Author Archives: PressBox

Max Verstappen said Red Bull’s late-2026 resurgence and its new wind tunnel have given him confidence for 2027, as the team looks ahead to a season he sees as a better chance to fight for the title. Verstappen said the upgrades and fixes introduced during 2026 are now working after an early slump that left Red Bull fighting Haas and Alpine, and his recent run has included wins in Bahrain, pole position in Singapore and four straight podium finishes. He said the 2026 title is out of reach and that finishing second or third in the drivers’ standings would mean little to him, because only winning the championship matters.

Verstappen described Red Bull’s new wind tunnel as a hidden factor that could help next year, calling it “very important for next year.” The facility was expected to be completed in December and is scheduled to be used for the 2027 Formula 1 season, with Verstappen saying it should become operational in early 2027, possibly in February, depending on calibration. He also said development on Red Bull’s current car has already begun, and that the new facility will be important for further upgrades during the season.

The wind tunnel is not expected to be used for the initial RB23 design, since that work is already underway, but Verstappen said Red Bull’s progress late in the year has made the team’s 2027 prospects more encouraging. A fifth drivers’ title in 2026 remains very unlikely for him.

Lando Norris faced backlash after the Singapore Grand Prix, as nightclub footage surfaced showing him partying with Haas driver Oliver Bearman, pointing to a sign that read “to the best F1 driver” and shouting, “Where’s Lance? Where’s Lance?” The remark was widely interpreted as a sarcastic jab at Lance Stroll. Some Formula One fans criticized Norris for poor sportsmanship, while others defended it as harmless banter.

The controversy followed Norris’s collision with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri on the final lap of the Singapore Grand Prix sprint race at Turn 5, while they were fighting for fourth place. The contact sent Piastri into retirement and dropped Norris to eighth, and stewards did not penalize Norris, saying both drivers shared responsibility for the clash. McLaren boss Andrea Stella praised Norris for how he responded afterward, but said the team’s conversations about the incident were not finished.

Norris initially defended the move and mocked reporters in the media pen when asked about it by Viaplay and Sky Sports Germany, including whether he had spoken to Piastri. He later said the move was a mistake, promised to do better next time, apologized to the team and admitted he had let them down. Stella said Norris later accepted he should never have attempted the move and offered to help Piastri during Sunday’s race, while Stella also said there was no place for a driver’s ego in the organization, a comment widely taken as aimed at Norris.

Kimi Antonelli avoided a five-second penalty at the Singapore Grand Prix after the FIA ruled that his fourth track-limits infringement, at Turn 7, was caused by braking problems and did not give him an advantage. Under Formula 1 rules, a fourth track-limits violation normally brings a five-second penalty. Antonelli had earlier been flagged for deletions at Turn 2 twice and Turn 19 once, and Mercedes successfully challenged one of his laps, leading stewards to revoke that lap deletion.

Antonelli said the final off at Turn 7 happened when he went to brake and “nothing happened.” He said Mercedes had brake issues and no reliable temperature data, which made the car difficult to control. He was repeatedly warned over the radio about track limits before the FIA cleared him of the usual sanction.

Antonelli finished third, and a standard five-second penalty would not have dropped him behind fourth-placed Lando Norris, who finished 15.9 seconds back. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said the situation stressed the team, called Antonelli’s race management “mature and good,” and later joked that he was pushing the limits too much despite avoiding punishment.

Fernando Alonso voiced frustration with Aston Martin-Honda’s engine and energy deployment problems after the Singapore Grand Prix, saying the issues cost him track position and pace as he finished 16th. Alonso started from the pit lane after an engine component change and the fitting of new power unit parts, and he had already been slowed by traffic in Q2 during qualifying. On team radio, he said, “Haha. Energy. It’s so ridiculous this engine.”

Alonso said Aston Martin struggled with understeer and repeated energy deployment problems, with the setbacks proving especially costly after Virtual Safety Car periods. During one restart, Isack Hadjar passed him as the field resumed, and Alonso said the deployment issues cost him positions. He was also passed by two cars during a Virtual Safety Car restart.

Both Aston Martin cars started from the pit lane after work was done under parc fermé conditions, but Lance Stroll retired with a clutch issue, leaving Alonso as the team’s only finisher. Alonso said Aston Martin-Honda had scored points in Malaysia earlier in the triple-header, and he had scored all seven of Aston Martin’s points in Formula 1 in 2026. Aston Martin remained 10th in the constructors’ standings, five points behind Williams.

Red Bull’s recent run has put the reigning champions back at the center of the Formula 1 title conversation, with Max Verstappen winning the Singapore Grand Prix and Saturday’s sprint race after also taking the Bahrain Grand Prix the previous weekend. George Russell said Red Bull is now “the team to beat” and praised its form over the last three races on very different tracks, while Mercedes boss Toto Wolff called Red Bull’s development impressive and said next year would be a “full-on fight” between the teams.

Red Bull’s pace has been helped by its Baku upgrade, which made the RB22 quicker and more predictable. Verstappen said the car has become more drivable and predictable as Red Bull has found more performance.

Mercedes is still trying to unlock its own upgrade package after introducing it for the W17 in Malaysia. Kimi Antonelli said the team is still working to understand how to extract its full potential, describing the car’s operating window as very narrow and highly sensitive to driving style and setup, and said Mercedes may be missing some of the gains shown in simulations. Both Mercedes drivers said the upcoming United States Grand Prix in Austin should give the team a better chance to find the right setup and realize the upgrade’s potential.