Round-up: Red Bull boss certain Verstappen will stay in 2026, Rao returns to FIA and more
Welcome to Thursday’s edition of the RaceFans round-up.
Comment of the day
Jack Doohan’s future at Alpine is in doubt again – is it too soon to judge whether or not he deserves to keep his seat?
I have been rooting for Jack and he has shown himself to be competent, but not much more. His best flashes of speed just put him near Gasly while Bearman has been far out-performing Ocon who Gasly was in a dead even heat with during their time together.
So, forgetting Briatore for a moment, is there really any good argument for Alpine keeping Doohan over Colapinto? Besides, Doohan will be fine. He’s handsome. Has a famous last name. And can/will have a long career as a WEC, IndyCar, Formula E, etc… driver. Hardly the end of the world (a dream life for myself and 99.9% of the world).
Red Bull managing director Oliver Mitzlaff: ‘I am convinced that he will continue the long journey he has taken with Red Bull so far. Max will also drive for us in 2026.’
‘Ms Rao will provide advice to the FIA President on a range of issues including regulatory and commercial matters related to the seven FIA world championships. She will commence her role on 1st May 2025.’
‘Under the new format, the previous 45-minute opening phase of the first session will be trimmed to 40 minutes. In the second phase, when the 27-car field was previously split into two 10-minute groups to allow for less congestion while drivers perform qualifying simulations on Firestone’s faster alternate tyres, the 10-minutes per segment has been extended to 12 minutes apiece.’
‘It’s something that the Miami Grand Prix believes sets its race apart. In a sport and a circuit still dominated by males — there hasn’t been a woman behind the wheel for a Formula 1 race since 1992 — it will be difficult this weekend to find an element of the event that isn’t overseen by a woman.’
‘Thanks to RaceWatch, FIA officials now only manually review 5% of (track limits) cases that truly require attention. The system: Flags infractions within one second; Reduces manual oversight by 95%, and saves over 1,000 hours of review time annually.’
‘It’s a trend of the year. I think last year we had really good qualifying results, and we tended to move rearwards in the races. And this year we’ve been really good in the races.’
Jonathan Wheatley on his favourite F1 memory: ‘I think it has to be the championship win (for Michael Schumacher) in Adelaide in 1994 because it was a season where you felt you were under siege, you were embattled and the explosion of joy at the end of it and the partying afterwards, in that era, in that city, in that town… unbelievable. That for me will always stick with me.’
‘Today, we announce that we’ve reached the end of the road working on WRC. After releasing EA Sports WRC in 2023, the 2024 season, including the recently released Hard Chargers Content pack, will be our last expansion.’
Social media and links
Wie Verstappen wirklich seine Zukunft plant (Bild – German)
Red Bull managing director Oliver Mitzlaff: ‘I am convinced that he will continue the long journey he has taken with Red Bull so far. Max will also drive for us in 2026.’
FIA announces appointment of Shaila-Ann Rao as advisor to the FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem (FIA)
‘Ms Rao will provide advice to the FIA President on a range of issues including regulatory and commercial matters related to the seven FIA world championships. She will commence her role on 1st May 2025.’
IndyCar tweaks road (and) street practice format ahead of Barber (Racer)
‘Under the new format, the previous 45-minute opening phase of the first session will be trimmed to 40 minutes. In the second phase, when the 27-car field was previously split into two 10-minute groups to allow for less congestion while drivers perform qualifying simulations on Firestone’s faster alternate tyres, the 10-minutes per segment has been extended to 12 minutes apiece.’
She’s in charge: At the F1 Miami Grand Prix, many top executive roles are held by women (AP)
‘It’s something that the Miami Grand Prix believes sets its race apart. In a sport and a circuit still dominated by males — there hasn’t been a woman behind the wheel for a Formula 1 race since 1992 — it will be difficult this weekend to find an element of the event that isn’t overseen by a woman.’
15 years of FIA and Catapult: How RaceWatch is powering the future of motor sport (FIA)
‘Thanks to RaceWatch, FIA officials now only manually review 5% of (track limits) cases that truly require attention. The system: Flags infractions within one second; Reduces manual oversight by 95%, and saves over 1,000 hours of review time annually.’
Focus on race pace helps Felix Rosenqvist reach new level (IndyCar)
‘It’s a trend of the year. I think last year we had really good qualifying results, and we tended to move rearwards in the races. And this year we’ve been really good in the races.’
Wheatley on leading Sauber forward into the Audi era (F1)
Jonathan Wheatley on his favourite F1 memory: ‘I think it has to be the championship win (for Michael Schumacher) in Adelaide in 1994 because it was a season where you felt you were under siege, you were embattled and the explosion of joy at the end of it and the partying afterwards, in that era, in that city, in that town… unbelievable. That for me will always stick with me.’
EA Sports WRC – Development Update (EA)
‘Today, we announce that we’ve reached the end of the road working on WRC. After releasing EA Sports WRC in 2023, the 2024 season, including the recently released Hard Chargers Content pack, will be our last expansion.’
Formula Legends – Announcement Trailer (PlayStation)
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