Author Archives: PressBox

Williams team principal James Vowles is pushing Formula 1 to adopt a catch-up mechanism that would give smaller teams more investment freedom and help narrow the gap to the front-runners. Vowles said the current capital expenditure rules preserve an advantage for teams that spent heavily before the cost cap, and argued that the sport needs a better long-term solution before the next major regulation change.

Vowles said Williams would need to spend about $200 million to catch up, a commitment that would translate into about a $20 million annual budget hit over 10 years under the current depreciation rules. He said the cost cap has improved financial stability but has not improved sporting equity, adding that the field has not compressed and that lower-ranked teams are scoring fewer points while the top four teams are scoring more. Vowles also pointed to data showing only one non-top-four win in the last 130 Grands Prix and non-top-four podiums falling from 10% to 5%.

The proposed mechanism would use a points-based system tied to the constructors’ championship and is set to be voted on at next month’s F1 Commission meeting. Six of the 11 teams would be needed to introduce the change for 2027, while only four votes would be required for it to start in 2028. Cadillac, Aston Martin, Audi and Alpine back the proposal, Haas opposes it, and Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane said his team would not support a wholesale change to the cost cap rules. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said he was open to some cost cap adjustments but would not back a sliding scale that resembled balance of performance, while McLaren CEO Zak Brown said teams should decide how to divide money between infrastructure and car development. F1 management and the FIA are said to support the idea, and Vowles said he would keep pushing for a change in 2028 if it could not pass for 2027.

George Russell topped Free Practice 1 at the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix with a best lap of 1:32.274, doing so in an older-spec Mercedes. Charles Leclerc was second, 0.198 seconds behind, and Lando Norris was third, 0.273 off the pace. Lewis Hamilton finished fourth, Oscar Piastri fifth, Max Verstappen sixth and Kimi Antonelli seventh.

The top five drivers were covered by 0.564 seconds in a session run in hot, humid and dusty conditions at Marina Bay. A Virtual Safety Car was deployed after Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi stopped. Sprint Qualifying was scheduled later that day.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff dismissed conspiracy theories that the team is favoring Kimi Antonelli over George Russell, calling them “brainless.” Wolff said Mercedes has always given both drivers equal material and equal opportunity, and he denied any political motive behind the team’s upgrade choices, noting that both drivers have long ties to Mercedes through its junior program.

The comments came after Russell’s engine failure in Malaysia and as Mercedes split specifications at the Singapore Grand Prix. Russell is using the team’s older aerodynamic package because he is already taking an engine penalty, while Antonelli kept the newer floor and sidepods introduced at Sepang. Wolff said the back-to-back comparison of old and new packages in Singapore was a technical evaluation, not a political move.

Antonelli leads Russell by 84 points heading into the final seven races and appears on course to become Formula 1’s youngest-ever world champion. Russell’s title bid has been hurt by technical problems, but Wolff said Mercedes will continue to treat both drivers fairly even if Antonelli’s title chances look stronger mathematically.