Domenicali on contingency plan for Qatar and Abu Dhabi finales
Stefano Domenicali says Formula 1 has a contingency plan and “other alternatives” if it is forced to cancel the final two races of the 2026 season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Domenicali said: "I can confirm that we have a contingency plan. And if the two end-of-year races cannot take place because the war is not over, we will have other alternatives."
Domenicali: F1 has ‘alternatives' if Qatar and Abu Dhabi are at risk
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Mercedes drivers on being trusted to race each other
Mercedes deputy team principal Bradley Lord said George Russell and Kimi Antonelli told the team to “trust us to race each other” after their Canadian Grand Prix battles led to discussions with Toto Wolff. Bradley Lord said: "After the sprint, there was a sit down and a chat with Toto and the two drivers just talking about how the sprint had gone and how they wanted to race each other going forward. That was actually a very constructive and very amicable conversation, but the message from the drivers was really, really clear. 'Trust us to race each other. That's what you've hired us to do, and we can do it'."
"Trust us to race each other" - The message George Russell and Kimi Antonelli had for Mercedes
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Vowles on Albon and Sainz wanting to stay at Williams
Williams team principal James Vowles says Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz “want to be part of this journey” at the team, as he looks to show progress after Williams dropped from fifth in the 2025 constructors’ standings to eighth currently. James Vowles said: "In terms of silly season, speak to Alex, speak to Carlos; they want to be part of this journey, and that's the best I can tell you. My job in this is to make sure they want to as well."
Williams on F1 driver market: ‘Speak to Alex, speak to Carlos, they want to be here'
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F1 will limit cars' top speed potential on straights at the Monaco GP, The Race can reveal 👀
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Lowdon denies rumours over Bottas Cadillac exit
Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon says there is “no truth” to rumours the team is prepared to drop Valtteri Bottas after five grands prix this season. Graeme Lowdon said: "There is no foundation, no truth in any of the rumours at all. I can categorically say that. I'll make it really, really clear: factually, they're completely incorrect. There's no basis of truth whatsoever in any of them."
Interview: Cadillac issue damning response to shock Valtteri Bottas F1 axe rumours
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Allison on Russell's Canadian GP retirement cause
Mercedes technical director James Allison says George Russell’s retirement from the Canadian Grand Prix was caused by a catastrophic battery failure that triggered an engine kill. Allison said: "It was an engine kill that was caused by a failure in the battery, which just suffered a catastrophic failure a third of the way into the race and brought George's race to an end there. We can see enough at the end of the race that the battery was fairly unhappy, some heat damage there, and we'll have to figure out in the coming days and weeks exactly what caused that and put it right."
Mercedes reveal exact cause of Russell's Canada DNF
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Hamilton on not advising Antonelli in Mercedes title fight
Lewis Hamilton says he will not be giving Kimi Antonelli advice in his F1 2026 title battle with Mercedes team-mate George Russell, but praised Toto Wolff for putting the “right support” around the teenager. Hamilton said: "I think you forget that we're competitors, so he's already doing a great job. I'm not going to give him any more pointers! I think things were a lot different back then. I don't think I had the same support system that he has, for example, today in the place that I worked at, and worked in. Toto did a great job of surrounding you with the right support and I definitely didn't feel that."
Lewis Hamilton denies Antonelli ‘pointers' as key Toto Wolff impact spotted
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Sainz on FIA taking strong stance over 2027 engine split
Carlos Sainz says the FIA should take a “very strong approach” and push through a proposed change to F1’s 2027 engine power split from 50:50 to 60:40, even if some manufacturers oppose it. Sainz said: "Because if they say it should be like that, I'm pretty sure that teams who are complaining or maybe not fully aligned with them will have no choice other than to do it. Obviously, everyone needs to agree, but at the same time, if it is for the good of the sport, for the good of the racing and the show, I'm a big fan of the rulers taking a very strong approach and a strong stance."
FIA urged to leave F1 teams 'with no choice' over contentious debate
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Alonso on Aston Martin upgrades around the summer break
Fernando Alonso says Aston Martin will have to wait for upgrades around the summer break to get a performance step forward, after he felt the team showed better pace at the Canadian Grand Prix. Alonso said: "We seemed to be faster here than we were in Miami with the same package. We need to wait for performance to come with our upgrades around the summer break, but we will look to keep optimising this package until then."
Alonso outlines when Aston Martin expect performance step forward
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Mekies on Lambiase's McLaren move and team principal aim
Laurent Mekies says it is his understanding that Gianpiero Lambiase is joining McLaren with the aim of becoming team principal, despite McLaren announcing he will take up the chief racing officer role when he arrives in 2028 after leaving Red Bull. Mekies said: "Look, it's certainly my understanding that GP is going to McLaren to become a team principal. That's what I told you at the time. Obviously, we had a number of conversations before he was going to make the decision. Now don't ask me if it's going to happen, the timing of it is none of my business. I can just tell you the content of our conversations."
Red Bull stand ground over startling Gianpiero Lambiase claim
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Russell on wanting to race the Nürburgring 24 Hours one day
George Russell says he would like to compete in the Nürburgring 24 Hours one day after watching Max Verstappen take part in this year’s race, but added Verstappen is in a different position because Russell is still chasing his first Formula 1 world title. Russell said: "All of us are in a slightly different position to Max. Obviously, we're also pursuing to win a world championship, but obviously, he's in a luxurious position to do what he enjoys. And yeah, that's great for him. And he did a great job."
George Russell keen to follow 'luxurious' Max Verstappen example
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Verstappen on refusing a full rally test over safety risk
Max Verstappen says he is not willing to do a full rally test despite an invitation from nine-time World Rally champion Sebastien Ogier, because he sees rallying as “too high a risk”. Verstappen said: "I think it's really cool. But I just think about if I make a mistake and I hit that tree, the tree is not moving, and that for me is my limit. That, for me, is something that I don't want to do. It's too high a risk. It's a bit different, in my head at least, and it's just a risk that I'm not willing to take."
Max Verstappen delivers 'high risk' verdict after motorsport legend invitation
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FIA mandates Monaco-specific engine mode
The FIA will require a Monaco-specific engine mode at the Monaco Grand Prix to limit straightline speed on the street circuit, where the 2026 cars can harvest energy easily and would otherwise carry too much deployment for the layout. In the mandated ‘Rev 1’ setting, MGU-K deployment must start tapering from its 350kW limit at 200km/h instead of 290km/h in the standard ‘Base’ mode, and cars will have no battery deployment left once they reach 300km/h; overtake mode still applies, but only leaves 150kW at 300km/h before dropping to zero by 310km/h. The restriction sits alongside Monaco having no straight-mode activation zones, with the FIA’s aim being to reduce the safety risk of cars arriving at corner entries too quickly.
New F1 engine mode to cap top speed potential in Monaco
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Saudi GP return considered for October gap
David Croft said there is a push from the Saudi side to restore the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to the 2026 calendar in the gap between Azerbaijan and Singapore on October 2-4, which would create a new triple-header, although Bahrain is also understood to be under consideration and any decision remains dependent on the situation in the Middle East after both races were cancelled in April. Croft said after speaking to someone “closely associated” with the Jeddah event in Montreal: “There is a desire to have that race in Jeddah run this year, potentially between Baku and Singapore. There is that week’s gap, so we could turn it into a triple-header... Bahrain might be an option for that one as well, depending on what the situation is in that part of the world.”
F1 on standby for new triple-header this season
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Saudi Arabia targeting a return later this season despite Middle East crisis
Hamilton on not using Ferrari simulator to prepare for races
Lewis Hamilton says he will probably not use Ferrari’s simulator to prepare for races because he feels it carries “too many risks”, although he would consider using it to help the team correlate the simulator with what he feels in the real car. Hamilton said: "The simulator, I mean, I'm sure I would drive it at some point. I think what could be good is, for example, going back and doing a correlation to this weekend so we can find out where it's missing. Now, whether or not I use it to prepare for another race? Probably not. There are just too many risks. It's a tool that can be powerful. But for me, I'm old school. I'm probably better without it."
Lewis Hamilton explains 'old school' decision in rejecting vital Ferrari aid
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Hamilton on Ferrari's power deficit to Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari is “massively down” on power compared to Mercedes and that it is stopping the team fighting them during the 2026 Formula 1 season, after finishing second at the Canadian Grand Prix. Hamilton said: "If you take away the power deficit, we're in the fight with these guys. But unfortunately that's not the way it is today. Even when you get the overtake [mode], when you get within a second, they still pull away. So that's how much grunt that they have, and we're massively down. But I really hope with this new rule that enables us to try to improve some performance, so we can get back in the fight with them."
Lewis Hamilton details worrying Ferrari power deficit to Mercedes
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Mekies on support for 2027 power-unit changes
Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies says he is optimistic Formula 1’s manufacturers will agree on power-unit changes aimed at improving racing, as the FIA pushes for a different split between engine and electrical power from 2027. Mekies said: "I'm optimistic we'll find the right solutions. So, I'm optimistic we'll find a majority of people agreeing on improving the race. Because when it comes to what matters for the sport, I think at some stage we will all put on the side what we feel it may or may not do to our relative competitiveness to do a step in the right direction for the sport. I think ultimately we'll get to that point."
Laurent Mekies confident F1 will make changes needed for Max Verstappen to stay
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Verstappen on exploring a Daytona 24 Hours entry in 2027
Max Verstappen says he would love to race the Daytona 24 Hours and that the idea of doing the event in 2027 is being explored. Verstappen said: "It is an idea at the moment, but not concrete yet. If I wanted to do that, I will have to adjust my entire training programme to it, and I will also have to discuss it with my family. But I would love to do it. And then again in a GT3 car, I think, not in the fastest GTP class."
Max Verstappen reveals Daytona 24 Hours being explored
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Lowdon on Cadillac's progress at the Canadian Grand Prix
Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon said the team made “real progress” at the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, despite Sergio Perez’s race ending with a front suspension failure. Lowdon said: "There is real progress. In terms of race pace, accuracy of upgrade predictions, all these kinds of things that aren't seen. Clearly the objective is to try and bring all the elements together and get meaningful progress on the track. We just saw some real steps forward, both in the Sprint race and also today."
Lowdon hails ‘real progress' for Cadillac after Canadian GP
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Verstappen on accommodating another Nürburgring 24 Hours attempt
Max Verstappen says it would be “nice and logical” for Formula 1’s calendar to accommodate another Nürburgring 24 Hours attempt, after he and his team dropped to 38th following a driveshaft failure on their debut at the race. Verstappen said: "It would have been nice if we had won that race straight away, because the chance was very big. Not power [over the calendar], but I think it would be nice and logical if that were possible."
Max Verstappen cites 'logical' move for Nürburgring 24 Hours revenge bid
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