Yuki Tsunoda is in discussions with Meyer Shank Racing over a potential IndyCar race seat for the 2027 season, Motorsport.com reports. The Japanese driver, who has been serving as Red Bull Racing’s test and reserve driver this year after losing his F1 seat, is understood to be targeting MSR’s Honda-powered #66 entry.


Mercedes technical director James Allison says the team is “slightly out of phase” with its Formula 1 rivals on upgrade timing after deliberately pushing the W17’s design later than usual. Allison said: "We're now slightly out of phase with some of our competitors. They have been introducing upgrades while we've been rebuilding our development pipeline. What we're seeing is that everyone is making gains at a broadly similar rate. That means the competitive picture can change very quickly. Our objective is simply to keep our nose in front and ensure that the next wave of upgrades restores the advantage we built at the start of the season."

Toto Wolff says it is “too early to say” whether Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli is the title favourite, despite his 50-point lead in the championship. Wolff said: "It's too early to say. I'm superstitious, even though the gap is 50 points. There are so many races to go, a DNF or two can just swing [the championship] massively, and we've not been great on reliability."
Gabriel Bortoleto says he is on a long-term contract with Audi and has no clause that would allow him to be removed, amid rumours linking Carlos Sainz with a seat at the team. Bortoleto said: "As far as I can say, because it's something that's confidential, but let's say there are no clauses. I have a long-term contract with Audi. I'll be with Audi next year, and not only next year, but the following years as well."

Alpine driver Franco Colapinto says F1 drivers and other athletes need to “speak a bit louder” and “put a limit on” online abuse, as he urged people to understand the impact of what they post on social media. Colapinto said: "It's how society is nowadays. And that is something that, I think, we as athletes, need to speak a bit louder and put a limit on. As drivers, we need to help people understand how much their words can affect others. I think as human beings we need to be much more conscious of the effect that our words have."

Max Verstappen says he “just wants to enjoy” the Dutch Grand Prix with the fans at Zandvoort, as the circuit hosts its final Formula 1 race this weekend. Verstappen said: "It's my home Grand Prix, so for sure I'm going to enjoy it a lot. I mean, I just want to enjoy it with the fans."

Mercedes deputy team principal Bradley Lord says Kimi Antonelli and George Russell “want to beat each other” but are keeping their relationship as team-mates a “healthy rivalry”, with both drivers focused on helping Mercedes. Lord said: "What has been particularly impressive is how they work together. We've all seen periods in Formula 1 where relationships between team mates have become much more tense. George and Kimi obviously want to beat each other, because that's the nature of the sport, but it's a healthy rivalry. There are no games being played and nothing being hidden."

Honda trackside general manager and chief engineer Shintaro Orihara said this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix is an “important milestone” as Honda introduces its “new spec” power unit for Aston Martin. Orihara said: "The Dutch Grand Prix is an important milestone for Honda as this is where we introduce our new spec power unit. Zandvoort is a Sprint weekend, which means we only have a single free practice session. This will bring an additional challenge to complete the evaluation of our new package in that limited running, but it's a test we're looking forward to."

The FIA has confirmed Red Bull and McLaren’s appeal against the decision to rescind Pierre Gasly’s two five-second Monaco Grand Prix pitlane speeding penalties will be heard by the International Court of Appeal on 25 August in Paris. Gasly’s penalties were removed after Alpine successfully requested a review, with the stewards noting the pitlane length had been measured incorrectly, which promoted Gasly to third ahead of Isack Hadjar and Oscar Piastri. The hearing will be closed for confidentiality reasons, with the decision to be published afterwards.

Carlos Sainz is close to agreeing a new contract with Williams, with an announcement expected in the next few days and potentially before the Dutch Grand Prix weekend at Zandvoort, RacingNews365 reports. Sainz joined Williams on a two-year deal ahead of the 2025 season and has been in talks with team principal James Vowles over his future beyond 2026, with discussions now said to be in their final stages. RacingNews365 adds that Sainz is set for a significantly improved salary, although exact figures are not known.

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