Author Archives: PressBox

Lewis Hamilton said Ferrari’s “seldom-spoken-of” weakness is tire performance, and he believes better tire management could unlock a major step forward. Ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, he said he had reviewed recent races with engineers to pinpoint mistakes and missed opportunities, and he added that Ferrari’s chassis had been competitive on some circuits. Charles Leclerc said the team’s main weakness is qualifying, and Ferrari is also weighing its engine plan strategically as it considers an upgraded power unit.

Hamilton said his priority for the rest of the season is cleaner weekends and getting the most from Ferrari’s package. He said the team’s best realistic goal is to finish second in the constructors’ championship, while also trying to catch Mercedes and stay in the top three. Ferrari has not reached the podium since the Belgian Grand Prix, after winning in Barcelona, and Hamilton said a top-three finish in the drivers’ standings would still count as a huge achievement for the team.

Hamilton was third in the standings, 20 points behind Mercedes’ George Russell, five points ahead of Lando Norris and more than 100 behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli. He cited his Spanish Grand Prix victory and Leclerc’s win at Silverstone as signs of progress, but Ferrari’s title hopes faded further after Hamilton’s early retirement in Madrid because of a brake problem. He said Baku’s long straights are unlikely to suit Ferrari because the team has lacked power all season and did not get the hoped-for boost from its Monza engine upgrade.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, round 15 of the 2026 Formula 1 season, is shaping up as a test of aerodynamic efficiency, energy management and brake control rather than a weekend for major car changes. The race has been moved to Saturday to avoid Azerbaijan’s Remembrance Day on Sunday, and practice and qualifying were shifted earlier in the week. Baku’s long straight and heavy braking zones are expected to put deployment strategy in focus, while colder brakes and tires could make lock-ups at Turn 1 more likely. McLaren arrived with a heavily revised sidepod package for FP1, brought back its low-drag H-wing and will test another update aimed at improving straight-line speed and low-speed performance.

Williams drew attention with a newly manufactured lighter chassis, and the team said its car is now at or below the minimum weight, which allows it to run ballast. Team principal James Vowles said the chassis could inform future learning, and Alex Albon called the reduction a significant step. Aston Martin plans to bring lighter components rather than a major update, while Cadillac introduced a major brake-cooling upgrade to address season-long brake issues.

Engine strategy is also a major part of the Baku build-up. Mercedes and George Russell said they are waiting to take a final engine penalty until a planned future upgrade, likely later in the season, and Mercedes arrives at what is expected to be its final race before a major update in Malaysia. Lewis Hamilton said his Spanish Grand Prix retirement may have given him enough engine life to finish the year, while Charles Leclerc is still deciding when to take a Ferrari engine penalty after his latest Monza-spec engine returned to Ferrari’s pool. Cadillac has approved Sergio Perez to run Ferrari’s latest ADUO 2 engine in Baku, with Valtteri Bottas still waiting longer to use it.

The weekend also carries wider paddock intrigue. Haas is now expected to part ways with Esteban Ocon at the end of the year, with Ferrari junior Rafael Camara understood to be in pole position to replace him. Mercedes leads the championship with Kimi Antonelli, who has won the last two races and holds an 81-point lead over George Russell. Oscar Piastri faces scrutiny in Baku after his title challenge unraveled there last year, and Fernando Alonso’s future remains uncertain as Aston Martin brings the final part of its upgrade package.

Charles Leclerc’s manager, Nicolas Todt, held talks with Mercedes about a move for the Ferrari driver before the 2025 season after being told Lewis Hamilton was headed to Ferrari, but Mercedes chose Kimi Antonelli instead and did not come back for Leclerc. Mercedes is now satisfied with Antonelli and George Russell, and Leclerc remains with Ferrari after extending his contract again in June 2026 through 2030.

Leclerc said Todt handled discussions about other options before he signed his latest Ferrari deal, and that he did not speak personally with rival teams. Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren were his main outside options, and Aston Martin also made an approach late last year. His January 2024 Ferrari deal was understood to run through the end of 2029 with options and a break point in 2026, before the later extension took him through 2030.

Leclerc said he re-signed because he believes Ferrari can win the world championship and trusts team principal Frederic Vasseur, whom he credited as a major reason for staying. He also said Todt’s close ties to Ferrari leadership have given him influence inside the team that he would not have elsewhere, and added that Ferrari’s improved car has still been hurt by operational mistakes.

Liam Lawson said his recent three-race return to Red Bull may have left him “a little bit more vulnerable” as Formula 1 teams move toward 2027 driver decisions, even though he viewed the spell as positive overall. Lawson said he was adapting to an unfamiliar, difficult car late in the season, and that the stint did not change how he judged his own ability. He scored 14 points across the run, finishing seventh at Zandvoort, sixth in Madrid and 14th at Monza.

Lawson is set to return to Racing Bulls for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Isack Hadjar comes back to race fitness after a wrist injury. Hadjar has already been confirmed alongside Max Verstappen for 2027, leaving Lawson’s own seat for next year unresolved. Lawson said the latest Red Bull chance was a better outcome than his 2025 demotion after just two rounds.

Lawson said a decision on his future should come in the next few races. He said he believes he is in a better position than a year ago after a more consistent 2026 campaign, when he sat ninth in the championship on 59 points, and said he wants to keep his points streak going.

Formula 1’s plan to add Monaco to its 2027 sprint calendar is aimed less at making the sprint race more exciting than at making the weekend’s qualifying battle less predictable and adding more jeopardy to a track long criticized for limited passing. The 2027 calendar adds four Sprint weekends, taking the total from six to 10, and Monaco’s package will include an extra qualifying session on Friday and a 100-km Sprint race on Saturday.

Drivers offered mixed reactions. Sergio Perez, George Russell and Oscar Piastri backed the idea, saying the extra competitive session could make a Monaco weekend more interesting, even if the sprint race itself still ends up dull. Perez described the change as “a bit busy but interesting,” and Russell said the shorter format made sense and would make the weekend more exciting.

Lewis Hamilton was skeptical, saying Monaco needs something different and that a sprint race is not the answer, calling the event “as dull as it gets.” Max Verstappen said he does not care where sprint races are held and focuses on the grand prix instead. Lando Norris said fans should have a say in sprint venue choices and suggested other races may have been better picks.

Oscar Piastri said he is still adapting his driving style to McLaren’s 2026 car, as he works through uneven form and a growing gap to teammate Lando Norris. Piastri said techniques that worked in previous seasons have been less effective under the new regulations, and McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said he needs a more intuitive relationship with the MCL40. Piastri said the team has tried different approaches, increased technical support and made progress, while the right setup can change from weekend to weekend.

The Australian said McLaren is still looking for performance gains and is “not standing still,” but he has struggled to match Norris, with his eighth-place finish in Spain underlining that gap. Piastri said his progress has been uneven, though he feels supported by the engineering response and is gradually improving.

He now turns to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, where first practice is scheduled for 6 p.m. AEST on Thursday. Piastri described Baku as a “love-hate” circuit, pointing to his victory there in 2024 and a difficult 2025 weekend that ended with a crash on the opening lap. On F1 Nation, James Hinchcliffe said the weekend would be shaped more by last week’s disappointment than by memories of the 2024 win, while Jolyon Palmer said Piastri may be less comfortable with the current car’s handling, especially on low-grip tracks, and could be hoping for a reset next winter.