Alpine issued an open letter rejecting social‑media sabotage claims and condemning online abuse, calling the allegations “completely unfounded” and “illogical and counterproductive.” The team stressed it would not intentionally handicap itself and said the statement was meant to defend its drivers and quash rumor‑driven speculation. It added both cars run the same equipment apart from some small, low‑performance parts used in China after a gearbox‑component switch.

The letter followed a string of on‑track incidents and hostile fan reaction. At the Chinese GP in Shanghai, Franco Colapinto finished 10th, 49 seconds behind teammate Pierre Gasly, after a collision with Esteban Ocon; Alpine said Ocon accepted responsibility. Some Argentine fans publicly suggested specification differences, used pejorative language about Colapinto’s car and directed death threats at Ocon. Colapinto said the team needed to “understand a few things on the high‑speed corners” and to source missing parts after the incident.

Alpine also addressed the high‑speed crash at the Japanese GP at Suzuka involving Colapinto and Haas driver Ollie Bearman. Bearman reportedly experienced a 50G impact after taking avoiding action for an estimated 45 km/h speed differential while Colapinto was harvesting energy. The team said “abuse of any kind is unacceptable,” confirmed it actively moderates its channels and is coordinating with F1 and the FIA, which has said it will examine the speed differential and will not issue immediate penalties, and will participate in planned April meetings to review regulations. Alpine urged fans to engage respectfully, highlighted driver welfare and fan conduct as immediate concerns, and said internal procedures and social‑media moderation are being used to address misconduct.

Audi has acknowledged its biggest weakness this season — poor race starts — stems from a structural flaw in the new power unit and cannot be fixed quickly by the FIA’s ADUO process. Acting team principal Mattia Binotto said fixing the deficit is a “top priority” but warned that “miracles are not possible.” The team notes ADUO provides structured concessions, ranging from a single immediate change for small deficits to larger allowances and extra dyno time for more serious shortfalls, but its quarterly checkpoints and long engine lead times make a rapid on-track cure unlikely. Reports vary on when the first ADUO review will occur; some suggest it could be considered at early-season rounds such as Monaco or Miami.

Audi engineers say the problem is hardware-related rather than down to clutch settings or driver reaction times. They point to a relatively large turbo compressor whose higher inertia delays boost arrival. That delayed boost forces the electrical part of the powertrain to cover torque shortfalls, burning harvested energy early in the lap and leaving the unit disadvantaged against rivals.

Rookie Gabriel Bortoleto was blunt: “starts have been terrible so far.” Both drivers lost places off the line in Japan — Bortoleto fell from P8 to P13 and Nico Hülkenberg from P13 to P19, turning promising grid slots into damage-limitation races. Binotto said Audi will pursue a staged recovery rather than chasing quick fixes and is targeting to be world-championship competitive by 2030; the team hopes only modest improvements may be possible during a five-week break and accepts that closing the gap to Ferrari and Mercedes will be a long-term programme.

Daniel Ricciardo said he was “grateful” that Red Bull and sister team Racing Bulls replaced him with Liam Lawson late in the 2024 season, speaking on Ford CEO Jim Farley’s podcast. He said the decision was taken out of his hands and that he felt relieved the team made the call because it would have been difficult for him to walk away on his own; the Singapore Grand Prix was his final race of the year.

Ricciardo’s exit closed a 14-season Formula 1 career with 257 starts; sources differ on whether he won seven or eight Grands Prix. He traced the end of his time in the sport to a difficult two-year period following the loss of his McLaren seat in 2022.

He returned mid-2023 to Racing Bulls by taking Nyck de Vries’s seat, but his comeback was interrupted by a broken hand in practice at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix. Racing Bulls retained him into 2024 before later replacing him; being let go twice in two years “had taken a lot out of me,” he said, leaving him “pretty exhausted” and prompting him to be honest with himself about stepping away.