Norris had to manage a brake issue for the last third of the Chinese GP
An otherwise perfect Sunday for McLaren in China was spoiled by a brake issue that Lando Norris had to manage for the last part of the race.
The team came away with a welcome one-two result led by Oscar Piastri after a difficult sprint the previous day, but a long brake pedal for Norris created some tension.
Paradoxically at the same time the situation also made the team’s life easier in terms of any stress associated with allowing the two drivers to race, as it prevented Norris from being able to fight with Piastri.
Nevertheless team principal Andrea Stella made it clear that any sort of reliability issue was “not acceptable” in the context of the World Championship fight.
“We have been tense at the pitwall, and I’m sure the entire team and the fans, because we had one issue on Lando’s car with a brake pedal that we needed to manage over the last 20 laps,” said the Italian.
“Lando and the team did a very good job in being in the loop as to how to adapt the driving style to this kind of problem, which then got worse and worse through the race, and put the entire result at risk, which is obviously just not acceptable from a reliability point of view. We need to do better.
“And this will be one of the points that we will definitely re-emphasise to the entire team that has worked at an incredibly high level, but we cannot have issues that put these sort of results at risk.
He added: “The brake pedal was going long, and what we needed to do is we needed to avoid more and more the peak pressure.
“So he needed to brake with less and less and less peak pressure, to the point that over the final laps, he was just costing for a long time off the throttle, and then applying just a minimum amount of brake pressure to stop the car and go around the corner.”
Stella declined to elaborate on exactly what the root cause of the issue was.
“We understand what the problem is, which I don’t disclose for IP reasons, but fundamentally, it had to do with a leak in one of the components, not the brake line, but somewhere else.
“And the main action required was to limit the peak brake pressure, or like just you could brake, but very, very gently.
“So what was a 100 metre braking, now it became 200 metres, and towards the end, it was a 300 metres, because Lando needed to lift the throttle, cost to a certain speed and then apply very gentle brake pressure. That was to avoid that leak to become too fast.”
Hamilton had to settle for 10th place in Melbourne
Lewis Hamilton says it’s “not the moment to throw the toys out of the pram” and insists that his Ferrari Formula 1 team should not be defined by its difficult race in Australia.
Hamilton qualified eighth in Melbourne, a place behind team mate Charles Leclerc. After a bad decision to stay on slicks cost both men a chance to make progress they finished eighth and 10th, with the Monesgasque driver still ahead.
Hamilton has made no secret of the fact that he still has a lot of work to do as he learns about the team and the car.
“We’re just going to set the car up a bit different this weekend,” he said in Shanghai. “So to this point, I think I’m still having to witness and take a view and see how the team operates.
“I’m still learning, it’s the first weekend to see how they operate on a race weekend – it’s different to testing – how they like to set the car up, the changes they like to make during the weekends.”
He added: “I think as I get more and more comfortable and more knowledgeable about the car, I can start making more decisions, and say, actually, this is the setup change I want to go with.
“So already this weekend I’m having those discussions, and I’m going to lean a little bit more with adding my experience, hopefully there’s a bit more in it. But they’ve got a lot of experience already.
“And yep, it wasn’t the race that we wanted. It’s not the moment to throw the toys out of the pram. It is what it is. One small thing could have made a big difference in our result. But we move forwards.
“Everyone’s still motivated. You’ve got everyone here with their heads high, and I think that the energy is still good in the garage. We’re not going to be defined by that one race.”
Hamilton’s radio conversations with race engineer Ricardo Adami attracted a lot of comment in Australia after he asked several times to be left to it.
The pair are still discovering the most efficient way to communicate, and when I asked how that process is going Hamilton was keen to downplay the subject.
“Naturally, everyone overegged it,” he said. “It was literally just a back and forth. I was very polite in how I suggested it. I said, ‘leave it to me, please.’ I wasn’t saying ‘FU,’ I wasn’t swearing.
“And at that point I was really struggling with the car, and I needed full focus on these couple of things. We’re getting to know each other. He’s obviously had two champions or more in the past, and there’s no issues between us. Go and listen to the radio calls with others and their engineers – far worse, far worse.
“The conversations that Max has within engineer over the years, the abuse that the poor guy’s taken, and you never write about it, but you write about the smallest little discussion I have with mine. Ultimately we’re we’re literally just getting to know each other.
“So afterwards I’m like, ‘Hey, bro, I don’t need that bit of information. But if you want to give me this, this is the place I’d like to do it. This is how I’m feeling in the car and at these points, this is when I do and don’t need the information.’
“And it’s that’s what it’s about. There’s no issues, and it’s done with a smiley face. And we move forward.”
Former F1 team boss Eddie Jordan has lost his brave battle with cancer at the age of 76.
A truly remarkable and unique character, he had a huge impact on the sport, having first arrived on the F1 scene in 1991.
He gave Michael Schumacher his debut that year, and Jordan GP finished fifth in the World Championship at its first attempt with the iconic green 191. And yet the team only just made it through the following couple of seasons, so precarious was its financial position.
There were to be many highs and lows, and Jordan would eventually score four GP victories with Damon Hill, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, and Giancarlo Fisichella.
As his financial options ran out Jordan sold the business 20 years ago. He subsequently focussed most of his energies on his media activities before making a surprise return to the limelight last year as manager of Adrian Newey.
The name may have changed a few times, but the current Aston Martin F1 team will be his legacy – also because of his role in getting Newey on board his former team.
It’s good to know that on the day that Newey was announced at Aston EJ visited the new base next to the original Jordan GP site at Silverstone, and was able to see how the team now looks – and he also had an emotional reunion with guys he employed, and who are still working there.
He famously always had an eye for the next deal, but his heart was in the right place, and he was a racer to the core. It’s a pity that Drive to Survive came too late for the world to really get to know him…
He always called me Cooperman, and any encounter was usually a one-sided onslaught of banter and insults designed to entertain everyone within earshot – but you always knew that he had a heart of gold, and to be on the receiving end was actually a compliment.
Aston’s current team boss Andy Cowell said in a statement: “Eddie Jordan was one of the all-time motorsport greats. He was a one-off, a wonderful human being, and a charismatic leader who founded this team and took it to F1 in 1991.
“His vision laid the foundations for us and he leaves a lasting legacy for the entire motorsport community. Today we pay tribute to a legend of the sport and our thoughts are with his family, friends, and colleagues.”
Meanwhile Aston owner Lawrence Stroll added: “Eddie Jordan was a true racer, a great leader, and one of the biggest characters in our sport. He was a friend who I have known for more than thirty years and I will miss him greatly.”
Piastri was in the hunt for victory when he went off
Oscar Piastri’s dream result of a win in the Formula 1 Australian GP slipped away on lap 44 of Sunday’s race, when his pursuit of McLaren team mate Lando Norris was ended by a sudden shower and a trip onto the Albert Park grass.
A recovery to ninth place and a couple of points was of little comfort given what he had lost, but nevertheless it was a strong weekend overall for the 23-year-old.
Norris may have been a step ahead for most of the time, but Piastri was right there throughout, and was especially strong in the race. It’s now in his hands to get in front and prove that he can be the team’s main title candidate.
“Oscar today was deserving to be in contention for the victory until the last moment,” said team boss Andrea Stella.
“And he drove exceptionally well. And when I use the verb driving, that’s not only driving the car around the track, but it’s also the kind of assessment of the conditions of the decisions that we should have taken.
“It was very lucid, very calm. And he is starting his year three in F1, but he looks like one of the most expert drivers that I worked with. So, extremely impressed by Oscar today, just a little bit unlucky.”
Piastri’s life was made harder by losing a spot to Max Verstappen at the start, but he was able to keep the pressure on the Dutchman, eventually pushing him into a rare mistake.
“The start was not amazing,” he said when I asked about his race. “I just got pinched on the inside a little bit, and I got overtaken, I think the pace was really strong until we pitted for slicks. I think Max obviously locked up a little bit and went wide, and I was able to show the pace I had.”
On lap 32, shortly after a mistake had cost him a couple of seconds, a radio message revealed that only now – with backmarkers out of the way – was he free to race Norris.
“We were holding position before that. I think by the time we were free to race, it kind of killed my front left a little bit getting to the back of Lando. So by that point, there wasn’t much I could do.
“I think today’s race and the circumstances were pretty extreme. We were approaching backmarkers, one dry line, not knowing if there’s going to be rain to come. I’ll speak to the team and try and understand better what the thinking was. I think it’s always clear that those calls can come in either direction.”
It was when the rain returned that things went from for Piastri. At the end of lap 44 both he and Norris went off towards the end of the lap, and while his team mate was able to scrabble back onto the track and dive into the pits Piastri was left stranded on the wet grass for what seemed like an age.
“I tried to push a bit too much, I guess. In those conditions, very difficult to judge just how slippery it’s going to be. I think from one lap to the next, it had really changed a lot. And I could see Lando going off in front of me, but I was also already in the corner, basically.
“So there wasn’t much I could do to slow myself down at that point. And then once you’re in the gravel and the grass, you obviously try to keep the car as straight as possible. And then obviously to get stuck in the grass like that was pretty unbelievable sat in the car, but I’ve only got myself to blame for being there, so it’s a shame.”
Eventually he managed to reverse back onto the escape road and get into the pits: “I was just trying to stay in the race. Tried to go forwards, and I couldn’t, so a good thing I spent some time in the off-season trying to learn how to reverse a tractor on Jeremy Clarkson’s farm, because I think it came in handy today. I was just trying to get myself back in the race.”
He was 13th for the restart after the safety car, and was given a little help through being waved past to regain his lap – which helped to take the green with warm tyres.
“I knew that we had strong pace. I knew that I had strong pace. Even after the final restart it was frustrating. Ocon went wide or nearly lost the car at the last corner. So I went past just by driving normally, and then had to give the position back. So I lost three or four seconds doing that.
“And then given that I had to unlap myself, I had some pretty good temperature in the tyres, and was just able to capitalise on that, the car’s pace and my own confidence, I think. I’m glad that we at least got back to the points, but it should have been a lot more.”
He made it as far as ninth, pulling off a bold passing move on Lewis Hamilton right at the end. It was another sign that he means business this year.
“I think for essentially 56 laps of today’s race I was very proud of the job I did,” he said. “I feel like the pace was really strong, and obviously disappointed with the mistake I made.
“But I think that doesn’t take away completely from just how strong the whole week has been for not just the team, but for myself. I feel like I’ve done a good job all weekend. So I think it would be pessimistic of me to just write-off the whole weekend because of one mistake.”
The new Concorde Agreement reflects the current heath of the sport
The commercial side of the next Concorde Agreement has been signed by the Formula 1 organisation, and the 11 teams that will compete in 2026.
However the governance part that it works in parallel with, and which covers areas such as entry and superlicence fees and voting procedures, has yet to be confirmed.
The new deal covers the 2026-’30 seasons, and thus exactly mirrors the period of the new technical regulations.
A statement said: “Formula 1 can confirm that all teams have signed the 2026 Concorde Commercial Agreement, which secures the long-term economic strength of the sport. Formula 1 has never been in a stronger position and all stakeholders have seen positive benefits and significant growth. We thank all the teams for their engagement during this process to reach the best outcome for the sport. The 2026 Concorde Governance Agreement will be finalised in due course.”
The current Concorde was signed in August 2020, when the sport faced an uncertain future due to Covid-19.
This time the deal has been agreed some five months earlier. Since the Covid era there has been a commercial boom, and the new deal is understood to been more favourable for the teams.
The news also comes shortly after the confirmation of Cadillac’s entry for 2026, with GM having been party to the discussions along with the 10 established teams.
The new Concorde incorporates the process for calculating the anti-dilution fee that the team has had to pay to rivals to gain its entry, and which would also apply to a future 12th team.
Lewis Hamilton admits that he still has much to learn about how to get the best out of his Ferrari SF-25 after qualifying eighth in Melbourne.
A spin in Q2 hampered Hamilton’s progress, but he will still start the race just behind team mate Charles Leclerc.
Lack of familiarity with the car means he doesn’t know what changes to ask his engineer for in an attempt to optimise it.
“We’ve been just improving every single lap, session-on-session,” he said when I asked him about qualifying.
“Big learning curve this weekend, the car was so much different from the moment I left the pit lane, just feeling so much different than I’ve ever experienced here.
“And it’s been a lot slower process for me to really build confidence in the car. And if you look at the high-speed everywhere, I’ve been down all weekend to Charles, who just had it from the get-go, from just the minute he went out, he knew what the car does.
“And for me, I was just building up to that through the weekend, and I think I got a lot closer towards it in the end. And to be that close to Charles in my first qualifying session in the same car against a great qualifier, I’m pretty happy with that.”
Expanding on where he was struggling he said: “From braking, just through corner balance is a lot different to what I had. Mechanical balance shift that you have is much, much different to what I had in the previous car. And the high speed balance, the low speed balance, is quite a shift. So she behaves a little bit different.”
Hamilton admitted that he couldn’t judge how long it might take him to feel comfortable.
“I really don’t know. Honestly, I thought I was further along than I was, and then I got here and P1, I was like, Jesus, I’ve still got a way to go. There’s still a ton of tools that keep popping out, like hey, what about this? I’ve never tried that. What does it do?
“And it’s one thing saying it, but actually going out and feeling it, so that’s what I’m just really doing, bit by bit. I think we did some good work when trying to move the car forward. But as I said, when you have a problem in the car and you come in normally, when you’ve got the experience, you can say, okay, that’s this is where I want to go with it.
“But I don’t know which tool to use at the moment, so I’m heavily relying, for the first time, on my engineers, and they’ve done a great job. But in the past, I would say, Bono, this is what I want, that setting, this setting, and I can’t do that at the moment. It’s just all mechanical tools. So it’s roll, it’s suspension.”
He now faces the challenge of making his race debut with the team in wet conditions, having not previously sampled the car in the rain.
“I’ve never driven the car in the wet I don’t even know where the wet switch is really, I don’t know which buttons I’ve got to switch for tomorrow. So that’s going to be new.
“We’re using Brembos, for example, which I’ve not used probably since I was much younger. I don’t think I’ve used them for a long time. So how the Brembos behave in the wet, I don’t know if they’re glazed, what settings I’m going to have to use with this car? It’s all different.”
However he acknowledged that wet conditions also bring opportunity: “Oh, definitely, definitely, when you qualify eighth, you kind of hope for it to be wet, but for me, I’m kind of like, I’ve got three laps to learn the car in wet and then get out into the race.”
“The wet has often been something I’ve always enjoyed. Growing up in England, it’s always wet, so it’s been a comfort zone for me. But as I said, I’m going actually, for the first time in the wet, in an uncomfortable position, because I’ve never driven this car, so it’s going to be a shock to the system when I get out there, but I’m going to be learning on the fly and just giving everything.”
Swearing on team radio won’t incur penalties – unless aimed at officials
The FIA has clarified the new swearing rules after the subject came up in Friday evening’s Formula 1 drivers’ briefing in Melbourne.
The new guidelines and table of fines have been a major talking point in recent weeks with drivers concerned about the scale of potential penalties.
However it was made clear that team radio conversations are exempt, and that the main focus of the new swearing guidelines is on press conferences and similar situations.
The FIA’s call not to take action on Dan Ticktum’s colourful rant in the recent Jeddah Formula E race served as an informal precedent for what would happen in F1.
That approach was confirmed by steward Garry Connelly in Friday’s briefing after drivers brought up the subject.
The FIA view is that car-to-pit conversations are “private” and the fact that some are broadcast and others aren’t mean that the stewards won’t take any action.
However the FIA also stressed that any abuse of stewards, the race director or any other officials in radio conversations would be subject to an investigation and potentially a penalty. The FIA made the point that online abuse – which can be stoked by driver comments – has led to some stewards deciding that they no longer want to serve in the role.
Drivers were also reminded that the size of any fines was at the discretion of the stewards, and wouldn’t necessarily be as high as the published numbers.
Gravel traps were another topic of conversation in the briefing after were stones thrown onto the track at Turn 6 in practice, causing a red flag at one point.
The plan is for the track to be swept in that area between qualifying sessions on Saturday. The track will also be cleared during the race should a safety car or red flag create the opportunity to do so.
The Cadillac team’s 2026 entry is finally official – although the Andretti name is long gone…
The Cadillac team’s entry for 2026 was finally confirmed by the FIA and the Formula 1 organisation today – 12 months before the new outfit’s first race.
After a lengthy period of debate Stefano Domenicali indicated in November that F1 had agreed to accept the entry, pending commercial agreements and final approval. The Italian indicated last week that an announcement was due shortly.
The team is operated under the umbrella of TWG Motorsports, with a UK base at Silverstone that has been expanding rapidly in recent months.
A joint statement said: simply: “The FIA and Formula 1 can confirm that, following the completion of their respective sporting, technical and commercial assessments, the application by General Motors and TWG Motorsports to bring a Cadillac team to the FIA Formula One World Championship from 2026 has been approved.”
“As we said in November, the commitment by General Motors to bring a Cadillac team to F1 was an important and positive demonstration of the evolution of our sport,” said Domenicali.
“I want to thank GM and TWG Motorsports for their constructive engagement over many months and look forward to welcoming the team on the grid from 2026 for what will be another exciting year for F1.”
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been a kenn support of the project from the outset.
“Today marks a transformative moment, and I am proud to lead the Federation in this progressive step for the championship,” he said. “The FIA F1 World Championship’s expansion to an 11th team in 2026 is a milestone. GM/Cadillac brings fresh energy, aligning with the new FIA 2026 regulations and ushering in an exciting era for the sport.
“The Cadillac F1 Team’s presence in the paddock will inspire future competitors and fans. Their entry strengthens our mission to push motorsport’s boundaries at the highest level.”
The confirmation represents a major triumph for TWG boss Dan Towriss, who has been instrumental in putting the deal together, and became its public face after Michael Andretti stepped back.
“For the past years, we have worked hand in hand with GM, to lay a robust foundation for an extraordinary F1 entry,” he said. “Now, with 2026 in our sights after today’s final approval from the FIA and F1, we’re accelerating our efforts – expanding our facilities, refining cutting-edge technologies and continuing to assemble top-tier talent.”
General Motors president Mark Reuss said: “We’re thrilled the Cadillac F1 Team is official, as the team has been accelerating its work. We’re incredibly grateful for the support from the FIA and F1 leadership for us and for our partners at TWG.
“The excitement only grows as we get closer to showcasing GM’s engineering expertise on the prestigious global stage of F1.”
The former Andretti team has been expanding rapidly at its Silverstone base
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says Cadillac will provide an “incredible boost to the ecosystem” of the sport – and he says that an update on formalising the team’s entry for 2026 is due soon.
It was announced in November that the team had reached an agreement in principle with Formula 1 regarding its entry plans.
That came after founder Michael Andretti was distanced from the project, and it was confirmed as a full works GM-backed team under the Cadillac name.
However formal confirmation of the entry has not been forthcoming. There appears to be no real precedent to follow in terms of the timeline and exactly what the next steps are, especially given that the next Concorde Agreement has not been finalised.
The team will use Ferrari power units initially, before eventually switching to its own in-house design.
“We always said that Cadillac is giving and will give an incredible boost to the ecosystem of F1,” said Domenicali when asked why his organisation’s position on the entry changed late last year.
“We were referring to other situations that were handled before. But now the picture is totally different.
“Cadillac is preparing the entry, in terms of preparing the season, because it would not be an easy situation for them to be in such a high-tech and evolved sporting platform, they are doing everything in order to show how Cadillac is really evolving into the sport.
“Now there is the formality that is related to the process that it’s almost ready together with the FIA. There has to be an update. And whenever this will be ready, it should be not too long, there will be a sort of an update to formalise what basically is already happening.
“So they will be ready to fight against or together with the other teams for next year. And that is the evolution that, as you know, GM has taken as a fact that they want to be a real constructor or a manufacturer that will invest in our sport, because they do believe in the technological platform that F1 can provide to their system.
“So very, very happy that now this is on-board moving forward and looking forward to see them on the track together with the other teams to fight for a great championship.”
Domenicali insisted that the arrival of Cadillac has no impact on the debate with the teams over the next Concorde, while stressing that the new entrant will have the same rights as incumbents.
“There’s no impact at all with the current discussion of Concorde Agreement,” he said. “As you know, Concorde is done by two major elements. One is the financial one that is related to the commercialisation and the marketing side of it, that discussion is between us and the teams, and we are in a good position on that.
“The other topic, or the other part of it, is the governance that, of course, we need to work together with the FIA and the teams and on that we are working.
“As you know, there’s no time pressure on that, because we are all working as partners, and we want to find the best solution for the sport. And this is something that we’re going to do, even with one more team together into the future, because of course Cadillac will be part of it and will have a voice, as the others, into the future.
“With regard to the fact that Cadillac will bring a new US ‘branch,’ I think that we can bring opportunities. And I’m totally positive, because the sport is growing in such a magnitude that everyone will exploit the best out of it. And I’m sure that the Cadillac/GM group will benefit from being part of this group.”
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The Las Vegas GP didn’t generate as much cash for F1 in 2024 as in its inaugural year
The Formula 1 organisation continued to increase both revenue and operating income during the 2024 season – but Liberty Media admits that a poorer performance by the Las Vegas GP in its second season had an impact on the overall figures.
The headline numbers were up in part because there were 24 races in 2024, as opposed to 22 the previous year, with China returning and Imola back after the 2023 flood cancellation.
Revenue by was up 6% from $3,222 million to $3,411 million, while operating income rose from $392 million to $492 million, a gain of 26%.
While the numbers continued the upward trend Liberty concedes that the Las Vegas GP, which feeds directly into revenue as the only race promoted in-house, was not as successful as in its inaugural year.
Liberty notes that “sponsorship revenue grew due to recognition of revenue from new sponsors, contractual increases from existing sponsors and additional sponsorship inventory with two additional races held.
“Media rights revenue increased due to contractual increases in fees and continued growth in F1 TV subscription revenue.
“Race promotion revenue grew primarily due to fees from the two additional races held compared to the prior year, following the return of China and Imola to the calendar, as well as contractual increases in fees, partially offset by lower ticketing revenue generated from the Las Vegas Grand Prix.”
It added that “growth in hospitality income at most events and higher freight and licensing revenue was offset by lower hospitality revenue generated from the Las Vegas Grand Prix.”
However F1 also gained from the “lower event promotion, hospitality and experiences costs incurred in promoting and delivering the Las Vegas Grand Prix compared to the prior year.”
The 10 F1 teams shared payments between them of $1,266 million, up 4% from $125 million the previous year.
Despite the Las Vegas setback F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali remains bullish after the overall numbers continued to rise.
“Formula 1 capped off a record 2024 in race count, revenue and Adjusted OIBDA,” he said. “We are equally optimistic about 2025 as we mark F1’s 75th anniversary which will provide incremental momentum for our brand, and we celebrated this milestone by welcoming the entire F1 community to a first of its kind season launch event at The O2 last week.
“Our sponsorship roster is the strongest in the sport’s history and the commercial pipeline remains robust. This commercial success is paired with on-track excitement, as we expect more intense competition after last season’s highly competitive championship and we welcome several rookie drivers to the grid.”
Adam Cooper F1 