Mekies on Verstappen's Red Bull future and driver line-up
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies says Max Verstappen is “happy at Red Bull” and that the team is not considering changes to its driver line-up amid speculation about Verstappen’s future. Mekies said: "I'm not concerned with Max following GP. We always have this joke. We are not going to ask Max every week if he's going to stay. Max is telling us he's happy at Red Bull. He is involved in every strategic decision we are making. He is at the heart of the project. He is pushing with us and we both want the same thing: getting back to a more competitive package. And he is central to that."
Mekies downplays talk of Verstappen leaving amid rumours
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🏁 Final Sprint Starting Grid
P1) George Russell P2) Kimi Antonelli P3) Lando Norris P4) Oscar Piastri P5) Lewis Hamilton P6) Charles Leclerc P7) Max Verstappen P8) Isack Hadjar P9) Arvid Lindblad P10) Carlos Sainz P11) Nico Hulkenberg P12) Gabriel Bortoleto P13) Franco Colapinto P14) Esteban Ocon P15) Fernando Alonso P16) Sergio Perez P17) Lance Stroll P18) Liam Lawson Pit Lane) Oliver Bearman, Pierre Gasly, Valtteri Bottas, Alexander Albon
Antonelli on mistakes in messy Canada Sprint qualifying
Kimi Antonelli said mistakes left him “thrown off” during a “messy” Sprint qualifying session in Canada. Antonelli said: "The lap was quite bad to be fair, the session was not clean at all, and I made a mistake in SQ2, and that threw me off a little bit. Then I decided to go for one lap on the softs without doing prep, and the tyres were a bit cold, and it was just a messy session. But I am still P2, and very close, so the potential is definitely there, and we will do better [on Saturday]."
Kimi Antonelli concedes to mistake that nearly handed George Russell advantage
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Leclerc on Ferrari catching Mercedes on power-unit performance
Charles Leclerc says Ferrari will find it “very difficult” to catch Mercedes on power-unit performance, even if it receives an additional upgrade under the FIA’s ADUO system after the Canadian Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc said: "I think it's going to be very difficult [to catch Mercedes]. I think they have a very big advantage. And ADUO, I mean I obviously don't know yet if we are in – I'll be surprised if not because I can see sometimes in the straight that we are lacking a little bit compared to the Mercedes or even Ford power unit – I think it will definitely be a help to try and get closer. Whether it will be enough to close the gap, I don't know."
Leclerc delivers Ferrari reality check ahead of first ADUO of F1 2026
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Komatsu on refusing to discuss Ocon's Haas future
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu says he will not be drawn on whether Esteban Ocon will stay with the team next season, arguing any answer would be taken out of context amid reports questioning the Frenchman’s future. Komatsu said: "I think a question like this is going to create some shit, right? Because then people are going to take my words and say, 'Oh, Ayao said this, you decide now, you're going to continue with Esteban, not continue with Esteban'. They will take it completely out of context, so I am not going to answer that question."
Esteban Ocon F1 future unclear after Haas boss shuts down question
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Mekies on further steps to ensure teams race independently
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies says the team would support further steps to ensure Formula 1 teams race independently, after McLaren reiterated its concerns to the FIA about alliances and ownership links between teams. Mekies said: "We all want 11 teams racing independently on track, and we have made many steps as a sport in recent weeks, months, and years, to try to ensure more and more independence from every team. If any stakeholders, let it be another team or anyone else, would feel that more steps are needed to ensure 11 teams racing independently, we would support [it]."
Red Bull would "support" steps on F1 team alliances amid McLaren concerns
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Antonelli and Lindblad given warnings
After sprint qualifying in Montreal, the stewards issued official warnings to Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Arvid Lindblad for driving too slowly on their cool-down laps, with no effect on their starting positions of second and ninth. Charles Leclerc, who qualified sixth, told Ferrari to raise the issue after the session and said: "We should complain about the cool-down laps, they are for sure, for sure illegal." In both decisions, the stewards said "The driver did not let any cars [past] and therefore deemed he was driving unnecessarily slowly."
Antonelli and Lindblad warned by stewards after Leclerc complains about “illegal” cool-down laps
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Antonelli on Mercedes' Montreal upgrade package performance
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli says the team’s Montreal upgrade package has given it “a little bit of an edge” after Mercedes locked out the front row for the Sprint at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Kimi Antonelli said: "Yeah, for sure. We brought the upgrade, and that's what it was giving us in terms of performance. Of course, we still need to understand the package a little bit more because the balance has changed slightly. But overall, yeah, it seems to have given us a little bit of an edge against the others. We'll focus on it tomorrow."
Mercedes surge as Kimi Antonelli spots upgrade edge over rivals
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Lewis Hamilton explains Fernando Alonso fight that sparked 'history'
Max Verstappen's Red Bull future questioned amid ‘definite’ F1 2027 confirmation
Hadjar on learning from a difficult Miami weekend
Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar said the Miami Grand Prix weekend, where he was significantly slower than team-mate Max Verstappen and crashed early in the race, taught him “many things”, including how to react when things go wrong. Hadjar said: "I definitely learned from the weekend where I got kind of beaten up. I do have to say that I learned many things, also how to react when things go wrong. I think I didn't really do a good job in Miami and I learned from it. And I'll start again this weekend with more experience."
What Isack Hadjar learned from getting “beaten up” by Max Verstappen in Miami
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Alonso on Sprint Qualifying crash after Turn 3 lock-up
Fernando Alonso said he was a “passenger” after locking up and crashing into the Turn 3 barrier in SQ1 during Sprint Qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, an incident that prevented him from taking up the SQ2 place he had earned and leaves him starting the Sprint 16th. Alonso said: "I locked up the fronts. You are a passenger after that, and yeah, there is no room to avoid anything here in Canada. So yeah, I was too much on the limit."
Fernando Alonso 'a passenger' in costly rare F1 mistake
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Piastri on McLaren's stronger starts than Ferrari
Oscar Piastri says McLaren’s starts have been better than Ferrari’s “all year” as he and Lando Norris line up on the second row for the Canadian Grand Prix Sprint, with the Ferrari drivers behind them. Piastri said: "I mean our starts have been better than the Ferraris' all year, so we're confident in ours. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before Mercedes get theirs competitive as well. But until that time comes, we'll try our best to take advantage of it."
Ferrari launch edge under scrutiny as Oscar Piastri fires back
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How Williams' headhunting shows that Vowles means business
Russell says there is no need to panic in title fight
George Russell said the Canadian Grand Prix is “just another race” for him and insisted there is “no need to panic at all” about the title fight despite trailing Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli by 20 points after four races. Russell said: "It's just another race for me. It's just another race and it's not even in my mind, the championship. I know what I'm capable of, I know the speed I've got... I just need to focus on myself, go through my processes as I did in Melbourne, as I did in China, and control what I can control. So, there's really no need to panic at all."
George Russell refuses title panic as Mercedes weakness comes under spotlight
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Norris on energy management under F1's new regulations
Lando Norris says energy management has become too prominent under Formula 1’s new technical regulations, particularly on cool-down laps. Norris said: "It’s certainly not as easy as I would like it to be. Especially if we’re just on a cool-down lap. There should be no skill required for that kind of thing. You have to be pretty skilled at nailing it."
Lando Norris on F1 2026's energy management: ‘No skill should be required on cool-down laps’
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Verstappen on Montoya's criticism after the Miami Grand Prix
Max Verstappen said Juan Pablo Montoya’s call for Formula 1 to “park” him was “nonsense”, after the former F1 driver criticised Verstappen following the Miami Grand Prix. Verstappen said: "I don't know what his problem is. I also can't deal much with someone who talks so much nonsense. I just don't understand why people like that get paid by Formula 1 management, because he sometimes works for them. You wouldn't want someone like that in the paddock, spouting so much nonsense, would you? I think it's a case of: 'If I say something different from everyone else, then I'm relevant.'"
Max Verstappen reacts fiercely to 'nonsense' Juan Pablo Montoya
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Leclerc on brake confidence struggles in Ferrari
Charles Leclerc said he is struggling for confidence on the brakes in his Ferrari after qualifying sixth for the Canadian Grand Prix sprint in Montreal. Leclerc said: "I'm really struggling with the brakes on my side of the garage for some reason, so we need to look into it and try to find something for Saturday. Otherwise, it's going to be a very long weekend because on the brakes, I get into the corners hoping that I don't end up going straight. That's the main issue at the moment."
Charles Leclerc names puzzling Ferrari weakness: 'I'm just hoping'
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Vowles on Albon's Canada setback after practice damage
Williams team boss James Vowles said Alex Albon had the pace in Canada before a “freak accident” in practice, when contact with a groundhog led to damage that forced Williams to change the car’s gearbox and power unit. Vowles said: "With Alex, I'm so disappointed for him because he had the pace this weekend, he was on it and it is just one of those freak accidents. It is just bad luck and initially it didn't look that bad, but when we got the car back there were issues - basically power unit, gearbox, suspension. And once you have enough down that line, you're done."
Alex Albon's "freak" groundhog accident turns Canadian GP sprint into glorified test
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Krack on Aston Martin's next major upgrade timing
Aston Martin chief trackside officer Mike Krack said the team’s next major upgrade package for its AMR26 will not arrive until “around the summer”, with only smaller, less visible changes being made to the car in the meantime after it again ran without an official update in Montreal. Krack said: "There are modifications on the car, but there is not this kind of modifications that you expect from a big list of upgrades that are being disclosed on Friday morning. These parts will come around the summer. So, for the moment, it is detailed changes in several areas that are not so visible, but that will help us to improve."
Why Aston Martin hasn't updated its F1 car since March
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Prost injured in burglary, Salo stabbed
Swiss publication Blick reports Alain Prost was slightly injured in the head during a burglary at his Geneva villa on Tuesday, with another family member reportedly forced to open a safe. The Swiss Public Prosecutor's Office said Vaud police launched a major search operation and "opened a criminal investigation", adding that "Investigations are continuing to identify and arrest the perpetrators"; no arrests have been reported. Separately, Finnish publication Ilta-Sanomat reported that Mika Salo was stabbed in the leg by a passing moped rider while crossing a road in Bangkok. Salo said the wound required treatment: "The doctors had to sew some muscle and then some skin on top of it," adding: "Luckily this one hit my leg and not anything else."
F1 legend Prost injured in burglary; fellow ex-Ferrari driver recovers from stabbing
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Hamilton on new setup transforming his Ferrari in Canada
Lewis Hamilton says a new setup choice and more time spent analysing data away from the Ferrari simulator has “transformed” his SF-26 for the Canadian Grand Prix, as Ferrari focuses on optimising the package it introduced in Miami rather than adding new parts this weekend. Hamilton said: "Yeah, we worked really hard sifting through the data the last couple of weeks, and I found that so much more beneficial. One, I was able to then just focus on training and not be distracted, and then the second part is just like really going through a fine comb with ride stability, through corner balances and mechanical balance. And I chose a setup that we've not used – we never used it actually before – so it's transformed the car for me."
"It's transformed the car" - Lewis Hamilton "in the fight" as Ferrari F1 tweaks hailed
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