Stella on McLaren's half-second gap to Ferrari and Mercedes
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said Lando Norris’ fourth place in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone was an “overachievement”, with McLaren still showing a gap of “around half a second” to Ferrari and Mercedes. Stella said: "Overall, the race confirmed that our performance today was in line with qualifying. So we still exhibit a decent gap to Ferrari and Mercedes – probably around half a second. But definitely there's work to do, and I think this is in the measure of half a second. P4, I think it's an overachievement. [It was] not on our own merit, it's more because other people had trouble."
McLaren F1 boss casts remarkable Silverstone verdict after podium near-miss
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Mekies on Verstappen being let down by RB22 issues
Red Bull team principal Mekies said Max Verstappen was right to be unhappy after being “let down” by the RB22 in high-speed corners in two consecutive races, with a rear wing issue contributing to Verstappen losing out on a podium at Silverstone after he spun off the track. Mekies said: "He's right not to be happy. It is very unpleasant for drivers to be let down by the car in the high-speed corners in two consecutive races. It is also extremely unpleasant for us as a group to send our drivers to the gravel trap, so he's right to be unhappy."
Red Bull boss reacts to Max Verstappen unhappiness in ‘let down' admission
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Sainz on Williams' car development issues
Carlos Sainz says Williams has “serious issues” developing its car, with its gap to the front increasing despite bringing upgrades and shedding weight. Sainz said: "Concerning and frustrating, because it starts to be a bad trend this year that we don't seem to really find a lot of lap time when the upgrades are coming. We've shed a lot of weight out of the car by now, but the gap to the front is increasing. It's clear to me now that we're having serious issues with developing this car, and we are not bringing the performance that we thought we were."
Carlos Sainz fears Williams has ‘serious issues' as development concerns grow
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Alonso on overtaking with battery deployment in modern F1
Fernando Alonso says drivers need “no talent” to overtake in modern Formula 1, after the sprint at Silverstone featured repeated passes on the straights. Alonso said: "You saw it in the sprint, people overtaking in the middle of the straight with more battery, so there is not any driver input or driver talent needed to overtake a car in front of you. You don't need to outbrake anyone, you don't need to overtake on the outside, you don't need to take any risk, and just press one button and you overtake if you have a better power unit than the car in front."
'No talent needed' - Fernando Alonso's verdict on British GP sparks debate
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Vasseur on Ferrari staying focused after recent wins
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says he does not want to hear talk of championship chances and wants the team focused on Spa, after wins at the Barcelona-Catalunya and British Grands Prix either side of a difficult Austrian Grand Prix weekend. Vasseur said: "After Barcelona, I had the comment 'Ah, Ferrari is back in the championship'. I said no. The week after you told me Ferrari is nowhere. I said no. I will have exactly the same approach with everybody at home. To say: 'Guys, we had a good weekend. Now let's be focused on Spa. It's not that we are champions. We are [also] not nowhere. We are improving step by step.'"
Fred Vasseur dismisses Ferrari F1 title talk: "Let's focus on Spa"
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Russell on Antonelli outperforming him so far this season
George Russell says Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli has “done a better job” so far this season and that being 25 points behind him after nine races is a fair reflection. Russell said: "However, based on my performances and based on his performances over the course of these nine races, I think probably a 25-point gap in his favour is probably correct. He has done a better job than me this year to this point, so he deserves to be ahead of me. I think anywhere from 10 to 30 points behind is probably about fair."
George Russell admits Kimi Antonelli ‘done a better job' for ‘correct’ points deficit
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Stella on McLaren's upgrade timing at Silverstone
McLaren boss Andrea Stella says the team being out of sync with rivals on upgrades is the "biggest single factor" behind McLaren falling behind Ferrari and Mercedes, after a difficult weekend at Silverstone. Stella said: "I think the fact that we are out of sync with upgrades is probably the biggest single factor. We see that everyone bringing upgrades improves their lap-time potential by three tenths or something, and definitely this would not close the gap that we have to Ferrari and Mercedes, because I think it's more in the area of half a second, but definitely it will be very helpful."
McLaren name 'biggest factor' in falling behind F1 rivals after Silverstone letdown
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Hamilton on Mercedes battery situation and possible grid penalties
Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes may have to take grid penalties later in the season because of its battery situation, while praising Ferrari’s reliability and race-weekend execution in 2026. Hamilton said: "Massively impressed. You're seeing engines in general have had more issues this year than they normally would have, and I don't know what the situation is with the battery side of this for George and for Kimi, but at some point there must be a penalty, I would imagine, in the sense that we only have two battery cells or something like that. But it's going to be key for us just holding onto this, maximising the points, executing to the best of our ability, even when it's the case that we can't win."
Lewis Hamilton expecting Mercedes penalty as Ferrari strength highlighted
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Vasseur on Hamilton's British GP false-start penalty
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says Lewis Hamilton’s five-second penalty for a false start at the British Grand Prix was “a bit harsh”, because Ferrari’s sensors did not detect movement on the grid despite video footage suggesting otherwise. Vasseur said: "From the sensors we don't see the car moving on the grid but it's true that on the video you see the sticker on the tyres moving a little bit. It's not me judging if it's a false start or not. I think it's a bit harsh when the sensors are not moving."
Ferrari confirms Lewis Hamilton findings after ‘harsh' FIA punishment
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Brown denies Verstappen talks
Zak Brown has dismissed speculation that McLaren has held talks with Max Verstappen about a 2027 move from Red Bull, insisting he has had “no conversations” and that the team is “very happy” with its current line-up of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Brown told PlanetF1.com at Silverstone: “They’re rumours. No conversations… I’ve got my two drivers, so there’s nothing to report.” Verstappen would not be drawn on whether his management had spoken to McLaren, saying: “I’m not going to involve myself in that… If there’s something new… you will hear it from me and not from someone else.”
McLaren grilled on Max Verstappen as F1 2027 rumours enter overdrive
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How Ferrari and McLaren continued to push development boundaries
Renault pauses talks over Alpine stake sale
Renault CEO Francois Provost says Alpine’s minority shareholder Otro Capital has brought “no added value” and that their partnership “was not successful”, as Renault moves to pause talks over Otro’s planned sale of its 24% stake. In an interview with The Race at the British Grand Prix, Provost said there is “no urgency” because Renault runs the team and will keep control, adding it will only approve a new investor who shares “common goal, and common interest”. Renault has a veto on ownership changes until September.
'No value' - Renault boss criticises celebrity Alpine F1 investors
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Wolff on Russell still not comfortable in the Mercedes
Toto Wolff says George Russell is still not fully comfortable in the Mercedes, even after finishing second at his home British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Wolff said: "The sweet part of the day today is that I'm so happy for George and all the team because, you know, he's had difficult weekends. He somehow doesn't gel with the car. And, you know, a driver sometimes needs to feel comfortable in the car, and he doesn't. And then scoring a P2 today in Silverstone, that's something that I'm really happy for him."
Wolff admits Russell is still not ‘gelling with the car'
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Verstappen can trigger Red Bull exit clause
Max Verstappen can now activate a release clause in his Red Bull contract after his British Grand Prix crash meant he can no longer be in the top two of the championship by the summer break, a key threshold understood to be written into his deal.
Max Verstappen can now trigger F1 Red Bull exit clause following British Grand Prix crash
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Ferrari filming day at Madring
Ferrari will run its SF-26 on a filming day at Madrid’s new ‘Madring’ street circuit on Thursday, Motorsport.com reports, making it the first F1 team to test the layout ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix on 11-13 September. The session, officially for promotional activity, allows up to 200km of running split between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. As well as giving Ferrari early track knowledge, the outing is expected to help organisers validate operations at the venue with an F1 car.
Ferrari to become first F1 team to test at the Madring ahead of Spanish GP
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Alonso on car shutting off during Silverstone formation lap
Fernando Alonso said he has “no answer” for why his car shut itself off during the formation lap at Silverstone, which led to him starting the race from the pit lane. Alonso said: "I have no answer from the formation [lap], the car shut off by itself. So then I tried to restart the engine, and everything was fine from that moment."
Fernando Alonso has ‘no answer' behind mystery formation lap breakdown
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Mekies on Red Bull's options amid rear wing investigation
Laurent Mekies said Red Bull has “all the options open” on whether to run its rotating rear wing at Spa as it investigates two separate rear wing failures that led to Max Verstappen crashes on consecutive race weekends. Mekies said: "We will do whatever is necessary to be on the safe side. It's too early in the analysis to establish whether it's an issue with the concept or something else. But we are for sure going to leave no stone unturned when it comes to it. And we have all the options open."
Red Bull investigates Max Verstappen's rear wing failure, “all options open” for Spa
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Wolff on Mercedes' bittersweet British Grand Prix result
Toto Wolff said Mercedes’ British Grand Prix result was “bittersweet” after George Russell recovered to finish second at Silverstone while Kimi Antonelli’s bid to fight for victory was hit by a front-left wheel shield failure. Wolff said: "As for the race, it was bittersweet. There is the sweet part that George, after so many days of struggle and not gelling with the car, was able to secure P2, and on the other side, Kimi had the victory to play for. It said we were going to catch him with six laps until the end with a huge tyre offset, and that was on the menu, but then we had the problem with the wheel shield that broke."
Toto Wolff recalls 'bittersweet' Mercedes outcome after Silverstone drama
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Russell on still struggling to understand Mercedes car
George Russell says he is "still struggling" to understand Mercedes' car after trailing team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli for much of the Silverstone weekend. Russell said: "I'm still struggling to understand this car. If I want to fight for the championship, the performances need to be better. I need to be better."
Russell admits he is “still struggling” to understand Mercedes' car
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Russell on needing better performances in title fight
George Russell says he cannot fight for the Formula 1 world championship unless his performances improve, despite finishing second at the British Grand Prix to cut teammate Kimi Antonelli’s lead to 25 points. Russell said: "If I want to fight for the championship the performances need to be better, I need to work better with my team, we need to be maximising everything in a close fight now with Ferrari. It needs to be improved... Whether the luck is balanced out or not I'm not sure, however based on my performances and his [Antonelli's] performances I think a 25-point gap in his favour is probably correct. He has done a better job to this point."
George Russell on F1 world championship fight: 'The performances need to be better'
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Norris on McLaren being one of the hardest cars to drive
Lando Norris said McLaren’s car is “maybe one of the hardest” he has driven in Formula 1 after describing the British Grand Prix as “pretty shocking” despite finishing fourth. Norris said: "The pace was pretty poor, so it's not nice. It's not a nice car to drive. [It is] maybe one of the hardest cars I've ever driven in F1. So there are many things we need to do better."
Lando Norris delivers startling McLaren verdict after 'pretty shocking' British GP
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