Autobayng News Team
Welcome to Wednesday’s edition of the RaceFans round-up.
Comment of the day
Some disagreed with Lance Stroll’s mid-season ranking, but Keith Campbell argues there’s clear daylight between him and older team mate Fernando Alonso this season…
Alonso is destroying Stroll, by almost every metric except points scored.
Qualifying: 13:0
Races where both finished: 9:2
Sprint qualifying: 2:1
Sprint races where both finished: 0:2Even if you count Alonso’s crash in Australia and crash with Liam Lawson in Miami in Stroll’s favour, it still looks pretty similar to their head-to-head results in 2023 and 2024. The difference is the Aston hasn’t been competitive at that many races, and Alonso has had mostly bad luck in those while Stroll has benefited from rare decent performances and good strategy calls (which you can give him some credit for).
I agree that experience shouldn’t really be taken into account in ratings because it’s impossible to quantify, but if you did then surely at some stage it stops being an ‘experience benefit’ and starts being an ‘age deficit’. Stroll has enough experience that he should be in the prime of his career, and I don’t think anyone would say Alonso is still at the absolute peak of his powers.
Keith Campbell
Social media and links
Gasly explains where Nielsen’s focus needs to be ahead of Alpine arrival (F1)
”Steve will arrive in September, and I think his impact and his work will be mainly seen on 2026 and beyond. Honestly, Steve’s got to focus on next year. We know all the work that we are putting for 2026. We are pleased with what we are doing and the evolution. I’m confident. I believe in the team and the fact that they’ll be able to give me a competitive car next year.”
Why have Ferrari been unable to win a title since 2008? (BBC)
‘Ferrari is a unique team with unique pressures on it. It is effectively the Italian national team, so the public feel as if they have a stake in it in a way that is not the case anywhere else. That always tends to amplify any problems, and makes it easier for any crisis to become a drama. At the same time, people who have worked at Ferrari and subsequently left tend to talk about the culture there and the problems it creates. They say there is a tendency for people to try to protect themselves, and to do so by blaming other people or areas in the company when problems arise.’
Five key moments from the 2025 F1 season so far (McLaren)
‘In round 4, at the 21st attempt, Oscar clinched our first win in Bahrain – our ‘second home Grand Prix’. The Australian’s lights-to-flag victory made him the first repeat winner of the season, as he dominated the race despite struggling to draw water from his drinks bottle in scorching 30-degree heat.’
Life lessons and a nod to home: Joshua Duerksen on his helmet design (F2)
‘I think I’ve found a quite good balance with the gold, black and white. The white is matte, the gold is chrome gold, and the black is carbon fibre but shiny. I really like it, it fits my personality and is sponsor friendly, which is important!’
Badass Brambilla: the day F1’s ‘Monza Gorilla’ won at deadly Osterreichring (Motor Sport)
‘In the Brambilla year, 1975, during the race-morning warm-up, Mark Donohue’s Penske-run March suffered a left-front tyre failure, and the result was one of the most violent accidents ever to have scarred an F1 weekend. His car barrelled through multiple rows of catch fencing, then it mowed down a couple of wooden stanchions, which became lodged underneath it as it continued to speed on its way, raising it up so that when it slammed into a steel barrier it was launched clean over it and into a marshals’ post, where it smote the two marshals in attendance, injuring one and killing the other, 21-year-old Manfred Schaller.’
How an energy drink company became a global sporting giant (Chronicle Live)
‘The first sports team sponsored by Red Bull was EC Salzburg in the Austrian Hockey League, and the first athlete to receive an individual sponsorship was Austrian F1 driver Gerhard Berger. Many of the brand’s earliest deals involved extreme sports such as cliff diving, BMX and skiing, but it wasn’t long before Red Bull made its presence felt in more mainstream sports. To date, Red Bull partners with 900 athletes, artists and teams, including the two Formula 1 teams and several top-tier football clubs. It comes as it was confirmed Red Bull has taken ownership of Newcastle Falcons, which will be renamed Newcastle Red Bulls.’
Charles Leclerc gives verdict on first time wearing kilt: ‘Feels good’ (The National)
”It’s definitely the first time I have ever worn a kilt. It feels good, I definitely feel comfortable. I like it.”
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