Former F1 champion Jenson Button said on the Beyond the Grid podcast that mental-health pressures remain central to drivers’ careers and that no competitor is immune to insecurity. He pointed to a team radio moment when Lewis Hamilton asked, “Have I done something wrong?” to show how even champions can spiral into self-doubt, which Button said can leave talented drivers “in a really dark place” and potentially cause them to fail.

Button said openness about mental-health struggles can be a strength, praising Lando Norris for his candor and arguing that drivers largely must “sort out their demons” themselves. He urged team leaders to listen to drivers’ problems without being overly opinionated and praised figures such as Ross Brawn for calm leadership, but said even supportive bosses cannot remove the internal pressure drivers feel.

Button framed the elite-athlete experience as one in which losses far outnumber wins, citing a conversation with Roger Federer, who estimated he lost about 75% of his matches. To illustrate the rarity of victory in motorsport, Button referred to his own record of 15 wins in about 300 races and warned that modern drivers face extra layers of stress from social media and public exposure. His comments aired on Beyond the Grid and were reported by other outlets; he presented them as part of a wider conversation linking psychological pressures across F1, MotoGP and other elite sports, saying insecurity is a recurring professional experience and not a mark of weakness, which keeps mental health a priority in the sport.

Alpine announced the immediate appointment of Jason Somerville as deputy technical director. He will be based at the team’s Enstone facility and report directly to executive technical director David Sanchez. The move was agreed late last year following a six-month gardening leave after Somerville’s departure from the FIA.

Somerville returns to Enstone, where he worked in 2010–11, and will work alongside Alpine engineers, designers and aerodynamicists to strengthen the team’s aerodynamic leadership and accelerate performance in the current regulation cycle. The hire is part of a broader technical reshuffle intended to inject regulatory and aerodynamic expertise into the program.

His résumé includes spells at Williams, Toyota, Lotus and Formula One Management. He served as F1 head of aerodynamics from 2017 to 2022 and, at the FIA, helped develop the 2022 ground-effect rules and the current technical regulations, and he has played a central role since 2022 in shaping the 2026 rules. The appointment reunites Somerville with longtime Enstone figures such as Steve Nielsen and Flavio Briatore. Alpine finished bottom of the 2025 constructors’ standings and sits fifth in 2026 after four races with 23 points, scored by Pierre Gasly and rookie Franco Colapinto. Somerville said he was excited to return to “hunt milliseconds” and to push for points and trophies.

The FBI opened an investigation after a team-issued Cadillac Escalade belonging to Valtteri Bottas was stolen from the driveway of an Airbnb in Fort Lauderdale during the Miami Grand Prix weekend. The SUV contained Bottas’ Formula 1 paddock pass and a VIP parking pass, and local police asked federal authorities to get involved because the credentials could have allowed unauthorized access to restricted areas at Hard Rock Stadium. Agents investigated the potential security risk and access control vulnerabilities at the event.

Bottas told listeners on his What’s Next podcast that he had left the keys inside the house and discovered the Escalade missing on Saturday morning as he prepared to leave for the track. Cadillac supplied a replacement Escalade so he could get to the race. The original vehicle was later recovered damaged and dumped in a nearby high-crime area after its tracking system appeared to have been disabled, and extra security measures were posted at the property. Bottas said the thieves likely used the Escalade as a getaway car rather than targeting him specifically.

The incident created immediate logistical problems for Bottas and raised questions about credential security for drivers and teams during busy Grand Prix weekends. Bottas recounted the episode publicly on his podcast, authorities resolved the missing credentials, and the matter did not prevent him from continuing the race weekend; he finished the Miami Grand Prix in 18th place.

Audi driver Nico Hulkenberg defended F1’s new hybrid engine rules, saying, “If you don’t like it, you don’t have to watch,” and urging the sport to prioritize modernization and sustainability over nostalgia. The regulations shift power units to an almost 50/50 combustion-electric split and were designed to attract manufacturers and keep F1 relevant as the auto industry focuses on sustainability. Hulkenberg, 38, noted Audi has joined as a full works team this season and said the opening three races produced entertaining racing.

The rules have drawn complaints about heavier energy-management demands, qualifying that some say is less challenging, a perceived loss of the sport’s traditional sound, and large closing-speed differentials that could raise safety concerns. Organizers and the FIA introduced tweaks ahead of the Miami Grand Prix to reduce excessive battery management and address closing speeds, but reports differ on their effectiveness and some sources say the adjustments had only limited impact. Hulkenberg also pointed out that manufacturers’ priorities have shifted since the rules were signed off in 2022, which makes quick technical fixes harder.

F1 leadership and teams have signaled further recalibration for 2027, described variously as moving toward a roughly 60/40 combustion-to-electric balance or making hardware changes to bias the mix nearer 55/45 in favor of combustion. The sport has not ruled out longer-term changes, including discussion of a possible return to V8-style engines around 2030-31. Hulkenberg said he is a fan of the older V10 and V12 sound but questioned whether reverting to past engine formulas would keep F1 relevant, framing the debate as a choice between nostalgia and the need to adapt so the sport remains a viable business and entertainment product.

Ralf Schumacher told Sky Deutschland’s Backstage Boxengasse podcast that Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso should consider retiring “to give young people a chance” and urged Ferrari to promote Oliver Bearman. Schumacher framed the remarks as opinion intended to spark discussion about veteran drivers making way for younger talent and possible mid-season or end-of-season moves. Bearman, a four-year member of Ferrari’s driver academy who impressed during a loan at Haas, could already challenge, or even be better than, Charles Leclerc and, in Schumacher’s view, might offer more to the team than Hamilton.

Former engineer Aldo Costa said Hamilton’s bid for an eighth world title now looked unlikely, arguing drivers tend to decline at 41 and calling Leclerc an “extremely strong” teammate. Hamilton, 41, is in his second season at Ferrari after leaving Mercedes at the end of 2024 and earned his first Ferrari podium with a third-place finish in Shanghai earlier this season. He was outpaced by Leclerc in Australia, Japan and Miami and had won only one head-to-head with Leclerc so far this season; his Miami result ahead of Leclerc came only after Leclerc received a post-race 20-second penalty. After four rounds Hamilton trailed championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 49 points and sat eight points behind Leclerc. Leclerc has seven podiums and one pole this season.

Fernando Alonso will turn 45 in July, recently became a father and is out of contract with Aston Martin at the end of the season; he has said he will decide “sometime in the summer” whether to extend his contract or race elsewhere. Separate reports also noted Alonso had publicly called for Hamilton to consider retirement. The combination of veteran contract uncertainty, public calls for retirement and suggestions to promote young drivers such as Bearman has kept succession planning at Ferrari and the wider generational shift in Formula 1 in the spotlight.

Andrea Stella said McLaren’s strong Miami weekend reinforced the belief the team can still defend its drivers’ and constructors’ titles, but he urged caution, calling the result “a breakthrough” and warning “it was only the fourth race.” He stressed McLaren must keep developing the car and framed Miami as an important step rather than proof the title defense is assured, and he said the team “definitely” intends to defend its constructors’ crown.

McLaren’s recovery followed a difficult start to the season marked by reliability problems and a double non-start for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in China. The team introduced its first major upgrade package to the MCL40 in Miami, where Norris won the Sprint and the upgraded cars produced a double podium in the Grand Prix, finishing second and third. After four rounds McLaren sat third in the constructors’ standings on 94 points, 86 points adrift of leaders Mercedes, with Norris fourth and Piastri sixth in the drivers’ table.

Stella publicly backed his driver pairing, saying McLaren “probably fields the strongest driver pairing” in Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri and arguing that if they remain consistently together they could pose a major threat. He also praised 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli, noting Antonelli’s three wins in the opening four races, a Miami hat-trick, and a surprise points lead, and credited Antonelli’s driving, consistency and close work with his engineers. Stella acknowledged Mercedes’ W17 has outpaced McLaren’s MCL40 early in the year, underscoring the need to make the car faster to fully capitalize on McLaren’s driver strength.

Lewis Hamilton urged F1 and the FIA to give drivers a formal seat at the table as the sport rewrites technical and sporting rules, saying drivers currently lack stakeholder status and meaningful influence over decisions that affect their safety and competitiveness. He said regulators have acknowledged drivers’ input, including on planned 2027 power-unit changes, but that acknowledgement has not translated into decision-making power. Hamilton pointed to midseason tweaks this season and the specific adjustments made for the Miami race as examples, and singled out the Pirelli tyre program as an area where closer collaboration could improve product and safety outcomes.

The debate resurfaced after several drivers from Williams, Ferrari and Audi joined FIA working groups, prompting questions in the paddock about whether such participation could tilt rules toward particular teams. Williams team principal James Vowles defended driver involvement, saying trusted drivers such as Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz are motivated by the health of the sport rather than narrow team advantage, but he warned against biased agendas and said too many voices could complicate decision-making. Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto stressed the FIA remains the ultimate authority on regulations and framed current driver input as broader consultation tied to the regulatory rewrite, not an expansion of disproportionate power.

Fred Vasseur said drivers were not excluded from discussions, reiterated that drivers have always provided technical feedback, and praised the governance system that allowed unanimous midseason rule changes. Tensions have produced concrete interventions and criticism: F1 introduced engine-regulation tweaks ahead of the Miami Grand Prix that drew criticism from fans and drivers, including Max Verstappen, and F1 management agreed to alter 2027 plans by increasing internal combustion engine output from the near 50-50 split with electric power. Vowles reported that FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis had consulted GPDA director Carlos Sainz. Those criticisms, consultations and technical adjustments underline continuing questions about how technical changes are made and who should have formal influence over the sport’s governance as it implements major changes.