fallacy of Tsunoda's prospects for his first race since replacing Liam Lawson as Max Verstappen's team-mate.But in the end the only meaningful early conclusions came from Tsunoda...
Read more: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/what-we-learned-at-yuki-tsunoda-grand-red-bull-debut/
Tsunoda expected Red Bull to be much trickier on simulator
Yuki Tsunoda says he expected Red Bull's RB21 Formula 1 car to be more of a handful on the simulator, after he crammed in two days' worth of running at Milton Keynes last week ahead of his debut with the team at the Japanese Grand Prix.Tsunoda has been moved across from Racing Bulls to sister squad Red Bull ahead of his home race at Suzuka this weekend, after the squad lost faith in Liam Lawson fo...
Read more: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/tsunoda-expected-red-bull-to-be-much-trickier-on-simulator/
The small change that could transform Doohan's F1 prospects
Jack Doohan's career as a full-time Formula 1 race driver hasn't started well, crashing in Australia and suffering on-track incidents in both the sprint and main race in China.But it's a very different story if you look at his driving in the broader sense.That might seem a strange distinction, but the 22-year-old has caught the eye with his impressive pace so far this year, even if that hasn't tra...
Read more: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/small-change-transform-jack-doohan-alpine-f1-prospects/
A team principal's view on Red Bull's controversial F1 driver swap
Was Red Bull's decision to swap Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda just two races into the 2025 F1 season the wrong call, or has Red Bull management displayed sound judgement by admitting to a mistake and taking immediate corrective action?On the latest instalment of The Race's newest F1 podcast - The Team Principal Podcast with Otmar Szafnauer - Otmar gives his take on Red Bull's latest controversial ...
'Premature'? Where Mercedes stands on talk of F1 V10 switch
Mercedes thinks it is "premature" for Formula 1 to be considering the idea of V10 engines before the next generation turbo hybrids have even run.The idea of F1 switching to V10s powered by fully sustainable fuel from 2028 or 2029 has accelerated in recent weeks, with the FIA setting up a working group to speak to relevant stakeholders and work out if such a move has support.
Of the manufacturers...
Read more: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/why-mercedes-thinks-f1-v10-switch-talk-is-premature/
Why a McLaren weakness is hurting Norris much more than Piastri
After the perfect start to his 2025 Formula 1 world championship bid in Australia, Lando Norris stuttered in China by losing 13 points to team-mate Oscar Piastri. Much of that points loss was an example of a key McLaren weakness that's hurting Norris more than Piastri.
"There's a couple of things," said McLaren team principal Andrea Stella when asked in Shanghai about Norris struggling with the...
Read more: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/why-mclaren-weakness-hurting-lando-norris-more-than-oscar-piastr/
What time is F1's 2025 Japanese Grand Prix? Qualifying and race start times
The third race of the 2025 Formula 1 season takes place this weekend as the legendary Suzuka circuit hosts the Japanese Grand Prix.Lando Norris and McLaren arrive as the championship leaders with the chasing pack eager to hunt them down.However, the biggest story of the weekend is likely to be home hero Yuki Tsunoda's long-awaited debut in Red Bull's senior team.Here are the all-important session ...
Red Bull to run special white Honda F1 livery for Japanese GP
Red Bull will pay tribute to its outgoing engine supplier Honda with a special Formula 1 livery at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix. It's the second time Red Bull has run a special white livery for Honda, having taken a double podium at the 2021 Turkish GP in white. Honda is leaving at the end of the 2025 season to become Aston Martin's new engine partner, while Red Bull is building its own F1 e...
Read more: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/red-bull-special-white-honda-f1-livery-japanese-gp/
Living up to the hype? How Antonelli's F1 career has really started
Kimi Antonelli's Formula 1 career started well in terms of results, with fourth on debut in Australia followed up by sixth in China.Getting those points on the board early on has somewhat exorcised the demons of the "terrible moment" when he so infamously crashed on his second flying lap on his FP1 outing at Monza last year, and while he's only shown glimpses of his searing pace this is a firm fou...
Read more: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/how-kimi-antonelli-f1-career-has-really-started/
What Aston Martin selling its F1 team shares really means
Aston Martin’s proposal to sell its shares in the Formula 1 team that bears its name is, on the surface, quite dramatic.It signals a misleading message of ‘manufacturer wants out of F1 team ownership’, especially as Aston Martin Lagonda intends to sell its entire shareholding rather than simply divest some of it.That is different to, say, Daimler diluting its share of the Mercedes F1 team or Renau...
Read more: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/aston-martin-selling-f1-team-shares-what-it-really-means/
What's behind 'world class' Sainz's low-key Williams start
Williams has started the Formula 1 season as brightly as new signing from Ferrari Carlos Sainz could have hoped for. Sainz himself, though, has had a tougher time.Three disqualifications for rivals in the Chinese Grand Prix meant Sainz did get elevated to 10th, scoring his first point for Williams, but that amounts to just under 6% of the team's early total as Alex Albon has begun 2025 in electric...
Read more: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/world-class-carlos-sainz-low-key-williams-start-f1-2025/
F1 podcast: What's really going wrong at Red Bull in 2025
In the latest edition of The Race F1 Podcast, we ask to what extent Max Verstappen's brilliance is papering over the cracks at Red Bull, given the team's struggles with its second driver, its difficult car, and the continued exodus of senior personnel.Nelson Valkenburg and Scott Mitchell-Malm join Edd Straw to evaluate what Verstappen has to do to make things work at Red Bull, and what he makes of...
Read more: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/f1-podcast-red-bull-2025-what-is-going-wrong/
Podcast: What it's really like to experience F1 politics at play
Which F1 driver did Otmar Szafnauer have to push back on hiring, against the wishes of his team owner? What was it like negotiating with Red Bull's Helmut Marko to hire Pierre Gasly for Alpine? And what does Otmar make of the politics at Red Bull in the wake of the unusually early swapping of Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda in 2025?All this and much more is tackled in the second episode of the new Th...
Read more: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/f1-politics-the-team-principal-podcast-otmar-szafnauer/
Why F1 is suddenly wavering over its 2026 engine revolution
In February 2023, the FIA released a statement proudly celebrating the fact six engine manufacturers had signed up for Formula 1 in 2026.FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem rightly called this "testament to the strength of the championship and the robust technical regulations that have been diligently created by the FIA in close collaboration with Formula 1 and the power unit manufacturers".Yet now...
Read more: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/why-f1-is-suddenly-wavering-over-its-2026-engine-revolution/
Our impressions from Tsunoda's first public Red Bull appearance
The Honda welcome plaza in Tokyo, full of exhibits from the manufacturer's rich motorsport past, always tends to be a busy place in the build-up to the Japanese Grand Prix. But this year crowds were, by and large, there to see one person in particular: Yuki Tsunoda, making his first public appearance as a Red Bull Formula 1 driver.Our Video Production Manager Luke Hinsull was among the crowds ther...
Read more: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/our-impressions-from-tsunodas-first-public-red-bull-appearance/
Mark Hughes: Does Red Bull's B-team have the quicker 2025 F1 car?
The form of Liam Lawson while at the senior Red Bull Formula 1 team and the pace of the cars from the junior Racing Bull team he'd left (and is now going back to) painted an anomalous picture.
As Lawson qualified the Red Bull a solid last in Shanghai, both Racing Bulls made it into Q3, with the rookie Isack Hadjar qualifying seventh, 0.284 seconds slower than Max Verstappen's Red Bull.A simplis...
Read more: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/mark-hughes-is-racing-bulls-quicker-2025-f1-car-red-bull/
What's transforming Piastri into a credible F1 title threat
Oscar Piastri is two-for-two so far in 2025 for turning around past weaknesses and establishing himself as a credible Formula 1 title threat. Piastri set himself the goal of fighting for the world championship this season, and to do that knew he needed stronger qualifying form, to make a step on race pace, and generally take better control of his race weekends.
Even with the caveat of a two-rac...
Read more: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/what-transforming-oscar-piastri-into-credible-f1-title-threat/
Red Bull's entire F1 driver system is failing
The decision to swap Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda reflects terribly on Red Bull’s Formula 1 driver decision-making and strategy.If Tsunoda fails, it’s yet another bad choice that fails to solve a longstanding problem; if he succeeds, it’s a damning indictment of its process given he was passed over a few months ago.
There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with Red Bull’s desire to have one top gun ...
Read more: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/red-bulls-entire-f1-driver-system-is-failing/